The Solar Desalination funding program will develop novel technologies or concepts using solar thermal energy to assist in creating freshwater from otherwise unusable waters. Thermal desalination is a potential solution to increase water supplies for municipal water and agriculture, and is an important technology to purify water produced from various industrial processes, including oil and gas production.

The Advanced Power Electronics Designs for Solar Applications funding program will help the industry develop new technology to improve the devices that serve as the critical link between solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays and the electric grid.

FOCUS projects aim to enable cost-effective solar energy systems that offer the best of today's existing technologies: high-efficiency conversion of sunlight to electricity and stored, dispatchable energy from heat.

EPA funds water research grants to develop and support the science and tools necessary to develop sustainable solutions to 21st century water resource problems, ensuring water quality and availability in order to protect human and ecosystem health. 

This program encourages applications that employ innovative research to identify mechanisms of influence and/or promote positive sustainable health behavior(s) in children and youth. Applications to promote positive health behavior(s) should target social and cultural factors, including, but not limited to: schools, families, communities, population, food industry, age-appropriate learning tools and games, social media, social networking, technology and mass media.

There are many opportunities to get involved in highway research and finding solutions to complex transportation problems, and helping get the word out to transportation organizations across the Nation about using those new technologies and innovations. For students it starts with education, and grant and fellowship programs.

The Federal Highway Administration's Bicycle and Pedestrian Program promotes safe, comfortable, and convenient walking and bicycling for people of all ages and abilities.

DARPA’s biological technologies arm focuses on leveraging advances in engineering and information sciences to drive and reshape biotechnology for technological advantage. BTO is responsible for all neurotechnology, human-machine interface, human performance, infectious disease, and synthetic biology programs within the agency.

This program supports environmental education projects that promote environmental awareness and stewardship and help provide people with the skills to take responsible actions to protect the environment.

Focused on developing strategies for increasing community resilience in U.S. towns, municipalities or small cities planning for the impacts of extreme precipitation events (too much or too little water) on their civilian population.

Annual Small Grants are competitively awarded to Illinois graduate students and their project advisors. Approximately $40,000 is available each year for research focused on agricultural land use, wetland restoration, water quality, stormwater management, emerging contaminants, and other key water resource issues.

The goal of the Environmental Sustainability program is to promote sustainable engineered systems that support human well-being and that are also compatible with sustaining natural (environmental) systems.

The goal of the Decision Frameworks for Multi-Hazard Resilient and Sustainable Buildings (RSB) solicitation is to advance knowledge for new concepts for multi-hazard resilient and sustainable building systems using decision frameworks for selection among alternative building system designs

This program applyies the Department of Energy's technical expertise to help ensure the security, resiliency and survivability of key energy assets and critical energy infrastructure.

The Building Technologies office leads a network of research and industry partners to continually develop innovative, cost-effective energy saving solutions in building design. Some of the relevant programs under the Building Technologies office include 

1. Emerging Technologies
2. Residential Building

SAEM aims to enable sustainable buildings and other structures that can be continuously occupied and/or operated during the structure’s useful life. The SAEM program supports fundamental research for advancing knowledge and innovation in structural and architectural engineering and materials that promotes a holistic approach to analysis and design, construction, operation, maintenance, retrofit, and repair of structures.

The program supports fundamental engineering research that will enable innovative processes for the sustainable production of electricity and fuels, and for energy storage. These processes must be environmentally benign, reduce greenhouse gas production, and use renewable resources.

 The primary deliverable of this proposed project is to provide a detailed waste characterization assessment for three facilities located throughout the Urbana-Champaign campus of the University of Illinois. Lincoln Avenue Residence Halls (LAR), Business Instructional Facility (BIF), Roger Adams Laboratory(RAL) are facilities that will be characterized.

A green roof was constructed on the Business Instructional Facility as part of the overall green initiatives used in the construction of that building. Rooftop over the auditorium and a 1200-square foot section on the fourth roof were constructed to be green roof. Unlike conventional flat roofs, green roofs have a layer of substrate in which native plants are grown. This roof type has several benefits. Firstly, less water is discharged since the substrate detains water instead of merely draining it. The water that is discharged is also cleaner, since the plants work as a filtration system.

The Business Instructional Facility was awarded the LEED Platinum Certification on December 2, 2009, having achieved 52 of the 69 possible points on the LEED Scorecard. The construction was especially strong in the Indoor Environmental Quality, receiving 13 of the 15 possible points in that area. This building is the first business facility at a public university anywhere in the world to earn platinum certification through LEED.

The Business Instructional Facility was the first production rooftop solar PV array installed on a campus building.  There are 168 panels with 190 Watts per panel, for a total system size of 32kW.