Newest, cleanest, greenest projects
The Colorado State University spin-off Abound Solar, Inc. was a stop for Obama Administration officials in August on a national tour to highlight emerging opportunities for Americans in the clean-energy economy. Punctuated by President Obama’s announcement of $2.4 billion in Recovery Act funding for 48 new, advanced battery- and electric-drive projects, Administration officials last month fanned out across the nation to tout the country’s newest, cleanest, and greenest projects. On Aug. 4, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar met with employees of Abound Solar in Longmont, Colo., where the company has created more than 200 green jobs in two years and expects to double employment by next year. A manufacturer of low-cost, thin-film photovoltaic solar panels and one of Colorado State University's most successful spin-offs, Abound Solar opened its first full-scale production facility in Longmont on April 14 to meet global energy demands. Founded in 2007, the company is built on 15 years of development by CSU mechanical engineering professor W.S. Sampath, with support from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Daring design
A Colorado design team is cooking up rave reviews. Envirofit International and the Colorado State University Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory received a Bronze International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) in ecodesign for their clean cookstove. The Envirofit S-2100 decreases the dangerous health and environmental effects of indoor air pollution by dramatically reducing biomass fuel use and toxic emissions that kill millions of people each year. One of the world’s most prestigious design competitions, the 2009 IDEA contest celebrates the year’s most innovative product designs, focusing on sustainability, functionality, and aesthetics. The award also demonstrates how IDEA and its sponsors are acknowledging products designed for underserved markets. CSU’s Engines and Energy Conversion Lab serves as a R&D subcontractor to Envirofit, which plans to bring millions of cookstoves to developing countries in the coming years. Along with the CSU/Envirofit design teams, industrial design groups Red Ingot LLC and Sector 7 Studios, LLC received the Bronze IDEA.
Serving social workers
The Colorado State University School of Social Work is offering a Master's of Social Work via distance education in Brighton, Colo., to meet the growing labor demand for social-services professionals. Employment of social workers is expected to increase 22 percent through 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Offered through CSU’s Division of Continuing Education, the program will be held at the Brighton Learning and Resource Campus, 1850 Egbert Street. Colorado State’s nationally ranked program is fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education and designed for professionals seeking a part-time program that allows them to continue to work while earning an advanced degree. Students may apply for one of two program options: a three-year full program or a two-year advanced-standing program for those with a Bachelor’s of Social Work. The three-year degree program begins in January 2010; applications are due by Oct. 1. Classes are held four weekends per semester — three weekends in Brighton and one weekend in Fort Collins — with additional instruction delivered online. The master's program is also offered on the Fort Collins campus and through the Division of Continuing Education in Colorado Springs. Visit www.learn.colostate.edu/degrees or call (970) 491-5288 or (877) 491-4336 for more information.
|
