Upcoming Events
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··· March 17, 2010
Join the discussion with an expert panel on what kind of innovations in products,
finance, supply, and service can ensure reliable and affordable energy
to the billions of poor across the world. Intel Ronler Acres (RA1) Auditorium, 2501 N.W 229th Ave, Hillsboro, OR, 6-8 p.m.
··· April 12-14, 2010
The Building Enclosure Science & Technology Conference (Best2 is a coincidental acronym and is not affiliated with Oregon BEST) is a 3-day event focused on specific aspects of performance of building systems with a view to high energy efficiency, good indoor climate and long-term performance. Academic research complemented with "real world" applications and case studies.
··· April 21-22, 2010
A 2-day forum for learning, networking, and business development that brings together project
developers, service and equipment providers, energy end users,
utilities, government, and others involved in building the new energy
economy.
··· April 30-May 2, 2010
The 5th Annual Northwest Solar Expo & Clean Technology Showcase
2010 offers multiple networking opportunities for
business professionals, installers, integrators and potential solar and
clean energy customers.
··· September 13, 2010
BEST Fest 2010
Save the date of Monday, September 13th for this exciting one-day event in Portland that brings the best of Oregon BEST together to collaborate, innovate, and build community. Stay tuned for details.
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CONTACT US
Oregon BEST
P.O. Box 212
Portland, OR 97207
Tel. 503-725-9849
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BEST Hires Green Building Leader
Will Lead Sustainable Built Environment Program
 Johanna Brickman, a veteran of sustainable architecture and design, has joined Oregon BEST to lead
development of our Sustainable Built Environment Program, which includes prioritizing
research and investment agendas to build economic strength in Oregon and expanding the state's reputation as the national leader in green building innovation. Brickman comes to Oregon BEST following a nine-year tenure as Associate Partner
and firm-wide Director of Sustainability at Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects, LLP (ZGF), a nationally-recognized architecture, interiors, and urban design
firm headquartered in Portland. We welcome Johanna, and hope you'll connect with her soon. Read more >>
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SPOTLIGHT on Oregon BEST Research
Amplifying Solar Energy
Oregon BEST Research Team Explores Better Solar Cells
UO's David Cohen (left) and Steven Kevan  | The holy grail of solar energy
research is finding a way to boost the efficiency of solar cells. Now, a multi-university team of Oregon
BEST researchers believes this might be possible using a
little-explored theory that "amplifies" the photocurrent to convert more energy
from sunlight into electricity, instead of losing it as waste heat in the solar
cell.
"We're trying to improve the
conversion efficiency of sunlight in a photovoltaic device by taking the electrons
produced by high-energy photons and converting them into additional electrons
inside the PV device," says University of Oregon physics professor Steven Kevan, who is collaborating on
the project with fellow UO physics professor David Cohen and five other researchers. Read more >>
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Oregon BEST Researcher PROFILE
Greening Oregon's Transportation
Meet Oregon BEST Researcher Jennifer Dill
PSU's Jennifer Dill  | Choosing where we live impacts how we'll travel to and from
our homes. Jennifer Dill, Oregon BEST researcher and professor in the Portland State University School of Urban Studies & Planning, explores how
people's decisions to live in certain places impact their commuting patterns
and carbon footprints. She also studies how planning, policy, and physical environments play a role in where people choose to live and how they travel. Dill just received a $400,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation to study how bicycle boulevards (streets altered to slow and discourage automobile traffic while promoting
bicycling) influence the physical activity and
active transportation Click image to view Oregonian video  | choices of residents living along these streets. She and her students are also analyzing the effectiveness of the green 'bike boxes' painted on Portland streets. Read more >>
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Grass-Seed
Straw as Biofuel?
Oregon's
grass-seed industry is a vital
part of the state's economy, annually driving more than
$1.35 billion in economic activity for Oregon. Now a group of Oregon
BEST researchers is collaborating with Oregon grass-seed company Rose Agri-Seed to find ways of adding value to
the straw left behind after the seed is harvested. Ganti Murthy, director of the
Sustainable Technologies
Lab at OSU, is working with OSU professors Christine Kelly and Mike
Penner, to determine the viability of grass
straw as a feedstock for the production of biofuels.
"The big
question we're trying to answer
is, 'What are
the environmental, economic and energy benefits of using grass straw as a
feedstock for biofuels production in the Pacific Northwest?'" says
Murthy. Read more >>
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Executive Director's Report
Finding Tomorrow's Green Leaders
At Oregon BEST, our mission is helping fuel Oregon's green economy by supporting the creation of new jobs through innovation in sustainable
technologies. Part of that includes connecting entrepreneurial leaders with our university researchers.
For this reason, we're proud to be a community sponsor of Pivotal Leaders, a new
community-nominated and peer-selected network of top prospective clean
technology business leaders in the Northwest. By identifying and recognizing the
top current and prospective CEO and CTO talent in the region, Pivotal Leaders seeks to expand
resources for innovation in clean technology. The 2010 list of
Pivotal Leaders will be published in June and the network will provide a forum
for these leaders to partner, collaborate and seize opportunities in the green economy. Please join us in helping build a
sustainable economic future for the Northwest by submitting your nomination here. The deadline is March 17.
Also, be sure to save the date of Monday, September 13, 2010 for BEST Fest 2010 in Portland, when researchers, students, industry partners, and others will gather for a day of collaboration and community building. This year, we're pleased to be partnering with Innovate Collaborate Oregon on BEST Fest. David Kenney, President & Executive Director
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From Energy Assessments for Small Businesses to Wind Tunnels
Oregon BEST Researchers IN THE NEWS...
 ··· The Oregon Institute of Technology's Oregon Renewable Energy Center (OREC), directed by Oregon BEST Researcher TOM CHESTER, received a two-year, $100,000 grant from the U.S. Dept. of
Agriculture to assist Oregon small businesses and farmers with future renewable energy projects. Read more >> ··· RAŚL CAL, Oregon BEST Researcher and assistant professor in Portland State University's Dept. of
Mechanical and Materials Engineering, is helping bring a large wind-tunnel to Portland that could bolster the city's green cache by bringing top-level researchers
to the city. Read more >> |
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The Oregon Built Environment & Sustainable Technologies Center (Oregon BEST)
connects Oregon businesses with the state's shared network of university
labs to transform green building and renewable energy research into
on-the-ground products, services, and jobs that power Oregon's green
economy. Oregon BEST's founding partner universities include Oregon State University, the Oregon Institute of Technology, Portland State University, and the University of Oregon.
Oregon BEST · PO Box 212 · Portland, OR 97207-0212Tel. 503-725-9849 · On the web: oregonbest.org
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