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March 23, 2001

ULM attends energy efficiency forum

Three ULM School of Construction representatives attended the Rebuild America National Forum 2001, in Atlanta, Ga., last week, to promote, improve and gain new insights on the Energy Audit Program run by the ULM School of Construction in coordination with the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources.

The purpose of the Energy Audit Program is to collect, process, and interpret data on energy systems and buildings to increase energy efficiency, and to assist participants in implementing recommended energy conservation measures. "ULM has a duty to the people of the State of Louisiana to operate as efficiently as possible," Dr. Parker, Program Director, said. "This Energy Audit Program identifies areas where financial savings can be realized."

Initially, the primary targets of the Energy Audit Program were buildings operated by the University of Louisiana at Monroe. Two years into the program, the Louisiana DNR in conjunction with the School of Construction decided that future efforts should be focused on K-12 school buildings where energy efficiency can be improved.

"The Energy Audit Program serves both educational and community service purposes," Vanessa Prevost, Research Associate, said. "The students involved have the opportunity to learn about energy efficiency, and the building's owners can actually save money."

Rebuild America is funded by the US Department of Energy and designed to help communities find energy and resource solutions that reduce costs and improve the environment for all building sectors. The Rebuild America National Forum occurs every 18 months in host cities across America. This year's forum overlapped with the Southface Energy Institute's Greenprints 2001 conference, which focused on Green building and sustainable community development. The convention held March 13-16 in the Westin Hotel Plaza, downtown Atlanta, featured nationally known community leaders, planners, and public decision makers, as well as architects, engineers, designers, and manufacturers.

"Attending the Rebuild America convention has given me more insight on how to better reach our goal which is to provide free energy audit assistance to our community," AdrianaValderrama said, MBA student, and research associate within the Energy Audit Program.

For more information about the Energy Audit Program at ULM, contact Dr. Keith Parker, at (318) 342-1860.

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