PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 26, No. 2, July 20, 2006

Fueling change
Grant to fund bioprocessing research lab

By Sharita Forrest, Assistant Editor
217-244-1072; slforres@illinois.edu

Click photo to enlarge Photo by L. Brian Stauffer Alternative fuels HansPeter Blaschek, assistant dean in the Office of Research in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, is coordinating development of the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory, a state-of-the art facility focused on the conversion of renewable feed stocks into biofuels. The facility also will be a test case for eco-friendly construction techniques.

The UI will receive a grant of $3.2 million from the state of Illinois to plan and design the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory at the UI’s Urbana campus.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced June 28 that funds would be allocated for planning the facility through the Opportunity Returns program, an economic development program to spur job growth throughout Illinois by pairing companies and communities.

In a news release announcing the grant, Blagojevich said: “Post-harvest research is critical to growing the agricultural economy and creating more jobs in Illinois. This state-of-the-art facility will encourage even more research discoveries and the education of future generations that will help Illinois’ food and agriculture industries thrive and put more people to work.”

Hans-Peter Blaschek, a professor of food microbiology, is coordinating development of the laboratory. Blaschek also is assistant dean in the Office of Research for the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, and is a faculty member in the department of food science and human nutrition and in the Institute for Genomic Biology.

The 60,000-square-foot facility will support multistage processing that converts soybeans, corn and other grains, lignocellulosic-based co-products and food processing byproducts into new and improved feeds, foods, energy sources, industrial feed stocks and chemicals. The multi-disciplinary facility will focus on the chemical, physical and biological conversion of renewable feed stocks into biofuels and will provide opportunities for developing new production processes for biofuels, industrial chemicals and nutraceuticals.

Often referred to as phytochemicals or functional foods, nutraceuticals are natural, bioactive chemical compounds that promote health, prevent disease or have medicinal properties.

The United States is increasing use of biobased materials and bioenergy, and corn and soybeans could serve as the plant technology platforms for a new biobased economy, said David Chicoine, UI vice president for technology and economic development. The new laboratory also presents the opportunity to make the state of Illinois, already one of the largest producers of corn and soybeans, a leader of a new bio-based economy by building upon earlier discoveries and creating jobs and industries.

“The time is ripe for development of a unique bioprocessing facility since the chemical industry is expected to transition from petroleum-based processes to bio-based technology,” Blaschek said. “The IBRL will allow translational research to be carried out from the laboratory bench to the pilot-scale level in anticipation of commercialization.”

Robert Easter, dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, and Blaschek have talked with officials at Archer Daniels Midland Co. in Decatur and other agricultural companies about joining the UI in the IBRL. ADM is one of the world’s largest processors of corn, soybeans, wheat and cocoa.

The IBRL also will be a “green building” with energy efficient and environmentally friendly design features. The IBRL, along with a Workforce Development Center at Heartland Community College in Bloomington, Ill., will be one of at least three state construction projects that will be used for case studies of green building materials and techniques.

The facility is expected to cost about $20 million and construction may begin later this fiscal year or in FY2008, once funding is secured and a site is selected. The planning and design work will provide for site improvements, including extending utilities and roadways.

The facility is part of the first phase of a six-phase plan to modernize the South Farms, which began in September 2003 with the groundbreaking for the new beef and sheep complex, a $10 million complex of livestock barns, offices and facilities for mixing feed and storing machinery that was constructed near the intersection of Race Street and Old Church Road between Urbana and Savoy.

Like the new beef and sheep facilities, which opened in 2004, the IBRL will replace outdated facilities and will accommodate the technologies needed for research.
 The modernization plans for the South Farms also include construction of facilities for swine and horses, an 82,000-square-foot Natural Resources Facility that will support research and education on vegetable and fruit crops as well as forestry and natural systems, and a Crops Complex that will serve as headquarters for the Crops Section and house the UI Plant Diagnostic Clinic.

Historic Lincoln Hall receives funding for planning much-needed renovations

By Sharita Forrest, Assistant Editor
217-244-1072; slforres@illinois.edu

Click photo to enlarge Historic Lincoln Hall

Officials from the UI, the Illinois Legislature and the state’s Capital Development Board recently announced that the state was giving the university $3 million to begin planning renovations to historic Lincoln Hall on the Urbana campus. UI President B. Joseph White; Jan Grimes, executive director of the Capital Development Board; state Rep. Naomi Jakobsson; and Sarah Mangelsdorf, the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Urbana, made the announcement July 7 on the east steps of Lincoln Hall.

Built in 1911, Lincoln Hall has not had any significant refurbishments since the west half of the building and the theater were constructed in 1930, although the building is one of the most used instructional buildings on campus.

The renovations will include upgrades to the building’s electrical, lighting, heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and computer network systems in addition to new flooring, ceilings and wall finishes. The building’s interior will be reconfigured to optimize instructional space, which will be concentrated on the first two floors and the backstage area of the theater. The backstage area has been unused for 25 years since the theater department relocated to Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. The top two floors will be used primarily for offices for faculty members.

Although the remodeling will be significant, the speakers offered assurances that Lincoln Hall’s historic character would be preserved. 

In a news release from Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s office, UI Chancellor Richard Herman said: “Lincoln Hall has played a major role in the academic lives of our students for almost 100 years. It is home to a number of core disciplines, and its classroom space is frequented by our students more than any other place on campus. Refitting Lincoln Hall to better serve the changing needs of current and future students recognizes its place in our history, as well as its future role in establishing the state’s flagship campus as pre-eminent among public institutions in the nation.”

The UI sought state appropriations to renovate the aging building in its annual budget requests to the state in recent years, but the state did not approve appropriations for any new capital projects because of the state’s ongoing economic constraints.

White said that the state’s decision to release the funds was “really personal with me because I’ve fallen in love with Lincoln Hall.”

The improvements to Lincoln Hall are expected to cost about $55.8 million. When asked how the university would obtain the remaining funds, White said the university wouldn’t begin the project until it had the financing available or had identified a source of funds. He said he did not anticipate implementing special tuition increases to pay for the renovations.

However, the renovations could be among the projects funded in part by the Academic Facilities Maintenance Fund Assessment, a fee that all new UI students will begin paying this fall to help address the university’s $617 million backlog of deferred maintenance projects.

“I’d love to begin the renovations of this building in 2008 and get them done in two years,” White said, but added that the university would first have to find the funding to make that happen.

This month, the university is expected to select a design firm for the Lincoln Hall remodeling project. The Capital Development Board, which manages all construction, renovation and repair projects for the state, will oversee the project.

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