B-2 Friday, March 29, 2019
LOCAL
INNOVATION TRANSFER AWARD
‘PRETTY HUMBLING’ $2.3M grant, $8M
Director of POETS recognized for his work
with the lab, Thermosys software tool
By BEN ZIGTERMAN
bzigterman@news-gazette.com
URBANA — The direc-
tor of a University of Illi-
nois research lab is one
of several award winners
who will be recognized
tonight at the 14th annual
Innovation Celebration.
Andrew Alleyne, the
director of the Power
Optimization for Electro-
Thermal Systems center,
or POETS, will be award-
ed the Innovation Trans-
fer Award, which is given
to an University of Illinois
individual or group whose
research has “the poten-
tial for significant societal
impact.”
POETS, recipient of an
$18.5 million National Sci-
ence Foundation grant in
2015, aims to create tech-
nology that will help elec-
tric vehicles — whether
cars, trucks, boats or
planes — run efficiently
and without overheating.
“Electrification has been
going on for decades,”
Alleyne said. “We’re surf-
ing a long-term wave.”
All electrified vehicles
heat up when they’re run-
ning and need to be cooled.
When these products
are developed, mechanical
and electrical engineers
typically design the com-
ponents, and then thermal
engineers try to figure out
ways to cool them down,
Alleyne said.
“They’re not designed
at the same time,” Alleyne
said. This stems from the
way engineers are taught,
even at the UI.
“We’re no better,” he
said. “We have separate
electrical and mechani-
cal engineering depart-
ments. … It’s kind of baked
in when you start learning
engineering.”
AGGRAVATED ROBBERY
18-year-old charged
with March 7 holdup
By MARY SCHENK
mschenk@news-gazette.com
URBANA — An Urbana
man was charged Thurs-
day with aggravated rob-
bery in connection with
a holdup in north Urbana
earlier this month.
Kevin Beasley Jr., 18,
who listed an address in
the 1000 block of East
Kerr Avenue, was arrest-
ed Wednesday morning
by University of Illinois
police in connection with
a March 7 robbery in the
100 block of North Grego-
ry Street.
A release from UI
police said a UI student
flagged down officers
PRISON SENTENCE
Five years for one of three in
Danville shooting, car chase
By TIM DITMAN guilty to unlawful posses-
tditman@wdws.com sion of a weapon by a fel-
DANVILLE — on. He will receive
One of three men
charged in a shoot-
ing and vehicle
chase about a year
ago in Danville has
pleaded guilty.
Judge Nancy
JONES
Fahey this week sen-
tenced Jodavius Jones, 20, cer saw shots fired from
of Danville to five years a vehicle near Main and
in prison after he pleaded Kentucky streets.
GUILTY PLEA
Shooting nets two years in prison
By TIM DITMAN
tditman@wdws.com
DANVILLE — A Dan-
ville man who admitted
his role in a May 2018
shooting that shattered
a car window was sen-
tenced to two years in
prison this week.
loan approved for
wastewater plant
Andrew Alleyne, director of the Center for Power
Optimization of Electro-Thermal Systems and winner
of the Champaign County Economic Development
Corporation’s 2019 Innovation Transfer Award —
University of Illinois, poses for a photo in the Digital
Computer Laboratory on Thursday on the University of
Illinois campus in Urbana.
With POETS, they’re try-
ing to look at both issues at
the same time.
“There’s not too many
places that do both,” he
said.
Four years after receiv-
ing the NSF grant, Alleyne
said “dozens of different
companies” have used the
results of POETS’ work,
but he isn’t able to publicly
identify them.
“By being partners with
us, they get access to the
students and the technolo-
gy, and then bring the tech
in-house and use it in their
own products,” Alleyne
said.
Alleyne is also being
recognized Friday for his
work on Thermosys, which
he described as “a soft-
ware tool for predicting
how thermal systems like
your air conditioning sys-
tem in your home behave.”
The simulation software
is not used in the prod-
ucts themselves, Alleyne
said, but helps companies
design their products more
shortly after
9:35 p.m. to
report that
he had been
pushed to
the ground
and held at
g u n p o i n t BEASLEY JR.
while three
suspects took his cell-
phone and money.
The student’s phone
was later found in the 300
block of North Lincoln
Avenue, Urbana, police
said.
The student was not
physically injured.
UI police detectives
identified Beasley as
one of the suspects and
357 days of credit
on that sentence for
time he has already
spent in jail.
Danville police
said that on the
afternoon of April
1, 2018, an offi-
Tyvon Cooper, 23,
pleaded guilty to aggra-
vated unlawful use of a
weapon in the May 17,
2018, shooting near the
intersection of Bowman
and Winter avenues.
He will receive 312
days of credit on his sen-
THE NEWS-GAZETTE
USDA’S RURAL DEVELOPMENT OFFICE
By NOELLE MCGEE In 2016, the village October and be complet-
nmcgee@news-gazette.com hired Fehr Graham to ed in about a year.
CATLIN — A rough- assess the facility and Meantime, he said the
ly $10.3 million project develop a comprehen- village has a high-capac-
to update Catlin’s aging sive improvement plan ity dry prime pump on
wastewater treatment to modernize the building hand to use to prevent the
plant will get underway and equipment, improve building from flooding.
this fall thanks to the U.S. efficiency and reduce “We get heavy rains,
Department of Agricul- energy consumption, and and it doesn’t take much
ture. address safety concerns. to flood the plant,”
Stephen Haas/The News-Gazette The USDA’s Rural At the time, plant Schmink said. “It will
Development Office Superintendent Tim pump an enormous
approved giving the vil- McFadden said some of amount of water in a very
lage a $2.3 million grant the top priorities were short time.”
and an $8 million loan to improving a lift station, “It’s actually keeping
fund the much-needed replacing underground us going,” said McLain,
improvements. pipes that developed who thanked Marron,
“We’re very grateful,” leaks, replacing two of formerly the Vermil-
said Catlin Mayor Butch the original blowers that ion County Board chair-
Schmink. “The wastewa- supply air to the treat- man, and county board
quickly. This has been used ter plant is 42 years old. ment units, replacing the member Chuck Nesbitt,
by Thermo King, which We had to do something.” roof, replacing old sand R-Catlin, for making the
makes refrigeration sys- Schmink, village Clerk drying beds with con- equipment available. “If
tems for trucks and buses. Shelley McLain and Matt crete ones and divert- it wasn’t for that pump
“They used that to do a Johnson of Fehr Graham ing stormwater from the and their generosity, I
lot of testing of the soft- Engineering & Environ- building. don’t know where we
ware they use on their mental, in Champaign, McLain said Johnson, would be right now.”
refrigeration units, rather which is overseeing the the lead engineer, also Nesbitt said that about
than test cells,” Alleyne project, were among worked to find funding 1½ years ago, the county
said, saving them time and those at the town hall sources. board approved taking
money. last week when USDA “We didn’t know if we money from an old work-
As for the Innovation state Director Doug Wil- would get any grant mon- ing cash fund, earmarked
Celebration award, Alleyne son and U.S. Rep. John ey,” she said, adding that for emergencies, to
said he’s “flattered,” as “a Shimkus, R-Collinsville, came as a nice surprise. establish an infrastruc-
lot of what we do is applied stopped by to offer con- She said the village will ture fund to assist in situ-
math.” gratulations. repay the low-interest ations like this.
Most people in his field In addition to the loan over a 40-year peri- The pump, which cost
don’t get to transfer that USDA, local officials od. around $60,000, was the
math into technological thanked Shimkus and Currently, the village first purchase made using
advances, Alleyne said, so state Rep. Mike Marron, is waiting to get permits the money.
being recognized for that R-Fithian, for their help from the Illinois Environ- “They can’t just go out
“is pretty humbling.” in making the project a ment Protection Agency. and buy things like this,”
The Innovation Cele- reality. “Once we get those said Nesbitt, who chairs
bration, which is free to The plant on North back, the project will be the three-person infra-
attend, begins at 5:30 p.m. Webster Street opened put out to bid,” McLain structure committee.
at the Parkland College in 1977 and treats about said. “We know that in the
student union. It will rec- 200,000 gallons of waste- Schmink said the board future there will be other
ognize entrepreneurs and water a day. won’t discuss a rate towns in Vermilion Coun-
innovators in nine differ- While small improve- increase, needed to repay ty that have the same
ent categories. Alleyne ments were made in 2001, the loan, until those costs issues as Catlin has now.
was one of three winners it still relies on much of are known. It will be there for any
announced ahead of the the original equipment, He said construction is other community that
event. Schmink said. scheduled to kick off in needs it.”
arrested him Wednesday
following an interview at
the police station.
They continue to inves-
tigate and are looking for
the other two suspects.
Aggravated robbery is
a Class 1 felony carrying
penalties ranging from
four to 15 years in prison
upon conviction.
The charge, which
says that a weapon was
inferred, is frequently
filed when police have
not yet found the alleged
weapon.
Judge John Kenne-
dy set Beasley’s bond at
$50,000 and told him to be
back in court June 4.
When the officer tried to
stop the vehicle, it fled for
about a mile, after which
two passengers, includ-
ing Jones, got out and ran
away.
The driver stayed in
the vehicle and was also
arrested.
Officers later found two
guns they believe were
used in the crime.
No one was hit by the
gunfire.
tence for time served.
Police said the victim
told police he was in his
vehicle and his window
was shot out, but he was
not hurt.
Officers searched the
area and found a vehicle
with Cooper inside.