The SEED2SOIL program brings together experts and stakeholders along with operational sustainability topics to expand, prioritize, and refine known opportunities for carbon reduction.
Process is led by the Cultivators, an administrative committee, meeting on a biweekly basis:
- Lissa Larson (Facilities S&E)
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Dr. Sarah Hinners (GCSC)
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Sam Jensen-Augustine (PDC)
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Emerson Andrews (Sustainability Office)
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Alexis Pearl Lee (UHealth)
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Make an impact
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Brainstorm your ideas to improve University operations in relation to sustainability
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Have your research topic endorsed and funded
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Have ideas guided by an expert
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Network with experts, stakeholders, and cultivators
Social Enagement, Evaluation, and Discovery 
Any event to capture ideas for projects that would improve University operations in relation to sustainability
- SEED events may bring together subject matter experts, review campus operations, brainstorm new ideas, etc.
- Ideas will be collected into a prioritization spreadsheet then sorted by “areas of influence.”
Sustainable Operations Working Groups 
Group of diverse stakeholders and subject matter experts related to one of the ten different areas of influence.
- Each SOW group is lead by a chair (or co-chairs) to guide ideas through the SEED2SOIL process.
- Group will meet for a full-day workshop annually* to review ideas generated during
SEED discussions and prioritize projects to be developed to a shovel-ready state.
Sustainable Operations Investment Leadership 
Annual funding meeting in late February to review shovel-ready project proposals and commit to funding to high priority projects.
- Funding committee will look at all prioritized projects and their supporting documentation to assign funding.
- Attendees will include multiple partners with available funding.
Project Labor Accounting Navigation Team
Phase in which funded projects are being implemented.
- Implementation may be led by other existing groups, such as Planning, Development, and Construction (PDC) or Small Project Teams.
- Projects shall regularly report updates and status tracking to assigned SEED2SOIL representatives.
Historical Analytic Results & Visualized Evidence Support Team 
Annual meeting to review projects that were selected for implementation; discuss lessons learned; and set any priorities or intentions for the upcoming year.
Do you have a project to submit?
SEED2SOIL 2022 Awardees
The SEED2SOIL program proudly announces the following research grant awards for U Facilities-identified areas focused on improving campus operations and contributing to broader sustainability knowledge. Each project represents researchers and students working collaboratively with U Facilities on real-world applications.
This Campus as a Living Lab (CLL) approach directly connects researchers with U Facilities representatives in a true One U, cross-campus collaboration on projects that would have otherwise been sourced to external firms. Researchers are encouraged to develop results that improve sustainable operations for the U’s campus, the broader community, and beyond.
Chen Wang
Assistant professor of materials science and engineering
Nagendra Tanikella
Doctoral student of mechanical engineering
Barnali Sutradhar
Incoming doctoral student of materials science and engineering
Radhika Bhakta
A third-year undergraduate student majoring in quantitative economics and chemistry with a chemical engineering emphasis
Jianli Chen
Assistant professor of civil engineering
Kody Powell
Director of the DOE-funded Intermountain Industrial Assessment Center, assistant professor of chemical engineering, adjunct assistant professor of mechanical engineering
Blake Billings
Doctoral candidate in chemical engineering
Graduate and undergraduate students who have yet to be determined
Todd Easton
Professor of mechanical engineering
Cori Jackson
Incoming doctoral student in mechanical engineering
Kerry Kelly
Associate professor of chemical engineering
Darrah Sleeth
Associate professor of occupational and environmental health
Pierre-Emmanuel Gaillardon
Adjunct associate professor in the School of Computing, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering
Jianli Chen
Assistant professor of civil engineering
Tony Saad
Assistant professor of chemical engineering
Graduate students from chemical engineering and occupational and environmental health who have yet to be determined
Daniel Mendoza
Adjunct assistant professor of internal medicine and city and metropolitan planning, research assistant professor of atmospheric sciences
Tabitha Benney
Associate professor of political science
Casey Olson
Graduate student of atmospheric sciences
Undergraduate student researchers through the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program who are yet to be determined
Andy Hong
Assistant professor of city and metropolitan planning
Anna Maki
Graduate student in city and metropolitan planning
Tom Millar
Associate instructor in city and metropolitan planning
Undergraduate student research assistant who is yet to be determined
John Lin
Professor of atmospheric sciences
Derek Mallia
Research assistant professor of atmospheric sciences
Maria Garcia
Research associate of atmospheric sciences
Daniel Mendoza
Adjunct assistant professor of internal medicine and city and metropolitan planning, research assistant professor of atmospheric sciences
Nic Hofmann
Undergraduate student researcher
Cathy Liu
Associate professor of civil and environmental engineering
Bei Wang Phillips
Assistant professor of computing and the Scientific Computing and Imaging (SCI) Institute
Yirong Zhou
Doctoral student in civil and environmental engineering
Graduate student from the School of Computing who is yet to be determined