{"596421":{"#nid":"596421","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Student-Fueled Carbon Reduction Challenge Celebrates 10 Years","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBack in 2007, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS) Professor \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.eas.gatech.edu\/people\/Kim_Cobb\u0022\u003EKim Cobb\u003C\/a\u003E wanted to spark outside-the-box thinking among her undergraduate students about climate science. So she asked them to remove themselves from the Earth \u0026ndash; or rather, the Earth\u0026rsquo;s carbon dioxide footprint.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026ldquo;I wanted that year\u0026rsquo;s students to bank 10,000 pounds of carbon dioxide. That\u0026rsquo;s a quarter of a typical American\u0026rsquo;s CO\u003Csub\u003E2 \u003C\/sub\u003Efootprint on an annual basis. I thought that was a pretty good chunk,\u0026rdquo; says Cobb, who is also College of Sciences ADVANCE Professor and Georgia Power Chair. \u0026ldquo;As an example, I\u0026rsquo;m reducing roughly 1,000 pounds of CO2 per year as a daily bike commuter.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EShe celebrated when her class banked 50,000 pounds of CO\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E. The next year, her students doubled that figure. Not long after, Cobb integrated the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/shadow.eas.gatech.edu\/~kcobb\/energy\/e_crc.html\u0022\u003ECarbon Reduction Challenge\u003C\/a\u003E in the undergraduate course\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/shadow.eas.gatech.edu\/~kcobb\/energy\/e_crc.html\u0022\u003EEAS 3110\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u0026ldquo;Energy, the Environment, and Society.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe course\u0026rsquo;s success at motivating students to think green has Cobb taking steps to expand it to include more undergraduates, specifically those who are taking their first steps into the business world.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESince she started teaching EAS 3110, Cobb estimates that student-generated ideas that have been implemented have kept out 5 million pounds of CO2.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;People ask me what gets me out of bed in the morning as a climate scientist, and it\u0026rsquo;s really this class,\u0026rdquo; Cobb says. \u0026ldquo;What the students bring in terms of passion, they translate into tangible results and real-world outcomes that really add up.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/549091\u0022\u003Espring 2016\u003C\/a\u003E cohort offers a good example. Students placed a high-tech reflective coating on top of Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/philanthropy.gatech.edu\/building\/lamar-allen-sustainable-education-building\u0022\u003EO. Lamar Allen Sustainable Education Building\u003C\/a\u003E to cut down on absorbed heat. The retrofit cost $49,000, including a 20-year warranty, but the change is projected to save $60,000 in energy costs over the next 10 years while avoiding just under a million pounds of CO\u003Csub\u003E2 \u003C\/sub\u003Eemissions over the same time.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Summer 2017 Carbon Reduction Challenge represents the next phase of the program, which Cobb is undertaking with \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/directory\/faculty\/toktay\/index.html\u0022\u003EBeril Toktay\u003C\/a\u003E, professor of operations management and Brady Family Chair at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/index.html\u0022\u003EScheller College of Business\u003C\/a\u003E. Thanks to a grant from the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.raycandersonfoundation.org\/\u0022\u003ERay C. Anderson Foundation\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026rsquo;s NextGen Committee and the Scheller College Dean\u0026rsquo;s Innovation Fund, the program was expanded to include interns and co-op students from beyond EAS.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECobb says the ideas generated by the 20 students in the summer cohort could keep more than 2 million pounds of CO\u003Csub\u003E2 \u003C\/sub\u003Ea year from entering the atmosphere. The winning intern team, which worked at \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.suntrust.com\/\u0022\u003ESunTrust\u003C\/a\u003E Bank\u0026rsquo;s Atlanta headquarters, came up with solutions that will save the company millions of pounds of CO\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E and hundreds of thousands of dollars over a five-year period.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFor example, because most of the bank\u0026rsquo;s teammates relied on the default position in the rental car booking app they used, the interns simply switched the default position from intermediate-size cars to the more fuel-efficient economy-size cars.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe interns also proposed to expand Skype-style video conferencing as an alternative to short business trips. The technology would save on money and CO\u003Csub\u003E2\u003C\/sub\u003E emissions incurred during day-trip flights.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIt\u0026rsquo;s not every day that interns get to present recommendations like these to a company\u0026rsquo;s executive team. It\u0026rsquo;s even rarer when those executives decide to implement the interns\u0026rsquo; ideas within seconds of hearing them. Yet that\u0026rsquo;s exactly what happened, says \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/alex-ketchum-626b23a4\u0022\u003EAlex Ketchum\u003C\/a\u003E, an industrial engineering senior on the winning SunTrust team.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We wanted to make it easier for people to be sustainable and save carbon than not to save carbon,\u0026rdquo; he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERemembering previous Tech interns, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/amy-ross-95548710\u0022\u003EAmy Ross\u003C\/a\u003E, vice president of environmental sustainability at SunTrust, says, \u0026ldquo;Frankly, the bar has been set high before, so we were thrilled to see how fiercely they took to this project. They went above and beyond what I could have imagined.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EToktay saw the potential in matching Cobb\u0026rsquo;s class with interns and co-op students.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The most transformative part of this activity will be the conversations that will occur within companies about CO\u003Csub\u003E2 \u003C\/sub\u003Ereduction because of this project,\u0026rdquo; she says. \u0026ldquo;What they [SunTrust] really like is that you can be a sustainability champion from your desk, no matter where you are within a company. That\u0026rsquo;s the message they\u0026rsquo;re going to get out to all their teammates.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECobb says she is taking feedback on the past summer\u0026rsquo;s challenge while she and Toktay improve various aspects of the challenge ahead of a spring 2018 relaunch. Cobb is targeting new corporate partners, including major energy companies that could benefit the most from carbon reduction solutions that don\u0026rsquo;t require significant financial investments. That, she says, is the biggest takeaway from the Carbon Reduction Challenge: Companies don\u0026rsquo;t have to choose between greener strategies and profits.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We can do both,\u0026rdquo; Cobb says. \u0026ldquo;This is a quantifiable, tangible set of strategies that anyone can deploy to have a win-win solution on climate change.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Next phase involves Tech interns, co-op students pitching green solutions to companies  "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAfter 10\u0026nbsp;years of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences students taking part\u0026nbsp;in her Carbon Reduction Challenge, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Professor Kim Cobb is ready to involve more students \u0026ndash; and companies \u0026ndash; in the effort.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"An EAS professor is taking her Carbon Reduction Challenge to the next level."}],"uid":"34434","created_gmt":"2017-09-25 15:31:19","changed_gmt":"2017-09-25 18:10:37","author":"Renay San Miguel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2017-09-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2017-09-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"596422":{"id":"596422","type":"image","title":"The Ford Environmental Science and Technology Building atrium was abuzz during the poster session for the Summer 2017 Internship\/Co-op Carbon Reduction Challenge. (Photo by Renay San Miguel)","body":null,"created":"1506353967","gmt_created":"2017-09-25 15:39:27","changed":"1506353992","gmt_changed":"2017-09-25 15:39:52","alt":"","file":{"fid":"227308","name":"Summer CRC 1.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Summer%20CRC%201.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Summer%20CRC%201.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":131434,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Summer%20CRC%201.JPG?itok=vA_8Q8Mq"}},"596423":{"id":"596423","type":"image","title":"Kim Cobb (left) and Beril Toktay announce the winners of the inaugural Summer 2017 Internship\/Co-op Carbon Reduction Challenge. (Photo by Renay San Miguel)","body":null,"created":"1506354169","gmt_created":"2017-09-25 15:42:49","changed":"1506354169","gmt_changed":"2017-09-25 15:42:49","alt":"","file":{"fid":"227309","name":"Summer CRC 3.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Summer%20CRC%203.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Summer%20CRC%203.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":120188,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Summer%20CRC%203.JPG?itok=vCGxOhI4"}},"596424":{"id":"596424","type":"image","title":"A student interning at Delta Airlines explains her proposals for the company during the Aug. 14, 2017, poster session in the Ford Environmental Science and Technology Building.(Photo by Renay San Miguel)","body":null,"created":"1506354323","gmt_created":"2017-09-25 15:45:23","changed":"1506354367","gmt_changed":"2017-09-25 15:46:07","alt":"","file":{"fid":"227310","name":"Summer CRC 4.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Summer%20CRC%204.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Summer%20CRC%204.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":114101,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Summer%20CRC%204.JPG?itok=2kxSrOz0"}},"596428":{"id":"596428","type":"image","title":"These Tech students interning at SunTrust Bank\u2019s Atlanta HQ won the Summer 2017 Carbon Reduction Challenge. From left: Alex Ketchum, Sam Rubin, and Will Courreges-Clercq. (Photo by Yonatan Weinberg.) ","body":null,"created":"1506354763","gmt_created":"2017-09-25 15:52:43","changed":"1506354809","gmt_changed":"2017-09-25 15:53:29","alt":"","file":{"fid":"227312","name":"SunTrust CRC Students .jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/SunTrust%20CRC%20Students%20.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/SunTrust%20CRC%20Students%20.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":131163,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/SunTrust%20CRC%20Students%20.jpg?itok=ezKayPbo"}},"596429":{"id":"596429","type":"image","title":"Carbon reduction cupcakes! (Photo by Renay San Miguel) ","body":null,"created":"1506354944","gmt_created":"2017-09-25 15:55:44","changed":"1506354944","gmt_changed":"2017-09-25 15:55:44","alt":"","file":{"fid":"227313","name":"Summer CRC 7.JPG","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Summer%20CRC%207.JPG","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Summer%20CRC%207.JPG","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":154655,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Summer%20CRC%207.JPG?itok=tcQTZI2X"}}},"media_ids":["596422","596423","596424","596428","596429"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/549091","title":"Undergrads Help Save Money and Reduce Georgia Tech\u2019s Carbon Dioxide Emissions"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.raycandersonfoundation.org\/articles\/carbon-reduction-challenge-winners-announced-at-georgia-tech","title":"Carbon Reduction Challenge Winners Announced at Georgia Tech"},{"url":"https:\/\/www.scheller.gatech.edu\/news-events\/latest-news\/2017\/articles\/scheller-interns-suntrust-winning-team-carbon-reduction-challenge.html","title":"Scheller Interns at SunTrust Win Carbon Reduction Challenge"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"364801","name":"EAS"}],"categories":[{"id":"154","name":"Environment"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"166926","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences"},{"id":"167089","name":"Scheller College of Business"},{"id":"33791","name":"kim cobb"},{"id":"2813","name":"Beril Toktay"},{"id":"170436","name":"Carbon Reduction Challenge"},{"id":"1241","name":"Carbon dioxide emissions"},{"id":"1648","name":"Internships"},{"id":"5286","name":"co-op students"},{"id":"175666","name":"SunTrust Bank"},{"id":"175660","name":"Amy Ross"},{"id":"175661","name":"Alex Ketchum"},{"id":"54971","name":"Ray C. Anderson Foundation"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39491","name":"Renewable Bioproducts"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERenay San Miguel\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Officer\/Science Writer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n404-894-5209\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["renay.san@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}