BELOW, Rep. Dan Maffei (NY-25; second row, fourth from left) joins senior representatives and researchers from four SyracuseCoE member institutions at the CARTI IV award ceremony in June. The researchers will begin innovative projects to help improve the air quality of buildings and communities and protect water resources, thanks to $1.4 million in grants from the US Environmental Protection Agency. The Collaborative Activities for Research and Technology Innovation (CARTI) grants were awarded to nine projects aimed at investigating the role static electricity plays in indoor air quality; particulate matter in the Syracuse airshed; an air filter that utilizes plant microbes; the impact of daylighting on decision-making; whether certain common air particles damage the lungs; innovative real-time water quality sensors; water sensors that utilize holographic and quantum properties of hydrogels; and the role a stream's subsurface plays in stream restoration. Full project descriptions can be found on the SyracuseCoE website. For project investigators, their institutions, and the titles of the funded projects, click here.

The Sustainable Enterprise Partnership (SEP)--a collaboration among SyracuseCoE, SUNY-ESF, and Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management--has received a second $35,000 gift from SyracuseCoE Platinum Partner Carrier Corp. in support of the cutting-edge program, which provides world-class education and research on sustainable enterprise by leveraging the academic, public and private sector resources of Central New York and beyond. The program works to address this significant and growing area of concern for businesses and other organizations through the development of curricula, outreach, and collaborative research. For more information, click here.

Wind energy experts and staff from SyracuseCoE Platinum Partner Clarkson University (CU) are engaged in a review of D'Arcinoff Group technology and are working with other agencies in Central Upstate New York to encourage the firm to locate a portion of its operations in Massena, NY. The D'Arcinoff Group and its partners have developed an integrated, green energy supply system that delivers large-scale power generation, distribution, and storage, by maximizing efficiencies through innovative manufacturing design of wind turbines and proprietary slurry technology to transport hydrogen in conventional oil tankers from wind farms to industrial end-user destinations. Once fully implemented, the DG Energy System is expected to directly employ more than 100,000 people manufacturing, operating, and servicing its wind turbines, electrolysis units, and other related equipment at approximately 25 different major facilities in the US and Europe. Says Dr. Kenneth Visser of the CU Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, "The EDI wind turbine is a unique approach to industrial scale wind turbine design utilizing a twin rotor, aerodynamically effective concept that enables mass production of all the components." For more information, click here.

German energy firms were in Syracuse recently for the German American Bioenergy Conference held at the headquarters of SyracuseCoE Platinum Partner National Grid. The German firms selected Syracuse for the conference because of local resources and expertise devoted to biomass energy sources, such as wood and farm waste, which are hot-ticket items in Germany. Engineers from SyracuseCoE Platinum Partner O'Brien & Gere have partnered with one German company, Lahmeyer International, that they met at last year's conference. The two companies jointly won a bid to develop a wood-burning combined heat and power facility in Smethport, PA. For the full story from the Syracuse Post-Standard, click here.

According to a report by Next Generation Consulting, Syracuse is one of the best small cities for young professionals. Among the other top 20 cities with populations of 100,000 to 200,000 were Salt Lake City, UT, and Charleston, SC. Fort Collins, CO was ranked number one. Carissa Mathews, the new Assistant Communications Manager at SyracuseCoE, was among those interviewed for the story. For the full story from the News10Now website, click here.