U. of I.’s Japan House to hold free annual open house April 8

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Japan House, an educational and cultural facility at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, invites the community to its annual spring open house on April 8. The event, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., is free and open to the public.

Among the highlights of this year’s event will be 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. screenings of a new 10-minute video, “Japan House,” produced by Creative Communication Concepts Inc. The company’s chief executive officer, David Mungenast, will discuss the film following each showing.

Also planned after the video screenings are ikebana (Japanese flower arranging) demonstrations by members of the Illinois Prairie Chapter of the Ikenobo Ikebana Society of America.

Throughout the day, tea ceremonies will be conducted by members of the Urbana-Champaign Association of Chado Urasenke Tankokai, and an exhibition of ikebana by Art 199 students will be on view.

Japan House is at 2000 S. Lincoln Ave., Urbana.

Illinois Commencement Speaker Robert Jones: ‘We’re Graduating Together’

Read the transcript of the Commencement speech delivered by Illinois Chancellor Robert Jones at the 2025 universitywide Commencement ceremony.

Health and medicine The researchers standing with a scale.

Eating craved foods with meals lessens cravings, boosts weight loss

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Food cravings are the downfall of many dieters, who feel locked in an eternal battle with their willpower to resist the tempting sweets, snacks and other foods they love. However, researchers in food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign say in a new study that eating dessert may […]

Engineering Researchers seated behind a hand scale prototype of their new multilayer material.

Study finds that individual layers of synthetic materials can collaborate for greater impact

Millions of years of evolution have enabled some marine animals to grow complex protective shells composed of multiple layers that work together to dissipate physical stress. In a new study, engineers have found a way to mimic the behavior of this type of layered material, such as seashell nacre, by programming individual layers of synthetic material to work collaboratively under stress. The new material design is poised to enhance energy-absorbing systems such as wearable bandages and car bumpers with multistage responses that adapt to collision severity.

Read Next

Illinois Commencement Speaker Robert Jones: ‘We’re Graduating Together’

Eating craved foods with meals lessens cravings, boosts weight loss

Study finds that individual layers of synthetic materials can collaborate for greater impact