Doctoral Student Helps Virginia Tech Labs Go Green

According to the sustainable laboratory organization My Green Lab, college laboratories have a large environmental footprint due to machine and ventilation energy consumption. Some universities have started to implement more sustainable lab practices.

Virginia Tech doctoral student Ellen Garcia is working to make green labs the norm at the school, drawing from practices already in place at some universities. Green labs require recycling streams, increasing the temperature on ultra-low freezers, turning off the lights, and shutting the sliding glass door on fume hoods to put them into an energy efficient mode.

Universities interested in implementing green labs on campus should visit mygreenlab.org/green-lab-certification. — By Jamie Tews