This solar-powered building has earned national acclaim as a
showcase for green building technologies and operating systems.
Photovoltaic panels on the center's roof and parking pavilion
capture renewable energy from the sun and south-facing windows
allow for passive solar heating. Indoors, a specially engineered
wetland called the Living Machine purifies non-potable
wastewater for reuse in toilets and the landscape. Flows of
energy and cycling of materials are monitored and displayed by a
sophisticated system (150+ sensors) that gives real-time
feedback, teaching about sustainability in the built
environment. Oberlin's physics building is named for aviation
pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright, whose older sister attended
Oberlin and taught them about physics. Research facilities here
were renovated in 1993 through a National Science Foundation
grant. These include labs equipped for infrared spectroscopy,
solar cell characterization, magnetic characterization, x-ray
diffraction, radio astronomy, vacuum thin-fi