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UNT Insider | November 2011 issue | UNT forms partnership with Chinese research institution to study green building |
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UNT forms partnership with Chinese research institution to study green buildingFrom a UNT News Service press release |
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Warren Burggren, provost and vice president for academic affairs and a delegation of UNT administrators and faculty gather with Chinese officials at the American House in Beijing. UNT has signed a memorandum of understanding with Future House Real Estate Co. Ltd. a research institution in Beijing, to research and promote green building technologies. Warren Burggren, UNT's provost and vice president for academic affairs, signed the agreement in Beijing in October. The partnership expands UNT's role as a leader in zero-net-energy and lays the foundation for future projects with Chinese partners. UNT hopes to leverage the agreement to form a consortium known as the "U.S.-China Network and Demonstration Partnership for Zero-Net-Energy Research." The consortium would bring together U.S. and Chinese partners from industry and academia to conduct research in the area of zero-net-energy. The agreement also extends UNT's involvement with the American House, previously known as the Future House USA. Yong Tao, chair of UNT's Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, oversaw the design and construction of the house -- a 3,200 square-foot zero-net-energy house that was built in Beijing and displayed during the 2008 Olympic Games. UNT hopes to use the American House as a research facility for both American and Chinese students. "This project is a forward thinking U.S.-China research collaborative that takes advantage of UNT's strengths and pairs it with top institutions in China," Burggren says. "It really reflects the quality of our faculty and their ideas, plus creates unique research abroad opportunities for UNT students." Earlier this year UNT broke ground on a state-of-the-art Zero Energy Research Laboratory. The facility, which is located at UNT's Discovery Park campus, will provide students and faculty with first hand experience with the sustainable energy technologies of tomorrow. The Zero Energy Research Lab is scheduled to be completed in early 2012. Construction of the Zero Energy Research Lab and the agreement with Future House Real Estate Co. Ltd. support the goals of UNT's Renewable Energy and Conservation research cluster, one of 15 interdisciplinary research groups designed to address complex scientific, technological, environmental and societal problems. Alyssa Yancey with UNT News Service can be reached at Alyssa.Yancey@unt.edu. |
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