2007-12-01
- Want to help unravel the mysteries of the universe? A new distributed computing project designed by a University of Illinois researcher allows people around the world to participate in cutting-edge cosmology research by donating their unused computing cycles.The project is called Cosmology@Home, and is similar to SETI@Home, a popular program that searches...
2007-12-01 - Astronomers at the University of Illinois have found the first clear evidence for a cradle in space where planets and moons form. Using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, they've spotted a flattened envelope of gas and dust surrounding a young protostar that together, in theory, will someday form a solar system. Located about 800 light-years away in the constellation Cepheus, the object is obscured...
2007-12-01 - Ann Abbott tells her students to recognize opportunity, and a few years ago she had these cards in hand: A frustration with classroom learning, plenty of undergrads, and word of a community aid organization that needed Spanish speakers. Her move, in fall 2004, was to create a test program in which a dozen students from one of her Spanish courses learned the language under the roof of Urbana's...
2007-12-01 - When Jacquelyn Mitchard's young husband died of cancer in 1993, this mother of three, only in her 30s, says she could have easily withdrawn from the world. "I thought I would become one of those people who did not live life boldly," says Mitchard, an LAS alumna. "I was terrified that my kids would see me become a timid person, afraid that bad things would happen and unwilling to take any chances...
2007-11-01 - A pilot takes his small plane in for a hard emergency landing, but in the process he hits his head and suffers a small cut. Within seconds, his body's skin begins the task of sending blood to the cut to begin the healing process. But what if the plane suffered a small crack during the landing? And what if the plane's body immediately began to heal the crack on its surface, much like the pilot's...
2007-11-01 - A small but perplexing monkeypox outbreak in the United States in 2003 faded quickly from the public eye, but not so at the University of Illinois. Scientists here traced the dangerous contagion to its roots in Africa and are now unveiling important discoveries about its scope and transmission.The U.S. government and other international experts are following the work of Thomas Gillespie, Joanna...
2007-11-01 - A senior from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the first University of Illinois student in more than 10 years to be awarded a prestigious Marshall Scholarship for graduate study in the United Kingdom. Ian Clausen, a Wheaton, Ill., native majoring in religious studies and English, will begin studying in fall 2008 at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland to earn advanced degrees in...
2007-11-01 - Each year the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences recognizes a handful of its alumni for their outstanding accomplishments. These individuals, who were nominated by fellow alumni, are inspirations because of what they have accomplished in their lives and the honor they bring to their degree. We think they represent the best in all of us. As always, we are proud of our alumni. Rachel...
2007-11-01 - By the time someone is diagnosed with the deadly brain cancer known as glioblastoma multiforme, it is typically too late for treatment. Patients are usually dead within 12 months of the diagnosis. That's why LAS chemistry professor Ryan Bailey has initiated an ambitious effort to detect this and other types of cancers much earlier, when treatment is...
2007-11-01 - Many colleges would envy the dilemma faced by U of I admissions offices. Rather than worrying about filling empty chairs, the University has been trying to find some.With more students than ever seeking—and accepting—admission to U of I, the University has faced record enrollments in each of the past eight years prior to 2007. The abundance of talent flocking to U of I, however, has not come...
2007-11-01 - A University of Illinois professor famous for studying bees is asking state residents to help her latest endeavor: Tracking them.Entomology professor and department head May Berenbaum, who recently testified to Congress about bee colony collapse disorder, has launched the BeeSpotter website to build a better record of wild honey bees and...
2007-10-01 - Got a major? Need a minor? Come see displays on many of the 150 majors and minors available to you at U of I. It's a great opportunity to discover a field you may not have known existed yet is just right for you! Tuesday, October 9, 2007 2-4 p.m. Illini Union Rooms A, B, and C
2007-10-01 - LAS professors Arthur F. Kramer and Gene E. Robinson have been named Swanlund Chairs, the highest endowed titles at the University of Illinois.Kramer, a professor in the Department of Psychology, is part of the Beckman Institute's Human Perception and Performance Group and is co-chair of the Institute's Human-Computer Interaction research theme. Known internationally for his work...
2007-10-01 - Simulated relationships offer insight into real ones. Is it me, or are you a less than ideal partner? For psychologists studying how people manage romantic relationships, that's not an easy question to answer. What if one of the partners is deeply afraid of intimacy? Could they be acting in ways that undermine the relationship? Or is the partner contributing to the problem? Researchers at the...-
2007-10-01 - Homecoming Weekend Octber 27-28, 2007 Come for the football or any of the dozens of activities happening on campus, from now through October 28. Homecoming Post-Game Reception For two hours following the Homecoming football game Alice Campbell Alumni Center 601 S. Lincoln Ave., Urbana Free and open to the public. Event features entertainment, heavy hors d'oeuvres and cash bar...
2007-10-01 - From the very beginning of her college career, Ellen Dwyer has been amazed at the beauty of the body's immune system in battling disease. But not long after her fascination began, Dwyer found herself in a battle of her own-a fight against the autoimmune disease known as Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease.So it is only fitting that Dwyer would spend her summer in the prestigious Amgen...
2007-10-01 - The University of Illinois football team isn't the only program faring well in the rankings these days. When it comes to an undergraduate education, the U of I moved up two spots to being tied as the number eight public university in the country, according to the latest survey from U.S. News & World Report. Among all national universities, both public and private, the U of I moved...-
2007-10-01 - A lot of ingredients go into the U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges undergraduate rankings. Here is a quick rundown on the key factors. Peer Assessment (25%) is the most controversial part of the survey, for it is the most subjective. A school's peer assessment score is determined by surveying the presidents, provosts, and deans of admissions (or...
2007-10-01 - Hopes have been raised, and dimmed, several times in recent years as to whether Lincoln Hall would receive an overdue restoration. They were raised in spring 2006 when the state released the second, and final, installment of funds for architectural studies and other planning work—usually an indication that the project is a priority for the state.Expectations dimmed in August when the state's long...
2007-10-01 - More plants with less fertilizer? It's possible, according to University of Illinois researchers who have identified several proteins in plants that, if present in relatively higher concentrations, could almost double their growth efficiency.Their findings, which appeared in the October 2007 issue of Plant Physiology, came after the researchers used a computer model that mimicked the...
2007-10-01 - Eight LAS scientists share in the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, recently awarded to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as well as to former vice president Al Gore.The IPCC was formed in 1988 with the task of probing the science of climate change. "For the University of Illinois to have eight scientists highly involved on the IPCC is really quite significant," says Don...-
2007-10-01 - National Universities: Top Public Schools University of California-Berkeley University of Virginia University of California-Los Angeles University of Michigan University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill College of William and Mary Georgia Institute of Technology University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign University of Wisconsin-Madison University of California-San Diego LAS Graduate...
2007-10-01 - When Margaret Kosal (PhD, '01, chemistry) isn't throwing herself out of airplanes, she's throwing herself into her job with an equal amount of passion. Kosal has made over 1,000 jumps since 1997 when she first parachuted as a chemistry graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Jumping is for fun, but it's also representative of the total commitment she brings to her...
2007-10-01 - Whenever people talk about Dorothy Dilorio (BA, '49, Spanish), there is no shortage of adjectives. "Dorothy is gentle, open-minded, kind, and terribly bright," says Gail McClain, the former president of the College of LAS Alumni Board who recruited DiIorio to the board in 1997. "She is dependable and honorable, interesting and fun," adds Diane Gottlieb, the current College of LAS Board...
2007-10-01 - Rachel Galun (PhD, '55, entomology) describes her work as "a bloody business." For more than 50 years, Galun has been one of the world's leading authorities on blood-feeding insects, which are behind some of the most devastating diseases on the globe. This research has taken her on more than 60 different trips to Africa, where she has helped fight tropical illnesses caused by mosquitoes, ticks,...