Presentation to Focus on Environmentally Responsible Construction

"Green for the Mainstream," an overview of environmentally responsible building projects, will be presented March 28 at Pennsylvania College of Technology, Williamsport.

The presentation, by Margo Thompson of the National Association of Home Builders Research Center, is free and open to the public. It will be offered at 3:30 p.m. in the Klump Academic Center Auditorium on Penn College's main campus.

With interest in green building growing rapidly on the part of builders and consumers, Thompson will discuss the primary topics that such construction typically addresses energy efficiency, indoor-air quality, daylighting, water usage and landscaping with native plants. She also will review highlights from a green-building demonstration project in New York and identify environmentally responsible construction technologies that are both practical and affordable for today's mainstream housing market.

Thompson has worked in various areas of residential construction for the past 25 years and formerly was one of three partners in a general-contracting company in central New York that incorporated energy-conserving features into residential-building design and construction practice.

Since coming to the Research Center in 1998, she has worked on projects related to the development of green-building guidelines, energy efficiency in new and existing homes, and mechanical ventilation systems for residential application.

Thompson holds a master of science degree in construction engineering and management from Stanford University; she earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Colgate University.

Her appearance was to be the keynote speech of the annual Green Building Fair, but the event was canceled this year due to a shortage of exhibitors and competition with a like-minded program at The Pennsylvania State University.

Dorothy J. Gerring, associate professor of architecture in Penn College's School of Construction and Design, and the guiding force behind the yearly event, encourages attendance at the Penn State Clean Energy Expo at the Bryce Jordan Center on March 31 and April 1. The college's Green Building Fair will be held on alternate years from the University Park expo to avoid such conflicts in the future, she said.

The environmental theme will continue next month at Penn College when ATAS International Inc. will demonstrate its InSpire Solar Collector at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 11, in Room 150 of the Learning Resources Center.

For additional information about the Green Building Fair, visit online .

For more about majors in the School of Construction and Design Technologies, call (570) 327-4518, send e-mail or visit the school's Web site.