In this project, students and staff from the Department of Technology, University High School, the Center for Renewable Energy, and the Center for Mathematics Science and Technology designed, built and modified hands-on, interactive exhibits that traveled to schools across Illinois to teach about electricity generation and the coming SmartGrid.

Project Mentors

Dr. David Loomis (Center for Renewable Energy)
Dr. William Hunter (Center for Mathematics Science and Technology)
Dr. Brad Christensen (Center for Mathematics Science and Technology)
Mr. Jeritt Williams (Center for Renewable Energy)

Final Deliverable:

SmartGrid for Schools interactive exhibits and curriculum. Checkout: SmartGrid Schools Instagram

Competencies needed by faculty and students involved

• Construction – technical skills and safety awareness for construction processes and materials.
• Curriculum Design – Modern curriculum guided by student needs and prior experience tailored to multiple age groups.
• Teamwork – All team members must be responsible and take initiative for seeing the overall vision, and for making suggestions and improvements during the iterative development and construction process.

This study looks into the behaviors and perception concerning the use of social media by independent insurance agents in the Midwest, more specifically Illinois. By conducting this research we hoped to understand the potential benefits of using social media, as well as a sense of the perceptions and behaviors currently exercised. We also want to find out if the time and money which could be assigned to growing and supporting the use of social media on the agency side of business would be for the greater good or if efforts should be focused elsewhere. As it has been apparent in the news media lately there are good and bad ways to make use of social media in support of day to day business. The goal of this study is to get a grasp on the insurance agents’ current use of social media in support of the agency and how the benefits of doing this are perceived.

Project Mentors

Steve Taylor
Jim Jones
Lindsey Pfleger (Katie School of Insurance)

Students

Brett Burba
Sarah Crowley
William Drobny
Nick Janky
Rachel Mann
Nick Silva

Final Deliverable:

Study summary. PDF

The Katie School of Insurance helps to facilitate student research projects each semester to help students develop skills in research, critical thinking, data analysis, business presentation, and business writing.
The Katie School Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Research Project is an Illinois State University, College of Business, Katie School of Insurance multidisciplinary student initiative aimed at studying and researching UAV applications in business, and developing risk management, security, and safety protocols for their use. The team consists of students in Insurance, Agriculture, Information Technology, and Political Science, who, through their combined efforts, are working to produce a research report detailing their study results and conclusions. Additionally, the team will consistently update interested parties through periodical articles and blog postings. Ultimately, the multiple articles and subsequent published report will seek to educate and inform those concerned with the safe implementation and commercial use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the domestic United States.

Research Story & Presentation

Research story:Drone Research Story
Presentation: UAV Symposium Presentation
News: Article

Project Mentors

Jim Jones

Students

Frank Busch (Insurance and Finance) Senior
Daniel Liedke (Insurance) Senior
JP Smith (Math) Freshman
Adam Ringwood (Computer Science, Cybersecurity)
Joseph Spero (Criminal Justice & Cybersecurity)
Devin Taseff (Pre-law) Junior

The following study represents a marketing research effort sponsored by the Katie Insurance School at Illinois State University based upon a request by Figo, a Chicago-based company specializing in pet insurance. The overall purposes of the project include (1) helping insurers better understand the decision-making processes of potential consumers and insurance company potential partners, by (2) working with the Katie Insurance School to generally support insurance practices and organizations consistent with their mission, and (3) involving a select team of student researchers for pedagogical purposes. The research activities were under the direction of Jim Jones, Director of the Katie Insurance School, and Steve Taylor, Professor of Marketing.

Project Mentors

Steve Taylor
Jim Jones

Students

Ms. Kayla Jenkins, ISU Junior Marketing Student
Ms. Elyse Link, ISU Senior Marketing Student
Mr. Jarvis Sokolowich, Junior Marketing Student

Final Deliverable

Study summary:Project Summary & Findings

The movement towards alternative energy is extremely encouraged and provides new opportunities for technology, ideas, and labor. The fossil fuel family has been used throughout history and has provided a very effective role in North America during the Industrial Revolution, and the expansion of America. The use of coal in the United States is mainly due to its central location and access points in the US, the ample amounts, and the opportunity and efficiency to immediately ship the resource by rail or ship. Alternative sources of energy can create this sort of economic boom in the US in a much safer and environmentally friendly way!

Project Mentors

Students

Final Deliverable

This study helped seven small businesses in Bloomington-Normal to become energy efficient which helps protect the environment and saves businesses money. Recent developments in lighting technology makes it possible for many small businesses to improve the quality of their lighting while reducing electricity consumption by 75% or more. For example, a restaurant replacing 100, 65-watt standard light bulbs with energy-efficiency compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs could save over $2,000/year with a payback period under 6 months. The change would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation.

Project Mentors

Dr. Tom Bierma (Environmental Health)
Dr. Peter Kaufman (Marketing)
Dr. Lou Reifschneider (Technology)
Dr. Dale Fitzgibbons (Management)

Students

Rebecca Groeninger, Environmental Health
Kaylee Halberg, Environmental Health
Morgan Martin, Environmental Health
Kimberly McLeod, Environmental Health
Filip Miljevic, Finance
Laura Miller, Marketing
Ben Taylor, Management

Final Deliverable

Each team demonstrated what marketing strategy, what client interaction event, what technology (types of lighting) yielded the best outcome of energy conservation for clients in the Bloomington/Normal area.
Specific student learning outcomes from this project were as follows:

• building communication skills with team members from other disciplines,
• developing research and analytical skills,
• developing project management skills,
• building selling and persuasion skills with local area businesses, and
• developing a financial analysis template that clients could use to help assess the return on investment of a lighting retrofit.

Field Experience