CEES: (continued...)

Along with their help and the encouragement of Law School Dean David Getches, we succeeded beyond expectations by winning significant gifts and grants. The first was from the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP)—perhaps the most prestigious international renewable energy partnership of  governments and non-governmental organizations. We won many other gifts, grants, and contracts that enabled us to hire great      students who have done and continue to do excellent work on these externally funded projects.

Our reputation and profile as a non-partisan, interdisciplinary think tank on sustainable energy grew surprisingly quickly. The steady stream of funding we have received from the State of Colorado, private philanthropic organizations, and other institutions has enabled us to undertake very important research projects spanning state, national, and international issues pertaining to sustainable energy. Furthermore, we have been able to present outstanding public service programs, seminars, and other activities that attract large and informed audiences. EESI was a remarkable success.

Nonetheless, we understood the need to expand our activities—and cast our financial nets even further—if we were to grow to our optimal size. We also realized that we remained an initiative and did not enjoy the more recognized and prestigious university status of a Center. The University of Colorado boasts a wide variety of centers, institutes, laboratories, and bureaus. A sizable portion of them attract external funding. These entities generally combine a number of functions. They expand opportunities for student research and learning, faculty research and teaching, and public service. But obtaining Center status is not a quick or easy procedure. It involves a strenuous and time-consuming process of assessment and evaluation both within the Law School and the University of Colorado as a whole, without any guarantee of success.

Moving toward Center status entailed the preparation of numerous plans, and involved frequent consultations and meetings. It also included the drafting of By-Laws. We were required to present a general five-year plan covering objectives, activities, and programs, structure and organization, and long-term sustainability. We were also obliged to address our financial outlook, and draw up a five-year business plan and a five-year financial plan. These were reviewed by the law school as well as at the highest echelons of the University administration. Finally, we needed to receive an affirmative vote from the Law Faculty.  It is a testament to the superb work done by the students and staff of EESI that we received affirmative and enthusiastic support at each and every one of these stages. To our great joy, the process was capped by a unanimous affirmation vote by the Law Faculty. 

CEES is only the third center approved by the Law School in its 115-year history. Our application was shepherded with skill and dexterity by Associate Dean Dayna Matthew and Dean David Getches to whom we remain deeply indebted. The good ship CEES now proudly floats with its peer institutions, and we are privileged to fly the flags of the Law School and the University of Colorado at Boulder. We are about to set sail on a new and exciting voyage and look forward to an even brighter future.

Breakthroughs in Vehicle

Technology: The Race is On!

Gabriella Stockmayer, CEES 1L Volunteer

    On the evening of October 22, 2007 at the University of Colorado Law School, change was in the air. Before CEES and their co-hosts, the Rocky  Mountain Institute (RMI), presented an array of key advancements in vehicle technology, they publicly recognized each other’s most recent advancements. EESI had acquired center status within the University (please see EESI to CEES in this issue). And, after twenty-five years, the nationally recognized “think and do tank” RMI had gained a new CEO, Michael Potts. At the intersection of the respective mission statements behind CEES and RMI lay the driving force the event—the use of technological innovation to address the world’s energy crisis. At this event the focus was on advancing vehicle technology. 

First, Michael Ogburn, a product design engineer with RMI’s Transportation Innovation Group, uncovered an interesting truth—some of the most important energy efficiency technologies may be only as glamorous as wide-base tires and base flaps. How do you put a dent in the twenty-five trillion gallons of gas per year, twelve percent of U.S. oil, or $1 billion per day, that heavy trucks burn through? Along with engine and transmission technologies, it is necessary to think of trucks outside of their 80,000-pound boxes and chisel away at excessive drag, weight, and fuel usage. On the ground, Ogburn explained, new efficient dual tires decrease rolling resistance while use of wide-base tires reduces total truck weight by up to 1000 pounds. Next, reducing airflow between the tractor and trailer with side skirts, gap farings, and base flaps can add up to fifteen percent increased efficiency. Finally, heating the sleeping cabin by use of power units instead of idling can reduce fuel usage five-fold.  With these changes trucks can become twenty-five percent more efficient. Along with the six trillion gallons of gas that can be saved per year from such efficiency upgrades, companies like Wal-Mart, who have invested in such changes, can attest to huge savings in overall capital costs. 

Next, Jeff Ronning of RMI’s Plug-In Hybrid   Electric Team gave a run-down on modern technologies available for cars. Ronning echoed the importance of a “whole systems engineering” approach that strives to maximize separate parameters such as drag, mass, and power train efficiency for maximum overall efficiency.

See Breakthroughs, Page 8