Young Scholars Past Projects
Home Design for an Expensive Energy Future 2007
Problem Statement
There are two trends in America that are linked and that have been going up in recent years. The first is the size of the average American home. Most of us know that Bill Gates lives in very big house. It encompasses more than 66,000 square feet, equal to 1.5 acres. But all American homes have been growing bigger, from an average of almost 1000 square feet in the 1950’s (that’s roughly the size of the modern three car garage today), to almost 2400 square feet in 2004. The cost of energy to heat and power these homes (lights and appliances) has gone up as well, almost 95% in the last seven years, due in part to limits in world wide supplies (what is called “Peak Oil”), and to increased demands for this energy from rapidly developing nations like India and China. Experts expect energy costs to continue to rise as supplies become harder to secure (America now imports about 65% of its oil and natural gas). In the wake of these trends—and the question of how socially responsible it is for 5% of the world’s population (North Americans in the United States and Canada) to use 35% of the world’s resources1—how should new home designs address this issue? How might Americans be persuaded to live in smaller homes in order to save money and resources?
|
Year |
% Increase of energy costs |
|
1999 |
13.4 |
|
2000 |
14.2 |
|
2001 |
13 |
|
2002 |
10.7 |
|
2003 |
6.9 |
|
2004 |
16.6 |
|
2005 |
17.1 |
|
2006 |
2.9 |
The Challenge
This year’s Young Scholars Program will form Small is Beautiful New Home Design (a fictional housing design firm) dedicated to providing creative small home designs for a variety of markets. Your firm has been invited to the New Homes Expo to present your ideas. Working with Clarkson engineering and environmental studies faculty and a General Motors facility consultant, students will design 2-3 homes with detailed specifications dealing with size, energy and material use, type of market (upscale vs. low income, urban versus rural), and environmental and social impacts. These homes will feature designs that:
Minimize square footage
Have high aesthetic value
Use renewable and/or local building sources
Use renewable and/or locally produced energy
Strive for carbon neutrality within ten years of their construction
Minimize water use
Are competitively priced
Students will be responsible for engineering and designing the homes, building scale models, minimizing environmental and social impacts, assessing the economic costs, and providing a marketing presentation. Students will present their design proposals and models at the end of the week to professional architects and energy consultants from the Potsdam community.
Problem Statement
President Bush, in his 2006 State of the Union Address, stated that "America is addicted to oil." and proposed that the United States reduce by 75 percent its dependence on Mideast oil by the year 2025.We Can Get There From Here: Rethinking Public Transportation in a Post-Carbon World (2006)
These are strong statements coming from the President of the United States, but they are neither novel nor particularly radical. Science and engineering experts have been warning the world for the last ten years that availability of abundant, cheap oil and natural gas is nearly at its end. And there is plenty of evidence to suggest that they are correct.
What is less certain is what will happen to our major economic and social systems, including agriculture, transportation, and heating and cooling. The transportation sector is particularly vulnerable, as are the millions of Americans who depend on their cars or public transportation. About two thirds of all the petroleum products consumed in America are used by the transportation sector.1 What can be done to provide low cost transportation options that do not rely on oil-based fuels? How would a small town or village provide options for its citizens, many of whom are senior citizens? How, in short, can we get from here to there without having to rely on fossil fuels?
The 2006 Young Scholars Program formed Good Earth Transportation Systems, Inc. (a fictional consulting firm) dedicated to providing small and medium sized towns and villages with alternative, oil-free public transportations systems. The firm was hired by the village of Potsdam (located on the banks of the Raquette River in St. Lawrence County, New York) to submit a proposal for a transportation system that:
- Provided low-cost, reliable transportation to key locations in the village for all members of the community;
- Was powered by renewable and/or locally produced energy;
- Enhanced the community’s public health and safety; and
- Promoted Potsdam’s small-town character and economic vitality
- Consumer demand by analyzing demographics, trends, and various survey tools;
- Cost and profit; and
- A marketing plan.
Working with professors from Clarkson’s Engineering, and Ethics programs, and a General Motors Facility Consultant, students were responsible for engineering a transportation system, building a scale model of the project, minimizing environmental impacts, and demonstrating the economic and social viability of the project. At the end of the week, students presented their proposal to members of the Potsdam village government and transportation experts.
Small is Bountiful: Advanced Technology Down on the Farm (2005)
Problem Statement
There is no shortage of food in America. Besides being plentiful, our food is reasonably cheap and available year round. What most of us do not see when we visit the supermarket or fast food restaurant is that America’s food supply is produced by fewer and fewer farmers working in larger and larger industrial/corporate farms. These corporate farms use tremendous amounts of energy and material inputs—from fertilizers and feed supplements to antibiotics and water (the average dairy cow drinks 24 gallons of water/day);2 and they produce waste that frequently causes groundwater contamination and other pollution problems. The typical meal contains food that has traveled 1,500 miles from farm to your plate.3
A number of alternative agricultural models have emerged to combat these effects, including organic farming, community supported agriculture, and numerous cooperative ventures between farmers and consumers. What is often missing from these alternatives is the use of the latest and most advanced technologies. The 2005 Clarkson Young Scholars had an opportunity to change that.
The 21 st Century Homestead Challenge (a fictional organization) offered a $1 million dollar prize for the best design of a small-scale modern farm. Like the US Homestead Act of 1862, contestants had 160 acres of land with which to work. Unlike the earlier Homestead Act, the winner of the 21 st Century Homestead Challenge had to produce food without harming the natural environment, and with minimal and recyclable use of energy and materials. Ideally, the new homestead would 1) create more energy than it consumes, 2) produce healthy and delicious food at an affordable price, 3) provide a living wage for three families, 4) be a good neighbor in its community, and 5) offer an agricultural model that is applicable in other parts of the world, particularly developing nations.
Clarkson Young Scholars participated in the Homestead Challenge and created a scale model farm that demonstrated the application of advanced technologies in pursuit of sustainable agriculture. Working with Professors in Clarkson’s Engineering, Business, and Ethics programs, students created an agricultural plan, built scale models of proposed buildings and energy projects, demonstrated the use of the advanced technologies in small-scale production agriculture, minimized environmental impacts, and demonstrated the economic viability of the project.
If We Build It, Will They Come? Waterfront Recreation-Development Plan (2004)
Problem Statement
Throughout American history, rivers, canals, and their shores were used primarily for their industrial benefits: to generate electricity, to ship goods, to provide water for industrial processes and sinks for their pollutants, and as water sources and wastewater disposal for town and city populations. As a result, much of this waterfront property has been off limits to recreational users, or on the "wrong side of town." It was rare for a city or town to develop its waterfront as a way to bring citizens together, for recreational purposes or to revive the local community.
But this is no longer the case. There is now a growing interest among economic developers, engineers, architects, and policy makers in creating vibrant, economically profitable recreational areas, and several cities - including Baltimore, Louisville, Portland, Boston, and Providence - have made waterfront development a top priority. Small towns and villages are also interested in developing their waterfronts.
The 2004 Young Scholars Program formed the "Waterfront Development Group" (WDG), a full service Engineering, Marketing Analysis and Social-Policy consulting firm. WDG was hypothetically "hired" by the Village of Potsdam to develop a waterfront recreational development plan along the Racquette River as it traverses the village. Working with professors in Clarkson’s Engineering, Business, and Ethics programs, students were responsible for creating a development plan; building scale models of proposed walkways, bridges, and buildings; providing the village with an economic analysis; and considering the environmental and social impacts of the firm’s proposal.
Redesigning Portable Housing (2003)
Most of us think of housing as large, permanent structures that provide all of the creature comforts we have come to expect in modern life. Portable housing on the other hand - from tents, shanties, and shacks - is usually viewed as cramped, temporary, and barely comfortable. However, outdoor enthusiasts, refugees, and disaster victims around the world all use portable, temporary housing. In addition, over eighty percent of the world's population lives in sub-standard housing. How might portable, temporary housing be redesigned to provide greater comfort, ease, and affordability for those who use them?
The 2003 Young Scholars Program formed 2-3 teams charged with designing and marketing portable housing. Each team designed a house for a specific function and market. All the teams were required to include engineering, business, and social policy dimensions in their designs. Team members worked together on every aspect of the project, but also focused on group-specific (engineering, business, and social policy) projects that arose during the week. The engineering group learned the components of the engineering design process - from concept to prototype - by designing and building a model. Students also learned about CAD (computer aided design), engineering analysis, and material properties. The marketing group used market research to determine:
The social policy group addressed the general ethical and social issues/values of housing, social justice, and environmental sustainability.
On the Move and Looking Good (2002)
Wheel chairs have come a long way since they were first designed centuries ago. Using lightweight composite materials, and designed for specific disabilities and uses (including rugby and trail climbing), wheel chairs provide greater comfort and accessibility than ever before. But what about providing accessories to wheel chair users that simply made their chairs look good, as opposed to improving performance? Like car and motorcycle owners, would wheel chair owners be interested in accessorizing and customizing their chairs for purely aesthetic reasons, and would it be ethical to create and market these products?
The Young Scholars formed a consulting team charged with designing and marketing customized wheel chair wheels. The consulting team consisted of three groups: engineering, marketing, and ethics and social policy. The engineering group learned the components of the engineering design process-from concept to prototype-by designing a customized wheel chair wheel. Students also learned CAD (computer aided design), engineering analysis, and material properties. The marketing group used market research to determine:
The ethics and social policy group addressed the general ethical and social issues of marketing, advertising, and consumption, as well as the specific questions of whether it is appropriate to market non-essential accessories to individuals with disabilities, and who should pay the social costs of supplying accessorized chairs to individuals who are unable to pay for them.
Students worked together on every aspect of the project, but also focused on group-specific projects that arose during the week.
Sustainable Housing for People and Nature
(Former High School of Excellence Program - HSE)
The average American home is often expensive to build, inefficient and wasteful in its use of energy and materials, and not particularly distinctive from the homes around it. The tens of thousands of these new homes built every year are also destroying farmland and woodlands at an unprecedented rate.
Numerous scientists, engineers, architects and urban planners are working to design new forms of housing that use fewer trees and/or local materials, that are extremely energy efficient, that are designed for function as well as form, and that consume less land.
The weeklong HSE team focused on designing and building a scale model home that incorporated the latest designs and ideas about sustainable housing. Students worked with two Clarkson professors and two undergraduate students in Clarkson's Environmental Science & Policy Program in the areas of engineering, ethics and social policy, urban design, and environmental sustainability. Students also worked with computer models, learned engineering equations, worked in small groups, and learned and applied ecological concepts. At the end of the week students presented and defended their design at a fictional Alternative Housing Expo.
Water Over the Dam: Managing the Racquette River for Energy and the Environment
(Former High School of Excellence Program - HSE)
From simple water mills to the massive hydroelectric facilities in northern Quebec and China's Three Gorges Dam Project on the Yangtze River, waterpower has provided a useful, renewable, and inexpensive source of energy. In the last decade hydroelectric energy has emerged as an effective alternative to nuclear and fossil-fuel energy sources.
Unfortunately, hydroelectric energy is not risk free. Whatever their size, dams flood landscapes and alter ecosystems in ways that we do not yet fully understand. People too can be affected by these projects. The flooding required by China's Three Gorges project, for example, displaced between 1-2 million people.
During the one-week program students-acting as The Racquette River Management Group- analyzed the current status of the Racquette River as a source of hydroelectric energy, and provided management recommendations for future use of the river as a source of energy. There are currently twenty dams and nineteen hydroelectric facilities on the Racquette River. Students had the opportunity to decide to cite another medium-sized dam in the river system, or to build a much larger dam upstream. Or they could decide to recommend the dismantling of some or all of the dams and power facilities, thereby returning the river to its original size and flow.
The Racquetter River Management Group was divided in to three teams: Engineering, Biology and Ecology, and Ethics and Social Values. During the week, students organized the management group, acquired the necessary technical knowledge and skills to develop a management model and recommendations, and learned to function as a single group even when the three teams were not always in complete agreement. The week concluded with a professional presentation by the group to the Association of Racquette River Towns and Villages, a fictional group composed of professionals from around St. Lawrence County.
1 http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/analysis_publications/oil_market_basics/Dem_image_US_cons_sector.htm
2 http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/dairy/g1138.htm#intake
3 http://www.cuesa.org/foodmile.htm
4 A new Homestead Act has actually been introduced in Congress. For details, see
http://www.cfra.org/resources/summary_newhomesteadact.htm