Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

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Uncategorized Portrait photos of, from left, Carl Bernacchi, Stephen Long and Donald Ort

Review: Heat-resilient crops are within reach — given enough time and money

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Laboratory and field experiments have repeatedly shown that modifying the process of photosynthesis or the physical characteristics of plants can make crops more resilient to hotter temperatures. Scientists can now alter the abundance or orientation of leaves, change leaf chemistry to improve heat tolerance and adjust key steps in the process of […]

Arts Diptych image of the book cover of "Natural Attachments" and a portrait of Pollyanna Rhee standing in front of greenery.

Book explores how ‘domestication’ of environmentalism limits who it protects

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The response to a 1969 oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, reveals how the modern environmental movement has been used to protect the interests of private homeowners, said a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researcher. Landscape architecture professor Pollyanna Rhee chronicled how affluent homeowners use what she calls “ownership environmentalism” […]

Agriculture Graduate student Andrea Jimena Valdés-Alvarado, left, and food science professor Elvira Gonzalez de Mejia standing in the Edward R. Madigan Laboratory holding samples of the legume pulses they used in the study.

Fermenting legume pulses boosts their antidiabetic, antioxidant properties

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Food scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign identified the optimal fermentation conditions for pulses ― the dried edible seeds of legumes ― that increased their antioxidant and antidiabetic properties and their soluble protein content. Using the bacteria Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 299v as the microorganism, the team fermented pulses obtained from varying concentrations […]

Expert viewpoints Ukraine’s daring drone attack deep within Russia is significant but not war-redefining, and may hinder U.S. efforts to end the war, says University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign political science professor and international relations expert Nicholas Grossman.

Does Ukraine drone attack inside Russia augur new era of asymmetric warfare?

Champaign, Ill. — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign political science professor Nicholas Grossman is the author of “Drones and Terrorism: Asymmetric Warfare and the Threat to Global Security” and specializes in international relations. Grossman spoke with News Bureau business and law editor Phil Ciciora about “Operation Spiderweb,” Ukraine’s expertly plotted drone attack inside the Russian mainland. […]

Behind the scenes Photo of a man with his leg lifted and his boot in the foreground, while another man in the foreground reacts.

Staging a fight

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A group of theatre students is gathered in a rehearsal room at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. They are each paired with a partner, and I watch as they shove each other in the chest, knee one another in the gut and then punch their […]

Agriculture Photo of Stephen Long standing in a soybean field and holding a soybean leaf.

Report: ‘Future-proofing’ crops will require urgent, consistent effort

Professor Stephen Long describes research efforts to “future-proof” the crops that are essential to feeding a hungry world in a changing climate.

Expert viewpoints A woman stands in front a mural depicting viruses and cells

What did the COVID shutdowns teach us about public health policy?

The COVID-19 pandemic taught public health officials that communication and trust are as crucial as technology and innovation, says University of Illinois epidemiologist Becky Smith.

Arts Photo of a band onstage, lit by red light.

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts announces ELLNORA guests, 2025-26 season performances

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Krannert Center for the Performing Arts will open its 2025-26 season Sept. 4-6 with ELLNORA: The Guitar Festival, the 11th year of the biennial festival. The performing arts center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign held its first ELLNORA festival 20 years ago. Tickets for ELLNORA events and for the season’s performances […]

Behind the scenes Earth and environmental sciences Physical sciences Photo of Ellen Buckley standing on a white field.

Teaching about sea ice while standing on it

UTQIAQGVIK, Alaska — My boots crunch into the snow as I step onto the frozen Arctic Ocean. It’s April in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, and I’m here to help run a sea ice field trip for eighth graders and assist with some fieldwork. Around me, a network of tents — each with a story to tell about […]

Announcements

Heeter selected as university’s first vice chancellor for finance

Aimee Heeter, currently the vice provost for finance and administration at Indiana University, will become the vice chancellor for finance at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign effective Aug. 1, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

Campus news

Illinois undergraduates receive Gilman Scholarship

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship has been awarded to 42 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign undergraduate students this spring.

Campus news Almoatasim Shahbain

Illinois student awarded Boren funding for overseas language study

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign undergraduate student Almoatasim Shahbain received the Boren Award for intensive language study abroad during the 2025-26 academic year.

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