New Education Initiative to Promote Hydrogen-Fueled Transportation

Lehigh Valley, Pa. (Oct. 7, 2008) - The Da Vinci Science Center recently introduced its hydrogen-fueled vehicle education initiative. The $2.4-million research and education project will demonstrate hydrogen's capacity as a safe, clean, and effective transportation fuel - one that can provide for American energy independence and reduced emissions. It also will promote the benefits of a hydrogen economy and advancements made toward its development.

The Da Vinci Science Center will manage the initiative, which is funded largely by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The FTA will use project data to inform its future efforts throughout the United States.

The Da Vinci Science Center will create a state-of-the-art spherical projection exhibit and informative public programming about hydrogen. The new exhibit sphere is scheduled to open in December.

The Center also has teamed with Air Products and Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest to place hydrogen-powered demonstration buses on their campuses and a hydrogen fueling station at Air Products. The team members commissioned the buses and the fueling station today in a two-part news event that began outside the Da Vinci Science Center and included bus rides to the Air Products fueling station.

The demonstration buses will serve as high-profile examples of hydrogen-fueled vehicles operating cleanly and safely in the greater Lehigh Valley. Along with their one-year engagements at Air Products and Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest, the buses will appear frequently at community events.

"There is a clear need to develop economic, safe, and environmentally-friendly transportation fuels and to promote their use," said Robert A. Fox, associate director and director of education for the Da Vinci Science Center. "The Da Vinci Science Center is proud to assume a leading role in this vital national dialogue."

The National Research Council and the National Academy of Engineering has recommended that the federal government develop and introduce safe and clean fueling systems that use hydrogen as a way to reduce American dependence on traditional energy sources and combat global climate change. An FTA objective is to identify potential barriers to adoption of such technologies - including a lack of public awareness about them.

U.S. Rep. Charles W. Dent presented a ceremonial bus key to Dr. Frank K. Schweighardt, interim executive director and chief executive officer of the Da Vinci Science Center, and the vehicles roared to life when eighth grade students from The Swain School, Allentown, exclaimed "Start the Hydrogen Buses!"

John McGlade, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Air Products, accepted a bus for use on the company's Trexlertown campus and said, "We greatly appreciate the work of the Da Vinci Science Center in seeking the funding for the fueling station and the two hydrogen-powered buses as integral parts of this research and education program. The opportunity to get hydrogen-powered transportation vehicles out into any community will go a long way in educating the public about hydrogen and its capabilities."

Dr. Elliot J. Sussman, president and chief executive officer, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network, said the hydrogen-powered bus is another step in the health network's continuing efforts to protect the environment.

"We take the footprint we leave on the Earth very seriously," Sussman said. "That's why we're taking steps to tread lightly on the environment; steps which include the construction at Lehigh Valley Hospital - Cedar Crest becoming the first hospital in the northeast region of the country to achieve LEED certification for 'green' buildings, and a new recycling initiative at all three of our hospital campuses. The hydrogen-powered bus is yet another way for us to do our part in protecting our environment while educating thousands of people each day about the benefits of hydrogen, a fuel of the future."

 

ABOUT DA VINCI SCIENCE CENTER

The Da Vinci Science Center is an independent non-profit organization that promotes hands-on science learning through inquiry, highlights vibrant and important career opportunities in science available to every young person, and encourages all people to be curious and creative. The Center delivers these opportunities through its dynamic exhibit floor - which features more than 200 hands-on exhibits - its professional development programs for teachers - including its signature Da Vinci Teacher Leader Institute program for elementary teachers - its public programming, and its outreach programs - including its Visiting Scientist Laboratory (VSL) programs, After-School Laboratory Programs (ASL), Visiting Classroom programs, and its new Motorola After-School Program. The Da Vinci Science Center stresses the inquiry method. Utilized by scientists and recognized as the most effective way to learn, the inquiry method encourages questioning, experimenting actively, observing, communicating results, and connecting all knowledge. For more information, click www.davinci-center.org.

 

ABOUT AIR PRODUCTS

Air Products (NYSE:APD) serves customers in industrial, energy, technology and healthcare markets worldwide with a unique portfolio of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, and equipment and services. Founded in 1940, Air Products has built leading positions in key growth markets such as semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, home healthcare services, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. The company is recognized for its innovative culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the environment. Air Products has annual revenues of $10 billion, operations in over 40 countries, and 22,000 employees around the globe. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.

 

ABOUT LEHIGH VALLEY HOSPITAL AND HEALTH NETWORK

A premier academic community hospital, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network includes three hospital facilities - two in Allentown and one in Bethlehem, Pa. - and Lehigh Valley Health Services, providing home health, hospice, pharmaceutical and health management services. These three hospitals have nearly 1,000 beds, 1,100 physicians on staff, 2,300 registered nurses, and are the area's largest employer with a workforce of more than 9,500. LVHHN's advanced regional resources include a Level I Trauma Center with added pediatric qualifications; a regional referral Burn Center for critical care burn patients; national certification as a Primary Stroke Center; the largest cancer program in the region and fourth largest in Pennsylvania; the Regional Heart Center - the second largest heart program in Pennsylvania based on volume; and an Advanced ICU with tele-intensivists to provide an extra level of care for critical care patients. One of Pennsylvania's largest teaching hospitals and a major teaching campus of Penn State's College of Medicine, LVHHN is also a regional resource for kidney and pancreas transplants, perinatal/neonatal care and neurology and complex neurosurgery. All three LVHHN hospitals are designated national Magnet hospitals for excellence in nursing. Additional information is available at www.lvh.org.

This page last updated 10/7/08 10:42 AM