Green roof technology could soon be a part of Penn State. Though Harvard is currently the only college in the country that boasts this technology, the rooftops of University Park may one day be covered in plants as well.

The Center for Green Roof Research at Penn State, directed by David Beattie, a professor in the horticulture department, and run by a group of faculty, students and outside business interests, has a mission statement to demonstrate and promote green roof research, education and technology transfers in the Northeastern United States.

Green roof technology was started in Germany about 30 years ago to prevent storm water from converging with the sewer system and blowing it out. The dense population made this a problem. It also made more storm drains too costly, so Germany began installing green roofs on the tops of their buildings.

Cactus-like plants are grown on the rooftops and the foliage absorbs the rain water and stores 50 percent of it in the leaves while the other half is slowly drained, so no flooding occurs.

Aside from storm water mitigation, Beattie said, green roofs control the heat island effect.

Heat island effect is caused by the density of industry in metropolitan areas. This causes a heat bubble to form over a city, making it up to 15 degrees hotter in the center of a city during summer. The effect is a global problem that Beattie predicts will get worse over the next decade or so.

Ed Snodgrass, owner of Emory Knoll Farms, a nursery that raises plants for green roofing in Maryland, said people should be very concerned about the heat island effect.

One way to alleviate this is to install green roofs on city building tops. Plants act as natural air conditioners because they transpire. Beattie cited an example where the plants used in green roofing reduced the air temperature from 90 to 82 degrees.

Another advantage to green roof technology is more economically oriented. Green roofing extends the life of a roof because as roof materials expand and contract with the changes in temperature, cracks develop. Green roofs stabilize the temperature and also block out damaging UV rays, preserving the roof materials.

In addition to these benefits, greenery is arguably more aesthetically pleasing than the typical rooftop.

"In the end," Beattie said, "green roof pays off."

For these reasons, the Center for Green Roof Research is attempting to have a green roof installed on top of the agricultural engineering building. Beattie's said taking this step would show that Penn State is technologically advanced. The plan is to construct a deck over the green roof so students could view the process and conduct experiments, so it has educational value.

Beattie said Penn State has three and a half million square feet of roof space and gets about 77 million gallons of rainfall (which can be high in pollutants) on the roofs annually, and it is experiencing problems with flooding at the run-offs.

Therefore, he said it is environmentally in Penn State's interest to start green roofing.

As an economic incentive, Penn State would save money because the roofs' lives are extended.

But despite these advantages, the project has come up against obstacles.

"We haven't had an enthusiastic response from the administration," Beattie said.

This could be because of the initial cost involved in installing the roofs. However, Beattie predicts that Penn State could manage to get a majority of the materials as donations.

Though Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig said the plan has not progressed far enough for the university to make any definite statement about it, it might be a possibility for the future.

"I certainly wouldn't rule it out. It goes with the focus on the environment at the university," he said.

This focus on the environment was something Paul Ruskin, construction coordinator for the Office of the Physical Plant, also emphasized.

"We are certainly interested in maintaining green space on campus," he said.

Ruskin added that plans are currently under way to construct a building for the school of architecture and landscape architecture, and the focal point of its design will be green, possibly including a green roof.

Regardless of whether Penn State progresses with this technology, it looks likely to play an integral part in American buildings within the next decade or so, some said.

"I think green roofs will go from being a novelty to something that most people have a knowledge of in the next few years," said Charlie Miller, owner of Roofscapes, Inc., and a green roof installation expert.