From: Majerus, Elizabeth

Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2021 12:25 PM

To: White, Morgan

Cc: Gharpure, Prajakta Milind; Kovitz, Kyle Paige; Low, Khee; Davis, Peter ; Collins, Halie Jean; Kroencke, Janet Lynn

Subject: Re: Following up with Solar Decathalon Design Team

Hi Prajakta, Peter, Khee, and Kyle,

I really loved the work you did on envisioning an energy efficient retorfit and addtion for Uni High's beautiful historic building. Uni will be moving forward in the next five years with a fundraising plan for an expansion and update of our building, and we'd love to be able to consult with some or all of you as we lay that groundwork. 

Halie, we'd also love to have any current ISD students/staff involved, if there's interest. I'm also CCing our Director of Advancement, Janet Kroenke, who will be in the lead of the fundraising efforts that will make our future building update possible. 

Please let me know if you'd like to be part of a conversation about drawing on the Uni High Solar Decathalon Design project for our future planning.

Take care,

Elizabeth

___________________ 

Elizabeth Majerus, Ph.D. 

[She/her] 

University Laboratory High School

Provost/VCAA Admin

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

http://www.uni.illinois.edu 

From: White, Morgan

Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2021 10:00 AM

To: Majerus, Elizabeth

Cc: Gharpure, Prajakta Milind; Kovitz, Kyle Paige; Low, Khee; Davis, Peter; Collins, Halie Jean 

Subject: RE: Following up with Solar Decathalon Design Team

Hi Elizabeth!

This is great to hear.  And congratulations on being named the Director.

I’m copying all the students you named, and the current ISD lead, Halie Collins.  Please let me know if there is anything else I can help with!

Thanks,

Morgan

======================================

MORGAN B. WHITE

Associate Director of F&S for Sustainability

Facilities & Services | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

1501 S Oak Street (MC-800) | Champaign, IL 61820

fs.illinois.edu/services/sustainability

From: Majerus, Elizabeth

Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2021 12:06 PM

To: White, Morgan 

Subject: Following up with Solar Decathalon Design Team

Hi Morgan,

I'm interested in following up on the wonderful Solar Decathalon project that the student design team presented on in May 2020. This was something that I had hoped to do during the 2020-21 school year, but the pandemic really shifted my expectations and task list. 

I wondered if you might have contact information for any of the students who worked on the Uni project. Prajakta Gharpure, Khee Kim Low, Peter Davis, Kyle Kovitz were the students who presented that day.

We are hoping to stay in our present Uni building, and ideas like those that these students shared are an inspiration for what might be possible in terms of the greater space and updated infrastructure we'll need to sustain our school.

Thanks for any help you can offer on this.

Take care,

Elizabeth

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 will support Dr. Mark Taylor throughout the project, giving students research and professional development opportunities. The Student Sustainability Committee provided $47,000 in December 2017 to support the design and construction of a small mobile field station using agricultural waste. Upon completion, researchers and students will have a better understanding on how agricultural waste materials perform as a building material that can get used at a larger scale. Moreover, the campus will have a mobile field station that uses corn stock insulation.

The geothermal heat pump is now installed at the Gable Home, at the Energy Farm. Professor Yun Yi will create an energy model, and Mark Taylor said, "I can work with one of my RA’s to draw up the system in a 3D model for use in presentations and papers."

The model is the “QE0930.” 

The most significant development to date is that two buildings have been identified in which the material the team is work with will be installed, one is a single-story building of approximately 400 sq/ft the other has a double height space and a footprint off approximately 1,600 sq/ft that will be enclosed using the material in development.

Spring 2018 semesterly report submitted to the Student Sustainability Committee on behalf of the 'CornCrete' project.