As the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and the rest of the world, ramps up to a post-COVID reality, F&S can once again support a campus filled with students, faculty, and staff returning to on-site learning and living. Our mission is to provide and maintain a physical environment, like the Urbana campus’ facilities and grounds, conducive to supporting learning, discovery, engagement, and economic development.
Simply put, our engineers, architects, energy experts, building service workers, safety and compliance experts, crafts and trades professionals, and, in fact, our entire workforce of more than 1,300 employees, get work done on campus.
But just as importantly, we take part in the academic excellence of the U of I, as well. We are an active partner in research, teaching, and learning. By helping other researchers in many fields, F&S shows its value to the academic community. This special edition of INSIDER will show the reader how we lead and assist efforts to discover more about the world around us.
Academic collaboration is an essential component to the future of F&S, and a major theme emphasized in our F&S Strategic Plan 2019-2023: “Foundations for the Future.”
Our expertise, particularly related to energy production and distribution, sustainable grounds and systems, and building technologies, allows professors and instructors on campus to use the campus as a living laboratory, available for curious minds to change the world. As you read about some academic collaborations, please keep in mind our capacity to enable your research. Our subject matter experts often serve as guest lecturers and provide operational expertise to innovative research efforts. We help students by hosting project-based learning, and have led thousands through tours at facilities like Abbott Power Plant.
You can work with us by filling out a form at https://forms.illinois.edu/sec/9147937 or reaching out directly to Associate Director Morgan White, or myself. We welcome your questions and needs in an effort to enable your research!
Cordially,
Dr. Mohamed Attalla, Ph.D., MBA, P.Eng.
Executive Director, Facilities & Service