National Institute of Building Sciences Celebrates 40 Years

Forty years ago, the United States Congress authorized the establishment of the National Institute of Building Sciences when President Gerald Ford signed the Housing and Community Development Act into law on August 22, 1974.

Since its founding in 1974, the Institute has established dozens of councils; developed numerous projects; and brought together thousands of representatives from government, the professions, industry, labor and consumer interests to focus on the identification and resolution of problems and potential problems that hamper the construction of safe, affordable structures for housing, commerce and industry throughout the United States. From seismic safety provisions to building information modeling standards, the Institute has spearheaded many ground-breaking and well-known projects over its 40-year history. View some of the highlights.

Building Innovation 2015 Registration Opens in Less than One Week
Get Ready to See the Institute in Action

Registration to attend Building Innovation 2015 — the National Institute of Building Sciences Third Annual Conference and Expo, Tuesday – Friday, January 6 – 9, 2015, at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, D.C. opens September 1, 2014. Plan to attend and witness as the Institute joins forces with building industry professionals to collaborate on Creating High-Performing Resilient Communities. Early registration saves you $200 off onsite rates and includes all keynote lunches, symposia, the Exhibitors Reception and the Exhibit Hall Walking Lunch. Early registration will end October 31, 2014.

Come for the informative agenda that will highlight the Institute’s activities and programs for developing innovative solutions to achieve a better built environment. During the four days, the Institute will present symposia in four tracks and bring the full audience together for a plenary symposium to review industry collaboration. Sponsorship, exhibitor and advertiser opportunities are still available. Find out more.

Former Institute Board Member William J. Coad Dies

William J. Coad, PE, FASHRAE, a former member of the National Institute of Building Sciences Board of Directors, died on August 9, 2014, after a brief illness. Elected to the Board in 2007 as a professional engineer in the public interest category, Coad sat on the Awards, Budget and Finance, and Nominations Committees, and was a member of the High Performance Building Council and served as liaison for the Building Enclosure Technology and Environment Council. He chaired the High Performance Building Task Group, which submitted a report assessing high-performance buildings to the U.S. Congress and U.S. Department of Energy. In that role, Coad testified before the House Committee on Science and Technology Subcommittee on Energy and Environment in April 2009. Coad retired from the Board in 2009. Read more.

2015 JNIBS Media Kit Now Available
Advertise, Subscribe, Submit an Abstract

Be sure to put those advertising dollars in the budget now in preparation for advertising in the Journal of the National Institute of Building Sciences (JNIBS) next year. The 2015 JNIBS Media Kit, which is now available, offers a number of advertising options, from full-page color ads to 1/8 page marketplace spots, and everything in between. Don’t miss the chance to reach JNIBS readers—those professionals from across the building industry who are responsible for advancing the built environment. The issue themes and features for the 2015 Editorial Calendar have greatly expanded from last year’s calendar, so check out the kit for opportunities to submit an abstract for one of the six bi-monthly issues scheduled to come out in 2015. Download the Media Kit now. Not a subscriber? Subscribe today.

Help the Institute Understand Current Extent of
Off-site Construction Projects
Take the OSCC Survey

The Institute’s Off-Site Construction Council (OSCC) is a knowledge center on issues of off-site construction and productivity in the commercial building sector. The council is a research, education and outreach organization focused on the creation, management and transfer of off-site construction knowledge. As part of that role, the OSCC is conducting a survey of representatives from across building disciplines to understand the current extent of projects that use off-site construction technologies and practices, their successes or shortcomings, and the opportunity to address industry needs in utilization of these techniques. The survey will close Friday, September 19, end of business day. Help advance the industry and support achievement of high-performance buildings. Take the survey now.

Webinar to Focus on Benefits of Outcome-Based Code Provisions

Don’t miss this chance to learn more about the benefits of using outcome-based code provisions to achieve improved energy performance in buildings. The National Institute of Buildings Sciences and supporting organizations will conduct a free webinar, Realizing Energy Efficiency Goals Through an Outcome-Based Pathway, today, Wednesday, August 27, at 3:00 pm EDT. This webinar will examine the challenges communities and code departments face in realizing sustainability goals—particularly those related to energy use—and a new potential mechanism within the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) to realize these goals in light of those challenges. View what will be discussed.

Head “Back to School” to Learn Cybersecurity for
Building Control Systems
Institute to Hold Cybersecurity Workshops September 17-18

The time to learn more about cybersecurity for building control systems is now. The nation’s buildings are increasingly relying on building control systems (otherwise known as operational technology) that are Internet-enabled. The National Institute of Building Sciences will sponsor a Cybersecurity Workshop series for the second time, to be held September 17-18 in Washington, D.C. The Introduction to Cybersecuring Building Control Systems Workshop and the Advanced Cybersecuring Building Control Systems Workshop, taught by Michael Chipley, The PMC Group LLC, and Eric Bodkin, root9b, address this important issue, which is of increasing concern to organizations. Since this is only the second time the Institute is offering these workshops, participants who attend the “beta trial run” of the workshops can receive a discount of 50% off the full rate by using the code CYBER50. Register to attend.

Is My Building Earthquake-Safe?
Tune in to MMC's Third Webinar for Answers
Presented by NCSEA Existing Buildings Committee Chair

The Institute’s Multihazard Mitigation Council (MMC) announces its third webinar in its webinar series on mitigation. “Is My Building Earthquake-Safe? Obstacles to a Practical Earthquake Rating System,” presented by David Bonowitz, S.E., chair of the National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA) Existing Buildings Committee, will be held Thursday, September 25, 2014, from 1:00 to 2:00 pm EDT. Through the series, the MMC serves to address social considerations, governance (including building codes and zoning ordinances), the built environment, hazard and risk assessment and economics. Find out about the webinar.

FEMA Launches Newly Redesign Flood Map Service Center

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Risk MAP program is pleased to announce the launch of the newly redesigned FEMA Flood Map Service Center (MSC). In addition to a streamlined and intuitive user interface, the upgraded MSC provides a number of new features and benefits to the public. 

Nominate Excellence in High-Performing, Resilient Buildings
and Communities
Beyond Green™ Awards Now Address Resilience

The Institute’s Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) has incorporated resilience into its 2014 Beyond Green™ High-Performance Building and Community Awards. The awards program, which issued its 2014 Call for Entries earlier this month, highlights those initiatives that shape, inform and catalyze the high-performance planning, design, construction and operations processes. This year, for the first time, buildings and communities can be recognized for their contributions to building and community level resilience.

Updated BEST4 Conference Program Designed
with Practitioners in Mind

Join the National Institute of Building Sciences, the Building Enclosure Council-Kansas City, and many of the world’s foremost experts on building enclosure design and construction at the Building Enclosure Science & Technology (BEST4) Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, April 12-15, 2015. This triennial event, focusing on Performance-Driven Architectural Design, will present the latest research pertinent to all industry professionals: building systems that deliver high energy efficiency, good indoor climate and long-term performance.

And newly added for BEST4, two forums geared specifically toward the practitioner and sponsored by the Building Enclosure Council: “Performance Testing for QA and Commissioning,” and “Form vs. Function,” featuring a multidisciplinary panel addressing the gamut of building planning, design, and testing. Other sessions throughout the three-day program will focus on fire performance evaluation, net-zero building design, the Living Building Challenge and a host of other practice-pertinent topics. Preview the updated Conference program and find out more at www.thebestconference.org.

Discover How the National BIM Standard-United States^® Can Improve Project Delivery
NBIMS-US Project Committee Vice-Chair to Speak at ABX

Building industry professionals at the ArchitectureBoston Expo (ABX), to be held October 28-30 in Boston, Massachusetts, will have the opportunity to learn how building information modeling (BIM) with consensus industry standards can improve project delivery when they attend a workshop presented by Jeffrey W. Ouellette, Assoc. AIA, IES.