A circular iced steel sleeve spends time in a cooler filled with dry ice measured at about -120 degrees Fahrenheit (F). After a couple of hours, machinist shop foreperson Stuart DeHaro said the metal part, a cylinder about 8 inches in diameter and 2 inches tall, will shrink by a few 1000ths of an inch, just enough to allow it to slip into place on … Continue reading Machinists and the Cold Steel “O”
The national holiday Arbor Day was April 28, 2023; locally, it was easily seen on the University of Illinois Main Quad that day. To celebrate, F&S helped plant and honor a new horizon elm tree just west of Davenport Hall. Campus tree and sustainability experts spoke, including Brent Lewis, university landscape architect, and Morgan White, associate director of sustainability; Mike DeLorenzo, Vice Chancellor for Administration … Continue reading Arbor Day 2023 on the Main Quad
Ironworkers make things safer. In the end, their repairs to a bridge over the Boneyard Creek will last decades and allow safe passage between student housing and buildings on the Grainger College of Engineering Quad. The now-bright green bridge is just north of the Astronomy Building. The culprit causing damage was rust, which disintegrated parts of the bridge bottom. F&S ironworkers Mike Paris and Rene … Continue reading Making It Safe: A New Green Boneyard Bridge
Local girl scouts came on a Saturday morning to learn about the utility systems operated at Abbott Power Plant. Associate professor in Civil and Electrical Engineering (CEE) in the Grainger College of Engineering, Ashlynn Stillwell helped organize and manage the groups and distributed safety and personal protective equipment (PPE). Stillwell is also the former Central Illinois Girl Scout leader. Kids toured the power plant with … Continue reading Girl Power: Education at Abbott
Story by Dave Evensen, LASHistoric photo courtesy of the University of Illinois Archives Originally called the Agriculture Building, Davenport Hall helped define the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (LAS) and the layout of campus itself. Burrill Inspires Davenport: “This is Illinois…” There are walks in the park and then there are walks that affect the course of university history for the next 128 years, … Continue reading Two Acres at the Root of University History
By Trish Barker, LAS New projects, planning, and deep appreciation keep the Observatory looking upward On a typical day, thousands of students, faculty, and staff crisscross campus, hustling from one class, project, meeting, and building to another. During daylight hours, crowds flow in and out of major destinations like Lincoln Hall, the Union, and the Library. Preserving that experience for students and visitors means preserving the … Continue reading Deferred Maintenance Aids ‘The Night Spot’
Todd Hawkins and Ebony Murray were honored with Chancellor’s Staff Excellence Award, “recognizing exceptional performance at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.” “It is a signal of high esteem in which your colleagues hold you,” wrote Chancellor Robert Jones. For the full announcement, including 14 others from around campus, see: https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/1550162396. Todd Hawkins, ironworker foreperson From the University of Illinois News Bureau:When something metal needs repair, … Continue reading Two of Our Own
The next, and past, big thing: The great wooly mammoth is back… Visible to all, not an apparition… Near the University of Illinois Main Quad. Continue reading Our Mammoth History
The Undergraduate Library is changing. The underground facility long used by students is moving most of its resources to the Main Library. Demolition is part of the makeover, and F&S operating engineers play a big role. As put by The Daily Illini: After it shuts its doors… the Undergraduate Library will be closed for construction as part of a project to transform it into a … Continue reading Big Blue: New Crane Acquired to Use on UGL Renovation
Better get a good peek now, because soon, Illini Hall will be gone. First erected in 1907 as the official University of Illinois YMCA across Wright Street from the venerable Main Quad, Illini Hall is in the process of demolition and replacement. By the end of February 2023 or so, it’ll be gone. This action also starts the clock on work coming for its cross-street … Continue reading Demo Work Kickstarts Years-Long Renovation Plan for Illini and Altgeld Halls
