Please see attached the report from Integrating Green Technologies (IGT) regarding the project and results from the air quality assessment experiment conducted at the Astronomy Building in July 2022 as well as the Design Thinking Workshop held in November 2022.

Sarthak Prasad and Morgan White are meeting with Sterling Laylock from SafeTraces on January 9 from 11 to 12 pm to cover the following:

• Astronomy Building report findings and potential corrective action
• Indoor Air Quality Monitoring specific to IT Security
  • UL 2905/UL 2906: Indoor Air Quality Sensor Performance/Sensor Deployment
  • UL Verified IoT Security
  • There is a newer building on campus that has CO2 sensors
    so we can discover what they did and follow that pathway
• Our ongoing collaborative discussion with the State of Illinois' new Building Infrastructure
  Fund (2nd qtr 2023) where our work with you under iCAP is considered one of the missing pieces 
  of the puzzle.
  
  Their primary goal is to improve re-occupancy levels within existing buildings and cause new buildings (public and private) to design more effectively for IAQ/IEQ, especially where private development is receiving state funding and concessions.
  
  Since it was UL Healthy Buildings (Primary Partner of SafeTraces) that introduced IGT to
  the UL/SafeTraces ecosystem, ULHB will be instrumental in providing the capacity needed
  for our efforts with the state led by Illinois Chief Investment Officer, Joe Aguilar.
• As discussed with Morgan at the end of our Design Thinking Session, Ikenberry Food Hall
  is being considered as our next project and UL Healthy Buildings ULHB is partnering with us
  on it since natural gas and hydrogen sulfide gas may be impacting IAQ/IEQ.

SafeTraces, Integrating Green Technologies, and Facilities & Services invited guests from across Illinois and throughout campus to discuss indoor air quality for Illinois buildings.

Following email was sent by Sterling Laylock regarding the update:

Hi Sarthak, Yes, we have completed the analysis and are prepared to present our findings for the Astronomy Building.

We will also be sharing relevant data and insights from additional buildings across other regions of the state as well.

Proposed Presentation Date

Thursday, November 10th is our proposed date to present our findings as requested by Morgan White. 

We also plan to conduct a Design Thinking Session that will include numerous stakeholders as requested by Senator Elgie Sims, Vice-Chair IL, Appropriations II. 

He is seeking input regarding a strategic allocation of funding for clean indoor air assessments in K-12 and public buildings around the state in order to elevate public outreach and awareness regarding this critical issue.

Design Thinking Stakeholder Attendees

Primary stakeholders from outside UIUC-iCAP who have expressed a high level of interest in participating include but will not be limited to:

• Cook County Facilities and Sustainability

• Cook County Asset Management

• Chicago Transit Authority

• South Suburban Mayor and Managers

• Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago Asset Management

• The Obama Foundation Presidential Center

• Sinai Chicago Health System

• Indoor Climate Research and Training Center (ICRT)

• Illinois Growth & Innovation Fund for Social Impact

Why Are They Interested?

As we all know, almost all buildings blindly struggle to have enough clean indoor air for us to breathe. 

Stakeholders need help ending potentially harmful health and financial consequences, so people will feel safe using buildings again.

In order to do this, we have proposed an Illinois version of the EPA Clean Air In Buildings Program using eligible American Rescue Plan (ARPA), Bipartisan Infrastructure and Inflation Reduction Act Funding. 

Although ARPA dollars have already been allocated in IL, a significant level of funding is still scheduled to be allocated specifically for ventilation and filtration in the near term.

We believe our Energy-Efficient HVAC Infection Control Project under iCAP can serve as an excellent hub for the many fragmented efforts being attempted across the state as we all seek to address this lingering pandemic and pre-pandemic issue. 

Now that we're in the recovery period of our post-pandemic journey, it is imperative that we use this opportunity to address these issues. 

Closing the gap between public health and building science is a key effort that will help us deliver on developing Applied Health Strategies for Climate Adaptation, which is why iCAP exists in the first place.

Let's set a time this week to discuss our proposed date and time so we plan accordingly for a successful event.

Thanks, Sterling

Ali Khan and Dhruv Gambhire are now on the F&S payroll as grad hourly employees, in the Sustainability Department.  Their funding is from the Student Sustainability Committee, in support of the SSC-funded project for HVAC and Air Quality Assessment.