By UW Sustainability | Oct 12, 2022

UW Sustainability is hiring a Sustainable Building Materials intern. This internship position will help UW Sustainability research and develop draft sustainability guidelines for materials used in UW building construction. Many materials commonly used in building and construction, such as concrete, steel, timber, and expanded polystyrene (EPS) have high embodied carbon, contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions, and present additional challenges with respect to sustainability. This intern will research approximately half-a-dozen building materials, and identify opportunities and/or alternatives that are more sustainable and have lower embodied carbon than a standard product. Your research will also include a cost comparison of standard products with sustainable alternative products. You will develop guidelines for a specified list of materials and work with the sustainability office to deliver a final product of material guidelines that can be used as a resource for UW building design and construction.

This is a part-time position for a current student. Pay is $21.47/hour.  Apply on Handshake (search job 7105897).

Apply here

Learning goals:

  1. Student will gain in-depth knowledge and expertise on sustainable green building materials, embodied carbon, material costs, and assessing trade-offs in material selection in building design and construction.
  2. Student will gain knowledge in research and project management.
  3. Student will learn from collaboration with the UW Sustainability Office, and professionals with expertise in sustainability, construction, project design, and more. 

Responsibilities, Tasks and Deliverables:

  1. Research approximately 3-5 commonly used building materials to identify sustainability impacts, such as embodied carbon and other relevant factors such as cost, recyclability, etc.
  2. Develop and deliver a detailed guidelines document that UW can use to help make informed decisions when to assess, budget, and select sustainable material alternatives in building design, construction, and renovation.
  3. Student will present findings via video, powerpoint presentation.
  4. UW Sustainability will connect you with staff, faculty, and private industry that have expertise in sustainable building materials 
  5. Weekly or bi-weekly meetings with UW Sustainability supervisor.
Category: 
Buildings & Grounds