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Project Updates

  4. Fall 2021 Semester Illini Lights Out Summary

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illini Lights Out

    Illini Lights Out totals for the Fall 2021 semester:

    13,942 bulbs turned off
    24049.95 kWh of energy saved
    16.98 metric tons of carbon saved 
    $2022.60 saved
    595 total volunteers for the semester 

    iSEE’s six ILO events in Spring 2022, pending any COVID-19 protocol updates for campus are found below.

    The signup form is found here — as is the link to our Facebook event page! Questions? Email us at iseeinterns@gmail.com.

    • Jan. 28
    • Feb. 11
    • Feb. 25
    • March 25
    • April 8
    • April 29

  6. December 3, 2021 Illini Lights Out Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illini Lights Out

    The final Illini Lights Out event of the semester was December 3, 2021 and over 120 volunteers helped out. Volunteers shut off 3,254 light bulbs and saved 5613 kWh of energy, 3.98 metric tons of CO2, and $472 in energy costs. Thanks so much to all of the volunteers who made this possible, and to all of the volunteers who have helped at Illini Lights Out this semester!

  7. Water and Environment: Water Quality, Quantity and Contaminants (Symposium)

    Associated Project(s): 
    Water Conservation [ARCHIVED]

    Please register for the Water and the Environment: Fundamental Aspects of Water Quality, Quantity, and Contaminants Symposium on December 9, 2021 from 9am-11:30am. There will be speakers as well as breakout rooms to engage our discussion on water and the environment. We look forward to seeing you December 9th!

    This opportunity is available online. Visit the event's Zoom website to register online.

     

  8. FGI Webinar: Live Panel Discussion on Allowable Leakage Rates

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    This Live Panel Discussion will assemble five industry leaders to answer questions about allowable leakage rates (ALRs) for different types of containment facilities.  In particular, the maximum ALR of a liquid impoundment or landfill is usually a common but difficult question to answer. (1.5 PDH)

    This event will be held on December 7th, 2021 from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM as a virtual experience. Visit the GoToWebinar page for this event to register!

  9. 2021 Annual Kids' and Teen Bike Giveaway

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    The Campus Bike Center, in collaboration with the Urbana Bike Project, is hosting a free Kids’ and Teen Bike Giveaway this holiday season. Bikes are first come, first served; one bike per kid, and they must be present to pick out their bike. Be sure to get to the event early, as bikes will go quickly! Email contact@thebikeproject.org or call (217) 469-5126 to arrange a donation for the event.

    The event will be held on December 11th, 2021 from 1:00-3:00 PM. In addition, the event will take place at Urbana Bike Project (202 S. Broadway Ave., Urbana.)

  10. Apply for a 2022-23 Levenick Teaching Sustainability Fellowship!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability Fellows Research Program [ARCHIVED]
    Encourage Course Development or Modification

    iSEE is offering seed funding to help faculty & instructors incorporate sustainability into the classroom in 2022-23. Levenick Teaching Sustainability Fellows can get $1,000 to integrate sustainability into an existing course or $2,000 to develop a new course, as well as resource support. 100- and 200-level courses encouraged.

    Application deadline Jan. 31, 2022.

  11. Results of the 2021 Sustainability Competition for Undergraduates

    Associated Project(s): 
    ReImagine Our Future


    "The three winners of the 2021 Sustainability Competition for Undergraduates were announced on Saturday afternoon.

    The overall winners in this inaugural competition were Jamie Lee and Semi Shin who developed a communication strategy for promoting the use of sustainable cement. They won $2000 for their innovative efforts. Their faculty advisor was Prof. Iwona Jasiuk.

    The runner-up award ($1000) went to three MechSE students, Advay Sudarshan, Aryan Panigrahi, and Yuge Ji. They proposed the development of an energy efficient thermoelectric cooling system for data centers. MechSE’s Associate Departmental Head, Prof. Sanjiv Sinha, advised them.

    Third prize ($500) went to Sakshi Vaya, who proposed a gender education strategy in India.

    The six winning entries may be viewed on the competition website.

     

    Thank you again for the wonderful support of the 54 specialist advisors and initial judges, and of the seven final judges. I also immensely appreciate the tireless support of the fellow coordinating team members, Prof. (emeritus) Robert McKim, Prof. Warren Lavey, Prof. Michelle Wander, Peter Davis (Univ. of St. Thomas), and Shreyas Venkatarathinam (MechSE Senior).

     

    We trust that you might again be able to support us with the Fall 2022 competition, which will feature a few structural changes. Also, our students will get the chance to collaborate with those from other universities, locally and internationally, as they address their chosen sustainability challenges."

    -Leon Liebenberg (12/04/2021)

    Teaching Associate Professor
    Fellow: Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning
    Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering
    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
    1206 W. Green Street
    Urbana, IL 61801

  12. Engagement001: General Education Board Sustainability Sub-Group - Successful

    Associated Project(s): 
    Engagement iCAP Team Recommendations Summary
    Engagement iCAP Team
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Sustainability Gen-Ed Requirement

    Bill Stewart, Professor in Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism and member of the General Education Board, responded to Ximing Cai with the following email on 12/3/21:

    Hi Ximing,

    I’m following up about the Sustainability Gen Ed Working Group that was formed this year.  The Provost has directed the gen ed board to form a working group with the following charge:  Sustainability General Education: A student group is continuing work to develop a proposal to create a Sustainability General Education requirement. This working group will meet with the student group and provide updates to the full board about the status of the proposal as well as feedback about the implications of a new requirement for evaluation of courses.  I’m serving as chair, with the following members of the working group:  Geoffrey Challen, Leon Decosta Dash, Stephen R Downie, James Robert Miller, and Sterling Raskie. 

    We’ve met twice now, with the first meeting focused on discussing our charge along with the history of sustainability education on campus.  We invited Jessica Nicholson along with others from her team to our second meeting to provide an update on the proposal and the intended next steps.  We plan to take back the activity to the gen ed board, and garner feedback from them.  Notes from our recent meeting are attached.

    Just keeping you in the loop here.

    Best,
    Bill

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

    For future updates, please see the Sustainability Gen-Ed Requirement project page. 
    See iWG assessment and transmittal of Engagement001 General Education Board Sustainability Sub-Group.
    See original recommendation and submittal of Engagement001 General Education Board SUstainability Sub-Group here. 

  13. LW002 Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design - Successful

    Associated Project(s): 
    Land and Water Recommendations Summary
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design
    Sustainability Council

    The Sustainability Council is in support of further discussion about the Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design and broader rainwater management issues, as discussed at the meeting on November 29, 2021. F&S will get the committee together to discuss broad rainwater management issues, and one of the tasks will be to discuss the Vet Med challenge. For future project updates, visit the Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design project page here.

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

    See transmittal and iWG assessment of the LW002 Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design.
    See submittal of LW002 Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design here.

  14. LW002 Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design - Transmitted

    Associated Project(s): 
    Land and Water iCAP Team
    Land and Water Recommendations Summary
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Sustainability Council
    Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design

    Following the completion of iWG assessment for LW002 Vet Med Parking Lot Re-design, the recommendation was transmitted to the Sustainability Sub-Council (11-10-21) and Sustainability Council (11-29-21). 

    See the attached iWG assessment for LW002 Vet Med Parking Lot Re-design.
    See the Land and Water recommendation of LW002 Vet Med Parking Lot Re-Design. 

    Attached Files: 

  15. Engagement001: General Education Board Sustainability Sub-Group - Transmitted

    Associated Project(s): 
    Engagement iCAP Team Recommendations Summary
    Engagement iCAP Team
    iCAP Working Group (iWG)
    Sustainability Council
    Broaden Sustainability Education

    Following the completion of iWG assessment for Engagement001 General Education Board Sustainability Sub-group, the recommendation was transmitted to the Sustainability Sub-Council (4-5-21) and Sustainability Council (4-28-21). 

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

    Dr. Ximing Cai sent the following message to Dr. Bill Stewart on 4-14-21: 

    Dear Dr. Stewart:

    Greetings! I’m writing about the ongoing student senate resolution on sustainability education. As you noticed, the Engagement SWATeam submitted a recommendation to support the resolution. Thanks for your comments as attached to the end of the recommendation. The iCAP Working Group (iWG) discussed the recommendation and concluded that “The iWG supports the creation of a General Education Board task committee to discuss feasibility and implementation of a sustainability gen-ed requirement as soon as possible. This is in support of the ISG resolution, which was approved February 2020.”

    The Engagement SWATeam & iWG recommendation will be presented to the Sustainability Council meeting on April 28th as a discussion item, which will go after the introduction of the resolution by a student senate representative. iSEE Interim Director Madhu Khanna and I would like to invite you to join the discussion, given that you’re familiar with the resolution, the Engagement SWATeam recommendation and your membership with General Education Board.  In particular, you’re expected to answer some questions from the Council members, as well as provide relevant information.

    We assume this effort will eventually go through the Senate mechanism. iSSE/iCAP hopes to show our support & engagement since it is consistent to some major education objectives of iCAP 2020. We also hope the discussion at the Council meeting chaired by Chancellor with attendance of Provost and Deans will speed up the process.

    The meeting is at 10:00-11:30 on April 28th. The particular discussion will take about 20 minutes. I will tell you later the appropriate time at which the discussion will start.

    Best regards

    Ximing Cai

    iSEE Associate Director on Campus Sustainability

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

    See iWG assessment of Engagement001 General Education Board Sustainability Sub-group attached.
    See original recommendation and submittal of Engagement001 General Education Board SUstainability Sub-Group here. 

    Attached Files: 

  17. Update on Sensor Installation to Track South Farms Water Quality

    Associated Project(s): 
    Reduce Nitrates from Agricultural Stormwater

    In the middle of 2021, there was a discussion about adding a sensor station at the far south of South Farms to track the water quality in the Embarras. 

    The original scope included installing the sensor during the Fall 2021 semester as a part of Arthur Schmidt's Field Class. However, obstacles, such as purchasing additional materials and the change in weather, have shifted this timeline. 

    As of Mid-November, Arthur Schmidt and his colleague, Jacob, are teaching a new sensors class in the Spring 2022 semester. The new timeline hopes to get the installation included in the Sensors Class curriculum, with installation occurring in the early half of 2022.

  18. Zero Waste iCAP Team Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Zero Waste Recommendations Summary
    Achieve Zero Waste
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Decrease Wasteful Practices through Behavior Change

    The Zero Waste iCAP Team met on Friday, December 3 to discuss and finalize the two recommendations related to the team's water bottle behavior change campaign. These include a drinking water behavior survey and a recommendation to track water filter systems on campus. Meeting minutes are attached.

    Attached Files: 

  19. CTAC fall 2021: Charge Letter, Presentation file, Meeting recording

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC)
    Vision Zero
    Walkability Study

    Please see attached the presentation for the CTAC meeting in Fall 2021. This meeting was held on December 3, 2021. Here is the link to see the recording of this meeting: https://uofi.box.com/s/ezoxpyo8xp2bysocygvj4hnh7cnm9xi3

    Attached Files: 

  20. New iSEE Greener Campus Programs Certifications

    Associated Project(s): 
    Certified Greener Campus Programs
    Certified Green Office Program (CGOP)
    Certified Green Event Program

    Congratulations to the newest recipients of our Green Event and Green Office certifications!

     

    Green Event Certifications: 

    Students for Environmental Concerns (SECS) Environmental Career Panel-Certified October 2021

    University of Illinois Foundation Board of Directors Basketball Game Watch-Certified November 2021

    Office of the Chancellor State of the University-Certified November 2021

     

    Green Office Gold Certification:

    Department of Communication-Recertified October 2021

     

    Thank you to each of our participants, keep up the great work!

     

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