Yan named 2022-23 Levenick iSEE Teaching Fellow

Assistant professor Jinhui Yan has been selected as a 2022-23 Levenick Teaching Sustainability Fellow by the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE). Yan joins seven other faculty members as part of this year’s cohort, which hails from across the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus — and beyond. One of the fellows represents a collaboration with the Zhejiang University International Campus; another will offer a class jointly with the University of Manchester, UK. All eight Teaching Fellows will incorporate sustainable thinking into existing classes or create entirely new courses built around eco-friendly elements.

Yan joined the CEE at Illinois structural engineering faculty in 2018. His research is centered on computational mechanics, including fluid-structure interaction in high-speed flow regions and thermal multi-phase flows in capillary flow regions. Yan and his students actively develop and apply advanced computational methods to multi-physics problems related to energy, defense and advanced manufacturing (especially additive manufacturing of metals). Yan plans to use the Levenick fellowship funding to enhance CEE 360 “Structural Engineering” with sustainability awareness and materials, and add analysis of environmental, energy and economic impacts.

“We are excited about the breadth of courses that will emerge from this year’s program,” iSEE Associate Director for Education & Outreach Luis Rodríguez said. “From sustainable concrete in architecture to emerging environmental issues to a look at sustainability trends in Urbana-Champaign, these courses will provide a wealth of knowledge to students.”

The other 2022-23 awardees and the projects they will undertake:

Kate Abney, Associate Director of Intercultural and Global Learning in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, who will incorporate human-caused climate change discussions into LAS 291-292 “Global Perspectives” courses for students participating in education abroad programming;

Benjamin A. Bross, Assistant Professor of Architecture, who will create a new 200-level course on regional and urban-scaled environmental, social, and economic sustainability;

Niloufar Emami, Assistant Professor of Architecture, who will create a new course, ARCH 571 “Additive Formwork for Complex Concrete,” to explore new, sustainable fabrication methods for designing and making concrete building components;

Ryan Flanagan, Senior Lecturer of Rhetoric at ZJU-UIUC Institute in Haining, China, who will update the department’s Rhetoric 101-102 course by implementing sustainability as the central concept (and coordinating student participation in the Eco Club on the ZJU campus);

Surangi Punyasena, Associate Professor of Plant Biology, who will update IB 105 “Environmental Biology” with existing and emerging solutions to environmental issues;

Mark Taylor, Associate Professor of Architecture, who will create a new class, ARCH 576 “Solar Decathlon: Past, Present, and Future,” in which students will learn about sustainable housing design and develop schematics for affordable, energy-efficient homes;

Gretchen Winter, Clinical Assistant Professor in Business Administration, who will create a new 100-level global classroom course, “Evaluating Energy Sources of the Future Using a Professional Responsibility Lens,” which will challenge students to think about how companies and countries can develop an energy transition plan for a lower carbon future. (Colombia is the setting for the case, and the course will blend classroom learning, field trips to area non-fossil fuel energy research sites, and guest lectures from business leaders and professors. The course is expected to be jointly offered with the University of Manchester — students from there will visit campus for two weeks, and all students will complete UIUC-Manchester team presentations); and

Read more about the Levenick iSEE Teaching Sustainability Fellowship Program.