The Pacific Marine Energy Center (PMEC)
The Pacific Marine Energy Center (PMEC) - formerly known as the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC) - was established at OSU in 2008 and is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to facilitate the development of wave, tidal, in-river, and offshore wind energy technologies. Public engagement and K-12 education are a significant part of PMEC's mission.
PMEC has hosted weekly educational forums on campus and has developed hands-on educational materials for K-12.
Energy Efficiency Center (EEC)
The OSU Energy Efficiency Center (EEC), a U.S. DOE Industrial Assessment Center and part of the school of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, uses student labor to offer Rural Energy Audits, industrial and campus facility assessments, and other customized energy analyses. The center focuses on mentored energy efficiency training and performs related research, data accumulation and analysis, and other services.
The EEC has the goal of developing and sharing a knowledge base of new and common efficiency opportunities in a range of sectors, including industrial, agricultural, municipal, institutional, commercial and residential. The center is built on student management with faculty mentorship and oversight.
Oregon BEST Green Building Materials Laboratory
The Oregon BEST Green Building Materials Laboratory includes research activities from the Schools of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering and Civil and Construction Engineering, and the Department of Wood Science and Engineering. Equipment housed in this Oregon BEST Signature Laboratory allows OSU researchers to characterize, develop and test high performance sustainable materials for a wide variety of applications, including buildings and transportation infrastructure. The GBML interfaces with the Capital Planning and Development civil engineering group to examine best practices within campus infrastructure.
Numerous courses have conducted survey-based projects during pre- and post-occupancy period for new and renovated OSU buildings.
Additionally, student workers in Capital Planning and Development gain real work experience with increasing questions about sustainability in the campus built environment.
The Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture
The Oak Creek Center for Urban Horticulture is a six acre site on OSU's main campus. It's easily accessible to students and an excellent learning laboratory for sustainable horticultural practices in both rural and periurban landscapes. Current projects include a mushroom log fence, annual trials, green roof research, a student-run organic garden, permaculture, and restoration of Oak Creek. Oak Creek restoration has been an ongoing point of student learning on campus. The Oak Creek Riparian area has been the focus of numerous studies and restoration efforts over the past decades. One significant outcome was a restoration document created by students participating in the ecological restoration class FOR-FW 445/545.