Saturday Engineering for Everyone 2/21/26 - Engineering for a Happy, Healthy Home
From Todd Sweet
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From Todd Sweet
Abstract:
Home is where the heart is, and home
also reflects our lives and well-being. Our everyday activities affect
how we use resources like water and energy. A combination of housing
characteristics, infrastructure, and human behaviors determines
residential water and energy use. How can engineering make life at home
more sustainable and healthier? Using residential water and electricity
data, we use non-intrusive techniques to estimate specific end uses of
water and energy at home. These techniques help pinpoint water leaks and
unexpected behaviors, improving sustainability and potentially
supporting residents. Engineering advances at the household scale can
support data-driven, customized investments in efficiency and
conservation recommendations for a more sustainable residential
environment. These advances can also assist supportive service providers
in permanent supportive housing. This presentation will include
advances in smart home engineering, along with plans and progress for
Hope Village, a community of sustainable one-bedroom homes for
individuals experiencing chronic homelessness and medical fragility in
Champaign-Urbana.
Biography:
Dr.
Ashlynn S. Stillwell is an Associate Professor and the Elaine F. and
William J. Hall Excellence Faculty Scholar in Civil and Environmental
Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research
focuses on creating sustainable water and energy systems in a
policy-relevant context. She earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from
the University of Missouri (2006), and an M.S. in Environmental and
Water Resources Engineering (2010), M.P.Aff in Public Affairs (2010),
and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (2013) from The University of Texas at
Austin. Her previous work experience includes consulting engineering at
Burns & McDonnell (2006-2007) and policy research at the
Congressional Research Service (2009). Dr. Stillwell received the
National Science Foundation CAREER award and the UCOWR Early Career
Award for Applied Research for her research work on the energy-water
nexus. She was honored with the 2015 Girl Scouts of Central Illinois
Woman of Distinction Award in Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics, the 2018 Rose Award for Teaching Excellence, and the 2018
AEESP Award for Outstanding Teaching in Environmental Engineering and
Science. Dr. Stillwell has also been among the List of Teachers Ranked
as Excellent by their Students at Illinois. She previously served as
Chair of the Board of Directors for Girl Scouts of Central Illinois and
Faith in Place.