Publications – Stillwell Research Group

Electricity and water resources

J. Kravits, K. Baker, J.R. Kasprzyk, and A.S. Stillwell. (2024). “Balancing Cost, Water, Emissions, and Reliability in Power Systems Operations.” Environmental Research Letters. 19(1), 014035.
J. Nugent, C.M. Chini, R.A.M. Peer, and A.S. Stillwell. (2023). “Monthly virtual water transfers on the U.S. electric grid.” Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, 3(3), 035006.
C.M. Chini, J. Nugent, A.S. Stillwell, and R.A.M. Peer. (2022). “A critical review on the accounting of energy in virtual water trade.” Journal of Cleaner Production, 379(1), 134558.
J. Kravits, J.R. Kasprzyk, K. Baker, and A.S. Stillwell. (2022). “Incorporating Thermoelectric Power Plant Water Use into Multi-Objective Optimal Power Flow.” Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, 2(1), 015005.
T.L. Auth, G.E. Wackerman, M.H. Garcia, and A.S. Stillwell. (2021). “Low-Head Hydropower as a Reserve Power Source: A Case Study of Northeastern Illinois.” Renewable Energy, 175(1), 980-989.
L.H. Logan, R.S. Gupta, A. Ando, C. Suski, and A.S. Stillwell. (2021). “Quantifying Tradeoffs between Electricity Generation and Fish Populations via Population Habitat Duration Curves.” Ecological Modelling, 440(1), 109373.
C.M. Chini, L.E. Excell, and A.S. Stillwell. (2021). “A review of energy-for-water data in energy-water nexus publications.” Environmental Research Letters, 15(12), 123011.
C.M. Chini, L.H. Logan, and A.S. Stillwell. (2020). “Grey water footprints of U.S. thermoelectric power plants from 2010–2016.” Advances in Water Resources, 145(1), 103733.
M. Roidt, C.M. Chini, A.S. Stillwell, and A. Cominola. (2020). “Unlocking the Impacts of COVID-19 Lockdowns: Changes in Thermal Electricity Generation Water Footprint and Virtual Water Trade in Europe.” Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 7(9), 683-689.
C.M. Chini and A.S. Stillwell. (2020). “The changing virtual water trade network of the European electric grid.” Applied Energy, 260(1), 114151.
W.N. Lubega and A.S. Stillwell. (2019). “Analyzing the economic value of thermal power plant cooling water consumption.” Water Resources and Economics, 27(1), 100137.
L.H. Logan and A.S. Stillwell. (2018). “Water Temperature Duration Curves for Thermoelectric Power Plant Mixing Zone Analysis.” Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 144(9), 04018058.
L.H. Logan and A.S. Stillwell. (2018). “Probabilistic assessment of aquatic species risk from thermoelectric power plant effluent: Incorporating biology into the energy-water nexus.” Applied Energy, 210(1), 434-450.
W.N. Lubega and A.S. Stillwell. (2018). “Maintaining electric grid reliability under hydrologic drought and heat wave conditions.” Applied Energy, 210(1), 538-549.
C.M. Chini, L.A. Djehdian, W.N. Lubega, and A.S. Stillwell. (2018). “Virtual water transfers of the US electric grid.” Nature Energy, 3(12), 1115-1123.
T.A. DeNooyer, J.M. Peschel, Z. Zhang, and A.S. Stillwell. (2016). “Integrating water resources and power generation: The energy-water nexus in Illinois.” Applied Energy, 162(1), 363-371.

Residential water and energy sustainability

V.V. Otrubina, Z. Heydari, and A.S. Stillwell. (2025). “Understanding water consumption in a semi-permanent residential context through university student housing showers.” Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability. 5(1), 015022.
K. Alfredo, E. Bedard, H.Y. Buse, M. Cazals, P. Francisco, J. Lee, S. Masters, E. Osann, A. Stillwell, P. Westerhoff, and T.A. Bartrand. (2025). “Ten questions concerning water quality in building hot water systems.” Building and Environment. 275, 112803.
C.S. Lee, Z. Zhao, and A.S. Stillwell. (2024). “A generalizable approach to imbalanced classification of residential electric space heat.” Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability. 4(3), 035008.
Z. Heydari and A.S. Stillwell. (2024). “Comparative Analysis of Supervised Classification Algorithms for Residential Water End Uses.” Water Resources Research, 60(6), e2023WR036690.
J.E. Pesantez, B. Li, C. Lee, Z. Zhao, M. Butala, and A.S. Stillwell. (2023). “A Comparison Study of Predictive Models for Urban Electricity Demand in a Diverse Urban Environment.” Energy, 283, 129142.
J.E. Pesantez, G.E. Wackerman, and A.S. Stillwell. (2023). “Analysis of single- and multi-family residential electricity consumption in a large urban environment: Evidence from Chicago, IL.” Sustainable Cities and Society, 88(1), 104250.
J.L. Bongungu, P.W. Francisco, S.L. Gloss, and A.S. Stillwell. (2022). “Estimating residential hot water consumption from smart electricity meter data.” Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, 2(4), 045003.
Z. Heydari, A. Cominola, and A.S. Stillwell. (2022). “Is smart water meter temporal resolution a limiting factor to residential water end-use classification? A quantitative experimental analysis.” Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, 2(4), 045004.
G.M. Bethke, A.R. Cohen, A.S. Stillwell. (2021). “Disaggregating residential sector high-resolution smart water meter data into appliance end-uses with unsupervised machine learning.” Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology. 7(3), 487-503.
C.M. Chini, K.L. Schreiber, Z.A. Barker, and A.S. Stillwell. (2016). “Quantifying Energy and Water Savings in the U.S. Residential Sector.” Environmental Science & Technology, 50(17), 9003-9012.

Urban and regional water and energy sustainability

A.G. Hastie, V.V. Otrubina, and A.S. Stillwell. (2023). “Identifying Opportunities for Nonpotable Water Reuse Based on Potential Supplies and Demands in the United States.” ACS ES&T Water, 3(2), 311-321.
A.G. Hastie, V.V. Otrubina, and A.S. Stillwell. (2022). “Lack of Clarity Around Policies, Data Management, and Infrastructure May Hinder the Efficient Use of Reclaimed Water Resources in the United States.” ACS ES&T Water, 2(12), 2289-2296.
A.G. Hastie, C.M. Chini, and A.S. Stillwell. (2022). “A mass balance approach to urban water analysis using multi-resolution data.” Journal of Industrial Ecology, 26(1), 213-224.
B. Purcell, Z.A. Barkjohn, J.R. Kasprzyk, and A.S. Stillwell. (2021). “Linking Reclaimed Water Consumption with Quantitative Downstream Flow Impacts.” Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 147(5), 04021021.
C.M. Chini and A.S. Stillwell. (2020). “One Model Does Not Fit All: Bottom-Up Indicators of Residential Water Use Provide Limited Explanation of Urban Water Fluxes.” Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment, 6(3), 04020011.
C.M. Chini and A.S. Stillwell. (2020). “Envisioning Blue Cities: Urban Water Governance and Water Footprinting.” Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 146(3), 0402001.
C.M. Chini and A.S. Stillwell. (2019). “The metabolism of U.S. cities 2.0.” Journal of Industrial Ecology, 23(6), 1353-1362.
L.A. Djehdian, C.M. Chini, L. Marston, M. Konar, and A.S. Stillwell. (2019). “Exposure of Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Systems to Water Scarcity.” Sustainable Cities and Society, 50(1), 101621.
R.B. Sowby, S.J. Burian, C.M. Chini, and A.S. Stillwell. (2019). “Data Challenges and Solutions in Energy-for-Water: Experience from Two Recent Studies.” Journal: American Water Works Association, 111(2), 28-33.
C.M. Chini and A.S. Stillwell. (2018). “The State of U.S. Urban Water: Data and the Energy-Water Nexus.” Water Resources Research, 54(3), 1796-1811.
C.M. Chini, M. Konar, and A.S. Stillwell. (2017). “Direct and indirect urban water footprints of the United States.” Water Resources Research, 53(1), 316-327.
C.M. Chini and A.S. Stillwell. (2017). “Where Are All the Data? The Case for a Comprehensive Water and Wastewater Utility Database.” Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 143(3), 01816005.
Z.A. Barker, A.S. Stillwell, and E.Z. Berglund. (2016). “Scenario Analysis of Energy and Water Trade-Offs in the Expansion of a Dual Water System.” Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 142(12), 05016012.
Z.A. Barker and A.S. Stillwell. (2016). “Implications of Transitioning from De Facto to Engineered Water Reuse for Power Plant Cooling.” Environmental Science & Technology, 50(10), 5379-5388. Mentioned in Science.

Green stormwater infrastructure

L.C. Gray, L. Zhao, and A.S. Stillwell. (2023). “Impacts of climate change on global total and urban runoff.” Journal of Hydrology, 620, 129352.
G.M. Bethke, R. William, and A.S. Stillwell. (2022). “Rain Garden Performance as a Function of Native Soil Parameters.” Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment, 8(1), 04021021.
M.P. McGuire, A.C. Phillips, D.A. Grimley, A.S. Stillwell, J. Shen, R. William, and M. Schneemann. (2021). “Retrofitting urban land through integrative, subsoils-based planning of green stormwater infrastructure: A research framework.” Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, 1(3), 035003.
R. William, P. Gardoni, and A.S. Stillwell. (2021). “Predicting rain garden performance under back-to-back rainfall conditions using stochastic life-cycle analysis.” Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure, invited submission, 6(3-4), 143-155.
R. William, A.B. Endres, and A.S. Stillwell. (2020). “Integrating Green Infrastructure into Stormwater Policy: Reliability, Watershed Management, and Environmental Psychology as Holistic Tools for Success.” UCLA Journal of Environmental Law and Policy. 38(1), 37-59.
R. William, P. Gardoni, and A.S. Stillwell. (2019). “Reliability-Based Approach to Investigating Long-Term Clogging in Green Stormwater Infrastructure.” Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment, 5(1), 04018015.
P.A. Malinowski, J.S. Wu, S. Pulugurtha, and A.S. Stillwell. (2018). “Green Infrastructure Retrofits and Impervious Area Reduction: Potential Improvements to Urban Stream Quality and Contribution by Property Type.” Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment, 4(4), 04018012. Featured as Editor’s Choice.
J.F. Canning and A.S. Stillwell. (2018). “Nutrient Reduction in Agricultural Green Infrastructure: An Analysis of the Raccoon River Watershed.” Water, 10(6), 749. Featured on journal cover.
R. William, J. Garg, and A.S. Stillwell. (2017). “A game theory analysis of green infrastructure stormwater management policies.” Water Resources Research, Special Issue on “Socio-hydrology: Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Coupled Human-Water Systems,” 53(9), 8003-8019. Featured in editor’s highlight.
R. William and A.S. Stillwell. (2017). “Use of Fragility Curves to Evaluate the Performance of Green Roofs.” Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment, 3(4), 04017010.
C.M. Chini, J.F. Canning, K.L. Schreiber, J.M. Peschel, and A.S. Stillwell. (2017). “The Green Experiment: Cities, Green Stormwater Infrastructure, and Sustainability.” Sustainability, 9(1), 105. Featured on journal cover.
R. William, A. Goodwell, M. Richardson, P.V.V. Le, P. Kumar, and A.S. Stillwell. (2016). “An environmental cost-benefit analysis of alternative green roofing strategies.” Ecological Engineering, 95(1), 1-9.
P.A. Malinowski, A.S. Stillwell, J.S. Wu, and P.M. Schwarz. (2015). “Energy-Water Nexus: Potential Energy Savings and Implications for Sustainable Integrated Water Management in Urban Areas from Rainwater Harvesting and Gray-Water Reuse.” Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, Special Issue on Sustainability, 141(12), A4015003.

Technoeconomic analysis and life cycle assessment

A.P. Sibal, R. Ghosh, D.W. Flaherty, and A.S. Stillwell. (2024). “Setting benchmarks for ethylene and propylene oxidation via electrochemical routes: a process design and technoeconomic analysis approach.” Green Chemistry, 26, 9455-9475.
J. Nugent, S.M. Lux, C. Martin, and A.S. Stillwell. (2022). “A water and greenhouse gas inventory for hygroscopic building-scale cooling tower operations.” Building and Environment, 218, 109086.

Energy, water, and carbon policy analysis

A.P. Sibal and A.S. Stillwell. (2024). “Driving Sustainability in the United States: Efficacy of State-Level Biodiesel Policy Approaches.” Environmental Science & Technology. 58(42), 18474-18483.
J. Wang, M. Konar, C. Dalin, Y. Liu, A.S. Stillwell, M. Xu, and T. Zhu. (2022). “Economic and virtual water multilayer networks in China.” Journal of Cleaner Production, 381(1), 135041.
A.S. Stillwell. (2019). “Editorial Perspectives: bringing the energy-water nexus home to promote conservation and efficiency.” Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, 5(8), 1358-1359.
A.S. Stillwell, A.M. Mroue, J.D. Rhodes, M.A. Cook, J.B. Sperling, T. Hussey, D. Burnett, and M.E. Webber. (2017). “Water for Energy: Systems Integration and Analysis to Address Resource Challenges.” Current Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports, 4(3), 90-98.
A.S. Stillwell. (2015). “Sustainability of Public Policy: Example from the Energy-Water Nexus.” Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, Special Issue on Sustainability, 141(12), A4015001.