ODU's Engineering And Computational Sciences Building is the First LEED-CERTIFIED HIGHER-ED Building in Virginia

Old Dominion University's Engineering and Computational Sciences Building, which opened late summer and was dedicated on Sunday, Sept. 26, is the first LEED-certified higher education building in Virginia. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification recognizes buildings designed to meet environmentally friendly standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The $19.6 million, 84,000-square-foot L-shaped building has four floors and houses research programs and office space. Several College of Science's departments (Center for Computational Sciences, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, and Department of Computer Science) reside in this new building. Also, Engineering's modeling and simulation center and aerospace engineering department, as well as the Office of Computing and Communications Services.

Designed by Moseley Architects, the building mixes a traditional academic look with technology-accented touches, such as aluminum sunscreens outside of the windows that both cut air-conditioning costs and reflect natural lighting, and incorporates recyclable materials and products bought from vendors who meet environmental requirements.

At the entrance is a four-story "E-glass" window, which is dark on the outside and light on the inside, that filters UV rays so more useable light and less excess heat invade the lobby. The second, third and fourth floors feature a student lounge and office space that benefit from the spectacular "E-glass" window view. But the most impressive technology is located inside the building. A 20-foot video wall greets visitors in the lobby and showcases the work being done in the building's laboratories. Modeling and simulation research will be enhanced by the use of the large 'Cave Automated Virtual Environment' and a virtual reality theater that is capable of submersing a group of 50 in a virtual research project. Additionally, the university's high-speed computing research, which is helping to build a regional link to the national LambdaRail high-speed network, is housed in the building's laboratories.

Background: In 1924, Einstein predicted that a gas would undergo a dramatic transformation at a sufficiently low temperature, now known as Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC). In 1988, Wieman's research group cooled atoms to 100 millionths of a degree above absolute zero, the coldest temperature ever achieved up to that time. In 1995, his group observed the transformation by cooling a gas sample to the unprecedented temperature of less than 100 billionths of a degree above absolute zero. The BEC state is a novel form of matter in which a large number of atoms lose their individual identities and behave as a single quantum entity, the "superatom." This entity is the atom analogue to laser light and, although large enough to be easily seen and manipulated, exhibits the non-intuitive quantum behavior normally important only at much tinier scales. The study and use of the curious properties of BEC has now become an important sub-field of physics.

Points for LEED certification are awarded in five categories. The building meets each category in the following ways:

Sustainable site
No parking lots are being paved for the new building. The building integrates bicycle storage areas and alternative fuel recharging stations for futuristic vehicles. Rainwater collected on the roof will filter through on-site rock and plant gardens.

Water efficiency
Native, drought-resistant plants and efficient drip irrigation will reduce the amount of water needed for landscaping. Efficient plumbing systems are expected to cut water use inside the building by 20 percent.

Energy and atmosphere
Increased insulation, external sun-shading, windows that increase day-lighting and other innovations that increase the efficiency of mechanical systems should cut the building's energy demands by 20 percent.

Materials and resources
The building was constructed with increased amounts of salvaged, certified, recycled and rapidly renewable materials. Also, the university recycled 50 percent of construction debris.

In-door environmental quality
Air quality management controls keep contaminants out of the heating and air conditioning systems. The building is smoke-free.

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Phyllis Brown, Editor
College of Sciences Newsletter
SciNews@odu.edu
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