Three Scholarships To Promising Victoria Students

Building Research Award Three Scholarships To Promising Victoria Students

Building Research today announced that it has awarded three promising Victoria University students Building Research Project Awards, each worth $6,000 towards projects to be undertaken this year.

The recipients; Jessica Bennett, Matthew Colson and Richard Watt are all studying for Honours degrees in Building Science in the School of Architecture and Design.

Dr Sunil Vather, chief executive of Building Research, the building and construction sector's leading research investment organisation, says, "We are pleased to be able to fund these students research that will essentially benefit the building and construction industries in the future. This is consistent with our mission statement, 'investing for New Zealand's construction future'."

Building Research is the independent industry association owned and directed by the building and construction industry. Each year, they allocate funding to assist students with outstanding academic credentials to undertake research in fields which are deemed to be of importance to the construction sector.

This year, Building Research has allocated $200,000 for Scholarships and Awards, out of a budgeted $7,000,000 to invest in the wider area of research and knowledge transfer; an increase of almost 17% on the total budget for the 2005-06 year.

Jessica Bennett's research project will look at natural ventilation and apartment design. Through simulation, Jessica will investigate the relationship between apartment design features and natural ventilation. The aim of this project is to determine whether it is possible to develop a simple 'yes/no' matrix for natural ventilation code compliance that takes into account differing apartment design factors and features. Jessica's degree specialises in environmental science.

Richard Watt is specialising in environmental science and will study energy use and environmental performance of commercial and institutional buildings. He chose this topic because commercial buildings, while only comprising around 3 per cent of the national building stock, use some 30 per cent of all electricity generated nationally. His research will examine the possible incorporation of energy targets into the New Zealand Building Code.

Matthew Colson's research project will investigate quality assurance in thermal simulation. Insulation targets specified by the New Zealand Building Code are defined in a series of documents and related standards.

In order to achieve accurate and reproducible results from these guidelines, a series of standard procedures need to be provided for the purpose of simulation for code compliance. Current research suggests that some guidelines lack the detail required to produce a consistent simulation result. Matthew's study will compare input parameters outlined in the NZS4218 standard with a selection of accredited simulation guidelines from around the world, which will help identify areas which lack detail or are absent altogether.

Jessica Bennett

Matthew Colson

Richard Watt

Dr Vather said: "Building Research looks forward to seeing the results of the research that Jessica, Richard and Matthew are undertaking this year. We wish them all the best with their studies, and welcome the contribution they are making to the building and construction industry, and to the community as a whole, who essentially benefit from the progress made."

ENDS

BUILDING RESEARCH is the building and construction sector's leading research investment agency. Building Research invests in an extensive range of research, technology transfer and scholarship activities, with funds derived from the Building Research Levy, under the direction of a Board drawn widely from the building and construction industry. See www.buildingresearch.org.nz

Building Research should not be referred to as BRANZ, which is the trading name of the separate entity BRANZ Ltd (see www.branz.co.nz). BRANZ Ltd delivers research, testing, consultancy and educational services. While BRANZ Ltd has its own Board, it is owned by Building Research but draws less than 40% of its income from investments by Building Research.

© Scoop Media