Category: Education

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Death by Design Screening, August 22 at Champaign Public Library

On Tuesday, August 22, the Illini Gadget Garage will be hosting a screening of the documentary Death by Design at the Champaign Public Library. Doors will open at 6:30 PM and the film will begin at 7:00. The film duration is 73 minutes.

 

The Illini Gadget Garage is a repair center that helps consumers with “do-it-together” troubleshooting and repair of minor damage and performance issues of electronics and small appliances. The project promotes repair as a means to keep products in service and out of the waste stream. The Illini Gadget Garage is coordinated by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center.

 

Death by Design explores the environmental and human costs of electronics, particularly considering their impacts in the design and manufacture stages, bearing in mind that many electronic devices are not built to be durable products that we use for many years. Cell phones, for example, are items that consumers change frequently, sometimes using for less than 2 years before replacing with a new model. When we analyze the effort put into, and potential negative impacts of, obtaining materials for devices through efforts like mining, the exposure to potentially harmful substances endured by laborers in manufacturing plants, and the environmental degradation and human health risks associated with informal electronics recycling practices in various parts of the word, the idea that we might see these pieces of technology as “disposable” in any way becomes particularly poignant. For more information on the film, including reviews, see http://deathbydesignfilm.com/about/  and
http://bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/dbd.html. You can also check out the trailer at the end of this post.

 

After the film, there will be a brief discussion and Q&A session facilitated by Joy Scrogum, Sustainability Specialist from the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) and project coordinator for the Illini Gadget Garage. UI Industrial Design Professor William Bullock will also participate in the panel discussion; other panelists will be announced as they are confirmed. Professor Bullock is also an adviser for the Illini Gadget Garage project; see more about IGG advisers at http://wp.istc.illinois.edu/ilgadgetgarage/meet-the-advisers/.  Check the IGG web site calendar and Facebook page for room details and panelist announcements.

 

Admission to this public screening is FREE, but donations are suggested and appreciated to support future outreach and educational efforts of the Illini Gadget Garage. See http://wp.istc.illinois.edu/ilgadgetgarage/donate/donation-form/ to make an online donation and http://wp.istc.illinois.edu/ilgadgetgarage/ for more information on the project.

Bullfrog Films presents…DEATH BY DESIGN from Bullfrog Films on Vimeo.

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Webinar, 7/27/17–What the Tech? Learn Basic Electronic Component Function with the Illini Gadget Garage

Computers and smartphones are really complex machines, right? Well, if you know a little bit about them, they’re not all that intimidating. The Illini Gadget Garage (IGG) will break it down for you in their “What the Tech?” series of workshops, providing a basic walk through of different computer components and what they do.

variety of electronic components laid out on a white background next to a ruler for scale

This first presentation, via webinar, focuses on the basic components found in computers, smartphones, and other electronic devices and their functions in making a computer operate properly. Components to be covered include, but are not limited to: processors, hard drives, memory cards, and cooling elements. The Illini Gadget Garage’s Amanda Elzbieciak will guide you through the basics. The presentation will take place on Thursday, July 27 from 10-10:45 AM. (Note that the IGG campus workshop will be closed from 10-11 that day as a result.) Register online at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/331629583625614595. 

 

This webinar presentation is free, but donations are appreciated to support future Illini Gadget Garage programming. The IGG is a repair center that helps consumers with “do-it-together” troubleshooting and repair of minor damage and performance issues of electronics and small appliances which promotes repair as a means to keep products in service and out of the waste stream. It is coordinated by ISTC as part of sustainable electronics and zero waste efforts, in collaboration with the iSchool and School of Art + Design. In order to pay hourly staff to help the public and train and oversee volunteers, as well as to pay for expenses like utilities, consumables, etc., IGG relies on the generosity of sponsors like you or your organization! See http://wp.istc.illinois.edu/ilgadgetgarage/donate/donation-form/. 

 

A future presentation will offer hands-on opportunities to dismantle devices at our campus workshop. If you have suggestions for topics for future presentations, send them via email to illinigadgetgarage@gmail.com.

 

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Nest-turned-hive requires rescue mission

bees use their wings to cool nest
Bumble bees turned an abandoned robin’s nest on ISTC’s loading dock into  a toasty habitat. Worker bees furiously beat their wings to cool their brood.

 

A valuable bumble bee colony was rescued from the loading dock at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) last week and is now is a colony-in-residence at the entomology lab at Illinois State University (ISU) in Bloomington.

 

John Marlin, research affiliate at ISTC and also an entomologist, spotted the bees making its home in an abandoned robin’s nest on the center’s loading dock. Marlin wondered if they were Bombus pensylvanicus, a once abundant Illinois species that has suffered a rapid decline in recent years.

 

Marlin contacted Sydney Cameron, the U of I’s authority on bumble bees about the find. Cameron was traveling so she referred Marlin to Ben Sadd, assistant professor of infectious disease ecology at ISU. The loading dock was soon to be very busy with ISTC deliveries. Additionally the bees were stressed by the 90+ degree weather and as many as seven adult bees were fanning the nest with their wings during the day to cool it. Sadd packed up the nest and moved it back to the cool Bloomington lab.

 

Sadd identified the bees as Bombus auricomus, not as rare, but still of considerable interest. Inside the nest was revealed seven workers a queen tending to healthy brood cells and nectar pots. The brood was in good condition so he said the colony could continue producing. It is the only B. auricomis nest in the facility.

 

Bumble bee populations are declining all over the country as suitable prairie, grassland, and other habitats disappear in both rural and urban areas, Marlin pointed out. Homeowners can help bees by including native flowering plants in gardens and only using soil insecticides when necessary, he added.

 

The plight of many bee species (there are over 300 in Illinois alone) has drawn national attention, including efforts to list some as endangered. The Trump administration halted the protection of Bombus affinis under the Endangered Species Act in January. Congress is debating changes to the act this summer.

 

 

hive inside the nest revealed
Transplanted to a cool entomology lab at Illinois State University, the bees’ brood was healthy.
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Illini Gadget Garage Announces Hours for Summer 2017 and Off-Campus Services

The Illini Gadget Garage (IGG) is a collaborative repair center on the UIUC campus to assist students, staff and faculty with troubleshooting and repair of minor damage and performance issues for their personally owned electronic devices and small appliances. The project is coordinated by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) Technical Assistance Program as a waste reduction outreach project of the Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI).

 

Summer hours
The IGG has announced hours for Summer 2017. “Pop-up” repair clinics will be held at the Undergraduate Library Media Commons on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM. Open hours will be held at the IGG’s physical workshop (INHS Storage Building #3) on South Oak Street on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 AM to 2 PM and on Fridays from noon to 4 PM. A map is available for directions to the physical location: http://tinyurl.com/guv4n9z. Note that hours are subject to change, as staff are working to schedule more pop-up clinics in order to bring services to a wider audience, so check the project web site or Facebook page for announcements.

Image which lists the summer 2017 hours for the Illini Gadget Garage

 

Bring a pop-up repair clinic to your facility
Related to that spirit of expansion, the IGG is now offering off-campus pop-ups for companies and organizations that would like to bring “do-it-together” repair to their site as way to engage employees and patrons in product stewardship and sustainability. Staff will come to your location with the necessary tools, and they can arrange to have your audience fill out a diagnostic form in advance so they can research information on the devices and issues being faced ahead of time, making one-on-one interactions during the event more productive. Off-campus pop-ups are 2-4 hours long to allow sufficient time for troubleshooting, repairs, and any additional research. Note that IGG does not sell parts, but if it is determined that a part is needed, staff can assist individuals in determining the exact models of required parts and in researching ways to obtain the part. Staff can also help individuals identify local repair businesses that could help them address more complex damage or businesses that can accept items for proper recycling if they are beyond repair. IGG can help identify local businesses and/or online vendors for informational purposes only; the IGG does not endorse any external business and the ultimate decision of how/where to obtain parts or services is that of the consumer.

 

A pop-up repair clinic can provide a unique benefit to your staff, and be part of your organization’s sustainability efforts, by creating conversations around the impacts of product manufacture, design, and end-of-life management. Such events also provide empowerment and team building opportunities. If you have questions or are interested in scheduling a clinic at your facility, please contact Joy Scrogum, ISTC Sustainability Specialist, for more information and pricing. Fees are charged to host organization of a pop-up clinic to support staff members time both at the event and for preparation; however individuals that attend your event (e.g. employees and/or patrons) are not themselves charged for the assistance they receive. Off-campus pop-up clinics are not restricted to the Champaign-Urbana metropolitan area, but please be aware that additional fees may apply for travel.

View from above showing a student seated at a table working with tools to dismantle and repair a laptop

 

Support IGG outreach in your community or on the UIUC campus
Companies and corporations interested in sponsoring a pop-up repair clinic in their community or at a particular public space are encouraged to contact Joy Scrogum to discuss possibilities and to receive instructions for contributions to the appropriate UI Foundation fund. Additionally, any individual or company interested in supporting IGG’s efforts to provide product stewardship and waste reduction guidance to the UIUC community at no cost to students, faculty and staff may make online donations via the UI Foundation to the “SEI Various Donors Fund,” which supports the educational efforts of the Sustainable Electronics Initiative. You may indicate “Support the Illini Gadget Garage” in the “Special Instructions” section of the online donation form. We thank you and the project’s current sponsors for your support!

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Illini Gadget Garage Spring 2017 Open Hours, Pop-up Clinics

The Illini Gadget Garage, a collaborative repair center on the UI campus where students, staff, faculty, and community members can receive assistance with troubleshooting and repair of their personally owned electronics and small appliances with electronic components, has established its schedule for the Spring 2017 semester.

 

The repair shop, located at 1833 S. Oak St. in Champaign (click here for a map), is open from noon to 4 PM on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and from 10 AM to 2 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. No appointment is necessary, but it is recommended that you fill out the online diagnostic form prior to stopping by. This will give staff the opportunity to do some research on your devices and the problem you’re experiencing ahead of time to make your one-on-one session more efficient.

 

Note that Illini Gadget Garage staff and volunteers do not repair items FOR you, but rather WITH you, guiding you through the process of determining the problem, necessary steps to address it, and providing tools to accomplish the repairs. In this way, consumers can become empowered to take action to extend the useful life of their products without the potentially intimidating task of attempting repair, or determining what parts are needed, where to go for help, etc. all on their own. Working with the Illini Gadget Garage can also eliminate the need for more technically savvy do-it-yourselfers to obtain tools they may only need to use one time.

 

If you can’t fit a trip to the Oak St. facility into your schedule, consider stopping by Tech Tuesdays on Tuesday evenings from 6-9 PM at the Undergraduate Library Media Commons. Illini Gadget Garage staff will be on hand for assistance with devices, and to provide information on the project, volunteer opportunities, and other opportunities for collaboration. If your group or department is interested in hosting a pop-up repair clinic in your building, please fill out the online form to express interest in hosting a clinic.

 

Illini Gadget Garage assistance is currently available free of charge, thanks to seed funding from the UI Student Sustainability Committee and other sponsors. Questions about services, open hours, and volunteer opportunities can be addressed to illinigadgetgarage@gmail.com. General questions about the project, educational collaboration, sponsorship opportunities and related issues can be addressed to Joy Scrogum at jscrogum@illinois.edu or 217-333-8948.

 

circuit board with open hours for repair center listed

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ActGreen Summit Drives Sustainable Business Future

discussion during break out groups
ISTC Director Kevin O’Brien (second from the right) met with students studying economics, business, engineering and other fields during the ActGreen Green Business Summit Feb. 4.

 

ISTC Director Kevin C. O’Brien served on the keynote panel for ActGreen’s 3rd Annual Green Business Summit Saturday at the ACES Library.

 

ActGreen is a student leadership group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign which prepares future business leaders to take environmental and sustainable values into their careers.

 

O’Brien told the summit participants that regardless of changes in political regimes, the importance of sustainable business ethics is here to stay.

 

“That train has left the station,” he said. “A sustainable business is more profitable and their products carry added value.”

 

Overwhelmingly the public has embraced the importance of sustainable business practices so that a successful brand must include sustainability at the core of their business planning, O’Brien said.

 

Other panelists during the summit were: Steven Rosenberg, founder and president of Green Purpose; Dave Wilms, owner of Advance Renewables, LLC, and moderator Cassie Carroll, program director at The Land Connection.

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EPA’s Safer Choice Label helps consumers make informed choices

saferchoice_rgbFinding products that are safer for you, your family, and the environment should be easy. That’s why EPA developed the new Safer Choice label. Products with the Safer Choice label help consumers and commercial buyers identify products with safer chemical ingredients, without sacrificing quality or performance.
 
More than 2,000 products currently qualify to carry the Safer Choice label. You can find products for your home at retail stores. You can also find products to use in facilities like schools, hotels, offices, and sports venues.
 
Participation in the Safer Choice program is voluntary. Companies that make products carrying the Safer Choice label have invested heavily in research and reformulation to ensure that their products meet the Safer Choice Standard. These companies are leaders in safer products and sustainability.
 
Products have to meet stringent criteria in order to earn the Safer Choice label. In addition to product ingredients, the program also considers product performance, pH, packaging and more to ensure that products with the label are safer for you and your family. Once a product meets the Safer Choice Standard, EPA conducts annual audits to ensure that they continue to do so.
 
You can search for products that meet the Safer Choice Standard here.

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Illini Gadget Garage Promotes Reuse, Recycling at Events

The Illini Gadget Garage is inviting University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign students, faculty, and staff, as well as members of the surrounding community, to a recycled holiday craft workshop on December 3, from 1 to 3 PM. Check out the Facebook event for more information, including the Gadget Garage address, and some posts of examples crafts that you could make! There will be multiple types of reclaimed materials on hand (e.g. beads made from the keys of broken computer keyboards, plastic circuit sheets, wiring, etc.) for fashioning into ornaments, bracelets, holiday cards, and other handmade items. The event provides a family-appropriate activity that subtly teaches lessons about reuse, product stewardship, and a circular economy. The event is FREE (though donations are always welcome to provide continued funding for student staff and operational expenses), and light refreshments will be served. Besides crafting, you can ask questions about local electronics recycling options and talk about environmental and social impacts of electronics throughout their lifecycle, as well as learn about services, volunteer opportunities, and ways to incorporate project efforts in coursework. If you’ve heard about the Gadget Garage, but don’t have a device that needs repair, or feel uncertain about whether you could tackle repair, this is a great chance to learn more while having some fun!

craft event flyer

 

Project staff also recently participated in the America Recycles Day Celebration at the Anita Purves Nature Center in Urbana, which focused on electronics recycling. Not only did they offer their repair services (and help a patron restore a CD player to working order by showing them how to clean the laser reading lens!), but they also engaged the many children in attendance by making bracelets and necklaces from computer key beads while talking to parents and guardians about the project, and the importance of repair, reuse, and recycling of electronics. Madeleine Wolske, a graduate student from the iSchool who coordinates volunteers and oversees repair activities with the public, appeared on CiLiving to promote the event. Check out this clip of the segment:

 

The Gadget Garage will continue having open hours until the last week in December, at which time is will close for the winter break. Spring 2017 open hours are yet to be determined and will be posted to the project site and social networks when available. The Illini Gadget Garage is a collaboration of ISTC’s Sustainable Electronics Initiative, the iSchool, and the School of Art + Design. Support for the project  is provided by the Student Sustainability Committee and various corporate and individual donors. Questions about the project may be addressed to Joy Scrogum of ISTC.

 

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Illini Gadget Garage at America Recycles Day Event, Nov. 19

America Recycles Day Event announcement

 

Join U-Cycle and the Urbana Park District to celebrate America Recycles Day! This year’s theme is “It’s Electric!” The focus will be on the importance of electronics recycling, including resources on where to bring electronic devices to recycle in the community, and how to trouble-shoot issues with your electronic device courtesy of the Illini Gadget Garage, a collaborative project lead by ISTC involving students at the University of Illinois. Fill out a diagnostic form in advance to secure a spot with a representative of the Gadget Garage: tinyurl.com/h5y4kcx. Click here for the Facebook event.

 

The following items will be accepted for recycling at the event: ink jet cartridges, cell phones and household batteries.

 

In addition there will be eco art & craft project stations, recycling games and chances to win prizes when pledging to recycle! Enter to win the Creative Reuse Competition – Call 217/384-4062 for more information.

 

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Illini Gadget Garage Grand Opening Sat., Nov. 12

Join us at the Illini Gadget Garage in Research Park to celebrate its Grand Opening on Saturday, November 12th. ISTC’s Joy Scrogum, graduate student coordinator Madeleine Hall, and other student volunteers will be there for “do-it-together” troubleshooting and repair of small electronics and appliances. The event takes place from 11 AM to 2 PM.

 

There are approximately 10 slots for one-on-one troubleshooting during the event, so registration is required. Please fill out the information on the online sign-up form to the best of your ability so the repair crew may be better prepared to assist you. If your response to this form is received and slots for this pop-up clinic are full, the Gadget Garage team will contact you regarding a time you might come into the shop on campus at a later date. Similarly, if the assigned time they provide doesn’t work with your schedule, they’ll provide options for you to visit the campus space or another pop-up instead. Click here for the Facebook event.

 

The Illini Gadget Garage is located at 1833 S. Oak St., Champaign, IL 61820 (Just north of Hazelwood Drive). See http://tinyurl.com/guv4n9z for a map.

Exterior view of Illini Gadget Garage main entrance