In April 2017 three faculty members received $14,522 from the University Research Board to conduct preliminary investigations surrounding crop residue as a building material at both small and large scale. The results of those initial investigations proved very positive. This project primarily strives to turn corn stalks into a building project. Students have assisted Associate Professor Mark Taylor, from the School of Architecture throughout the project, giving students research and professional development opportunities.

A student research team, under Dr. Yuanhui Zhang, will expand the Environment-Enhancing Energy (E2E) research program to campus application by augmenting wet food waste produced through the dining halls. They will first survey dining services food waste and make their findings available to campus affiliates. Next, they will take dining waste and convert it into biofuel and asphalt. This process will reduce UIUC’s food waste, advancing the Illinois Climate Action Plan efforts. Likewise, the project will bring awareness to food waste at a local level.

Illinois Enactus’s mission is to contribute to the UN sustainable development goals by developing collaborative business ventures that work towards social, economic, and environmental equality in all communities. Illinois Enactus is an official chapter of the worldwide non-profit organization, Enactus. Enactus exists in more than 39 countries and has more than 1,600 teams across the globe, and Illinois Enactus ranks in the Top 4 of US teams. Being a member of Enactus means that you are a part of the largest and most prestigious business network on the planet.

A University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign student run organization which designs and fabricates a highly fuel efficient car to compete annually in the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas Competition.

This project represents the expansion of the original Illinois Sustainable Food System (ISFP) Tomato Processing Project to include additional produce and grains. Expanded products include baked products from grain grown as part of the Illinois Crop Science wheat breeding program, currants from the Multifunctional Woody Perennial Polyculture (MWP) to produce purees and juices, additional grains to produce puffed, seasoned snacks from an extruder, hot peppers to make hot and wing sauces, pumpkins to produce puree, cookies, and pies, and more. 

This project funds the Illini EcoConcept team for their efforts to design and manufacture a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Urban-Concept Vehicle to compete in the Shell EcoMarathon Competition in 2017. While the competition has always been centered on energy efficiency, it also promotes and rewards innovation that leads to a more sustainable energy system to support communities around the globe.

The Lincoln Avenue Residence Hall Living and Learning Community (LLC) is aware of the interest in increasing the number of campus locations with native plants.  They would like to join the effort to plant Native Plant Species in selected areas around Campus. The goal of this project is to locate plants in places like the unused space between Allen Hall and Lincoln Ave. Residence.

This project aims to create a building-level energy usage report with information about each specific building.  The initial pilot case will be Lincoln Hall, and behavior change strategies will be incorporated into the final product.

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 5, objective 4 is "Inventory and benchmark campus’ existing landscape performance by FY17." The entire UIUC campus drains to either Boneyard Creek or the Embarras River.

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 4, objective 3 is "Conduct a detailed study by the end of FY17 to develop scenarios for complete conversion of the campus fleet to renewable fuels." Options to be considered might include sustainably-produced biodiesel, compressed natural gas from anaerobic digestion of organic wastes, and electricity from zero-carbon sources such as solar and wind.  The proposed study would review the types and usage of campus vehicles, evaluate the expectation for vehicle availa