A team of four College students won the 2026 University of Chicago Climate Case Competition this May. The students’ proposal of a clean energy policy transition plan for the state of Illinois impressed a judging panel of industry professionals and earned the team the top prize of $2,500.
Hosted by the Phoenix Sustainability Initiative and Energy & Climate Club, and sponsored by the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth, the annual contest allows students to take on the role of consultants to a real world organization. This year’s competition partner was the World Resources Institute (WRI), a global non-profit conducting climate and environmental research. Participants were tasked with drafting a policy implementation plan for the state of Illinois to meet its clean energy goals.
Effectively addressing the prompt required intensive research into policy, finance and technology. Judges evaluated each presentation on its feasibility for achieving the state’s goals, but also its impact on communities, the environment, and the economy.
The winning team, “Tree Huggers,” was made up of second-year students Nicholas McNamara, Will Vanman, Alethea Oakley and Gabriel Thomas. Their multi-faceted proposal involved scaling wind and solar energy, increasing battery storage and nuclear power, and repurposing coal and natural gas plants, among other measures.
“I was really proud of us,” said McNamara. “We were able to make a robust strategy that had thought of pretty much everything I could possibly think of that would allow Illinois to have green electricity by 2045.”
Eight total teams of undergraduates and grad students participated in the Case Competition this spring. After refining their proposals through a series of presentations and feedback from Institute staff and WRI associates, the teams were narrowed down to six finalists.
Those top teams advanced to the final judging round at the Quadrangle Club on May 14, where students presented their proposals to judges from WRI. Following the judging, three teams were chosen to win prizes of up to $2,500.
The duo of Daniel Palmer and Maria Rumyantseva of team “Maroon Energy” won second place. Team “CERAWork,” made up of students Tatjana Washington, Henry Chen, Sophia Li, and Climate and Sustainable Growth major Danielle Duble, who met on the Institute’s 2026 delegation to the CERAWeek energy conference, placed third.
Other finalists included The Napkins (Sam Han, Eshan Khemka, Joaquin Orellana, and Parth Halani); team Community-Focused Non-Carbon Transition (Yukta Maheshwari, Sophia Guo, Yixiao Dai, and Amara Nwuneli); and team Stored Potential (Jackson Slater, Allegra Hamacher, and Mia Sullivan).
Case competition winners 2026
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Case Competition Reception
