Construction on a state-of-the-art facility for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) began on October 7, 2011. One of the features of the building is the use of LED bulbs in over half of the lighting fixtures. Nick Holonyak, University alumnus and inventor of the first practical visible-spectrum LED, is the John Bardeen Endowed Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics.

The 550 lighting fixtures in the lobby of the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts were replaced with energy efficient LED fixtures in 2010. The new fixtures are projected to use 132,000 kilowatt-hours and cost $12,500 annually. This cost is about a fifth of the old system’s cost. The newer fixtures also lower cooling and maintenance costs. Another aspect of the installation is a computerized mixing feature that allows Krannert staff to change of the lighting color of each bulb to create a unique atmosphere in the building.

This project is meant to transform the walkway between Burrill and Morrill Halls into a sustainable and multifunctional landscape. The walkway formerly had planters with a few, mostly non-native species. The walkway’s impervious concrete also had the problem of collecting rainwater and flooding. This area is high in student pedestrian traffic and is a part of the “Million Dollar Tour” that prospective donors to the University take while visiting campus.

The Student Sustainability Committee, in conjunction with the Environmental Change Institute, has chosen to solicit proposals for the development of sustainability courses. This will allow the SSC to have a hand in choosing proposals to support, while the ECI will manage the projects and administration. In FY2010 the program received ten course proposals, six of which were chosen for funding.

A maximum of $15,000 in funding was made available, with individual grants of up to $5,000.

The Prairie Project is a faculty development workshop on the University of Illinois campus that is meant to prepare faculty to teach about sustainability and introduce sustainability issues into their existing coursework. Eighteen faculty members who teach thousands of students each year will make up the interdisciplinary group that the project reaches out to. This is a pilot project that is meant to serve as a basis for future workshops.

The Waste Management Research Center (WMRC), now known as the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC), received a grant from the Student Sustainability Committee to replace the lights in offices and laboratories with more energy efficient fixtures. The grant was also used to install occupancy sensors in the facility.

The SSC gave $23,450 to the ISTC to replace 212 fluorescent fixtures. Costs of the project ended up only totaling $22,642.70, and the ISTC returned $807.20 to the SSC. Annual savings from the replacement of these fixtures should amount to about $4,820.

An Energy Audit and Retrofitting of the Illini Union was funded by the Student Sustainability Committee in 2006. In 2007, the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC) completed the audit with help from students. As suggested by the audit, lighting retrofits are planned for the Union. The total cost of these retrofits is $90,000, but they will save the Union $28,900 per year in electricity costs. Retrofits will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 469 tons per year.

“The Tempest – Sustainability Project” explores the possibilities and limitations of creating sustainable theatre within the university environment in Urbana-Champaign. Using the production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest as a laboratory for the examination of sustainable theatrical practice, the production team will consider how the purchase, use, and disposal of building materials, the operation of lighting systems, energy and water use, and the representation of human beings interacting with their environment can contribute to an ecologically-sound production.

An Outdoor Wood-fired Boiler system was funded to replace a natural gas heating system at Allerton Park. By replacing the previous system, CO2 emissions will be eliminated and there will be a substantial cost savings. The use of a renewable resource (wood), obtained from landscape management at the park grounds in place of a non-renewable one (natural gas), combined with the greenhouse gas emissions reduction will help increase campus sustainability. The Student Sustainability Committee Granted the project $25,500.

This project is meant to map the sustainability related programs, facilities and organizations in the Champaign-Urbana Area. The purpose of this project is to inform the community of the sustainability programs the University is undertaking. There is also an educational component to the project, since a Univeristy of Illinois class will be involved. Visit the map at http://www.opengreenmap.org/greenmap/champaign-urbana-green-map.