FAA Awards Solar Guidance Document Project to HMMH
March 16, 2010: Burlington, MA
Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc. (HMMH) has been selected by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to develop a solar guidance document for airports. The guide will be in the format of a handbook or FAA Advisory Circular and be the central reference for airports interested in exploring the potential benefits and costs of solar energy. The guide will:
Provide baseline information on solar technology and applications for airports
- Describe FAA requirements and procedures to ensure that a proposed system is safe and poses no risk to pilots, controllers, or airport operations
- Review economic factors and business arrangements that make solar projects cost-effective
- Illustrate the unique opportunities associated with solar generation at airports through case studies of existing installations and reference materials supporting their success, and
- Detail how FAA funding programs can aid project development
In all, the guidance will provide a comprehensive, clear, and readily usable source of information that airport sponsors can apply to their evaluation of solar potential.
"We recognized over a year ago the unique landscape and business conditions for developing solar projects at airports and have begun working with several of our clients in this area," said Bob Miller, an HMMH founder and Senior Vice President. "We look forward to working with the FAA to assist more airports in capturing this value to enhance energy savings and reduce climate impacts in a manner that is compatible with airport operations."
The FAA expects to make the Solar Guide available to airports by the end of 2010.
HMMH Authors Two Articles in Current Issue of AirportConsulting Magazine
March 11, 2010: Burlington, MA
Diana Khera, Director of Airport and Airspace Planning, writes about the far-term perspectives of NextGen and what they mean for airports in ACC's spring edition of AirportConsulting Magazine, a quarterly publication. Bob Miller, Senior Vice President, presents a "real airport" case study on the near-term impacts of NextGen in the spring edition.
Mary Ellen Eagan Presented with Gillfillan Award
March 2, 2010: San Diego, CA
In honor of her professional achievements, Mary Ellen Eagan was presented with the Walt Gillfillan Award at the UC Davis Noise and Air Quality Symposium on Monday, March 1, in San Diego California.
The UC Davis website describes this annual honor, established in 2006: "This award is presented at the symposium to an aviation environmental stakeholder for exemplary work addressing the challenges of reducing the environmental impacts of aviation." She is the fifth recipitient of the award.
Upon receiving the award, Mary Ellen told attendees, "I am truly stunned, and very humbled to receive the award." She later commented, "I owe many thanks to all my mentors at HMMH, who have taught me well these last 25 years. I believe the award reflects well on our corporate commitment to values of: serving clients, being honest, respecting others, building value, using teams, seeking growth and having fun."
Mary Ellen enjoys the technical challenges of science and engineering combined with the public sector challenges of working at airports. Her passion is to advance public understanding of the complex issue of aviation noise and its effects on people.
Marin County (CA) Route 101 Installs Sound-absorbing panels
For the past 6 months, the California DOT (Caltrans) has been installing sound-absorbing panels on the existing noise barriers along Route 101 in Marin County (CA). An article on the panels was recently published in the Marin Independent Journal, titled, Soundwall pays off: Residents along Highway 101 say noise has been reduced. An excerpt follows:
"Patrick Murphy of San Rafael likes what he doesn't hear. Crews are finishing the installation of thousands of sound-absorbing panels as part of a $3 million retrofit of the existing Highway 101 soundwall to give area neighbors relief from freeway noise."
Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc. (HMMH) studied the traffic noise exposure and the effects of reflections from noise barriers along Route 101 in 2001. HMMH recommended the panels as a noise mitigation measure in the study. For more information on this project, please visit: http://www.hmmh.com/rt101-noise-monitoring-ca.html.
"Caltrans has conducted several sound propagation and measurement studies in response to complaints, to try to understand whether their standard sound-reflective noise barriers could be increasing noise levels at long distances. I am pleased to read they have installed the sound-absorbing panels we recommended along the noise-sensitive areas of Route 101."
— Christopher Menge, Senior Vice President
HMMH Nominated to ACRP Project Panel
Mr. Phil DeVita will serve on the Project Panel for the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Project 02-23 Alternative Fuels as a Means to Reduce PM2.5 Emissions at Airports. Mr. DeVita is Director of Air Quality at Harris Miller Miller & Hanson Inc. (HMMH).
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) summary describes the project: "Regions of the country where air quality exceeds the limits imposed by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are required to develop a plan to bring the affected areas back into attainment. This research aims to determine the degree to which introducing a low-sulfur and/or low-aromatic alternative to standard petroleum-derived Jet Fuel A at select airports within PM2.5 non-attainment areas can be an effective means of reducing PM emissions for the region. The final report will include a framework for assessing lifecycle PM2.5 emissions that will be useful for future studies."
ACRP 02-23 will have its first meeting in Washington, D.C. on January 6 and 7, 2010. More information on TRB and ACRP is located at http://www.trb.org/acrp/public/acrp.aspx
HMMH Presents First-ever Founders' Award
At this year's annual meeting, held on October 21, HMMH presented its first Founders' Award for Excellence – in recognition of outstanding performance on a project that was uniquely challenging, technically innovative, and resulted in proven client satisfaction.
The award went to Dynamics and Noise Consultancy Services for Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation. David A. Towers accepted the award as Project Manager, on behalf of the project team.
Beginning in 2004, HMMH provided noise and vibration design review and assessment services to Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation/MTR for this underground railway extension project in Hong Kong, in close proximity to sensitive hotels and cultural facilities. HMMH is currently working for KCRC/MTR under a five-year contract to provide noise and vibration consulting services for this project. One major task undertaken under this contract was a test program to measure ground-borne vibration propagation from the newly-constructed rail tunnel to the nearby Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
Other key staff who worked on the project include:
- Jason C. Ross
- Timothy M. Johnson
- Douglas E. Barrett
- Carl E. Hanson
"Dave impressed us greatly with his superb technical knowledge and skilful application of such. We're delighted that he understood the client's objectives and requirements so well and executed his assignments in a manner that would be an envy to many professionals. Dave is a rare combination of sterling technical expert, master diplomat and seasoned project manager."
— Richard Kin Yan Kwan
HMMH Unveils Offshore Wind Project for Town of Nantucket
The News Article from the Nantucket Inquirer & Mirror: Town investigating feasibility of its own wind farm By Joshua Balling.