John Pulley, PE, LEED AP BD+C, has been appointed as director of technical engineering for North America. With more than 30 years of experience in engineering design, project management, business development, and operations, Pulley will take the lead in managing Buro Happold’s five offices in the United States, developing systems for leveraging and sharing the firm’s intellectual assets.
ESPOO, Finland — A team of physicists from several international universities recently released a report on a new technology they believe will increase the efficiency of solar panels. Scientists from Aalto University in Finland, the National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics in Russia and the Australian National University collaborated to create what they call a “novel concept of efficient light-trapping structures for thin-film solar cells.”
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania House of Representatives recently passed House Bill 34, which lays out the high-performance building standards for buildings owned or substantially leased by the state. If approved by the senate and the governor, the new law would require these buildings to achieve an Energy Star rating of 75 or better, which indicates top performance, while a score of 50 indicates average energy efficiency. The bill passed with an overwhelming majority, by a vote of 163-32.
MILWAUKEE — The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) recently received LEED Gold certification for its new Zilber School of Public Health.
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WASHINGTON — Lisa Murkowski, the ranking Republican on the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, recently released a series of energy policy recommendations. In general, the plan rends to fall squarely on the traditional Republican side of the aisle in most of its recommendations.
HONOLULU, Hawaii — The Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO), the local utility that serves 95 percent of the state’s 1.2 million residents, recently turned heads with its proactive approach to upgrading its grid to better facilitate the integration of large solar arrays. The company’s actions earned it the approval of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), a non-profit based in Latham, N.Y., that strives to increase the use of renewable energy sources across the country.
Martin J. Cristofaro, P.E., R.P.L.S., CFM, has joined R. G. Miller Engineers Inc., as manager of the firm’s public works department. He will be responsible for managing and designing capital improvement projects, along with providing program management services and related projects for municipalities, counties and local government agencies.
Designed to replace metal halide fixtures for outdoor applications, MaxLite unveiled the MaxLED Element LED Flood Light Series of flexible lighting systems. Offering various lumen output and optics capabilities, the fixtures are available in 5000K correlated color temperature in 135-watt, 270-watt and 405-watt models that use up to 35,100 lumens. Each product can be specified in a one-, two- or three-modular unit configuration, with up to three polished and plated optical narrow settings.
MERCED, Calif. — Construction workers recently topped out the structural steel on University of California (UC) Merced’s new Science and Engineering Building 2.
