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...
2017-07-06 - Westerners view handshaking more positively than do East Asians, researchers report in a new study. Western men also rate handshakes initiated by men and women differently, the study found. The research is reported in the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. “We know from previous studies that handshaking positively affects people’s first...
2017-07-05 - The University of Illinois is hosting a Human-Animal Studies Summer Institute that one of its organizers hopes will put Illinois at the forefront of the emerging interdisciplinary field.Anthropology professor...
2017-06-30 - The last time the state of Illinois had a total solar eclipse the University of Illinois was a mere two years old. It’s been 148 years since the state has witnessed the moon completely block out the sun in the sky.But now a total solar eclipse will occur in southern Illinois at around 1:20 p.m. on Monday, August 21.“It just grabs you around the heart,” said Leslie Looney, professor of...
2017-06-30 - What does the word “scientist” bring to mind? If it’s a tall man with crazy hair straight out of “Back to the Future,” you’re far from alone. That’s a big reason why Katy Heath teaches biology not only to college students, but to children during the Girls Explore Biology Camp, hosted each summer on campus. “There has been a dearth of role models for women in science,” said Heath, a professor...
2017-06-28 - The heart is a dynamic muscle that grows and shrinks in response to stressors such as exercise and disease. The secret to its malleability lies in individual cells, which get bigger or smaller depending on the heart’s needs. A new study of mouse hearts reveals a previously unknown mechanism by which heart cells control their size by ramping up or stopping the production of a key...
2017-06-26 - The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will award the Chancellor’s Medallion to three men who have dedicated their professional lives to preserving and making available the history of the university. Honored in a June 28 ceremony will be Winton Solberg, a professor emeritus of history; Maynard Brichford, the university’s first...
2017-06-23 - A professor of microbiology at Illinois has been named an Allen Distinguished Investigator by the Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group, which will bring $1.5 million over the next three years to her research of microbial evolution. Rachel Whitaker, leader of the Infection Genomics for One Heath research theme at the Carl...