News and Notes by Date
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
Student-Led Coalitions at Bard, University at Buffalo, and Broome Community College Awarded $1 Million Each to Develop Innovative Clean Energy Projects in Their Communities
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that New York State will award $1 million each to Bard College, University at Buffalo, and Broome Community College as part of the “Energy to Lead Competition.” The competition was announced by the Governor in October 2015 and challenged student-led coalitions from New York colleges and universities across the state to develop plans for local clean energy projects on campus and in their communities. The announcement was made Monday at Bard College.“On behalf of the College I would like to thank the Governor’s office and NYSERDA for this important award,” said Bard College President Leon Botstein. “Innovation is at the core of Bard’s mission, and this award helps us to continue to innovate in environmental issues and energy conservation, and to signal the importance of these issues to the entire higher education community.”
Bard College’s “Micro Hydro for Macro Impact” project will show how novel microhydro power generators can dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, be financed in different ways, and integrate into student curricula and workforce training. The project is expected to result in the avoidance of 335 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, and will also include the launch of an online public information resource, “NY Micro Hydro,” to help others install microhydro power throughout the state.
“The winners of this competition will transform ideas into real clean energy solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower energy bills and improve resiliency for campuses and their surrounding communities,” Governor Cuomo said. “I extend my congratulations to the winning students and faculty, and commend them for their commitment to combating climate change by building a cleaner and healthier environment.”
The Energy to Lead Competition is part of Governor Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) strategy to build a clean, resilient and affordable energy system for all New Yorkers. Through REV, New York State has set the following 2030 energy targets: generate 50 percent of electricity from renewable energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels and reduce energy consumption in buildings by 23 percent from 2012 levels. Collectively, the three winning college projects will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of taking 17,000 cars off the road each year.
The $3 million competition was administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and was open to student-led coalitions from two- or four-year public or private colleges or universities. The competition challenged schools to develop ideas for innovative projects in energy efficiency, renewable energy or greenhouse gas emission reduction on campus, in the classroom and in surrounding communities.
Applicants were required to demonstrate innovation in one or more of the following areas: project design, business model, partnerships, and/or curriculum integration. They were also asked to describe the project’s impact on greenhouse gas emissions, how they would measure success and how they would use the $1 million award to advance the project.
“Students bring a unique urgency, passion and creativity to the fight against climate change.” Richard Kauffman, chair of energy and finance for New York State. “As we remake our energy system in New York, we are thrilled to harness the leadership of our young people to help us do it faster, cheaper and bigger than any other state. I look forward to the next phase, when the winners will turn these strong ideas into real projects for the benefit of their colleges, their communities and the state as a whole.”
“New York is a national leader in developing innovative energy solutions to protect our environment and grow our economy,” John B. Rhodes, president and CEO of NYSERDA. “Congratulations to the winners and all the participants in ‘Energy to Lead’ for taking up this challenge and developing compelling ideas that not only solve critical energy issues on their campuses and communities, but that also make a point of ensuring others can learn from and replicate their success.”
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
Senior biology major Andrea Szegedy-Maszak came to Bard from Middletown, Connecticut, where both her parents are professors at Wesleyan. Bard was the first school she visited on her tour of colleges, and it immediately felt like “The One.” Although she applied to other schools, it was clear that Bard was the right place for her. The Language and Thinking program, held every August for incoming first-years, confirmed her feelings. “Everyone was talking in a way that I hadn’t seen young people talk before, even though we had all only known each other for six hours,” she recalls. “I was surrounded by people talking about interesting things and it felt really good.”
Intrigued by brain imaging techniques and neural anatomy, Andrea came to Bard intending to be a psychology major. It was in Citizen Science, the three-week science intensive for first-years during winter intersession, that she realized she wanted to study biology as a first step on the road to studying neuroscience. The following spring, she took Professor Brooke Jude’s microbiology course for majors and nonmajors and never looked back. Bard’s Biology Program is small and intimate; students are given a lot of individualized attention from professors and have top-notch facilities at their disposal. “That’s something that sets us apart,” she observes. “If you go to a big research university, you just don’t get that kind of attention or even facility access as an undergraduate.”
Citizen Science made a huge impression on Andrea. The civic outreach activities, such as going to a local middle school to run science experiments for the sixth grade class, encouraged her interest in education. Last year, Andrea became a teaching fellow. These students opt to stay on campus during Citizen Science, assisting first-years and visiting faculty in the lab. In some cases, her job is to make sure that all materials for the day’s assignment are prepped; in others, professors have their fellows lead the lab instruction, an opportunity a student at a larger research institution might not have until graduate school. Andrea loves to work with students who have never been in a lab before and to make science fun and accessible so that they might enjoy it the way she does. Working as a teaching fellow, she says, “is going to be my most potent, tangible Bard memory forever.”
Andrea also works with the Center for Civic Engagement (CCE), mentoring for the Rhinebeck Science Fair. Thanks to funding through CCE, Andrea and a friend were able to run a full-time science summer camp last summer at four different public libraries in the area: Red Hook, Germantown, Poughkeepsie, and High Plains. The weeklong camps ran from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and were free to attend.
Andrea is inspired by the multilayered intellectual, creative, and academic interests of Bard students. Distribution requirements ensure students try their hand at many different disciplines. This leads to a campus full of people with highly varied interests who have explored many areas of academic life. For instance, Andrea is currently taking a music class in psychoacoustics. A few of her classmates want to be music and art therapists and, encouraged by the Bard administration, are currently constructing their own majors using psychology, science, music, and dance.
After taking a high-level neuroscience course last semester, Andrea began thinking about the relationship between autism and pre- and postnatal serotonin exposure. She is now hoping to work independently with new neuroscience professor Arseny Khakhalin on a project that examines the neuroscience behind developmental effects of early serotonin exposure.
Andrea is looking forward to her Senior Project this year, which involves researching the mechanisms behind bacteria-powered fuel cells with Brooke Jude as her adviser. She has also been accepted into the Bard Master of Arts in Teaching 3+2 Program, which means she’ll be incorporating an educational element into the Senior Project, such as how to use the fuel cells as a teaching tool or how to best incorporate them into different curricula. As an MAT graduate student, she’ll spend a fifth year at Bard and graduate with a master’s degree and a New York State certification in teaching biology.
Bard has changed Andrea’s life. As a school, it sets high standards that students are encouraged—even expected—to go above and beyond. “I’ve learned to work really hard here,” she explains. “I’ve learned that I can meet the high standards that are set for me academically, but I can also make my own standards for what I am and what I need. It’s been unbelievable.”