Harvard University has invested in four electric buses, representing nearly a third of its fleet. The vehicles will replace four similarly-sized bio-diesel vehicles already operating on campus. Each of the new buses, from Proterra, is 35 feet long (similar in size to the current buses), has a seating capacity of 29 and runs on a 450-kWh battery.
The U.S. Department of Education will be running a survey to understand the status of in-person learning at the nation's schools. The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) will oversee the project, dubbed the "NAEP 2021 School Survey." Currently, the agency noted, there isn't enough data to understand the status of school re-opening or how students are learning. The survey is intended to fill that gap.
A Texas school district has refinanced its outstanding bonds, a move that it expects will save nearly $16 million.
A high school next door to Yosemite National Park will be replacing seven portables that have been in use for "decades" with a new 6,000-square-foot, five-classroom building.
A California district has "topped off" its new multi-story, $67 million, 83,000-square-foot STEM school. The Los Alamitos Unified School District has laid the last piece of structural framing at the highest point of the building. The steel beam that was placed included handwritten messages, an American flag and an evergreen tree.
Oregon State University in Corvallis will be getting a new Arts and Education facility. The university's board of trustees recently approved construction of the $70 million complex, which will host performing arts classes, programs and performances on the campus in a 500-seat concert hall.
San Antonio College is funding construction of a new $13 million science building from a $83 million bond approved by county voters in 2017.
According to the university, the 133,000-square-foot building is intended to support advanced research and economic development initiatives with a design that emphasizes makerspaces, collaborative research facilities and flexible gathering areas.
A company that does develops COVID-19 testing management programs for colleges and universities is bringing its services to K-12 schools. CoVerified is working with Mirimus Clinical Labs, which performs saliva pool testing, to launch CoVerifiedPool, a mechanism for testing student populations regularly and affordably.
A school district near Denver, CO where students have returned to in-person instruction has deployed a technology in its classrooms and common areas with the aim of killing viruses in the air and on surfaces. The deployment was funded by a Safe Schools Reopening Grant, a one-time, $15 million program offered through the Colorado Department of Education in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
A company that provides "contactless" on-demand laundry and dry-cleaning services has announced a surge of business from colleges and universities, to address the needs of students who are in quarantine or isolation while living on campus.
Two universities are working together to figure out how to make energy generation, storage and system operation more efficient and reliable, especially in "microgrid" settings.
A five-campus college in Scotland has distributed a new virtual desktop for its construction students to allow them to work on industry-grade software from home.
A $77 million project currently underway will provide affordable housing options for school employees who work for the Alameda school district.
The 14,000-square-foot renovation includes a construction science lab, manufacturing lab, automotive lab, art room, and computer science and robotics lab.
MeTEOR Education, a company that offers turn-key services for space design, announced it is making medical and industrial-grade Continuous Air & Surface Pathogen Reduction (CASPR) technology available for schools. The technology has been used in hospitals and medical centers for some time but it is now available to schools.
Saint Joseph Academy expanded its Makerspace innovation lab to 4,800 square feet, more than four times the size of the former makerspace.
A $5.8 million sustainability project to convert steam plumbing to hot water plumbing recently completed the first of eight phases at Wesleyan University.
University researchers will be studying how to reduce waste in the construction industry, thanks to a grant from United Kingdom Research and Innovation, a public body that supports research and knowledge exchange in higher education.
A community college in southwest Missouri has just broken ground on a new facility to house advanced manufacturing education programs.
Georgetown University has taken the next step in its commitment to sustainability by committing to obtaining two-thirds of its total electricity consumption directly from "local" solar farms in Maryland and New Jersey.