NSF Award
0347918
Abstract - SGER: Quantifying Flows of Resources and Wastes During Construction of Milwaukee School of Engineering's Kern Center<br/><br/>The overall goal of research is to collect, quantify and model environmental impacts of the construction process. The construction industry collects information but not information related to environmental impact, i.e., energy use, material use, and emissions during construction. The data is perishable in the sense that the PI has secured access and cooperation to collect data that does not appear in the literature or in any known database. This represents a unique opportunity to collect baseline information necessary to quantify and evaluate environmental aspects and impacts of a construction project. Knowledge of the environmental data can be used to develop the framework for data collection and ultimately a model that can be applied to other construction projects and disseminated throughout the industry. The goal is to provide a rational basis for reducing future environmental impacts of the construction process in a way that is also beneficial to the industry.<br/>Research results will be incorporated into a new, required course on Environmental Science in Building Construction. The data will also be disseminated to industry audiences and conferences. The materials, energy, emissions, and waste data will be normalized and enable comparison with other construction projects. The institution is a Primarily Undergraduate Institution so this research may attract students to graduate engineering school.
