STEM Café: Advancing Sustainability in Northern Illinois

Speaker: Matt Deitch, Ph.D., Director, Northern Illinois Center for Community Sustainability (NICCS) Research on sustainability, food systems and climate resilience is happening in different disciplines across NIU – and it’s vital to addressing the major challenges of our time. How can we improve regional food systems to ensure ample healthy food is available even during times of supply chain interruption? How can we manage rainwater effectively to be resilient during both droughts and floods? In short, how can we develop solutions to improve the wellbeing of natural systems, communities and residents? Join Matt Deitch, Ph.D., director of the Northern Illinois Center for Community Sustainability (NICCS), to learn about the ongoing sustainability research and innovation happening at NIU. Dr. Deitch has spent the past 20 years working in various parts of the U.S. as a scientist on collaborative projects to improve sustainability for the benefit of natural systems and the communities that depend on them for their wellbeing. This has included partnerships with farmers and lawyers, state, federal and local agency staff, local and international conservation nonprofits, and other academic scientists working together to develop sustainable solutions to challenges posed by having too little water (as in California) or too much water (as in Florida). Deitch began his role as director of NICCS in August 2024, bringing his expertise back to northern Illinois, where he was born and raised. He’s excited to share some of the cutting-edge sustainability research happening at NIU, ranging from farming and meteorological research to wastewater treatment innovations. He’ll also discuss some of the ways these research projects help to train students for jobs in sustainability through hands-on learning and teaching in the context of real world-applications.