On Oct. 9, US Energy Secretary Steven Chu (below, center) visited Syracuse to learn more about renewable energy projects at SyracuseCoE Platinum Partner SUNY-ESF, as well take a first-hand look at the new SyracuseCoE headquarters building in downtown Syracuse. During Chu's tour of the HQ, experts from SyracuseCoE collaborators Syracuse University, Carrier Corp., CDH Energy, Northeast Green Building Consulting, and SUNY-ESF presented various features of the building and described SyracuseCoE projects. Earlier, Chu and US Rep. Dan Maffei (NY-25) announced that $63 million in federal stimulus money for energy projects has been released to New York, for a total of $123 million. The city of Syracuse will get $1.44 million to make municipal buildings, parking garages, and parks more energy-efficient. "We have an incredible opportunity,'' Chu said. "We essentially need a new industrial revolution, to give us the energy we want but in a much cleaner way.'' For coverage of Chu's visit to SUNY-ESF, click here.

The Thousand Islands Energy Research Forum will be hosted by the Great Lakes Sustainable Energy Consortium, a Canada-US collaboration of academic and industry partners serving to foster technical research, public policy options, and commercial developments in sustainable energy strategies on both sides of the border. SyracuseCoE, along with other academic and industry partners including SyracuseCoE Platinum Partners Clarkson University, SUNY-ESF, and Syracuse University, have joined with Canadian colleagues in academia and industry to pursue collaborations along the I-81 Corridor through Central Upstate New York and Eastern Ontario. The forum will take place in Alexandria, NY from Oct. 23 to 25. The program is of interest to industry leaders, researchers, and graduate students. There will be student poster presentations as well as technical sessions discussing socio-economic challenges and their solutions. For more information, click here.

The MDA is pleased to announce that it will provide scholarships for five people from the business community in New York's Creative Core to reimburse the cost of registration for the Greenbuild Conference in Phoenix, Arizona from November 10-13, 2009. This major conference provides a tremendous opportunity for the Creative Core to market itself to the Green Building Community, and those who attend the conference will have a chance to network with green building experts from around the world. In addition, registration will provide access to the exhibit hall where more than 1,000 companies will feature displays showing the newest and best products, technologies and services related to green buildings. These scholarships will reimburse the cost of full conference registration, up to a $975 value, to make it possible for people to attend who otherwise might not have the ability to cover the registration cost. To apply for one of the scholarships e-mail Mike Novakowski at mnovakowski@mda-cny.com and include your business name, how your business is related to green building, and why you would be a good person to promote the region. Applications must be received by October 23, 2009.

SyracuseCoE Platinum Partner SUNY ESF and the US Green Building Council New York Upstate Chapter (USGBC) will host SUNY-ESF's 8th Annual Green Building Conference at the Oncenter on March 10 and 11, 2010. The conference will promote, educate, and support green building design, construction, and processes. Key speakers include Sarah Susanka, an archictect, cultural visionary, and bestselling author of "The Not So Big House" and "The Not So Big Life," and Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO, & Founding Chairman of the USGBC and a SyracuseCoE Board Member. For more information, click here.

SyracuseCoE Platinum Partner O'Brien & Gere is hosting a technical seminar focused on greenhouse gases (GHGs). Through a recent endangerment finding, the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has formally recognized greenhouse gases (GHGs) as a new class of pollutants, and Congress is in the process of establishing a GHG cap-and-trade program to dramatically reduce emissions by mid-century. Participants will learn about these and other policy developments and how organizations can respond and take advantage of the opportunities they may present. The seminar--entitled "The Changing Climate of Climate Change Seminar"--will be held at the Rochester Institute of Technology Inn & Conference Center in Rochester, NY on Nov. 3 from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, click here.

Shane Rogers, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Clarkson University, has received the St. Lawrence Section Outstanding Teaching Award by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). Rogers was one of only nine winners nationwide. Rogers teaches courses in introduction to environmental engineering, water and wastewater treatment processes, and graduate-level environmental biological processes. In 2008, Rogers received the McKee Groundwater Protection, Restoration, and Sustainable Use Medal for his research on expedited site characterization of aquifers contaminated with coal tar compounds at former manufactured gas plants. For more information, click here.

SyracuseCoE Silver Partner the Syracuse City School District has designed and implemented a new career-intensive high school curriculum at its Institute of Technology. Now students enrolled in the School of Engineering & Design and the School of Human & Behavioral Science are seeking internship opportunities in a variety of fields including: Engineering, Automotive, Education, Medical Science, Computer Science & Programming, and Architecture. An informational meeting will be held Nov. 4, 2009 at the The Tech Garden, 235 Harrison Street, Syracuse. Refreshments will be provided.  The presentation will begin at 8:15 a.m. and conclude with a Q&A at 9 a.m. RSVP to eventplanning@clearchannel.com

SyracuseCoE Gold Partner BITZER Scroll, a leading European manufacturer of large-scale, commercial compressors, cut the ribbon on its new facility Oct. 13. Since establishing its new Syracuse location last year, the company has invested more than $20 million and at present employs 50 people. BITZER's Syracuse plant occupies 60,000 square feet in the Salina Industrial Powerpark. The BITZER Companies have locations worldwide, however, the Syracuse site is the company's first and only design and manufacturing center outside of Germany. The facility has been making sample products since April 2009 and received its first customer order in August. BITZER based its move to Syracuse in part because of the world-class talent that resides here and the region's strengths in energy and environmental systems research and development.