iBox and D-Build

iBox is an interdisciplinary, intercollegiate, industry-university, sustainable-design consortium that seeks to augment Syracuse Center of Excellence’s mission (to create innovations in environmental and energy systems), purpose (to create jobs and wealth through collaborations in research, development, and education), and vision (to earn international recognition for knowledge and products designed for built and urban environments).

iBox brings to bear on SyracuseCoE’s three thrust areas (energy, IEQ, and water) collaborations in the following disciplines, among others:

• Architecture
• Biomass and biofuels
• Biomaterials
• Economics
• Entrepreneurship and workforce development
• Green infrastructure
• Industrial and interactive design
• Sensor technology and control systems
• Smart materials
• Sustainable building materials
• Urban ecology
• Wireless technology

Current iBox collaborations involve large-scale demonstration projects that SyracuseCoE also is involved in: the Near Westside Initiative (assisting the SEED/Urban Farm Project) and Deconstruction (assisting D-Build, an interactive, information-rich marketplace for deconstructed materials.)

In these cases, iBox members are researching and demonstrating how sustainable innovations in their disciplines inform and expand the scope of SyracuseCoE’s R&D portfolio and work to create fully sustainable built environments from the nanoscale to the urban scale.

Ultimately, iBox’s aims are those of SyracuseCoE:

• Generate green and clean technology jobs
• Leverage industry collaborations with existing SyracuseCoE Members
• Develop new industry collaborations in industries related to iBox’s specialty fields
• Garner national attention for SyracuseCoE, its HQ, and Central Upstate New York
• Develop patents
• Obtain research grants and contracts