Oregon BEST announces new funding

The Oregon Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies (BEST) Center announced this morning it is investing $480,000 in 10 faculty teams at Oregon universities.

Launched in 2006, BEST is one of Oregon's state-funded signature research centers, a key economic development strategy of the Oregon Innovation Plan. Early economic analysis of signature research centers suggested each $1 million invested in research and development activities conducted by such centers creates about 22 jobs, and the latest round of funding is intended to kick-start Oregon-based projects that have the potential for commercialization -- and therefore job creation.

“Oregon BEST is supporting the innovative work of high-caliber faculty at our universities because their work builds on Oregon’s strengths in renewable energy and green building materials and services,” said David Kenney, executive director of Oregon BEST, in a news release. “This investment will help power Oregon’s growing economic engine that is based on sustainable technologies and services.”

The funded projects are aimed at improving sustainable technologies and systems ranging from solar cells, green roofs and biomass processing to green building insulation made from recycled plastics, improved wind turbine design and biodiesel production powered by solar energy. Some of the funding will also go toward equipment enhancements at shared research facilities -- including a solar simulator, a device that simulates the sun’s illumination and is used advance solar cell research; equipment for improved processing and analysis of biomass being transformed into bioproducts and biofuels; testing equipment needed to improve the conversion efficiencies of photovoltaic solar energy devices; and enhancements to an environmental wind tunnel used to study the efficiency of green roofs.