The Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Susan Martinis, the Interim Vice Chancellor for Administration and Operations Lowa Mwilambwe, the Associate Vice Chancellor and Executive Director of Facilities & Services Jeff Angiel, the Director of the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Madhu Khanna, and the iSEE Associate Director for Campus Sustainability Jennifer Fraterrigo met on May 15, 2025 to discuss the status of the Green Research program and the staffing request.

While everyone agreed that the program and coordinator position are important, the group felt that the timing is not right to ask for a new position given the current economic climate and impending budget recission for F&S. The VCRI suggested we brief the Sustainability Council next fall to inform Provost Coleman and the future chancellor about this effort. Everyone deeply appreciates the committee’s work on this topic and remains enthusiastic about implementing the program once we are in a better financial position. 

School of Art and Design Re-Fashioned Fashion Show

The annual School of Art and Design fashion show is back! Re-Fashioned will be presented at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 10, in the Siebel Center. Admission is free. Students from the Studio Arts Fashion Concentration will be presenting over 100 one-of-a-kind ensembles. Wearable works of art walk the runway, combining sustainability and creativity in a fun event for the whole family. 

Friday was a busy day. First up was the quad event, which despite the rainy weather earlier in the day, ended up being a dry time and quite popular. We’ve had 2 – 3 people come by CBC after having been at the Quad event, so it’s definitely getting some new folks aware of our space. Our open hours were not crazy busy on the bike side of things, but our gear rental partners were positively slammed, which created some logjams at the entrance—nothing we couldn’t handle!

This week we have our last Instructional Class of the semester, and unfortunately the lead staffer for that program is graduating. Replicating that staffer’s expertise and enthusiasm for the work will be a tall order.

Tonight is the Bike Project Members’ Meeting, which I’ll be attending.

Warm weather this week, so we’ll likely be busy.

The numbers:

Visitors: 60
Sales: $1,005.25
Memberships: 9 for $270
Bikes (refurb): 2 for $360
Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $50
Tires/tubes: 14 for $111

Last week was decidedly unbusy, surprisingly! Easter weekend made for a quieter Friday.

We have two new student staff joining us this week or next. Should have a couple weeks to train them up before they forget everything over the summer. Summer learning loss isn’t just for book-learning!

Warmer weather this week should bump our visit numbers. Tomorrow is a bike light giveaway, which we’ll mention to folks who come in today. Elsewhere, still turning out the bikes and hovering around 20 fixed up and ready for sale.

The numbers:
Visitors: 65
Sales: $405.50
Memberships: 5 for $150
Tires/tubes: 10 for $83

March 2025 photos of the Florida Orchard Prairie have been added to the box folder.

This month, the Land and Water team had their monthly meeting on Friday, April 4, at 9:00 am on a Teams video call. Linked below is the meeting agenda with the meeting notes from what the team discussed. Additionally, a recording of the meeting is linked in the agenda. 

Things are picking up and to meet demand, we’ll work on getting some more bikes for sale. We did have nice 3 speed Build-a-Bike finished this week. 

Hoped to have a few more bikes done this last week but all of the ones I safety checked failed and then some—damaged wheels/broken components—but such is the plight of repairing old bikes. 

Tonight is the Bike Project Monthly Members Meeting. 

This week is our first Bike Center on the Quad Day. Fingers crossed for good weather and a good turnout!

The numbers:

Visitors: 59
Sales: $328
Bikes (refurb): 1 for $150
Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $50
Memberships: 2 for $60
Tires/tubes: 5 for $24
 

We were closed last week for Spring Break. Used the quiet time to crank out a few more bikes. We’re hovering around double digits in the for-sale department. With the final batch of bikes out of the barn, I’ll be able to do an earnest inventory and have my staff sort bikes between For Sale/B-a-Bs. A little clarity in that realm will hopefully elp move bikes along a little quicker.

This week we will resume being open Mon – Fri.

The following numbers are from 3/10 - 3/14:

Visitors: 64
Sales: $1,196.15
Bikes (refurb): 3 for $650
Memberships: 10 for $300
Tires/tubes:  10 for $60.75

Safety and Efficiency in Fume Hood Selection

Laboratory fume hoods are critical in protecting laboratory personnel from chemical exposure; however, fume hoods may also be the largest energy consumers in a research university campus. The Grainger College of Engineering Office of Safety invites campus facilities, safety and laboratory personnel to an in-depth presentation on the latest developments in fume hood technologies, and how to leverage them to create the safest and most energy-efficient laboratories. More details and the registration link can be found at: https://emails.illinois.edu/newsletter/30/871793530.html

March 27, 12–1 pm • 3002 Electrical and Computer Engineering Building

Edward Chainani • Grainger College of Engineering