2009-04-01
- The students in Urbana High School’s math club were challenged in early April to do something they probably hadn’t done since first or second grade. They did coloring. However, this coloring task was being led by an eminent LAS mathematician, Wolfgang Haken, and it involved one of the most famous math problems in history—the four-color theorem. In its...
2009-04-01 - A person’s unconscious attitudes toward science and God may be fundamentally opposed, researchers report, depending on how religion and science are used to answer “ultimate” questions such as how the universe began or the origin of life. What’s more, those views can be manipulated, the researchers found. After using science or God to explain such important questions, most people display a...
2009-04-01 - Is the communication in your relationship a little frosty? It may be that the little things you’re not doing in daily routines are playing a part, says LAS researcher Leanne Knobloch. Things like forgetting to walk the dog or fuel the car or take out the trash. Disruptions you cause in your partner’s routines can affect the quality of conversation, which is separate from your general...
2009-03-01 - As Brazil emerges as one of the world’s largest, most vibrant economies, University of Illinois is staging its own emergence—as home to one of the most comprehensive programs dedicated to understanding this new powerhouse.With a $14 million gift from Jorge Paulo Lemann and family, of Jona, Switzerland, and Sao Paulo, Brazil, U of I will become home to the new Lemann Institute of Brazilian Studies...
2009-03-01 - Wary of fading memories, a history professor studied World War II-era diaries and letters to learn what Germany was thinking during one of humankind’s darkest eras. He found deep insecurity that he believes enabled the Holocaust even as most Germans opposed it. Thanks to avid and detailed writers—and archives where their words were “hidden in plain sight...
2009-03-01 - When it comes to the hippocampus, a brain structure vital to certain types of memory, size matters. Numerous studies have shown that bigger is usually better. Now researchers have found that elderly adults who are more physically fit tend to have bigger hippocampi and better spatial memory than those who are less fit.The study, in the journal Hippocampus, shows that hippocampus size in...
2009-03-01 - Immigrants whittle into a broad earnings gap with American-born workers only about half as fast as long-accepted estimates suggest, according to new research by a University of Illinois economist. Darren Lubotsky says immigrants’ typically low starting wages grow just 10 to 15 percent faster than native-born workers over their first 20 years in the...
2009-03-01 - When it comes time for the spotlight, Penelope Soskin prefers a low profile, joking that fortunately she’s a better advocate for students than herself. After years of thoughtful influence on the college’s honors programs, however, Soskin’s contributions have been brought to light by none other than her students. Soskin, senior assistant dean and director of honors, scholarships, and experiential...
2009-03-01 - Converting certain grasses to biofuels could do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions than current methods using corn, according to a researcher in LAS. Perennial grasses such as switchgrass and Miscanthus are better than corn at preserving and increasing carbon stores in soil, which can influence carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, according to Evan DeLucia, professor of...
2009-03-01 - When Don Quixote mistook a windmill for a giant in the famous Spanish tale, he was facing the kind of quaint structure you see in postcards. But today’s windmills are true giants, with turbines reaching heights of 100 meters (328 feet), not counting their 100-meter-diameter rotor blades. When windmill turbines this big are clustered in massive groupings, they can affect temperature and humidity,...
2009-03-01 - A few years ago, Maj. Gen. Edward Giller (Ret.) would have been surprised to see even a color photograph of one of his old World War II fighter planes, much less a magazine photo of one in flight more than 60 years after the war. A couple months ago, however, Warbird Digest published a recent photo of a P-51D buzzing along with his identification letters. It was the same color, and, true...
2009-03-01 - By Vernon Burton Dr. Burton is a professor emeritus of history, sociology, and African American studies at U of I and is the author of Age of Lincoln.When Stephen A. Douglas learned that Lincoln would be his opponent for the U.S. Senate in 1858, he turned his considerable talents into discrediting him,...
2009-02-01 - A giant tarantula, the size of a house, has been unleashed on an unsuspecting desert community, the result of an experiment gone awry. Researchers are trying to figure out how to stop the rampaging arthropod when the female scientist suddenly blurts out what May Berenbaum describes as one of the most cringe-inducing lines in cinematic history: “Science is science, but a girl’s got to get her hair...
2009-02-01 - Many people these days wouldn’t trade their problems with the U.S. Federal Reserve’s for all the gold in its vaults, but the nation’s bank still offers an invaluable learning opportunity, as a team of LAS students discovered in the College Fed Challenge. It’s the first time a team from the University of Illinois has participated in the national contest, which started as a way to promote and...
2009-02-01 - When a professional pitcher hurls a 90-mile-per-hour fastball, the batter has roughly 450 milliseconds to swing, 300 of which are taken up looking at the ball, figuring out where it is heading, and deciding whether to swing. That gives a player about 150 milliseconds to actually swing the bat, which is why some pros exploit elementary chemistry principles to speed up their swing, says Jesse...
2009-02-01 - Never trust a honey bee that is hopped up on cocaine.Researchers have found that cocaine stimulates the reward system in the brains of foraging honey bees. As a result, bees on cocaine often exaggerate the quality of nectar and pollen they discover, says Gene Robinson, an LAS entomologist and Swanlund Chair who led the international...
2009-02-01 - By Vernon Burton Dr. Burton is a professor emeritus of history, sociology, and African American studies at U of I and is the author of Age of Lincoln.Abraham Lincoln retired from Congress in 1848 and concentrated on his legal practice, but the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 brought Lincoln...
2009-02-01 - The film footage is riveting. By night, tracer bullets light up the darkness; and by day, bullets are flying, as thousands of rounds are exchanged between federal marshals and a couple of hundred lightly armed American Indian activists. The world watched this drama unfold in 1973 during a tense, 71-day takeover of the village of Wounded Knee by activists. In 2009, the world can continue to watch...
2009-02-01 - Phi Beta Kappa, the country’s oldest and most respected undergraduate honors organization in the liberal arts, recently invited new members to join its chapter at the University of Illinois. The names of these outstanding students—18 juniors, 70 seniors, and six recent graduates—are listed below. Founded in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa has fewer than 300 chapters nationally. The U of I Gamma chapter was...-
2009-02-01 - The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is looking for students to participate in a new LAS Student Advisory Committee during the spring semester and the 2009-2010 school year. Students on the advisory board will consult with the LAS Office of the Dean on efforts that affect the academic student experience, addressing issues such as enrollment, diversity, international experiences, and advising...
2009-02-01 - A remote western Illinois field could someday yield tourists instead of crops, adding to the state’s legacy of racial equality that already includes Abraham Lincoln and the nation’s first black president. Once an integrated town that flourished decades before the Civil War broke the grip of slavery, the lost community’s potential as a heritage attraction got a boost last week when it was...
2009-02-01 - Those consumed—or burned—by love may find it no surprise that LAS psychologists say romance is even harder to understand than previously assumed. If you want to know where your relationship is headed, you might need more than a heart-to-heart conversation, according to a recent study. While someone’s mouth might say, “I’m smitten,” her body might be saying, “I’m smothered.” Sounds confusing? No...
2009-02-01 - Each year the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences recognizes a handful of staff members and academic professionals for their outstanding contributions to the college and service to others. These individuals, who were nominated by members of the campus community, demonstrate excellence and enhance the image of the college. Academic Professional Award Alison...-
2009-01-01 - Home prices in many parts of the Chicago area have retreated to 2003 or earlier levels. Nevertheless, foreclosures, short sales and a lack of homes marketed conventionally will drive down prices by 15 percent to almost 20 percent during the year's first quarter, predicts Geoffrey Hewings, director of the regional economics applications laboratory and a professor geography in LAS.“I don't think...
2009-01-01 - By Vernon Burton Dr. Burton is a professor emeritus of history, sociology, and African American studies at U of I and is the author of Age of Lincoln.In September 1837, Abraham Lincoln received his license to practice law, and on April 15, 1837, he relocated to Springfield, Illinois’ new state capital, to...