Week 2 - The Abbott Power Plant

    For class this week we hiked all the way over to the Abbott power plant, located in the Southwest corner of campus. We had a pretty brief tour through the plant, led by an engineer who works there full time. We quickly were given hard hats, eye goggles, and ear plugs, so you knew things were about to get real.
    The power plant inside is basically exactly as expected. It consisted of many machines and pipes, whirring and making a bunch of noise. Also, it was pretty warm in there at different spots, even with it being very cold outside. We were shown how they have many duplicates of each type of generator, whether it ran on coal, natural gas, or oil. They tend to burn natural gas and coal only, and one smoke stack is the steam from the natural gas and the other is the steam from the coal.
    One of the most interesting facts I learned on this trip is that the Abbott power plant does not power all of campus. They provide a lot of steam for the buildings, but actually we still have Ameren electric lines coming into campus that provide a lot of our power.
    The most fun on the tour that I had came from a silly part of the trip. On the West side of the building, they have conveyor belts that take the drop offs of coal and lift it up into the building. We were able to step into the tunnel-like frame that goes around the belt, and is tilted on about a 30 degree angle. The fun part about this is that you lose your sense of balance. The floor, walls, lights, and belt are all tilted, so you eyes tell your body that "down" is actually at an angle. So with gravity pulling you slightly sideways, you feel as if you're going to fall over. It's a very disorienting yet fun feeling to have your eyes and sense of balance disagree, as long as you can step out and suddenly be fine again. Overall, our trip to the power plant was a fun, concise, and informative trip.

Week 2 - The Axis of Campus

    For my first day of class, we took a walk from the South quad to the northernmost buildings. We discussed a few different buildings and areas, but mostly focused on the "Axis" of campus. The axis runs North to South, and shifts in the different sections of campus. In the South Quad, the axis is the farthest West. It starts from the center of Temple Hoyne Buell Hall, and passes David Kinley Hall. It is the West path of the South Quad.

    We then reach what many would consider the main part of the axis, which is the Main Quad. Here it shifts over just a bit East, right by the Undergraduate library. This is the most heavily frequented area, and also the heart of campus. One would have hoped that the newer buildings and expanding quads could have followed this part of the axis.

    Next, we traveled up into my hometown, engineering. The John Bardeen Quad, also known as the Engineering Quad, takes another shift East. The axis actually emerges from where the Union is located. As you head even farther North, you actually experience another shift. The farthest North Quad, with the Beckman Institute, starts it's axis from the Northern doors of Grainger Library.

    So why does this matter? What did I take away from it? Well, this is a classic example of a growing campus and set of many architects working. When looking at a single section of campus, the buildings and styles tend to work well together and have a pattern. However, as the university has grown at such a rate and used so many different architects, some shifts have occurred. Personally, as an engineer, I like when things all line up. However, this specific instance does not bother me much, and I am just glad that I can quickly get through campus, whether it is by foot or bus.