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Sustainability projects, achievements and plans were shared at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Engineering’s (SOE) third annual SIUE Energy Symposium on Wednesday, April 21. 

The conference theme was Sustainable Campuses, and featured national and internationally known sustainability experts. 

“This symposium originated from a senior-level alternative energy class. I was taken with the passion and excitement from the students,” said Serdar Celik, PhD, professor and graduate program director in the SOE Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering. “When we first started, I didn’t think it would become such a colossal event, and I especially want to thank all my students who motivated me.” Celik is also chair of SIUE’s Climate and Sustainability Advisory Board, which provides leadership for SIUE’s sustainability initiatives. 

“Having national and international experts join SIUE’s annual energy symposium, speaks to SIUE’s global vision,” said SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook in his welcome address. “We hope the conversation and exchange of ideas during this symposium leads to more innovation and future collaboration between all of the participants. Your efforts are helping to shape a changing world for the future well-being of our local environment, as well as the global community.” 

“While there is a great deal more work that we could do as a campus to support sustainability, this conference is one aspect of our efforts,” said Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Denise Cobb, PhD. “There is a lot of sustainability activity that goes on by the sheer will of our students, faculty and staff. Beyond the initiatives that the chancellor mentioned, I suggest that the embedding of sustainability into the curriculum and engaging our students and future scholars may be the most powerful thing we can do in the long term.” 

SOE Dean Cem Karacal, PhD, emphasized the critical nature and importance of the symposium in his introductory remarks. “In my humble opinion, humanity is facing the biggest challenge in its history. Energy production use is going to impact every aspect of our civilization, and is going to become more and more prominent,” he said. “There is an extremely important role for universities to play, because it is where breakthrough and new technologies are created to address this problem. We have to lead by example and set the tone for society.” 

Highlights from sustainability experts at the symposium included:

• Ugur Soytas, head of Climate Economics and Risk Management, Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
  In 2010, DTU was one of the first universities in Denmark to mention environmental goals in its development plan. The theme is to create sustainable solutions that improve the quality of life, create value for society and promote sustainable uses of resources. “We also recognize that sustainability is a multi-disciplinary issue and requires a multi-disciplinary approach.” 

• Merry Ranklin, director of sustainability, Iowa State University
  ISU’s Live Green initiative strives to engage the campus community through the collective commitment to environmental economic and social sustainability, and a sustainable future. At the heart of the initiative is a team of student interns, “Some of our sustainability recognitions include: The Princeton Review’s Green Honor Roll, Best College Review’s Best 25 Colleges and three consecutive Gold Certifications through the Association of the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS).” 

• Riccardo Guidetti, coordinator of the Città Studi-Sustainable Campus Project, University of Milan, Italy
  The campus project started in 2011 to merge technical, scientific and humanities skills in order to implement best practices to raise awareness and improve the quality of life for students and people living in the area. Categories were developed to deal with “energy monitoring of buildings, sustainable lifestyles and consumption use, mobility that encourages bike riding and sharing, and food and health.” 

• Pinar Menguc, director of the Center for Energy, Environment and Economy, Ozyegin University, Turkey
  One of the first sustainable questions for the new university founded in 2007 was how to design energy efficient buildings. One of the university’s sustainable buildings uses six times less than a typical building in Turkey. “We are saving the university $200,000 a year. In 2020 and 2021, we were one of the top 200-300 universities in the world. In Turkey, we are one of the top five universities.” 

• Phil Valko, assistant vice chancellor for sustainability, Washington University in St. Louis
  In 2010, the university set a goal to reduce its emissions to 1990 levels, despite a projection that it would double in square footage from 1990-2020. “We have doubled our size in the last three decades, yet we are using 7% less energy today than in 1990. Our carbon story is a little different. Our campus has expanded about 13% since 2010, and emissions are down 22%.”

• Connie Frey Spurlock, director of the SIUE Successful Communities Collaborative (SSCC) and Center for Spirituality and Sustainability board president
  Since 2008, SIUE has seen sustainability progress in the following three ways: Built and Natural Environment, SSCC and the Fuller Dome. “SSCC is a cross-disciplinary program that supports year-long partnerships between SIUE and our surrounding communities. We partner so we can advance the community’s local resilience and sustainability. The Fuller Dome is real hidden gem. It is home to the Center for Spirituality and Sustainability, and its vision is to preserve the Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome on campus as the physical embodiment of Fuller’s philosophy.” 

Photo:
Serdar Celik, PhD, professor and graduate program director in the SOE Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering.