Bachelor of Science in Sustainable Design

🌱 As we close out the semester, we are highlighting Charley Marchis, another student supported by a Fall 2025 BSSD Opportunity Scholarship!

Charley used the Opportunity Scholarship to prepare for an take the LEED Green Associate exam.

🌱 CM: “The BSSD Opportunity Scholarship supported my academic and professional development by covering the cost of registering for the LEED Green Associate exam. Preparing for this exam has deepened my understanding of sustainable building principles and helped me connect coursework in sustainable design with real-world industry standards. The credential aligns closely with my academic interests and career goals in sustainability and the built environment.”

Congrats, Charley! ...

It was great to see so many of you at last week’s opening of the 2026 BSSD Capstone Exhibition. If you missed the reception, the work remains on view in the Sustainable Design Gallery on the second floor of the Architecture Building through September 6! Free and open to the public. 

At the opening, Director Karin Hodgin Jones shared remarks on the creativity, tenacity, and care of BSSD students reflected through their projects:


“It has been my honor to work with you over the four years that I have led the BSSD program, and to grow with you as this program has grown and changed. I’m so pleased to see your work hanging in the new Sustainable Design Gallery for the entire community to see.



At this moment—a full step into the middle of the 21st century—you are confronting, interrogating, and constructing new forms and types of work. Some of your paths emerge from, and tackle, decades-old problems that have reached their most urgent need for attention. Some of you are recognizing newly emergent matters that require urgent care.



You are the visionary leaders who can think across scales, across disciplines, and between communities to imagine true solutions for our collective future. I may be a bit biased, but I am firmly of the belief that your work is essential for visioning and implementing creative and viable solutions to this moment in history. I hope you all believe that about yourselves, too.” ...

Students installing their work for the 2026 BSSD Capstone Exhibition

Opening Tonight - You’re Invited!!

When: Wednesday, May 6th, 5:30 - 7:30 pm, opening remarks at 6:00 pm

Where: Sustainable Design Gallery, Architecture Building, 2nd Floor, 608 Lorado Taft Dr.

The Capstone is the culmination of every BSSD degree, and a demonstration of how students learn to apply creativity, systems thinking, and sustainability to solve real-world challenges. Guided by faculty, students have spent the last year leveraging knowledge gained throughout their college career to design solutions to a critical sustainability concern they are most passionate about. With a shared commitment to cultivating a better future, the diversity of Capstone projects reflects the truly individualized, interdisciplinary paths each student follows.

The BSSD Capstone posters will be on view in the Sustainable Design Gallery through September 6.

All are welcome to this free, public program celebrating the class of 2026! ...

🌱 Today, we are highlighting Dale Sink`s project, another student accomplishment supported by a Fall 2025 BSSD Opportunity Scholarship!

BSSD: Tell us about your project and how the scholarship supported your development

🌱 DS: “Like many urban waterways, Boneyard Creek has developed alongside Urbana, Illinois. The highly industrialized, man-made stretch through West Urbana lacks a natural riparian shore and has lost many ecological functions. Some cities now use artificial wetlands to purify water through phytoremediation while restoring habitat for native species. I am designing a habitat box suspended from the retention wall in Boneyard’s shallow waters. Functioning like a floating ecosystem, it works in only inches of water to revitalize the creek as a protected corridor for riparian plants and wildlife. I have researched native plants, built two prototypes, and assembled a design team.”

“The BSSD Opportunity Scholarship is funding the materials for this project, allowing me to apply sustainability principles learned in class. The project focuses on protecting clean, healthy waterways and sharing them with plants and animals. I hope to ground my future professional design career in water management and urban waterway design. This BSSD support makes the project possible on a student budget and enables me to explore solutions to a complex problem using concepts from my coursework. This project supports both my academic growth and professional development.”

BSSD: What are your future goals for the project?

🌱 DS: “After the working prototype is installed, this project will be pitched to the City of Urbana to be installed as a permanent ecological intervention on Boneyard Creek. This project intends to further my understanding of artificial wetlands as either compatible or incompatible solutions for anthropogenic waterways. I foresee more exploration, either professionally or academically, in advancing the exploration of the ideas in this project to develop a series of hanging wetlands that would line segments of Boneyard Creek to create a riparian corridor for small animals and insects.”

Congrats, Dale! We`re excited to see the project move forward! ...

🌱 Today, we are highlighting Ezldean Shalabi`s fashion project, another student accomplishment supported by a Fall 2025 BSSD Opportunity Scholarship!

BSSD: Tell us about your project and the progress you`ve made thus far.

🌱 ES: “Since being awarded, I ran a successful brand activation / physical pop-up in downtown Chicago over winter break. In addition, I ordered samples to test different products and design methods from manufacturers.”

BSSD: How has the Scholarship supported your development?

🌱 ES: “It allowed me to have more flexibility and room to breathe. Getting help in managing my cost of education while I continue my growth in entrepreneurship has helped me focus on challenging myself.”

BSSD: What are your future goals or plans for the project?

🌱 ES: "I tried a few new strategies for customizations. Once I get an idea of what`s possible, I`ll be putting together a new collection.”

Congrats, Ezldean! We`re excited to see this move forward! ...