Although Hans Banks is not on any SIUC budget committee, funding adjustments at the University have meant more work for him. In fact, the Fine Instruments Research director is the only staff at his shop.

In addition to its recent downsizing, Banks’ Fine Instruments Research Shop is one of several University research shops being reviewed by the Graduate School Budget and Planning Committee this week.

Administrators say that for some shops this reveiw could mean further reductions in their facilities if the SIUC budget is smaller next year.

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Banks says his shop already has been downsized about as far as possible.

I’m director, researcher, specialist and graduate assistant, Banks said. I’m the whole staff these days because of budget cuts.

The Central Research Shop, the Glassblowing Research Shop and the Research Photography and Illustration Facility are being evaluated on cost, service, productivity and quality, graduate school administrators said. The Center for Electron Microscopy and the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility are also being reviewed.

Administrators said although these shops serve an important purpose at the University by providing specialized research and educational services to the campus, the reviews may mean the reduction or elimination of one or more shops.

John Yopp, dean of SIUC’s Graduate School, said reductions in the school’s budget may mean deciding which programs need downsizing and that could affect the research shops.

They are not being singled out. All the other units in the college are reviewed regularly, he said. I don’t want to lose any shop, but on the other hand, if we have to take a budget reduction, we will have to eliminate or reduce some programs.

Banks said his shop designs and builds equipment not commercially available and modifies equipment to specific needs for researchers at the University.

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He said he built a special machine for David Gilbert, an SIUC psychology professor who is conducting one of the largest long-term studies on smoking. He said he modeled the machine after a model already in existence that Gilbert was not satisfied with, designing it to fit the professor’s exact specifications.

It tracked the smoke, measuring exactly 35 (cubic centimeters), which the smoker inhaled, he said. Then, six seconds later, a light would come on, signaling for the smoker to exhale.

Banks said he went on to build several more advanced models of the smoking machine. He and Gilbert are currently working on a new model that will allow a smoker to inhale a weak concentration of citric acid, simulating the sensation of high-nicotine smoke.

Victoria Molfese, director of Research Development and Administration, said the research shops, which provide specific services to researchers and students, have not been officially reviewed for some time.

The shops were reviewed last about eight years ago, she said. This type of review should be done on a regular basis, as is done with all University departments and programs.

Molfese said the shops are being reviewed primarily in hopes of improving their effectiveness. She said the school does not want to eliminate any useful research service.

I would hope not, but in reality, if nobody is using it or the University can’t afford it well, we are clearly in a budget crisis, she said. It would be a shame if we eliminated a shop only to discover afterwards that we really needed it.

Jane Adams, head of the Research Evaluation Committee, said the reviews are being conducted by an internal panel of representatives from the Graduate School. She said an external review also will be done, by one or two administrators from have worked with similar programs at other universities.

All of these shops are doing excellent work with little funding, she said. One of the things we hope to accomplish with this review is find ways to be more efficient. We will also look at what work can be done with external sources of funding.