Introducing one of the many faces in the Energy and Engineering department that keep our campus running sustainably - Andre Nelson! Andre is an energy project engineer and started working for Facilities Management (FM) about 6 months ago. Andre has been in Davis for about 10 years and received his undergraduate degree here! 

This quarter we’re highlighting some of the fantastic work our engineering team does with students and faculty on our campus and across the entire UC system! We sat down with engineering project manager Alex Malm to talk about the annual Global Energy Managers Workshop and the Path to Zero Net Energy class offered to students. 

As one of the most sustainable college campuses in North America  ,UC Davis works hard to make sure campus buildings maintain high standards of sustainability. Leading this effort is the Green Buildings Team, whom we had the pleasure of speaking with about their role on campus.

Earlier this month, the Chancellor and the Chancellor’s Committee on Campus Planning and Design, or CCCPD, endorsed moving forward with a $55.5 million investment of campus funds for the next phase of the Big Shift – a heating infrastructure overhaul that represents a crucial step in reducing the university’s fossil fuel usage. 

This month, we are getting to know William (Billy) Evans, a student intern at Energy & Engineering. After completing his undergraduate studies as a Biological Systems Engineer, Billy is now a first-year graduate student pursuing his Master of Science in Energy Systems.

A team effort between the Energy & Engineering team, and Building Maintenance Services (BMS) shops for sheet metal, ventilation, plumbing, and electrical created a big win at the Vet Med 3A Multipurpose Teaching (MPT) facility. 

The ECO office gained four new Graduate Student Researchers in the Fall of 2021. All are first-year graduate students pursuing their Master of Science in Energy Systems and using their knowledge to reduce energy use on campus. Each student focuses on niche aspects of energy conservation on campus, ranging from COVID-19 ventilation to housing and dining innovations. They enjoy the blend of fieldwork and data that the Energy & Engineering Energy Conservation Office offers when solving problems.  

When an outdated heating system caused the water temperature in Storer Hall’s tropical fish lab to drop to dangerously low levels, Facilities Management’s Building Maintenance Services (BMS) HVAC and Energy and Engineering team collaborated with the Laskowski Lab researchers to improve operations.   

No idea is too big or small when saving energy and improving systems. Joe Lestanguet, Inspector, Planner, and Estimator for Facilities Management Building Maintenance Services (FM BMS), shared an energy-saving idea with Sam Cole, an Energy Project Engineer from the Energy and Engineering office, and they recently implemented the project together.