Around Campus

What's the Buzz on Brown's Electric Fleet?

Tricked out it's not. There's no hemi under this hood - there's barely a hood. Doors are optional.

But this ride's a gem, or, more accurately, a GEM - Global Electric Motorcar - a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler. The Department of Facilities Management owns four GEMs, the first of which arrived last June.

Carl Weaver (left), Facilities Management's director of physical plant, says the electric cars are big money savers. A pickup truck or small van would cost the University at least $20,000, he said, but the base retail price of a GEM is about $7,000.

In addition, each bubble-dome vehicle, about the size of a golf cart, costs just pennies a day to operate. The GEM's six 12-volt batteries juice up overnight while tethered to a twenty-first century hitching post - an electrical outlet. Charged for eight hours, a GEM can cover up to thirty miles a day Ð plenty of range for Brown's purposes, according to Weaver.

The vehicle is environmentally friendly, too. Because its motor is electric, a GEM produces no polluting emissions. Its diminutive size means Facilities Management crews can park close to a worksite - sometimes right at a door - rather than contribute to street congestion.

Though you won't see a GEM on Pimp My Ride any time soon, the vehicle is a head-turner.

"You get a lot of looks while driving one around," Weaver said. Students gawk and give "thumbs-up" to the drivers. "That thing is awesome," says one Brown student.

The GEMs have been well received at Brown. Weaver said that Facilities Management would like to get a full year of use before deciding whether to purchase more GEMs, but "ultimately, we'd like fifty percent of our fleet to be electric."

The GEMs aren't the only environmentally friendly vehicles at Brown. This past summer, the Center for Environmental Studies purchased a Toyota Prius, a hybrid car that combines an electric motor with a small gas engine, said Kurt Teichert, Facilities Management's resource efficiency manager. Once they familiarize themselves with the user guide, any student, faculty, or staff person may use the Prius for University business. The Prius already has more than 10,800 miles on the odometer. The center also makes available a fifteen-passenger van that runs on compressed natural gas, according to Teichert. - Tracie Sweeney

The Life Sciences Building by the Numbers

The five-story, 168,800-square-foot Life Sciences Building taking shape adjacent to the BioMedical Center on Meeting Street will include more than fifty new laboratories, and more than fifty faculty members will relocate to the building once it opens for occupancy in April 2006. Here are a few more details:

- At 168,800 gross square feet, the Life Sciences Building is Brown's third largest building, behind the Rockefeller Library and Barus and Holley.

- Total weight of structural steel: 3.8 million pounds - about a fifth of what the Eiffel Tower weights, or the equivalent of 1,266,666 average adult human brains.

- Concrete used as of December 31: 64,000 cubic yards, or 200 miles of standard city sidewalk.

- Interior partitions will total 240,000 square feet, equal to five football fields.

- Windows: One hundred forty "punched" windows. However, the building will have a total of 35,000 square feet of glass - an area equal to 7.5 basketball courts. Much of that glass area is "curtain wall" glazing on the exterior.

- Worker hours logged as of December 31: 80,000, with no time lost to injuries

- Exterior walls will have 391,000 bricks, 51,000 concrete blocks, and more than four miles of exterior joint sealant.

- Parking tickets received by workers on site: None - all workers are required to park in a satellite parking lot and are bused to and from the site.

University Honors Staff Excellence

Was author Pearl S. Buck on to something? "The secret of joy in work," she said, "is contained in one word - excellence."

Excellence in the workplace was celebrated January 21 during Brown Employees Appreciation and Recognition Day - B.E.A.R. Day - a new University event created to honor recipients of the University's Excellence Awards and to recognize staff who in 2003 and 2004 celebrated five, ten, fifteen, twenty, and twenty-five years of service to the University.

President Ruth J. Simmons offered remarks and made presentations to the Excellence Award winners: from left, Chelsea Shriver, project coordinator, Public Affairs and University Relations, Excellence Award for Rising Star; Anne Rotheberg, assistant track coach, Athletics and Physical Education, Excellence Award for Citizenship; Shannon Silva, administrative assistant in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Excellence Award for Efficiency; Michelle Nuey, manager of special services, Department of Public Safety, Excellence Award for Diversity; Dorcey Baker, director of planning and communications in Alumni Relations, Excellence Award for Innovation; and Ivone Aubin, administrative assistant in the Office of Dean of the College, Excellence Award for Service.

B.E.A.R. Day recognized more than 680 people for their years of service.

Those celebrating twenty-five years in 2004 are Beatrice Caezza, University Library; Roberta Carlson, Health Services; Manuel De Macedo, Dining Services; Sandra Delany, Public Affairs and University Relations; Peter Di Camillo, Computing and Information Services; Russell Fiore, Athletics and Physical Education; Lynne Fraser, Development; Frank Kellerman, University Library; Jennet Kirschenbaum, Computer Science; Linda Leal, Health Services.

Also, Maria Martins, Computing and Information Services; Theresa Mathiesen, University Library; Paul Mathurin, Facilities Management; Richard Rezendes, Facilities Management; Beverly Skillings, Office of the Dean of the College; William Slack, Development; Collette Sonderegger, Urban Studies; Debra Souza, Bursar's Office; Matthew Troy, Facilities Management; Gretchen Willis, Dining Services; Marie Woods, Computing and Information Services.

Those celebrating twenty-five years in 2003 are Perry Ashley, Office of the Dean of the College; Adeline Becker, Education Alliance; Lionel Bercovitch, Health Services; Alan Bliek, Facilities Management; Dominique Coulombe, University Library; Leonard Erickson, Bio-Med; Joseph Ferreira, Facilities Management; Cathy Fulford, Athletics and Physical Education; Roland Garant, Public Safety; Linda Gesualdi, University Library; Valerie Greenless, Bookstore; Brooke Hammerle, University Library; Linda Hanway, Internal Audit.

Also, Lynne Harrell, John Carter Brown Library; Steven Lavoie, Facilities Management; Beverly Ledbetter, Vice President and General Counsel; Rodney Pacheco, Student Activities; Richard Reed, Facilities Management; Paul Rondina, Computing and Information Services; Frederick Schultz III, Facilities Management; Peter Sevenair, Bookstore; Lisa Sheehan, Geological Sciences; Ronald Southiere, Facilities Management; Patricia Squadrito, Cognitive and Linguistic Science; Stephen St. Jean, Public Safety; Trudee Trudell, Applied Mathematics; Carol Walker, Annenberg Institute; Shirley Wolpert, Alumni Relations.