Davis Net Impact Participates in UC Davis Focus the Nation Event

On Thursday, January 31st, 2008, over 1750 educational institutions (primarily colleges and universities) across the country hosted events focusing on climate change solutions as part of Focus the Nation. UC Davis hosted one of the more creative, community collaborative, and extensive events of the day with multiple venues and programs that ran the gamut from a day long Idea Fair and 8 hours of panel sessions, to tours of campus and community organizations and capstone “World of Ideas Café” that played host to prominent policy makers and University of California representatives, including UC President Robert Dynes and UC Davis Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef.

The Graduate School of Management (GSM), through a partnership between the student organization Davis Net Impact and the UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center (EEC) and with endorsements by Dean Nicole Biggart and EEC Program Manager Benjamin Finkelor (GSM ’04), was both well-represented at the event itself and heavily involved in the 6+ months of planning leading up to it. Davis Net Impact was an official Planning Partner while the EEC was a Campus Host.

Daniel MacDonald (GSM ’08) – an Edison Energy Efficiency Fellow in the Emerging Venture Analyst (EVA) program and former Co-President of Davis Net Impact – served on the Planning Committee from its June 2007 inception. Desiring to tie both Davis Net Impact and the Energy Efficiency Center closer to the greater campus while ensuring that the business community is viewed as a partner in tackling climate change, he participated in weekly meetings and focused his input on energy innovation and clean technology. His tenure lasted through December when he transitioned his Net Impact Co-Presidency to Christine Lim (GSM ’09) who – together with Tanya Marston (GSM ’09) – organized the overall GSM connection and outreach during the final stretch.

The Idea Fair, of which this partnership was a Co-Chair, hosted over 30 booths, tables and activities that ranged from green building and recycling to sustainable living and energy efficiency. The EEC itself hosted a booth in which Jonathan Woolley (TTP, ’08), a graduate student in the Institute for Transportation Studies and recent EVA addition, promoted the EEC’s “Living Laboratory” proposal. Meanwhile, thanks to Christine, Dan, Terence Fleischer, Jeff Gleeson, and Diana Mejia, Davis Net Impact and PG&E partnered to host a table on energy efficiency education at which about 500 CFLs were given away to the public. It is estimated that over 1500 people fought the rain to visit the Idea Fair. Meanwhile, EEC partners California Lighting Technology Center and Western Cooling Efficiency Center were one of 21 tours offered during the day.

Covering topics such as “Climate Change Spirit” and “Local Government Strategies”, there were five climate change solution “Teach-In” panels at the ARC which were attended by roughly 250 people. In addition to six Energy Efficiency Center research posters exhibited at the accompanying poster session, the final panel of the day “Innovation: Commercializing Science in Energy and Efficiency” was hosted by Davis Net Impact and the EEC and featured Center for Entrepreneurship and EEC founding director, Dr. Andrew Hargadon as Moderator. The panel focused on how the UC Davis campus is strategically positioned to bring helpful technologies to market. Using SynapSense – a leading provider of complete wireless instrumentation solutions – as a case study, panelists Barbara Grant of American River Ventures, David McGee of InnovationAccess, and Raju Pandey of SynapSense represented the roles and viewpoints of venture capital, campus incubator, and scientist-entrepreneur, respectively.

Finally the day’s educational activities culminated in the two-hour long World of Ideas Café. Many prominent policy-makers, including Davis Mayor Sue Greenwald, California State Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis), and Yolo County Supervisor Mariko Yamada (District 4), joined President Dynes, Chancellor Vanderhoef, and roughly 300 members of the general public in learning about ideas for solutions. The ideas originated from16 campus-related teams which were coordinated by Solution Team Organizers, Julie Purcell and Cassie Hilder (GSM ’08). The EEC and Davis Net Impact presented “Confront Carbon at Home”, a project rooted in a final project of EEC Associate Director Alan Meier’s Energy Efficiency class and winner of the 2007 Net Impact Network Challenge. Jeff Gleeson (GSM ’09) and Tai Stillwater (TTP ’10) joined Christine Lim and Daniel MacDonald in demonstrating how an excel tool could facilitate fun and competitive environments to “incentivize” grassroots residential carbon abatement. The idea was spotlighted in the Sacramento Bee the following day:

http://www.sacbee.com/yolo/story/679016.html

In conclusion, the Graduate School of Management was happy to play a role in what may become an annual grassroots event. Business innovation and energy efficiency are amongst the low-hanging fruits that society can use as tools in the long battle against climate change. By leveraging their campus and industry partners, organizing human and educational resources, and facilitating projects such as the “Living Laboratory” and “Confront Carbon at Home”, organizations such as the EEC and Net Impact will continue to strive to do their part in keeping these tools at the forefront of society’s attention.

Daniel MacDonald, GSM ‘08