Jayshree Samanta, a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, has won this year’s UGA Freezer Challenge, a sustainability initiative coordinated by the UGA Green Labs in the Office of Sustainability.
In back, from left, are Drew Cribbs, Justin Sanders and Diya Lakwani. In front, from left, are Annamaria Scalia, Jayshree Samanta and Jordyn Cohen. (Submitted photo)
The Samanta lab demonstrated extraordinary dedication to sustainability by adopting several freezer maintenance practices, resulting in 14 kWh of energy saved per day. As the challenge winner, the Samanta Lab will receive a new high-efficiency, ultra-low freezer valued at $15,000, courtesy of UGA Utility and Energy Management.
“We were following common practices like defrosting and cleaning our freezers regularly for maintaining and extending their life. Little did we know that our actions had an environmental impact beyond our lab,” Samanta said. “The training we received as part of the Lab Freezer Challenge really changed our perspective and motivated everyone in our lab to reduce our carbon footprint and become good environmental citizens.”
The UGA Freezer Challenge is part of the larger International Laboratory Freezer Challenge, a global competition designed to promote best practices in cold storage management. The challenge runs every January to July and is an opportunity for researchers to learn about proper freezer maintenance to protect vital samples, reduce energy consumption costs, and prolong the life of lab equipment.
In total, participating UGA labs achieved a combined daily energy savings of 463 kWh. Annually, this amounts to a remarkable savings of 169,000 kWh, translating into $18,600 in financial savings. That’s the equivalent of powering 15 homes for a year or taking 28 cars off the road for a year.
This year, 47 labs across UGA participated in the challenge, representing seven colleges and 17 academic departments. The top three colleges by participation were the Franklin College, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and the College of Veterinary Medicine.
The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology had the most participants, and the Department of Genetics had the highest combined energy savings.
Labs interested in getting involved in the 2025 challenge should contact UGA Green Labs at greenlab@uga.edu.