2020-11-23
- A global pandemic, wildfires, and hurricanes have made 2020 a year for catastrophic thinking, so a new book with that title seems appropriate.
But don’t mistake David Sepkoski’s “Catastrophic Thinking” as a doomsday...
LAS News Archive
2020-11-23 - Four professors in the College of LAS have been named Richard and Margaret Romano Professorial Scholars for their leadership and research. Richard Romano (BS, ’54, chemical engineering) and his wife, Margaret, established the program, which provides faculty...
2020-11-20 - The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected vulnerable communities that lack the proper healthcare resources to aid in combating the disease. A recent study published at the University of Illinois is helping policymakers better identify Illinois communities that are in need. The research paper,...
2020-11-20 - Some may claim that politics will never change, but we are still learning a lot about political behavior itself—which in recent years has grown to include how people express opinions and process information on social media.
2020-11-19 - Chemistry tests are hard, even for future Nobel Laureates. When Phillip Sharp (PhD, '69, chemistry) first enrolled at the university’s Department of Chemistry for graduate school, he had to take several entrance tests to gauge his abilities. ...
2020-11-19 - Three faculty members at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, including two in the College of LAS, have been named to the 2020 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list. The list recognizes leading researchers in the sciences and social sciences from around the world. It is...
2020-11-17 - Chemistry professor Prashant Jain has recently been named to Science News’ 2020 SN 10: Scientists to Watch list. Jain is only the fourth scientist from the University of Illinois to be included on the prestigious list. All scholars included in the list...
2020-11-12 - The University of Illinois Observatory will be getting a new look—and not just another view of the stars. The historical building just south of the Main Quad will have its dome renovated as part of a university-wide effort to improve roofs around campus. The Observatory was built in 1896 and has...
2020-11-10 - The future of Altgeld Hall and Illini Hall is coming into focus as the University of Illinois moves forward with detailed planning for the $192 million project to modernize and grow spaces devoted to data science and other mathematical and statistical sciences. The Board of Trustees...
2020-11-09 - Thin tissue grafts and flexible electronics have a host of applications for wound healing, regenerative medicine, and biosensing. A new device inspired by an octopus’s sucker rapidly transfers delicate tissue or electronic sheets to the patient, overcoming a key barrier to clinical application,...
2020-11-09 - An $87 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense matched by more than $187 million in non-federal cost-share will fund collaborative efforts by a team of private and public entities, including the University of Illinois, to advance sustainable and reliable bioindustrial manufacturing...
2020-11-06 - A $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation will help a team of scientists at the University of Illinois develop ways to use renewable energy to remediate carbon dioxide emissions and generate chemical building blocks and liquid fuels. The main idea of their proposal is to...
2020-11-02 - An associate director in the Department of Chemistry has been recognized by the American Chemical Society (ACS) for his efforts to advance diversity in the chemical sciences. The ACS Committee on Minority Affairs has selected Lloyd Munjanja, the...
2020-10-30 - With careers ranging from novel-writing to emergency medicine, overseeing U.S. national science policy, managing the central bank of China, clean energy, and preventing drug abuse, 10 alumni from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences have named recipients of the college’s 2020 annual alumni...
2020-10-29 - Statistics reveal that the poor in general are punished more frequently and severely for their crimes than the wealthy. A psychology professor at Illinois has found, however, that when it comes to evaluating the moral character of those who have...
2020-10-28 - During the shutdowns, social distancing, and fear of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s easy to become isolated. That’s why the College of LAS has used this unusual time to provide students with an opportunity to reach out and make the pandemic easier to overcome. The College of LAS has created...
2020-10-27 - From witnessing airplanes stuck in the mud to hearing predictions that Champaign and Urbana would soon unite into one city, the University of Illinois has played host to several memorable presidential visits since the early 1900s. In fact, more than half of the U.S. presidents elected since 1911...
2020-10-27 - The Class of 2020 was much like any other of the graduating classes before it— eager, inspired, and prepared to change the world. This class, however, will long be remembered for how they were forced to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic that closed the university and brought their time on campus to...
2020-10-27 - We’d all like to think we’re rational beings who arrive at our political views strictly through logic. That anyone faced with the same obvious facts would reach the same obvious conclusion. But according to Aleksander Ksiazkiewicz, professor of political science...
2020-10-26 - Let’s rewrite a little bit of recent history. Let’s pretend that the first presidential debate on September 29 was a picture of civil discourse, and that President Donald Trump never fell ill with COVID-19 and that the second debate went on as planned. In this alternate reality, would the...
2020-10-23 - Born in Guam and having lived in Korea, Kuwait, and the U.S., Ann Lee Joe (BA, ’96, anthropology) has had a lifelong interest in international experiences. “With the opportunities that (Illinois) offered, I studied abroad to explore...
2020-10-23 - Two Illinois professors have been named geospatial fellows for the Geospatial Software Institute (GSI) Conceptualization Project, which aims to study the spread and impact of COVID-19 and offer solutions to vulnerable populations it has affected. Ruby Mendenhall and Andrew J. Greenlee comprise a...
2020-10-22 - The banyan fig tree Ficus microcarpa is famous for its aerial roots, which sprout from branches and eventually reach the soil. The tree also has a unique relationship with a wasp that has coevolved with it and is the only insect that can pollinate it. In a new study, researchers identify...
2020-10-20 - For 100 years, the Altgeld Chimes have provided a soundtrack for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. The chimes’ 10-minute concerts between classes feature songs ranging from “Illinois Loyalty” to movie themes, and from hymns to pop...
2020-10-19 - Perhaps it’s coincidence—and perhaps not—that two of the most symbolic moments in the history of the Altgeld Chimes have come during some of the hardest times in campus history. Look back to early 1920. A student fundraising drive to purchase chimes for Altgeld Hall had come to a halt. What...