The U.S. Green Building Council recently announced the 13 recipients of grants totaling $2 million. After identifying an alarming dearth of research in the field of sustainable design and construction, the USGBC created the Green Building grant program to further the development of sustainable building practices and increase green market share. The grants range from $90,000 to $250,000.

Speaking of the winning proposals, USGBC president Rick Fedrizzi said that they “drive knowledge, policies, tools, and technologies and inspire corresponding industry and government-wide action.” The field of contenders was competitive and diverse, with 216 pre-proposals and 38 full proposals.

The winning projects include a green roof energy calculator, an improved porous pavement system for stormwater management, an environmental strategy database for healthcare facilities, a transportation energy index, and a study on the effects of natural light on K-12 student performance and well-being.

The 13 recipients as described by the USGBC are as follows:

  • Green roof energy calculator: David Sailor, Portland State University

  • Open source searchable database to assess the impact of environmental strategies on outcomes in healthcare facilities: Anjali Joseph, The Center for Health Design

  • Design for reuse primer: Liz Ogbu, Public Architecture

  • Development and implementation of a new protocol for testing the ability of building materials to passively reduce indoor ozone and its reaction products: Richard Corsi, University of Texas at Austin

  • HVAC control algorithms for mixed-mode buildings: Gregor Henze, University of Colorado at Boulder

  • Improvement of porous pavement system for on-site stormwater management: Yuhong Wang, East Carolina University

  • Integrated building water management (IBWM) modeling; a proposed tool for LEED assessment and education: Daniel Yeh, University of South Florida

  • Investigating opportunities for improving building performance through simulation of occupant and operator behavior: Clinton Andrews, Rutgers Center for Green Building

  • Multi-variate study of stormwater BMPs: Jim Schuessler, BNIM Architects

  • Quantifying the impact of daylight and electric lighting on student alertness, performance, and well-being in K-12 schools: Mariana Figueiro, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

  • The evaluation of green school building attributes and their effect on the health and performance of students and teachers in New York State: Shao Lin, Health Research Inc., New York State Department of Health

  • Transportation energy intensity index: Peter Haas, Center for Neighborhood Technology

  • Using a new application of existing mnitoring technology to quantify the relationship between classroom ventilation and student performance: Mark Mendell, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory