Two second-year students at UCI, chemistry major Bryan Le and film and media studies major Kyle Good, won the X PRIZE Foundation's "What's Your Crazy Green Idea" contest on February 5. Contestants were asked to pitch an eco-friendly idea within two minutes through a video post on YouTube. Le and Good pitched their idea of an "ultra-capacitor," an energy storing device that uses only self-contained capacitors that can be fully recharged under one minute and can be completely recyclable. A prize check of $25,000 was awarded to the students from Prize Capital.
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Two Learn about Green Campus' efforts to reduce energy consumption at UC Irvine. Read more in their January 2009 Newsletter. (pdf)

UCI epidemiologists Dr. Ralph Delfino and Jun Wu will use a $500,000 grant from the California Air Resources Board to conduct the most comprehensive study to date on how exposure to traffic-related air pollution varies depending on driving patterns. The researchers will analyze concentrations of regulated and potentially toxic unregulated air pollutants inside vehicles. Exposures will be mapped across time and space continuously by using video cameras and GPS units as vehicles are driven thousands of miles on busy Southern California streets and freeways. Findings will aid Delfino and Wu’s studies on the possible health effects of air pollutants on pregnant women and newborn babies and on the development of asthma and allergies in children. Results also will apply to the evaluation of pollutants from gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles.
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The University of California saved more than $12 million in operations costs in 2008 by focusing on sustainability practices and is garnering national recognition for its green efforts. UC officials delivered their annual Policy on Sustainable Practices report to the regents Feb. 3. The 5-year-old policy establishes ambitious goals to advance environmental practices at UC campuses, ranging from energy efficiency to sustainable purchasing practices.
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Graduate student Sara Kirker first noticed how the service industry affects the environment while working as a waitress at a resort in her native Hawaii. “Food preparation has a huge impact on the environment,” says Kirker, who is pursuing a master’s in urban & regional planning at UCI. “Switching to ceramic cups from paper and buying locally grown foods can really make a difference.” Kirker is part of UCI’s Community Scholars Program, which pairs students with community organizations to address housing, economic development and environmental concerns.
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Scott Samuelsen is UCI’s go-to guy on fuel cell and hydrogen technology. Samuelsen led the development of UCI’s hydrogen fueling station, the most technologically advanced, publicly accessible station in the world. It was the first of its kind in Orange County, and it is a key component of the California Hydrogen Highway Network. Photo by Daniel A. Anderson.
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UCI has been named a “Climate Action Leader” by the California Climate Action Registry. The campus has met the rigorous requirements of verifying its 2007 greenhouse gas emissions inventory to receive the status. UCI’s 2007 entity-level emissions report is now available online.
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John Hemminger, physical sciences dean, and colleagues briefed the U.S. Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee and the House of Representatives Committee on Science & Technology Feb. 3 on a report they authored on the energy/environment crisis. The 13-page report makes the case that real solutions to the crisis will require basic research in the areas of chemistry and physics. On Wednesday, Feb. 4, Hemminger and colleagues will brief the Center for Strategic & International Studies, a bipartisan, nonprofit public policy organization in Washington, D.C. The full report and a one-page summary can be found online.
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