Curiosity can change everything

Within the College of LAS, our constant curiosity propels us to investigate so that we can seek a better tomorrow, today.

Our 600+ faculty are trying new things, testing theories, and challenging conventions—all while empowering students to think creatively and transform the future.

Research

Research

This year, LAS received $62 million in research funding—but that number is nothing compared to the impact our research will have on our state. Our society. Our students.

In LAS, our faculty and students make a difference in every field, from the innovative labs of biology to the celebrations of culture through world literature. We're investigating renewable energy sources, studying the ways we interact to help bridge divides, investigating history—and making it.

LAS faculty members are innovative thinkers who are breaking ground across the sciences, humanities, and social sciences. They're driven pioneers recognized with prestigious accolades like the National Medal of Science, Pulitzer Prizes, and Nobel Laureates; fellowships including Guggenheim Fellowships and National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships; and memberships to elite organizations including the National Academy of Sciences and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. They play an integral role in the campus’s interdisciplinary research institutes, including:

The interdisciplinary approach at the heart of much LAS research encourages original thinking and the ingenuity to tackle complex challenges. And our faculty members don't work alone—through hands-on research opportunities, undergraduate and graduate students engage in novel experimentation that empowers them to be part of this groundbreaking work, driving real change in the world.

A faculty member conducts research

Mathematical, life, and physical sciences

LAS researchers are building on the foundations of mathematical and scientific knowledge and applying it to topics like biology, mathematics, statistics, geography, geology, and more.
Faculty examine a map

Humanities

LAS humanities faculty delve deep into the complexities of human life. They explore the challenges individuals face and how they respond through the power of literature and writing, revealing the novel ways people navigate their lived experiences.
A grad student explores a virtual environment using VR

Social and behavioral sciences

LAS faculty study society, relationships, and human behaviors. They're shattering longstanding myths about how humans interact and providing new guidance about how we learn and process the world.

Student opportunities

The College of LAS provides many opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to conduct research in their chosen fields.
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Read about LAS faculty research

Every day, LAS researchers propel our understanding of the world forward through their research and creative activity. They explore and innovate, challenge and create, and make our world a better place. Read about the breadth and depth of LAS faculty expertise and how they're utilizing their knowledge to change the world.

Military family
Study: Few military spouses use formal support services
 Cycles of deployment and reintegration can be stressful, disruptive times for military spouses and their families. Although the Department of Defense and its military communities offer a number of formal resources to help military spouses cope during these challenging periods, very few of...
Auinash Kalsotra
Research: Long-term alcohol use suspends liver cell regeneration
 Excessive alcohol consumption can disrupt the liver’s unique regenerative abilities by trapping cells in limbo between their functional and regenerative states, even after a patient stops drinking, researchers at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and collaborators at Duke University and...
Reuben A. Buford May
Study: Some Chicago clubs use racist tactics to discourage Black patrons
 Some urban nightclubs in Chicago may charge Black patrons more for drinks compared with white patrons or use other tactics to discourage their patronage, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.Illinois ...
The oPool+ display platform
Improving the testing of antibodies
 Antibodies are the critical targeting agents of the immune system and the crux of immune therapy and vaccine development, but studying them is slow, expensive, and labor-intensive. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a new high-volume method that can...
Lincoln Hall
LAS plans $5 million investment to power research, academics, and student experiences
The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences is launching an ambitious new Strategic Investment Program to accelerate innovation, elevate academic excellence, and modernize infrastructure across LAS.
Ivan Sosa Marquez, left, and plant biology professor Katy Heath
Study identifies gene clusters linked to robust legume growth
 In a new study, scientists used nearly every tool in their toolkit — genomics, transcriptomics, greenhouse experiments and advanced statistical methods — to gain new insight into the complex chemical interactions that take place in underground root nodules, where legumes like soybeans...

Dean's Distinguished Lecture series

The LAS Dean’s Distinguished Lecture series provides an opportunity for members of the LAS community and the broader campus community to hear from some of the college’s most distinguished faculty. Talks are appropriate for people of all backgrounds, so previous knowledge in a specific topic is not required.

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