All, Abbreviated work week for me and zero open hours last week. It was a good time to do some deep winter/early spring cleaning. I pulled about half the bikes out of the back of the shop and cleaned up and threw junk away, reorganized and decluttered the 2x4 storage shelves. It’s looking a lot cleaner on the back end of the shop; the front side of the shop will be handled by the student workers this week.

Todd came and grabbed scrap over the weekend so that definitely helped beautify the shop.

This week I’ll hopefully be able to round out the student staff schedule and the student staff manual. Builds and safety checks will, of course, continue as well.

Thanks!

• Jake Benjamin
  Campus Bike Center Manager

All, Welcome back from break! Hope everyone had a good time with friends and family.

The last week before break was pretty slow, as to be expected. Kevin finally finished his B-a-B, which was great. He was jazzed about it, too.

The Bike Center doesn’t reopen until next Monday so this week I’ll be doing some deeper cleaning and reorganizing that isn’t feasible when I have to open the doors at 2pm. I’ll also be collating the student staff manual.

The numbers:

Visitors: 47
Sales: $171.50
Memberships: 2 for $60
Build-a-Bike: 1 for $47

Thanks!

Jake Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Manager

Following the completion of iWG assessment for PWR013 Zero Waste Coordinator, the recommendation was transmitted to Dr. Mohamed Attalla, Director of Facilities & Services.

See iWG assessment of PWR013 Zero Waste Coordinator attached.

See SWATeam Recommendation PWR013 Zero Waste Coordinator here.

Members of the Purchasing, Waste and Recycling Sustainability Working Advisory Team (SWAT),

The main reason for my note though, is to provide an update on the Illini Gadget Garage (IGG) project. As you know, ISTC decided it would no longer be coordinating the project, and there was some uncertainty about its future. I’m pleased to say that for now the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning will be exploring “adoption” of the project on a trial basis, beginning next semester. I’ve copied Jamie Nelson and Jim Wentworth of CITL, who will be leading that effort, along with Amanda Elzbieciak, the IGG workshop manager, who has graciously agreed to work with CITL to host some pop-up repair workshops at the innovation spaces in the Armory, and to help with recruitment of volunteers and training. While the workshop space will still be at the IGG’s disposal for storing equipment, etc., next semester, CITL will focus project activities in its spaces at the Armory.

So the project will continue in some capacity next semester. Whether it continues beyond that point will depend on many factors related to how well it ends up fitting with CITL’s core mission. I’ve also copied my original collaborators in launching the project, William Bullock and Martin Wolske, just so you all are familiar with the names of key people associated with the project and its history. Jamie and Jim, the PWR SWATeam, along with Morgan White, have been very supportive of the IGG project, and they are charged with making recommendations to the iCAP Working Group related to the campus’ waste reduction and prevention goals. At some point next semester, you may wish to discuss any challenges the project might be facing with the SWATeam, for feedback and guidance, or at least to help spread the word about pop-ups and other activities.

There is nothing further to report for now, and CITL will want to work with Amanda to consider how best to announce their involvement next semester. I simply wanted to let this committee know the status of the situation, and say that I will work with Amanda after the winter break to ensure the transition is smooth. I look forward to seeing how this progresses and hope to see more efforts to foster reuse and repair on campus, in addition to recycling. Thanks to everyone who helped get the project to this point.

Happy holidays!

Joy

Joy Scrogum

Sustainability Specialist

Hi everyone,

I can report today that the fiber-optic cable is intact and the test returned a signal along the entire 235 m cable. What you see in the photograph is data along the cable going down and coming back up (470 m total).

We have ordered the drop box to store the fiber-optic cable, and a hole has been dug for it. The box will be installed by F&S after the holidays. The fencing is being left around the site until this is done.

Wishing you all the best this holiday season.

Andy

Hi Everyone, We successfully installed the geothermal loop and fiber optic cable today. The borehole is now grouted closed. My appreciation goes out to the group of colleagues and staff from the ISGS that assisted the drill crew to insert the 400-feet of tubing in the ground.

The drill crew will be back in the morning to clean up the site and move equipment offsite. We still need to install a drop box to store the fiber-optic cable and access the geothermal loop. The box has been ordered and if it arrives in the morning, we may be able to get it installed before the holidays. In about a month we will start measuring the ground temperature and run a DTRT test once the grout cures.

Happy Holidays!!

Andrew

Hi everyone, We had a successful day of collecting geophysical logs in the borehole. I have seen print outs of this excellent data, and is an important part of the geologic characterization. Thanks goes out to Tim Young for coming out of retirement to help us complete the work.

Tomorrow we will install the U-bend and fiber-optic cable in the borehole. Our task is to sink a 400-foot log tube filled with water (weighing ~600 lbs) down the hole. For those nearby you may want to drop by for a visit. Once this is done, we will proceed to grout the borehole closed.

Cheers,

Andy

Hi everyone,

We finished drilling today and advanced the borehole to a depth of 385 feet.

Tomorrow we will collect geophysical logs of the borehole. If you want to drop by we should be in full swing by 11 am. It will take some time to clean out any material that has collapsed in the borehole overnight and make sure the hole is full of mud before logging the open hole.

Best,

Andy

All, Last week was slow, per usual this time of year. I had a training session for two new staffers. They’ll start in the new year as they have finals this week.

Bike count is hovering around 15-20 with a few safety checks still in the queue. A couple staffers expressed interest in morning shifts this week so if that happens, hopefully it’ll result in a few more builds being ready before winter break.

This week I will continue work on the Student Staff Manual and will line up some new volunteer tasks since the regular items are getting ticked off the list.

The numbers:

Visitors: 51
Sales: $117.50
tire/tubes: 6 for $23

Thanks!

-        Jake Benjamin
Campus Bike Center Manager

The BIF project was initially scheduled to begin in January 2018, but was on hold until F&S and the College received word from the state regarding the general contractor award.  The kickoff meeting took place in March 2018 and a planning meeting followed in April. 

On Monday, May 21st, construction kicked off and is expected to be complete summer 2019.  Thus far, the following work has been completed (64% complete):  removal of rooftop garden; insallation of steel, metal, and concrete decking; roof membrane installed; installation of roof drain lines; installation of exterior and interior walls;  window and ductwork installation; HVAC updates/upgrades; above ceiling mechanicals and sprinkler lines installed; GWB taping and sanding with painting underway.