CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Georgia Shear, a student from the University of Pretoria in South Africa won the fourth annual Reimagine our Future sustainability competition award on Dec. 7, 2024.
Shear received a $2,000 prize for her innovative project that proposed a low-cost and simple way of sanitizing water using the heat generated from compost heaps.
She said the proposed heat exchanger temperatures range from 140 to 176 degrees Fahrenheit and could be implemented for as little as $150, making it a viable solution for rural areas facing water contamination.
The 2024 competition featured 14 teams (249 students total) from 11 institutions in the United States, United Kingdom, Ukraine, South Africa, China, Austria, Colombia, and Italy.
The teams spent eight weeks crafting innovative solutions for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and showcasing contributions of diverse disciplines such as engineering, health sciences, agriculture, and architecture to sustainability through factsheets.
Two runner-up teams were also recognized for their creative contributions.
The first runner-up team featured Briana Harris and Kevin Bustamante Fontanel from Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove, Illinois. They designed a 100 percent biodegradable water bottle that could fully decompose within two years, presenting a sustainable alternative to traditional plastic bottles.
The second runner-up team from the International Humanitarian University in Ukraine developed a dual-purpose solution to regenerate soil by removing landmines while simultaneously tilling the soil.
Team members Ivan Stankov, Uliana Mihachova, Katheryna Vavryk, Uliana Frolova, and Marina Knyazeva emphasized addressing environmental and safety concerns.
Both runner-up teams received a $1,000 prize and, together with the competition’s overall winner, will be mentored by Professor Mike Yao from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to move their projects further.
Additionally, three teams earned a third-place prize for their impactful ideas.
The first team from the University of Quindío in Colombia proposed a circular economy model using composite materials from waste plastic.
The second team from the University of Illinois Springfield highlighted the critical role of bats in controlling pests for crops, and the third team from Illinois suggested a collapsible solar fabric canopy to combat extreme heat and provide energy to underserved areas.
There were also several other awards distributed during the ceremony.
The “Sustainable Health Solution Award,” sponsored and presented by Professor Holly Rosencranz, went to a team from Ukraine for their proposal to deploy a multi-faceted rehabilitation center for traumatized soldiers.
The “Climate Change Award,” presented by Professor Donna Tonini from Illinois’ Center for Global Studies, was presented to an Illinois team for their decentralized renewable energy trading scheme.
The award for “Most Multi-Disciplinary Idea” was presented to two teams from the University of Birmingham (UoB) in England. One team focused on gene editing to eliminate pesticides in sugar beet crops while another proposes a festival waste passport app to reduce event waste.
And the “Sustainable Education Solution Awards” went to a team from the UoB for demystifying recycling and an Illinois team who addressed food insecurity by canning food waste.
These awards were presented via a Zoom meeting by Allie Garlin, a previous winner of the competition.
Professor Warren Lavey from Illinois is a co-founder of the competition and commended the students’ impressive range of solutions and their potential to offer hope in tackling global crises.
He paid tribute to his late colleague, Professor Robert McKim from Illinois, who also co-founded the competition and whose legacy continues to inspire future generations.
Lavey said McKim’s words resonated throughout the event: “We have all contributed to causing the problems and we therefore all have an obligation to contribute to finding and pursuing solutions.”
Professor Leon Liebenberg from Nuclear, Plasma, and Radiological Engineering at Illinois is also a co-founder and coordinator of the competition and said it continues to provide a platform for students to turn their sustainability ideas into action, driving forward the change needed to secure a better, more sustainable future for all.
Planning for the 2025 competition is already underway. Visit https://www.herox.com/reimagine2024/ to stay updated.