how students are influencing the sustainability...

In looking for stories of students influencing sus-tainability curriculum, Sustainability: The Journal of Record spoke to administrators in several higher education programs. In response, we heard numer-ous examples of how students are involved—and in many cases leading the charge—in shaping sustain-ability programs. Read on for a roundup of some of the exemplary stories we gathered.

School and Department Loyola University Chicago (Chicago, IL), Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy

Program Description The biodiesel program was built by students and continues to be run by students with the help of one staff member, the biodiesel lab manager, who brings expertise and continuity to the program and its efforts. Students have produced a financially self-sustaining education program that serves to demon-strate and enable sustainable solutions to real-world problems. Student participation in the biodiesel program occurs in three ways: lab fellowships, the Waste-to Energy Lab course, and membership in the Biodiesel Club.

Beyond the student-run aspects of the biodiesel pro-gram, the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy (CUERP) is also striving to make this program a resource for high schools, other universi-ties, small businesses, and municipalities across the United States that are interested in making biodiesel. For instance, the program offers:

FundingIn spring 2007, Loyola University Chicago’s CUERP was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Environ-mental Protection Agency’s (EPA) People, Prosper-ity, and the Planet Student Design Competition for Sustainability. The grant enabled CUERP to imple-ment a new education model on Loyola’s campus:

In the Green

How Students Are Influencing the Sustainability Curriculum

Students have

produced a financially

self-sustaining

education program that

serves to demonstrate

and enable sustainable

solutions to real-world

problems.

Assembled by Ted Mero

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Fellows get a chance to propose their own exploratory projects and work on them through-out the year while helping with the operations and outreach aspects of the biodiesel program. These paid positions have become the heart of successful day-to-day operations and energetic outreach efforts.

The Waste-to-Energy Lab course, a spinoff of the STEP (Solutions to Environmental Problems): Biodiesel course, consists of student projects, hands-on lab experiments, and field trips to see waste systems in action.

The Biodiesel Club is the newest addition to the biodiesel program. Undergraduate students organized this club to help support lab opera-tions, expose more of the student body to the lab, and broaden sustainability efforts throughout campus with fun, engaging events. The showcase event for the club is Deep Fryer Fridays, at which

the club fires up a deep fryer, run by a biodiesel generator, to serve food to the student body. This demonstration helps foster conversation and showcases a closed-loop energy system.

A continuing education course once a year to give adults a full overview of small-scale biodie-sel production—from the biodiesel production process to government regulation of its sale and use. During one of these courses the program partnered with the Chicago Park District to help launch a pilot biodiesel plant that is helping sup-ply fuel for its fleet of vehicles. Consulting services for other universities that have expressed interest in starting biodiesel pro-duction; sustainable education programs; and more project-based, hands-on learning in their classes. Lab tours to any interested parties throughout the year.Opportunities for organizations—community groups, Boy Scout troops, after-school programs, and entrepreneurs, among others—that are look-ing for a way to reduce their impact on the envi-ronment and make their own fuel. Outreach to several local area high schools where the program brought this technology and all equipment and necessary supplies to help start their own biodiesel programs.

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MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC. • Vol. 4 No. 6 • December 2011 • DOI: 10.1089/sus.2011.9650 Sustainability 277

a new course entitled Solutions to Environmental Problems (STEP). STEP: Biodiesel is a one-credit lab course that developed from the STEP model. This one-credit lab course model allows students to learn about biodiesel while exploring other waste streams at Loyola that might be utilized for energy or salable products.

The STEP: Biodiesel course is interdisciplinary and brought together faculty, staff, and students from all over the university as they decided to tackle a tan-gible environmental problem that Loyola was fac-ing—high carbon emissions from campus shuttle buses. The goal of the class was to provide informa-tion about the problem and a holistic approach to develop a solution. STEP students quickly identified biodiesel, made from waste vegetable oil from cam-pus cafeterias, as the most viable alternative. So car-bon emissions from burning petroleum-based fuels for transportation became the first topic that STEP undertook. In STEP: Biodiesel, students identified, designed, and implemented an array of projects to contribute to the solution, including:

Semester to semester the projects built on one another; a $75,000 grant written by a STEP student was awarded by the EPA for high school outreach. As of the spring of 2009, the biodiesel focus is its own stand-alone program.

What the Future Holds

From the StudentWhen I started on our first biodiesel project, I was an undergraduate student majoring in communication. I found that I was passionate about the topic and so applied for an internship in the lab. As I continued to pour myself into the project, I was able to get a job as the assistant lab manager, and a year later was named the biodiesel lab manager and was asked to form the biodiesel program. We are now designing a microscale biodiesel production facility at Loyola that will be run by Loyola students, turning the caf-eteria’s waste oil into biodiesel and soap to support the university and pay for the project’s cost. Our uni-versity empowered me to change my life, my goals, and my passion to the pursuit of a sustainable future. — Zach Waickman

Address correspondence to:Zach WaickmanBiodiesel Lab ManagerCenter for Urban Environmental Research and PolicyLoyola University Chicago6317 N. Broadway StreetChicago, IL 60660

E-mail: [email protected]/biodiesel

School and DepartmentNorthland College (Ashland, WI),Campus Sustainability

Program DescriptionNorthland’s composting system is run by a team of four work-study students who collect compostable materials from the school cafeteria and the residence halls. The compost from the cafeteria gets processed every night by at least two workers using an in-ves-sel composting system called an Earth Tub, which uses a mechanical auger to aerate the contents. The device was purchased for the program in 2000 at a cost of approximately $10,000 (including shipping). The funding for the purchase came from the Renew-able Energy Fund set up by the Northland College Student Association.

At this time, the program is only able to use the waste from the “veggie” buckets, excluding the meat/dairy waste that comes out of the cafeteria because the current system does not reach the high levels of heat necessary to compost meat or dairy products. Also, including the meat/dairy waste could open the possibility of attracting vermin that could pose a health hazard. For now, an individual who works for the college takes the meat and composts it at his farm. The finished veggie compost, which is emptied

Our university

empowered me to

change my life, my

goals, and my passion

to the pursuit of a

sustainable future.

Fuel production research

Drafting of a biofuels legislative bill

Developing a documentary film on the process

Conducting outreach to local high schools so teachers would be able to deliver the STEP cur-riculum to their students

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CUERP’s biodiesel program plans to expand both the production and sale of products, and outreach to schools, small businesses, and indi-viduals interested in biodiesel.

Loyola will collaborate with other universities in the Chicago area to collect and utilize waste vegetable oil.

Loyola biodiesel will be used in shuttle buses at Loyola as well as other universities and commu-nity circulator buses.

BioSoap—soap developed from glycerin, the byproduct of biodiesel production—will be used in all soap dispensers on campus and sold throughout the city.

Program expansion will make CUERP’s biodie-sel program financially sustainable; sales are expected to cover all costs from salaries to sup-plies, with the goal of becoming a truly sustain-able (economic, social, political, educational,

environmental) program that serves as a dem-onstration of sustainable/responsible business/education for the future.

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Zach Waickman, Biodiesel Lab Manager, Loyola University

Chicago

—Zach Waickman

278 Sustainability MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC. • Vol. 4 No. 6 • December 2011 • DOI: 10.1089/sus.2011.9650

In the Green

from the tub approximately twice a year, is given to the campus farm or greenhouse to grow produce for the cafeteria.

The compost crew work under the Campus Sustain-ability department and a campus-wide Environmen-tal Council, a grassroots student organization geared toward maintaining the program’s current projects and initiating new ones. All of the students involved serve as resources for one another and the work they all do.

Funding

The compost budget itself is quite small since it is one of 11 campus initiatives rolled into a $1200 bud-get line for the fiscal year 2011-2012. Since the four students on the compost crew are part of the univer-sity’s work-study program, their cost does not come out of the Campus Sustainability Department bud-get. Even with limited funding, however, the com-post crew are able to operate very well due to other available resources.

Northland College also has a program called the Renewable Energy Fund (REF). Paid through student fees, REF funds one or two of the many pro-posals submitted every year to improve Northland’s sustainability. Over the last five years, the compost crew has obtained $78,000 of funding that was used for an in-vessel system, a shed and other equipment.


The composting program is currently in the process of updating the compost shed. This is a prospect that involves many groups in the campus community. The students are hoping to expand their current shed to include a number of new additions:

From the Student

Northland’s compost system was one of the things I liked best about the school, and a reason I decided to enroll here. All of our sustainable initiatives on campus are constantly growing, changing, and chal-lenging the students involved, and it is a continuous process of trying something new, trial and error, and problem solving. I love my job so much because it makes you think on your feet and work with all of the people around you to solve your own problems and think creatively. This job has taught me that to do work well, you must be passionate and fight for what you want. Being a sustainability work-study

student forces us to look at the world and its prob-lems in a more creative and passionate way.

—Chara Bouma-Prediger, Northland College sophomore,

compost crew member

Address correspondence to:Chara Bouma-PredigerNorthland College, CB 7011411 Ellis AvenueAshland, WI 54806

E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]/sustainability

School and DepartmentUniversity of Michigan–Ann Arbor (Ann Arbor, MI), Graham Environmental Sustainability Institution

Program Description

Launched in 2010 in collaboration with seven Uni-versity of Michigan (U-M) schools and colleges, the Graham Undergraduate Sustainability Scholars Pro-gram accepts 25-30 high-performing sophomores each year to pursue an 11-credit course sequence and related co-curricular activities during their junior and senior years.

The underlying premise of the program is that solu-tions to global unsustainability require a new gen-eration of interdisciplinary leaders who embrace complexity, interconnectedness, uncertainty, and change. The program uses a cohort model empha-sizing leadership development and skill building in organizational change across traditional disciplinary boundaries. It is designed to prepare future lead-ers to help solve the “wicked” problems that com-prise the grand challenge of sustainability. Students apply the knowledge they gain to real-life sustain-ability challenges, harnessing advanced critical thinking and problem solving skills.

The program’s course requirements include: Inter-disciplinary Thinking for Sustainability; Sustainabil-ity & the Campus; a Graham-supported field-based sustainability experience; an interdisciplinary sus-tainability elective; and Leadership Development for Sustainability.

Offered in partnership with academic units across campus, the field-based experience is designed to expand the boundaries of the Scholars’ thinking about sustainability, and to address sustainability-related issues in various geographies and cultures throughout the world. Examples include:

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A new in-vessel composting system (a Green Drum from B.W. Organics) would be used in addition to the current Earth Tub, enabling all food waste from the cafeteria to be composed.An in-house water system for the compost crew’s cleaning needs.A new heating and ventilation system.

Being a sustainability

work-study student

forces us to look at

the world and its

problems in a more

creative and

passionate way.

—Chara Bouma-Prediger


Sustainable Energy Development in South America (Chile)

Sustainability Challenges & Opportunities in East Africa (Kenya)

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The program’s curricular requirements are supple-mented with co-curricular activities and social opportunities, such as a visit to UM’s “Challenge Program” (a ropes course), special access to guest lecturers, “dinner and documentary” monthly gath-erings, and sustainability learning circles.

Funding

Funding is provided through U-M’s Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute, which was founded by Donald C. Graham with matching funds from the U-M Provost. Each student in the program receives up to $3,000 in funding for a field-based course as well as additional program benefits, such as specialized networking and career development opportunities.

What the Future HoldsThis new program has been extremely well received by the students and faculty from across the Univer-sity of Michigan. While student demand for the pro-gram is rising, the Graham Institute is committed to keeping the student cohort to approximately 25 students since so much of the learning occurs from a strong cohort identity and close relationship among students, and it is believed that a larger group size would inhibit this learning. However, the program will evolve with the needs of the students since they drive the cocurricular activities, the content in the seminars, and the choices of field-based courses.

From the Student

Being a Graham Sustainability Scholar means much more to me than receiving a certificate designation on my transcript. The program has had a profound influence in my thinking and actions on sustain-ability, not only because of the course offerings but, perhaps more importantly, because of the relation-ships that develop between peers who come from

a variety of intellectual and social backgrounds yet are motivated to act on sustainability. Having a peer group that self-identifies and trains as sustainability leaders, backed by a program that fosters this devel-opment, provides a foundation for self-exploration and deep exploration of sustainability that would not otherwise exist. Students drive this program inside and outside of the classroom, and it shows.

—Samantha Schiebold, UM senior, Graham Sustainability Scholar (inaugural class member),

Student Sustainability Initiative board member

Address correspondence to:Mike Shriberg, Ph.D.Education DirectorGraham Environmental Sustainability Institute625 E. Liberty Street., Suite 300Ann Arbor, MI 48104

E-mail: [email protected]

School and DepartmentUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa (Honolulu, HI),Environmental Studies Program

Program Description

A diverse group of undergraduate students involved in the Environmental Studies degree and certificate programs, some of whom have double majors or minors in geography, zoology, psychology, journal-ism, Hawaiian studies, creative media, and/or are in the honors program, are members of the university’s Ecology Club sponsored by the Ecological Society of America. By supporting campus sustainability initiatives, these students participate in projects that contribute to the research, instructional, and service missions of the Environmental Center, Environmen-tal Studies program, and Ecology Club, as well as the Manoa Sustainability Corps.

The program emphasizes experiential approaches to learning and leadership and highlights prin-ciples and practices of sustainability through active engagement with campus and off-campus commu-nities. Students learn of current efforts at infusing sustainability into the University of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) research, instruction, and service-learning while contributing to the momentum generated by past UHM and statewide consultations, particularly the UHM Charter of Sustainability: Stewardship Based on Island Values, Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Task Force, UHM Strategic Plan, and Manoa Sus-tainability Corps.

Students worked collaboratively on identified projects as well as on individual research and service-learning projects developed with commu-nity sponsors and/or faculty partners. Students took the lead in preparing action plans and proposals and received funding and donations from UHM student

Graham Sustainability Scholars, University of Michigan– Ann Arbor

Having a peer group

that self-identifies and

trains as sustainability

leaders, backed by a

program that fosters this

development, provides

a foundation for self-

exploration and

deep exploration

of sustainability.

—Samantha Schiebold

In the Green


Toward a New Sustainable Environment (China)Sustainable Business in Latin America(Costa Rica)Sustainable and Fossil Energy (Wyoming)Sustainable Neighborhoods (Detroit)

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government and community groups in support of campus and Ecology Club initiatives.

Student initiatives in 2011 resulted in the following activities:

UHM Chancellor, Virginia S. Hinshaw, in the Chan-cellor’s Update, May 2011, commented on the suc-cess of the program: “Congratulations to everyone who helped make last month’s 10th annual Earth Day Festival the largest ever on our campus and the biggest in Hawaii. We’re leading the way on provid-ing information on how to maintain more sustain-able lifestyles and ways of operating.”

Funding

Students have received funding from a variety of sources, including undergraduate and graduate stu-

dent governments, local nongovernmental organiza-tions, and the Ecological Society of America.

What the Future HoldsThe UHM Sustainability Courtyard (SC) is a cen-ter of civic engagement, but it is also of great educational benefit to the entire campus community as it continues to help facilitate actions on key sustain-ability issues relevant to the state of Hawaii. Proposed future projects include the following:

1. Rainwater Catchment System. The SC is sur-rounded by several buildings where catchment systems can direct water to storage tanks for irri-gation use in SC landscaping. Storage tanks would provide sufficient water to irrigate existing and proposed expansion of landscaping, thus reducing UHM water usage.2. Aquaponics and Vertical Gardens. These agricul-tural techniques demonstrate alternative production systems for food and/or ornamental gardening. A closed loop system designed with pumps and filters would run on solar energy and water provided by the catchment systems. Once the systems are in place, energy and water use would be renewable and the benefits would be provided at no cost to UHM other than maintenance.3. Composting and Vermiculture. Faculty and staff offices and several food vendors located in the vicin-ity of the SC are sources of recyclable solid wastes. Compost and vermiculture systems would reduce the UHM waste stream and the associated costs of landfill tipping fees. Outputs of the systems would provide the campus with a free and useful byproduct for use in SC landscaping.4. Community Supported Agriculture and Food Vendors. The SC is a high-traffic location ideally situated to promote Community Supported Agri-culture (CSA) as a drop-off/pick-up site. SC food vendors and the campus community would ben-efit from access to fresh, locally grown, and, ideally, organic produce. One outcome of this component of the project would be the social interactions associ-ated with a farmers’ market that furthers the goal of civic engagement.5. Recycling. In addition to a robust composting sys-tem, further reduction of the solid waste stream is feasible through recycling of paper, glass, and plas-tics. To provide opportunities for civic engagement, art exhibits and displays using recycled materials would promote recycling on campus and in island communities. The learning objective is to demon-strate how much solid waste the campus generates while motivating people to reduce their consump-tion and recycle the products purchased on campus and at home.6. Landscaping. The UHM campus is a botanical garden with extensive collections of native and non-

Conducting a Sustainability Assessment Ques-tionnaire that surveyed UHM students

Working on ecological restoration projects and assisting with off-campus World Wetlands Day and Earth Day events through internships with natural resource managers

Leading the organization of UHM Earth Day 2011, which was attended by several thousand people and resulted in the collection of approxi-mately 30,000 pounds of electronic waste, par-ticipation by dozens of local green vendors, and recognition by campus administration with a Cer-tificate of AchievementOrganizing CFL light bulb exchanges as fundrais-ing events for the Ecology ClubRevising and expanding the website content for the Environmental Studies program.Participating in a special panel presentation at the 2011 annual conference of the Interdisciplinary Environmental AssociationShowcasing green technologies and promoting green workforce career opportunities, including a Sustainability Showcase and environmental film series, for the 2011-2012 academic year, through awards of several thousand dollars from student government in support of campus events Installing energy-saving technologies at the Envi-ronmental Center as an energy conservation and human behavioral changes pilot demonstration project, enabled by $10,000 from Campus Green-ing Initiatives campaignWinning approval of an Adopt-a-Landscape pro-posal to restore landscaping impacted by recent construction around the Environmental Center. Students solicited the donation of $500 worth of native and nonnative plants from local nurser-ies and installed water catchment, vermiculture worm bins, and green waste management systems.

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The UHM Sustainability

Courtyard (SC) is a

center of civic

engagement, but

it is also of great

educational benefit

to the entire campus

community.

native plants. In addition to ornamental landscape designs in the SC, landscaping would highlight responsible gardening and farming practices for residential, communal, and school gardens. Use of native plants in and adjacent to the SC would save water and maintenance and hanging gardens would create unique visual experiences and provide shade and wind barriers for SC users.7. Energy. A photovoltaic system would provide electricity for existing food vendors, including a recharging station for personal electronic devices and lighting fixtures. New lighting would encourage use of the SC for evening events, such as fundraising dinners for campus clubs and open-air events for the community. The system would reduce the electricity bill for UHM while furthering the objective of civic engagement.

8. Portable Buildings Energy Management. An energy management demonstration project based at the Environmental Center portable building would, with modest investment, reduce energy use and provide instructional opportunities for a variety of departmental courses and visiting groups to campus.

9. Signage and Resources. Information on campus sustainability would be disseminated at a central educational kiosk, in addition to signage located in the vicinity of project sites. One proposed resource to promote student engagement is an event planning and coordinating handbook to facilitate use of the SC as a center for civic engagement by a broad range of the campus community.

10. Event Space. The SC currently has a small stage that is underutilized. The project would promote increased use of the stage for educational and enter-tainment purposes, including inviting members of the theater and music departments to stage live per-formances to further promote campus engagement, thus expanding the social network of users. The SC currently hosts K-12 school groups and campus events; the objective would be to increase the num-ber of events held in the space by groups affiliated with national and other local organizations.

From the StudentUHM is the perfect place to create change because we live on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where we need to focus on sustainability as a behavior and not just a concept or an idea. My efforts as an undergraduate student have been to engage other students in sustainability through a more pragmatic approach because we all tend to get most of our education as concepts and theories, but rarely get a hands-on approach so that we experience sustainability and not just read about it. Through courses and club activities associated with the Environmental Studies Program and the Ecology Club, students have opportunities to be involved in

the campus community through service learning and outreach that empowers them to contribute to the sustainability objectives of the UHM administra-tion. I had the opportunity to coordinate this past Earth Day event in spring of 2011. It was a great learning experience because we learned the chal-lenges of hosting a major green event and the effort required to obtain approval from the many different people and offices that make decisions at an institu-tion of higher education.

Through an Environmental Studies internship course, I worked with an organization called The Green House Hawaii that works to promote K-12 environmental education in public schools. This led to an urban agricultural training at the state of Hawaii Institute for Human Services in which we teach struggling homeless people to connect them-selves with their environment, grow their own food, and live a healthier life, and perhaps lead them to a green job in the future. These activities allow me to share valuable knowledge learned at UHM with the next generation. —Damian McPherson, B.A., Interdisciplinary Studies

candidate (Ecotourism and Sustainable Development focus)

Address correspondence to: John Cusick, Ph.D.Assistant Specialist, Environmental CenterUniversity of Hawaii at ManoaKrauss Annex 192500 Dole StreetHonolulu, HI 96822E-mail: [email protected]/~envctr/

School and DepartmentUniversity of Nebraska – Lincoln (Lincoln, NE),Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction

Program Description The challenge to take bigger steps to leave smaller CO2 footprints is what the Architectural Engineer-ing students (AE) at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL), Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction (DSAEC), have taken upon themselves. The students were involved in developing, designing, and building a prototype module of an energy-saving system called I-SAVE for the built environment. U.S. homes use about one-fifth of the total energy consumed in the nation and about 60 percent of that is in the form of electricity. Electricity generation in the United States contributes about 41 percent of CO2 emis-sions. The residential sector, unlike the commercial and industrial sectors, is made up of multiple, small energy users such as houses, mobile homes, and

UHM is the perfect

place to create

change because

we live on an island

in the middle of the

Pacific Ocean where

we need to focus on

sustainability as a

behavior and not just

a concept or an idea.

—Damian McPherson

In the Green



apartments. Research has shown that these residen-tial energy consumers waste almost 41 percent of the power supplied to their homes. The large amount of usage and waste indicates that the residential sec-tor has significant energy savings potential. Toward a greener future with smaller CO2 footprints, AE students demonstrated that a comprehensive approach to energy consumption and conserva-tion, using the I-SAVE system, is expected to reduce energy waste in the residential sector by approxi-mately 20 percent. This reduction will have a ripple effect, curbing the carbon emission level in the elec-trical power generation process and the total CO2 emission as a whole.

To alleviate the information burden and guesswork about energy waste, the student’s I-SAVE mod-ule works with a bottom-up energy conservation concept. The prototype module is based on an instantaneous impulse savings behavior that pro-vides users with the ability to reduce energy usage in real time for an entire home. It is based on an adap-tive system that monitors and controls real energy consumption at every energy consumption location or node. Common nodes include receptacle, light-ing switch, dedicated load, etc. The students were able to incorporate intelligence ability in the I-SAVE module so that it is able to effectively determine noncritical and wasted energy in the home and provide users with the ability to turn off wasted energy with a single press of a Go-Green Save-Energy button. With only one button to press, which does all the intelligent work of knowing where energy is being wasted, users are able to keep their energy usage at an optimum level while also main-taining comfort.

The students who built the I-SAVE prototype mod-ule are from the building electrical system section of the DSAEC. Their participation in the research occurs through research assistantship/fellowship support awards, semester laboratory experiments, and personal submission of proposals related to energy savings.

The prototype board is used throughout the year for demonstration in the classroom for several courses. It is also used to demonstrate energy con-sumption and conservation concepts to middle- and high-school students during their visits to the UNL campus.

Funding

The I-SAVE project is part of a student competition funded during the 2010-2011competition spon-sored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agen-

cy’s (EPA), People Prosperity and the Plant (P3) Phase I. Eight undergraduate and graduate students participated in this competition, acquiring new knowledge and getting hands-on experience—valu-able real-world experience. Additional funds were secured from the College of Engineering and the DSAEC.


From the StudentI first heard about the I-SAVE concept from one of my colleagues at our monthly research presenta-tions. The I-SAVE concept was intriguing; I joined the team to build the module, focusing on central-izing remote monitoring of the node. It was a very challenging but interesting experience and I am happy our team was able to make a successful pre-sentation at the EPA 2011 competition in Washing-ton, DC. I am currently working on harvesting free energy in the built environment to power the sen-sor nodes in the I-SAVE prototype and to promote energy conservation.

—Evans SordiashieUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate student

Address correspondence to:Mahmoud Alahmad, Ph.D., P.E.Assistant ProfessorDurham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction (DSAEC) University of Nebraska-Lincoln1400 R StreetLincoln, NE 68588E-mail: [email protected]

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Building an energy lab, modeled after the prototype board, as a teaching tool in the AE cur-riculum Establishment of an active energy-saving-student group to continuously focus on research-ing and developing greener technologiesCollaborating with smart home technology man-ufacturing companies to test and mass produce I-SAVE for the next generationDevelopment and implementation of an I-SAVE system in an actual test homeOptimizing the number of components required in the I-SAVE system, reducing the cost of its implementation in an actual homeIntegrating virtual energy consumption manage-ment using a Go-Green Save-Energy app Employing tools to harvest free energy to power all the components of the I-SAVE module to maximize the total energy savings potentials

The students were

able to incorporate

intelligence ability in the

I-SAVE module so that

it is able to effectively

determine noncritical

and wasted energy in

the home and provide

users with the ability to

turn off wasted energy

with a single press of

a Go-Green Save-

Energy button.

I am happy our

team was able to

make a successful

presentation at the

EPA 2011 competition.

—Evans Sordiashie


This feature is the beginning of a series dedicated to the students’ role in shaping sustainability programs. To submit your story, contact [email protected]

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