The Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory (IBRL) is getting a lot of attention lately. If you’ve seen Illini athletics on television, you may have seen this: At IBRL, basically, companies and researchers use the facility to ferment things under different conditions to find new products that can be made of local crops like corn and soybeans. […]
Tag: Insider
Shop Spotlight: Pipefitters and Refrigeration Mechanics
Hot or cold: pipefitters and refrigeration mechanics find solutions. And shifting from hot to cold was exactly the strategy, too, in a project at CERL, the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory. This collection of facilities is where the US Army Corps of Engineers conduct operations for the Department of Defense (DoD). CERL is described as the […]
F&S At the Expo
The All-Employee Expo, held at State Farm Center, a popular on-campus event was in full force. Thousands walked the halls of SFC and were able to learn about colleges, units, and efforts of the university, as well as other local vendors. F&S was well-attended, hosting eight tables of teams and shops that had giveaways, tokens […]
CIF Benefits from RCx
Campus Instructional Facility (CIF) has quickly become an on-campus hub, drawing tens of thousands of students per week through its doors. A wide array of classes are there, and public space areas are often populated as study areas. The building went up in 2021 and in these years since, F&S Retrocommissioning (RCx) experts figured it […]
INSIDER Magazine: New Hellos
Welcome to Campus F&S welcomes students, faculty, staff, and the larger community to campus. More students than ever—the current freshman class is the largest in U. of I. history—have more ways to recognize their time and place. One way to properly grow and foster common identity and communicate our values is rather simple: signage. In […]
The Lit Path and the Dark Sky
You see it every time you walk at night: pathway, bike lane, and street lighting is a trusted, safe way to journey campus. Big evening events for new students hit each fall, leading into sporting events, music acts and every outdoor activity… but at night. And with lighting installed in recent years, including at Illini […]
Can you be-LEAF it?
The Urbana campus is home to more than 18,000 trees. For years, F&S has helped maintain a publicly-available online database of all trees on campus through “TreeKeeper,” seen here: https://go.fs.illinois.edu/trees. Now, imagine all those leaves… An afternoon with a rake, a few bags, and a rewarding warm apple cider won’t be enough to clear all […]
Shop Spotlight: Insulators Cover It All
Woody Bagwell, F&S insulators foreperson, knows the importance of keeping it tight. His team can find themselves anywhere on campus, from the underground steam tunnels to up on top of a roof. Insulators go wherever the pipes are. And on the Urbana campus, chilled water and steam are the primary arteries by which buildings are […]
Learning to Drive Right
Turns out, turning right takes work. At least when you’re learning to drive a 15-seat ‘turtle-top’ bus. Thankfully, people like F&S’ Andy Ray are there to help drivers get accustomed to a big rig. F&S’ transportation division deals with cars, trucks, vans, and buses meant for U. of I. use. Some customers need to rent […]
Shop Spotlight: Laborer-Electricians Keep the Lights On
The F&S laborer-electricians shop has one primary job: keep the lights on. That’s everywhere on the Urbana campus – in classrooms, offices, laboratories, exterior lights, and even the Ice Arena. Bulbs of all sorts, shapes, and sizes can be found all over campus, and the laborer-electricians are quick to respond when a light goes out. […]