University of California, Davis Freezer Challenge Contest: Are You Cool Enough?
Allen Doyle, MS, University of California, Davis
Kathy Ramirez-Aguilar, Ph.D., University of Colorado Boulder
To raise awareness of sample management issues and decrease the growth of freezers, University of California (UC), Davis challenged campuses across the nation to the 2011 Freezer Week contest, with awards such as Frost King, Frost Queen, and Rip Van Winkle. Points were awarded approximating one point per kilowatt hour (kWh) per day, plus bonuses were awarded for room temperature sample storage (RTSS) or detailed inventories. Special awards were judged by graduate students for "Gnarliest Photo" and "Most Valuable Re-discovery."
At least seven universities joined, including: UC Davis, University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder), Harvard University, UC Santa Barbara, University of Pennsylvania, Penn State, and the Medical University of South Carolina. Incentives included restaurant gift cards, pizza coupons, and labor and material subsidies for sample transfer. A return on investment (ROI) of less than one year was calculated for clean-out rewards. UC Davis and CU Boulder will share how the contest motivated researchers to participate in conservation opportunities for laboratory freezers, estimates of energy reductions, results from other campuses, and gnarly photos of frost-choked appliances.
Across the nation, the number of freezers is increasing in laboratories, particularly ultra low temperature (ULT) freezers, which consume about 20 kWh of energy per day and reject about 800 watts (W) of heat. UC Davis has approximately 1,000 ULTs, acquiring about 70 per year, and costing from one to two million dollars annually. While they usually have extremely valuable or priceless samples, sometimes they are poorly maintained, loosely organized and may hold materials long-forgotten or no longer valuable. However, going through freezers to weed out these samples is cold and thankless. Except for floor space limitations and manager oversight, there is little incentive when utility bills are prepaid through grant overhead. Sometimes freezers are bought unnecessarily when a "freezer clean-out" could have sufficed.
According to scientists and managers alike, there is only moderate scientific backing for necessary temperatures to store samples. At one university, identical samples may be stored at -80 degrees Celsius (C) and across campus at -20 degrees C. Oftentimes, the mentality is simply colder is better, which is very energy intensive when a ULT freezer consumes five to seven times the energy of a -20 degrees C freezer. Some freezers use half the electricity at -60 degrees as they do at -86 degrees C. On hearing this, some scientists immediately request to "chill up" their freezers to -70 degrees C. With freeze drying and the advancement of RTSS for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), some samples may be more secure without freezing. Unfortunately, many scientists are reluctant to try new methods. This contest promoted change and may unify best practices for cold storage.
Biographies:
With 20 years of chemistry, laboratory management and field work experience, Allen Doyle brings the researcher's eye to conservation in laboratories. At the University of California, Mr. Doyle co-founded Laboratory Research And Technical Staff (LabRATS) in 2006. Now working full time on sustainability, Mr. Doyle has several projects at UC Davis enrolling researchers in HVAC optimizing, freezer management, green design and purchasing, green laboratory certification and surplus re-use. As a chemical oceanographer, Mr. Doyle learned of global warming 30 years ago, and is glad the country is finally taking it seriously.
Kathy Ramirez-Aguilar, Ph.D., is the manager of the CU Green Laboratories Program at CU Boulder, a program she has been building and creating for the past two years. Dr. Ramirez-Aguilar has 15 years of laboratory research experience within the fields of biochemistry, analytical chemistry, and organic chemistry. Dr. Ramirez-Aguilar graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the College of William & Mary, and was the recipient of an American Chemical Society Analytical Division Fellowship for her Ph.D. studies at CU Boulder in analytical chemistry. Dr. Ramirez-Aguilar received a National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Health (NIH) for postdoctoral studies in biochemistry at CU Boulder, where she stayed on as a researcher and laboratory manager after her fellowship ended. Working as a research scientist, Dr. Ramirez-Aguilar saw a real need for a program to engage scientists in conservation. After the birth of her twin daughters and her hope for their future, her passion grew to promote change and create a model program focused on resource conservation in laboratories.