Bill Yen Makes the Business Case for Sustainability
Bill Yen (BS ’23) was awarded the 1st place Illinois Association of Environmental Professionals (IAEP) Scholarship for his proposal on sustainability in business practices—while many assume there to be a tradeoff between sustainability and profit, with thoughtful design that considers the long-term impacts of business and engineering decisions, climate-aware practices and competitive actions can be one and the same. Yen provided many examples spanning across industries such as construction and manufacturing, most of which were inspired by his previous experiences with LEED and green building design and his internship at General Motors.
Yen is a third-year Mechanical Engineering student with a minor in Environmental Engineering. He is also pursuing the Segal Design Certificate. He is passionate about environmental technology and designing for sustainability. His interdisciplinary approach to addressing climate concerns has won him various regional and international engineering competitions, such as the White Space Product Development Challenge and the U.S. DOE Solar Decathlon Design Challenge.
The IAEP Scholarship is designed to increase student interest in the environmental professions and to support them in their career goals. Bill Yen will receive his $2000 award and recognition at the IAEP Annual Golf Outing on September 9, 2021.