2025-02-06
- The College of LAS has selected 16 professors, graduate students, lecturers, and advisors as the recipients of the 2025 teaching and advising rewards."We are honored and fortunate to have so many amazing teachers and advisors in the College of LAS,” said Venetria K. Patton, the Harry E. Preble Dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. “From long-time professors and advisors to teaching...
2025-02-04 - Scientists have translated nanoscale experimental and computational data into precise 3D representations of bacteria, yeast and human epithelial, breast, and breast cancer cells in Minecraft, a video game that allows players to explore, build, and manipulate structures in three dimensions. The innovation will allow researchers and students of all ages to navigate biological cells, puncturing...
2025-01-30 - Psychology professor Kimberly Rios grew up outside of San Diego as the daughter of a Puerto Rican mother and a white father from Wisconsin. She lived in a community 10 minutes from the U.S.-Mexico border with no clear racial or ethnic majority. Perhaps it’s no great surprise, then, that her research examines stereotypes (in all forms) and how to...
2025-01-28 - Last fall, Sandrine Makaya of Champaign took her children Dikson (10) and Kyria (7) to the local library to attend a new and important event. Her children were going to learn French, the official language of her home country. Sandrine moved to the United States from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2006. She speaks English, French, and Lingala – a Bantu language. “I want them to keep...
2025-01-24 - A researcher in the College of LAS has received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. Ying Diao, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, was one of four at the U of I to receive the award....
2025-01-24 - John M. Murphy, a professor of communication at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, studies the history of American public address and political rhetoric. Murphy spoke with News Bureau research editor Sharita Forrest about President Donald Trump’s second inaugural address and how the rhetorical devices that presidents use in these...
2025-01-23 - A new book takes readers on a guided tour of Maya history as narrated by an anthropologist who has spent more than 35 years salvaging and exploring the remains of ancient Maya cities, farms, and sacred spaces. “...
2025-01-23 - Rana B. Khoury is a professor of political science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who studies comparative and international politics, with a focus on the Middle East. Khoury, also an affiliate of the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the ...
2025-01-15 - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign history professor Robert Morrissey traveled to a Paris museum in November to see four ceremonial robes created more than 300 years ago by Native American tribes in Illinois. The research trip included members of the...
2025-01-15 - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign history professor Kristin Hoganson has been awarded a 2024 National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship. “An NEH fellowship is a prestigious and highly competitive award that recognizes stellar scholarly contributions in the humanities. Congratulations to Professor Hoganson on receiving this fellowship. We...
2025-01-14 - While physical neglect is understudied compared to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, neglect is just as damaging to children’s social development, a new study indicates. More than 9,150 individuals, nearly 41% of whom retrospectively reported some form of maltreatment before age 12 or reaching the sixth grade, were included in the ...
2025-01-13 - A story 60 years in the making ended recently with a peculiar occurrence at the College of LAS winter convocation in December: The final bachelor’s degree recipient to cross the stage was bestowed with a bachelor’s degree in zoology, which hadn’t happened since the 1970s when the Department of Zoology was renamed (it now exists as the...
2025-01-06 - A large crane is parked on the north side of Altgeld Hall on this sunny and mild mid-December morning. As I watch from near the Alma Mater statue, the arm of the crane that extends far above the scaffolding surrounding Altgeld’s bell tower lowers a cable into the top of the tower, which has had its roof removed. Minutes later, the...
2024-12-19 - The Center for Advanced Study at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has appointed seven new members to its permanent faculty. CAS professors are selected based on their outstanding scholarship, and the appointments are one of the highest forms of campus recognition at the U of I. Four of...
2024-12-16 - The Midwest played a central role in the growth of Black freedom movements in the 20th century. It was a key site for incubating and expanding the ideas of political activist Marcus Garvey, not only in the U.S., but globally, said professor of African American studies and history Erik S. McDuffie. McDuffie...
2024-12-12 - Emily Van Duyn, a professor of communication, studies the effects of social, geographic, and political polarization on human relationships and is the author of the book “Democracy Lives in Darkness: How and Why People Keep Their Politics a Secret.” Van Duyn spoke with News Bureau research editor Sharita Forrest about keeping...
2024-12-11 - The teenage girl's plight is often portrayed in popular media as screaming matches with parents, sneaking out of the house late at night and crying over the latest crush. Adolescent girls experience significant cognitive growth during these pivotal years, but dealing with new circumstances at school, in the home and beyond can rightfully trigger intense emotional responses. But what if we erased...
2024-12-11 - Researchers from the University of Illinois have reported complementary discoveries that will improve scientists’ understanding of immune systems in bacteria and equip clinicians with more effective options for treating antibiotic-resistant infections. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as superbugs are dangerous because they are difficult to treat and lead to increased mortality from otherwise...
2024-12-11 - One of the most momentous events in the history of life involved endosymbiosis — a process by which one organism engulfed another and, instead of ingesting it, incorporated its DNA and functions into itself. Scientific consensus is that this happened twice over the course of evolution, resulting in the energy-generating organelles known as mitochondria and, much later, their photosynthetic...
2024-12-06 - A new greenhouse custom-designed to support research at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) is now open at the University of Illinois Research Park. The Plant Biology Innovation Greenhouse (PBIG) features unique cutting-edge capabilities that are already benefiting plant and microbial science researchers on the U of I campus. It...
2024-12-05 - The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences is recognizing seven staff members and academic professionals for their outstanding professional contributions. Heather Gillett, Nicolas Morphew, and Billy Vermillion have been selected to receive the LAS Academic Professional Award, which provides a cash award as well as a salary increment funded by LAS alumni. Melissa Odom, Audrey Ramsey, and Brenda...
2024-12-05 - The Econometrics Data Lab in David Kinley Hall is building on a win-win concept for everyone: Give students data from ongoing research and let them crunch the numbers. The result is an experiential learning opportunity that’s allowing students to apply what they’re learning in the classroom to help resolve real-world problems....
2024-12-04 - When Monica Turchyn was completing her undergraduate degree in community health at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, she took an online course on drug use and misuse. The course had an open access textbook written by the course instructor, which the students in the class used free of charge. Saving money on a textbook made a big difference...
2024-12-04 - As an oral historian, Illinois history professor Yuridia “Yuri” Ramírez records the stories of people who have never been written about in history books. “These people have, in some ways, made the most impactful legacies in their communities, and people don’t know who they are,” Ramírez said.Through the...
2024-12-04 - Brilliant characters often play key roles in movies and TV shows. However, when these characters are played by women and people of color, some audience members dismiss them as unrealistic, even if they portray real people and events, a recent study found. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign communication professor...