Green NYIT:
A Sustained Focus on Sustainability

NYIT is committed to environmental sustainability in research and in practice. Students and faculty have taken the lead in alternative energy research dating back to the early 1970s. Today NYIT strives to innovate across its global campuses, searching for a more perfect campus "green print." It's part of what NYIT President Edward Guiliano, Ph.D., has called a "sustained focus on sustainability."
 

Teaching Sustainability

NYIT's faculty are teaching the next generation of sustainability experts through majors in Architecture,  Energy Management, and Environmental Technology, and tackling real-world problems at the Center for Water Resource Management, the Center for Energy, Environment and Economics, and the Center for Metropolitan Sustainability. Reaching across academic disciplines for answers, NYIT offers a combined degree in Architecture and Energy Management.

Professional engineers and licensed architects come to NYIT for continuing education courses -- approved by the New York State Education Department -- for reregistration of their professional licenses. Graduate-level advanced certificate programs are available in Environmental Management, Energy Technology, Facilities Management, and Infrastructure Security Management. NYIT also offers a certificate program in Sustainable Building Practices.

Student Success in Green Research

In 2005 and 2007, teams of NYIT students participated in the international Solar Decathlon competition during which they designed and built solar-powered homes at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The 2005 Solar House is now located at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Park, N.Y., and the 2007 home is part of the Town of Hempstead's Energy Park.

NYIT architecture students are involved in real-world projects focusing on sustainable practices in Staten Island, N.Y.'s waterfront revitalization and in Port Jefferson, NY.

Scholars Gather to Find Green Solutions

Bringing together the best and brightest in academia, business, and government is one way NYIT strives to be green. For four years, NYIT has hosted annual conferences on energy, focued on policies and technology that will provide for a promising green future. In 2008, NYIT sponsored its first International Water Conference at the United Nations in New York that brought together business leaders, government officials, and NGOs to seek solutions to dire drinking water shortages throughout the world. The university co-hosted a 2007 summit in South Korea on energy, alternative energy, and the needs of the developing world. In April 2010, NYIT co-hosted with the Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications (NUPT) the “Think Green: Energy, Education, and Environmental Initiatives” global forum in Nanjing, China. The forum attracted Chinese and U.S. government officials, leaders in higher education, and innovators and executives in the public and private sectors to discuss the importance of partnerships in promoting sustainable initiatives through innovation, investments, and education.
 

Ground-breaking Research on Alternative Vehicles

In the early 1970s, NYIT faculty and students began designing and constructing hybrid electric vehicles and working on a hydrogen-powered engine--long before these technologies entered the mainstream. During the mid-1990s, NYIT students built and drove high-performance hybrid vehicles, competing annually in a national competition. NYIT's research has led to patents on energy transmission systems and a means for controlling the discharge of the hybrid's energy storage.

Today, NYIT is committed to growing its fleet of hybrid and electric vehicles, acting locally to reduce emissions across our campuses.

Innovative Campus Green Print

Thanks to a $500,000 federal grant obtained with the assistance of Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.), NYIT has developed a unique green print focusing on: LEED-compliant, energy-efficient campus construction; hybrid fleet vehicles; recycling and use of recycled paper; green cleaning methods; and "paperless" products, including class schedules. NYIT seeks to measure its carbon footprint across its many campuses, research energy alternatives and emission solutions, and reduce energy consumption through such everyday efficiencies as occupancy sensors for classroom lights. One research project in progress has built Long Island's first solar carport at NYIT's Central Islip site, with the goal of transforming more unshaded suburban parking lots into recharging stations for hybrids.

Alumni Leaders in the Business of Sustainability

NYIT graduates are leaders in a number of fields, especially architecture and energy management. Alumni of the department of energy management within the School of Engineering and Computer Sciences are especially in demand for their expertise by municipalities and private companies looking to make the most of energy efficiencies. Architecture alumni like David Schieren (M.S. '09) and Tommy Zung (B.Arch. ’08) have started companies that design and install solar energy systems.