Grant: Collaborative Research and Training Experience

Buildings are an important part of our lives; sustainable buildings are an important part of our future. The expansion of the sustainable-building industry is out-pacing the ability of the educational system to provide highly-qualified personnel (HQP) with relevant expertise in sustainable-building science. The building industry is under pressure to find innovative technological design solutions and to implement them. Academic programs have lagged the demand for livable spaces and 'green' buildings. This proposal aims to meet the need for HQP and innovative research and technology, by establishing the Sustainable Building Science Program (SBSP), creating a rich, inter-disciplinary, collaborative, scholarly environment for professional training and innovative research in sustainable-building science-that is, science and engineering applied to the design, creation, control, operation and monitoring of highly sustainable buildings that promote health, occupant satisfaction and have a low ecological footprint, and that must exist in the larger context of the community. The program is strategic in encompassing three NSERC target areas: environmental sciences and technologies, natural resources and energy, and health sciences. SBSP will be fully integrated with the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS). The proposed program will integrate and enhance existing expertise and synergies and, with CIRS and industry partners, focus these elements to develop a novel, holistic, interdisciplinary science of sustainable building. SBSP, modeled after the highly successful UBC Bridge Program, will train the next generation of building-design professionals by the consolidation and integration of interdisciplinary scientific education, the conduct of state-of-the art research and the study of real-world design challenges with a focus on sustainability. The SBSP is the first of its kind in Canada. It will engage undergraduates, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows to develop the scientific knowledge, technologies and professional skills necessary to optimize the design and performance of sustainable buildings. It will equip trainees for the new 'Green Economy'.