Office of Sustainability: Campus RainWorks Challenge 2018
Welcome to our page! During our interactive qualifying project we worked in collaboration with the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Office of Sustainability to identify ways to improve stormwater management on the WPI campus and to develop an innovative way of addressing this problem area. Through this project, we prepared a submission to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Campus RainWorks Challenge.
Project Sponsors:
The WPI Office of Sustainability is dedicated to promoting environmental stewardship, social justice, and economic security on campus through sustainable operations, academic outreach, and advanced research. This office has helped WPI earn a Gold rating in the STARS program, sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).
Check out their website here.
Student Researchers:
Our IQP team is comprised of (from left to right) Celeste Marsan (Chemical Engineering), Benjamin Secino (Robotics Engineering), Ryan Racine (Computer Science), and Blayne Merchant (Mechanical Engineering).
Our Project:
This project proposed a realistic, high-impact, and cost-effective method for reducing runoff on the WPI campus and improving the environmental health of the surrounding area. Ideally, this solution was also be scalable to other campuses and urban areas across the country. The findings of this project will be entered into the United States Environmental Protection Agency Campus Rainworks Challenge in December of 2018, competing against campus-based stormwater management projects from colleges and universities based all over the United States.
Goals and Objectives:
The goal of our project was to create and propose a practical and cost-efficient implementation plan for a stormwater management system on WPI’s campus that benefits the environment and the campus community. To do this, we developed the following objectives:
- Objective #1: Assess the Current System to Identify Areas for Improvement
- Objective #2: Determine and Compare Potential Solutions
- Objective #3: Develop Detailed Stormwater Management Implementation Plans