Girl Scouts Tour Abbott Power Plant 2025

Girl Scouts from Champaign and nearby counties visited Abbott Power Plant in April to learn about the co-generation facility that provides heat and power to most of campustown. There, they interacted with demonstrations held by Grainger College of Engineering students, who showed how electricity and steam work, toured the production floor and other areas of Abbott with Utilities & Energy Services experts, and climbed on … Continue reading Girl Scouts Tour Abbott Power Plant 2025

Shop Spotlight: Card Access Opens Doors

The F&S Card Access team keeps campus safe, by changing lock and unlock permissions of individuals on campus. For example, when a new person is hired, they can get in the parts of a building they need to; just as importantly, names and identities can be removed from entrance and exit permissions lists. The i-card holds all the value, as it is the ‘key’ to … Continue reading Shop Spotlight: Card Access Opens Doors

2025 Chief Engineers & Facility Managers Conference: What’s So Cool About Chilled Water

At the 2025 Chief Engineers & Facility Managers Conference, Mike Larson, director of utility operations at Abbott Power Plant, described part of why the Urbana campus is so remarkable in utility and energy production and distribution: chilled water. Cold water, taken down to 42 degrees Fahrenheit at five chillers in Champaign and Urbana, is pumped throughout the campus in 26 miles of underground pipes to … Continue reading 2025 Chief Engineers & Facility Managers Conference: What’s So Cool About Chilled Water

2025 Chief Engineers & Facility Managers Conference: Keynote Recap

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a world-leader in teaching, collaboration, research and workforce development – and a conference has helped position Illinois as a leader within the state and region for those who perform similar work to F&S. The Illinois Chief Engineers & Facility Mangers Conference was a two-day gathering held in March, meant to spur discussion and find solutions to common issues at … Continue reading 2025 Chief Engineers & Facility Managers Conference: Keynote Recap

Snowy Daze: Parkland Students Tour F&S Facilities

F&S, and the crafts and trades nation-wide, are always looking for the next generation of skilled, passionate professionals who maintain critical utilities systems. Buildings have required heating and electricity for decades, and will continue to for the foreseeable future – it might be the folks from a recent tour to do just that. Parkland College, located in Champaign, is just the place for many students … Continue reading Snowy Daze: Parkland Students Tour F&S Facilities

Visit to ‘Appreciative’ Partner: IGB

Sometimes, you gotta check in on your friends. F&S executive team members accepted an invitation from the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) in part just to visit the facility and understand the importance of their relationship. Specifically, IGB director Gene Robinson and director of operations and facilities Jesse Southern, welcomed F&S representatives and led a tour of laboratories, offices, and basement spaces. … Continue reading Visit to ‘Appreciative’ Partner: IGB

Are You Ready for Some Football? F&S Makes Sure of It

Adopted from:Rebecca BigelowF&S Dispatch, 2021 When the Marching Illini step off for their new tunnel entrance at the start of pregame, Illinois football fans feel the excitement build in Memorial Stadium. The sights and sounds of the band, the cheerleaders, the team, even the fans themselves, all play an integral role in the enjoyment of a football game. But the unsung heroes of the day … Continue reading Are You Ready for Some Football? F&S Makes Sure of It

CSEA Winners for 2024 Include Two F&S Employees

By Rebecca Bigelow The University of Illinois blended two former award programs—the Chancellor’s Academic Professional Excellence (CAPE) award and the Chancellor’s Distinguished Staff Award (CDSA)—into one program: Chancellor’s Staff Excellence Awards (CSEA). Campus wanted a program with a single set of rules and protocols that recognizes the contributions of all university staff members. Read the Illinois News Bureau story about all the 2024 winners here. … Continue reading CSEA Winners for 2024 Include Two F&S Employees

Shop Spotlight: Sheetmetal Workers

You want real power? Try stepping (safely!) into an air handling unit (AHU) running full bore in the bowels of the Beckman Institute. The 1.46 inches of static pressure within the AHU is strong enough to knock you over when stepping through the doorway – if you’re close enough, it’ll try to drag you in. The small room features one thing: a giant fan whirring … Continue reading Shop Spotlight: Sheetmetal Workers

INSIDER Magazine: ECIP Awards

F&S Utilities & Energy Services (UES) performs some of the most important work on campus, producing and distributing steam, water, and electricity across 24M gross square feet, more than 600 buildings, and to a ‘town’ of more than 50,000 students and 10,000 employees. So, when building experts and facility managers perform renovations, retrocommmissioning, or other work that reduces energy consumption, recognition is in order! The … Continue reading INSIDER Magazine: ECIP Awards