WHERE CURIOSITY DRIVES IMPACT

Change begins with curiosity.

From exploring new ideas to solving the world’s biggest issues, LAS empowers thinkers and doers to transform curiosity into measurable impact.

We believe that education is more than lectures and textbooks. It’s about cultivating minds that question, explore, and act with purpose. And we know that when curiosity meets opportunity, innovation follows—and the impossible becomes possible. 

Explore where curiosity drives impact

LAS News

Miguel Ángel Galindo (MA, ’91, Spanish; PhD, ’97, Spanish) and Nerea Muguerza (MA, ’98, Spanish)
The many lessons of Granada
 Miguel Ángel Galindo (MA, ’91, Spanish; PhD, ’97, Spanish) and Nerea Muguerza (MA, ’98, Spanish), longtime resident directors of the Illinois in Granada program in...
Grasshoppers with hindwings extended
Grasshopper wing structure inspires design of gliding robot wings
A collaboration between Princeton University engineers and entomologists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign began with the researchers chasing grasshoppers in a hot parking lot. Their eventual focus on the hindwings of one species of grasshopper, Schistocerca americana, the...
Kelvin Droegemeier
What’s the state of the research landscape?
 The first year of President Trump’s second term has ushered in host of policy changes to higher education, research funding and priorities. Kelvin Droegemeier, professor of climate, meteorology and atmospheric science at the University of Illinois...
Brian Gaines
What’s behind the surge in redrawing legislative maps?
 What accounts for the number of partisan gerrymandering efforts midway through the 10-year census cycle? Brian J. Gaines is a professor of political science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Honorable W. Russell Arrington Professor...
Colette Roth, at right, speaks with students in Lincoln Hall during Ilini Fest
Hood Internship gives LAS students insight on higher education
 The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences is providing undergraduates a valuable, behind-the-scenes opportunity that offers a glimpse at how a major academic unit works. Called the Peter and Joan Hood Internship, this year’s intern, Colette Roth, is right in the middle of it and describes...
The Battle of Monmouth (Wikimedia Commons)
What can we learn from the "The American Revolution" documentary?
 Filmmaker Ken Burns’ new documentary — a six-part series on the American Revolution — aired on PBS in November and is now streaming. The documentary describes the American Revolution as “a...
Jane Austen (AdobeStock)
Why do Jane Austen's novels remain so popular?
 Last December marked the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth (she was born Dec. 16, 1775) and fans of her novels have been celebrating with tea parties, brunches, and balls. Her novels — including “Sense and Sensibility,” “Pride and Prejudice” and “Emma” — enjoy immense popularity. They...
From left: Jim Barry, Leana Shin, and Simon Coveney
The problem solver
 Senior in political science Leana Shin was honored in November at the Global Undergraduate Awards in Ireland for her research paper.The GUA is an international pan-disciplinary award program for undergraduate research. Shin’s paper was selected out...

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