Parkland College

Winner of the 2010-2011 Outstanding Achievement Award from the Parkland College Inter-Organizational Council, Nathan Cooper is a student who takes protecting the environment seriously! As a student member of Parkland's Sustainable Campus Committee, Nathan was instrumental in conducting the campus' first greenhouse gas emissions study. This substantial solo undertaking became part of an independent study and also an Honors project; his findings were posted nationally on the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment website. In a second Honors project, Nathan measured the energy savings to the college from installing occupancy sensors in certain campus rooms. This required mastering the data logging technology that measured energy use before and after the installation. The data he collected showed that electricity use could be reduced by as much as 40% by installing these lighting sensors.

While doing excellent work in his courses, and staying active in extra-curricular activities, Nathan also works part time at the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC) at the University of Illinois, where he performs energy audits of buildings and works mostly with engineers and architects. (He successfully competed with University of Illinois students to gain this position.) In his free time, Nathan likes to read, spend time outdoors, and learn about the science behind the built environment.