Saturday Engineering for Everyone 2/21/26 - Engineering for a Happy, Healthy Home

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.