2017-08-23
- Bruce Murray, resident director of the Austria—Illinois Exchange Program, is retiring this month after running the program for 25 years. And to say the professor of Germanic languages and literatures is leaving the position on a high note would be an understatement.Aside from...
2017-08-18 - Three students and an alumna from the College of LAS have been recognized as among the most valuable and influential interns in 2017 at U of I’s Research Park. Almost 600 interns work for Research Park tenant companies. Approved by the Board of Trustees in 1999, the Research Park was established to help faculty develop and commercialize new technology in conjunction with their...
2017-08-18 - John Lynn, a professor emeritus of history at the University of Illinois, has received a Public Scholar award from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The award follows news earlier this spring that Lynn had received the 2017 Samuel Eliot Morison Prize, the highest career award in the field of military history.Lynn’s Public Scholar award,...
2017-08-17 - Researchers at the University of Illinois have discovered a mechanism that allows bacteria of the same species to communicate when their survival is threatened. The study suggests that it may be possible to slow dangerous infections by manipulating the messages these microbes send to each other, allowing the body to defeat an infection without causing the bacteria to develop...
2017-08-16 - When it comes to teaching language, Silvina Montrul has a motto: Why wait? Montrul, founder and director of the University Language Academy at Illinois, said she encourages parents to expose their children to a second language long before their teenage years, which is typical for American children. The academy, in fact,...
2017-08-10 - Editor’s note: This is a blog entry that appeared on Behind the Scenes, a project to document details of research conducted at Illinois. This particular research is conducted under the auspices of the Belize Institute of Archaeology, National Institute of Culture and History...
2017-08-09 - Researchers from engineering and entomology are looking to insects – specifically cicadas – for insight into the design of artificial surfaces with de-icing, self-cleaning, and anti-fogging abilities. Their wings allow cicadas to fly, of course, but they also are good at repelling water – a condition that humans can...
2017-08-08 - New measurements from data processed at the University of Illinois verify the theory that 26 percent of the universe is in the form of mysterious dark matter and that space is filled with an also-unseen dark energy, which is causing the accelerating expansion of the universe and makes up 70 percent of the universe’s contents. The new results come from data from the first year of observations of...
2017-08-07 - It only took Daissy Dominguez one year after completing law school to open up her own law firm. Now, the growing Dominguez Legal Justice Center in Chicago remains dedicated to handling immigration and landlord/tenant cases. Dominguez is highly active in her community, landing her the 2017 Ms. JD’s Woman of Inspiration Award. Job Title:...
2017-08-04 - States have spent millions to develop high-tech industry, with its promise of good jobs and economic growth. But does the public investment pay off? A national study of such investments in the 1980s and 1990s suggests it does – including in places where prospects for high-tech seems less than ideal. The key for these state programs is often patience and modest expectations,...
2017-08-03 - In the world of health care, the phrase “too much information”—or TMI—can be a serious problem. If you Google “How to prevent cancer,” for example, you will find list after list of websites claiming to have the winning strategy, with some plans presenting 20-30 steps. The same situation occurs if one searches for information on quitting smoking, exercising, sleep, and endless...
2017-08-02 - The restoration work on the historic Altgeld Chimes at Illinois is progressing rapidly, said Matthew Tomaszewski, the associate provost for capital planning. He’s leading a diverse team of Facilities and Services engineers, carpenters, movers, upholsterers, painters and others who are bringing the beloved chimes back to life. “The chimes are the sound of the campus. One of the...
2017-08-01 - Honey bees that consistently fail to respond to obvious social cues share something fundamental with autistic humans, researchers report in a new study. Genes most closely associated with autism spectrum disorders in humans are regulated differently in unresponsive honey bees than in their more responsive nest mates, the study found. The findings, reported in the Proceedings of...
2017-08-01 - Rap music has often been associated with a variety of unsavory habits, such as substance abuse, misogyny, and violence. However, a study co-authored by a communication professor at LAS suggests that this stereotype is largely the result of how major record labels market the music genre, and that companies have not yet realized...
2017-07-28 - Geoscientists have long puzzled over the mechanism that created the Tibetan Plateau. A new study finds that the landform’s history may be controlled primarily by the strength of the tectonic plates whose collision prompted its uplift. Given that the region is one of the most seismically active areas in the world, understanding the plateau’s geologic history could give...
2017-07-27 - Six teams, including three from the College of LAS, have been awarded David Dodds Henry Lectureship Funds in support of the culminating research event of the University of Illinois’ Sesquicentennial Celebration. The symposia will highlight Illinois' strengths in interdisciplinary research, exploring...
2017-07-26 - The National Science Foundation recently granted the University of Illinois $3 million for an interdisciplinary graduate student training program to help form new insight on the brain—and to expand participation in the field of brain science itself.Sixty graduate students from across campus will participate in the five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Traineeship, led by Martha...
2017-07-25 - In the summer of 2012, two undergraduate students tackled a problem that plant ecology experts overlooked for 30 years. The students demonstrated that different plant species vary in how they take in carbon dioxide and emit water through stomata, the pores in their leaves. The data boosted the accuracy of mathematical models of carbon and water fluxes through plant leaves by 30...
2017-07-24 - The Natural History Building is an iconic sight on the University of Illinois’ Urbana-Champaign campus. Built in 1892, the High Victorian Gothic saw 18 University presidents, 24 chancellors, and thousands of students from more than a century of graduating classes. And, with its recent renovation, it is sure to be a part of many more Illinois careers.The building will reopen its doors this...
2017-07-20 - The United States Department of Agriculture recently granted two University researchers $475,000 each to help figure out why the number of insect pollinators continues to drop. For the next three years, May Berenbaum, professor and head of the Department of Entomology, will use the grant to focus on the honey bee and how...
2017-07-18 - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is doubling down on energy research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, funding a multimillion-dollar Bioenergy Research Center to provide scientific breakthroughs for a new generation of sustainable, cost-effective biofuels and bioproducts.The DOE announced the $104 million center on Monday, pending Congressional appropriation. The Center for...
2017-07-14 - The Center for Advanced Study has appointed seven new members to its permanent faculty – one of the highest forms of academic recognition the University of Illinois campus makes for outstanding scholarship. Six of the seven appointments come from the College of LAS.The new CAS Professors are...
2017-07-12 - In an online survey about their workplace experiences, 88 percent of academics, students, postdoctoral researchers, and administrators in astronomy and planetary science reported hearing, experiencing or witnessing negative language or harassment relating to race, gender, or other physical characteristics at work within the last five years. Of the 423 respondents, 39 percent...
2017-07-11 - Ying Diao, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Illinois, has been chosen to take part in the National Academy of Engineering’s 23rd annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium.The academy invites engineers ages 30 to 45 who are performing exceptional engineering research and technical work in...
2017-07-10 - Two high schoolers from Costa Mesa, California and Waukegan, Illinois gathered on the University of Illinois campus to get married this June — but only as a fun, learning experience, of course. The mock wedding was one of the many activities that nine high school students from across the country were able to experience through the two-week...