Spring 2017 Newsletter

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BRIGHT DAYS AHEAD
 

BEST Center Awarded National Science Foundation ATE Center Grant

BEST Center has been awarded a renewal grant to continue our mission of promoting better building performance through building technician education. We are thrilled to be able to expand on our collaborative work with our members and partners in order to strengthen the educational programs and produce a quality stream of well-trained, high-performance building operators. Read the press release.
 

Sporlan “Train the Trainer” Event – Apply by June 15

Sporlan will host another “Train the Trainer” event this summer at their headquarters in Washington, MO.  According to Bob Clark of College of DuPage, this event is one of the best technical trainings he has ever attended. Sporlan believes in education and they have made it very clear in their professional development opportunities. Email Bob Clark to apply.
 

Building Automation Workshop VI – June 22-24

Final planning is underway for the 6th BAS workshop to be held at Georgia Piedmont Technical College, outside of Atlanta, GA. Attendees can expect insightful hands-on activities led by our Co-PIs. We look forward to seeing you there. Registration closed.
 

ACE Mentor and BEST Center Complete Pilot Collaboration

To kick-off our national partnership with ACE Mentor, BEST Center hosted the Oakland team on the Laney College campus this spring. ACE is a national afterschool program introducing high school students to architecture, construction, engineering and the skilled trades. The ultimate goal of the collaboration is to connect students across the U.S. with community college programs in design and construction as well as building performance, heating and air conditioning, and energy management. Read more.
  

Laney College First In Nation With Training Program To Support Energy Sustainability Goals

As California prepares to meet it’s 2020 Zero Net Energy (ZNE) goals, Laney College and a consortium of utility and industry partners are leading the state and nation in preparing a skilled workforce of High-Performance Building Operations Professionals™ (HPBOP) capable of enabling commercial buildings to produce as much energy as they consume.  Read More. 
 

Call for Photos

BEST Center would like to collect photos that can be made available to members for marketing their programs and courses. We are looking for diverse images of technicians and students working on BAS systems that can be used royalty-free and restriction-free. Email Pam Wallace with your photos. 

 

BEST Center Makes the Rounds

We have had various opportunities lately to share our work with industry audiences and beyond.

Peter Crabtree, Pamela Wallace & Chuck Frost (Laney College) will present on the “High-Performance Building Operations Professional National Training and Certification (HPBOP)” at the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference (CHESC) June 26-28, Santa Barbara, CA.

Larry Chang was a panelist at a session called “Qualified Professionals for the Home and Building Automation Industry: How Can Educational Providers Help?” on 4/27/17 at the Continental Automated Building Association (CABA) Forum on Intelligent Buildings 2017, Santa Clara, CA.

Peter Crabtree, Pamela Wallace & Hadley Hartshorn (Laney College) presented “Developing Industry Endorsed Curriculum: Designing Technician Education & Certification HPBOP” on 4/24/17 at the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) 97thAnnual Convention, New Orleans, LA.

Larry Chang, Jon Zeh (Sacramento City College), & Bob Clark (College of DuPage) presented “Current Developments in HVAC Instructional Lab Strategies and Designs” on 3/28/17 at the 2017 National HVACR Educators and Trainers Conference, Orlando, FL.

Pamela Wallace presented “Powering Resilience: Bridging the Energy Skills Gap” on 1/26/17 at the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Workforce Development Institute, Newport Beach, CA.
 

“The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it.”

― Neil deGrasse Tyson

BEST Center is funded by

a National Science Foundation
Advanced Technological
Education Grant
No. 1700705.

Aug 7-10, 2017: “Train the Trainer” event offered by Sporlan

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A Training Opportunity sent courtesy of Bob Clark, College of DuPage:

Sporlan has offered to host another “Train the Trainer” event this summer at their headquarters in Washington, MO.  It is on the west side of St. Louis.  This event is one of the best technical trainings that I have ever attended.  Their organization believes in education and they have made it very clear in their professional development opportunities. – Bob Clark

 

To apply, email Bob Clark before June 15.

Space is limited to 14. 

 

Event Details: 

The training will be held in Washington, MO.  Attendees are asked to arrive mid to late afternoon on August 7 and have classes until August 10.  Sporlan will cover the Hotel, food, and transportation from the airport to the hotel.  You are responsible for travel costs getting to the event or St. Louis airport.  It is an intensive 3-day training and it is worth every second.  There are 14 spots available.  If you would like to go please reply all and confirm by June 15th.   Please include your school and contact information in your email.  Because there is limited room, your confirmation will be sent on June 15th.  Please wait until June 15th before you inquire about your application. 

News Release: Laney College Receives $3.6 Million Renewal Grant from National Science Foundation for BEST Center

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(OAKLAND, CA) – Laney College’s BEST Center has been awarded a $3.6 million renewal grant from the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Division of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund operations of the BEST Center for an additional five years. Laney received its first ATE National Center grant to establish the BEST Center in 2012. The Center’s mission is to support the development of community college career education programs in energy efficient commercial heating and air conditioning, building automation systems, and energy management.

 

The Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program strengthens the skills of technicians whose work is vitally important to the nation’s prosperity and security. The BEST Center is grounded in ATE’s mission and continues to grow from a passionate, active base of over 60 faculty members from community and technical colleges across the U.S., including Oakland.

 

“The renewal grant provides welcome support and a beacon of light to remind college faculty across the country that they are not alone. There are exciting times ahead, and building operations is a viable pathway for students to high-paying jobs that make a positive impact on the environment,” said Peter Crabtree, BEST Center Principal Investigator and Laney College Dean of Career and Technical Education. “There is an urgent need to expand the number of technical programs preparing students for careers in a growing industry experiencing both rapid innovation and a workforce where the median age of workers is 55. The BEST Center tries to address the needs of the educators who are charged with meeting industry demands,”

 

Prior to 2012, Laney College’s Environmental Control Technology Department received two NSF project grants, which helped to provide the foundation for the Center’s work. Since then, the BEST Center has organized annual institutes, regional workshops, and webinars to showcase the work and expertise of team members from Laney College, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Georgia Piedmont Technical College, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

 

“The BEST Center has proven to be an anchor for Laney College in the world of building operations and energy efficiency. We are proud of the accomplishments of the Center’s team and the collaboration with other educators across the nation,” said Tammeil Gilkerson, Laney College President. “Most of all, I’m grateful that the NSF continues to actively support innovation and is committed to ensuring students in Oakland have access to an advanced, technical education leading to promising careers.” 

 

About the BEST Center

The BEST Center (Building Efficiency for a Sustainable Tomorrow) at Laney College supports faculty & staff of public, post-secondary career & technical education programs in HVAC, building automation, building performance and facilities/energy management. It receives base funding from the National Science Foundation. For more information, go to: www.bestctr.org.

About Laney College

Located in the heart of Oakland, Laney is one of four colleges in the Peralta Community College District. Laney offers over 100 high-quality academic and career technical education programs to an estimated 11,000 students. To learn more about Laney College visit, www.laney.edu or contact: Dolores M. Bernal – dbernal@peralta.edu 

###

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1700705.

Media Contact: Dolores M. Bernal – dbernal@peralta.edu 

News Release: Laney College First In Nation With Training Program To Support Energy Sustainability Goals

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(OAKLAND, CA) – As California prepares to meet its 2020 Zero Net Energy (ZNE) goals, Laney College and a consortium of utility and industry partners are leading the state and nation in preparing a skilled workforce of High-Performance Building Operations Professionals (HPBOP) capable of enabling commercial buildings to produce as much energy as they consume. 

 

Laney College recently launched the first training program in the nation for achieving zero-net-energy in commercial buildings with an initial student cohort completing a 96-hour pilot course to significantly reduce energy consumption and minimize greenhouse gas emissions by generating as much energy as they receive from the grid over the period of a year. 

 

Commercial buildings are responsible for 20 percent of California’s electricity usage. SB350, the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2016, doubles previous energy efficiency requirements for commercial buildings, a mandate that requires ZNE in 50 percent of California’s nine billion square feet of commercial floor space by 2030.  A highly qualified building operator workforce, such as HPBOP, is integral to achieving this mandate.

 

“This public and private partnership between Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric, and San Diego Gas & Electric, leverages the capabilities of Laney’s new Building Efficiency for a Sustainable Tomorrow (BEST) Center,” said Peter Crabtree, Laney’s Dean of Career and Technical Education. “Through the BEST Center, we’re developing energy efficiency and building science education and training curricula for adoption by community colleges nationwide.”  

 

“We are proud to illustrate our stewardship in workforce development and training in an area that is critical to help California meet statewide requirements for building efficiency,” said Laney College President Tammeil Gilkerson. “This is yet another example of how Laney students and faculty are making an impact in the community, state, and nationwide.” 

 

Laney’s comprehensive curriculum was endorsed statewide by stakeholders from academia, the investor-owned utilities, and industry leaders in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and building automation system sector.  One of those endorsements comes from the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) California.

 

“BOMA California endorses Laney College’s innovative HPBOP training program because it responds to our objectives and mission for addressing advanced industry-recognized workforce credentials in the renewable energy, energy efficiency, construction, and utilities sectors,” said BOMA Chair of the California’s Energy Committee, Carlos Santamaria.  “It is only through the training of both new and incumbent workers that we will be able to transfer this much-needed skill set to others in the building operations workforce.”   

 

Jim Caldwell, statewide sector navigator for the Energy, Construction, and Utilities industry sector of the California Community Colleges’ Doing What MATTERS for Jobs and the Economy initiative, emphasized the need for this program. 

 

“Evolving high-performance buildings to ZNE is a high-growth area for strategic middle-skills jobs throughout California and the nation,” Caldwell said. “Programs like HPBOP are a win-win-win; the state will be better positioned to meet its ZNE goals, employers get the skilled workers they need, and workers are able to increase their skills and earning power.” 

 

Pamela Wallace, director of the BEST Center at Laney College, reported that pilot participant feedback was positive. 

 

“All participants who supervise employees said they would recommend them to take the training, and 100 percent of participants said they would refer colleagues to the training as well,” said Wallace.

 

Short-range plans call for additional HPBOP incumbent-worker training programs at Laney College, Sacramento City College, Mt. San Antonio College, and at various state buildings in Sacramento. Caldwell said that by the end of the 2017-2018 academic year, the team anticipates having a national HPBOP certification that also serves new workers. 

 

“Our long-range goals are to expand the current training to a comprehensive two-year degree program with which other colleges can align or adopt,” Caldwell said.  

 

Located in the heart of Oakland, Laney is one of four colleges in the Peralta Community College District. Laney offers over 100 high-quality academic and career technical education programs to an estimated 13,000 students.  To learn more about Laney College visit, www.laney.edu.

 

The BEST Center (Building Efficiency for a Sustainable Tomorrow) at Laney College supports faculty & staff of public, post-secondary career & technical education programs in HVAC, building automation, building performance and facilities/energy management. It receives base funding from the National Science Foundation.  For more information, go to: www.bestctr.org.

 

            # # #

 
 

MEDIA CONTACT

Dolores M. Bernal

(O) 510-986-6922

(C) 415-910-4659

dbernal@peralta.edu            

ACE Mentor and BEST Center Complete Pilot Collaboration

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To kick-off our new partnership with ACE Mentor, BEST Center hosted the Oakland team on the Laney College campus this spring. ACE is a national afterschool program introducing high school students to architecture, construction, engineering and the skilled trades. The ultimate goal of the collaboration is to connect students across the U.S. with community college programs in design and construction as well as building performance, heating and air conditioning, and energy management. 

 

Oakland students enjoyed their first college experience by meeting faculty and visiting different departments while working on their Tiny House design projects to address local homelessness. The semester ended with final team presentations, judging, and awards including scholarships from ACE that will help support two students at Laney and other Peralta colleges this coming fall. 

 

Many thanks go to the ACE organizers, professional architects and engineers who generously provided their expertise and time for a successful semester. We look forward to next year’s collaborations both close to home and in other cities. For more info about ACE, see acementor.org. 

ACE Mentor Webinar recording now available

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If you missed our January 2017 webinar called “ACE Mentor Program – Pathway to Community Colleges and the Skilled Trades”, you can watch it on our videos page.You will hear about ACE Mentor programs at Kirkwood Community College, Cuyahoga Community College, and Laney College. A downloadable copy of the presentation is also available. Enjoy!

 

News Release: U.S. Community College Faculty Convene at Laney College for Annual Institute on High Performance Building Technician Education

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2017 Annual Institute Press Release (3101 downloads )

Oakland, California – January 11, 2017 – BEST Center (Building Efficiency for a Sustainable Tomorrow) will host 37 faculty from 27 community and technical colleges from all corners of the U.S. for a 4-day Annual Institute to be held at Laney College and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). The event will be held from January 11 – 14, 2017 and is organized by BEST Center, a National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Center of Excellence based at Laney College in Oakland, CA.

 
This year’s theme is “Learning by Doing in Building Technician Education: New Technologies, Teaching Strategies, and Lab Applications,” and the focus will be on intensive hands-on exercises to demonstrate how concepts and new practices can be brought to the classroom. Berkeley Lab’s building technology scientists will share the latest research, technology, and tools. Industry experts working on some of the world’s most innovative buildings will share their experiences and insights on real world applications, scenarios, and data.
 

Participants will visit the regional offices of DPR Construction in San Francisco for a tour and update on maintaining Zero Net Energy buildings. At Laney College, there will be activities with Building Automation System Trainers that can be easily replicated by students. Participants will experiment with data loggers in different environmental conditions by utilizing Berkeley Lab’s FLEXLAB®, the world’s most advanced building efficiency test bed.

 
Institute highlights:
-“Tools & Processes for Improved Building Operations” with Michelle Daniels (US General Services Administration), Jay Santos (Facility Dynamics Engineering), and Paul Ehrlich (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

-“Zero Net Energy Controls Design and Facilities Management” by Janey Kaster (Honeywell) and Edmundo Martinez (DPR Construction)

-“Zero Net Energy Buildings: a Primer” by Edward Dean (Architect & author of Zero Net Energy: Case Study Buildings, Vols. I & II) and Can Anbarlilar (PG&E)

-“Commercial Building Energy Saver” by Kaiyu Sun, Tianzhen Hong, and Mary Ann Piette (all with Berkeley Lab)

-“Extreme Weather Conditions in the Face of Climate Change” by Michael Wehner (Berkeley Lab)

 
“We are fortunate to gather together educators and experts to share new innovations and best practices in the world of building efficiency,” states Peter Crabtree, BEST Center Principal Investigator and Laney College Dean of Career and Technical Education. “We are inspired by the commitment of our members and hope that the discussions on climate and building science mixed with the technical, hands-on activities will help make their own programs more effective for their students.”

 
About BEST Center
The Building Efficiency for a Sustainable Tomorrow (BEST) Center supports publicly funded 2-year colleges with programs in heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R), building automation controls, and energy/facilities management. Sponsored by Advanced Technological Education grants from the National Science Foundation, this national collaborative promotes state-of-the-art building technician education and dissemination of the latest research, technology, and industry collaborations in energy efficient buildings.

 
For more information, go to: www.bestctr.org; www.nsf.gov; www.lbl.gov 

Winter 2016 Newsletter

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Robert Croom and David Stuart at BAS V.

MAKING CONNECTIONS

As 2016 comes to an end, the team at BEST Center would like to wish you a very warm and Happy Holiday season. We look forward to seeing your faces in mid-January for our Annual Institute. Until then, here’s an update on what’s happening:
 

Welcome, Victor Garcia!

Please help us welcome Victor Garcia, MPA, Ed.D., our new Coordinator. Victor has over 10 years of experience in program administration with community colleges, CSU and UC systems. Most recently he has been a consultant to educational and philanthropic organizations like the Marin Community Foundation and the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Enrichment Program. Victor is bringing a lot of expertise in program administration which will assist the BEST Center in managing its activities and College Network.
 

Our Annual Institute is Coming! 

Our annual gathering of members is right around the corner, Jan 11-14, 2017 to be precise. The theme is “Learning by Doing in Building Technician Education: New Technologies, Teaching Strategies, and Lab Applications,” and we are planning hands-on activities, tours, and sessions to support it. We are almost at capacity but the deadline to apply has been extended till Thursday, Dec 15 at 5pm PT. Read more.
 

Webinar: ACE Mentor – Building Pathways from High School to College 

On January 26, 2017 will we host our next webinar that will feature the ACE Mentor Program. Providing after-school activities supported by volunteers from the design and construction industry, ACE Mentor’s mission is to engage, excite and enlighten high school students to pursue careers in architecture, construction, engineering, and the building trades. This webinar will highlight how community and technical colleges can get involved with local ACE high school teams to promote the building trades and  pathways to certificate and associate degree programs; stay tuned for more info. Register here. 
 

New HPBOP Training in January 2017 at Laney College, Oakland

BEST Center has teamed up with SoCal Edison and Building Owners and Managers Association of California (BOMA California) to kick-off an exciting 12-session High Performance Building Operations Professionals training for in-state building engineers and technicians. Emphasis will be on lab-focused exercises that help prepare participants to manage their own buildings to become high performance facilities of the future. If you know individuals who might qualify for this training, please share this newsletter and encourage them to register on the BEST Center website. Read more.

 

Take a Virtual Lab Tour

Virtual lab videos from GA Piedmont Technical College, College of DuPage and Lane Community College are now available for viewing. If you would like to see the lab spaces, equipment and how they all translate to curriculum, then spend some time soaking in the technical details and teaching philosophies provided by BEST Network members Jeryll McWhorter, Bob Clark, Bruce Alford, and Josh Manders.
 

Equipment and Software Discounts

In collaboration with industry leaders, BEST Center is pleased to extend discounts for equipment and software licenses to our members developing instructional labs. Automated Logic, Honeywell, Siemens and Triatek have all agreed to offer 40% (in some cases more) off their list prices to educational members of BEST Center. Be sure to give a shout out to our awesome industry leaders! Read more.

 

News to share?

Please add info@bestctr.org to your email lists so we are in the loop on news in your programs.

 

Contact Us

As always, please contact us if you are in need of support and/or resources to advance your HVAC and building automation programs.

 

“This one trend, climate change, affects all trends.”

– U.S. President Barack Obama, December 1, 2015, at the COP21 conference in Paris. He continued to say “If we let the world keep warming as fast as it is and sea levels rising as fast as they are, and weather patterns keep shifting in more unexpected ways, then before long we are going to have to devote more and more and more of our economic and military resources not to growing opportunity for our people, but to adapting to the various consequences of a changing planet.”

 

BEST Center is funded by
a National Science Foundation
Advanced Technological
Education Grant.

Equipment and Software/Licensing Discounts

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The BEST Center has worked with our industry partners to provide discounts on equipment, software and software licenses to support teaching labs of the faculty in the BEST Center network.  Here are some details:

 

Faculty will be able to purchase ALC controls for about $800 for the software which can be loaded on multiple computers in classrooms, as long as they are on the same campus. This is GSA pricing which is approximately 40% off list prices. Software upgrades will be provided free of charge. Please contact your local distributor.  If there are any problems please contact Larry Bacher at: Larry.Bacher@automatedlogic.com

 

Cochrane Supply will offer Vykon (Tridium) equipment and software for use in the teaching laboratories for BEST Center Network Colleges at a discounted rate of 40% off list price.  Please contact Nicole Conklin at 248-930-9847 or nicole@cochranesupply.com.

 

Faculty will be able to purchase Honeywell controls at GSA contract pricing levels which, is approximately 40% off list prices. Software upgrades will be provided free of charge.  Please contact your local Honeywell Branch for assistance. If you need further assistance you may contact the GSA Coordinator for Honeywell, Tracy Smith at: Tracy.Smith@Honeywell.com

 

Through coordination with ACP, Siemens will offer discounts of up to 40% on BAS equipment that will be used for educational purposes.  In order to take advantage of this educational discount as well as to initiate discussions on installation, maintenance, program involvement, etc., please work through your local Siemens branch office, keeping in mind that there may be a cap on the number of discounts that can be offered.  If you need an introduction to the local Siemens branch in order to start down this path, please contact Steve Hoiberg at steve.hoiberg@siemens.com.

 

Triatek will offer discounted rates are well over 50% off normal institutional pricing. The first option includes a new fume hood as well as the controls. These are budgetary proposals, and Triatek will consult with each institution to be sure the system works as needed and in the parameters of their training laboratory. Triatek will also provide technicians to set up and commission the equipment. Triatek will donate the cost of the labor and ask the institution to only cover actual travel costs.