Sustainability Fellowships

The Trienens Institute and sustainNU oversee a project fellowship program, with funding support from Ameresco, a leading cleantech integrator and renewable energy asset developer, owner, and operator.

Approximately 16 fellowships are offered annually to Northwestern students to gain real-world experience in energy management and sustainability, furthering the University’s mission to support hands-on experiential learning and contribute to thought leadership, while also enabling students to engage with the physical environment and grow as leaders in these dynamic fields. 

Project teams are selected through a competitive application process for ten-week fellowships during the summer and winter academic quarters.  Undergraduate seniors, and all graduate students, are eligible to apply during each application cycle (rising seniors and fall-matriculating incoming graduate students are eligible to apply for the summer projects).

The selection committee aspires to have one energy-focused project, and one sustainability-focused project during each fellowship cycle.  Preference is usually given to projects that support community needs in the Evanston, Chicago, and broader Midwest areas. 

Selected students will spend approximately 15 hours per week on their project, working closely with a faculty advisor.  The project client will meet weekly with student project teams to provide data, answer questions, and help manage project scope and deliverables.

Students will receive a $3,000 tuition grant to their student account the quarter following the completion of their fellowship (e.g. posted in the fall for summer projects, and in the spring for winter projects).

Upcoming Projects

• Energy Futureproofing Evanston’s 5th Ward Campus (Summer 2023)
  Client: Cara Pratt, City of Evanston; Key Stakeholders: Raphael Obafemi, Evanston/Skokie School District 65, Alex Lopez, Architect, 5^th Ward School

  This project will focus on defining a technical plan and funding approach (including grants) for electrical infrastructure to support a campus wide solution for the new D65 school and the Fleetwood Jourdain community center in Evanston’s 5^th ward.  The recommendations should provide a “no regrets” plan to support future electrification, EV charging and microgrid plans. This fellowship project is a continuation of work undertaken in Winter 2023 by a previous fellowship team (see below under "Past Fellowship Projects").

  Apply Now

Summer 2023 Fellowship Cycle Timeline

• Friday, May 19: Summer 2023 Fellowship Application opens
• Thursday, June 1: Applications due by midnight
• Tuesday, June 13: Fellowship selection notification deadline
• Monday, June 26: Fellowship kickoff
• Monday, July 24: Midpoint presentations
• Week of Monday, August 28 or September 4: Final presentations

Past Sustainability Fellowship Projects

• 5th Ward Community Microgrid (Winter 2023): With the goal of accessing part of the $25M set aside by the state of Illinois for energy and sustainability initiatives, this fellowship team developed a proposal in partnership with the City of Evanston to deploy a community microgrid in its 5^th ward. To understand the existing sustainability and energy needs for the 5^th ward, the team engaged 20+ stakeholders including city staff, residents, equipment distributors, and battery manufacturers. Because the 5^th ward is a Low-and-Moderate-Income and historically marginalized environmental justice community, the installation of a microgrid could promote resilience in an area more prone to energy scarcity and climate vulnerability. Moreover, the 5th ward microgrid supports the City of Evanston in meeting its Climate Action and Resilience Plan goals. 
  
• Long Duration Energy Storage (Winter 2023): This project set out to understand the economic, technical, physical, and policy considerations related to the installation of clean, long duration energy storage (LDES) on Northwestern’s Evanston campus. With a $1M budget, the team chose 1801 Maple as a case study to account for the immense financial and spatial requirements associated with the installation of LDES systems across campus. Initial stakeholder consultations shed light on the value of LDES: to promote campus sustainability goals by way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, to enhance energy resilience by having an emergency backup power source to protect key research infrastructure, and to potentially reduce operation costs using tax credits.
  

Learn more about past projects: 

 Winter 2023  

News Coverage

• Building Sustainable Strategies for Food
• Northwestern University Moves Evanston Closer to an Electric Bus
• NU Sustainability Fellows Feature: Project Green Bus

Contact Info

For more information, please email mses@northwestern.edu.