1. Announcing the new MURE: My University Research Experience site

Please update your research opportunities as soon as possible, as MURE is now available for student viewing.

The University of Utah is committed to providing exceptional signature educational experiences for our students. One type of signature experience is university research, where undergraduates participate directly with faculty in developing the next generation of life-changing technologies, medical discoveries, discoveries about our world and its peoples, creating new forms of art, music, and dance, and more. The My University Research Experience (MURE) site is a place for faculty to post those undergraduate research opportunities, and for students to find them. Positions can be paid or unpaid, short term or long term. They can be in any department on campus, and may include off campus and international experiences. 

This site opened May 25 for faculty to post positions, and is now open for students to seek them. Please go to MURE online and post any ongoing positions you have in your department, and spread the word among your colleagues. In addition to using this site to find students, we will also be using this site to discover the breadth and depth of undergraduate research at the U. This site will not collect student resumes for you. You will be asked to post ‘how to apply’ for each position. This may include identifying a place to drop or email resumes, or contacting you directly.  If you list a position as ‘ongoing,’ it will stay on the site indefinitely (you will be reminded to review these ongoing opportunities yearly, to ensure they are still active and up-to-date). If you have a position with a specific closing date, the site will automatically close that position when the target date is reached. You can always close, edit or re-open your positions by logging into the MURE site.

New from RedThread

U students from the Salt Lake City Workshop

Have you ever looked at an old abandoned building or rusted out relic and thought, ‘It would be so neat to bring that back to life and make it useful again!’  That is exactly what a team of university students is doing in Salt Lake City.

Students from the U’s Salt Lake City Workshop, led by Nan Ellin, chair of the Department of City & Metropolitan Planning, are working with residents, community organizations, and city officials to convert a neglected rail corridor into a new urban amenity. Inspired by the success of New York City’s High Line, the student team proposed the 9 Line, a new linear park and urban trail following the abandoned rail corridor along 900 South and linking with a new bike lane as it moves east.

Read more online.

Building constructed in 1981 scores 81 out of 100

Jonathon Bates

Jonathon Bates loves efficiency of all kinds and it shows in his management of the Williams Building, now owned by the University of Utah and home to the Department of Pediatrics. Since Bates took over as director of the building’s property management department, energy use has plummeted, while the number of people in the building has jumped 48 percent in four years. 

At the suggestion of the University’s then-campus energy manager Angel Moreno, Bates decided to apply for an Energy Star designation for the building. EPA’s energy performance system rates the performance of a building on a scale of 1 to 100. The rating expresses the performance of the building relative to similar facilities around the US. A rating of 50 signals that the building performs in the middle of the peer group—half of similar facilities are more efficient and half are less efficient. A rating of 75 indicates that the building is more efficient than 75 percent of similar buildings and is eligible to apply for the Energy Star.  

The Energy Star designation for the Williams Building is largely the result of two recent major upgrades; a boiler system update and improvement project in 2006, and a replacement and retrofit of the chillers in 2009. The boiler system updates had a payback of three to four years, and have saved roughly $66,000 per year in natural gas expenses. The remodeling of the boiler and hot water systems reduced the natural gas consumption in the building from 2006 to 2009 by 52.6 percent. The cooling system upgrades are saving roughly $55,000 per year and have a 10 to 12 year payback, but this has also occurred as the population of the building has increased from 800 to 1300. In addition to these major upgrades, a lighting automation system was phased in throughout the building starting in 2002 and completed in 2008. All offices have occupancy sensors, and each university space has installed daylight harvesting (a sensor measures the amount of available natural light and turns off lamps according to required light levels). This improvement and the retrofit/upgrade of the chiller plant has resulted in an annual reduction of kilowatt hour consumption by 13.75 percent from 2006 to 2010, again, an impressive feat given the substantial increase in building tenants during that time.

Bates was able to do the Energy Star certification himself by submetering each tenant and closely monitoring energy use in the individual spaces. He says he will continue to brainstorm new ways to get the Williams Building operating more efficiently by looking at LEED-EB (existing building) certification, potential solar panel installations, thermal storage, composting, and sod replacement.

Helping students transition to life in America

Bringing these kids into our lives really gives us a more direct connection to the world. I keep thinking about how we were told we would help them become ‘citizens of the world’…. It’s so true. I’m really glad I got involved in homestay.

 
         Monica Stapley, David Eccles School of Business staff member

International students gather at a local restaurant.

Are you interested in hosting an international student to stay in your home? If so, you might want to know about Global Pathways, a collaboration between the University of Utah and Kaplan, the global education company. The innovative 12-month program initiated at the U of U in January 2010 provides to the international student intensive English language training, university study skills preparation, and the first year of a bachelor’s degree program. Those who successfully complete the program progress to the second year, choosing from among 75 different majors.

A “host family network,” managed by Global Pathways, helps the students transition to life in America and at the university. In fact, many of the Global Pathways host families (about 50 percent) have been U of U staff members.

“When you just arrive to new country you feel lonely with no family,” says one student who was placed in the home of a U of U staff member. “But homestay helps you and they will be your family. After one year you notice that when you talk with other international students or Americans, they can understand you, while your friends are still having troubles.” If you are interested in hosting an international student, or if you would like to learn more about Global Pathways, contact Megan Richards or call 801-581-5240.

From Sunnyside Ave. to I-215

Construction begins July 5, 2011

UDOT will perform pavement preservation on Foothill Drive (state Route 186) between Sunnyside Avenue and the I-80/I-215 interchange. The project will begin July 5, 2011, and will reach substantial completion in August 2011, prior to the first Utah football game and before the beginning of fall semester. Elements of this construction project include new asphalt overlay, upgraded sidewalk ramps at pedestrian crossings and new traffic detection technology. 

Motorists should anticipate lane restrictions in the area, including nightly restrictions down to one lane in each direction from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. During peak travel times, however, restrictions will be lifted: all northbound lanes will be open weekdays from 6 to 9 a.m. and all southbound lanes will be open weekdays from 3 to 6 p.m. Please plan ahead and use alternate routes when possible.

Residents and businesses near Foothill Drive should anticipate ongoing nighttime work throughout the project as crews will be working around the clock seven days a week to accelerate the schedule. The work is expected to move quickly along Foothill and each activity should last only a short duration in each location as crews move through the area. 

The Foothill Pavement Preservation project is part of UDOT’s Renovate I-80 initiative, which encompasses all 2011 UDOT construction projects on or near the Utah I-80 corridor. These projects will improve and reinforce the existing infrastructure, extend the life of the roadway and help prevent the need for more extensive reconstruction in the future.  

For more information about Renovate I-80 and the Foothill Pavement Preservation project, click here, contact a project representative at 888-803-3921, or contact Renovate I-80.

For weekly travel advisories regarding all UDOT projects, visit UDOT and click on the orange Know Where Know Why tab.

New TRAX lines open and bus routes change

The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) will make changes to bus and TRAX service effective Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011.  The service adjustments come as UTA prepares to open two new light rail lines to South Jordan and West Valley. Changes will be made to the transit system in Salt Lake, south Davis, and Tooele counties. The final service plan is the result of a six-month process during which the agency gathered information from the public. 

Maps and information on planned route changes can be found at UTA online. To read how TRAX route names are changing to colors click here. To find out how UTA’s redesign will close some routes and change others, click here.