2017-06-22
- Fourteen University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign students and young alumni –including 11 from the College of LAS—have been offered student Fulbright grants to pursue international educational, research and teaching experiences this coming year throughout Eastern and Western Europe, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.
The flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by...
2017-06-21 - Scientists know a lot about weather. However, there is still one aspect that isn’t totally understood: the initiation and development of thunderstorms. That’s why atmospheric scientists at Illinois are soon heading to a small, geographical area in western Argentina to study what are considered the most intense thunderstorms on the planet. Illinois is leading the $30 million...
2017-06-21 - These days it seems that anti-Americanism is a never-ending topic in international news, but a new book edited by anthropology professors Virginia Dominguez and Jane Desmond reveals that foreign perceptions of the United States are more complex and varied than some commentators would have you believe. “...
2017-06-15 - Research from Illinois was presented to the U.S. Senate on Thursday as advocates of agricultural research highlighted the importance of congressional support. The research of Amy Marshall-Colón, professor of plant biology, was one of the projects featured during the Senate Agriculture Committee’s hearing, titled “Agricultural...
2017-06-14 - Biking roughly 4,000 miles across the country might seem daunting, but to members of the Illini 4000, the reason for riding couldn’t be anymore clear.“We’re not just riding our bikes for fun,” said Dan Reeter, a student in actuarial science. “We’re riding our bikes for a real cause and that makes everything a lot easier, just focusing...
2017-06-13 - When Tim Green, editor of Rattle magazine, called Julie Price, senior lecturer in English, at her home, Price looked at the caller ID and almost didn’t answer the phone.“T. Green, hmm…that sounds like Tru-Green lawn services. I’m not going to answer that,” she recalled with a laugh. “Then it occurred to me, oh man, this is a Los Angeles number. What...
2017-06-09 - Researchers at the University of Illinois are contributing to the development of more environmentally friendly catalysts for the production of plastic and resin precursors that are often derived from fossil fuels. The key to their technique comes from recognizing the unique physical and chemical properties of certain metals and how they react with hydrogen peroxide. Many...
2017-06-08 - For a moment, put yourself in a police officer’s shoes: You arrive at a warehouse where a man is hunting his estranged wife with a gun. As you rush around a corner, you hear a gunshot and see a woman on the floor. The killer sees you, drops his weapon immediately, and says that he’s glad he did it.Do you shoot?This is one situation that people were asked to consider during the recent...
2017-06-02 - For Chad Garland, reporting on the war against ISIS in Iraq requires body armor, bravery, and not a small amount of wits and wisdom—much of which he credits to his days at Illinois as he earned degrees in Russian language and literature and rhetoric. Job...
2017-05-31 - Three respected professors and campus leaders have been selected to serve as associate deans in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.Matthew Ando, head of the Department of Mathematics, and Kelly Ritter, professor of English, will join the College of LAS Office of the Dean. Ando will serve as...
2017-05-31 - Derek Hoot of Middleton, Wisconsin, a senior at the University of Illinois, has been offered an $18,500 David L. Boren Scholarship to fully cover the cost of his academic year 2017-18 study abroad experience at the Qasid Institute for Classical and Modern Standard Arabic in Jordan. A political science major with a minor in Arabic studies and a member...
2017-05-25 - A small, thin square of an organic plastic that can detect disease markers in breath or toxins in a building’s air could soon be the basis of portable, disposable sensor devices. By riddling the thin plastic films with pores, University of Illinois researchers made the devices sensitive enough to detect at levels that are far too low to smell, yet are important to human health...
2017-05-24 - In wake of a terrorist attack, news organizations often showcase the blaring of the sirens, the herd of emergency vehicles, and the grieving victims affected by the violence. But according to Scott Althaus, director of the Cline Center for Democracy and professor of political science and...
2017-05-23 - Zong-qi Cai, professor of East Asian languages and cultures at Illinois, is growing in prominence as an expert on understanding Chinese literature. He recently signed an agreement with Columbia University Press to be the general editor of a book series titled “How to Read Chinese Literature.” Also, Cai’s journal, PRISM: Theory and...
2017-05-22 - Contrary to posters you may have seen hanging on the walls in science class, Lijun Liu, professor of geology at Illinois, knows that Earth’s interior is not like an onion. While most textbooks demonstrate the outer surface of the Earth as the crust, the next inner level as the mantle, and then the most inner layer as the core, Liu...
2017-05-19 - Twelve students in the Lincoln Scholars Initiative graduated from the University of Illinois this academic year, making them the second class of LAS students who have earned a degree with support from the successful scholarship program. Formed in 2012 to support promising LAS students with financial need, the Lincoln Scholars...
2017-05-18 - The University of Illinois recently welcomed a noteworthy alumnus of the College of LAS. U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work returned to campus for a tour of several state-of-the-art research facilities. Work (BS, ’74, biology) visited as an official representative of the Department of Defense (DoD), for which he has served...
2017-05-18 - Two new studies link patterns of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the blood to the integrity of brain structures and cognitive abilities that are known to decline early in aging. The studies add to the evidence that dietary intake of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids can promote healthy aging, the researchers said. Further research is needed to test this hypothesis, they said...
2017-05-16 - Stephen J. Elledge, a world-renowned leader in the field of the genetics, biochemistry, genomics, and proteomics of cancer cell biology, has received a 2017 University of Illinois Alumni Achievement Award.Established in 1957, the award is presented to alumni who have attained outstanding success and national or international distinction in their chosen profession or life’s work. Elledge (BS, ’78...
2017-05-15 - “The Art of Yellowstone Science,” the recently published book by Bruce Fouke, professor of geology, affiliate professor of microbiology, and active member of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, is doing so well that thousands of students around the world...
2017-05-12 - Hundreds of participants recently attended Brain Awareness Day, an outreach event organized by the Neuroscience Program at Illinois to spark enthusiasm for science in children.The day-long event at the Orpheum Children’s Museum in Champaign turned the building into a young science expo, with interactive exhibits and informative booths in studies...
2017-05-12 - Courtney Cain is a future three-time graduate of Illinois with a bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree in history. After she officially graduates in August, she will be teaching at Lake Forest College as an assistant professor of history and African American studies. She spoke with Meaghan Downs at...
2017-05-11 - Researchers have demonstrated that a small molecule can transport iron in human cells and live animals when proteins that normally do the same job are missing, a condition that often causes severe anemia in patients. Such “molecular prosthetics” might treat a host of incurable diseases caused by protein deficiencies, such as anemias, cystic fibrosis or certain types of heart...
2017-05-11 - It was summer 2015, and the upcoming fall semester of college was heavy on Emma Woods’ mind. She would be a senior, and she wanted to both excel in class and find a job after graduation. She had no idea that a regular visit to the doctor’s office one day would turn her life upside down.The doctor had unexpected news: Woods was pregnant. Not only that, but her due date was in September, only...
2017-05-10 - Scientists report that they now know how to build a molecular Trojan horse that can penetrate gram-negative bacteria, solving a problem that for decades has stalled the development of effective new antibiotics against these increasingly drug-resistant microbes. The findings appear in the journal Nature. Led by University of Illinois ...