OVERVIEW From the Director ... As the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Envi- runoff in the Midwest and help alleviate the hypoxic dead ronment (iSEE) begins Year 6 at the University of Illinois, zone in the Gulf of Mexico. The latter piece was a result we are pleased to report on our accomplish- of our 2018 Critical Conversation; another ments in research, education, and outreach piece on genetically modified mosquitoes — as well as our continued influence on from our 2019 Conversation is forthcoming. a more sustainable Urbana-Champaign On the education and outreach front, campus. our campuswide minor and environmental In 2018-19, iSEE and the Carl R. writing programs have gained enrollment — Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) and the new student-written, professionally fully established a $115 million Bioenergy curated Q Magazine is now in circulation. Research Center. In its second year, the A new donor-funded educational program U.S. Department of Energy-funded Center will help instructors add sustainability into for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation courses campuswide. And attendance at our annual Con- (CABBI) now employs more than 285 scientists, staff, and gress and other iSEE-supported campus events is thriving. students from Illinois and 19 partner institutions. Campus sustainability programs such as Illini Lights And by helping to attract more than $13.5 million Out and our new Greener Campus programming con- in new external funding, iSEE saw its research influence tinue to expand and help the U of I conserve energy and progress — and new major projects spawned. The future money. And in anticipation of publishing the 2020 Illinois remains bright as the Institute began new seed funding Climate Action Plan (iCAP), we have evaluated and re- initiatives to expand its research portfolio further. aligned our campuswide teams to help reach current and In addition, a generous gift from Stu and Nancy future goals. Levenick to iSEE and the Department of Natural Please turn the page for a closer look at our work; Resources and Environmental Sciences will allow for a you’ll note that we opted for a more featurized look this new Resident Scholars program starting in Fall 2019. year that is easier on the eyes and much more fun to read! The Institute has become a public voice for addressing wicked world problems, having published opinion pieces Sincerely, the past year on the National Climate Assessment as well Evan H. DeLucia, as on agricultural technology that can reduce nutrient Baum Family Director, iSEE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview...... 3-5 Education & Outreach Updates...... 28-34 iSEE Budget Breakdown...... 4 iSEE Congress...... 32 Major Donations & Income...... 4 Annual Events...... 33-34 External Grants & Funding Proposals...... 5 Campus Sustainability Updates...... 35-43 Research Updates...... 6-27 New Solar Initiative...... 35 iSEE-affiliated Centers...... 6-11 Resilience Commitment, Working Advisory Team..36 Newly Funded iSEE Projects...... 12-13 Sustainability Working Advisory Teams...... 37 New iSEE Seed Funding Initiatives...... 14-15 Campus Recognition...... 38-39 Continuing iSEE Projects...... 16-26 Greener Campus Programming...... 40 More iSEE Research Wrapups...... 26 Illini Lights Out/National Lights Out...... 41 iSEE Critical Conversations & Op-Eds...... 27 SSC & Other Student Groups...... 42-43 Education & Outreach Updates...... 28-34 Institute Updates...... 44-46 Educational Program and Course Updates ...... 28 New Facilities...... 44 Environmental Writing & Q Magazine...... 29 New iSEE Staff...... 45 Levenick-Funded Programs...... 30-31 Contact Info & Reach of our Institute...... 46

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 3 OUR GRACIOUS DONORS

Financial Support

v The Institute’s missions receive continued support from iSEE founding bene- factor the Alvin H. Baum Family Fund, under the administrative leadership of Joel Friedman and Erika Levenicks Fund New Cornelison. The Fund has given more than $2.1 million to support iSEE and its Baum iSEE Scholars Program Family Director, Evan H. In February, the University ing a thought leadership program DeLucia. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign at Illinois that will benefit future Most recently, the Baum announced that alumnus Stuart L. generations.” Fund supported iSEE’s new Levenick and wife Nancy J. Levenick NRES will select a faculty mem- Critical Conversations series of Naples, Fla., had made a signifi- ber to serve as the Levenick Chair (page 27) and supported cant endowment for sustainability in Sustainability. As an iSEE affiliate, students in the sustainability leadership, research, education, and this newly funded Chair will also minor capstone research practices on campus. recruit and manage the Resident experience (page 28). Mr. Levenick, who captained the Scholars Program at the Institute v For the second year in 1975 Illini football team and received (page 30). a row, Janelle Joseph gave a B.S. in Forestry in 1976, and his This year’s gift brings the Leve- to iSEE, and the 2019 $5,000 wife have designated the endowment nicks’ total support of the Universi- gift bolstered our educational offerings. in two parts: ty’s sustainability and environmental The gift will result in an • for the Levenick Sustainability missions into the multiple millions of upcoming article in Q Maga- Chair Fund, which will establish dollars. A 2014 endowment sup- zine (page 29). iSEE Com- an endowed chair in the College of ported the Levenick iSEE Fellows munications Interns Jenna Agricultural, Consumer and Envi- Program of scholars, research fellows Kurtzweil and Taylor Jen- ronmental Sciences’ Department of (page 26), and instructors (page 28) nings, both already published Natural Resources and Environmen- — as well as additions to the U of I in Q and recipients of the new tal Sciences (NRES); and curriculum through a new teaching Certificate in Environmental • for the Levenick Resident program (page 31). Writing (page 28), traveled to Scholars in Sustainability Leadership In 2015, Mr. Levenick’s former the U.S. Southwest to explore water resource management Program Fund, to establish a resident employer Caterpillar Inc. offered a issues on the Gila River. scholars program at iSEE. gift match, and funds from the Stu- The 2018 donation funded “As a forestry major on this cam- dent Sustainability Committee (SSC) two summer undergraduate pus, I learned the value of a strong, and the Office of the Provost in field internships for iSEE’s resilient environment and humanity’s 2016-17 helped build iSEE’s recently seed-funded Ag for Food re- place in nurturing it,” Mr. Levenick opened Collaboratory classroom/ search team (pages 24-25). said. “Nancy and I hope that our meeting space and Media Lab (page funding can play a role by establish- 44).

4 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report EXTERNAL RESEARCH GRANTS AND FUNDING REQUESTS During 2018-19, the Institute attracted the follow- ing funding for new research initiatives: FY19 iSEE OPERATIONS • $5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy BUDGET BREAKDOWN (DOE) for a project titled “Next Generation Feedstocks for the Emerging Bioeconomy” (pages 12-13). • A startup $663,585 grant from the Arizona State University Foundation for a project titled “Can Adap- Education tive Multi-Paddock Grazing Management Increase & Outreach 13% the Net Greenhouse Gas Sink Strength and Water Use Efficiency of Grazed Pastures?” (page 13). The project Research later received an additional $135,135 from the ASU 63% Foundation and ExxonMobil. Campus Sustainability Existing iSEE seed-funded projects also had fund- 15% ing successes: • $5 million from the Foundation for Food and Ag- riculture Research (FFAR) to extend the Crops in silico Administration project into Cis 2.0 (pages 16-17). 9% • $1.2 million from the U.S. Department of Agri- culture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agri- culture (NIFA) for an Agroforestry for Food (A4F)-led study on cover crops improving resilience of Midwest of Food, Energy and Water Systems (INFEWS) for a ecosystems. The A4F team also facilitated a $899,998 Campus as a Living Lab agrivoltaics project (page 15). from USDA NIFA and the National Science Founda- • $2.5 million from NSF INFEWS for a Campus as tion’s (NSF) National Robotics Initiative (NRI 2.0) for a Living Lab project on environment-enhancing food, a study on robotics for harvesting, and $373,906 from energy, and water systems (page 15). the Illinois Nutrient Research & Education Council • $499,814 from USDA NIFA for iSEE’s 2015 for another cover crops study on resilience of Midwest seed-funded pollution treatment project (page 26) to ecosystems (pages 24-25). create a sensor for bacteria in consumable products. • $185,000 ($250,000 Canadian) from United In the next fiscal year, iSEE already has plans to Nations Humanitarian Grand Challenges for the Stored propose several funding requests, including: Solar Stove team to study the use of Sun Buckets in • $10 million from the USDA Agriculture and conflict zones such as the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Food Research Initiative (AFRI) for a Campus as a northern Kenya (pages 20-21). Living Lab project (page 15) titled “Optimizing Agri- Still pending: voltaics for Sustainable Food-Energy-Water Systems.” • $1 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foun- Team members also will submit to USDA AFRI as a dation for a 2019 seed-funded project titled “Advancing $1.2 million sub-award to a University of Maryland Sustainability through the Transformation of Water and agrivoltaics project. Sanitation Infrastructure” (page 14). That grant was still • An amount to be determined from NSF NRI 2.0 pending as of the end of FY19. for a Campus as a Living Lab project titled “Creating Rejected proposals through or facilitated by iSEE: Adaptable Autonomous Systems for Energy-Efficient • $2.5 million from NSF’s Innovations at the Nexus Buildings” (page 15). iSEE’s Funding Proposal History, By the Numbers YEARS FUNDING PROPOSALS GRANTS RECEIVED PENDING 2018-19 $13.5 million $13.4 million* $1 million 2014-18 $247.6 million $122.4 million $10.9 million* Current Totals $261.1 million $135.8 million $1 million * Of the $10.9 million pending as of FY18, $6.1 million was funded in FY19. The remaining $7.7 million received in FY19 was from FY19 applications.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 5 RESEARCH

CENTER FOR ADVANCED BIOENERGY AND BIOPRODUCTS INNOVATION Postdoc Pairs Policy, Research Sarah Acquah is busy working Mathematics. co-benefits of the Renewable Fuel on three projects as a CABBI Post- “With my math background I Standard (RFS). doctoral Research Associate at the ventured into agricultural econom- “This isn’t lab work whereby I University of Illinois at Urbana- ics and (my brother) was absolutely can have new discoveries and have Champaign. But don’t make her pick right,” she said. “It was more applied patents for it, but rather policy re- which one she likes best. math in the areas of looking at the search,” Acquah said. “I don’t have a favorite,” Acquah agricultural market and pricing.” For one project, Acquah collabo- said. “I love all of them; they are my It wasn’t until 2012 that Ac- rates with a doctoral student at Iowa babies.” quah traveled to the U.S., where State University to examine nitrogen Working for CABBI Sustainabil- she earned an M.S. in Agricultural leaching and the export of dissolved ity Theme Leader Madhu Khanna, Economics from Mississippi State inorganic nitrogen (DIN) to the Gulf Acquah’s passion for modeling and University. She then received a Ph.D. of Mexico. Those nutrients cause agriculture has flourished. However, in Water-Resource Economics from hypoxia — the lack of oxygen due to her professional journey took several New Mexico State University. nutrient loss — and the “dead zone” twists and turns before she landed Now, at the University of Illinois, in the Gulf of Mexico. with CABBI. she uses a combination of all three of “The Midwest does not have a Originally from Ghana, West her degrees to help with her assign- water scarcity problem, but rather Africa, her interest in agricultur- ments. Acquah’s projects focus on they have issues of nitrogen leaching al economics was inspired by her using the Biofuel and Environmental predominantly from agricultural brother, who advised her to pursue Policy Model (BEPAM) to sources and exported via the Missis- the subject matter because of her analyze land use change impacts love for numbers. While in Ghana, of biofuel production, nitrogen she obtained a bachelor’s degree in applications, and environmental

Harvesting sorghum at the Illinois Energy Farm.

6 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report is doing is (assessing) how much marginal land exists, determining the economic incentives of using that land for bioenergy production, and (examining) the environmental co-benefits potentially available,” Acquah said. Part of CABBI’s mission is to develop efficient ways to grow bio- energy crops and to produce biofu- els. Acquah is studying the effects of biofuel production on greenhouse gas emissions — bringing her three projects full circle. “One of the benefits of having sippi and Atchafalaya rivers into the sequester soil carbon.” biofuel production is to cut down Gulf of Mexico, which currently has Acquah also studies margin- on greenhouse gas emissions” the second-largest hypoxia problem al land usage. Marginal land, as Acquah said. “Replacing fossil globally,” Acquah said. “Currently defined in her project, is land that fuels with biofuel and especially the focus is on corn and soybean borders on the margins of economic producing biofuel from cellulosic rotations in the Midwest and how profitability and non-profitability. feedstocks such as switchgrass and the establishment of cellulosic Typically, marginal land is seen as Miscanthus have the potential of ethanol production mandate can having less of an economic value, but reducing carbon emissions and replace these feedstocks with a more CABBI researchers are investigating improving water quality.” sustainable feedstock like switchgrass the feasibility of large-scale produc- or Miscanthus. These crops use very tive perennial grasses on these land Full article by iSEE minimal nitrogen, and can grow on types. Communications Intern Chloe Rice marginal land and significantly “What this marginal land study at cabbi.bio.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 7 CENTER FOR ADVANCED BIOENERGY AND BIOPRODUCTS INNOVATION Postdoc Has Passion for Plant Physiology Getting your hands dirty is at But Li is no stranger to field the top of a plant physiologist’s job work: On the contrary, his passion description. Shuai Li knows this for plant research has led him into better than anyone, but his love for the depths of diverse ecosystems and the research makes hard work well environments in his career. worth the while. “During my master’s, I worked After receiving his M.S. in Plant in the southwest part of China — we Ecophysiology from the University were studying the tropical plants of Science and Technology of China there,” he says. “In Estonia, we also and his Ph.D. in Plant Physiology went to the forest, into the canopy. from the Estonian University of Life We had to climb a tower and go to Sciences, Li is excited to complete the top, 20 meters high. We had to his postdoctoral research at the Uni- go there and also move the equip- versity of Illinois at Urbana-Cham- ment up to measure photosynthesis paign under the CABBI Feedstock ing his own Ph.D. dissertation. He in the canopy.” Development theme. remarks on the similarity of their It might not be the most glam- Li’s family moved to Illinois so research areas even before he joined orous, but Li has no problem with he could join Lisa Ainsworth’s Labo- the group. legwork. ratory. Li was previously acquainted “The only difference,” Li notes, “Here, it’s not too difficult,” he with Ainsworth’s research, having “is that (her group) studied in the laughs, “because we measure the studied her work while research- field, while we studied in the lab.” crops on the ground.” Scientist Works with Unconventional Yeasts to Produce Valuable Bioproducts Matt Plutz, a Chemical and how you wanted.” Biomolecular Engineering Research Plutz has worked in the main Scientist, spends his week immersed lab almost since the Center’s found- in the lab. He grabs a stool to settle ing. He joined Conversion Deputy in on and uses a microscope to make Theme Leader Christopher Rao’s sure the yeast looks healthy prior to group to work on bioenergy develop- beginning a DNA transformation. He ment after stints at several other labs Plutz graduated from Southern stays focused and precisely gets down across the Illinois campus. Illinois University with a Zoology de- to business: genome manipulation. “I had never worked with yeast gree before trekking to the University “Despite being a researcher for before this. I work with an uncon- of Wyoming for his Master’s. over 20 years one thing that still ventional yeast, Yarrowia lipolytica “We work with this yeast because surprises me is how laborious and (a specific type of yeast known for its it makes a lot of lipids and stores time-consuming basic research is,” lipid production) to convert the lipids them for energy” Plutz said. “Many Plutz said. “Even with great planning to more usable, valuable products,” other types of yeast are already being and advanced techniques, the results Plutz said. used in the production of biofuel and of experiments don’t always turn out Though this is Plutz’s first time to make ethanol.” as expected. It’s something that you working with the micro-organism, Plutz enjoys the structure of his get used to, but even after all these his diverse professional and educa- lab work. As part of the lab team, he’s years it can be difficult to accept tional backgrounds have prepared tasked with manipulating the yeast when something doesn’t work out him for switching gears seamlessly. genome to see how the yeast reacts.

8 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report The Ainsworth Laboratory’s field experiments are conducted at Soy- FACE (Soybean Free Air Concentra- 2018-19 CABBI Updates ... tion Enrichment), where Li’s team Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy as one of four national examines how Midwestern agricul- Bioenergy Research tural crops respond to elevated levels Centers, CABBI official- of ozone and carbon dioxide (CO ). ly started in December 2 2017. The $115 million “We want to see how our crops center is led by the respond to the future climate,” Li University of Illinois at explains, “because the CO2 concen- Urbana-Champaign. tration and the ozone concentration CABBI has more than doubled in size in the last year. As of mid- are increasing.” June, the Center now employs 285 people: 62 co-PIs, 63 postdocs, 60 Li’s research group also studies graduate students, 33 undergraduate hourlies, seven support staff, and plant biomass in response to elevated 60 other research staff. CABBI scientists published 41 papers in the last fiscal year, and ozone and CO2 concentrations. “This is a guide for other sci- the Center was well represented at the DOE Genomic Science Meet- entists in the future so they know ing in February with 20 posters and plenary presentations by Director Evan H. DeLucia and Co-PI Angela Kent. DeLucia also participated in how they could improve the yield of congressional visits with other BRC members in February. And Co-PI biomass, and which direction we can Tom Clemente presented to U.S. Sen Deb Fischer’s (R-Neb.) staff go next,” he says. on aspects of CABBI and its transdisciplinary approach to develop a sorghum feedstock for the bioeconomy. Full article by iSEE Communi- CABBI scientists disclosed three new inventions in early 2019. cations Intern Jenna Kurtzweil at In addition, during the past year, CABBI: cabbi.bio. v Added two new partners — to the Illinois Biological Foundry Texas A&M University and Arch- for Advanced Biomanufacturing bold Biological Station in Florida (iBioFAB) — thus allowing more — bringing the total number to 19 techniques for high-throughput partner institutions. phenotyping. v Completed its Year 1 DOE v Added to a growing toolbox external review in February 2019. for novel yeasts. v Brought together its first v Opened the possibility Governance Board meeting in for metabolome annotation of November 2018. less-studied microbes that might v Hosted its second retreat, have unique properties amenable attended by more than 200 peo- to industrial bioproduct and biofu- ple including members of other el production. Though altering yeast genetics is BRCs and the Strategic Advisory v Advanced the ability to a fairly simple task at face value, it Board, which met for the first time. engineer sorghum strains and could be done more efficiently and v Hired a data manager in furthered understanding of gene April 2019 to oversee storage and regulatory networks. accurately. v “We’re working on using CRIS- management of all research data. Completed Miscanthus v genome work along with research PR to make gene integration and Added a field site at Arch- into improving winter hardiness deletion faster and more accurate. bold to collect sugarcane data. v Hosted a BRC modeling and flood tolerance. Getting CRISPR to work for us will workshop in May in Chicago, v Evaluated ozone tolerance be the next step in our research,” bringing 60 BRC researchers for sorghum and other warm-sea- Plutz said. together to discuss approaches to son grasses. sustainability modeling. v Enhanced genome editing Full article by iSEE Communi- v Nearly completed upgrades efficiency in sugarcane. cations Specialist Jordan Goebig at Read more and stay up to date at cabbi.bio. cabbi.bio.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 9 LEVERHULME CENTRE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION Postdoc: Sustainable Farming Has its Roots in the Soil Originally from Sacramento, a vibrant city nestled at the top of California’s Central Valley, iSEE Postdoctoral Research Associate Ilsa Kantola grew up surrounded by agriculture both geographically and genetically — Kan- tola’s grandfathers worked in the industry, and her father has a degree in Agricultural Economics. Living in a bustling metropolis did nothing to hinder Kantola’s bond with nature. On the contrary, she fondly recalls driving down country roads playing a game called “Name that C rop.” “Which,” Kantola jokes, “can be a very boring game in Illinois.” In her work at the University of Illinois at Urbana- “It’s chemistry, it’s biology, it’s agriculture, it’s food, Champaign in partnership with the Leverhulme Centre and it’s people,” Kantola says of her passion for the sub- for Climate Change Mitigation (LC3M), Kantola contrib- ject. “And it’s all together.” utes to the industry’s most high-stakes conversation: the When she arrived at Illinois to work for the Energy search for sustainable farming practices of global propor- Biosciences Institute (EBI), her focus shifted from Texas tions. grasslands to Midwest croplands. Her team’s BP-funded Kantola has long been passionate about her current study sought corn alternatives for the production of field: her bachelor’s degree from California Polytechnic bioethanol — a naturally produced fuel supplement — State University is in Environmental Engineering with a and her objective was to measure the ecological effects of Soil Science minor. Soil Science quickly developed into a using perennial grasses as a substitute. central interest area — and influenced Kantola’s decision Native switchgrass and the Asian hybrid Miscanthus to complete her Ph.D. at Texas A&M in the department x giganteus grown at the Illinois of Rangeland Ecology and Management, now Ecosystem Energy Farm were posited as Science and Manage- promising alternatives because ment. perennials — plants with life cycles The decision to study longer than one growing season — soil in Texas was not a require less management than an- difficult one. nuals such as corn, with potential

Basalt is applied to a University of Illinois field.

10 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report for similar or greater yields. Additionally, the Miscanthus variety grown at the Energy Farm cannot be consumed by humans or livestock, so bioethanol production would 2018-19 LC3M Updates ... not come at the cost of a viable food source. iSEE partners with the Leverhulme Centre for Kantola expresses a passion for using focused re- Climate Change Mitigation (LC3M) at the Univer- search to drive big results: sity of “We start small, digging at the farm. But U of I sites Sheffield, UK and are representative of the larger Midwest, so data we collabo- collect can be scaled up to visualize what’s happening on rates with a larger scale.” research- Passion for the big picture informs Kantola’s current ers in the UK, Australia, and Malaysia to investi-

LC3M research at Illinois. The project aims to combat gate methods for removing CO2 from the atmo- rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels by imbu- sphere. Since 2016, crushed basalt rock has been ing cropland soil with calcium- and magnesium-contain- applied to corn, soy, and miscanthus fields at the ing silicate rocks. University of Illinois Energy Farm. Researchers The researchers’ process for capturing atmospheric are investigating the potential of Midwestern crop- lands to act as sinks for atmospheric CO , while CO involves two chemical reactions. First, atmospheric 2 2 still supporting the agriculture critical to the region. CO dissolves in rainwater to create carbonic acid. Then, 2 A pilot study in all three crops was expanded to the acid reacts with calcium and magnesium in the soil field scale in maize in 2017, and maize and mis- to form calcium and magnesium bicarbonate, soluble canthus in 2018 and ’19. Early results show that in compounds that leach with soil water, resulting in the re- Illinois, a large effect of this CO2-capture project is location of CO2 from the atmosphere to the water cycle. observed in the agricultural nitrogen cycle. To enhance this process, Kantola and the team turn iSEE Director Evan H. DeLucia heads the Illi- to basalt, an igneous rock containing both calcium and nois LC3M research team, with USDA Researcher magnesium as well as phosphorus and minor nutrients Carl Bernacchi, Plant Biology and Crop Sciences that can benefit soil fertility. Large quantities of fine- Professor Steve Long, Postdoctoral Research ly-ground basalt are spread over twin fields of corn and Associate Ilsa Kantola, Plant Biology Technician Michael Masters, and two field technicians. More: miscanthus at the Energy Farm and left to react with v In the 2018 research season, measure- CO2-laden rainwater. ments of greenhouse gas production from soils, “We’re trapping atmospheric CO2 in the water cycle soil carbon and nitrogen, and plant biomass and so that it can move out through the drainage tiles, into yield were carried out through the growing sea- the Mississippi, down to the Gulf, and potentially benefit son, while eddy covariance towers monitored gas the oceans,” she said. “That’s the dream: that we can cure exchange for each of the crops. Water samples were collected throughout the year and analyzed ocean acidification, reduce atmospheric CO2, and benefit our crops at the same time.” for acidity, electrical conductivity, alkalinity, and Because of basalt composition and soil fertility vari- numerous other factors including radiogenic stron- ation across climates and continents — and the potential tium isotope ratios, which indicate the presence or absence of basalt. Measurements in 2018 con- for plants and soil microbes to change the rates of basalt firmed that, like maize, soils under miscanthus re- weathering — LC3M collects data from three ecological- spond to basalt application with increased pH and ly diverse locations. In addition to the temperate Mid- reduced soil N2O production. The 2019 season west, basalt is similarly applied to a palm oil plantation in began with basalt application to maize/soybean Borneo and a sugarcane field at James Cook University in fields in November 2018 and continued with basalt Queensland, Australia. application to miscanthus and the first full-scale “The project is getting global,” Kantola explains. planting of basalt-treated soybeans in May 2019. “That was always the intention.” v Team members made four conference pre- sentations and had six invited talks in 2018-19. Full article by iSEE Communications Intern Jenna Read more and stay up to date at Kurtzweil at sustainability.illinois.edu. sustainability.illinois.edu/research.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 11 NEWLY FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECTS iSEE Helps Secure New Grants In September 2018, iSEE announced that it helped attract two grants totaling more than $5.6 D.K. Lee at the Illinois Energy Farm million for University of Illinois and with the ‘Independence’ switchgrass partner researchers: variety he developed. $5M for Energy Crops Study A U of I Crop Scientist will lead a team of researchers on a five-year study of new crops that could con- tribute to the production of afford- able, sustainable sources for mar- ket-ready fuels and other valuable products. U of I College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES) and Crop Sci- ences Professor D.K. Lee and his collaborators were awarded $5 varieties of energy crops will best be along with other partners’ large million from the U.S. Department suited to produce the best fuels and Midwest energy crop research sites, of Energy (DOE) for a study titled most valuable products.” we can loop our real-world data into “Next-Generation Feedstocks for The team will assess field-scale today’s bioeconomy industry,” Lee the Emerging Bioeconomy.” Other yield of advanced switchgrass said. “This will help us find the right team members in the study funded varieties such as “Independence” varieties of grasses — and speed by the DOE’s Bioenergy Technol- — which was developed by Lee — adoption of practices that increase ogies Office (BETO) are from the for pre-commercialization. Team the growth of this new energy sup- U.S. Department of Agriculture’s members also will examine other ply while reducing cost. Agricultural Research Service, Iowa warm-season perennial grasses such “I’m grateful to Evan DeLucia State University, South Dakota State as switchgrass blends, big bluestem, and the iSEE team for helping us University, Argonne National Lab- prairie cordgrass, and Miscanthus. put together a successful proposal. oratory, Idaho National Laboratory, iSEE, which helped put forth This is a win for Illinois, the College and Antares Group Inc. They will the successful proposal, is an ad- of ACES, and our partners — and collaborate with industry partners ministrative partner along with the I believe a win for what could be a POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic promising future in energy produc- LLC, Enginuity Worldwide LLC, Biology (IGB) in the Center for Ad- tion.” and The Climate Corp. vanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts “To provide sustainable sourc- Innovation (CABBI), a DOE Bioen- $600K+ for Grazing Study es of energy for an ever-growing ergy Research Center that is study- iSEE Visiting Research Scien- world population, we must build a ing energy crop trait improvement; tist Nuria Gomez-Casanovas and new energy plan on a bioeconomy automated conversion of biomass DeLucia received $663,585 from platform,” Lee said. “That means, into useful, valuable chemicals; and Arizona State University for a study for starters, that we need to know studies on the economic and envi- titled “Can Adaptive Multi-Paddock which energy crops will be the most ronmental sustainability of CABBI Grazing Management Increase the productive and valuable — and best crops and processes. Net Greenhouse Gas Sink Strength for the environment. “By including CABBI, the na- and Water Use Efficiency of Grazed “We will ... learn what new tional labs, and industry members, Pastures?”

12 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report Next-Gen Feedstocks Updates ... Project Principal Investigator D.K. Lee, who was recently promoted to full Professor of Crop Sciences at Illinois, reported the following updates from early on in the research project: v “After receiving our funding from the Department of Energy in July, we began distributing money to partners and hiring postdocs and other team members.” v All field plots were planted in 2019, and Lee hosted the first project team meeting July 24 during the Switchgrass V International Conference, which Lee’s Illinois team put on. Spon- sored by the U of I De- partment of Crop Scienc- es, iSEE, the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI), Green Lands Blue Waters, Ernst Con- servation Seeds, and the Sun Grant Initiative’s North Central Regional Center, the conference was at the Holiday Inn in Champaign. More than 100 attendees discussed switchgrass and other dedicated According to a description of the energy crops grown for forage, conservation, and bioenergy produc- project, which is part of a collabora- tion. tive effort to study if a new grazing Read more and stay up to date at go.illinois.edu/NextGenFS. practice can help sequester carbon in soils: “Future food production needs Multi-Paddock Grazing Updates ... new agricultural management strate- PI Nuria Gomez-Casanovas on the first months of this project: gies that increase ecosystem services v while enhancing food production. “With global population rising at an unprecedented rate, food production must increase to feed 11 billion people over the next 40 (Gomez-Casanovas) will investigate years despite the degradation and loss of ecosystem services due emerging adaptive to management intensification and impeding stresses of changes in multi-paddock climate. Society needs management strategies that increase food pro- grazing management duction without damaging the environment. Discoveries from the AMP (AMP) that has the team hope to play an important role in addressing this challenge.” potential to increase v The AMP team’s research is conducted in Southeastern U.S. soil carbon seques- subtropical humid grasslands located in Alabama, a biome that GOMEZ- comprises up to 30% of grasslands globally. In April 2019, the team CASANOVAS tration and compare it to the ‘business installed four eddy covariance towers in four grasslands, two under as usual’ continuous grazing (CG). AMP management and the other two under CG management. v “Since then we have been measuring the exchange of CO , CH She will explore how those practices 2 4 and N2O between these grasslands and the atmosphere with these affect the delivery of greenhouse gas towers,” Gomez-Casanovas said. (GHG) regulation and water use effi- v Samplings for discrete measurements of these GHGs will occur ciency (WUE) from grazed pastures four times a year. used for livestock. v The project received an additional $135,135 grant (2019-20) “The proposed research will fill from the Arizona State University Foundation and ExxonMobil to con- major knowledge gaps in how AMP tinue investigating how AMP and CG impact the delivery of GHGs and grazing affects ecosystem productiv- water-related regulating services from subtropical humid grasslands. ity, net ecosystem GHG exchange, Read more and stay up to date at go.illinois.edu/MPGrazing. and WUE of pastures.”

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 13 2019 iSEE SEED FUNDING New Interdisciplinary Initiative In February, iSEE announced that it was earmarking more than $150,000 in seed funding for five new interdisciplinary research proj- ects. Researchers will focus on col- lecting preliminary data or infor- mation that will help secure future funding from major external grant- ing agencies. “We are excited to announce funding for projects that propose innovative, interdisciplinary solu- tions to the grand challenges our planet faces,” iSEE Associate Director Updates ... for Research Madhu Khanna said. Guest’s water and sanitation team: “iSEE was created to foster this type v Held the first of two public workshops toward advancing na- of ‘actionable’ research.” ture-society interactions in developing communities. The meeting In Projects selected for iSEE’s 2019 March at the iSEE Collaboratory (page 44) was expected to establish seed-funding initiative: a cohort of multidisciplinary researchers interested in pursuing ex- • The investigation of air pol- ternal funding to build these concepts into a large-scale initiative for lution transport through the atmo- international development. sphere and international trade — led v Published a paper in Nature Sustainability titled “Resource by Illinois Associate Professor of Ag- Recovery from Sanitation to Enhance Ecosystem Services.” v Requested $1M from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a ricultural and Consumer Economics research project that would evaluate the economical and environmen- Sandy Dall’erba. tal impact of toilets and sanitation systems under development. • The exploration of water and sanitation systems in peri-urban Ugandan communities to improve Engineering Thanh H. Nguyen. more sustainable lives — led by Pro- overall health and nutrition through • The collection and modeling fessor of Atmospheric Sciences Don resource recovery — led by Assistant of social media data from disaster Wuebbles. Professor of Civil and Environmental events to improve response and Engineering Jeremy Guest. infrastructure management — led • The creation of a Farm Vulner- by Associate Professor of Industrial Update ... ability Index and immediate water and Enterprise Systems Engineering The CyberGIS team has sample research at 2019 hurricane lo- Pingfeng Wang. assigned a postdoc and a cations to determine pathogen risks • The development of a Cyber- senior research scientist to to livestock and food storage after GIS system that will bring together begin preliminary work on the natural disasters — led by Associate complex geospatial community data new system. Professor of Civil and Environmental to help cities lead better, healthier,

Read more and stay up to date on these projects at sustinability.illinois.edu/seed-funded- research-2019/

14 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report 2019 CAMPUS AS A LIVING LAB SEED FUNDING Campus Sustainability/Research Program Extended In February, the Institute announced that it was earmarking Update ... more than $100,000 in seed funding Geothermal for four new additions to its Cam- project lead pus as a Living Laboratory research Basar recently portfolio. submitted a The Campus as a Living Lab technical paper program now includes seven for review for the American projects that tie iSEE’s research Society of and campus sustainability missions Civil Engineers closely together. (ACSE) annual “Renewable energy generation, conference Geo- transportation, and healthy envi- Congress 2020. ronments are all key elements of the Illinois Climate Action Plan,” iSEE Associate Director for Campus Sus- Professor of Civil and Environmen- tainability Ximing Cai said. “These tal Engineering Tugce Baser. Update ... projects and others in our living lab • The study of Illinois student’s Zhang’s team applied for a program might ultimately lead to transportation and mobility habits $2.5M grant from the National fewer emissions on our campus — while on campus — led by Profes- Science Foundation, but the saving natural resources and money sor of Geography and Geographic proposal was not funded. — and a safer, cleaner place to work Information Science Julie Cidell. and learn.” • An assessment of geopoly- • Investigating agrivoltaics, a Projects selected for 2019 seed mer-based construction materials strategy by which crop production funding: in a building that uses geothermal and solar panels can be merged • The construction of an auton- energy — led by Professor of Civil within a landscape to increase food omous robot that collects indoor and Environmental Engineering and energy production, led by air quality data — led by Associate Timothy Stark. Professor of Agricultural and Con- Professor of Civil and Environmen- These four projects join three sumer Economics Professor Madhu tal Engineering Nora El-Gohary. other initiatives in the Living Lab Khanna. program that began in 2018: • Creating a battery pack capa- Update ... ble of storing heat from industrial Update ... waste through a series of chemical El-Gohary’s team intends to After a $2.5M grant pro- reactions, led by Professor of Me- submit a full funding proposal posal to the National Science in January 2020 to the Nation- chanical Science and Engineering Foundation was rejected, al Science Foundation. Sanjiv Sinha. the agrivoltaics team intends • Testing a waste processing to apply for $11.2M (one full system that will produce renewable grant; one subaward) from the • The examination of geo- energy, clean water, and bonus or- U.S. Department of Agriculture thermal systems on Illinois’ John ganic fertilizers, led by Professor of in 2019-20. Bardeen Quad — led by Assistant Bioengineering Yuanhui Zhang.

Read more and stay up to date on at sustinability.illinois.edu/campus-as-a-living-laboratory- research-campus-sustainability-working-together/

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 15 CROPS IN SILICO PROJECT Cis 2.0: FFAR Grant Funds Next Steps In March, iSEE learned that its cific environments. This modeling seed-funded Crops in silico (Cis) allows billions of combinations to be project received a $5 million grant tested to achieve more productive from the Foundation for Food and and sustainable crops in different Agriculture Research (FFAR) to con- environments. tinue building a computational plat- Co-Investigators on the new form that integrates multiple models grant include Illinois’ Matthew Turk, to study a whole plant virtually. Assistant Professor of Astronomy “Corn, soybean, sorghum, and and Research Scientist at the Nation- wheat account directly or indirectly al Center for Supercomputing Ap- for about 60 percent of human cal- plications (NCSA); Stephen P. Long, ories. Yet they are susceptible to de- Professor of Plant Biology and Crop clining yields due to the impending Sciences; Kaiyu Guan, Assistant Reading stresses of climate change, including Professor of Natural Resources and water shortages, elevated carbon Environmental Sciences; and Mea- It might come as a surprise dioxide levels, and soil degradation,” gan Lang, NCSA Research Scientist. that Colleen Heinemann, a Ph.D. said Amy Marshall-Colón, U of I Collaborators from other institutes student in the Informatics Depart- Assistant Professor of Plant Biology include Jonathan Lynch, Professor of ment at the University of Illinois at and the Principal Investigator for the Plant Science at Pennsylvania State Urbana-Champaign, wasn’t always new four-year grant. University; Bedrich Benes, Professor convinced of her passion within Understanding how crops of Computer Graphics Technology computer science. Through curi- respond and may be adapted to at Purdue University; Lee Sweetlove, osity, determination, and refusing combat environmental changes can Professor of Plant Sciences at Oxford to remain in her comfort zone, help address current and future food University; and James Schnable, Heinemann unites her strengths in insecurity. Cis allows researchers to Assistant Professor of Agronomy research and creative problem- quickly determine and test charac- and Horticulture at the University of solving with her scientific interests to teristics that help crops thrive in spe- Nebraska. blaze new trails in high-performance computing research. Heinemann began her under- grad at Bradley University studying Computer Science and Animation, interested in both but unsure of how they might add up to a career. Undeterred, Heinemann embraced every opportunity that came her way to apply her skills in and out of the classroom. Now, Heinemann’s work with The Crops in silico 2.0 team includes: front row, from left Kaiyu Guan, the U of I’s Crops in silico project Bedrich Benes, Amy Marshall-Colón, Stephen P. Long, and Traci enables the jump from computer to Quigg Thomas; and back row James Schnable, Meagan Lang, Lee life science via a field she never antic- Sweetlove, and Matthew Turk. ipated entering: plant biology.

16 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report Cis Updates ... As the team transitions to Cis 2.0, Principal Investigator Amy Marshall-Colón helps wrap up the Cis 1.0 project, seed-funded by iSEE in 2015: v “The aim of the Crops in silico 1.0 project was to lay the foundation for generating virtual plant models that accurately capture whole-system dynamics in response to in silico environmental and genetic perturbations. We built a computational framework that allows asynchronous communication be- tween models without altering their original code or timesteps. This framework allows the exchange of inputs and outputs between models, mimicking the flow of biological information across scales. We used the framework to successfully build a multiscale model of the soybean photosynthetic response to elevated CO concentration. The the Leaves ... 2 vetted model was used to perform in silico genetic Crops in silico (literally, “crops in computers”) is a collab- perturbations and simulate the anticipated out- oration between iSEE and the National Center for Super- comes on photosynthetic efficiency.” computing Applications (NCSA). Cis leverages computa- v After dozens of simulations, the team identi- tional modeling to optimize crops’ nutritional value. fied three top transcription factor gene candidates “As populations continue to grow, we need more that will be tested experimentally for their regula- food … but the Earth is only so big, and there are only tory role in controlling photosynthetic efficiency. The computational framework was also used to so many places that you can plant sustainable crops,” she link whole-plant models of roots and shoots to said. “Rather than continuing to expand the number of form the core structure of virtual soybean and corn crops, the idea is to maximize on what we have available.” plants. These linked models were subjected to To do this, she uses a graphics technique called ray advanced visualization approaches so that in silico tracing to simulate how a beam of sunlight interacts with observations can be made on an entire stand of a specific point on a leaf. From there, she draws conclu- plants. The use of three-dimensional architecture sions about how the plant photosynthesizes and how its was shown to improve model simulations of light nutrients can best be optimized. capture throughout a soybean canopy, provid- “The plant can be constructed as a 3D model by ing new insights about plant competition for light triangles,” she said. “Looking at each individual point, or resources. v In May 2019, the new Cis 2.0 team hosted triangle, on a leaf, we can determine how much light hits the fourth annual Crops in silico Symposium, it. That’s going to be the meat of figuring out how many Workshop & Hackathon. The event featured more nutrients you can get out of that plant.” than 60 registrants from 13 institutions. The third Heinemann is developing this software from scratch, annual meeting, in August 2018, was also at the often with a “blank slate.” She appreciates the flexibility University of Illinois — and it featured 55 regis- and mental agility required of the creative process. trants from 27 institutions and companies and nine “You’re continuously changing not only your short- countries. term goals to a certain extent, but how you approach the v Team members also published two new goals,” she said. papers in 2019. Read more and stay up to date at bit.ly/ Full article by iSEE Communications Intern Jenna Cropsinsilico Kurtzweil at sustainability.illinois.edu.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 17 STORMWATER AND MOSQUITO CONTROL PROJECT SMC Researcher Takes the Battle to the Mosquitoes EDITOR’S NOTE: Parker What makes a good mosquito received her doctorate and is a new nursery? faculty member at Northern Kentucky Mosquitoes start their lives as University. water-dwelling larvae, little worm- The saying goes that in war you like creatures without wings or long must “know your enemy” to defeat it, legs. So, mother mosquitoes are and that’s exactly the aim of Allison searching for water. And not just Parker’s research. She’s a fifth-year any water; it needs to be stagnant Ph.D. Candidate in Entomology at water that’s been sitting around long the University of Illinois, and for enough for leaves, sticks, and other more than half a decade, she’s been debris to fall in, start decomposing, collecting, inventorying, and raising and become a microorganism buffet mosquito larvae to learn more about table for mosquito larvae. them so she can force their retreat Lots of seemingly harmless from urban environments. backyard items can turn into such work. They record the number In most temperate and tropical sanctuaries after a rainfall. Are all and kind of specimens collected in areas of the world, mosquitoes pose a created equal, or do mosquitos each container at each house. These serious human health threat because prefer one type of container over data will tell whether one type of of the diseases they transmit through another? To find out, Parker re- container consistently outperforms bites. In a world growing more urban viewed her notes from past habitat another over an entire mosquito each day — and as the world climate studies and identified four of the season. warms extending mosquitoes’ livable most frequently occurring to test for Spending four to six hours a range — a way to combat these mosquito preference: curbside trash day in the field means there isn’t pests in developed residential areas cans, flowerpots, flowerpot drain- much lab time to process all the has become a grand world chal- age saucers, and corrugated plastic samples — counting mosquito eggs, lenge. Pesticides are one option, but downspout extenders. Eight houses hatching them, and then raising the those chemicals have some negative in residential neighborhoods of larvae to identify the adult species. environmental consequences. iSEE’s Champaign were given a set of these Luckily, Parker has the help of seven Stormwater and Mosquito Control items to be placed outside and filled undergraduate students who work team seeks less chemically reliant with a grass-infused water mixture in shifts throughout the week to solutions. to attract mosquitoes. make sure that the lab work doesn’t Parker’s work focuses on the Every day, she and a few under- lag behind. egg-laying stage of the mosquito graduate research assistants visit all “My favorite part of this re- lifecycle. Simply put: Intervening at the test sites to gather the eggs and search is working with the under- that stage can reduce the number baby mosquitoes they find in each grads. They’re very enthusiastic, and of babies that survive to become container type. In the middle of the we all share the fun and not-so-fun disease-spreading adults. summer months, it’s hot and sweaty tasks,” she said.

18 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report SMC Updates ... Principal Investigator Brian Allan reports that the fourth year for this 2015 iSEE seed-funded project “has been highly pro- ductive in several major areas:” v The team continues to develop a research program using “social sensing” (geo-located social media activity data) to model networks of human movements and contacts to recreate the pattern of spread of Zika virus in the Americas and apply this to future outbreaks, part of its newly fund- ed $1.5 million study as a subcontractor for the University of Maine. v Additionally, several of the team’s field-based projects into the effects of stormwater management practices on mosquito-borne disease risk have ma- tured, and two research papers were pub- lished, led by Allison Gardner on the use of native vegetation as an ecological trap for mosquito control and by Allison Parker on competition between mosquito species in container environments, as well as on the potential effects of gutter guards. v “Our findings to date have motivat- Training and mentoring younger students actually in- ed several additional field and laboratory spired Parker to return to school for an advanced degree. studies, including surveys of green and After completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from the conventional stormwater infrastructure here in Illinois to explore the consequenc- University of Richmond, she served as a high school science es of the adoption of green technologies teacher in Dallas through the Teach for America program. for mosquito control and the impact of the While she was there, the area experienced an outbreak of West stormwater environment on the assembly Nile virus. Pulling from her undergraduate research expe- of the mosquito microbiome,” Allan said. rience, she taught students about mosquito life cycles, how The additional efforts stem in part from the they’re controlled, and self-protection from bites. research of several SMC graduate stu- “I really enjoyed those lessons. I realized I could combine dents. a lot of different interests into mosquito research: microbiol- v In addition, Co-PI Carla Cáceres ogy, ecology, toxicology, social sciences, or health care fields. continues leading her $800,000 Nation- You can have a diverse group of people all working on similar al Science Foundation study along with several SMC team members, examining projects,” she said. potential feedback loops between the food On its own, Allison’s research has a narrow scope: a hand- web where mosquito larvae are born and ful of species in a single city in containers 1, 2, 3 or 4. Howev- the chemistry of their guts. er, combined with all her teammates’ work, she thinks that her v And Allan helped lead iSEE’s Critical work is contributing to an overall shift in how Champaign and Conversation in May on genetically modi- other cities may create mosquito control programs. fied mosquitoes (page 27), a controversial “We’re all tackling the problem in our own little way,” she topic on many levels. said, “but taken together our results can make really good rec- Read more and stay up to date at ommendations for control measures for city- and resident-im- bit.ly/stormmosq. plemented mosquito control programs.”

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 19 STORED SOLAR STOVE PROJECT

Selling Sun Buckets Sun Buckets Updates ... Principal Investigator Bruce Elliott-Litchfield offers the following to the Next Generation updates from the fifth year of this EDITOR’S NOTE: Lindgren the end user is really important.” 2014 iSEE seed-funded project: v continues to pursue her doctorate, and Listening to women is by far As part of her $29,500-per- working for Sun Buckets — and is in the most important piece. All over year Link Energy Fellowship, Ph.D. Candidate Sam Lindgren spent the Spring 2019 semester the midst of a two-year Link Energy the world — in countries developed in Namibia (photo top left) studying the impact Fellowship (read more in the update or underdeveloped or somewhere of children on their parents’ cooking energy to the right). in between — women do most of decisions. Sam Lindgren is a Ph.D. Can- the cooking. Their perspectives and v “We have begun fabrication of the beta didate in Agricultural and Biolog- feedback are essential. What do they model Sun Bucket, including casting of the ical Engineering and a member need, and what do they wish they inner vessel by a central Illinois foundry,” Litch- of iSEE’s Stored could do that they field said. Solar Stove research can’t do now? v United Nations Humanitarian Grand Chal- team. While her Lindgren and lenges (UNHCR) facilitated an approximately teammates work to her teammates have $185,000 (250,000 Canadian dollars) grant (one of 22 funded by the U.S. Agency for In- technically perfect made several trips to ternational Development (USAID) from among the “Sun Bucket” communities in the 643 applicants) to study the use of Sun Buckets solar-powered clean Navajo Nation at the in conflict zones. In August 2018, Sun Buckets cooking device, she Four Corners region sent a team to field test and demonstrate pro- examines the com- of the United States totypes in the UNHCR Kakuma Refugee Camp munications and and to partner or- in northern Kenya (pictured right). That same relationship-build- ganizations in Haiti month, another team tested the Sun Buckets in ing needs for adop- to observe women Somaliland, Somalia. And several Sun Buckets tion of the device. cooking, to learn the ways that they systems were shipped to the Indian Oil Co. for User-centered design is a big cook, and to see how their children testing. v Postdoc Matthew Alonso and Intern Rash- focus of the Solar Stove group — the interact in the kitchen. na Raham are conducting peanut drying tests team is committed to building a During visits with fire cookers, that use Sun Buckets as the energy platform product that meets all the needs of Lindgren enthusiastically shares for a new off-grid dryer (photo far left), funded the users. about being a mom. She also shares with a $50,000 grant from the Archer Daniels Even when the technology that she frequently uses her own Sun Midland Institute for the Prevention of Posthar- is right, Lindgren said, adoption Bucket to cook meals for her family. vest Loss. doesn’t always happen: When she’s not gathering data v “We continue exploring partnership “(I’ve found that) there needs to drive user-centered design or options with organizations that can facilitate to be a lot of follow-up support and testing the latest prototype on her marketing, distribution, fabrication, and financ- communication to keep people home countertop, she is dialing in on ing,” said Litchfield, who attended a Clinton Global Initiatives meeting in January 2019 in using something that’s new,” she said. her Ph.D. thesis: How do you — or San Juan, Puerto Rico (photo near left). The “Even if someone is really interested should you — convince someone in meeting included more than 500 leaders from in it, it’s very easy to fall back into old a different part of the world that they business, government, and philanthropy. habits. should change behaviors that have v In Spring 2019, Sun Buckets was featured “I see it with myself. I’ll give been part of their culture and their in a documentary on the Big Ten Network, and up drinking soda for two months, family for generations? in June 2019, Alonso collected the Governor’s but then I slide back, even though Award for New Exporter of the Year in Chicago. I know I shouldn’t because it’s not Full article by former iSEE Read more and stay up to date at healthy for me. Ongoing support, Communications Specialist Olivia bit.ly/sunbuckets. communication, and education with Harris at sustainability.illinois.edu.

20 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report Sun Buckets Updates ... Principal Investigator Bruce Elliott-Litchfield offers the following updates from the fifth year of this 2014 iSEE seed-funded project: v As part of her $29,500-per- year Link Energy Fellowship, Ph.D. Candidate Sam Lindgren spent the Spring 2019 semester in Namibia (photo top left) studying the impact of children on their parents’ cooking energy decisions. v “We have begun fabrication of the beta model Sun Bucket, including casting of the inner vessel by a central Illinois foundry,” Litch- field said. v United Nations Humanitarian Grand Chal- lenges (UNHCR) facilitated an approximately $185,000 (250,000 Canadian dollars) grant (one of 22 funded by the U.S. Agency for In- ternational Development (USAID) from among 643 applicants) to study the use of Sun Buckets in conflict zones. In August 2018, Sun Buckets sent a team to field test and demonstrate pro- totypes in the UNHCR Kakuma Refugee Camp in northern Kenya (pictured right). That same month, another team tested the Sun Buckets in Somaliland, Somalia. And several Sun Buckets systems were shipped to the Indian Oil Co. for testing. v Postdoc Matthew Alonso and Intern Rash- na Raham are conducting peanut drying tests that use Sun Buckets as the energy platform for a new off-grid dryer (photo far left), funded with a $50,000 grant from the Archer Daniels Midland Institute for the Prevention of Posthar- vest Loss. v “We continue exploring partnership options with organizations that can facilitate marketing, distribution, fabrication, and financ- ing,” said Litchfield, who attended a Clinton Global Initiatives meeting in January 2019 in San Juan, Puerto Rico (photo near left). The meeting included more than 500 leaders from business, government, and philanthropy. v In Spring 2019, Sun Buckets was featured in a documentary on the Big Ten Network, and in June 2019, Alonso collected the Governor’s Award for New Exporter of the Year in Chicago. Read more and stay up to date at bit.ly/sunbuckets.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 21 CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE & TRANSPORTATION PROJECT Modeling a Better Future Most people don’t look to mists, the best options for creating economics to solve issues in sus- a better environment are ones that tainability. However, Jia Zhong, a have the best chance of widespread member of the Critical Infrastruc- adoption. ture and Transportation project and She poses a series of economic a Ph.D. student in the Department questions to begin teasing out the of Agricultural and Consumer Eco- optimal conditions for FFVs to nomics, does just that. comply with government standards: By building economic models Under what conditions would from complex data sets, Zhong flex-fuel cars be economically and her teammates can answer the attractive to consumers and com- “what-ifs” surrounding renewable pliant with government standards? energy and national transportation How can blended fuel be priced systems, allowing policy-makers to to appeal to consumers? How can enact changes for a healthier society these cars be incentivized while be- and environment. ing economically feasible? While it Her specific “what-if” is about may sound tedious, challenges like cars — in particular flexible-fu- these allow economists like Zhong el vehicles (FFVs) that can run to shine. on multiple types of fuels (such “Some of the main factors we are as gasoline mixed with a higher dealing with are fuel pricing and content of ethanol) in a single tank. the potential welfare cost,” she said, By studying these vehicles, she can and the goal is to predict the condi- see if increased usage could help tions that would benefit the largest improve a current government amount of people for the lowest policy requiring a certain volume amount of money. of renewable fuel to be mixed into To discover such conditions, simulations are just suggestions — petroleum-sourced fuel. Zhong jumps into economic sim- not reality. Despite multitudes of From an environmental stand- ulation — a computer-generated tests and simulations, researchers point, these cars are a great alter- alternate “world” where she can will never be able to accurately pre- native to standard vehicles due to manipulate the circumstances that dict some aspects of economics. their lower emissions. In a perfect could make the “what ifs” of FFVs “Usually the No. 1 question we world, all people would adopt active possible. To an untrained eye, the get is, ‘What percentage can you be transportation or use zero-emis- simulation looks like an indecipher- sure that this will run the way you sions vehicles because it’s the right able web of graphs, spreadsheets, predict?’ We always try to supple- thing to do. Zhong’s work, however, and variables. But to an economist, ment real-life data to make it as is in finding more probable — and it’s a thrilling opportunity to con- accurate as possible,” Zhong said. practical — solutions in an imper- struct a better future. “But what we suggest are just impli- fect world. For sustainability econo- Yet at the end of the day, these cations, not a direct output.

22 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report ICI Updates ... A few quick updates from the fourth year of this 2015 iSEE seed-funded project: v In Summer 2019, Principal Investigator Ximing Cai was named an American Geophysi- cal Union Fellow. v Cai and team members have completed the second year of their three-year, $2.43 mil- lion NSF INFEWS grant research into food-en- ergy-water resilience in the U.S. Corn Belt by modeling nutrient cycling. v Team members are working on a com- prehensive life-cycle emission assessment and cost comparison for electric vehicles. Among many things, they found that hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle and full EVs account for about half the greenhouse gas emissions of a typical internal combustion engine vehicle. v ICI team members also developed a spa- cial decision support framework for adoption of EVs, evaluating the social and cultural aspects of adoption across the nation. v The team has simulated dynamic opera- tions and pricing of electric UAV systems and power networks. v Team members are creating a “sytem of sytems” modeling framework for planning EV charging infrastructure in intercity transporta- tion networks. The framework considers users’ travel behavior and the relationships between transportation and power systems, aiming at fa- cilitating long-distance EV travels and providing an effective tool to evaluate the total emissions from both the transportation and power sectors. v Other ICI team members hav examined the impact of the tightened Corporate Aver- age Fuel Economy standards on the pricing of “That’s just the nature of all research: There’s always a vehicles and types of vehicles produced since difference between the laboratory and the real world. By 2012: on average, the implied incremental cost of an additional mile-per-gallon vehicle-lev- being involved with policy, we’re able to contribute our el CAFE standard was $600-$700 for ICE knowledge and make reasonable suggestions for a posi- vehicles. This cost of CAFE standards was tive impact,” she said. “I’d love to take what I’ve learned unanimously lower for high-mpg vehicles and and return to China and work on environmental policy flex-fuel vehicles. there. v ICI researchers’ findings were published “I have a responsibility to learn as much as I can with in four papers in scientific journals during the my education so that I can help make the world a better past year — with two more pending and two place.” under preparation. Read more and stay up to date at Full article by former iSEE Communications Intern bit.ly/ICI-project. Katie Watson at sustainability.illinois.edu.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 23 AGROFORESTRY FOR FOOD PROJECT Back Home, Researcher Just

Eric Wolske checks out some black currants at Keeps Digging the A4F research site.

Eric Wolske, a member of Illi- culture eventually brought Wolske nois’ Agroforestry for Food (A4F) to the Urbana-Champaign campus. team, has found a simple way to A huge reason he decided to come explain the project’s work: home for the Crop Sciences M.S. and “Agroforestry is growing crops Ph.D. programs here was the iSEE with trees. That is the most basic seed-funded A4F project, which l e v e l .” is pursuing alternative agriculture Originally from the Champaign- options in the Midwest. Urbana area, Wolske decided to go to Wolske’s master’s thesis focused Southern Illinois University in Car- on shade tolerance of black currants, bondale for his B.S. in Plant and Soil a woody shrub that produces edible Science. That campus’ main quad berries. This work transferred into see while they work this way, they is a forest, which was a big draw for Wolske’s Ph.D. research, where he is don’t work that way. We’re puzzling it Wolske. His college experience felt now testing shade tolerance across 24 all out. And what we’re doing here is like trees were more than just cam- species of currants. just scratching the surface.” pus décor. “We’re just trying to see, is Walking through fields, you can “At the time I was more inter- (shade tolerance) just in gener- see just how much agroforestry is ested in booze crops: grapes, cider al something they’re good at as a trying to integrate diversity back into apples, all that fun stuff,” he said. species? Or are there traits that some the environment. After earning his undergraduate varieties have that others don’t?” he Right now, the A4F team works degree, Wolske spent time working said. “How can we help them per- with a variety of plants — from in a vineyard — Southern Illinois has form better under shade?” peaches and raspberries to hazelnuts a lot of these. This passion for the environment and chestnuts. But Wolske said all “I’m from the fruit side; I think and polyculture systems is evident these crops share a common theme: even fruits could be more sustain- when touring the experimental “They’re natives, or they can be able,” he said. “They’re already in a fields that Wolske has worked over natives. The chestnuts have a high sustainable category. They’re peren- the years. Every element used in carbohydrate to them, which is pretty nials, they stay there. There’s a fairly experimentation was handmade, similar to what corn has, which is low amount of tillage, but it just crafted, and recrafted (when the why corn is grown all over the place.” seems like there’s still a pretty big Illinois winds had other plans for his Planting native species could gap between getting all the potential canopies). be commercially successful and a ecosystems services and protecting “A ton of research still needs to more sustainable agriculture option. your soil and everything else.” be done to see if these systems have Wolske’s day-to-day projects vary just His interest in sustainable agri- potential,” he said. “We’re starting to as greatly as the crops that agrofor-

24 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report A4F Updates ... Outgoing Principal Investigator Sarah Taylor Lovell and Co-PI Wen- dy Yang offer updates from the fifth year of this 2014 iSEE seed-funded project: v A4F Co-PI Nick Paulson and other U of I faculty re- ceived $1.2 million from USDA NIFA and $373,706 from the Illinois Nutrient Re- search & Education Council for assessing cover crops’ ability to improve resiliency of Midwest ecosystems. v The A4F site will serve as a field site for testing new robots and their ability to re- place labor needs for berry harvesting and more in a new $899,998 NSF NRI study. v Irrigation was installed on the 30-acre plots, funded by a $50,000 grant from the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC). v Maintenance of the field trial has become more routine, and interest/curiosity from individuals within and outside of the University has grown. A4F researchers estry produces in the fields. And much like the crops, Wolske’s have experienced challenges with certain work changes with the season. species/cultivars that were sensitive to the Starting in the early spring, pruning is the first task. extreme wet and cold winters. Conversely, plots containing a diversity of native fruiting “That switches over to getting a lot of the experiments all plants have continued to thrive, creating a set up,” he said. “Then we have all the field work and everything full hedge between trees. else, like harvest times. And then I’ll go into the lab and do a v Yang’s team completed the second bunch of chemical assays on the berries and everything else. year of a USDA study, and preliminary re- And then I’ll go back into the writing period.” sults show that soil nitrogen emissions are The perennial side of the A4F project is another factor that not affected by fertilization of woody poly- Wolske enjoys: “I don’t like planting stuff every year, so stuff culture and that chestnut yields decreased you just plant and let it go and you take care of them after that likely due to a shift to vegetative growth in response to the first year of fertilization. is way more my style.” v In the future, Wolske hopes to continue his work with The USDA AFRI project by Lovell and others was initiated in spring 2019 to gath- perennials and polycultures. He enjoys the research side of the er baseline data for the comparison of the project, but there is still a lot outside of research that Wolske Conservation Reserve Program with multi- would like to pursue. functional woody polyculture treatments. “Teaching would be nice. Or maybe having my own winery v The team published three papers in someday would be pretty cool, too,” he said. scholarly journals with a fourth pending, In the meantime, he will watch the A4F farm he helped and team members made four presenta- plant on his first day on the job continue to grow and evolve. tions at science meetings. Read more and stay up to date at Full article by iSEE Communications Intern Taylor Jen- bit.ly/ag4food. nings at sustainability.illinois.edu.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 25 OTHER RESEARCH INITIATIVES A Few More Updates ... Levenick Research Fellow directs the Ven Te Chow Hydrosys- and Environmental Engineering has Publishes Paper tems Laboratory); Agricultural and wrapped up operations. Bond left the One of the first things iSEE Consumer Economics (ACE) Asso- U of I for Colorado State University. funded from a 2014 gift by Stuart ciate Professor Benjamin Gramig; Some final highlights: and Nancy Levenick (page 4) was a Soil and Water Resources Engineer- • iSEE and CACHE hosted an research project by Assistant Profes- ing Professor Prasanta Kalita; Illinois October workshop for 30 individu- sor of Agricultural and Consumer State Hydrologist Laura Keefer of als representing three universities, Economics Erica Myers and Ph.D. the Illinois State Water Survey; iSEE nonprofit organizations working on Candidate Mateus Souza. Associate Director and ACE Profes- healthy home issues, and industry A paper by Myers and Souza, sor Madhu Khanna; Illinois Water representatives with practical knowl- finished in October 2018 after more Resources Center Director and Illi- edge on home systems met at the than two years of research, reported nois State Geological Survey (ISGS) University of Illinois’ Indoor Climate that students living in University Hydrologist Yu-Feng Forrest Lin; Research and Training (ICRT) facili- of Illinois dormitories don’t really ISGS Geologist Andrew Phillips; and ty in Champaign. consider energy costs — or conser- U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologist • In August 2018, CACHE re- vation — even when provided with Ryan Jackson. searchers hosted Aerodyne Research their energy consumption data. Stu- Inc. for a two-week experiment at dents turned down thermostats over Team Wraps up Work ICRT. The collaboration on “pre-ig- winter break, but did not do so after A project seed-funded by iSEE nition emissions,” supported by NSF, subsequent requests while they were in 2015 examined use of a nanoparti- explored the complex chemistry that actually occupying the dorms. Myers cle to remove pollutants from water. occurs in wood during the moments and Souza have submitted the paper The project is now concluded, but just before it bursts into flames. to an academic journal for review. Co-PI BK Sharma offers a few notes: • In 2018, researchers published Solar Study Application Water Council Reconvenes a paper in Journal of Materials Civil and Environmental En- James Best, the Jack and Rich- Chemistry A on their novel approach gineering Professor Timothy Stark, ard Threet Professor to removing pharmaceuticals and Chair of iSEE’s Energy Sustainability of Geology and a personal care products from water. Working Advisory Team (page 37), Professor of Geogra- • The team put forth a $500,000 applied for more than $250,000 in phy and Geographic grant proposal in August 2018 to the internal grant funding from the Information Science USDA for a study titled “Electrically Illinois Center for Transportation for (GIS), was named Receptive and Thermally Responsive a “Technical and Financial Feasibility Chairman of iSEE’s Water Sensor (ER-TR Sensor) for Study for Installation of Solar Panels Council, a steering com- Rapid, Quantitative Detec- at IDOT-Owned Facilities.” The mittee that will help lead tion of Bacterial Cells in application was rejected. the Illinois Water Scholars Consumable Products.” That The grant, submitted through as they work on major proposal was not funded. iSEE and in response to the Future interdisciplinary research Energy Jobs Act of 2016 (the state opportunities at Illinois. CACHE Closed must acquire 25 percent of its energy Other Council members: Ento- With the departure of Director from renewable sources by 2025), mology Associate Professor Brian Tami Bond, the Center for Applied would have let Stark’s analyze if it Allan; Geography and GIS Associate Collaboration on Human Environ- was feasible and economical to install Professor Trevor Birkenholtz; Civil ments (CACHE) seed-funded by solar panels on Illinois Department and Environmental Engineering iSEE, the Grainger College of Engi- of Transportation-owned buildings Professor Marcelo Garcia (who also neering, and the Department of Civil and rights-of-way.

26 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report iSEE CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS

Illinois Entomology Profes- Published! sor May Berenbaum deliv- The 2018 Critical Conversa- ers a keynote to kick off the tion on the nitrogen reduction 2019 Critical Conversation. challenge in the Midwest — exploring ways to reduce runoff affecting the Gulf of Mexico with a hypoxic “dead zone” — have resulted in two published works. v iSEE Associate Director Madhu Khanna, Director Evan H. DeLucia, Associate Direc- tor Ximing Cai, Agricultural & Consumer Economics Profes- sor Benjamin Gramig, and Civil & Environmental Engineering Professor Praveen Kumar are close to publishing a paper in Nature Sustainability titled “Har- Genetically Modified nessing Emerging Technologies to Mitigate the Hypoxia Chal- lenge.” Based on the Critical Mosquitoes a Lively 2019 Conversation, the authors make five recommendations: improv- ing understanding of how big Discussion Topic data-enabled precision farming can reduce nutrient loss; under- In May, iSEE hosted academic, industry, nonprofit, government, and standing barriers to adoption NGO representatives in downtown Chicago’s University Club for a con- of best management practices versation on the issues and potential solutions surrounding genetically and new technology; educating modified mosquitoes (GMMs). and training farmers; lowering Keynote speaker May Berenbaum, U of I Professor of Entomology, regulatory barriers on genetic got the conversation started the evening of May 23, and three panel and engineering for crops that better breakout sessions continued the discussion the next day. use nitrogen; and pursuing legal More than 60 people attended the Critical Conversation, paid for by a and regulatory methods to make better practices mandatory. generous donation from the Alvin H. Baum Family Fund, iSEE’s founding v The authors also published benefactor (page 4), administered by Joel Friedman and Erika Cornelison. an op-ed piece in July 2019 The event was co-hosted by Entomology Associate Professor Brian based on the Critical Conversa- Allan (PI for iSEE’s Stormwater and Mosquito Control team, pages 18-19), tion in The News-Gazette, titled Illinois Natural History Survey Medical Entomology Lab Director Chris “Big Data, Other Tech Can Help Stone, and INHS Vector Ecologist Holly Tuten. The three are preparing a with Nutrient Runoff in Midwest, paper for a scholarly journal as well as an op-ed piece for a national news Gulf Coast.” outlet. v In late 2018, DeLucia, Khanna, Cai and Associate Director Gillen D’Arcy Wood Plans for 2020 Underway published an op-ed piece in The iSEE Associate Director for Research Madhu Khanna has opened a News-Gazette, in response to campuswide call for topics for the third iSEE Critical Conversation. iSEE the National Climate Assess- wants a topic that can help identify solutions to wicked grand societal ment titled “Flyover States Face challenges. Conversations typically revolve around a point of conflict or Serious Issues.” disagreement among multiple stakeholders.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 27 EDUCATION & OUTREACH

CAMPUSWIDE MINOR & CERTIFICATE IN ENVIRONMENTAL WRITING iSEE Programs on the Upswing Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Fellows Program (SEE FP) This campuswide sustainability minor led by iSEE and six academic units (Department of Agricultural & Consumer Economics, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineer- ing, School of Integrative Biology, Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences, School of Earth, Society & Environment, and Department of Urban & Regional Planning) has seen major enrollment boosts during 2018-19, bringing the four-year total to about 140 students and more than 50 graduates. The minor attracts people from across campus and has featured students from six colleges and more than a dozen departments. A new “rolling” enrollment policy at iSEE allowed students to join the minor throughout the year — and the SEE FP set a record with serve as Levenick Teaching Fellows Undergraduate Certificate in nearly 50 new students to start the (more about the Levenicks, page 4). Environmental Writing (CEW) 2019-20 academic year. Potential external partners have The second year of the program The minor capstone course, included Accenture, Ameren, An- saw growth as well, as nearly a dozen in which teams of students work heuser-Busch InBev, the U.S. Army students have now taken the three with industry, government, NGO, Construction Engineering Research required courses and received the nonprofit, and/or campus partners Laboratory (CERL), Carus Corp., Certificate. on a sustainability challenge (De- Champaign Park District, Cham- In addition, cember 2018 poster session pictured) paign-Urbana Mass Transit District, 15 articles by continues to Champaign County Forest CEW students be a successful Preserve District, City of were published partnership Urbana, and the Orpheum in the profes- with instruc- Children’s Science Muse- sionally curated tional help from um. Other past partners Q Magazine faculty across included Chip Energy, online and in campus, who Johnson Controls, and The print (page 29). Land Connection.

28 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report Q Magazine Has Online, Print Presence In September 2018 and March 2019, Plans are already in the works for Volume respectively, iSEE published Issues 1 and 2, Issue 2, as well — for which iSEE 2 of Q Magazine online. And in Summer Intern April Wendling will 2019, the two issues were combined to serve as Student compose the Volume 1 print edition. Editor. Fifteen articles, written by 13 differ- Among the ent student authors enrolled in ENGL/ pieces planned is ESE 360, 477, and 498 (the capstone one about water course for the undergraduate Cer- resource manage- tificate in Environmental Writing) ment issues on the were chosen for publication, and Gila River in the 2018 graduate Katie Watson, a Southwest United former iSEE Communications States. Kurtzweil and Intern served as the Student CEW grad Taylor Jen- Editor for Volume 1. nings traveled to New Articles from 2018-19 Mexico and Arizona to CEW classes will make up research the issues near Volume 2, Issue 1, scheduled the Gila National Forest for online release in Sep- (photos below). tember 2019. iSEE Com- The students’ travel was munications Intern Jenna funded by a generous gift Kurtzweil, a 2019 grad, from donor Janelle Joseph serves as the Student Editor. (more, page 4).

ENVS 301 ‘Tools for Sustainability’ meets in Spring 2019 in the iSEE Collaboratory classroom.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 29 LEVENICK-FUNDED PROGRAMS Bioethicist Named iSEE’s First Resident Scholar In Summer 2019, iSEE invited Founder and Direc- tor of Editing Nature Natalie Kofler to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as the first Stuart L. and Nancy J. Levenick Resident Scholar in Sustainability Leadership. Kofler, a molecular biologist and bioethicist, has authored numerous scientific research articles, reviews, and commentary pieces, and chaired international semi- nars and summits. Kofler is passionate about ensuring diverse voices and viewpoints steer science and technology. “At Editing Nature, we think a lot about how to tap into collective wisdom to steer responsible technological development,” Kofler said. “I am so excited to learn from and collaborate with the faculty and students at U of I. Together, I think we can come up with some really inno- vative ways to integrate cross-disciplinary and cross-cul- tural perspectives and address some of our most pressing environmental challenges.” spring (page 27), and we feel there is much more we at The Levenick Resident Scholars in Sustainability Illinois can learn from her expertise. Leadership Program was funded by a generous endow- “Scientists, educators, and students on campus will ment in early 2019 from U of I Alumnus Stuart Leve- have access this year to a unique thought leader who nick and wife Nancy Levenick of Naples, Fla. (page 4), takes a holistic approach to her work.” to iSEE and the Department of Natural Resources and During her time at iSEE Kofler will also serve on the Environmental Sciences (NRES). It was created to bring Editorial Board for Q Magazine (page 29). And she will in experts from other universities, the private sector, and teach a graduate-level course in NRES in Fall 2019. nonprofit organizations to share fresh perspectives and In early 2020, NRES expects to name a Levenick Sus- innovations with the Illinois community. tainability Chair, the Department’s first endowed chair, Kofler’s work with Editing Nature advances and who will oversee the Resident Scholars Program. supports the responsible and ethical decisions guiding With backgrounds from a variety of disciplines, Res- the development of genetic technologies released into the ident Scholars will enhance and accelerate the broader environment. impact of sustainability research and innovation, DeLu- “We are excited to have Natalie on board as our first cia said. As the Levenick Chair leads the program, it will Resident Scholar,” iSEE Baum Family Director Evan H. help “close the circle” on sustainability efforts already DeLucia said. “She is known for engaging experts from established among the College of ACES, iSEE, and NRES. different backgrounds worldwide to examine wicked sus- “This campus will become a destination for world- tainability and environmental issues — those that don’t wide sustainability experts — offering them creative have a simple answer and affect multiple stakeholders. opportunities and exposing faculty, students, and staff She was a vital, vibrant voice during our Critical Con- on our campus to real-time sustainability solutions from versation on genetically modified mosquitoes this past across the globe,” DeLucia said.

30 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report BENSON LAVEY PETTIJOHN PRESCOTT ROSENCRANZ THOMAS YI Cohort of 7 to Bolster Sustainability in Curriculum In Spring 2019, iSEE named Professor of Geology and Teaching its first cohort of Levenick iSEE Assistant Professor in the School of Teaching Sustainability Fellows. The Online Portal Earth, Society & Environment); Institute awarded grants to seven in- In 2018-19, iSEE re- • FSHN 499 — Environmen- structors seeking to add sustainability vamped its website to include tal Impacts of Food & Nutrition elements in current courses on the a new portal for educational Systems (a new course taught by University of Illinois’ Urbana-Cham- offerings, including the Lev- Melissa Prescott, Assistant Professor paign campus — or to create new enick iSEE Teaching Sus- of School/Childhood Foods and courses directly tied to sustainability. tainability Fellows Program, Nutrition); and the campuswide minor, the This new program, announced • ARCH 576 — Building Energy environmental writing pro- in December 2018 and funded by a gram, U of I major, minor, and Use (a new course taught by Yun Kyu gift from Stuart and Nancy Levenick certificate programs, SEE-re- Yi, Assistant Professor of Architec- (page 4), offers U of I instructors lated courses, and more. ture). $1,000 for adding sustainability Visit sustainability. The iSEE program consists of elements to existing courses or $2,000 illinois.edu/education. four elements to help Fellows best in- for creating a new course with a sus- corporate sustainability into courses: tainability centerpiece. a retreat each April — attended via “iSEE is constantly looking for School of Art + Design, and Neki- teleconference by interested instruc- ways to expand educational offer- ta Thomas, Assistant Professor of tors from the University of Illinois ings on campus in sustainability,” Graphic Design); at Chicago as well — to help begin Associate Director Gillen D’Arcy • ESE 466 —Climate Change, developing lesson plans; summer Wood said. “This Fellowship is our Health, and Law (taught by Warren feedback from iSEE and subject newest offering to incentivize adding Lavey, Adjunct Professor of Natu- matter experts in sustainability; a fall sustainability to the curriculum in an ral Resources and Environmental progress check-in; and a spring 2020 intentional manner.” Sciences, and Dr. Holly Rosencranz, debriefing, at which time the 2019 co- The courses starting in Fall 2019: Clinical Associate Professor of Med- hort will meet the new 2020 Fellows. • ARTD 451 — Ethics of a De- icine); signer in a Global Economy (taught • GLBL 298/ESE 389 — Food by Eric Benson, Associate Professor Systems Sustainability (taught by J. and Chair of Graphic Design in the Cory Pettijohn, Research Assistant

iSEE Associate Director Gillen D’Arcy Wood announces the Levenick iSEE Teaching Sustainability Fellows Program.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 31 iSEE FALL EVENTS: CONGRESS, SUSTAINABILITY WEEK From ‘Sustainable Cities’ to ‘Sustainability Justice’ iSEE’s fifth Congress, “Sustain- able Cities” in early October 2018 drew hundreds of people to discuss the issues facing urban transporta- tion, housing, food, water, infrastruc- ture, and public health. More than 400 faculty, staff, students, and community members registered to participate in the dis- cussions at the Illini Union — high- lighted by keynotes from Gerrit-Jan representatives from the cities of journalists, and activists to partici- Knaap, Executive Director of the Urbana and Champaign (page 36). pate in panels and roundtable discus- National Center for Smart Cities; For its sixth annual Congress, sions on urgent questions surround- Bobby Hambrick, Founder and “Sustainability Justice,” iSEE is ing sustainability justice. Highlights CEO of AutonomouStuff; and Brian tackling environmental and social include keynotes by Kimberley Stone, Professor of City and Regional justice issues as the world attempts to Wasserman, Executive Director of Planning at Georgia Tech. The event become more sustainable. Little Village Environmental Organi- also featured a Joint Climate Resil- On Sept. 24-25 at the Union, zation in Chicago; and Wake Forest ience Proclamation signed by U of I iSEE will bring together a diverse University’s John Knox, the first Chancellor Robert J. Jones and group of researchers, educators, U.N. Independent Expert on Human Rights and the Environment.

32 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report Sustainability Week Celebration 2018 More than 100 people gathered on progress toward Illinois Climate jog. More than 30 people participated in October 2018 to celebrate campus Action Plan (iCAP) goals from the in the event, which was part fitness, accomplishments during the Sustain- iCAP Working Group and Sustain- part environmental action, part com- ability Celebration. ability Working Advisory Teams, a munity service. The event also featured updates ceremony for the top buildings and • A tour of Abbott Power Plant. offices that were able to conserve • iSEE’s Illini Lights Out (page energy on campus, and more. 39) event in which students turned Other highlights: off lights in buildings around the • To kick off the week, students Main Quad while in Halloween garb. were invited to participate in “Plog- • And other student- and depart- ging” — picking up plastic while you ment-led events.

Gerrit-Jan Knaap drew a large crowd for his iSEE Congress 2018 keynote.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 33 iSEE SPRING EVENTS: EARTH MONTH

Campuswide, It’s All about the Earth Departments, student organizations, and community hosted by student organizations — Students for Environ- members celebrated Earth Month in April 2019. mental Concerns (SECS) takes the lead on Earth Month iSEE brought in climate change experts Kerry Eman- each year — and academic units. uel of MIT (pictured bottom left) and Jonathan Overpeck In addition, iSEE hosted a Student Climate Action of Michigan (top right) for the Charles David Keeling and Forum led by the Student Sustainability Leadership MillerComm lectures, respectively, about severe weather Council (SSLC; page 43), in which students learned about and its impact on the U.S. climate. current campus efforts and helped rank priorities for the Earth Week kicked off with Environmental Quad future. Day (top left) as a dozen environmental-focused student The week ended with an Arbor Day event celebrating groups provided educational activities and information. the University’s state champion tree and iSEE’s student-led Several events each day the week of April 22-26 were Illini Lights Out (the second of the month; more, page 39).

34 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report CAMPUS SUSTAINABILITY

ENERGY GENERATION Campus Continues to Expand Renewable Energy Portfolio In early 2019, at the urging of the Sustainability Council chaired by Chancellor Robert J. Jones, the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign started taking proposals for Solar Farm 2.0 — an expansion of more than 50 acres of solar panels. Facilities & Services (F&S) and Prairieland Energy Inc. are seeking to increase campus on-site renewable energy generation to 25,000 mega- watt-hours — meeting an objective in the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP). Construction was expected to begin in Fall 2019 after harvest on U of I South Farms land. When added to the 21-acre original Solar Farm (pictured) that began operations in December 2015, the completed array will give the University about 75 acres devoted to solar — making the campus “the third-largest user of on- site renewables for higher education facilities in the United States,” F&S another energy generation tactic tions by circulating fluid through Executive Director Mohamed Attalla that will reduce its greenhouse gas heat exchangers in the ground lead- said. (GHG) emissions. ing to a heat pump in the building.” Solar Farm 2.0 will include A $240,000 project, funded by This project will also serve as habitat for pollinators under the solar F&S and iSEE through the Carbon a “living lab” for iSEE researcher panels, and iSEE researchers also Credit Sales Fund and a grant from Tugce Baser (page 15), who will intend to use the farm as a “living the Student Sustainability Committee install sensors to measure strains and laboratory” to explore agrivoltaics (in (SSC, pages 42-43), began in Summer temperatures in the foundation. The which crop production and energy 2019 with installation of geothermal outcomes of the research will help generation can coexist; see more, page energy foundations in an expansion create guidelines for future installa- 15). of the Hydrosystems Laboratory. tions of geothermal foundations on According to F&S, “Geothermal new construction. Geothermal Exploration systems use the relatively constant The latest geothermal instal- The University also remains underground temperature to provide lation follows testing on both the on the cutting edge as it examines heating and cooling at remarkably Bardeen Quad and at the Energy geothermal options on campus — high efficiencies. The system func- Farm on campus.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 35 CLIMATE RESILIENCE

Champaign Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen hands the pen to Chancellor Robert J. Jones during the Joint Resilience Proclamation signing ceremony as Urbana Alderman Bill Brown looks on.

Campus, Cities on Same Page In early October at iSEE Congress 2018, the Universi- Urbana-Champaign, affirm our joint commitment to ty of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as well as the cities of bolstering our community’s resilience to the impacts of Urbana and Champaign officially proclaimed their shared climate change.” dedication to preparing for the impacts of climate change. The proclamation also has charged a new Resilience Chancellor Robert J. Jones, Champaign Mayor Deb- Working Advisory Team with representatives from orah Frank Feinen, and Urbana Alderman Bill Brown all campus, the cites, and other local entities (page 37) to signed a joint proclamation that reads, in part: incoporate the resilience of the greater community into “Whereas there is a strong scientific consensus that the new Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) so it will be climate change is happening at an accelerating rate ... prepared for the challenges of a warmer climate, more we do hereby proclaim that the cities of Champaign and severe weather, and potential threats to infrastructure and Urbana, working alongside the University of Illinois at public health.

36 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report ILLINOIS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN Working Advisory Teams Realigned to Incorporate Resilience, Education In preparation for writing the 2020 Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP), iSEE along with Facilities & Services and other campus entities have made some slight changes to the teams of students, faculty, and staff working toward iCAP goals. Campus sustainability leadership will remain the same with the Sus- tainability Council (the Chancellor and upper-level campus leaders) and the iCAP Working Group (midlevel campus managers, pictured). But to better incorporate climate resilience and educational components, iSEE transformed its Sustainability Work- ing Advisory Teams (SWATeams) of 2014-19 into six new, and larger, Working Advisory Teams. The new groups, which will include three to four faculty, three to four staff members, and three to four students, are: • Energy SWATeam (incorporat- ing generation, purchasing, distribu- tion, conservation, and more); • Land & Water SWATeam (incorporating agriculture, land use, sequestration, water, stormwater, and and the environment); and nator for campus; more); • NEW — Resilience Working • pursuing a large-scale solar • Zero Waste SWATeam (incor- Advisory Team (bringing campus Power Purchasing Agreement; porating purchasing, waste, recycling, and the greater community togeth- • funding for critical energy con- food, and more); er to address what must be done to servation projects; • Transportation SWATeam prepare for vulnerabilities to extreme • planting more trees cam- (largely unchanged — seeking weather and other results of climate puswide; sustainable, healthy, low-emissions change). • incorporating sustainability options on and off campus); into ethics and compliance training; • NEW — Education SWATeam SWAT Process at Work • carbon subsidies for both (seeking to complement the disci- In 2018-19, SWATeams sent 19 high-emissions and lower-emissions plinary educational goals of campus recommendations to iSEE, the iCAP travel choices; and with opportunities for interdisciplin- Working Group, and campus leader- • creating a policy and master ary learning, research, and indepen- ship. Among them: plan for incorporating geothermal dent study on sustainability, energy, • hiring of a Zero Waste Coordi- energy options on campus.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 37 CAMPUS RECOGNITION Let it Bee! The Student Behind New Campus Certification Communities across the country are pulling together In in support of the nation’s pollinators, and the University of Octo- Illinois recently added its name to the list. ber 2017, In 2018, the U of I applied for Bee Campus certifi- Daught- cation through Bee City USA, an initiative of the Xerces ridge Society dedicated to fostering a pollinator-friendly at- environment. The process was fairly smooth sailing: tend- It turns out that the U of I did not have to make any ed a drastic changes to be considered eligible. And so Illinois student became the 53rd Bee Campus USA — and the first Big sustainabil- Ten Conference school with that designation. ity summit that The idea to pursue Bee Campus USA certification featured a workshop with Phyllis Stiles, originated with Rachel Daughtridge, an undergraduate founder and director of Bee City USA, in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. during which Stiles outlined certification steps. One of the many ways that Daughtridge (pictured “I knew that we could make this happen,” back row, third from left) engages with on-campus sus- Daughtridge said, “because the university already met tainability is through her internship for Lincoln Avenue so many of the requirements.” Residence Hall’s Sustainability LLC, a floor designed Founded in 2012, Bee City USA aims to make the for students interested in environmental issues. Having nation a safe place for pollinators (not only bees, but lived there her freshman year, she jumped at the op- butterflies, beetles, bats, hummingbirds, and more) portunity to help coordinate the program and support to live happily and healthily. Any city — or campus students with sustainability projects of their own. — can pledge to uphold a list of requirements to join the rapidly growing list of certified communities. The application outlines seven steps that Daughtridge was responsible for overseeing. In January 2018, Daughtridge completed Step 1: forming an on-campus Bee Campus USA commit- tee, which composed an integrative pest management plan outlining best practices for pollinator-conscious landscaping and pesticide use and put together a native plants roster, which tracks and maintains what’s cur- rently planted on campus as well as what the U of I plans to incorporate in the future.

38 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report Campus’ Leadership Lauded The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was recognized throughout the past year for its sustainability and environmental efforts. Among the most notable: v Second Nature Climate • behavior change and stu- Leadership Award. In January, dent-facing efforts like Greener the campus won of the presti- Campus programs, zero-waste gious Second events, and Nature Climate student orga- Leadership nizations and Award. In its events dedicat- ninth year, ed to sustain- Climate Lead- ability (pages ership Awards 40-41). recognize innovation and leader- v STARS ship in climate action, including Gold Recertification.In March mitigation and resilience. 2019 — for the fourth time One four-year and one in a row — the campus two-year signatory cam- earned Gold Level pus of the Presidents’ honors in the Sustain- Climate Leadership ability Tracking, Assess- Commitments are ment & Rating System selected annually as (STARS), the nation’s overall winners; the U of most comprehensive sus- I was the four-year winner. Key tainability rating system. efforts that led to the recognition: STARS is a self-reporting • sustainability, energy and framework, and 942 institutions “Currently,” she environmental research on cam- have used the tool. As of its said, “pollinators are pus — including serving certification, Illinois was one of 108 schools to threatened by habitat as a host institution for achieve Gold in version destruction and pesticides, so it’s CABBI (pages 6-9); • measures to make 2.1 of the tool — and it important that we create an integra- facilities and the cam- had the top score in the tive pest management plan to figure pus more sustainable, including Big Ten Conference. out whether we are a threat to them a solar farm, renewable energy v Tree Campus USA. In with our landscape management.” purchasing, comprehensive en- addition to its first Bee Campus But Daughtridge was happy to ergy savings efforts from Facil- USA designation (story at left), in report that the university had very ities & Services, and the over- April the U of I was designated a little to change. arching framework developed Tree Campus USA for the fourth She then helped with Steps 3-6 in the Illinois Climate Action straight year by the Arbor Day Foundation. (putting on an awareness event; Plan to reach carbon v Freezer Challenge authenticating the number of neutrality by no later than 2050 (pages 35-37); Champs. In August pollinator-focused courses on cam- • educational offerings 2018, the U of I won the pus; permanent signage for “pollina- across the campus, with International Laboratory tor pockets;” and a student website), participation from the majority Freezer Challenge’s Aca- and Step 7 will be ongoing — to of academic units in integrating demia category after 45 labs in maintain certification. sustainability into coursework 17 buildings reduced energy us- (pages 28-29, 31); and age by 262,800 kilowatt-hours. Full article by iSEE Communi- More campus awards — and updates — may be found at cations Intern Jenna Kurtzweil at sustainability.illinois.edu/recognition. sustainability.illinois.edu.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 39 CAMPUS SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAMMING iSEE Expands Greener Campus In 2018-19, the Institute took the Certified Green Office Program concept several steps further, adapting it into several new programs, called “Greener Campus.” Among these new sustainability initiatives:

Labs In September 2018, iSEE announced that the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI, pages 6-9) became the first Certified Green Lab- oratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. CABBI personnel (pictured) demon- sustainable. Given that research laboratories are one of strated a firm commitment to sustainabil- campus’ biggest utility consumers, the ity through actions like reducing waste, CGLP is a natural complement — and conserving energy, and abiding by the 12 through the program iSEE offers resourc- Principles of Green Chemistry. The Certi- es to help support campus labs as they go fied Green Lab Program (CGLP) began in August 2018. greener. For almost five years, the Certified Green Office Program (CGOP) provided offices and departments Chapters, RSOs across campus an The CGLP and CGOP — for opportunity to which the CABBI office also in Sep- make the Univer- tember became one of more than 25 sity more certified units thus far — were joined

40 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report ILO Grows, Goes National! Offerings Illini Lights Out (ILO), a student-led energy conservation initiative through iSEE and funded in the Spring 2019 semester by the Certi- by the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC, fied Green Chapter and Certified Green pages 42-43), ended the 2018-19 academic year on a high note. U of I students turned off 10,000 RSO programs, offering — for the first time more lights than the previous year, resulting in a — guided opportunities for student groups 20,000 kwh energy savings increase. to actively participate in campus sustain- Totals for ILO events since the first one in ability efforts. Spring 2016: 114,423 lights turned off; 143.6 tons

In 2019-20, iSEE will ramp up these offerings to so- of CO2 equivalent saved; and more than $17,000 rorities, fraternities, and registered student organizations. in energy bill savings. This past year, iSEE In- terns Claire Kredens and Vince Spagnola pro- Coming Soon: Events vided leadership for the hundreds of volunteers Also in 2019-20, the Institute intends to make its pres- who took the time on a Friday evening to make a difference! ence known at campuswide events. It will begin certifying The success of this program has led the ILO events that feature sustainable attendance practices (tele- team to start National Lights Out (NLO), providing conferencing, for instance), catering options, and more. tools for other college campuses to start their And it all starts with Quad Day, the annual event own Lights Out programs. before the fall semester at which new students check out all the exciting offerings on campus. For the sec- Read more about both programs and stay ond straight year thanks to a grant from the Student updated at sustainability.illinois.edu. Sustainability Committee (SSC, pages 42-43), iSEE’s Greener Quad Day program will offer an introduction to sustainability by be- ing there to help with recycling and talking about how all students can be more sustain- able in campus life.

For more infor- mation about the Greener Campus initiatives, visit sustainability. illinois.edu/greener- certifications/.

Students get their marching orders for an Illini Lights Out event after class on a Friday.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 41 STUDENT GROUPS Bevier Goes SSC Update The Student Sus- tainability Committee Green — Times awarded more 3 — Thanks to than $1.7 million in 2018-19 Funded Projects — nearly $425,000 Tucked away on Bevier Hall’s second of it for student-led floor, Bevier Café is part east campus initiatives. A break- down: eatery, part learning laboratory, and part v Energy Proj- sustainability trailblazer at the University ects: $834,000, of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. including $495,000 Each semester, undergraduates in for two separate the Food Science and Human Nutrition geothermal explora- Quantity Food Preparation and Service tions on campus. course spend time in the café managing v Food & Waste the establishment’s day-to-day operations, Projects: $308,000, mastering the ins and outs of food service, including $29,000 and learning how to be sustainable in the for new recycling centers at the Illini workplace. The café functions as a hub for Union. three Student Sustainability Committee v Education (SSC)-funded projects: the Bevier Café Projects: $288,000, Reusable Carry-out Program, Turner including $144,000 Hall’s Aquaponics System Demonstration for a sustainable Unit, and the Bevier Café Herb Garden. “I’ve worked in full-service restau- auxiliary building at At the helm of these campaigns is rants, high-end catering, and most the Bee Research Carter Phillips, the café’s Quantity Foods recently with dining services and premi- Facility. Manager and Instructional Chef. A U of I um seating in Memorial Stadium. I had v Land & Water alumnus and seven-year employee, Phil- an opportunity to come back and help Projects: $195,000, including $103,000 lips is a testament to the program. teach the class that I took … and it’s been for a nitrate monitor- ing system on South Farms. v Transpor- Meet the Appropriately Named tation Projects: In Summer 2019, the Student Sustain- and engage students in these new initia- $79,000, including ability Committee (SSC) hired Eric Green tives. Working closely with iSEE, he will $10,000 for Illini as its new Coordinator. support other student-led groups Hyperloop to build Green will identify and sup- and campus sustainability pro- a pod for a SpaceX competition. port sustainability projects around grams as well. v Microgrant campus. Once the student Com- He hopes to see unique and Projects: $3,900, mittee members make decisions experimental projects come from including $750 in about funding projects from the the applications sent to SSC. support of the an- nearly $1.2 million annual budget “Before iSEE was even found- nual Eco-Olympics collected through student fees, Green is ed, I had a friend who was the chair competition. responsible for administering those funds. of the SSC,” Green said. “I loved that He also will do marketing on the projects students had a say in how their campus

42 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report SSLC Update Leaders from Registered Student Organizations on campus with ties to sustainability and environmentalism make up the Stu- dent Sustainability Leadership Council (SSLC), iSEE’s finger on the pulse Carter Phillips at of student activities the Bevier Café and initiatives on Herb Garden. campus. With guidance from the Student Sustainability exciting to help spearhead some of these “That’s the impact that will be the Committee (SSC) projects,” he said. most beneficial,” Phillips said. Coordinator, the Like its website says, Bevier Café is Council was much “more than just a great place to eat” — it’s Full article by iSEE Communications more active in the teaching a new generation of sustainabili- Intern Jenna Kurtzweil at sustainability. 2018-19 academic ty-conscious food-service professionals. illinois.edu. year. The highlight was a Student Climate Action Forum during Earth Week Eric Green: New Coordinator 2019, during which was shaped with regards to sustainable mental Sciences. He wrote his thesis on students with envi- ronmental interests changes. Through my experience as a energy economics and how CO2 policy project manager and as an educator, could influence demand for electricity. gathered in the I knew that I wanted to continue to Since his time as a student, Green iSEE Collaboratory support the students in their efforts. The has worked for a fuel cell research start- to discuss their con- cerns on campus opportunity to work with students and up company, as an automated software and beyond. iSEE support sustainable efforts is a blessing.” test engineer at Motorola, and most representatives Green obtained both his bachelor’s recently, a construction manager for were there to listen and master’s degrees from the University Illinois’ own Red Oak Rain Garden. for input on the up- of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with “I first came to C-U in 1999 for my coming 2020 Illinois his B.S. in Electrical Engineering and his undergrad, and basically never left,” he Climate Action Plan. M.S. in Natural Resources and Environ- said.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 43 INSTITUTE UPDATES

NEW PERSONNEL & FACILITIES Classroom/Meeting Space, Studio Open for Business iSEE’s new learning and meeting several student and faculty events and iSEE staff members Collaboratory opened to classes Jan. workshops in its first few months. check out 14. The space, outfitted with state- In addition, work in iSEE’s new the newly of-the-art presentation screens and media lab/studio was completed in constructed teleconferencing capabilities, seats up Summer 2019. Run by Adam Rahn Media Lab. to 36 students with the potential for (more, right) the facility will allow larger meetings and events. the Institute and users who book the The first classes taught in the space to create high-quality video and space include ENVS 301, the intro- audio. ductory course for the SEE Fellows Generous funding from Stu and Program campuswide minor (photo Nancy Levenick, Caterpillar Inc., the above); two courses that are part Student Sustainability Committee of the undergraduate Certificate in (SSC), and the Office of the Provost Environmental Writing (CEW); and made this possible (page 4). one Natural Resources and Environ- mental Sciences (NRES) course. Learn more about the facili- The iSEE Collaboratory is ties at sustainability.illinois.edu/ designed for discussion, creation, about/. and communication — and it hosted

iSEE Associate Director Gillen D’Arcy Wood teaches Environmental Writing for Publication in the iSEE Collaboratory.

44 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report Meet the New iSEE Staffers! As the Institute continues to expand its role in research, campus sustainability, and education, it has added more personnel to support this three-fold mission. In 2018-19, three new staffers were hired: v John Pirtle. Pirtle joined “I will be overseeing and iSEE in February 2019 as a Pro- helping to coordinate the Work- posal Developer and Financial ing Advisory Teams, and helping Specialist. to craft the 2020 Illinois Climate He received Action Plan (iCAP),” Moore said. both his Bache- “I am also excited to expand the lor’s in Business Greener Campus programs and Administration certifications while developing and Masters of new ways that Illinois can be- Public Administra- come more sustainable.” tion from the Uni- Because of her passion for versity of Illinois at Springfield. bettering the environment and Prior to coming to iSEE, Pirtle her ability to work with different held grant proposal positions at demographics, iSEE is the per- Ohio State University and Illinois’ fect fit for Moore. Beckman Institute and the Na- “I am thrilled to work with tional Center for Supercomput- iSEE because I am surrounded ing Applications (NCSA). by progressive, proactive think- As a Proposal Developer and ers who are passionate about Financial Specialist for iSEE, his being at the forefront of environ- day consists of preparing budget mental initiatives,” Moore said. projections for faculty and other v Adam Rahn. Rahn is the researchers, developing budgets iSEE Media Lab Coordinator. He and budget justifications, and is part-time at Illinois; full-time, working with granting organiza- he runs his video production tions and faculty/staff to submit company, Droi proposals. Media. Adam is v Meredith Moore. After an award-win- graduating from St. Norbert ning producer, College with bachelor’s degrees director, editor, in Environmental Science and and videographer French and working for the Min- with almost 15 nesota Chamber years of professional production of Commerce, experience. Moore attended After completing his bache- Auburn University lor’s degree in Broadcast Jour- for her M.S. de- nalism, he went on to pursue a gree. There, her Master’s in Communication, both research focused from Illinois State University. on local water policy and drought As the Media Lab Coordina- management. tor, Adam creates, shoots, and Now, Moore is iSEE’s Sus- edits video content for iSEE and tainability Programs Coordinator. the Center for Advanced Bioen- She will oversee many different ergy and Bioproducts Innovation projects on campus. (CABBI). Read more about these and other iSEE staffers, and stay up to date, at sustainability.illinois.edu/about/contact/.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN | 45 STAYING IN TOUCH Keep up with iSEE OUR OFFICE Campus Phone: 217-333-4178 Mailing Address: 1101 W. Peabody, Suite 350 (NSRC), MC-635 Urbana, IL 61801 Engagement

EMAIL General: [email protected] 2018-19 Educational Programs: [email protected] Campus Sustainability: campus-sustainability@ • • • • • • • • • • • • • illinois.edu Our Institute takes pride in engaging University of Illinois Greener Campus: [email protected] students, faculty, staff, and community members all across Illini Lights Out: [email protected] campus. This is a rough estimate of people reached through Student Sustainability Committee (SSC): iSEE efforts during the most recent academic year. [email protected] Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioprod- • • • • • • • • • • • • • ucts Innovation (CABBI): [email protected] Contact info for iSEE directors, staff, and RESEARCH Centers, projects scholars interns may be found at sustainability.illinois.edu/ • Principal Investigators, Co-PIs about/contact/. • Water, Energy, etc., Scholars • Postdocs WEBSITES • Grad & undergrad students iSEE: sustainability.illinois.edu • Lab & field technicians Energy at Illinois: energy.illinois.edu • Support staff Water at Illinois: water.illinois.edu 825 CABBI: cabbi.bio • • • • • • • • • • • • • Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Education Academics for students Mitigation (LC3M): lc3m.org/research/theme-3/ • SEE Fellows Program Agroforestry for Food: agroforestry4food.com (campuswide minor) • Undergrad Certificate Crops in silico: cropsinsilico.org in Environmental Writing sunbuckets.com Sun Buckets: • Levenick iSEE Teaching Q Magazine: q.sustainability.illinois.edu Sustainability Fellows iCAP Portal: icap.sustainability.illinois.edu SSC: ssc.sustainability.illinois.edu 150 • • • • • • • • • • • • • SOCIAL MEDIA Hosted campus and Sponsored Events off-campus gatherings iSEE Facebook: facebook.com/iSEEatUofI • Congress Sustainability @ Illinois Facebook group: • Critical Conversation facebook.com/groups/123074238038372 • Research conferences, workshops hosted SSC Facebook: facebook.comUIUCssc • Earth Month Keeling, iSEE Twitter: twitter.com/sustainILLINOIS MillerComm lectures CABBI Twitter: twitter.com/CABBIbio • Sustainability Celebration Agroforestry for Food Facebook: facebook. 1,100 • • • • • • • • • • • • • com/AgroforestryForFood Campus programs SSC Twitter: twitter.com/ssc_uiuc Campus Sustainability and organizations iSEE YouTube: bit.ly/iSEEyt • Greener Campus (offices, labs/freezers, chapters, RSOs) iSEE LinkedIn: linkedin.com/groups/8519947 • Illini Lights Out iSEE Instagram: instagram.com/sustainillinois/ • Green Quad Day, study iSEE Snapchat: sustainillinois breaks, staff interactions • iCAP teams Sun Buckets Facebook: facebook.com/ • Student groups Sun-Buckets Agroforestry for Food Twitter: twitter.com/ 4,750 Agforestry4Food

46 | INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY, AND ENVIRONMENT 2018-19 Annual Report

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research