NYIT alumni harness the power of sustainable technology and green practices to make for a healthier, more energy-efficient world

By Michael Schiavetta (M.A. '07)

When A.J. Mesiti (M.S. ’10) first learned about NYIT’s energy management program, it was like a light bulb had lit up in his head—one that uses 75 percent less energy, lasts five times longer, and saves hundreds of dollars in electricity costs per year.

The Baldwin, N.Y., native serves as operations manager for Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. His mission: to design and implement energy management programs for the five-million-square-foot academic medical facility. This includes a comprehensive infrastructure survey to improve and conserve energy use for plumbing, lighting, information technology, and heating/venting/air conditioning.

“When I first started, I generated data on the center’s energy uses and then designed 12 programs, each of them focusing on ways to save energy,” says Mesiti. “I set out to determine the biggest bang for the buck, finding ways to improve energy efficiency in areas such as heating and cooling by sequencing them to operate at different loads.”

These “low-cost/high-efficiency” measures saved 8 percent in energy consumption—even though Mesiti’s original goal was only 2 percent. “This translates into millions of dollars in energy savings,” he says.

Mesiti is among the hundreds of NYIT alumni harnessing the power of environmental or green technology, helping companies, governments, and consumers reduce power costs through sustainable methods that lead to a healthier, more energy-efficient planet. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in the green technology sector are expected to outpace other careers by 20 percent annually through 2018. The field of energy management is experiencing unprecedented growth, due to the restructuring of the utility industry, the automation of building management systems, and global corporations using technology to improve and streamline all areas of operational efficiency. Trained professionals skilled in monitoring energy use among software, hardware, security, and system management are at a premium. 

Mesiti’s interest in energy management actually stems from his childhood love of robots. As a boy, he created small robots using household motors, read science fiction novels, and once converted a mechanized Santa Claus doll into an alien for Halloween.  

“The Santa Claus robot held a candle and was waving it around,” says Mesiti. “So I stripped it down to make it an alien moving around and holding a laser gun. I was always able take things apart and get them to do what I wanted.”

When it came time to choose a graduate school, NYIT’s robotics program interested him but the energy management curriculum got him hooked.

“Once I started looking into it, I really liked what I saw,” says Mesiti. “The thing that struck me the most was the professional experience of the instructors. Many of them were seasoned veterans in utilities and plant operations. Their teachings were very relevant to the knowledge students needed in their careers as opposed to purely academic textbook learning. The level of excitement among students was something I never experienced.” 

At Mount Sinai, Mesiti has the opportunity to put his robotics experience into action. “The logic skill set you need to program robots is relevant to what I do,” he says. Equipment variable frequency drives—think complicated versions of light bulb dimmer switches—control various temperature systems, but their use varies on demand. 

“You only have them operating when you need to,” says Mesiti. Programming the frequency drives requires computer logic skills using “If/Then” statements to control energy output based on time of day, local temperature, and other factors.

Mesiti predicts much of the sustainable technology and best practices used in businesses will trickle down to residential use over the next few years. On the commercial side, however, environmentally friendly power use will continue to be driven by energy managers. 

“I’m seeing more energy managers in hospitals and other institutions,” says Mesiti. “It’s really shaping the industry.”

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