Technology

Thursday, November 19, 2009

UI receives federal grant for carbon dioxide study

CHAMPAIGN (AP) – The University of Illinois is getting a roughly $900,000 grant to study the possible environmental impact of storing the chief man-made greenhouse gas under water reservoirs.

The EPA grant covers what could be a three-year research project involving subsurface storage called sequestration.

Astronauts take 1st spacewalk of mission

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – A pair of astronauts ventured out on the first spacewalk of their shuttle mission Thursday to tackle some antenna and cable work at the International Space Station.

The linked shuttle-station was soaring over South America when Michael Foreman and Dr. Robert Satcher Jr. emerged from the hatch.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Astronauts inspect space shuttle for damage

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – Space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts scoured their ship Tuesday for any signs of launch damage while pursuing the International Space Station.

Atlantis and its crew of six will hook up with the space station Wednesday.

Atom smasher nears restart after repairs

GENEVA (AP) – The European Organization for Nuclear Research says it expects to restart the world's largest atom smasher by this weekend after more than a year of repairs.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Gift only covers 25% of Virginia's renovation project

CHAMPAIGN – Even with Michael Carragher's $1 million gift to the Virginia Theatre restoration fund, the Champaign Parks Foundation estimates it will need $3 million more to complete the entire renovation project.

Mr. Carragher's gift will be spent mainly to remodel the front lobby and concession area. The bids for that work will be let after the first of the year, and the work will begin in mid-June and last through October.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

A decade later, jury's still out on UI Research Park

As the University of Illinois prepares to expand its 10-year-old research park onto university land east of First Street, The News-Gazette has spent several months examining how the park has fared in its first decade.

N-G reporters Julie Wurth and Christine des Garennes sought to answer basic questions – just who works in the research park? – as well as broader ones. Has the park fulfilled its promise? What could its future entail? The reporters worked with Marissa Monson and Stephanie Lulay in a UI Department of Journalism partnership. 

CHAMPAIGN – A decade ago, visions of a Silicon Prairie that would rival the best research parks in the country took hold in Champaign-Urbana.

A giant parcel of land down the block from university cattle and sheep barns was chosen as the site for the experiment, to be known as the University of Illinois Research Park.

Research Park growing, but UI tenants help fill the space

CHAMPAIGN – At the University of Illinois Research Park, State Farm Insurance runs a consumer research center, Caterpillar operates a simulation center and Archer Daniels Midland has a mathematical modeling center.

Over the years, park tenants have come to include large companies with satellite research operations or local startup companies like R Systems, which built a supercomputer in the park.

Project's employment numbers not as big as projected

CHAMPAIGN – Was it all "pie in the sky?"

When the University of Illinois Research Park was proposed a decade ago, supporters talked of the park's potential to have 5,000 employees within a decade, or even five years.

How UI park compares with Midwest neighbors

When it comes to university presence in research parks, the numbers are all over the map.

Purdue University has no university offices in its park, with minor exceptions. At Iowa State, up to 30 percent of the park's square footage can be university space.

Hunting Web site features students' pro-quality videos

Nic DiFilippo's fourth-hour class at Mahomet-Seymour High School buzzes with activity as some students navigate video-editing software on professional grade computers while others adjust lighting in front of a green screen propped against his classroom's chalkboard.

But there's more to this class than just kids fooling around with technology. DiFilippo thinks his video-editing class is the only in the nation to be producing a regular show for a Web site.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

FutureGen group says project costs have dropped

MATTOON – Members of the Coles Together group promoting the proposed $2.4 billion FutureGen clean coal power plant said Friday they remain optimistic that the federal Department of Energy will green-light the project early next year.

"I feel positive about the progress that we've made this year. I feel good about our chances in January, but I'm not going to assume anything until it's done," said U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Businessman talks about restoring old computers

CHAMPAIGN – Nine years ago, Willie Cade started a company to refurbish old computers so schools and nonprofits could use them.

Since then, he and his employees have refurbished 40,000 personal computers – equipment that otherwise might have ended up in landfills.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Elevator malfunction forces office rearrangement

DANVILLE – Some employees and visitors at the Vermilion County Courthouse Annex are getting exercise this week walking up and down stairs, because the four-story building's elevator is out of order and will be for several weeks.

Maintenance employees discovered last week that the nearly 50-year-old elevator was leaking hydraulic fluid, so it's been shut down while county officials seek bids for its repair or replacement, according to Vermilion County Board Chairman Jim McMahon.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Compute this: Work on new UI facility ahead of schedule

CHAMPAIGN – One of these days, fifth-graders will be trooping through the big building at the corner of Oak Street and St. Mary's Road.

Maybe they'll tap the bulletproof glass at the reception window as they wait their turn to go through the "man trap," the rotating door that will get you if you don't really have authorization to be there. Or maybe they'll get to blink at the iris reader instead.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Groundbreaking set for Parkland's diesel center

CHAMPAIGN – Parkland College is about to break ground on a diesel center that's part of a program where 100 percent of students get a job.

The groundbreaking ceremony for Parkland College's new Diesel Technology Addition will take place from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday at the campus's Tony Noel Agriculture Technology Applications Center.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Urbana library offers home history online

URBANA – More than 800 pictures, title abstracts and maps showing the history of homes and neighborhoods in Champaign County are available online through the Urbana Free Library.

"Historic Champaign County Neighborhoods and Homes" is seen as a "first phase of a portal" to a digital record of the county, according to Anke Voss, director of the historical Champaign County archive at the library.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Two companies share promising plans for future

URBANA – It's been a difficult year for many businesses, but two local companies said Thursday they won't let that stand in their way.

The chief executive officer of Champaign-based EpiWorks outlined his company's plan to expand into solar technologies, and the founder of iCyt Mission Technology introduced a new piece of cell-sorting equipment the company plans to distribute internationally.