You are here

Content filtered by visibility: Public

Project Updates

  1. Itinerary Freezer Challenge Lab Manager Photo and award recognition

    Associated Project(s): 
    Freezer Challenge

    Hello Everyone,

    Thank you for joining us and celebrating the terrific work accomplished during this year’s Freezer Challenge event!

     

    I have attached an itinerary to familiarize yourself with todays activities.

    Reminder:

                    If rain is present after 130 we will move 2 buildings to the west inside the Stock Pavilion for this event.

     

    If NOT raining meet outside IBRL 1300 west Pennsylvania Ave. Urbana

     

    If rain is imminent meet at Stock Pavilion 1402 west Pennsylvania Ave. Urbana

     

    See you all there!

     

    Best

    Paul Foote

    Attached Files: 

  2. RAIN ALTERNATIVE information RE: Freezer Challenge Lab Manager Photo and award recognition

    Associated Project(s): 
    Freezer Challenge

    Hello Everyone,

    As you may have read in last night’s email, you made a huge impact and helped UIUC on its way to the 2023 “Winning Streak Award” very nice work, thank you for all you do!

     

    As a benefit the winners will be highlighted in a digital Lab Manager article which will come out in November.

    Thursday Sept. 21st at 2pm we are recognizing the top performing labs from UIUC and taking a group photo in front of Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory (IBRL) at 2pm sharp.

     

    Dr. Melanie Loots, Chief of Staff, Senior Executive Associate Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation will be handing out these awards.

    You are all encouraged to join us and cheer on your fellow researchers as they receive their awards and join in the photo.

     

    Thank you 

    Paul Foote

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

    Hi everyone,

     

    The radar shows rain has stopped for the majority of the work day, with some showers popping up randomly.

     

    If rain is present after 130 we will move 2 buildings to the west inside the Stock Pavilion for this event.

     

    If NOT raining meet outside IBRL 1300 west Pennsylvania Ave. Urbana

     

    If rain is imminent meet at Stock Pavilion 1402 west Pennsylvania Ave. Urbana

     

    See you all there!

     

    Best

    Paul Foote

  3. Green Research Committee 4th Meeting

    Associated Project(s): 
    Green Research Committee
    Green Lab Program

    September 20, 2023 Green Research Committee Meeting 4

     

    Present: Stephanie Hess, Tim Mies, Jennifer Fraterrigo, Paul Foote, Jeremy Neighbors, Shari Effert-Fanta, Lisa Moore, Morgan White, Chad Stevens, Sabrina Summers, Maisie Kingren, Daphne Hulse

     

    Absent: Mitchell Bryant

     

    High-level overview (Jeremy leads)

    • Full-time GR Coordinator
      • Reduce, reuse, and recycle campaign headed by the new coordinator.
    • Centralized location for chemicals
      • Tim: are there concerns or risks with transporting.
      • Stephanie: opportunity for reuse. Repurpose bottles. ECE, MRL, SCS (no space here though). Various locations that we can split up. Lot of labs have bottles that they use up
    • Grad student to help coordinate reduce, reuse, recycle. Additional student supports the GR coordinator with tasks as needed.
      • Morgan: need a full-time staff person for GR. But it is not enough. Need a student or two at least, to help support the staff. Without at least 2 paid students, you won’t get far. 40 hours’ worth of student time? During the school year, sometimes 2 students doing part-time still is not enough.
      • Jen: maybe consider what we need first for the program, before determining how many students to include (and staff). Start modest with our first proposal, with the expectation that we will build over time.
      • Paul: typically hire 2-5 students, some stay through the summer, to help with his energy-specific lab programs.
    • Where will this GR program reside? OVCRI office, with input from Madhu, Susan, and Ehab.
      • Morgan: is it in DRS or is it in iSEE? Both are under VCRI, so that makes sense. It is about sustainability with research. Include requirements in the job description to directly communicate to various stakeholders: research,
      • Paul: green research is all about change and adapting, which isn’t necessarily DRS culture. iSEE is always rolling out new initiatives and is very fluid.
      • Lisa: DRS works with regulation; sustainability is not regulation. Thought DRS first, but then looked into iSEE and thought that GR can be more easily built out under iSEE.
      • Morgan: happy to host it under F&S, but it makes more sense to have it under VCRI.
      • Jen: PI who has a lab perspective: already have a relationship with the audit. Potential to have a partnership with DRS in this new way.
      • Chad: safety is paramount over sustainability, so agree with Jen.
      • Stephanie: conversation with Daphne showed that breaking down barriers between units is very possible.
    • GR ambassadors (Jeremy)
      • Every department would have GR ambassadors, encourage it at the lab level. Would work routinely with the GR coordinator to roll out
      • Training curriculum, system for communicating what’s going on, what metrics we have, what results we’re seeing.
      • Behavior of labs and groups. Reduce, reuse, recycle campaign.
      • Shut the sash, use of equipment timers, can implement on day one.
      • Promoting some type of certification. Implement GR in other ways. Lab assessment tools (UIUC based internal, or MyGreenLab).
      • Certification would be a longer-term goal with the GR coordinator.
    • Incentives
      • Recognition is the primary way
      • Stephanie: faculty peer pressure, you want to be that person that is recognized for these initiatives. Susan promote some of these people might be good, too.
      • Chad: could there be monetary award for the research group for their future research. $2500 not a lot, $10K much more head-turning.
      • Tim Mies: Illinois Professionals (highlights), HR. Would that model work for this?
      • Stephanie: working with Patty to work on awards for safety (Oscars for safety). Could work well with research.
    • Communication and education
      • Well-developed education and outreach program for what we will do.
    • Safe energy conservation plans
      • Form task forces to address the two different processes in the charge:
        • How to hibernate labs
        • How to deal with renovation projects
      • Fully funded capital projects, facilities with significant infrastructure deficiencies, facilities without significant infrastructure deficiencies. Would need to be very collaborative. Building-by-building basis.
      • Morgan: 1.5 years to complete a campus facility assessment. December of 2024 all info will be up to date. It won’t cover all portions, because it’s more visual. How are the fume hoods being used?
      • Stephanie: Wondering the same question.
      • Chad: We don’t want to shut off a fume hood forever. There’s always going to be some revolving research based on grants, etc.GR coordinator could look into high-efficiency fume hoods. Need to have campus support for green energy.
      • Shari: Agree with Chad, with Paul’s team coming in, they can see where improvements can be made. Incur energy savings but not lose the capacity. Finding unique ways to do that. Install the newer technology, like low-flow, high-efficiency will go a long way in meeting iCAP goals. Need help with things that are outside the department’s DOR.
      • Paul: Agree with everyone. Shut down almost all hoods at the top floor of Soybean. Morrill Hall needs a lot of help with renovations. Helped get them out during a pilot program. There are other places that use them 24/7 and they are clean and well managed. We see it all.
    • Additional resource for kick-off
      • GR coordinator, communications team, IT support

  6. Solar Powered Trash Compactor question

    Associated Project(s): 
    Solar Power on Campus
    Install Appropriate Waste Collection Infrastructure

    Hello my name is Saif Malik and I am a graduate student in the Energy Systems program. Some classmates and I are working with the Student Sustainability Committee on proposing 2 pairs of solar compactors to be set up by the main union. 

    I understand that in the past there was a compactor that broke down/ caused issues. I was hoping to get any information on this so we can look into if this is still viable or what improvements would be needed from what you encountered.

    Thank you for your time!

    Saif Malik

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

    Morgan, would you be able to assist with the below?

     

    Jerry Dinnin

  7. Weekly Update: Bike to Work Day, Light the Night

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, I was out sick all last week with some combination of flu/cold/sinus infection. My staff handled operations in my absence. However, there were some issues tracking visit numbers, unfortunately.

    Last Thursday was Bike To Work Day. Some very awesome people stepped up and filled in for me. Sounds like it was a banner year! Congrats to all involved.

    Tomorrow evening is Light The Night. We’ll be hosting at a different location this year. Should be a better spot for folks to get their lights.

    We were inundated with donations last week. I’ll bring in staff off-hours to help scrap the junk bikes and reorganize this week. Hopefully we’ll have our space in better shape by our open hours on Wednesday.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 8*
    Sales: $1,242.50
    Bikes (refurb): 2 for $215
    Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $40
    Memberships: 17 for $510
    Tires/tubes: 9 for $55

    *See above issue with visit numbers.

    Jacob Benjamin
    Campus Bike Center Coordinator

  8. RECs

    Associated Project(s): 
    Utilize Carbon Credits

    Since we were talking about RECs last week, I came across this presentation that was made at ETH Chicago last week.

    Regenerative Finance, Leveraging Blockchain to Digitize the Renewable Energy Marketplace

    https://pretalx.com/ethchi-2023/talk/XSHZBM/

     

    Also, in regard to energy conservation, Maryland provides RECs for installing geothermal systems. Could we have the Illinois Portfolio Standard do the same?

    https://www.psc.state.md.us/electricity/description-documents-maryland-renewable-energy-portfolio-standard-program/geothermal-rec-frequently-asked-questions/. This would be very helpful for institutions wanting to become carbon neutral.

     

    Best,

    Andy

  9. Update on time and location RE: RSVP requested 2023 Freezer Challenge Awards Ceremony/photo shoot calendar

    Associated Project(s): 
    Freezer Challenge

    Hello Everyone,

    I am rushing to put together the mass-mail announcement for the campus research community, as My Green Labs re-finalized our results last night. This will go out by the end of this week.  

    It will include action item totals, recognition and a couple of new achievements reached by UIUC.

     

    Everyone on this email has earned an award this year, we will be awarding the top 14 performing labs.

    Sorry the celebration date is so close, we need to send the photo to the My Green Labs and the Lab Manager Journal by Sept. 29th  in order make the deadline.

     

    Thank you 

    Paul Foote

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

    Thanks to everyone that has already responded!

     

    If you have not yet had the chance, Please do so by Friday the 15th?

    So far we are looking at 2pm Thursday afternoon, I hope all can make it!

     

    Best

    Paul Foote

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

    Hello Everyone,

    The most popular date and time is Thursday the 21st at 2 pm, we will be in front of IBRL (1300 W Pennsylvania Ave, Urbana, IL 61801)

    74ojavqtzwgMcTKHY0YbZu25Tmjf8nyMEpj5z2M1aZUaAUw5mMNDGSFdNwZcnE8gPi0t8PzrRIvgAIS6eEQd8BZqAZ3wVxRu1PZ9tAU5JEJAWChs8wbeANPQLdcYiX75Lp83+f9JdlDMGwqiZAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC

    IBRL-Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory

    See you all then!

     

    P.S. I am still tabulating the results, the mass email will go out to the research community Monday evening.

     

    Best

    Paul Foote

  11. USGBC LEED Cx

    Associated Project(s): 
    Retrocommissioning (RCx)

    Hi Jim & Kelly Jo,

     

    My intentions were to send this out last Friday after seeing the DKC email, I just didn’t get back to it before the end of the day. I just wanted to share the latest version 4.1 of LEED which shows the new requirements for fundamental & Enhanced Cx.

     

    Both have increased in documentation, material and tasks needed to achieve them. Above are just a few of the items that Brian and I track and report for Fundamental Cx.

     

    Looks like they are going for Platinum, the highest level. I wonder if they have looked into green cleaning or alternative energy. We may want to verify this. Keep in mind, that all the actual commissioning is covered under the required fundamental portion. Enhanced includes extra tasks needed to be performed by the contractors and possibly a 3rd party entity. Something to think about as well is overall cost of the project, this could drive the cost of the project up. So, that’s another thing we need to bring to their attention is adding the appropriate language in the specifications.  Enhanced does have a possibility of gaining 6 points but there are options. 

     

    I’ll be back in the office tomorrow; I have time tomorrow afternoon or Friday to discuss the options and path’s if we so choose to accept this route. We should also discuss UGL, they are also wanting to pursue enhanced, not sure which avenue yet, I believe they talked about option 1, path 1.

     

    Thanks,

    Jake

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

    Just an fyi with some information that Brian and I provide to USGBC for UIUC Cx activities. The material attached above is just some of what we provide for the fundamental side of commissioning. I would like to speak to you about the enhanced side when you have a few minutes.

     

    Please let me know if you have a few minutes this afternoon or tomorrow.

     

    Thank you,

    Jake

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

    Hi Jake:

     

    Rather than discussing this with me along with Morgan, I’m going to invite you to the 50% Design Review to discuss it with the PSC. Copying KJH so she sees the email string. I’m not sure where Bailey Edward is going with this other than trying to get a higher LEED score. I’m not passionate about pursuing enhanced CX but Bailey Edward wanted to discuss as a part of the rating process. Right now, I have the LEED/Enhanced CX scheduled for 11:50-12:30 on Tuesday, September 19. I know it’s part of a lunch, apologies for that. I’m attempting to get through all of the DR comments in less than 16 hours of time and this would be the last meeting of the day.

     

    Sending the schedule out shortly.

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

    Just an fyi…I reached out to Todd with Baily Edwards the other day. I have attached the email regarding that conversation.

     

    Basically, as long as they enter the appropriate language in the specifications, we could revisit this later in the project and see how the points are achievable and what’s actually needed to get them to the appropriate certification level.

  13. Sustainable Energy - Glesco Electric Inc.

    Associated Project(s): 
    Centralized Energy Efficiency Efforts

    Morgan:

     

    I spoke with Dave Dowler and he gave me your name as a person to speak with in regards to opportunities to work together for increased ability to do projects in the sustainable energy sector.

     

    Glesco is a local female owned business in Urbana and we have had the opportunity to complete numerous projects at the UIUC campus.  I have recently had the opportunity to work with developers that have been funding capital P3 projects on campus and thought perhaps an opportunity existed to do things in the sustainable energy area. 

     

    Would you have time to discuss this?  From my previous discussions at the University of Illinois, there was a “plan” in place prior to COVID that had both short-term and long-term goals in making UI more energy efficient.

     

    I believe we met at the diversity and inclusion conference this past year, however, I hadn’t fully developed the idea of how we could perhaps work together to meet these goals.

     

    I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you if you are interested.  If you think this conversation is better suited for someone other than yourself, would you be so kind as to point me in the right direction?

     

    Thank you.

    Laurda Grenda

    President of Glesco Electric Inc.

  14. building condition-sustainability

    Associated Project(s): 
    Green Research Committee

    Morgan,

    I was looking at the green research committee stuff just now. It had me thinking about charge #3 and how difficult that is. Curious what your thoughts are about it. There are parts of it we can definitely offer recommendations for. We have buildings that aren’t too far out of code/compliance and could be upgraded slowly (as budget allows) to put them in a better and more green standing. My opinion is we push for that. We also have buildings that seem to be too far gone and are in the “must rebuild” category to even inch our way towards “green.”

     

    Shutting sashes, recycling, researchers making better decisions is a small piece of the problem that we can solve with a green research coordinator. I think to some, that is the easy part to address (with proper funding for that person) but won’t really get us to where we need to be to call our campus #1 for green research.

     

    In your position with a lot of experience in sustainability and F&S, I’m curious your thoughts on this one. How do we even talk about sustainability to the buildings that are just trying to stay functional each day, where they are on the edge of even being able to do research in their facilities?

     

    Sorry for the random email. Just scratching my head on this one after really thinking about how different each research building is on this campus. Happy to chat briefly via phone before we meet next week if you want.

     

    Stephanie Hess

  16. Noteworthy at Illinois: Bike at Illinois mention

    Associated Project(s): 
    Bike at Illinois Website and Campaign
    C-U Bike to Work Day
    Light the Night
    Noteworthy
     
     


     

    Welcome to a new year at Illinois

    divider.jpg

    We've opened our semester with all the energy and excitement a new academic year deserves. By watching this short video, you'll see we are already meeting plenty of new faces.

    I am so grateful to have you as part of our Illinois family. Because, as we all know, the best parts of any new journey are the people who share it with you.

    Robert J. Jones, Chancellor

    Chancellor Jones

    		  


     

    students at memorial stadium

    Meet the Illinois family

    divider.jpg

    The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign welcomed a record-breaking class of students for the 2023-24 academic year. Representing excellence at scale, the total student enrollment is 56,403.

    By the numbers:

    • 8,325 new freshmen
    • 74% in-state students, the largest number since 2006
    • 22% from underrepresented groups
    • 24% first-generation college students
    • 6,304 new graduate students, one of the largest group of new graduate students in history
    • 32% increase in new certificate students
    		  


     

    foellinger auditorium

    Explore our university

    divider.jpg

    Discovering our campus: A new academic year means new opportunities to explore.

    Experiencing game day: Illinois returns to Memorial Stadium for its Big Ten opener against Penn State on Saturday. 

    Visiting the Illini Union: A new exhibition at the Illini Union Art Gallery is featuring photographs of artwork from the Mexican Muralism movement. 

    Watching live performance: Krannert Center for the Performing Arts showcases national and international artists as well as university student performances in music, theater, dance and more. 

    Exploring Krannert Art Museum: The university is home to the second-largest general fine art museum in the state. 

    Biking at Illinois: Illinois is a leader in sustainability and active transportation. Celebrate C-U Bike Month during September.

    		  


     

    orange fountain

    Get ready for Illinois Homecoming

    divider.jpg

    It's one of the best weeks of the year. Whether you’ve lived here for years or are returning for the first time, Illinois Homecoming is the perfect time to explore our university community.

    Mark your calendars for Oct. 15-21, with more details coming soon.

    		  


     

    student with research project

    Discover Illinois innovation

    divider.jpg

    Inspiring discovery: In 30 seconds, watch how Illinois is a world-class leader in research, teaching and public engagement. 

    Seeing humanities in action: Undergraduate humanities scholars are pursuing community engagement opportunities within the Champaign-Urbana community.

    Bringing cells to life: Researchers, policymakers and Minecraft players can look forward to the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology’s newest research center. 

    Leading autonomous construction: The university will be the site of a new research center focused on the most pressing questions related to autonomous construction technologies.

    Propelling ag education: Illinois will collaborate with six community college agricultural technology programs to design and conduct a course and internship program for students.  

    		  


     

    alma mater statue

    Stay connected with Illinois 

    divider.jpg

    Missing campus: Watch live from the Main Quad or at the Alma Mater statue.

    Following news at Illinois: Stay up-to-date on the latest Illinois news.

    Applying to Illinois: Know an aspiring Illini? Applications for admission are now open.

  18. Water filler stations

    Associated Project(s): 
    Reduce Single-Use Plastics
    Water Fountain Retrofit

    Hi Dave,

     

    What effort and rough costs would it take to clean off the hard water stains on filler station spouts across campus?

     

    Thanks,

    Morgan 

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

    Pete,

     

    What do you think about this? I will see if we have a list.

     

    Dave

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

    We do have a list…I’ll have to find it and get it to you.

     

    Thank you,

    Pete

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

    Is this the BSW team to do this work?

    Dave

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

    Yeah, we remove water stains from sinks and faucets. If the Plumbing shop doesn’t mind we can add it to our “to do” list.

     

    Thank you,

    Pete

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

     

    Pete,

     

    We view this as BSW work not the Plumbing shop.

     

    Thanks,

     

    Dave

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

     

    Hi Dave and Pete,

     

    Pete – were you able to get some of these water bottle fillers cleaned, per the email below?

     

    Dave and Pete – who would be responsible for resetting the filter status indicator light on the water hydration stations?  I believe the filters would be replaced through BMG, but is the indicator light something that would be reset when the filter gets replaced?  And I think there could be some hydration stations out there with no filter, but that still have a filter status indicator light…

     

    Thanks,

    Morgan

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

     

    Given our staffing shortages, we have not started working on this. It should be something we can get to over the winter break if hiring continues at the current pace.

     

    Thank you,

    Pete

  19. Connecting Gina and Daphne: Thrift store idea?

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainable Procurement
    Reuse Surplus Goods and Valuable "Waste"

    Hi Gina,

     

    It was great seeing you today! I am connecting you with Daphne Hulse, the zero waste coordinator at F&S. She organized the Dump & Run on campus in May, where she coordinated with Salt & Light and Goodwill. She also worked with University YMCA and volunteered for their Dump & Run event in August. I know Daphne loves the idea of Thrifting and she practices it too, so I think she would be interested in helping out with this idea!

     

    Thank you,

    Sarthak

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

    Thanks for connecting us, Sarthak!

     

    Hi Gina – this is right up the F&S zero waste team alley! And several others, too, who I am including. The Institute for Sustainability, Energy, & Environment staff/interns have organized several “clothing swaps” over the years. Connor Purcell, cc’d, is a part of the Law School and is involved with their professional clothing donations program. I’m also including Param and Ashvin, who are working to organize a student-led zero waste week in March next semester.

     

    I would love to set up a time to chat about this – what’s your availability look like?


    Thank you,
    Daphne

Pages