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Project Updates for collection: Living Lab Facilities / Programs

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  3. Weekly Update: e-bike questions

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, I’m having more and more conversations with folks about e-bikes. One older woman I spoke with last week said the nearest place able to service her e-bike is in Springfield, IL. Anecdotally, folks don’t seem aware of just how big and dangerous e-bike batteries are from an insurance perspective and thus why bike shops can’t work on them. I see myself having a lot of similar conversations over the next few months…

    We’re hovering around 20 bikes on the sales floor, but we’ve got almost 20 kids’ bikes taking up real estate, too. Plan this week is to fix a dozen or so of those and move them along, hopefully to some of the groups/orgs we’ve worked with in the past.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 21
    Sales: $711.65
    Bikes (refurb): 1 for $400
    Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $60
    Memberships: 3 for $90
    Tires/tubes: 7 for $98

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  4. YMCA preparing for August Big Sale - F&S supporting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Dump and Run

    From: Marc Alexander <marc@universityymca.org>
    Sent: Tuesday, July 11, 2023 1:05 PM
    To: Hulse, Daphne Lauren <dlhulse2@illinois.edu>
    Cc: White, Morgan <mbwhite@illinois.edu>
    Subject: D&R August Work Order

     

    Hi Daphne,

     

    At our last meeting we had discussed F&S continuing to support a couple of the hard costs for the August portion of D&R, soecifically the tables and dumpster. I wanted to reach out to make sure we were on schedule for both of those work orders. For your reference I have attached last year's work order, which I think just needs to be updated with the dates and times for this year. I've listed those changes below.

     

    Additionally, I should have marketing materials for collections and the sale ready by the end of this week, that can be shared with Housing and any other campus units.

     

    Thank you, and let me know if you have any questions!

     

    -Marc

     

    Work Order Changes:

     

    Tables :

    • DROP OFF: Change to MONDAY, 7/31/2023 by 9 AM to the SOUTH SIDE ENTRANCE
    • PICK UP: change to MONDAY, 8/21/23 IN THE AM

    20' pan/dumpster:

    • ON SUNDAY, 8/20/23 IN THE PM (by 3PM), DELIVER A (20) YARD PAN TO THE WEST ENTRANCE OF THE STOCK PAVILION FOR THE "DUMP & RUN" EVENT. PICKUP FOR RETURN ON TUESDAY, 8/22/23 IN THE AM

  5. Meeting with Jake

    Associated Project(s): 
    2024 Campus Bike Plan
    Campus Bike Center

    Sarthak and Hrushikesh had a meeting with Jake about improvements in the resources available on campus for bicycle and pedestrian friendly access.

    Notes from Meeting:

    - Total 9 Bike Repair Stations, including 5 new Locations namely Grainger Library, Foellinger Auditorium, Smith Hall, Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), and  Loomis Laboratory Of Physics

    - Giveaways/Incentives for students that visit the Campus Bike Center or during any event related to Bicycles.

    - Events such as Learn to Ride, Light the Night, Bike Classes (Fix a Flat), 

    - October can have a few events as it is the month of Sustainability.

    Discussion on Bike Plan 2024

    - Bike Audit (can be held in Fall): 

    The Audit will cover: 1) Connection of Bike Network within the Campus and the Community

                                     2) Condition Assessment of Bike paths and lanes

                                     3) Bike Racks (Only with Campus Limit)

     

  6. Met with Habitat for Humanity ReStore

    Associated Project(s): 
    Dump and Run

    On July 7, 2023, Daphne Hulse met with Habitat for Humanity ReStore Director Chad Hoffman and Executive Director Brandon Fischer to discuss participating in the 2024 collection event.

    • Daphne gave a brief overview of the history, and how the operations worked for the 2023 event
      • 8 undergraduate hall locations
      • All locations were shared between Goodwill and Salt & Light, so that hard items and soft items could be separated
      • Daphne indicated the desire to eliminate the "sharing" of containers and to instead have non-profts operate by locations, gathering all that is dropped off
    • Habitat for Humanity does not take any of the soft items listed: clothing, bedding, linens, shoes
      • Suggested that Salt & Light or Goodwill could pick up the soft items left at these locations
    • Would like furniture
      • Agree that it aligns better to target locations which would have furniture, more likely (family and graduate housing)
      • Do not want any damaged furniture
    • Closed Sundays and Mondays, so could not pick up on these days

  8. Status Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Geothermal at the Campus Instructional Facility (CIF)

    The following is an email conversation between Morgan White, Ahmed Hassan, and Johnathan Hasselbring.

    On Jul 6, 2023 Morgan sent the following:

    Hi Ahmed,

    Thanks for sending another email!  I meant to get back to you earlier, so thanks for the additional note.

    Jon, can you provide information to Ahmed about the current status of the geothermal system at CIF, or connect him with the appropriate people?

    Ahmed, please use this info to request the energy data access:

    The Energy Billing System (EBS) is a web-based software application that offers utility cost and consumption by month, building, and meter. It allows users to view current and historic information, compare buildings, and see trends over time. It requires Blue-Stem authorization and users must request access from F&S.

    Thanks!

    Morgan

    ------------

    Dear Morgan, 

    Thank you very much for the prompt response. Your contribution is highly appreciated. 

    Best Regards 

    Ahmed 

    -------------

    Hi Ahmed,

    The geothermal system is in operation and coupled with a heat recovery chiller and radiant heating panels.

    Geothermal provides about 75% of the heating and cooling needs for the building, with the heat recovery chiller and radiant panels supplementing the remaining 25%.

    Please let me know what questions you might have, and I will gladly connect you with more members of the team.

    Thanks,

    Jon

  10. Weekly Update: Bike Repair Stations, Parade for 4th of July

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Last week was the TBP member meeting, which I attended. A new bike fix-it station/pump was installed here at the Bike Center, as well. It is much more compact than the previous iteration and the pump is much more robust; hopefully, it’ll provide years of trouble-free service.

    Tomorrow is the 4th of July and Champaign County Bikes will be riding bikes in the parade, so I’ll mention that to folks today. Otherwise, looks to be a slow week.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 23
    Sales: $798.50
    Bikes (refurb): 1 for $140
    Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $60
    Memberships: 6 for $180
    Tires/tubes: 6 for $54

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  15. Weekly update: Donations, Illini4K

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Pretty chill week overall. Great weather but not very busy. Got some donations from Champaign Cycle last Tuesday.

    One student worker that just graduated did a bike trip down the western border of Illinois last week and is headed to Iceland for another biking trip tomorrow. He bike-commutes and also did I4K. Great to see folks explore all the different ways to have fun with a bike.

    Another student worker is scaling back here as they were offered more hours at Champaign Cycle. Always good to see staff move on to bigger and better things.

    Thanks to Todd for grabbing scrap over the long weekend.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 28
    Sales: $904.42
    Bikes (refurb): 2 for $360
    Memberships: 9 for $270
    Tire/tubes: 7 for $44

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  16. EV support call with Phil Krein

    Associated Project(s): 
    Install Public Use Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Stations
    Electric Vehicle (EV) Task Force

    Sarthak and Morgan met with Phil Krein to talk about the EV charging support on campus. See attached the powerpoint slides that Phil shared. Following are some talking points:

    • Include Phil Krein to the EV steering committee meeting
    • Type-1 chargers – cheap and better for our campus needs
    • Schedule a meeting with only Maria, MW, and Stacey
    • Morgan will talk to Lowa about why Parking prefers Level-2 chargers
    • Talk to Utilities, which parking infrastructure is the healthiest to support the level-1 chargers and then talk to SSC if we can pilot it.

    See the meeting recording here: https://uofi.box.com/s/o462lbl362rpw9p7jvoet8cmqsgxf7x6

  18. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Feast or famine over here last week. Beginning of the week we were slammed but slow n’ steady by Friday. TBP held their Members’ Meeting last Monday and I attended. Got a unicycle donated as well as a handful of bikes, including some kids bikes.

    Spent 15 minutes on the phone with a gentleman from a rural town outside Bloomington, IL looking for a bike. Really speaks to the need that we’re getting interest from an hour plus drive away. Or maybe my hyper-local bike-only travel mindset makes that distance seem more unreasonable than it is…

    I was a bit more diligent this past week about tracking non-university visits to better reflect how many folks we’re helping.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 33
    Sales: $1,285.17
    Bikes: 3 for $540
    Membership: 7 for $210
    Tires/tubes: 16 for $166.00

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  19. Green Research Committe 3rd meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Green Research Committee
    Green Lab Program

    June 6, 2023 Green Research Committee Meeting 3

    Present: Shari Effert-Fanta, Paul Foote, Jennifer Fraterrigo, Stephanie Hess, Daphne Hulse, Tim Mies, Lisa Moore, Jeremy Neighbors, Chad Stevens, Sabrina Summers

    Absent: Mitchell Bryant, Maisie Kingren, Morgan White

    Charge 1

    • Consolidated information document, provided by Jeremy
      • Walkthrough the document
      • We should be aiming to staff a Green Research Director
        • And then staff underneath the director
          • Could be student workers or full-time employees
      • Short term goals
      • Long term goals
    • Chemical inventory - Stephanie
      • Central inventory funded by campus
      • Stuck out to Susan Martinis as an opportunity worth exploring
    • Engagement role out - Jen
      • Integrate it with the annual lab meetings with DRS staff to ensure safety compliance
        • A great point in time to evaluate opportunities with sustainability each year
        • Allows opportunity for face time with green research. Especially considering how busy PIs are
      • Lab audits - Stephanie
        • Are already quite long - DRS has a year-long timeline to get these done
        • Can sprinkle in sustainability opportunities here and can combine safety and sustainability (shut the sash)
      • Lunch & Learns are great in theory but maybe are not going to show strong attendance in practice
    • Where does this green research live? What does it tie into? - Jeremy
      • OVCRI, iSEE?
      • October timeline is best according to Susan, Madhu, and Ehab because spring is when budgeting takes place. Allows them to go and ask for funding
      • Extension is possible but the timeline for budgeting is improved if we can get it in by October
      • Chem inventory is digestible as we can save a lot of money if chemicals are better managed
        • Burden would be on the researchers to manage what comes in and out
        • Could argue for a person to do this, but Stephanie thinks it is more wise to ask campus to pursue purchasing a software and then researchers input the information
        • DRS does not have staffing or funds currently to do such a program
    • Funding Inventory software - Stephanie shared document

    Charge 2

    • Comprehensive certification program - Paul
      • My Green Lab already has an existing certification program
        • Flat rate for certifying a bulk number of labs (at Vancouver University, 50 labs certified for $10,000).
        • 160-170 topics that are over viewed
        • On a sliding scale (3 tiers)
        • Do a first round assessment and then come back in 6-12 months to reassess
        • Right now it does not extend beyond labs - not fieldwork or farms
          • Could still apply a lot of the stuff but we may need to do our own version of it for our labs
        • Need to be careful of the line between green labs and green research
          • Some labs are disadvantaged by the building itself
          • Want to be careful of not handcuffing researchers to achieve sustainability; they are doing important work
          • Think about behavior-based (recycling) rather than mechanical-based opportunities
        • Rewarding labs based on safety, too
          • Some only work with ethanol
          • Some work with 8,000 chemicals
          • May not be able to be audit-based for this reason
      • Could create our own that is more robust and custom to what we do at the university
      • Chad thinks the chemical inventory could tie into this portion well. Forcing the labs to take a look at what chemicals they have before purchasing more (if they are above the fire safety limit)
      • In Paul’s observations, PIs that are not included in the creation/design process mean very few labs will actually sign up
      • Opportunities to reward many:
        • Most occupant engaged building
        • Most improved building
        • Most energy saved building

    Charge 3

    • Really a facilities question, Tim is thinking.
    • Not on the researcher to be responsible for that
    • Funds are already strapped
    • Charge 3 is about how we prioritize funding for these.
    • Where do transportation costs fall?
      • Behavior-based changes like with carpooling
      • Cutting down airfare (zoom meetings)
      • Transportation of presenting research
        • Incentivize behaviors)
      • Electric vehicles
        • F&S sustainable transportation is tackling this topic currently - electric vehicles within the university fleet
        • Increasing charging infrastructure on campus
        • Figuring out how labs fit into this

    Homework

    • Leave comments and suggestions on the two documents presented today

     

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