2020 Campus RainWorks Challenge Results
On April 19, 2021, EPA announced the winners and honorable mentions for the ninth annual Campus RainWorks Challenge. 57 student teams from across 26 states and 39 different academic institutions submitted green infrastructure designs that address urban stormwater pollution and showcase the environmental, economic, and social benefits of green infrastructure. The breadth of expertise and innovation in these designs demonstrates that today's students are more than capable of solving the challenges of stormwater management and protecting public health and the environment in communities everywhere. Special thanks go to the Water Environment Federation, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society of Landscape Architects, and all of the students, faculty, and judges that participated in this year's challenge.
Congratulations to the Winning Teams!
Master Plan Category
- 1st Place: University of Texas at Arlington
- 2nd Place: University of Pittsburgh
Honorable Mentions
- University of Texas at Arlington for coordinated planning and analysis
- University of Cincinnati for integration of stormwater management and resilience
- University of Oklahoma for community engagement
Demonstration Project Category
- 1st Place: University of Pennsylvania
- 2nd Place: Florida International University
Honorable Mentions
- University of Cincinnati for rehabilitating underutilized space
- Purdue University for design beauty and elegance
- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for strategic management of combined sewer overflows
First Place, Master Plan Category: University of Texas at Arlington
Titled “The Path Forward: Contain, Clean, and Connect,” this entry redesigned the university’s master plan to strategically incorporate green infrastructure practices at key locations and along transportation corridors and local water bodies. The team took a holistic design approach that would not only protect public health and water quality, but promote resilience, create new wildlife habitat, and create new recreational amenities for students and educators.
Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)
Student Team: Michael Shuey, Reza Mabadi, Nusrat Jahan Nipu (Landscape Architecture); Kathleen Stanford (Urban Planning)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Taner Ozdil, Ph. D., ASLA (Landscape Architecture)
First Place, Demonstration Project Category: University of Pennsylvania
The team’s entry, titled “Growing Together” redesigned a local elementary school campus in West Philadelphia to incorporate a variety of green infrastructure practices, as well as raised garden beds and a food forest. Extensive stakeholder engagement within the community led to a realistic design that would manage stormwater runoff onsite, connect students to their watershed, and help address food insecurity
Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)
Student Team: Corey Wills (Environmental Studies, City Planning); Prithi Chandra, Noëlle Raezer, Haoge Xu (Environmental Studies); Jonah Garnick, Eliza Nobles (City Planning) Leila Bahrami (Landscape Architecture); Mrinalini Verma (Landscape Architecture, Environmental Building Design) Caroline Ben Nathan (Economics, Finance, and Health Care Management and Policy); Flavia Olivera (Political Science); August Sissick (Mathematical Economics); Justina Thompson (Education)
Faculty Advisor: John Miller (Earth and Environmental Studies)
Second Place, Master Plan Category: University of Pittsburgh
The “Team PreciPITTation” entry integrated multiple green infrastructure practices into a master plan design that focused on the elimination of combined sewer overflows. Students engaged with internal and external stakeholders to create a design that would manage stormwater runoff and reduce flooding while creating safe, multifunctional spaces accessible to students and the greater Pittsburgh community.
Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)
Student Team: Brandon Brewster, Aaron Carr (Environmental Science); Lou Tierno (Environmental Studies); Harisa Martinos, Maria Doku (Architecture); Nicole Thompson (Civil Engineering); Kelly McQueston (Geology); Maggie Lincoln (Ecology, Evolution, and Physics)
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Carla Ng (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering); Dr. Daniel Bain (Department of Geology and Environmental Science)
Additional Advisors: Michael Sinack (Facilities Management)
Second Place, Demonstration Project Category: Florida International University
In their entry titled “Smart Eco-Water Use: Towards a Climate Resilient Campus!” this team targeted water efficiency issues at the campus engineering center. Green infrastructure practices in this design would reduce heat island effects, harvest rainwater, and prevent localized flooding.
Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)
Student Team: Linglong Bian, Vivek Verma (Hydraulic Engineering); Sumit R. Zanje, Zeda Yin (Mechanical Engineering); Dogukan Ozecik (Civil Engineering); Jianwei Li (Engineering Management); Jennyfer Hernandez, Alejandro Loayza (Green Infrastructure Design); Ligia Filguieras, David Diez (Information Visualization)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Arturo Leon (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering)
Additional Advisors: Dr. Biayna Bogosian (Department of Architecture); Nicholas Ogle (College of Arts, Sciences, and Education); Stuart Grant (Department of Facilities Planning
Honorable Mention, Master Plan Category: University of Texas at Arlington for Coordinated Planning and Analysis
Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)
Student Team: Anjelyque Easley, Bonnie Blocker, Nikki Simonini (Landscape Architecture)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Taner Ozdil, Ph. D., ASLA (Landscape Architecture)
Honorable Mention, Master Plan Category: University of Cincinnati for Integration of Stormwater Management and Resilience
Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)
Student Team: Hunter Swope (Architectural Engineering); Shuo Qin (Architecture); Sarah Morgan, Ryan Feist (Community Planning); Madelyn Pohlgeers (Horticulture)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Leah Hollstein (School of Planning)
Additional Advisors: Michael Hofmann (Director of Utilities)
Honorable Mention, Master Plan Category: University of Oklahoma for Community Engagement
Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)
Student Team: Aman Golshan (Industrial Design, Architecture), Yi-Wen Yeh (Architecture); Bradley Andersen (Environmental Design); Samin Shokoohi (Agricultural Economics)
Faculty Advisor: Bret Betnar (Division of Landscape Architecture)
Additional Advisors: Leehu Loon, Dr. Sarah Little (Division of Landscape Architecture); Carrie Evenson (City of Norman); Dr. Robert Nairn (Division of Engineering WaTER Center); Brandon Cox, Kyle McGhee, Jason Reeves (Facilities)
Honorable Mention, Demonstration Project Category: University of Cincinnati for Rehabilitating Underutilized Space
Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)
Student Team: Kyle Wilson, Shannon Gillie, Ismael Hassan (Community Planning); Victoria Browning (Civil Engineering); Ashley Tillett (Architectural Engineering)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Leah Hollstein (School of Planning)
Additional Advisors: Michael Hofmann (Director of Utilities); John Martini (Campus Landscape Architect)
Honorable Mention, Demonstration Project Category: Purdue University for Design Beauty and Elegance
Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)
Student Team: Chris Curnell, Ethan Fleig, Jeffery Tseng (Landscape Architecture and Horticulture); Harland Nadeau (Landscape Architecture and Environmental Science)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Yiwei Huang (Landscape Architecture)
Additional Advisors: Camille Shoaf (Campus Planning and Sustainability); Adam Keyster, Marcus Smith (Civil Engineers, Physical Facilities, Purdue Technology Center Aerospace); Aaron Tompson, Paul Siciliano Jr., Sean Rotar (Landscape Architecture); Nathan Frazee (Boston Parks and Recreation); Kuang Xin (Design Workshop in Chicago)
Honorable Mention, Demonstration Project Category: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for Strategic Management of Combined Sewer Overflows
Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)
Student Team: Carmen Harvey, Beau Neidich, Adam Belton, Abbey Burton, Riley Ellis (Civil Engineering); Syed Tareq (Chemical Engineering)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jejal Bathi (Civil and Chemical Engineering)
Additional Advisors: Dr. Chandra Ward (Sociology); Kenny Tyler, Bob Jackson (UTC Administrative Services); Allen Jones (Principal, ASA Engineering
Judges
The Campus RainWorks Challenge encourages an interdisciplinary approach to stormwater management. Judges from EPA, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) generously volunteered their time to evaluate the design proposals submitted by student teams. EPA would like to thank the following individuals for serving as judges during the 2020 Campus RainWorks Challenge:
Joshua Baehr, EPA Headquarters
Daniel Christian, WEF, Tetra Tech
Jodi Cook, ASLA, Jodi Cook Landscape Design
Leslie Corcelli, EPA Headquarters
Michael DeVuono, WEF, Arcadis
Rebecca Dohn, ASCE, Nashville Metro Water Services
Lisa Dolphin, ASCE, Shumaker Consulting Engineering and Landscape Surveying
Julius Duncan, EPA Headquarters
Chelsea Durant, EPA Headquarters
Robert Goo, EPA Headquarters
Michael Goralczyk, EPA Headquarters
Dan Greenberg, ASLA, WithersRavenel
Carol Hufnagel, WEF, Tetra Tech
Kate Johnson, EPA Region 5
Haven Kiers, ASLA, University of California Davis
Keith Lichten, WEF, San Francicso Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board
Mara Lindsley, EPA Regiona 4
Christine McKay, EPA Region 4
Jennifer Molloy, EPA Headquarters
John Phillips, WEF, Parametrix
Amy Rowe, Rutgers University
Amelle Schultz, ASLA, Ayers Saint Gross
Samendra Sherchan, WEF, Tulane University
Rebecca Stack, ASCE, Design Green
Stan Szwalek, ASLA, Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architecture
Harris Trobman, ASLA, University of the District of Columbia
Clark Wilson, EPA Headquarters
Cooperating Organizations
These cooperating organizations assisted EPA with judging and outreach:
To sign up for e-mail updates or ask a question about the Campus RainWorks Challenge, e-mail RainWorks@epa.gov.