2026-02-06
- When history professor Leslie J. Reagan entered her graduate program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison she and the other students in her cohort were told it was unlikely they would ever get an academic job. The field of women's history was virtually nonexistent at the time and the hiring of historians at an extreme low. Now, after 33...
2026-02-06 - In 1945, 855 women of color (mainly African Americans) in the newly formed 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion were deployed to Birmingham, England, during World War II. Commanded by then-Major Charity Adams, the 6888th’s mission was to clear a massive backlog of mail that had accumulated in warehouses during the war. The lack of mail delivery for soldiers and family members at home...
2026-02-06 - Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have reported a breakthrough in nickel catalysis that harnesses a rare oxidation state of nickel that has proved challenging to control yet is highly valued for its potential to facilitate important chemical reactions.The researchers, led by Liviu Mirica, a professor of chemistry at...
2026-02-03 - Poet Ángel García examines his disrupted family lineage in his new collection of poetry, seeking answers about where he came from and trying to fill the many gaps in his family’s story.“Indifferent Cities” is the second book by García, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign...
2026-01-30 - While scientists have long known that living in a disadvantaged neighborhood is associated with biological symptoms of accelerated aging, emotional distress accounts for a significant portion of these effects, researchers found in a recent study.“Consistent with a chains-of-risk framework — the theory that later-life health conditions are triggered by sequential, linked exposures earlier in...
2026-01-30 - Asef Bayat is a sociology professor and the Catherine and Bruce Bastian Professor of Global and Transnational Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with expertise in global social movements and revolutions in the Middle East. A native of Iran, Bayat spoke with News Bureau research editor Sharita Forrest about the mass protests...
2026-01-30 - New psychoactive substances, originally developed as potential analgesics but abandoned due to adverse side effects, may still have pharmaceutical value if researchers could nail down the causes of those side effects. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign used deep learning and large-scale computer simulations to identify structural differences in synthetic...
2026-01-15 - 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 Urbana-Champaign, directed the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2019 to 2021....
2026-01-15 - 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 in State Politics at the U of I System’s Institute of...
2026-01-14 - 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 American grasshopper, is inspiring a new approach to untethered gliding flight. The scientists...
2026-01-09 - 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 how the position is preparing her for a career in higher education. Named for and supported by...
2026-01-07 - 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 war for independence, a war of conquest, a civil war and a world war,” and it aims to provide “an...
2026-01-07 - 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 are the subject of numerous academic studies and TV and film adaptations. Justine S. Murison is the...
2026-01-06 - 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 Granada, Spain, recently returned to the University of Illinois for their first visit in a decade.The...
2026-01-05 - 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 of thousands through a rigorous judging process. Global winners represented nine different countries...
2025-12-18 - James Slauch, an infectious diseases and immunology expert and leader in medical research and education, has been appointed the inaugural Deb & Tim Paul Chair in Human Infectious Disease & Immunology.For over 30 years Slauch has worked to better understand the pathogenesis of Salmonella typhimurium. Salmonella causes over one million cases of gastroenteritis and enteric...
2025-12-17 - Erik K. Nelson, professor in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, has been named the Keith W. and Sara M. Kelley Endowed Professor of Immunophysiology. The investiture ceremony, hosted by the Department of Animal Sciences in the College of Agricultural...
2025-12-16 - Geology can take many forms, from the study of rocks and minerals to the living records preserved in trees. At Homer Lake Forest Preserve, graduate students from the Department of Earth Science & Environmental Change spent a November morning extracting...
2025-12-12 - Eight staff members and academic professionals are being honored by the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences for outstanding professional contributions.Heather Lash, Kristi McDuffie, and Jamie Thomas-Ward have been selected to receive the LAS Academic Professional Award, which provides a cash award as well as a salary increment funded by LAS alumni.Kevin Armstrong, Anita Kaiser, Heidi...
2025-12-05 - A team of plant biologists has made an exciting discovery about how flowers grow and organize themselves, and one of the key authors was professor of plant biology Ya Min (Minya) from the University of Illinois. Their new study, published in the journal Current Biology, explores how a gene called CYCLOIDEA (CYC) helps shape...
2025-12-04 - A new study marks a significant step forward in positioning synthetic polymers as an alternative for expensive, unsustainable minerals used in the manufacture of devices such as conductors, transistors, and diodes.These newly tweaked polymers — developed by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professors Ying Diao and Joaquín Rodríguez López in collaboration with Jean-Luc Brédas of the...
2025-12-02 - Many humanitarian organizations in the U.S. experienced multiple digital divides that disrupted routine operations and compromised their services to vulnerable refugee populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges not only elevated refugees’ health risks, they also jeopardized the nonprofit sector’s organizational resilience, researchers say in a new study....
2025-11-20 - Stunning robes created more than 300 years ago by Inohka, or “Illinois people” — Native American tribes whose homelands include Illinois — will be on public display at a special exhibition at the Palace of Versailles in France that opens this month. The exhibition will include one of the most famous existing hide paintings from the 18th century — a robe featuring an iconic image of a...
2025-11-14 - Six scientists in the College of LAS have been named to the 2025 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list. The list recognizes researchers and social scientists who have demonstrated exceptional influence, as reflected through their publication of multiple papers frequently cited by their peers during the last decade.The highly cited Illinois researchers this year are:...
2025-11-13 - The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is launching a flexible, fully online program designed to help adults complete their college degree, opening doors to career growth and new opportunities. This new degree program received approval from the Illinois Board of Higher Education on Nov. 12. The Bachelor of Liberal Studies, developed by the university’s College of Liberal Arts...