2021-02-24
- Christopher Freeburg, a professor of English at UIUC, is a scholar of African American literature, Black culture, and the American novel. He has published several books, including “Counterlife: Slavery after Resistance and Social Death,” and was recently named a University Scholar...
2021-02-23 - “The Discovery of Cosmic Voids” is a newly released account of the history of one of the more important discoveries in astronomy in the last century. But the perspective of an astronomy professor from the University of Illinois isn’t just about exploring vast tracks of outer space; it’s also about the extended journey to have your findings accepted. “Some have said that great discoveries...
2021-02-19 - Entomology and African American studies professor Esther Ngumbi is the 2021 recipient of the Mani L. Bhaumik Award for Public Engagement with Science, an annual award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science presented to scientists and engineers in recognition of their contributions to...
2021-02-17 - During his sophomore year, Alejandro Martinez wanted a change in direction. The student changed his major from mathematics to statistics—a related field, but very different in important ways. He needed some guidance, and he got it. “The advising staff as well as the professors have helped me greatly throughout...
2021-02-11 - From the advent of photography to the age of social media, U.S. presidents have been among the most common subjects for the camera. So what better way to tell a story of the medium’s evolution than through those historical figures. That was the thinking of Cara Finnegan in writing “Photographic Presidents: Making...
2021-02-10 - Mitigation measures such as stay-at-home mandates, lockdowns or shelter-in-place orders have been the major public health policies deployed by state governments to curb the spread of COVID-19. But given the uncertain duration of such policies, questions have been raised about the potential negative mental health consequences of extended lockdowns with indefinite end dates. But according to new...
2021-02-10 - Culture, civic-mindedness, and privacy concerns influence how willing people are to share personal location information to help stem the transmission of COVID-19 in their communities, a new study finds. Such sharing includes giving public health authorities access to their geographic information via data gathered from phone calls, mobile apps, credit card purchases, wristband trackers, or other...
2021-02-08 - Dozens of professors in the College of LAS rank among the most-cited researchers in the world in a new, widely hailed analysis designed to provide a clearer view of scientific and scholarly impact. According to datasets published in PLOS Biology, 125 LAS professors rank among the top 100,000 most-cited...
2021-02-05 - Animals played a central role in the British Empire. Sources of food and labor, animals symbolized the power of the empire. They also hindered the efforts of the British to control colonized lands, and they destroyed ecosystems. A new book examines their relationships with imperial authorities and colonists through essays about 26 animals – one for each letter of the alphabet, from Ape and Boar...
2021-02-04 - During the Super Bowl pregame ceremony, poet Amanda Gorman will recite an original poem paying tribute to the three honorary captains for the game who were selected for their work during the coronavirus pandemic. Gorman captured the attention of the nation last month as the youngest-ever inaugural poet, but she will reach a far wider audience with her Super Bowl appearance. Ángel García, an award...
2021-02-03 - The Center for Advanced Study has appointed nine faculty members from the College of LAS as associates or fellows for the 2021-22 academic year. They were among 20 faculty members chosen across campus. Center for Advanced Study (CAS) associates and fellows are tenured and untenured...
2021-02-02 - The Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign has acquired a multi-million dollar “Doppler on Wheels” mobile radar and instrumentation facility that is expected to transform capabilities for research, offer hands-on field training for students, and expand outreach efforts to demonstrate scientific observation of the...
2021-01-26 - Seven staff and academic professionals are being recognized for outstanding contributions to the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences in 2020-21. Rayme Dorsey Ackerman, Carol Banks, and Summer Curry have been selected to receive an LAS Staff Award. The recognition comes with a $2,000 award supported by donations from LAS alumni. Serenity Desmond, Alison Reddy, and Melanie Waters have been...
2021-01-26 - Satellite imagery of Earth has been available for years, but it keeps getting better and better. That’s why several academic units across the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and the University Library have teamed up to acquire high-resolution satellite data from a private aerospace company, as researchers seek to grow their understanding and teaching of what’s happening on our planet’s...
2021-01-15 - A dramatic decline in bees and other pollinating insects presents a threat to the global food supply, yet it’s getting little attention in mainstream news. That’s the conclusion of a study from researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, published this week in a special issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study was based on a search of nearly 25...
2021-01-13 - In 1533, the Bom Jesus – a Portuguese trading vessel carrying 40 tons of cargo including gold, silver, copper, and more than 100 elephant tusks – sank off the coast of Africa near present-day Namibia. The wreck was found in 2008, and scientists say they now have determined the source of much of the ivory recovered from the ship. Their study, reported in the journal Current Biology, used various...
2021-01-12 - Just a few weeks ago the main question hanging over Inauguration Day was whether the outgoing president would attend the ceremonies. Now the question seems quaint, with many people concerned that January 20 will be marked by violence similar to that which occurred on January 6. The potential violence aside, however, the act of President Donald Trump attending Inauguration Day—or not...
2021-01-11 - Two University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professors – Eduardo Ledesma and Bobby Smith II – have been awarded National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships. Ledesma is a professor of Spanish and Portuguese and Smith is a professor of African American studies. “Congratulations to professors Ledesma and...
2021-01-08 - For Bill and Linda Perry, Altgeld Hall is about mathematics—and so much more. The couple arrived at U of I in fall 1967; Bill had a graduate assistantship in mathematics and Linda had a teaching position at Urbana High School. The May 1967 mathematics graduates of 500-student Park College in Parkville, Missouri, arrived in awe of 30,000-student University of Illinois. Bill (PhD, ‘72,...
2020-12-23 - Many members of the LAS community find inspiration and pleasure in reading a good book. As our faculty and staff head into winter break, we asked a few of them to share the books that they’re excited to dig into over the next month. For part one of this series, go here. Avital Livny (...
2020-12-21 - Many members of the LAS community find inspiration and pleasure in reading a good book. As our faculty and staff head into winter break, we asked a few of them to share the books that they’re excited to dig into over the next month. For the second part of this series, go here. Gene...
2020-12-18 - When in space, astronauts typically eat dehydrated, nutrient-dense food, but when it comes to longer space missions, that can become a problem as they’ll eventually lack nutrients from fresh vegetables. However, one chemical and biomolecular engineering professor will be researching ways astronauts can grow their own fresh vegetables more efficiently while...
2020-12-17 - The Global Carbon Project recently published the Global Carbon Budget 2020, giving world leaders access to data on atmospheric carbon concentrations, emissions and trends. Atul Jain, professor of atmospheric sciences, was part of an international team of scientists that contributed data to...
2020-12-14 - Three College of LAS professors at the Urbana-Champaign campus have been named University Scholars in recognition of their excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. In consideration of COVID-19 precautions, all 12 of the 2020 University Scholars will be honored during the spring semester, in a format to be...
2020-12-10 - When Eda Derhemi, a teaching professor in the Department of French & Italian, read the Albanian novel “Miele sul Coltello,” she thought that translating its complex linguistic stratification into Italian would be particularly challenging but stimulating. It turned into a collaborative, award-winning effort between the professor and a graduate student...