2015-10-01
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The British Empire was not the model of peace and stability, the “Pax Britannica,” as it’s often portrayed. The common narrative of the empire’s rise and fall is misleading, says a University of Illinois history professor.
Dissent...
LAS News Archive
2015-10-01 - One particularly telling moment at the ceremony highlighting the U of I’s being named one of the “Milestones in Microbiology” sites actually occurred after the proceedings were over, as those who participated in the event were having their picture taken around a plaque from the American Society for...
2015-10-01 - There’s good reason to be optimistic about the future of the humanities, but a sustained and innovative commitment at educational institutions such as the University of Illinois is required to maintain them in their role as an essential part of American democracy, the chairman of the National...
2015-10-01 - Amanda de Souza cradles a plastic petri dish in her hands. Tiny plants press against the lid; their roots form a delicate web. It’s hard to imagine that hope for millions of people may lie inside something so small, so seemingly fragile.But don’t let them fool you. These plants are hardy. Cassava...
2015-10-01 - Every four years the presidential nomination process in the United States comes under a great deal of scrutiny, with critics claiming that the drawn-out primary cycle, scheduled to begin in February 2016 and lasting until June, affords too much influence to a small number of voters in early primary...
2015-10-01 - We’ve long known that there is ice on Mars, but on Sept. 28, NASA confirmed evidence of running water on the red planet—which makes all the difference in the world, says Illinois astronomy professor Leslie Looney.The discovery was made by NASA’s Mars...
2015-10-01 - An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Illinois have received $2 million over three years from the National Institutes of Health to develop new insights in neuroscience and create diagnostic and therapeutic tools in fighting neurological diseases. Jonathan Sweedler,...
2015-10-01 - The forests in Alaska’s Yukon Flats are burning at a higher rate than any time in the last 10,000 years. A new analysis by researchers at Illinois finds that so many forest fires are occurring there that the area has become a net exporter of carbon to the atmosphere.This is worrisome, because...
2015-10-01 - A four-year, $1 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will help University of Illinois humanities scholars identify digital publishing options and produce new publications that will best disseminate their research.The collaborative project involves the...
2015-10-01 - Four professors in the College of LAS have been named University Scholars for outstanding contributions to their fields. They were among 14 faculty selected for the honor this year across the three campuses of the University of Illinois.Carla Eva Cáceres, of the Department of...
2015-10-01 - The student who chooses English as a major should be prepared—prepared for the questions, concerns and even mocking about the value of their degree.English major Mylissa Zelechowski said she gets it all the time. People she meets are “very quick to...
2015-10-01 - Smoking will kill you. Candidate X will destroy the economy. Does that grab your attention? According to a study by a psychology professor at Illinois, fear-based appeals such as these are effective ways of influencing attitudes and behaviors.“There are very few circumstances under which (fear-...
2015-10-01 - The chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, William Adams, will speak on the University of Illinois campus on Oct. 29 as part of events marking the 50th anniversary of the NEH.Adams’ speech, “The Common Good and NEH at 50,” will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Knight Auditorium at Spurlock...
2015-10-01 - In 559 B.C., the leader of the Rong barbarians in China argued that his people should be regarded as equals to those from the northern state of Jin. As the barbarian leader made his argument, he suddenly began to chant “Blue Flies,” a poetic ode about the dangers of slander.This story appears in...
2015-09-01 - Baseball was still a relatively young sport when roughly 20,000 people packed the small Oklahoma City stadium that was designed to hold less than 10,000. With the stands filled, a multitude lined the outfield foul lines, leading one reporter to wisecrack that “any guy ought to be able to pitch with...
2015-09-01 - Come back to the University of Illinois this fall and celebrate Homecoming with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Join LAS alumni and friends at our festive event for a lunch buffet, entertainment, displays, prizes, and more. The LAS Homecoming Celebration is open to all LAS alumni and...
2015-09-01 - No, this story is not about interdisciplinary research between psychologists and astronomers. It turns out, however, that imagining life on a distant (albeit fictional) planet helps shed light on our assumptions about fairness in society.Participants in a study by psychologists at U of I were asked...
2015-09-01 - On the surface, it appears that policymakers are faced with a great dilemma. If we grow more biofuel crops, we reduce greenhouse gas emissions but we make it harder to grow food. If we grow more food in our fields, we have less land for environmentally beneficial biofuels.So which will it be? Steve...
2015-09-01 - Music? Check. Planetarium show? Check. Dinosaurs? You better believe it. The stage was set for alumni from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to reunite with their alma mater and each other this past summer, and they did so in memorable fashion. More than 160 people...
2015-09-01 - Giving up all liquids and food from dawn to dusk every day for a month sounds difficult enough. But how about trying to fast from food and drink all day when you are a high school football player running wind sprints in full equipment?The complicated pairing of faith and football was the topic of...
2015-05-01 - Graduation Day At left, the Commencement procession with two lines of graduates being escorted by a military officer in 1930. Today, a much larger and more diverse Illinois undergraduate student body graduates in iconic blue robes. You can often find robed students waiting in line for...
2015-05-01 - They were called “the Romans of the New World.” The Iroquois, a league of five (and later six) Native American nations in what is now upstate New York and southern Ontario and Quebec, were sometimes compared to Romans because of the scope of their influence and power. European writers from the 17th...
2015-05-01 - During the mid-1990s, with images of starving children in North Korea seared into Byung-Ho Chung’s mind, he met with a North Korean official to offer a shipment of anti-parasitic drugs that could help fight malnutrition. The official brusquely refused.“We do not have such a dirty problem in our...
2015-05-01 - Driving lessons and scary videos aside, psychologists studying blood flow in the brain have learned that there’s one good way to stop teenage drivers from taking risks behind the wheel: Put mom in the passenger seat.A new study at the University of Illinois found that for teenagers, blood flow to...
2015-05-01 - Six professors in or affiliated with the College of LAS have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors a scientist can receive. Renée Baillargeon, professor of psychology; Gary Dell, professor of psychology...