Space Coast Community Celebrates Its 25th Year Recognizing Exemplary Science Teachers

Six outstanding science teachers received the distinguished Exemplary Science Teacher Award from the Space Coast Science Education Alliance (SCSEA) last Space Coast Science Education Alliance SCSEA logoweek at a dinner honoring their achievement. The award is given in recognition of Brevard County teachers who go above and beyond to foster a love of learning and develop science literacy among their students.  

“When SCSEA started this program 25 years ago, it was to encourage exemplary science teachers to keep up their great work, and for the community to say thank you for the sacrifices that teachers and their families make. That goal remains the same,” said Susan Schleith, SCSEA treasurer and FSEC educator. “Our outstanding science teachers are the key reason Brevard is among the top Florida school districts in science education.”       

The dinner was hosted by UCF’s Florida Solar Energy Center®, where FSEC Deputy Director, Philip Fairey, addressed the teachers with some notable remarks. “The scientific method is rigorous—requiring defensible evidence-based results. Science is not a belief as some claim. Rather, it is a method of discovery that has significantly improved human existence over time. And this is what you do—you teach our children what science is and why it is so important.”

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New Tool Calculates Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Buildings

RESNET’s new tool is called the CO2e Rating Index and is the first of its kind.

A first-of-its-kind tool that UCF’s FSEC Energy Research Center helped develop can calculate how much carbon dioxide buildings and homes produce. Image credit: Adobe Stock

A building science expert with the FSEC Energy Research Center is part of a team that recently developed a first-of-its-kind tool that can calculate how much carbon dioxide buildings and homes produce.

“Climate change is a real problem, and the leading cause of it is carbon dioxide emissions,” says Philip Fairey, Deputy Director of FSEC, Florida’s premier energy research center at the University of Central Florida. “While the auto industry has made great strides in reducing carbon emissions from vehicles, the most well-known emitter of CO2, many people don’t know that buildings themselves are responsible for about 35% of greenhouse gas emissions due to burning fossil fuels for power, heating and cooling.”

Fairey is a board member of the Residential Energy Services Network, or RESNET, which created the tool. RESNET is a not-for-profit organization founded to develop a national market for home energy efficiency.

“With the nation’s climate goal of reducing U.S. emissions by half by the year 2030, it’s vital to have measurement tools to determine what causes these emissions and how to reduce them,” Fairey says. “That’s where RESNET comes in.”

RESNET’s new tool is called the CO2e Rating Index and is the first of its kind.

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FSEC EARNS 2022 ENERGY STAR® MARKET LEADER AWARD

COCOA, FL, June 30, 2022 – FSEC Energy Research Center at the University of Central Florida is proud to announce that it has earned a 2022 ENERGY STAR® Market Leader Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in recognition of its contribution to verifying energy-efficient new homes that have earned ENERGY STAR certification. ENERGY STAR certified homes are at least 10% more energy efficient than those built to code and achieve a 20% improvement on average while providing homeowners with better quality, performance, and comfort.

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FSEC Energy Research Center Program Director Recognized by Congress

Muthusamy Swami was honored for his contributions to the field of building energy conservation and climate change, as well as his leadership in the local community.

On Thursday, May 19, Rep. Darren Soto of Florida met with Muthusamy Swami at Valencia College in Kissimmee, Florida, and recognized him as a distinguished leader in Central Florida as part of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month celebrations.

Swami, the program director of Simulation Software Development at the FSEC Energy Research Center, a part of the University of Central Florida, was honored due to his contributions to the field of building energy conservation and climate change in over 40 years at FSEC ERC, as well as for his leadership in the Central Florida community.

FSEC Energy Research Center Director of Simulation Software Development Muthusamy Swami receives an award from Rep. Darren Soto of Florida.

Since joining FSEC ERC in 1982, Swami has lead analytical research and software capability development, with his primary area of research being the development of accurate simulation models and detailed analyses of elements relating to building energy use and indoor air quality. A major result of Swami’s research is a nationally recognized analysis tool called the Florida Software for Environmental Computation (FSEC 3.0), which is being used for research in new and innovative building technologies. He has also managed projects with the Florida Radon Research Program, as well as the United States Navy.

Swami has numerous publications in his areas of expertise and has been a project manager or team lead on several externally sponsored research projects valued at millions of dollars.

“Swami has not only been a pillar of the cultural community in Central Florida but he has also provided key leadership in the development of software tools that are used across the nation to aid in the energy efficiency and sustainability of building designs,” says Phillip Fairey, deputy director for FSEC ERC. “His research work in this arena will be of seminal value to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from building energy use and to the long-term sustainability of the planet.”

Not only has Swami contributed heavily to energy conservation, his passion for his community has been evident. He is a founding member of the Muthamizh Sangam of Central Florida, which is a nonprofit devoted to the awareness and promotion of Tamil culture in Central Florida. He was also the president of the Hindu Society of Central Florida from 2012-2013.

“His strength lies in providing leadership in growing the community and bringing them together, which he has done with great success,” said Soto during the awards presentation. “He has been instrumental in setting up language schools to preserve the native language, providing leadership training to youth, recruiting and posting students for internships, and advising design teams to win national awards. One such is a first-place design award for the team to him for faculty advising.”

“This award is not just for me; it’s for the entire community, especially those working tirelessly behind the scenes,” Swami says. “Volunteering has given me a greater sense of satisfaction than many other successes in life. It has helped me become a better person, and better able to put myself in other’s shoes and empathize with others better.”

 

PR22-09

EnergyWhiz 2022 Returns to FSEC ERC with New Events, Same Competitive Spirits

Neither the cloudy forecast nor pandemic concerns were enough to discourage the teams that came together on Saturday, April 30th for the 2022 EnergyWhiz event!

EnergyWhiz is a daylong celebration of sustainable solutions, creativity and engineering skills, where students from throughout Florida came together to showcase their renewable energy projects. This year, elementary, middle, and high school teams designed and built everything from solar-powered electric vehicles to sun-powered cookers and “green” homes for pets and other critters to showcase and share at EnergyWhiz.

The event, presented this year by sponsor Florida Power and Light Company, is hosted each year at the FSEC Energy Research Center, a research institute at the University of Central Florida, located at the Cocoa Campus of the UCF and Eastern Florida State College.

This year’s EnergyWhiz competitors participated in one of six categories: Junior Solar Sprint, Critter Comfort Cottage, Energy Inspired Art, Energy Innovations, Energy Transfer Machine and the Solar Energy Cook-off. Each competition category incorporates some type of energy efficiency measure or renewable energy technology. 

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