Utilizing the CUSG Energy and Climate Fund, the Environmental Center and Green Labs set out to replace the three most energy-intensive ultra low temperature (ULT) freezers on campus with new, top performing energy-efficient ULT freezers. After looking at what was available on the market, Green Labs proposed and purchased three of a new model of energy efficient PHCBI VIP ECO SMART Series ULT freezer (model MDF-DU703VH/VHA-PA) which is ~30% more efficient per space in the freezer compared to the next most efficient ULT freezers on the market (according to ). Furthermore, this particular ULT freezer model received an Outstanding New Product Award in 2023 by a non-profit organization focused on research sample storage, the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories ().  

As a result of interest by engaged scientists, instead of just three inefficient ULT freezers, two labs were willing to consolidate samples and retire two additional energy inefficient ULT freezers. Thus, in total, five inefficient ULT freezers that were collectively consuming nearly 170 kWh/day in electricity were replaced with three of these very energy efficient ULT freezers, consuming a combined total of just 15.3 kWh/day. One lab also chose to set the new ULT freezer at -70 鈦癈, which consumes 4.5 kWh/day instead of 5.4 kWh/day at -80 鈦癈, based on manufacturer data. 
 
This one time funding opportunity allowed the Green Labs program to replace five energy inefficient ULT freezers on campus (which were all near the end-of-life) with three very energy efficient ULT freezers utilizing only ~9% of the electricity used by the original five freezers. Having examples of these new efficient freezers on campus is expected to be helpful for energy efficiency efforts as future ULT freezer purchases come up. 
 

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The 26th annual Campus Sustainability awards program recognizes outstanding individuals and departments who demonstrate a sincere commitment to continuing the 91视频 tradition of leadership and student participation in campus sustainability. Awardees exhibit innovation that directly reduces the University's ecological footprint, enhances social cohesion and equity in the campus community, and/or integrates sustainability into the culture of Boulder and our local communities.

This year, there are seven Campus Sustainability awardees:

• Karen Bailey, Green Faculty

• The Colorado Environmental Justice Digital Storytelling Project, Civic Achievement

• , Student Leadership

• Emily Yeh, Green Faculty

• , Outstanding Alumni

• Mountain Research Station, Departmental Achievement

• Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience, Civic Achievement

Three partnership initiatives deserve special recognition: 

• Climate Across the Curriculum Training, Special Recognition, Partnership for Sustainability

• , Special Recognition, Partnership for Sustainability

• Buffs One Read, Special Recognition, Partnership for Sustainability

The CU Green Labs Program recognizes three awardees:

• MIMIC Core Facility, Partnership for Sustainability

• Department of Biochemistry Shared Equipment, Departmental Achievement 

• CHEM 1021 Green Chemistry Integration, Partnership for Sustainability

Awards will be in the form of a 100% recycled-content plaque presented by campus leadership at the 30th annual Campus Sustainability Summit scheduled for April 19-20, 2023.  

Learn more about the Campus Sustainability Awards program and the 2023 awardees. 

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When most people think of helium, they think of balloons, which float as a result of the low density of the inert gas. However, helium has many uses beyond birthday party decorations. Helium plays a critical role in scientific research, medical technology, high-tech manufacturing, space exploration and national defense. Helium鈥檚 unique properties 鈥� its low boiling point, low solubility, low density and inertness 鈥� make it an important resource.

Due to its low density 鈥� much lower than air 鈥� helium escapes earth鈥檚 atmosphere. Most of earth鈥檚 helium deposits are underground in natural gas reserves. Unfortunately, according to the, these finite reserves are being 鈥渞apidly depleted.鈥� As a result, there is a need for efficient and economically viable helium recovery.

Luckily, researchers across the world have attempted to offer solutions to this ever-growing problem. At 91视频, the physics department operates a helium recycling/liquifying facility that received a CU Green Labs Award in 2022. As researchers in physics and JILA use liquid helium, it is captured and sent back to the shop for re-liquefaction, reducing the amount of helium lost and saving the researchers money.

The physics helium liquefier could become a critical resource for keeping research going on campus through enhanced re-use of helium. The physics helium facility at 91视频 is paving the way towards a sustainable helium future and serves as an example for other campuses to follow.

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Surveying shows that 91视频 students want access to green chemistry education as part of their chemistry coursework. To begin to fill that void, a pilot to integrate green chemistry into the introductory chemistry course, CHEM 1021, has been underway since the beginning of the spring 2022 semester. This pilot is being led by two student assistants, Brinn Mcdowell and Jan Hu, and is a collaborative effort between the CU Green Labs Program and the Director of Chemistry Instruction and Associate Chair for Undergraduate Academic Affairs, Matthew Wise, PhD.  

So, what is green chemistry? According to the Environmental Protection Agency, green chemistry is defined as "the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the generation of hazardous substances."

According to a survey of students in chemistry courses in the fall of 2021, 86% of 91视频 undergraduates expressed interest in learning about green chemistry and 81% wanted to see more green chemistry topics covered in their chemistry curriculum. 58% of students said they would be interested in taking an additional chemistry course specifically on green chemistry and even more students, 69%, indicated that they would select current chemistry courses offered with a green chemistry emphasis over the courses in their present form. In total, three surveys have been conducted in 2018, 2019, and 2021. See a breakdown of more results here.

The 91视频 Chemistry Department has already made strides to green many of its chemistry teaching experiments and labs. Modifications to lab experiments have been implemented to cut back on overall waste and the use of toxic chemicals. However, the chemistry lecture classes have yet to be altered which is the focus of the pilot. Thus far, the pilot has successfully demonstrated that student teaching assistants, with education in chemistry, can research and incorporate engaging content on green chemistry into classes. Importantly, this approach minimizes the time commitment required by faculty to work on this integration and provides chemistry student assistants with an outstanding professional development opportunity to apply their skills and knowledge.

If you are interested in learning more about the pilot, attend the 29th Annual Campus Sustainability Summit- Solutions Showcase 2022 where you can learn more about the results of the surveys conducted, the pilot program itself and the impact the program would have on campus if it secures proper funding. With funding for expansion, the pilot program would have the ability to hire student teaching assistants for introductory, general and organic chemistry classes to focus specifically on incorporating and improving the integration of green chemistry into these core chemistry courses. These courses collectively are taken by thousands of 91视频 students every year from many different majors.  

Pilot expansion would have a wide-reaching impact on students while they are getting their education at 91视频, but also on what these students choose to do once they graduate, as they would leave CU with the knowledge of green chemistry practices and have the ability to enact change that could have a lasting impact on our future.

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The Luger Lab, a Biocemistry lab headed by PI Karolin Luger, has won the 91视频 Freezer Challenge, put on by CU Green Labs.

The 91视频 competition happened in conjunction with the  and offered additional prizes to 91视频 labs participating in the international competition based on how many points they earned on their scoresheets. In all, 23 labs from 91视频 participated in the 2018 International Laboratory Freezer Challenge and together they earned 91视频 Honorable Mention in the competition. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who took first prize in the International Freezer Challenge, had 40 labs participate in the challenge.

The Luger Lab earned a $100 gift card to a local restaurant of their choice, and they chose .

The following labs also received $100 gift cards to local restaurants of their choice.

• 2nd place - Biochemistry Cell Culture Facility (defending champions from 2017) - etai's
• 3rd place - Leinwand Lab - MCDB - The Med
• 4th place - Detweiler Lab - MCDB - The Corner
• 5th place - Yin Lab - Biochemistry - Potbelly's
• 6th place - Parker Lab - Biochemistry - Backcountry Pizza

Labs participated from many different departments on campus including CIRES, Integrative Physiology, Physics, the Institute of Behavioral Genetics and Chemical and Biological Engineering. Labs earn points in the freezer challenge by defosting freezers and refridgerators, sharing freezers between labs, attempting room tempertature sample storage, buying new more efficient UltraLow Temperatures freezers and retiring older, less-efficient models and creating or maintaining inventories of the contents of their freezers and refridgerators.

The International Laboratory Freezer Challenge is organized by the non-profits  (I2SL) and .

"The freezer challenge is about immediate energy efficiency savings, but it's also about resiliency. Performing this regular maintenance on your systems can prevent catastrophic equipment failures," says Christina Greever, CU Green Labs Program Assistant and Outreach Coordinator. In short, she quips, "it's good for energy efficiency, it's good for your freezer unit itself and it's good for science." Greever adds that labs that participate in the Freezer Challenge are on the cutting edge of finding new research solutions and moving away from the risks to research involved with freezer use.

Congratulations to all participating labs!

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This year, 91视频 was awarded Honorable Mention in the first-ever , coordinated through a partnership between the  and . 91视频 also earned Honable Mention in the 2017 competition held throughout North America.

Twenty-two labs from 91视频 participated in the challenge this year. Congratulations to all the participating labs at CU and around the world!

Labs save energy through the Freezer Challenge by taking sustainable actions with their cold storage to earn points, such as chilling up ultra-low temperature freezers to -70 degress Celsius, defrosting freezers, trying high density storage or room temperature sample storage and trading out energy inefficient units with efficient ones. Laboratory cold storage consumes a large amount of energy and is therefore a great focus of a challenge promoting efficiency.

CU Green Labs will be hosting a ceremony to announce and award campus-wide Freezer Challenge winners early this fall - stay tuned for more details.

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