Today, Sarthak met with a technical support staff from Eco-Counter to diagnose and address several malfunctioning counters around campus. They found the following:

• Wright St and Healey St East Side
  • Problem: Flashing red light, counter could not detect sensors, corrosion on one of the connections between logger and sensors
  • Analysis: Corrosion caused a short circuit that depleted external battery and impacted logger's internal battery
  • Recommendation: Replace system with MULTI Evo post
• First and Windsor
  • Problem: pedestrian counter counting randomly
  • Analysis: Electromagnetic interference or issue with sensor
  • Recommendation: Wrap sensor in aluminium foil to mitigate interference. Inspect sensor and replace if needed
• Illini Uninon North Side
  • Problem: bicycle counter not counting
  • Solution: Adjusted settings of bicycle counter to resolve this issue
• Main Quad East - Bevier Hall
  • Problem: pedestrian counter was counting erratically and counting ghosts
  • Analysis: Nearby vegetation and spiderweb inside counter was moving in front of sensor and causing false counts
  • Recommendation: monitor counts to see if they have returned to normal

Attached is Veo bike share data for July 2025.

Not as busy as expecting but that gave us some time to fix up more bikes. We’re currently at capacity in the front lobby area and rearranged things in the back to accommodate some of the For Sale bikes back there.

Got a count of the incoming collection of abandoned bikes, so once those are released to us, we’ll have a good plan for how to handle the influx.

Interviewing for a couple positions and waiting to hear back from a few returning staff this week. And, of course, turning out bikes for the rush.

The numbers:

Visitors: 11
Sales: $179.50
Memberships: 3 for $90
Tires/tubes: 8 for $44

The EPA Rainworks challenge has been canceled for 2025 and the foreseeable future.

University Housing has agreed to provide refreshments for 2025 Bike to Work Day participants. At this time, there are 7 confirmed welcome stations where refreshments will be provided. 

Based on feedback from volunteers, the National Soybean Research Center (NSRC) welcome station will be consolidated with the nearby Campus Rec Center East (CRCE). This will provide more volunteers at the CRCE location which is one of the busiest stations. 

Morgan White, Sarthak Prasad, and Quinn Connolly met with Mark Ginsberg, Paul Francsico, and Sterling Laylock to discuss HVAC projects. Below are notes from the meeting:

Techlink: Contaminant Flow Calculator and Intelligent HVAC

• Attended by - Sarthak Prasad, Morgan White, Sterling Laylock, Mark Ginsberg, Paul Francisco, and Quinn Connolly
• Introductions
  
  • Mark talked about the research
    
    • Partial differential equation
    • Solve issues using the software
• Sterling is going to facilitate the meeting
  
  • Intelligent HVAC systems patent from Mark Ginsberg
  • License the patent
  • So people can do more using that
  • Synergy with University of Illinois and RPC's ICRT
  • Campus as a Living Lab
• Morgan talked about the Safetraces project
  
  • Healthy environments for the users - during covid
  • SL connected with students
  • SL and Carl Tutt put together a funding application for SSC in collab with students
  • We don’t have a bucket of funding for these types of project
  • We would like to do another building on campus
    
    • Using the knowledge with Mark Ginsberg
  • The Building Envelope project for Transportation Building
    
    • This building is on the list of improvements
    • Blow-door tests
    • SSC project
• MW asked what kind of opportunities there might be using Mark's technology?
  
  • Asked SL to start first
    
    • There is going to be a follow up
    • SL is going to make a recommendation to the Governor's Office
    • Seems that the Governor's office don’t have all the information - so they are asking for it now
    • It will directly benefit the private companies
    • The SB253 and SB 261 - The California Environmental reporting updates starting soon
      
      • Marsh McClennan is working on this
    • London, Hong Kong, Singapore, and one more stock exchange
    • Marsh McClennan Company to make contact with us - to help with this Environment reporting
      
      • Can be a good collaboration opportunity
      • Use of the Techlink technology
    • This company's work will not only help California's State Environmental reporting, but also extend to Illinois'
  • Demonstrate the software on university buildings?
    
    • SL - There is a version
      
      • Is there an intelligent HVAC in the building
      • MG - EPA is building a simulator at some point
        
        • A building inside the building
    • MG - The patent takes several years to go through
      
      • It was awarded at the same time as Covid
      • It was filed when Anthrax issue
    • MG - Trying on campus-
      
      • The instruction is simple for students
      • One - Solution exist
        
        • Contaminated person going to hospital don’t cause superspreader event all the time…
      • Recommendations-
        
        • Replace the air filter frequently
        • Keep the fan on
      • Single family house - taking HVAC from Auto to on (fan) -
        
        • $18 per month investment
        • Researched some time ago
      • You don’t want somebody downwind of someone
      • Buildings where this technology can be easily deployed?
        
        • Transportation Building?
        • Classrooms -
    • How would someone do the assessment?
      
      • Are you getting enough air changes per hour?
      • Are you leaving the builidng's air/fan on when the building is occupied?
        
        • Turn it off after 6 pm or when everybody leaves
    • The calculation of the consequence is - Advanced UG or Early Grad student could do it
• SL - Licensing for the technology
  
  • Small business could use this technology - Phase 2?
  • Phase 1 -
    
    • Proof of business model?
• MG -
  
  • By U of I standard - everything is siting on soft money
  • Nation wide hunt for the tech transfer for his product, and perhaps monetize them
  • MG can keep SL informed but that is how he wants to go
    
    • Nation wide search himself or hire a specialist
    • Big candidate
      
      • Big HVAC companies
      • Architecture/Architecture Design companies
        
        • Benteley Software- company
  • The prospect of
    
    • What is considered a starter and non-starter
• There is not a direct benefit to MG?
  
  • We want to see if we can pay for MG
  • We don’t want to just do this for students to get some experience, we want to learn about the campus and campus buildings too…
• MG - in terms of monetizing, it is not dependent on if U of I could get some money in the door
• MW - Which type of buildings?
  
  • We have some students in Masters in Energy Planning
  • Leon Liebenberg
  • SSC funding - 1 year project
  • Energy efficiency and Air quality
  • We need to make sure that there is someone other than SP and MW advising the students
  • Campus side
    
    • Students/researchers - propose something they want to do
    • We want to know what would be helpful
• MG - He has been cooperating with some professors there
  
  • He will work with some professors who are here currently
  • Right verbiage
  • What I want vs what would fit in student's education
  • Ty Newell - Horizon House
  •  
• PF - IHSI might be a good connection also
  
  • Toni Jacobi or Craig Bradshaw
  • Craig Bradshaw is the head of ACRC
• MW - What we are trying to offer
  
  • We can help with if we are allowed to use a building for this project
  • Introducing people in faculty and researchers
• MW - Would you like to do a demonstration project on U of I campus?
  
  • Yes
  • He will talk to a few people and he will get back to us.
• We want to start with a small building - Atmospheric Building
• MG - we can work with some office spaces
  
  • Not classroom heavy spaces
  • Preferred - Office heavy spaces - some classrooms in the same building are fine
  • Noyes Lab - complicated
  • AITS building
  • Levis Center
  • Orchard Downs
  • North of Green street
  • Transportation Building
  • TBH or Mumford Hall
  • MEL
  • Maybe one of the PRI surveys
  • Formerly SEDAC building
• Not comfortable with locations with a lot of people at the same time
• Maybe get together with MG a couple of times a year to maybe tour these places
• MG - will send a summary email as well

• Circle back every two weeks?
  
  • SP will schedule the follow up meeting -
    
    • Next virtual and then following could be site visits
  • Maybe a site visit as well

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An updated Bike at Illinois website has been under development and will be published in the next few weeks.