2018-2019 approved projects

EcoReps' new 3D bins displays with physical items instructing people how to sort their trash, recycling, and compost – in the Husky Union Building (HUB)’s food court, the Husky Den. These 3D bins should help UW divert waste from landfills, educate and engage the student body about the waste disposal process and it’s impacts, and ease the burden of maintaining the previous bin displays.  

It is no secret that for over 500 years, the wealthy continent of Africa has been and continues to be exploited - both for its resources and its peoples. However, with the boom of communication and information technology in recent years, African voices have begun to spread around the globe, and we have learned that despite the revolutionary conflicts of the mid-20th century, African nation states remain under the influence of imperial powers.

Capillaries works within the genre of narrative medicine, a movement which invites healthcare providers and patients to reflect on their experiences using writing and art and to develop appreciation for the inherent humanity in all people. We are expanding awareness of and participation in narrative medicine at UW, encouraging undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff –from all departments, not just in medicine –to share their stories with us.

Diversity in Psychology is an RSO that was created in response to the alarming lack of diversity and representation in the field of Psychology, and specifically within the Psychology department at the University of Washington. Our founding members noticed the large emphasis of the experiences of White people as the center of many class discussions as well as in media representations of mental health and mental illness.

*Please see link below for updated scope of project and new budget*

The University of Washington has been creating more and more snags out of fallen trees in the past year. Adding snags (standing dead trees) to the landscape adds a substantial amount of ecological benefits. Snags (dead wood) provides new life to habitat. They provide food for many wood boring insects and mammals such as ants, beetles, and woodpeckers. The cavities within this dead wood make great nesting habitat and living quarters for woodpeckers, red squirrels and many other species of birds, bats and insects.

Keraton is one of the largest Indonesian cultural events in the West Coast. Over the past few years, Keraton has been ISAUW’s biggest and fastest growing annual event that attracted over 8,000 people in 2017. This year, we are expecting 10,000 individuals.

UW-Solar is collaborating with Perkins+Will and UW-Biology to install a 100 kW solar array on the roof of the Life Sciences Building. The solar array will generate approximately 105,000 kWh of energy per year. This will reduce the carbon footprint of the building by nearly 80 metric tons of CO2e per year, which is equal to the amount of carbon generated from burning over 85,000 pounds of coal. UW-Solar previously worked with Perkins+Will on the construction of the Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) fins that are installed on the south facade of the building.

The proposed project will be a collaboration between the UW Farm and the Intellectual House as well as other Native American groups on campus and in the community as we work together to design and plant two gardens of indigenous plants with significance in native food traditions.Food Sovereignty is defined as “the inherent right of a community to identify their own food system”. As one step towards food sovereignty for the UW community, we hope to help create spaces where students, staff, faculty, and community members can learn about, grow, and consume traditional foods.

Sustainability Studio is an upper-level elective offered through the College of the Environment’s Program on the Environment. Sustainability Studio is an experiential learning course where students work in groups of 3-5 on different projects with clients from the UW and Seattle community to improve sustainability around the topic of the quarter. The topic of Sustainability Studio changes every quarter to allow for dynamic learning that addresses sustainability across a broad spectrum of issues.

Each quarter students buy brand new notebooks and throughout each lecture slowly fill the pages with diagrams and key points. However, as dead week rolls around many find they have excess blank pages leftover. A large portion of students hold on to these notebooks, never to look back at their notes, while others recycle or even put the paper into the trash. Our campus Rotaract Club is proposing an innovative alternative, to collect these notebooks at the end of each quarter to be disassembled and rebound into new notebooks.

This project draws on interdisciplinary expertise and creativity in developing luminaire speed bumps powered by solar energy to sustainably and innovatively improve safety at the University of Washington (UW) Seattle Campus. Ultimately, we want to implement the highest performing prototype to the most trafficked, least illuminated paths on campus to keep students, faculty, and staff safe.

Taiko Kai's third annual Spring Concert will provide a space to celebrate Japanese culture and the achievements of the club members throughout the year. The show will be two hours in duration, featuring drumming, dancing, bamboo flute, and guest performances from local groups! Hanwoollim from UW, Hidaka Taiko from Seattle University, and Dekoboko Taiko from the Seattle area will accompany Taiko Kai on-stage to showcase each group's unique energy. Taiko Kai will also be using this concert to spread awareness of sustainable practices.

TEDxUofW is a 100% student run RSO that hosts a yearly "TEDxUofW Conference" where speakers from the UW and Seattle community come to share their stories and experiences to an audience. Speakers range from UW students, to professors, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and innovative thinkers of the Seattle Community. In addition to speaking, we also have experience parlors, discussions, and a full day experience for all attendees.

The UW Applied Physics Laboratory is asking the Campus Sustainability Fund for $28,350 to purchase an electric propulsion system from PureWaterCraft and hydraulic steering controls. Funds from this grant will be used to bring a new technology into the UW Applied Physics Laboratory which we could not do without being awarded a grant or contract specifically requiring it. Optionally, a system supporting smaller hulls could be purchased for $19850 if the committee prefers.