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Fellow Profile
Hal Knowles
University of Florida, FL

Progressing beyond carbon inventories and on to success stories with measurable GHG emissions reductions and offsets is a major priority for the University of Florida (UF) and other ACUPCC signatory institutions. This “Core Project” entails the first year activities associated with designing and implementing the UF Carbon Neutral Action Plan. Specifically, the fellowship will support Hal’s role as a coordinator for this cross-campus interdepartmental endeavor. Major goals and actions will include as follows: • Work with stakeholders in the core UF operational units (including but not limited to: Business Affairs, Physical Plant, Facilities Planning and Construction, Environmental Health and Safety, Housing, and the Office of Sustainability) to assist with the following within 12 to 15 months: o Develop an organizational structure and information management strategy for the development and implementation of the UF Carbon Neutral Action Plan. o Create a living document of goals and objectives for the action plan. o Evaluate opportunities and constraints to plan implementation based on UF’s unique climatic, organizational, and financial demographics including town and gown linkages with UF’s hometown of the City of Gainesville in Alachua County, Florida. o Identify and execute a series of energy efficiency and energy conservation year one pilot mini-projects with an eye on feasibility, scalability, and transferability to other locations around campus. ? Estimate return on investment for these pilot mini-projects, including financial returns, energy returns, GHG mitigation returns, and public relations returns. • Develop protocols and interfaces for monitoring long-term performance of GHG mitigation projects (NOTE: long-term goal). • Establish an adaptive management strategy to learn from, revise, and reevaluate goals, objectives, and individual projects based on performance and return on investment (NOTE: long-term goal).

About the Fellow

Hal is a second year Ph.D. student in the University of Florida School of Natural Resources and Environment. His current research focuses on organizational leadership, social networks, behavior change, and energy efficiency as mitigation strategies for the dual challenges of climate change and peak oil. He also has a B.S. in Building Construction (University of Florida, 1997) and an M.S. in Interdisciplinary Ecology (University of Florida, 2004). As a Graduate Research Assistant with the University of Florida Office of Sustainability, Hal helps to coordinate the campus-wide Carbon Inventory and Carbon Neutral Action Plan as part of the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment and the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. Beyond his student background, Hal has been a certified USGBC LEED 2.0 Accredited Professional since 2001 and holds experience as a commercial and residential construction project engineer, business development manager, and researcher for multiple academic groups. He has worked with diverse stakeholders and clientele including local and state governmental agencies, community groups, the National Endowment for the Arts New Public Works Program, Universal Studios, Walt Disney Imagineering, and various residential developers, planners, and commercial retailers. From August 2004 through August 2007, Hal served as a faculty level Coordinator for the University of Florida Program for Resource Efficient Communities (PREC). In both his past coordination and his current Research Associate position with PREC, Hal promotes the adoption of best green design, construction, and operation practices in new residential community development, creates extension education materials, and fosters public/private partnerships that pursue sustainability in Florida's built environment. He is a former Treasurer and Board Member of the Florida Green Building Coalition, a 2006 Fellow and 2007-2008 Board Member of the Florida Natural Resources Leadership Institute, a former appointed member of the Gainesville Energy Advisory Committee, and a 2009/2010 National Wildlife Federation Campus Ecology Fellow. Hal also has experience teaching continuing education courses on green building and development as well as speaking at conferences and workshops for industry professionals, governmental staff, and elected officials throughout Florida. In addition to his passion for the environment, Hal enjoys mountain biking, hiking, camping, live music, college football Saturdays, and most importantly spending time with his family and friends. In the hopes of reducing their carbon footprint, Hal and his wife, Cailey, recently improved the energy efficiency of their home, installed solar photovoltaic panels on their roof, and downsized to a one-car family.

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