After a long road trip from his former home in Florida, he and his wife Victoria rolled up to their new home outside of Sycamore in a red 2016 Honda Odyssey van carrying their three children, a cat, a dog and nine chickens, the latter all named after mystery writers and characters (think Nancy, Agatha and Tuppence).

“It was like something out of a Muppet movie with feathers flying out of the van,” Deitch said. “That’s my life.”

His life over the next few years won’t be any less exciting or demanding, as Deitch (pronounced dīCH) turns his attention to strengthening NICCS research collaborations and getting the new $23 million center built and equipped on the western edge of NIU’s campus. Construction is likely to begin in early 2026.

NICCS is part of the Illinois Innovation Network (IIN), a group of state-funded research and innovation hubs that are under development and aimed at driving economic growth in Illinois while addressing critical global issues. The NIU center will focus on water resources, environmental change and food-systems innovation.

A native of Matteson, IL, Deitch holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Planning from the University of California, Berkeley, as well as a master’s degree in forestry and natural resources and bachelor’s degree in chemistry.

He previously directed a hydrology program for a nonprofit environmental science firm. Most recently, he served as a faculty member at the University of Florida, where he taught classes, managed a lab, and mentored undergraduate and graduate students on topics focusing on water quality, stormwater management and climate adaptation. His research focuses on a broad range of water- and sustainability-themed issues.

The NIU Newsroom caught up with Deitch for a Q&A on his new role at the university.

What excites you most about your new position as NICCS director? I’m amazed by the broad perspectives of NIU faculty whose work relates to the three NICCS pillars—water, food and adaptation. Our sustainability challenges are complex. We’ll need the broad perspectives of people in the natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities, health fields, engineering and technology, education, business and the arts to fully address sustainability in meaningful ways. Building diverse partnerships to shape sustainability solutions is what I’m most excited about.

What are your top priorities as you get started? First, I need to learn more about faculty and their areas of interest, and I want to understand how faculty see their work connecting to NICCS. I also am learning about the sustainability challenges in northern Illinois. My experience has been that there are sustainability challenges everywhere, and resource managers are eager to talk about them.

How did you get involved in environmental work and research in the first place? Like a lot of people in this field, I’ve always felt a connection to the outdoors. But my interest in sustainability started after graduate school, when I worked on water issues with farmers and rural homeowners in northern California. I saw their interest in the environment and understood their concerns about water regulations, and together we collected data to inform new policies that explained how they could use water and still protect endangered salmon. Then in Florida, I worked with local government to find ways that green stormwater infrastructure could reduce chronic flooding. In both cases, I experienced firsthand how science could make peoples’ lives better.

Tell us a little bit about your background, and how it fits into your responsibilities with NICCS? I credit my background in teaching and my years in high school theater for my love of communicating science. Whether it’s with farmers at big growers’ meetings or in small groups at kitchen tables, I love sharing histories and perspectives on conservation. Also, I recently presented to a Chamber of Commerce group in Florida. We talked for a half hour about increased storm intensity and local impacts on small businesses. To me, sharing perspectives sets the foundation for long-term partnerships.

What is your vision for the center? My vision for NICCS is a robust program of externally supported activity to address sustainability challenges in northern Illinois and beyond. When our building is complete in a couple years, we’ll have lab and teaching spaces where faculty from different disciplines can teach to classes together, and where students can work on research projects. It will also be a place to showcase green building techniques and our region’s agricultural history, and to bring the community together for events.

How will students benefit from NICCS? NICCS will provide opportunities for students to connect with real-world environmental challenges and to approach those issues with a broad perspective. NIU is really interested in transdisciplinary research and teaching, which is a key theme of NICCS. I think a broad perspective is necessary to solve our sustainability challenges, and it will make our graduates better prepared to work on these issues.

NICCS-related research is already ongoing, correct? Right! NIU faculty are already working on research in groundwater quality, prairie restoration, climate dynamics, environmental communication, and microplastics in the environment. They’re designing everything from vegetable growing towers to EV batteries to food-based math curriculum. NIU faculty are already innovating in many projects, and my job is to help grow that research and expand partnerships across disciplines.

Media Contact: Tom Parisi

About NIU

Northern Illinois University is a student-centered, nationally recognized public research university, with expertise that benefits its region and spans the globe in a wide variety of fields, including the sciences, humanities, arts, business, engineering, education, health and law. Through its main campus in DeKalb, Illinois, and education centers for students and working professionals in Chicago, Naperville and Rockford, NIU offers more than 100 areas of study while serving a diverse and international student body.