SHAYLE KANN

Fulbright Postgraduate Scholar

Media Profile

In the United States, roughly 40% of all emissions come from buildings. As our sources of non-renewable energy are depleted and climate change intensifies, it behooves us to make our buildings more energy efficient. As time goes on, more and more new construction projects are becoming energy efficient.

Shayle Kann, from Pomona College, has won a Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship to undertake research at the Australian National University in 2008 in Canberra. Shayle will arrive in February to commence research with Professor Andrew Blakers on his unique idea called Solarization. Shayle will also volunteer at the Australian Conservation Foundation’s Canberra office.

Shayle will conduct environmental, policy, and market research on Solarization and energy efficiency retrofits, with the goal to bring the concept of Solarization to the point where it can realistically be implemented.

“I will work with Professor Andrew Blakers to research his unique idea called Solarization. Solarization is a concept developed by Professor Blakers and his colleagues at the Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems to enable mass energy efficiency and renewable energy retrofits in existing buildings. Buildings are the single largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the developed world.”

Shayle explains that new construction projects are becoming energy efficient, however large-scale change cannot rely on new structures; there simply are not enough to mitigate the effects of the already existing, inefficient buildings.

“The only way to make a significant dent in global buildings emissions is to conduct energy efficiency retrofits on existing buildings. In other words we have to improve the buildings we already have in addition to bettering the new buildings we construct,” said Shayle.

Shayle was the winner of the C.V. Starr Foundation Scholarship (2006), was a National Merit Finalist (2003) and a Wisconsin All-State Scholar (2003). In 2005 he spent time in Ecuador through the Undergraduate Study Abroad through the School for International Training.

Upon returning to the United States, Shayle plans to enrol in a graduate school program to earn a degree in Environmental Policy, with an emphasis on Efficient and Renewable Energy. He would then like to work as a consultant on clean energy technologies and strategies. In the future he would like to consult with entrepreneurs and start-up companies on how they can maxmise their positive effect on the environment and the business market.