BCT students involved in energy assessment of local food co-op

Together with BCT faculty member Ben Weil, several energy auditing BCT students participated in the project mentioned below. They conducted a thermographic scan and pressure test of the building and will be calibrating an energy model to allow the co-op to size a heating system that will primarily use waste heat from the refrigerators and the freezers. QUABBIN HARVEST ZERO NET ENERGY BUILDING GRANT February 25, 2015 The Massachusetts Pathways to Zero grant program of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources has approved the application from the North Quabbin Community Food Coop for funding a Zero Net Energy Design.  Quabbin Harvest, a community based grocery store is, by nature, an energy intensive operation.  A zero net energy building is very energy efficient produces what little energy it does consume through on-site renewable energy (over the course of a year). The task is to find ways to operate both the building and the store without any extra energy that would normally be required from traditional sources. "Massachusetts is supporting...
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Where did the BCT students go?

Where did the BCT students go?

As it turns out, to a bunch of different places: Iceland, Ireland, UK, Australia!!! We now have a nice map with pins that show where BCT students went for their semesters abroad. You can find it and links to programs that can get you too to discover the world while studying on our "Study Abroad Programs" webpage: https://www.umass.edu/bct/for-students/study-abroad-programs/ Don't forget to click on the map pins to get comments and tips. (If you went and we forgot to put your pin on there, email us and we'll add you, too!)...
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BCT NAHB Student Chapter Volunteers for Rebuilding Springfield

BCT NAHB Student Chapter Volunteers for Rebuilding Springfield

On Saturday April 26th the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Student Chapter in BCT volunteered for Rebuilding Springfield. The rainy weather did not stop the NAHB members and the many other volunteers from cleaning up yards, fixing homes, and helping out residents of the neighborhood. Students at this event were Neil Hourahan, John Coroa, John Yip, Chloe Rutkowski, Frankie Kelly and Tom Bliss. The NAHB is looking forward to other volunteer opportunities and any students interested in joining the group can find more information here: https://www.umass.edu/bct/for-students/nahb-student-chapter/ ...
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BCT Student Chapter Wins Award at International Builders’ Show

BCT Student Chapter Wins Award at International Builders’ Show

This past week, the UMass chapter of the National Association of Homebuilders travelled to Las Vegas to compete in the Residential Construction Management Competition, a star feature of the International Builders’ Show. This was UMass’ first time ever being represented at the RCMC after many past chapters had tried to complete the project, but failed due to lack of organization and funding. The Residential Construction Management Competition requires each student chapter to play the role of a construction company and develop a fully comprehensive development proposal for a real plot of land in the United States. This year the site was a 60-acre plot of land in Aurora, Colorado, just east of Denver. The UMass Chapter, also known as Minuteman Construction Co., proposed a 40-home neighborhood targeting the move up market (household income $80,000-$100,000) that focused on affordability, sustainability, and connectivity. Co-presidents Tom Bliss and John Coroa were the only returning members to the chapter this year after the disappointment of...
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BCT PhD student’s “UMass 9/11 Intervention” on display in Campus Center

BCT PhD student’s “UMass 9/11 Intervention” on display in Campus Center

This work, designed and built by BCT Ph.D. student Soroush Farzinmoghadam, is in tribute to the victims of 2001 terrorist attacks. From Soroush's website: 9/11 was a terrorist attack on the United States and the entire international community. Thousands perished; innocent citizens from over ninety different nations. It has changed the history much as Japan’s strike against Pearl Harbor. The 9/11 attacks triggered the United States’ ongoing war against terrorism, starting with Afghanistan as a chain of targets intended to overthrow the Taliban, changing the course of world history. The significance of the incidence and severity of traumatic loss makes a well-deserved concern for a memorial on the UMASS campus in tribute to those loved souls of the blameless victims of that horrifying tragedy, and to the ongoing legacy of pain and horror engendered by that seminal event. It is worth mentioning that a UMASS community member (Christoffer Carstanjen, a computer research specialist) lost his life in that violent aggression. It is also worth...
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