Purdue heralds newest sustainable project to campus

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - The University’s School of Civil Engineering will dedicate a new green-roof laboratory Thursday as part of homecoming and the school’s 125th anniversary celebration.

The Civil Engineering Student Advisory Council started the project in 2010.

The students’ goal was to create a lab space that offered opportunities to work on sustainability and green initiatives. The lab should also serve as a student gathering spot.

"The School of Civil Engineering's mission includes providing an exceptional educational experience for our undergraduate students, and our undergraduate curriculum includes many laboratories," Bowen Engineering Head of Civil Engineering (and Christopher B. and Susan S. Burke Professor of Civil Engineering) Rao Govindaraju said.

"It is critical that our students are exposed to state-of-the art facilities with updated equipment,” Govindaraju said. “The addition of a green roof to the Delon and Elizabeth Hampton Hall of Civil Engineering will introduce this new technology to our students and allow them to participate in research on energy-reducing technologies and sustainability initiatives in the building."

Students raised more than $125,000 for the project with fees from companies that take part in the annual Civil Engineering Career Fair.

The School of Civil Engineering, industrial partners, alumni and sustainability funds from Purdue made up for the rest of the $900,000 cost of the lab.

The green roof is a big addition to curriculum for students in architectural engineering, hydrology and environmental areas, according to Govindaraju. It will let students work together to explore sustainability in a real-world setting.

The roof has many features, including various soil and plant media, sensors to measure energy and even a weather station.

Students will take part in plenty of projects incorporating the roof, including heat loads on the roof structure, energy-reducing technology for the building and the impact of a rainwater collection system for the roof.

Dedication of the green roof is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Thursday.