Rose Sears ’22

I am interested in how the built environment interacts with the natural environment, and the role we have as a college and I have as an engineer in shaping the built environment in a sustainable way. I started directly impacting campus sustainability the summer after my first year as an intern project manager at Smith’s Neilson Library construction site with Shawmut Design and Construction. I worked on the LEED certification process for the project. I learned about the significance of where materials come from and where materials go when they leave a construction site.

“These experiences have taught me valuable skills that will help me in my responsibility as an engineer shaping a more sustainable built environment.”

Now I am working on three projects that all impact sustainability at Smith. I am analyzing energy consumption of Smith’s buildings pre- and during COVID in hopes of informing ways in which the college can reduce energy consumption and run more sustainably as we move forward with new ways of operating. I have also researched options for electrifying Smith’s fleet vehicles and worked on sizing the charging depot that will be needed to switch to an electric fleet. My third project is researching a sewage heat exchange system for the college, to be integrated alongside the geothermal heating and cooling system. The sewage heat exchanger will increase the efficiency of the district energy system and could reduce the number of geothermal wells needed. These experiences have taught me valuable skills that will help me in my responsibility as an engineer shaping a more sustainable built environment.