We have an exciting opportunity for you! We’re taking applications for the “Vice President of Communications & Marketing” position on the Drexel Smart House Executive Board. As a fundamental member of DSH’s promotion, communications, and events teams, the VP of Communications & Marketing will gain valuable leadership, creative, and technical experience while bolstering his or her professional network and resume. This person will be immersed in issues involving sustainability, design, and technology, as well as finance, operations, and management. The VP will have the opportunity (and responsibility) to orchestrate activities related to publicity, branding, marketing, communications, and events coordination. This person will also work with other student organizations such as Drexel Marketing Association to provide opportunities to students to contribute to this interdisciplinary team.

As this is the first time we’ve publicly announced an open board position since we were founded, this is an extraordinary leadership opportunity that you do not want to let slip through your fingers, especially as many of you are looking to bolster your resumes and gain valuable experiences for co-op.

To learn more about this position, please review the job description and be sure to come to an upcoming DSH open meeting where you can talk with our current board members.

WHO CAN APPLY:
All current Drexel students, freshman to junior will be considered.

HOW TO APPLY:
Email your resume to apply@drexelsmarthouse.com. As applications are considered on a first-come basis, it’s to your advantage to get your application in as soon as possible! To those of you who feel that your resume does not reflect your true skills and interest in the position, you may write an optional cover letter for review with your resume. REMEMBER, a cover letter is NOT required. If you are selected for an interview, you will be notified within two weeks of your application submission and the process will proceed from there.

If you have any questions, you may contact me at (215) 501-7891 or cody@drexelsmarthouse.com.

Thanks and we hope to hear from you soon!

Cody A. Ray, President DSH

PS – In case you missed it, here’s the Vice President of Communications & Marketing’s job description.

While this is our first national press, we have previously been featured in state and local publications such as Keystone Builder, magazine of the Pennsylvania Builders Association, the Philadelphia Weekly, The Triangle, Drexel’s student newspaper, and the newsletter of the Delaware Valley Green Building Council, as well as national academic publications such as the Proceedings of the 2009 American Society of Engineering Education Annual Conference.

We’ve come a long way!

We are absolutely THRILLED about our new sign!

They even made it with earth friendly, recyclable materials.

Some of our students got together and built the Drexel Smart House logo out of LED Christmas lights and chicken wire. Its hanging on the roof of our property (along with facade lights) just in time for the Design Unveiling on Wednesday evening. Awesome!

1. Solar water heaters

2. Drain water heat recovery

3. Energy recovery ventilation systems

4. the “Green Machine”

Eric and his team used several Library resources over a period of time.  These include:

• ASCE Civil Engineering Database
• ASCE Conference Proceedings Online
• BuildingGreen – (BuildingGreen Suite integrates online versions of GreenSpec, Environmental Building News, and a database of more than 160 high-performance building case studies.)
• DoE Energy Codes
• Ei Compendex and INSPEC
• Environmental Engineering Abstracts
• Google Scholar
• Home Depot Smart Home
• Knovel: Engineering and Scientific Online References
• MAD CAD – (NOTE: access to cross-referenced collections of building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, fire, and maintenance codes from BOCA, SBCCI, ICBO, ICC, and NFPA.)
• ScienceDirect
• Statistical Resources
• Statistical Resources on the Web-Energy
• Web of Knowledge

Eric also needed some ASTM standards for the Solar Coating project. Using How Do I access ASTM, SAE, ASHRAE, ISO or ANSI standards? Any other standards? Eric was able to obtain ASTM standards that he needed for the project. Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering and Materials Engineering Site include a few resources that may also help in future for other projects. See also Cool Roofs and Cool Roofing Materials Database available from Heat Island Group Resources.

Eric also contributed in creating  Drexel’s web site for Sustainability and Drexel Green.

Congratulations to the Senior Design Team!

This is a seminar on Sustainable Design that asks the advanced student to understand and process the meanings and implications of sustainable design in order to develop a pragmatic interpretation and working assessment of this movement as it applies to design and related fields. In this course, students will explore concepts and methodologies and develop an understanding of the interrelationship of nature, technology and humanity through assigned readings and class discussions, field trips, and a team research and design charrette.

The class will run this summer from Monday June 30th through Wednesday July 30th. The class will meet Mondays and Wednesday from 9-12.

Intuitive Interface Design for Home Control Systems in the Drexel Smart House from Drexel Smart House on Vimeo.

In contrast to the rapid development of home automation equipment and smart home capabilities, comparatively less attention has been paid to the development of comprehensive, comfortable and self explaining user interfaces. This is acknowledged to be an important obstacle for the broad success of smart home ideas and products.

Smart Structures
Smart Materials
Intelligent Buildings
Green Buildings
Energy and homes
smart Home

To find additional books, search in our online catalog using Advanced Keyword Searching and using appropriate research keywords.

Electronic BooksClick on the links below to access electronic books (Access only to Drexel faculty and students)
You can access full book chapters using electronic book collections such as ASM Handbooks, ebrary, ENGnetBASE, ENVIROnetBASE, Knovel, MATERIALSnetBASE and Referex)

ASM Handbooks
ebrary
ENGnetBASE
ENVIROnetBASE
Knovel: Engineering and Scientific Online References
MATERIALSnetBASE
Referex – electronic books

Electronic Databases

Use databases below to find scholarly journal articles on the topic of your research project.

Architectural Index
ASCE Civil Engineering Database
Annual Reviews
BuildingGreen
(BuildingGreen Suite integrates online versions of GreenSpec, Environmental Building News, and a database of more than 160 high-performance building case studies.)
Earthquake Engineering Abstracts
Ei Compendex and INSPEC
Environmental Engineering Abstracts
GeoRef
Google Scholar
IEEE Xplore
MAD CAD (NOTE: access to cross-referenced collections of building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, fire, and maintenance codes from BOCA, SBCCI, ICBO, ICC, and NFPA.)
ScienceDirect
Thomas Telford Journals Online – on trial until December 2007

News and Recent Developments

Use the following databases to find information on breaking news related to Smart House developments.

Academic Universe(Lexis/Nexis)
Expanded Academic
Factiva
Proquest

For more assistance, please refer to: Engineering Reference Assistance

WildCharge just opened their webstore today. WildCharge is the first company to introduce wireless power to the marketplace. The charging base and an adapter for RAZR cellphones are now available. You simply switch your battery cover on your RAZR with their replacement cover, plug the charging base into the wall, and set the phone onto the surface of the base.

This is just the first of several products coming out. Other companies will be coming out with chargers that can transmit power over short distances through the air. These solutions will not be ready for at least a few years though.

You can access the WildCharge webstore here.

See: Duke Smart Home Program