Physical sciences

Researchers develop a five-minute quality test for sustainable cement industry materials

A new test developed at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign can predict the performance of a new type of cementitious construction material in five minutes — a significant improvement over the current industry standard method, which takes seven or more days to complete. This development is poised to advance the use of next-generation resources called supplementary cementitious materials — or SCMs — by speeding up the quality-check process before leaving the production floor.

Life sciences Portrait of the research team posing together.

Minecraft players can now explore whole cells and their contents

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — 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 […]

Honors

Four Illinois researchers receive Presidential Early Career Award

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Four researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign were named recipients of 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. The winners this year are health and kinesiology professor Marni Boppart, physics professor Barry Bradlyn, chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Ying […]

Engineering Prototype of device

New research helps eliminate dead zones in desalination technology and beyond

Engineers have found a way to eliminate the fluid flow “dead zones” that plague the types of electrodes used for battery-based seawater desalination. The new technique uses a physics-based tapered flow channel design within electrodes that moves fluids quickly and efficiently, potentially requiring less energy than reverse osmosis techniques currently require.

Earth and environmental sciences Engineering Physical sciences Research news Science and technology Photo of the researcher in his laboratory with starting materials and holding a glass jar full of the end product, ethylbenzene.

Photo of the researcher in his laboratory with starting materials and holding a glass jar full of the end product, ethylbenzene.

Team makes sustainable aviation fuel additive from recycled polystyrene

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new study overcomes a key challenge to switching commercial aircraft in the U.S. from their near-total reliance on fossil fuels to more sustainable aviation fuels. The study details a cost-effective method for producing ethylbenzene — an additive that improves the functional characteristics of sustainable aviation fuels — from polystyrene, a hard […]

Humanities Portrait of Andrew White. He is standing in front of a screen displaying two images: on the left, a LiDAR image of Monks Mound in the ancient city of Cahokia; on the right, an artist's painted interpretation of what the city of Cahokia looked like in its heyday. The painting depicts Cahokia from an aerial perspective.

Portrait of Andrew White. He is standing in front of a screen displaying two images: on the left, a LiDAR image of Monks Mound in the ancient city of Cahokia; on the right, an artist's painted interpretation of what the city of Cahokia looked like in its heyday. The painting depicts Cahokia from an aerial perspective.

Are climate-related calamities erasing Illinois’ cultural history?

In a new report, scientists with the Illinois State Archaeological Survey describe how increased flooding, erosion and other effects of human-induced climate change are degrading many of the state’s cultural sites. ISAS research archaeologist Andrew White, a co-author of the report, spoke with News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates about the scope of the […]

Physical sciences An illustration of Mission Illinois at work in orbit above the Earth, passing over Illinois and the Great Lakes region.

Illinois researchers to kick off new phase of program to explore space-based manufacturing

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — What is being billed as the most exciting phase of a space manufacturing project called Mission Illinois is set to kick off this month. The project is currently gearing up to send a specialized construction apparatus to the International Space Station to demonstrate space-based or on-orbit manufacturing during the summer of 2026. […]

Physical sciences This image shows an overhead shot of a large semiconductor plant located in a rural area.

New PFAS removal process aims to stamp out pollution ahead of semiconductor industry growth

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign study is the first to describe an electrochemical strategy to capture, concentrate and destroy mixtures of diverse chemicals known as PFAS — including the increasingly prevalent ultra-short-chain PFAS — from water in a single process. This new development is poised to address the growing industrial problem of […]

Engineering This is a portrait of the researcher featured in this article.

New study: Earthquake prediction techniques lend quick insight into strength, reliability of materials

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Materials scientists can now use insight from a very common mineral and well-established earthquake and avalanche statistics to quantify how hostile environmental interactions may impact the degradation and failure of materials used for advanced solar panels, geological carbon sequestration and infrastructure such as buildings, roads and bridges.

Engineering The solar spectrum in the visible, or white light, region. Spectrograms like this split the light up into many wavelengths (colors). Called absorption lines because they are created as atoms absorb light at certain wavelengths, the dark bands indicate specific ionized elements in the Sun.

The solar spectrum in the visible, or white light, region. Spectrograms like this split the light up into many wavelengths (colors). Called absorption lines because they are created as atoms absorb light at certain wavelengths, the dark bands indicate specific ionized elements in the Sun.

Visible light energy yields two-for-one deal when added to CO2 recycling process

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — By combining visible light and electrochemistry, researchers have enhanced the conversion of carbon dioxide into valuable products and stumbled upon a surprising discovery. The team found that visible light significantly improved an important chemical attribute called selectivity, opening new avenues not only for CO2 conversion but also for many other chemical reactions used in catalysis research and chemical manufacturing.

Earth and environmental sciences

More than maps: New atlas captures the state of global river systems through human context

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The word “atlas,” may conjure images of giant books chock full of maps and a dizzying array of facts and figures. However, the new book “The World Atlas of Rivers, Estuaries, and Deltas” tells the story of these waterways long before human intervention and how they continue to evolve in the presence of — and often at odds with — human civilization. The new atlas is a highly visual guide to the most up-to-date research on the world’s river systems, with an emphasis on the mutual relationship between people and these vital landscapes.

Life sciences A group of researchers stands in an atrium.

Breaking open the AI black box, team finds key chemistry for solar energy and beyond

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool for researchers, but with a significant limitation: The inability to explain how it came to its decisions, a problem known as the “AI black box.” By combining AI with automated chemical synthesis and experimental validation, an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign […]

Physical sciences

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