Emily Held is an electrical engineer on campus. Notre Dame Sustainability sat down with Emily to learn more about her and discuss her role in shaping sustainability on campus through her work in Utilities.
1. Tell us about yourself & your work on campus.
I am an electrical engineer with the Utilities department, where I’ve been since September of 2022. I support all things electrical in nature, like primary power to new construction, lighting controls installations and upgrades, power generation and distribution on campus, as well as a big focus on LED conversions across campus.
2. Share a bit about your work as it specifically relates to energy conservation work on campus.
I work a lot on LED conversions to existing buildings. To get the most payback, both financially and from an energy standpoint, we are working in phases of multiple buildings at once.
3. Can you share some examples of Notre Dame's energy conservation work?
We’ve successfully converted some of the larger buildings on campus, like Debartolo Hall and Stinson Remick, to LED by bypassing the existing ballast and putting in new LED lamps, which is way more cost-effective than a new LED fixture. We are targeting larger buildings that are primarily on/off lights to really maximize efficiency. We work closely with UND Maintenance and our campus partners to count and source the LED solutions, and run payback analysis. Once the payback analysis is complete, our campus partner, Navarre Services, gets to work. Another example is lighting controls – turning lights off when they aren’t in use. There’s some older versions that are now obsolete, leaving a lot of lights on 24/7. We are actively working to upgrade these to our current campus standard, and get back to using occupancy sensors to control lights, instead of relying on people to remember to turn them off, or having lights on 24/7, especially when not needed.
4. What is your favorite aspect of your job?
My favorite thing about my job is how many people on campus are impacted by what I do every day, but behind the scenes. There’s so much thought that goes into something seemingly simple, like lights turning on and off, to ensure they work when needed, but still making sure that it’s not wasteful. It’s great to work with so many people both in FDO and across campus that all have seemingly competing priorities, but coming together especially for these important sustainability projects.
5. What is one sustainability tip/action would you recommend people take on in their daily lives, whether at home or on campus, related to conserving energy and reducing emissions?
I myself have definitely focused on lights. At home, I always make sure we only have on the lights we need, and turn them off when leaving the room – even on campus in rooms where there’s a sensor or a timer – it may not seem like much, but 10 minutes of a handful of lights on in an empty room is a measurable amount of electricity used! It will add up.
6. What gives you hope for the future?
What gives me hope for the future is the little actions. It can feel really challenging at times, but seeing the work of others like those featured in the Sustainability Spotlight, some random advancement in medicine or technology, or even a small act of kindness. All of those little actions I can see every day are measurable, and every little action I can do is too, and I know I’m not alone in doing it. If we all keep going and keep doing the little measurable things, it may just add up to be enough to change the world.
Did you know? Notre Dame has achieved a 48% carbon reduction (2005), continuing on the path to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Learn more about campus decarbonization by viewing our greenhouse gas emissions page.
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Originally published by at green.nd.edu on April 30, 2026.