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  • U. of I., Singapore establishing information technology center

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, or A*STAR, a Singapore government agency that oversees 22 research institutes, consortia and centers, are establishing a major research center in Singapore. The Advanced Digital Sciences Center will be focused on breakthrough innovations in information technology that are expected to have a major impact in transforming human beings' utilization of information technology.

  • Goal of project is development of petroleum-free fuel

    Developing a petroleum-free fuel from corn byproducts is one of the goals of a newly funded research project at the UI. Eight research laboratories will pool their expertise, attacking the problems from different directions in order to work to improve the efficiency of bioconversion of plant fibers into fuels and other value-added products.

  • New theory explains electronic and thermal behavior of nanotubes

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have made an important theoretical breakthrough in the understanding of energy dissipation and thermal breakdown in metallic carbon nanotubes. Their discovery will help move nanotube wires from laboratory to marketplace.

  • Turning out a new breed of engineers

    David E. Goldberg, a UI professor of engineering, has written a new textbook that aims to create a new breed of engineers through focus on personal, interpersonal and organizational skills.

  • Interim-dean designate named, pending board approval, for engineering college

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Ilesanmi Adesida has been named interim-dean designate of the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign pending approval of the U. of I. board of trustees.

  • Sheldon H. Jacobson

    Ditch the gadgets while driving in Memorial Day weekend traffic

    A Minute With™... computer science professor Sheldon H. Jacobson

  • Nuclear engineer Clifford Singer is one of three authors of a report, produced by the university's Program in Arms Control, Disarmament and International Security, which calls for creating specific institutions, funds and financial incentives to manage spent nuclear fuel.

    Midwest experts agree on recommendations for nuclear waste storage

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Fifty thousand dry casks of spent nuclear fuel have nowhere to go for long-term storage. Yucca Mountain in Nevada appears to be all but dead as an option.

  • Home computers to help researchers better understand universe

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - 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.

  • Computer scientist Saurabh Sinha led the team of researchers that developed a new statistical technique that allows scientists to scan a genome.

    Technique finds gene regulatory sites without knowledge of regulators

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A new statistical technique developed by researchers at the University of Illinois allows scientists to scan a genome for specific gene-regulatory regions without requiring prior knowledge of the relevant transcription factors. The technique has been experimentally validated in both the mouse genome and the fruit fly genome.

  • Hidden order found in cuprates may help explain superconductivity

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Like the delicate form of an icicle defying gravity during a spring thaw, patterns emerge in nature when forces compete. Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have found a hidden pattern in cuprate (copper-containing) superconductors that may help explain high-temperature superconductivity.

  • Rapid-fire jaws propel ants to safety

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Move aside, mantis shrimp; trap-jaw ants now hold the world record for fastest moving body parts.

  • New force-fluorescence device measures motion previously undetectable

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A hybrid device combining force and fluorescence developed by researchers at the University of Illinois has made possible the accurate detection of nanometer-scale motion of biomolecules caused by pico-newton forces.

  • New process makes nanofibers in complex shapes and unlimited lengths

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The continuous fabrication of complex, three-dimensional nanoscale structures and the ability to grow individual nanowires of unlimited length are now possible with a process developed by researchers at the University of Illinois.

  • Radiation exposure: How much is too much

    A Minute With™... James F. Stubbins, professor and head of the department of nuclear, plasma, and radiological engineering

  • Jonathan Makela

    Why we can expect to see more activity like the recent solar flares

    A Minute With™...  Jonathan Makela, a professor of electrical and computer engineering

  • Professors Praveen Kumar, left, and Stephen P. Long have developed a computer modeling system to help plant scientists breed soybean crops that produce more and use less water.  Click photo to enlarge

    Scientists say new computer model amounts to a lot more than a hill of beans

    Champaign researchers who have developed a new computer model that can help plant scientists breed better soybean crops.

  • Illinois professor to receive global energy prize

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Nick Holonyak Jr., a John Bardeen Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been selected as a 2003 recipient of the Global Energy Prize from Russia. He shares the $900,000 prize with Gennady Mesiats of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Yan Douglas Smith of Titan Pulse Sciences Division.

  • Scientists identify gene involved in stem cell self-renewal in planarians

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - No matter how you slice it, the freshwater planarian possesses an amazing ability to regenerate lost body parts. Chop one into pieces, and each piece can grow into a complete planarian. The flatworm relies upon a population of stem cells to accomplish this remarkable feat; recent work sheds light on how planarians maintain these stem cells throughout their lives.

  • Researchers set new record for brightness of quantum dots

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - By placing quantum dots on a specially designed photonic crystal, researchers at the University of Illinois have demonstrated enhanced fluorescence intensity by a factor of up to 108. Potential applications include high-brightness light-emitting diodes, optical switches and personalized, high-sensitivity biosensors.

  • Nanowire generates power by harvesting energy from the environment

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - As the sizes of sensor networks and mobile devices shrink toward the microscale, and even nanoscale, there is a growing need for suitable power sources. Because even the tiniest battery is too big to be used in nanoscale devices, scientists are exploring nanosize systems that can salvage energy from the environment.

  • Consortium to design next-generation nuclear research reactors

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - With a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has teamed with other Big Ten Universities to enhance existing university research reactor facilities and to design the next generation of nuclear reactors for research and education.

  • New surface chemistry may extend life of technology for making transistors

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a technique that uses surface chemistry to make tinier and more effective p-n junctions in silicon-based semiconductors. The method could permit the semiconductor industry to significantly extend the life of current ion-implantation technology for making transistors, thereby avoiding the implementation of difficult and costly alternatives.

  • U. of I. to host state finals of Science Olympiad April 26

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The state finals of the Illinois Science Olympiad will be held April 26 at the University of Illinois. The event, which begins at 8 a.m., is part of a national competition in which middle and high school students compete in 23 events involving science concepts and engineering skills. The public is invited to attend.

  • Macromolecules on surface control mobility in phospholipid bilayers

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Phospholipid bilayers serve as the framework in biological membranes in which other components are embedded. Fundamental not only in biology, lipid bilayers are also essential in applications such as biosensors and nanoreactors.

  • Engineered strategies to mitigate global warming could influence biosphere

  • New technique could dramatically lower costs of DNA sequencing

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Using computer simulations, researchers at the University of Illinois have demonstrated a strategy for sequencing DNA by driving the molecule back and forth through a nanopore capacitor in a semiconductor chip. The technique could lead to a device that would read human genomes quickly and affordably.

  • Illinois professor awarded the 2002/3 Wolf Prize in Physics

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Anthony J. Leggett, a professor of physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been selected as a recipient of the 2002/3 Wolf Prize in physics. He shares the prize with Bertrand I. Halperin of Harvard University.

  • Etching holes in vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers creates better beam

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have found a way to significantly improve the performance of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers by drilling holes in their surfaces. Faster and cheaper long-haul optical communication systems, as well as photonic integrated circuits, could be the result.

  • University of Illinois to host state championship Rube Goldberg contest

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois State Championship Rube Goldberg Machine Contest for High Schools will be held in the Newmark Civil Engineering Building, 205 N. Mathews Ave., Urbana, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 9.

  • Chemistry professor Zaida Luthey-Schulten, left, and graduate student John Eargle have identified and visualized the signaling pathways in protein-RNA complexes that help set the genetic code in all organisms.

    Researchers study signaling networks that set up genetic code

    In a new study, researchers at the University of Illinois have identified and visualized the signaling pathways in protein-RNA complexes that help set the genetic code in all organisms. The genetic code allows information stored in DNA to be translated into proteins.

  • Quantum coherence possible in incommensurate electronic systems

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill.- Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated that quantum coherence is possible in electronic systems that are incommensurate, thereby removing one obstacle in the development of quantum devices.

  • Researchers bend light through waveguides in colloidal crystals

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Researchers at the University of Illinois are the first to achieve optical waveguiding of near-infrared light through features embedded in self-assembled, three-dimensional photonic crystals. Applications for the optically active crystals include low-loss waveguides, low-threshold lasers and on-chip optical circuitry.

  • Engineering Open House set for March 3, 4

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Remote-controlled robots rescuing "hostages" while running an obstacle course, wild and wacky Rube Goldberg machines, and more than 150 exhibits ranging from spacecraft design to shape-memory metals are among the attractions awaiting visitors to the 80th annual Engineering Open House at the University of Illinois.

  • Engineering Open House at Illinois highlights creativity

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Wild and wacky Rube Goldberg machines, robots launching mini basketballs, and more than 130 entertaining and educational exhibits are among the attractions awaiting visitors to the 85th annual Engineering Open House at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

  • New model describes avalanche behavior of superfluid helium

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - By utilizing ideas developed in disparate fields, from earthquake dynamics to random-field magnets, researchers at the University of Illinois have constructed a model that describes the avalanche-like, phase-slip cascades in the superflow of helium.

  • Don Wuebbles

    Interpreting record low ozone levels detected over the Arctic

     

    A Minute With™...

  • Researchers to receive EPA award for efforts to protect ozone layer

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Donald Wuebbles, a professor and head of atmospheric sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and his fellow members of the Ozone Science Tiger Team will receive the 2005 Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award from the Environmental Protection Agency. The award will be presented Wednesday (May 4) at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

  • Quantum analog of Ulam's conjecture can guide molecules, reactions

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Like navigating spacecraft through the solar system by means of gravity and small propulsive bursts, researchers can guide atoms, molecules and chemical reactions by utilizing the forces that bind nuclei and electrons into molecules (analogous to gravity) and by using light for propulsion. But, knowing the minimal amount of light required, and how that amount changes with the complexity of the molecule, has been a problem.

  • Illinois professor to receive NIH New Innovator Award

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Ryan C. Bailey, a professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois, has been named a recipient of the 2007 National Institutes of Health Director's New Innovator Award. The award recognizes bold ideas from some of the nation's most innovative new scientists.

  • Computer scientist William D. Gropp has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

    Illinois professor elected to National Academy of Engineering

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - William D. Gropp has been elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering. Gropp is the Paul and Cynthia Saylor Professor of Computer Science at the University of Illinois.

  • New stamping process creates metallic interconnects, nanostructures

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Creating high-resolution metallic interconnects is an essential part of the fabrication of microchips and other nanoscale devices. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a simple and robust electrochemical process for the direct patterning of metallic interconnects and other nanostructures.

  • Chemists synthesize molecule that helps body battle cancers, malaria

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The first synthesis of QS-21A, a medicinally important molecule that helps the body battle disease, has been achieved by chemists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

  • Chemistry professor James M. Lisy has been chosen to receive a prestigious Humboldt Research Award honoring a lifetime of research achievements.

    Illinois chemist receives Humboldt Research Award

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - University of Illinois chemistry professor James Lisy has been chosen to receive a prestigious Humboldt Research Award honoring a lifetime of research achievements.

  • Microreactor efficiently regenerates cofactors for biocatalysis

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- One of the longstanding challenges in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and food additives is the continuous regeneration of molecules called cofactors that permit the synthesis through inexpensive and environmentally friendly biocatalytic processes.

  • U. of I. chemist to be inducted into American Academy of Arts and Sciences

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - University of Illinois chemistry professor Sharon Hammes-Schiffer will be among 220 new members inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences on Saturday in Cambridge, Mass.

  • Two elected to membership in National Academy of Engineering

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - University of Illinois Vice Chancellor for Research Charles F. Zukoski and electrical and computer engineering professor P.R. Kumar have been elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering, the academy announced today.

  • Distinguished Cal-Tech astronomer to present public talk

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Wallace L.W. Sargent, the Ira S. Bowen Professor of Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology, will present the fourth talk in the department of astronomys Icko Iben Jr. Distinguished Lectureship at 4 p.m. April 24 in Foellinger Auditorium, 709 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana. The talk, "Large Optical Telescopes: The Next Generation," is free and open to the public.

  • Grainger gifts fund programs to explore promising new technologies

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Revolutionary research into the fundamentals of electrical power and other promising areas of engineering will be emerging from the laboratories of the University of Illinois College of Engineering, thanks to three new major gifts from The Grainger Foundation of Lake Forest, Ill.

  • 'First-look' results with spectro-radiometer: All systems 'Go'

  • Asteroid named for U. of I. astronomy professor

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - James B. Kaler, professor emeritus of astronomy at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, now has even more reason to be gazing at the night sky. He has had an asteroid named after him.