Architectural Record Honors NYU Director of Cleantech Initiatives for Her Activism

Pat Sapinsley has received the 2015 Activist Award from the editors of Architectural Record magazine, who cited her efforts to bring together green technology and entrepreneurship to create a stronger marketplace for sustainable solutions.

Sapinsley, a noted figure in New York City's green-tech community, heads the NYU Tandon School of Engineering’s Urban Future Lab (UFL) and related initiatives in her role as managing director of cleantech initiatives. In that capacity, she oversees NYC ACRE, which is housed at the UFL and which helps the city’s clean-technology companies grow. She is also instrumental in NYU's role in PowerBridgeNY, a New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)-sponsored proof-of-concept center, which leverages clean-energy innovations emerging from university and institutional research labs to create more and stronger businesses in New York State.

“Since being appointed to direct our cleantech initiatives this June, Pat has been a staunch ally in our mission to prove that public, private, and educational partnerships can foster incredible heights of innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Dr. Kurt Becker, the School of Engineering’s vice dean for research, innovation, and entrepreneurship. “She is helping to make NYU a major force in the drive for a cleaner, more sustainable future, and we are pleased that her tireless efforts are being recognized by the architecture community.

Sapinsley received the prize on October 6, at the second annual Women in Architecture Forum & Awards luncheon in New York City. The program is aimed at recognizing the design leadership of American women architects, celebrating the increasingly visible role of women in the profession, and encouraging firms to promote women and their work.

In addition to her duties at NYU, Sapinsley, a LEED AP architect, co-chairs the Committee on the Environment of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. (LEED, for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a green-building certification program.) She is also a member of the Board of Building Energy Exchange, which provides support to the building industry to achieve Mayor’s 80x50 energy efficiency goals. She is a frequent lecturer and industry panelist, and has been an active member of the U.S. Green Building Council and Urban Green.