Professor David Gann
A new charity charged with researching and developing sustainable technologies for the built environment has selected David Gann as a Trustee
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A research and development charity proposed by the Prime Minster in 2008 to improve energy efficiency, reduce environmental waste and explore renewable energy, has chosen Professor David Gann, head of the Business School's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group to join its Board of Trustees. The Institute for Sustainability is using a 40-mile stretch of land from London Docklands to Southend in Essex known as the Thames Gateway to research into emerging technologies to reduce the negative effects of building, commerce and habitation.
Professor Gann brings both academic and business expertise to the 13-member board, which comprises public and private sector members. His research at Imperial College and role within Laing O'Rourke, the UK's largest privately owned construction company, focuses on the development and implementation of new ideas to improve performance. This includes the study of city regeneration, novel technologies applied to housing construction and policies for entrepreneurship.
"The appointment gives the School, and our partners, a test-bed for eco-city ideas," said Professor Gann. "This will begin in the Thames Gateway and extend to collaborative projects in the Middle East, India and China. We intend to create a major London hub in the international network which will complement our ongoing Eco-Cities Research Network called ‘Eco-Cit'."
Research projects have begun in the Thames Gateway. Projects include a study of metering devises installed in homes to reduce energy and water consumption and an examination of whether soil roofs can insulate well and provide a home to existing local flora and fauna. There are more technical projects that include close measurement of a building's thermal performance - how it behaves when heating is used as well as tests with ceramic paints, which may reduce a building's heat loss.
Professor Gann expects numerous collaborations between the School, the College more widely and the Institute in the future. One early proposal is to explore how digital systems could be used to improve a city's transportation and health infrastructure. Another project may look at how to best measure and encourage entrepreneurial activities and incubate new businesses. Further development of a new carbon-negative cement from an Imperial College spin out company, Novacem, may also take place in the Thames Gateway. The new formulation aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by one ton for every ton of traditional cement it replaces.
These projects exist alongside two recent multi-million Euro awards by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) to Imperial College and other organisations for a Climate Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) and an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Lab. The Business School plays central roles in these large-scale European projects to create a sustainable future by transferring higher education skills, research and innovation activities to businesses.
Peter Head, chair of the Thames Gateway Institute for Sustainability Board of Trustees, welcomed the new Board and said he was pleased to lead the high-calibre team on a world-class sustainability research programme to find practical sustainability innovations. Mr Head said each trustee is a recognised leader in fields relevant to sustainability and that he expected the Institute to generate fresh ideas, and viable remedies to the threat of climate change.
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