|
Play a Prominent Role in Achieving a Resilient Future
 Here’s your chance to support Building Innovation 2016: The National Institute of Building Sciences Fourth Annual Conference & Expo and play a significant role in facilitating industry-wide collaboration on Achieving a Resilient Future. Over 30 sponsorships and 22 table-top exhibit spaces remain available for this fourth annual event taking place January 11-15, 2016, in Washington, D.C. Join forces with the Institute in delivering five activity-filled days of informative sessions, quality educational programs, award presentations and networking opportunities. Building Innovation 2016 gives you the best opportunity to showcase your organization’s contributions to a better built environment and reach such a diverse audience of representatives from the entire building community all at once. Choose a sponsorship, an exhibit space or an advertisement in the Conference Program to show your support and gain exposure within the building industry. Grab your space today!
NIBS, RICS to Explore P3 as Tool to Achieve High-Performance Buildings
Reaching Out to Experts to Address Government Challenges
Two organizations focused on leadership in the built environment are now working in unison to explore ways public-private partnerships (P3) can be used to achieve high-performance buildings. The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) are bringing together international experts on the utilization of P3 to address current government challenges and advance the achievement of a high-performance building stock.
NIBS and RICS are set to begin work on the P3 project this summer and are looking for input from industry experts. The two organizations plan to issue a report on the topic in April 2016 at the RICS Summit of the Americas in Washington, D.C. Read the release.
Nominations Due July 17
The National Institute of Building Sciences is still accepting nominations for candidates to its Board of Directors, and submissions for potential Member Award and Honor Award recipients. There are only four weeks left before the deadline. All forms are due in by 5:00 p.m. EDT, July 17. Don’t wait until the last minute. Nominate candidates now. Download the Board nomination form, Member Award form, Honor Award form. Write a Paper for a Chance to Win $2,500
World Standards Day is celebrated annually around the world to increase awareness of the role that standards play in the global economy. Each year, SES – The Society for Standards Professionals and the U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day Planning Committee hold a paper competition to celebrate the global importance of standards. The purpose of the competition is to focus on standards and their use. Authors may choose to address the 2015 World Standards Day theme, “Standards – The World’s Common Language.” However, there is no obligation to do so.
Three cash prizes are awarded for the best papers submitted. The first place winner receives $2,500 and a plaque. Second and third place winners receive $1,000 and $500, respectively, along with a certificate. In addition, the winning papers will be published in the SES journal, Standards Engineering. Paper competition winners will receive their awards during a banquet October 1 in Washington, D.C., hosted by the U.S. Celebration of World Standards Day Planning Committee. The National Institute of Building Sciences is a committee member.
All paper contest submissions must be received with an official entry form by midnight, July 24. Get the details.
Delegates from State Department Leadership Program Visit Institute
The Institute hosted a U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) delegation on June 11. The Institute is one of a number of organizations the State Department visits on its tours with international visitors. This delegation’s specific interest was focused on ‘Sustainable Cities.’ Presidential Advisor Ryan Colker provided an overview of Institute programs and Program Director Richard Paradis made a presentation about the resources available on the WBDG Whole Building Design Guide® that relate to sustainable cities. This delegation included representatives from 17 countries spanning the globe.
Institute to Host Building Sciences Pavilion at USA Science and Engineering Festival
Invites Building Industry Organizations to Participate
  Highlighting its commitment to introducing the next generation of building industry professionals to careers in the building sciences, the National Institute of Building Sciences will take part in the 2016 USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C., April 16-17, 2016, by hosting a Building Sciences Pavilion at the event. The Institute is reaching out to other building industry organizations to invite them to get involved.
The Institute will feature its Mars City Facility Operations (Ops) Challenge at the Festival. In addition, the Institute, which plans to offer materials at the Festival, will be organizing an industry science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) committee to facilitate the coordination of messaging and content. Find out more.
Developing Next Generation of Seismic Design Maps Topic of Next BSSC Webinar
Dial in to weigh in on the next generation of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) hazard and engineering design value maps. The Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) and the USGS are in the formative stages of Project 17, the project related to updating the seismic design maps to be included in the next edition of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program’s (NEHRP) NEHRP Recommended Seismic Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures. Under the sponsorship of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the BSSC Project 17 Planning Committee—the group that coordinates among the structural and seismological engineers, the seismic community and the USGS scientists developing the maps—will be hosting a series of free webinars so everyone can have a say on the needs for the next round. The first webinar, “Introduction to Project 17: Development of Next-Generation Seismic Design Maps,” will be held Thursday, June 25, from 1:00 to 2:00 pm EDT. Space is limited, so don’t wait. Register today!
Sign up Now for July Cybersecurity Workshops
Learn the Techniques to Better Protect Building Control Systems
NEW DATES: The National Institute of Building Sciences is sponsoring introductory and advanced Cybersecurity Workshops Monday, July 15, and Tuesday, July 16, from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm at the Institute's headquarters in Washington, D.C. The workshops are designed to help facility professionals learn how to make their buildings more secure and reduce the risks. The Introduction to Cybersecuring Building Control Systems Workshop and the Advanced Cybersecuring Building Control Systems Workshop, both taught by Michael Chipley of The PMC Group LLC, are geared to help architects, engineers, contractors, owners, facility managers, maintenance engineers, physical security specialists, information assurance professionals—essentially anyone involved with implementing cybersecurity in the facility life cycle—to learn the best practice techniques to better protect their facilities. Can't make the July dates? Other dates are available. Learn more.
Presentation of the BSSC NEHRP Provisions Webinar Now Available
This Wednesday, the Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) hosted a webinar by David Bonneville, chair of the BSSC Provisions Update Committee (PUC) and past chair of the BSSC Board, to help building professionals learn about the changes that will appear in the most recent edition of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program’s (NEHRP) NEHRP Recommended Provisions for New Buildings and Other Structures. The one-hour presentation, “2015 NEHRP Provisions Overview,” viewed by 143 attendees, is now available for download. View the presentation.
Institute Celebrates High-Performance Building Week
This past week, June 8-12, the U.S. building industry celebrated High-Performance Building Week (HPBW). Sponsored annually by the High-Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition (HPBCCC), the celebration serves as to highlight the importance of high-performance buildings to the economy and the nation. This year’s celebration featured several events to engage members of Congress and the building industry.
On Tuesday, June 9, during a roundtable with High-Performance Building Caucus Co-chairs David McKinley (R-WV) and Peter Welch (D-VT), the HPBCCC Policy Committee released policy priorities for the 114th Congress. The priorities identify important issues the building industry will advance to support achievement of high-performance buildings. View the policy priorities. On Wednesday, June 10, the HPBCCC held a Congressional reception on Capitol Hill. Finally, on Thursday, June 11, the National Institute of Building Sciences led a Congressional briefing to present the findings and recommendations from the 2014 Consultative Council Report; the Council on Finance, Insurance and Real Estate’s study on Financing Small Commercial Building Energy Performance Upgrades; and work being done by Underwriters Laboratories to clarify changes in the building industry’s priorities. Copies of the presentations are available at www.hpbccc.org/hpb2015week.php.
DOE Announces 2016 Race to Zero Student Design Competition
Fostering the next generation of architects, engineers, and building science professionals is the goal of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Race to Zero Student Design Competition (Race to Zero). With the success of the 2015 event, DOE has announced the new dates for the next competition. The event will be held April 16–17, 2016, at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. The 2016 competition guidelines will be available in August of 2015. Learn more about the competition.
BRIK, Now Powered by EBSCO-Host Databases, Widely Expands Its Research Base
Free Trial Period for NIBS, AIA Members Ends September 30
  The Building Research Information Knowledgebase (BRIK) searchable database, a joint venture of The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), was widely expanded through the addition of the EBSCO Discovery Service, adding thousands of titles in three databases now searchable through BRIK. The new service, which debuted on May 14 at the AIA National Convention in Atlanta, includes access to the Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals; the Art & Architecture Complete Index (including thousands of images); and the Sustainability Reference Center. View the announcement.
FHWA Holds BrIM Workshop at International Bridge Conference
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) held an interactive workshop on bridge information modeling (BrIM) last week during the International Bridge Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The FHWA is currently seeking to promote the use of BrIM as a technological advancement to the way the bridge engineering community executes workflow and manages data across the full life cycle. One strategic goal of the FHWA initiative is to shepherd the industry towards development of a set of credible, robust digital standards that will allow software vendors to develop translators to automate transfer of data among different software applications in a common format.
FHWA is engaging with industry representatives from state departments of transportation, industry organizations, consultants and contractors, including the National Institute of Building Sciences, to identify the basic bridge component model definitions required to develop functional 3D BrIM models for common girder bridges. At this workshop, speakers, including Institute Program Director Roger Grant, summarized the progress to date and exchanged information with professionals in bridge engineering practice. FHWA and the Institute are hosting a joint workshop in August. For more information, contact Roger Grant.
June 23 Webinar to Highlight How DHA, VA Use BIM for Space Planning
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Defense Health Agency (DHA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are using the Space and Equipment Planning System (SEPS) for planning health facility projects. For the first time, this data is now accessible on the web. As a result of an Institute project for VA to connect SEPS data to building information modeling (BIM) using web services, applications can access this data to generate models and dramatically streamline the planning and design process to keep it aligned with owner requirements. To learn more, attend a webinar on June 23, from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm EDT, as Dennis Shelden and Ryan Ghere from Trimble / SketchUp and Kimon Onuma, from Onuma, Inc. present new, powerful ways of working with healthcare data and BIM. Sign up today.
| 
