University of Illinois at Chicago and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Win Top Prizes in EPA’s Campus RainWorks Challenge

CHICAGO (April 22, 2015) -- E.P.A. Region five Administrator Susan Hedman today awarded the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1st and 2nd prizes in the E.P.A. Campus RainWorks Challenge at an Earth Day "EcoJam" in Chicago.

EPA's Campus RainWorks Challenge is a national competition in which college students design green infrastructure projects and plans -- such as rain gardens and green roofs -- to manage stormwater on campus.

"Congratulations to the student teams from UIC and Urbana-Champaign for placing 1st and 2nd in EPA's national Campus RainWorks Challenge competition to design campus stormwater Master Plans," said Hedman. "These award-winning green infrastructure projects use innovative approaches to capture rain where it falls - to prevent pollution from reaching our lakes and rivers."

E.P.A. launched the Campus RainWorks Challenge in 2013 to help inspire the next generation of engineers, planners and landscape architects to develop innovative green infrastructure systems. The winning UIC and Urbana-Champaign student teams will gain cash awards and each campus will gain backing for faculty research on green infrastructure.

The UIC team was composed of 7 students from civil engineering, materials engineering, urban planning and policy, and earth and environmental sciences. The students won 1st prize for an integrated green infrastructure project to reduce runoff on the east side of the UIC campus by 25 percent.

The Urbana-Champaign team was composed of twelve students from environmental economics, civil engineering, architecture and landscape architecture. The students won 2nd prize for a project to expand the current network of green infrastructure on campus to reduce stormwater runoff into Boneyard Creek by over 35 percent.

This year, over 500 college students from 64 teams in 23 states submitted entries in 2 design categories. Teams included students and faculty advisors from a variety of academic disciplines. Expert judges from the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society of Landscape Engineers and the Water Environment Federation helped E.P.A. evaluate the entries.

The University of Maryland at College Park, Queens College at the City University of New York and Georgetown University are also winners in other Campus RainWorks Challenge categories.

E.P.A. projects to declare the 4th yearly Campus RainWorks Challenge in the fall of 2015.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/campusrainworks.

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