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  1. University Landholdings in CU/new construction in next 2 years

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bee Campus USA
    Sustainable Landscapes Plan

    I'm doing some work with the USFWS on an urban pollinator habitat project and have a couple questions I'm hoping F&S can help me with (or send me in the right direction.)

    1. Do we have an accurate map or GIS layer of current UIUC landholdings (including properties connected to the south farms, etc). I've been able to locate some very low-quality, generalized maps but nothing that is either current or very detailed.
    2. Is there a way for me to find out where on campus there will be construction/renovation projects that will occur in the next 2-3 years?

    Thanks,

     

    BRODIE DUNN

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

    Beth, are you able to assist with item 1 in the below email from Brodie regarding obtaining a map or GIS file of UIUC properties?

     

    Morgan, are you able to assist with item 2 in the below email from Brodie regarding upcoming capital projects?

     

    Thanks,

    James Scherer

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

    Helo Brodie,

     

    I’m connecting you with the University Landscape Architect, Brent Lewis.  He can assist with your inquiry about upcoming construction projects, and it is important to include him in any plans you want to pursue regarding additional plantings on university land.

     

    Thanks,

    Morgan

     

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

    Morgan and Brent,

     

    Rest assured I haven't made any promises regarding plantings on campus (and would reach out to you both before doing so.) 

     

    The primary program partner is the City of Champaign, which I am currently in discussions with. If the project does go through, it'll target underserved neighborhoods with pollinator conservation measures meant to protect/conserve the Rusty Patch Bumble Bee, an endangered species. It is a great opportunity and beside doing the coordination for the project with municipal partners, i'm doing my best to ensure we've got the option to physically participate in the program even if the lands we might have available are outside the model's ideal range.

     

    Brent - If we have any construction projects happening in the next two years that include major changes in landscaping, especially on the north side of campus, it would be good to hear about those. Participating in the program might end up being as simple as swapping out a few species on the planting list and doing so might give us the opportunity to be a part of a very innovative Endangered Species recovery plan.

     

    Thanks,

     

    BRODIE DUNN

  2. Bike Facilities Standard

    Associated Project(s): 
    2014 Campus Bike Plan [ARCHIVED]
    2024 Campus Bike Plan
    Encourage Bicycle Use

    Hi Stacey and Morgan,

     

    Please see attached the facilities standard for Streets, Driveway, Sidewalk, and Bicycle Network. This standard was just updated in August 2023, but the point about Campus Bike Plan has been in place since at least the last standard update.

     

    Bicycle Network: Bicycle path facilities shall be constructed according to the Campus Bicycle Plan, available through F&S Transportation Demand Management and also available at: 2014 Campus Bicycle Plan. All new bicycle paths shall be a connected part of the campus bicycle network as well as the community bicycle networks, and shall follow the Champaign County Greenways and Trails Design Guidelines, developed by CUUATS.

     

    Bicycle Paths: Bicycle paths shall use design geometry, striping, symbols, and signage as described in the 2014 Campus Bicycle Plan.

     

    Thank you,
    Sarthak

    Attached Files: 

  3. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Made some headway on the abandoned bikes and already have six on the sales floor. We tabled at the Green Quad Day last week as well. This week I’ll work on tallying inventory--and the marketing/publicity—for the Kids Bike Giveaway as well as getting regular bikes up for sale.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 47
    Sales: $862
    Build-a-Bike: 1 for $40

    Memberships: 14 for $420

    Tire/tubes: 17 for $131

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Coordinator -- Campus Bike Center

  4. BFU award notification

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bicycle Friendly University Status

    Dear Sarthak,

    Thank you again for applying to the League of American Bicyclists' Bicycle Friendly University (BFU) program! After careful review of your 2023 application, and in consultation with local cyclists and advocates, I am pleased to inform you that University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is awarded a Silver BFU designation. Congratulations!  You should take great pride in the bicycle friendly campus you have created for your students, employees, and visitors!

    The official announcement of the 2023 BFU Awards will be made next Thursday, October 26, through the distribution of a national press release and online at www.bikeleague.org. We appreciate you keeping the news of your award private until then so that we may have a more effective and impacting message. We hope that you too will announce your designation on October 26th. 

    Included below are links to an announcement toolkit for your use, along with the 2023-2027 Silver BFU award seals. 

    2023 BFU Award Announcement Toolkit:  https://bit.ly/BFU_2023_AnnouncementToolkit

    2023-2027 Silver BFU Award Seal image files:  https://bit.ly/BFU_Silver_2023

    We love to showcase our new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Universities on the League's blog and social media platforms! To help us highlight your campus as a Bicycle Friendly University, we invite you to submit photos and quotes about bicycling on your campus through our BFU Story Form!

    In the coming weeks, detailed feedback on your application will be sent via email and you will receive a Bicycle Friendly University award letter and certificate in the mail. If you would like to order additional materials to promote your BFU designation, please visit our online store here.

    Your award designation is good for four years, through 2027, after which time you will be reminded to renew. You are welcome to renew before then if your campus makes considerable improvements and would like to be considered for a higher designation.

    Congratulations again on your efforts, and I look forward to our continued work!

    Best,

    Amelia Neptune
    Director, Bicycle Friendly America
    League of American Bicyclists

  5. Interview request: Freezer Challenge Award Article

    Associated Project(s): 
    Freezer Challenge

    Hello Paul,

     

    Congratulations on your 2023 Freezer Challenge award! My name is Rachel, I'm a writer for Lab Manager, and I am working with My Green Lab on an article featuring this year's winners. (You can view last year's article here.)

     

    You previously indicated you would like to participate in an interview for the article. If that is still the case, I invite you to reply to this email with answers to the questions listed below by Monday, October 23rd. If you think you will need more time for review or would prefer to respond to the questions in a call, please let me know. 

     

    For this year's article, we are focusing content around the themes of leadership, empowerment, cultural change, and community engagement. In particular, we're exploring how organizational strategies for the first two can drive and be driven by shifts in the latter two as they pertain to sustainability goals and from the perspective of the Freezer Challenge. The questions below are a starting point, please feel free to skip over questions you would prefer not to answer or add additional comments you believe are relevant. 

    1. In an environment where resources are usually limited, how did you motivate and lead your labs/teams to prioritize and achieve sustainability goals in the lab?
    2. How have the successes from the freezer challenge spilled over into other areas of your university, creating a broader sense of community around sustainability?
    3. Do you think your participation in and winning of the Freezer Challenge has prompted leadership at your university to set more ambitious resource-reduction targets or strengthened investment in laboratory sustainability efforts?
    4. Is there anything else you’d like to share with us about how your university approached the Freezer Challenge this year or its overall impact?

    Once the article is drafted, you will have an opportunity to review the relevant content for accuracy. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to hearing from you.

     

    Thank you very much,

     

    Rachel

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

    Hello Madhu,

    The interview questions in the thread below ask for leadership perspectives, and I am wondering if you would be willing to say a few words for this article to be published in Lab Manager Journal?

     

    Specifically:

    #2- Our campus has a widespread sense of community around sustainability and the freezer challenge uniquely demonstrates how efficient sample-management reduces green-house gas emissions, optimizes cold storage space      utilization, and increases equipment longevity while providing significant energy savings across campus. These successful impacts place potential opportunities under the microscope for researchers to take a closer look at other environmentally friendly changes are available in their labs.

     

    #3- The University of Illinois Urbana Champaign’s ability to continually place among the top performing academic institutions reflects support from a large number of researchers and commitment to sustainable sample management. 

    You could mention the green research committee and the charge you, Dr. Martinis and Ehab have put in place and what sustainable labs may look like in the near future?


    #4 – Do you have a perspective on the overall impact of the success we have had with the freezer Challenge?

    OR

    Please feel free to respond to the questions below and forward them to me at your convenience before Oct 23rd.

     

    Thank you 

    Paul Foote

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

    Hello Madhu,

    I am just sending this as a reminder, if you would like to respond?

     

    Best

    Paul Foote

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

    Hi Paul

    Yes I would be happy to send you a quote by the 23rd.

    Best

    Madhu

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

    Terrific, thank you!

     

    Best

    Paul Foote

  7. RE: Hello + Request

    Associated Project(s): 
    Computers and Technology
    Use Clean Power

    Dear Morgan

     

    I hope that you are doing well!

    I also hope that my request below are not presumptuous, but … 😊

     

    1. From August I will be directing the College of Engineering Master’s program in Energy Systems. A you know, this is an interdepartmental program attracting students from across the board (electrical, civil, chemical, nuclear, mechanical, agricultural, computer, …). Part of the program expects students to work on real industry problems, either via an internship or by solving a client’s energy-related problems and communicating designs/solutions with clients. In Fall we have around 25 master’s students but that number will soon double.
      It will be a privilege if our students could perhaps work on F&S energy-related projects. I know that Rizwan Uddin and John Abelson previously had some students work on project for F&S, and for which our students managed to secure some SSC funds. I was hoping that would again be possible. Please can you indicate if you might have any immediate needs for our master’s students to assist F&S with any energy-related design/redesign work? It would be a privilege if they could benefit from such a “real-world” experience.
    2. Andre Nel will again visit UIUC and he would love to again meet with you, please! He arrives here around noon on August 16 and leaves around 4 p.m. of the 17th. Is there perhaps any chance that he could again exchange ideas with you? Andre has brought about some interesting changes at the University of Johannesburg, including a 2-MW PV canopy located on parking areas. South Africa has immense electricity supply problems and you can imagine that running a campus with up to 11 hours of blackouts every day is exceedingly challenging. He has also purchased who-knows-how-many massive diesel generators to cope with blackouts. Totally unsustainable but it does the job for the time being.
      Please can you indicate if you might perhaps be able to meet for lunch at Houlihan’s on August 16th (around 1 p.m.)? Or, if you prefer, Andre could meet you at F&S or at iSEE. (I have also written to Madhu as Andre would like to also meet her.)   

     

    Thank you in advance for your attention to my requests.
    I look forward to hearing from you!

    Kind regards
    Leon

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

     

     

    Hi Leon,

     

    Thanks for reaching out and congrats on becoming the point person for the Masters of Energy Systems!

     

    I'm adding Rob Roman here, so he can help connect your students with energy focused projects in Utilities and Energy Services (UES). Rob is the director of UES, and he is highly engaged with and supportive of the iCAP efforts.  Can you extend the lunch invite to him as well?

     

    I will also pull together a few project ideas for your students. Can you remind me what the timeframe is for their projects?

     

    For lunch, I'll need to reschedule something to be able to join you, so let me confirm next week.  It would be great to hear of the changes Andres has implemented and share some of our new projects as well. 

     

    Thanks!

    Morgan 

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

    Good afternoon Morgan, Rob

     

    Thank you for your lightning-quick and positive response, and for introducing me to Rob! Rob, I look forward to collaborating with you.

    • The “professional development” part of the M.Eng. (Energy Systems) degree comprises a 4-credit-hour project that can be taken in the Fall or Spring semester. (I believe that some students have also done this in summer, although UIUC faculty have to be available to act as advisors if that were to happen.) Students usually work alone on topics but they could also be given teamwork if the task demands that.

    Where required, our students will also apply for SSC funding for your projects. But, as you know, our students are only here for a year (or perhaps 18 months) so there is only a slight chance that they might be able to participate in the projects for which they will be seeking SSC funding.

    • I appreciate your positive response regarding potentially meeting with Andre! Apologies for the schlep regarding rescheduling your other appointment. Many thanks though for all your efforts. If you cannot reschedule that meeting, I think that Andre will have some time available on the 17th before his meeting with Karl Gnadt at the MTD --- Karl however must still confirm meeting times, etc. I therefore hope that you will indeed be able to accommodate Andre on the 16th, together with Madhu.

    Looking forward to your further communication and wishing you the best
    Leon

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

     

    Hi Leon,

     

    I hope you are well!  I’m looking at older emails, and I am worried I dropped the ball on this.  Are you still looking for something from me?

     

    Thanks!

    Morgan

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

     

    Good morning Morgan

     

    Great to hear from you 😊.

    Thanks for your follow-up.
    I attended one of Rob Roman’s meetings with his Assoc. Directors --- and they enthusiastically responded with some excellent project recommendations. I summarize the main suggestions below this email.

     

    If you have any (additional) energy projects that you’d like to recommend for 2024, that would be super. Thank you in advance! I greatly appreciate your support and advice.

    Best wishes,

    Leon

     

    SUMMARY OF SUGGESTION FROM ROB ROMAN’S TEAM:

     

    1. Protection of our campus energy systems infrastructure from physical and cyber threats. Potential targets across campus include: Abbott Power Plant; electrical sub-stations, distribution center, and load centers; steam tunnels; high-pressure gas piping; domestic water piping system; chiller plants; storm sewer system; etc. We have had an increased frequency of malicious events across the country in recent times and this topic has been trending.
    2. Promoting, marketing, and selling a campus approach to investing in retro-commissioning and control system modernization/optimization. The University of Illinois F&S teams in UES have saved millions of dollars over many years by dedicating staff and financial resources in these areas. This type of project could give students the opportunity to learn the value of a career path in technical sales and the types of companies that utilize these type of staff members. A focus on developing high-level communication skills and strategic sales skills in conjunction with engineering education can be a lucrative path for some students.     
    3. Cost and Environmental Comparison of Fossil Fuels Cogen Plant with Renewable Energy Plant: This project would involve a comprehensive study of providing 100 MW of FIRM (24-7-365) from a plant fired by a fossil fuel fired co-gen plant as compared to a plant that is 100% renewable. I would recommend that for the cogen plant the project focus on a Gas Turbine/HRSG combination that is natural gas fired, and that for the renewable energy plant the project focus on solar/wind as the generation source with the storage required to provide the 24-7-365 reliability from 100 MW. The storage will likely need to be provided by batteries. Incentives/rebates can be considered and used to develop a “current cost” comparison, but I would recommend that a fully loaded cost be included so that there is an apples to apples comparison. Would recommend that the total carbon footprint of each project also be considered.
    4. Chiller Plant Optimization: The University is in the process of developing an optimization model/system for the chilled water system. This model will monitor the system demand as well as the performance of the major pieces of equipment at each of the plants, and optimize the operation of the major pieces of equipment to increase the efficiency (lower the energy usage) of the overall system. This project would involve working with the contractor and controls engineer at UES to understand what does into developing the model, what are the keys aspects of optimizing the system/plants, and perhaps assisting with certain facets of the project. We would need to discuss this project with the company performing the optimization to insure they are agreeable to working with the students.
    5. Solar Farm 2.0 Operator Project: The operator of Solar Farm 2.0 committed to partnering with the university on education as it relates to solar power. If a student were particularly interested in a solar power project, we could setup a conversation with Sol Systems to inquire if there was something in particular they would work with a master student on. They are helping with an undergraduate sustainability class, so I am assuming they would be interested in working with a masters student, but I don’t have a specific project in mind at this time.
    6. Grid Reliability based on Increase Integration of Renewables into the Grid: Grid stability and reliability has been and will continue to be impacted significantly by the integration of more and more intermittent generation sources into the grid. This project would largely be research based to understand the nature of the issues that are being created, perhaps identifying the tipping point at which the % of intermittent resources will result in problems, and most importantly identify the steps that need to be taken to alleviate these issues.
    7. Power Plant Projects: Mike Larson did not have anything specific in mind but would be willing to generate a suitable topic based on student interest in this area.
    8. Study on Geothermal Use in Large Institutional Buildings at UIUC: We have investigated the use of geothermal on both large and smaller buildings on campus, and have not yet found compelling evidence the geothermal is a great option on our campus. This project would research the technology, it’s uses and applications, and the practicality of using it on our campus. The project could investigate large institutional projects that have included geothermal (Ball State and EPIC in Madison Wisconsin are two that come to mind), and assessing their viability on the UIUC campus.    
    9. Protection of our campus energy systems infrastructure from physical and cyber threats. Potential targets across campus include: Abbott Power Plant; electrical sub-stations, distribution center, and load centers; steam tunnels; high-pressure gas piping; domestic water piping system; chiller plants; storm sewer system; etc. We have had an increased frequency of malicious events across the country in recent times and this topic has been trending.
    10. Promoting, marketing, and selling a campus approach to investing in retro-commissioning and control system modernization/optimization. The University of Illinois F&S teams in UES have saved millions of dollars over many years by dedicating staff and financial resources in these areas. This type of project could give students the opportunity to learn the value of a career path in technical sales and the types of companies that utilize these type of staff members. A focus on developing high-level communication skills and strategic sales skills in conjunction with engineering education can be a lucrative path for some students.

  11. RE: Enerdrape design and installation

    Associated Project(s): 
    Steam System Maintenance
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

     

    Hi Mark,

     

    I am going to assign an SSC project to you as the PM to take it through design and construction.  The construction can be done through Contractor Services, so this would normally go to a Planner.  However, it will be in an existing Steam Tunnel, so it is very much a UES project, and will need to have coordination with Frank C. and Mike L.  Some older emails about this project are attached here, and I’ll get it set up in FCPweb today.

     

    Thanks,

    Morgan

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

    Hi Morgan.  I have a few questions.  So The Dept. of Mechanical Engineering (Aman Mehta) requested funds from SSC for these panels?  And the only reason Utilities is involved is because these will be their steam tunnels?  I’m not familiar with SSC projects.

     

    Also, I’m not optimistic about hiring a PSC for $10,000 (the amount listed in their info)..  Especially if the participation goals are to be met.  I assume this will be a RWO or do you know if Enerdrape provides those services for their panels?


    Will our office’s role be similar to some of the smaller natural gas projects I’ve done?  Will there PM Fees?  C&I Fees?

     

    Thanks.

  14. 70/80 building dashboards complete!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Dashboard Project

    Currently, 70 of the first 80 building dashboards are complete, which represents 92% of the University's energy consumption. Many of the dashboards are visible on building video displays for all building occupants to view. They continue to vet the data streams and will add more dashboards as they continue our efforts in the future. We contract Hawkeye Energy Solutions to develop and maintain the dashboards.

  16. Project Update - Meadow at Orchard Downs

    Associated Project(s): 
    Meadow at Orchard Downs

     

    This project is in progress, with the primary challenge being the insufficient number of participants to maintain the meadow. One proposed solution under consideration is to engage students through fieldwork.

    There is a prospect for collaboration between the iCAP Education and iCAP Land and Water teams to develop a course that would involve students in the maintenance of the meadow.

  18. Real time Energy Displays

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Dashboard Project

    Hello Morgan & Jennifer.

    Matt Rundquist (CCed) and I are looking at developing real-time energy dashboards for campus transparency at the request of the VCAS.

    Can you share if/how that project is going at UIUC?  I googled around a bit but most of the content seems a bit outdated…

    Energy Dashboard Project (Ongoing) | iCAP Portal | University of Illinois

     

    Any thing you can share is helpful and happy to jump on a call if that’s faster.

     

    Thanks for your help.

     

    Andy Mitchell

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

    Rob,

     

    Colleagues at UIC are interested in UIUC’s Energy Dashboard Project. However, the information on the dashboard stops at FY14 and the links to the building-level information are broken. I see a lot of value in this project for campus. Is there any way to reinvigorate the project and update the content?

     

    Let me know if there is something iSEE can do to help.

     

    Thank you,

    Jennifer

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

    Hello Jennifer,

     

    Thanks for reaching out to UES on this topic. I am glad to hear that people have an interest in the UIUC energy dashboards. Our team has done a great job on this initiative, and we are leading the efforts amongst our peers. In fact, UIUC and vendor staff  will be presenting this topic at the International District Energy Association Campus Energy Conference this February. We am quite proud of the success we have achieved in this area.

     

    In reference to the UIC system, I actually had worked on developing energy dashboards at UIC when I was the Director of UES there. We had some success, but the product was a bit difficult to maintain. I believe that support for those UIC dashboards has ended.

     

    After receiving your email, I reached out to the Engineering/Consultant firm that I worked with to develop dashboards for both UIC and UIUC. Aaron Mason from Hawkeye Energy Solutions (Shorewood, IL) informed me that the platform that they are using at UIUC is a “much better, lightweight, and responsive” then the solution that was originally used at UIC. The underlying data streams at both campuses are similar, so the development of dashboards for UIC should be relatively easy.

     

    Regarding the link that was provided for the UIUC dashboards; that link is actually an old link that is no longer supported. Please use this link to view the new dashboards at UIUC: http://uesdash.fs.illinois.edu/ . This system does not require a login, and is easy to navigate. We currently have 70 of the first 80 building dashboards completed, which represents 92% of the University energy consumption. Many of the dashboards are visible at building video displays for all building occupants to view. We continue to vet the data streams and will add more dashboards as we continue our efforts into the future.

     

    To help you and Andy resolve any questions, I am including the following people on the cc so that you can reach out to them directly if it helps you in your efforts.

    • Cedric Everett – Assistant Director of Utilities and Energy Services at UIC (Can help you navigate the energy data at UIC, as well as contracting with Hawkeye Energy Solutions).
    • Aaron Mason – Director of Operations, Hawkeye Energy Solutions (Can assist with the technical background of a dashboard solution).
    • Robbie Bauer – Management Engineer Utilities Distribution UIUC (Is the lead engineer at UIUC for development and implementation of energy dashboards).

     

    Hopefully this answers your questions. If not, please don’t hesitate to contact me for more information. We welcome the opportunity to work together.

     

    Thanks,
    Rob

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

    Hi Rob,

     

    Thanks so much for this information and for reaching out to your colleague at Hawkeye Energy Solutions. I’m pleased to see that this project is going strong!

     

    If it’s ok with you, I would like to update the iCAP portal with this information, especially the URL for the new dashboards.

     

    Andy, if there is anything else we can help with, please let use know.

     

    Jennifer

  20. Land & Water iCAP Team October 2023 Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Meadow at Orchard Downs
    Plantings at Dorner Drive Retention Pond
    Green Roof on Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics Building (formerly called Foreign Language Building)
    Cover Crops on South Farms
    Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
    Land and Water iCAP Team

    The Land & Water iCAP team met on Teams from 1-2 PM on Friday, October 6th. The team reviewed the iCAP Land & Water objectives, discussed area/projects of focus for the year, and brainstormed next steps in relation to projects that are underway. Meeting minutes are attached.

    Attached Files: 

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