US-Israel Workshop on Sustainable Buildings: Materials and Energy

Lawrence Technological University, Southfield MI

Investigators

Abstract

This is a workshop award to organize the US-Israel Workshop on Sustainable Buildings: Materials and Energy from July 12-13, 2010, in Haifa, Israel. The workshop will provide a vehicle for exploration and discussion of long-term barriers to sustainable buildings and the innovations required to overcome them. The workshop will focus on two broad areas of sustainability in buildings: (1) the materials used in the construction and operation of buildings and their systems and (2) the role of building materials on the energy required to maintain a comfortable, healthy, and productive indoor environment. In each area, the workshop will include emphases on the development of materials and systems as well as the models, theories, and data required to effectively analyze the long-term impact of sustainable buildings through life cycle assessment (LCA). The expected outcome of the two-day workshop will be a report that identifies needs and opportunities for innovation and describes research pathways to deliver on the promise of sustainable buildings. The workshops will enhance the infrastructure for research and education by promoting collaborations among US academic institutions and international partnerships between institutions in Israel and the US. The workshop will engage researchers and educators from multiple disciplines in engineering and architecture, including researchers who have not traditionally worked in the field of sustainable buildings, and will disseminate its results to the diverse community through the conference website. Since building impose such a significant impact on the global environment, the research program for sustainable buildings developed by the workshop can have far-reaching benefits to society in the US, in Israel, and worldwide.