Perhaps more than many other industries, today's universities and colleges are beset by dramatically rising costs on every front. One of the areas where overhead can be contained or reduced is in the operation of the chilled water systems that support air conditioning throughout college campuses, specifically the cooling towers. Like many institutional, office, and processing facilities, some colleges and universities are upgrading their cooling towers from the outmoded designs constructed with galvanized steel-sheeted shells, to the more advanced models that are based on shells constructed of engineered plastics. These newer designs, particularly those constructed with seamless, HDPE (high-density polyethylene) shells, require much less maintenance, are more energy efficient, and often virtually eliminate costly downtime. In a recent case, Indiana State University (ISU) began installing the engineered plastic cooling towers at its 190-acre main campus located near the center of Terre Haute in west-central Indiana. Mark J. Pupilli, ISU building and facilities manager, said the towers that have been installed are working painlessly.