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  • Photo of a group of dancers on stage in colorful clothing.

    Illinois performing arts programs taking the stage downtown

    The Illinois dance and Lyric Theatre programs will perform at the Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign this spring for “Krannert Center at the Virginia,” a collaboration between Krannert Center for the Performing Arts and the Virginia Theatre.

  • Portrait of the Illinois team

    Researchers reveal real-time glimpse into growth habits of nanoparticles

    For the first time, researchers have observed the process of nanoparticles self-assembling and crystalizing into solid materials. In new videos produced by the team, particles can be seen raining down, tumbling along stairsteps and sliding around before finally snapping into place to form a crystal’s signature stacked layers.

  • Illinois researchers professor Diwakar Shukla, left, professor Xiao Su, Anaira Román Santiago and Song Yin standing in Su's laboratory at the RAL building at U. of I.

    Advanced electrode to help remediation of stubborn new 'forever chemicals'

    As new environmental regulations are rolling out to mitigate the industry-retired long-chain chemicals known as PFAS in drinking water, there are concerns regarding a new breed of “forever chemicals” called short-chain PFAS. Research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is helping shift the focus to include mitigation of the chemicals – which researchers say are just as persistent as, more mobile and harder to remove from the environment than their long-chain counterparts.

  • Diptych image of book cover and headshot of Teri Chettiar

    Illinois historian examines how emotional intimacy became politically valued in post-WWII Britain

    History professor Teri Chettiar said emotional well-being was seen as a key factor for a stable democracy in the period following World War II.

  • Photo of a Japanese black ink painting showing waves crashing and a tree on the coast thrashing in the wind.

    Krannert Art Museum exhibition explores suibokuga and watercolor paintings by Shozo Sato

    The paintings by Shozo Sato, the founder of Japan House and an emeritus professor of theatre and of art at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, explore American landscapes, floral motifs and memories of postwar Japan.

  • Photo of Patrick Keenan, an expert in human rights law and international criminal law.

    What will result from the war crimes arrest warrants for two top Russian officials?

    The International Criminal Court’s recent issuance of arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin effectively means any country cooperating with Russia is now cooperating with an accused war criminal, says Illinois law professor Patrick Keenan, an expert in human rights law and international criminal law.

  • Photo of then-doctoral student Tyler Kearney and education faculty member Jennifer Delaney

    Are TV sports networks game-changers for financing collegiate athletics?

    Revenue from collegiate sports TV networks may decrease cross-subsidization of athletic programs by other units at these colleges, but athletic programs' spending also seemed to increase, scholars Jennifer Delaney and Tyler Kearney found.

  • Greenhouse student worker Eric Sylvester cuts dead branches from a queen sago palm tree.

    Nurturing a tropical paradise in the heart of the Midwest

    Lexi Gomez is knee-deep in a pond when I first see her in the U. of I. Plant Biology Greenhouse and Conservatory. A fifth-year senior who will graduate this semester, Gomez dips a net in the dark water to clear the pond of debris fallen from the lush jungle of tropical plants that looms above. She attacks the work with gusto.

  • Two smiling students sitting under a tree on the U. of I. quad in the autumn surrounded by fallen leaves

    Illinois Neurodiversity Initiative accepting freshmen applicants for fall semester

    The Illinois Neurodiversity Initiative at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is accepting applications from neurodiverse students who will be incoming freshmen in the 2023 fall semester.

  • Photo of Edward A. Kolodziej, Emeritus Research Professor of Political Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an expert in international relations and global politics.

    Is Russia-Ukraine war heading toward stalemate?

    One year into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the most likely outcome is a stalemate, despite the mounting cost in blood and treasure, said Edward A. Kolodziej, Emeritus Research Professor of Political Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an expert in international relations and global politics.

  • Photo of Brian Monson

    Study compares third-trimester sound exposures in fetuses, premature infants

    A new study is the first to compare the sound exposures of fetuses in the last 16 weeks of pregnancy with their age-matched premature peers. The analysis reveals profound differences in their exposures to noise, language and the biological sounds of the mother, with implications for the infants’ development.

  • Portrait of Kathryn Clancy

    Book tackles myths about science of menstruation

    A new book from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign anthropology professor Kathryn Clancy takes an unflinching look at the many ways humans have struggled – and often failed – to understand one of the greatest mysteries of human biology: menstruation.

  • Sociology professor Kevin Leicht wearing a suit and tie, sitting in his office with bookshelves behind him

    What's the remedy for medical misinformation?

    Sociology professor Kevin Leicht is co-leading the development of a software app that will alert clinicians to medical misinformation that's circulating on social media so they can address it with their patients if desired.

  • Photo of Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at the Urbana campus of the University of Illinois and the director of the Labor Education Program in Chicago.

    Should the workweek be shortened to four days?

    There’s nothing sacrosanct about the five-day workweek, which is long overdue for an overhaul, says Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at Illinois.

  • Image of the logo design for the 40th Insect Fear Film Festival, featuring a dragonfly bursting out from a rock or fossil.

    Insect Fear Film Festival celebrates 40 years of entertaining, educating about insects

    The 2023 Insect Fear Film Festival celebrates 40 years of entertaining and educating people about insects and their close relatives. This year’s festival features living fossil organisms.

  • Photo of professor Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo and graduate student Mary Ellen Mendy standing in front of an arched window

    Study examines COVID-19 pandemic's effect on Black, Latina women's mental health

    Black and Latina women had high rates of anxiety and depressive symptoms during the pandemic, but prayer had differing effects, kinesiology and community health professor Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo found in a study.

  • The graphic shows an orange and blue fractal image illustrating mathmatical order and chaos

    Theory sorts order from chaos in complex quantum systems

    It’s not easy to make sense of quantum-scale motion, but a new mathematical theory could help, providing insight into the various computing, electrochemical and biological systems. Chenghao Zhang, a physics graduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and chemistry professor Martin Gruebele performed a computational analysis of the new mathematical theory developed by Rice University theorist Peter Wolynes and theoretical chemist David Logan at Oxford University. The theory gives a simple prediction for the threshold at which large quantum systems switch from orderly motion like a clock to random, erratic motion like asteroids moving around in the early solar system.

  • Photo of Craig Koslofsky talking to a man holding a microphone, with a camera man filming and a portrait hanging on a wall behind Koslofsky.

    Video series highlights history of skin in the early modern world

    A series of eight videos available online highlights the research of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign history professor Craig Koslofsky on ways of marking and understanding skin in the early modern world.

  • Illustration showing fentanyl pills, a syringe, an ambulance and a chunk of crystal methamphetamine.

    Study finds 'staggering increase' in methamphetamine deaths tied to opioid co-use

    The U.S. methamphetamine mortality rate increased fiftyfold between 1999 and 2021, with most of the added deaths also involving heroin or fentanyl, researchers report in the American Journal of Public Health.

  • Photo of Ryan Cordell leaning on an old hand letterpress in the Skeuomorph Press and Book Lab at the Fab Lab.

    Mellon-funded project tracks how stories of racial violence spread, were reported

    Ryan Cordell, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor of information sciences and of English, is leading a project to examine how stories of racial violence circulated in late 19th century and early 20th century newspapers and how those stories relate to trends in contemporary social media.

  • Photo of Ujjal Kumar Mukherjee

    New climate change model finds nuanced relationship between temperature, conflict

    A new framework for studying the intersection of climate anomalies and social conflicts finds a strong link between temperature fluctuations and aggregated global conflicts, says research co-written Ujjal Kumar Mukherjee, a professor of business administration at the Gies College of Business at Illinois.

  • Chemical and biomolecular biology professor Xiao Su in his lab

    Study demonstrates energy-efficient conversion of nitrate pollutants into ammonia

    The nitrate runoff problem, a source of carcinogens and a cause of suffocating algal blooms in U.S. waterways, may not be all gloom and doom. A new study led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign demonstrates an approach for the integrated capture and conversion of nitrate-contaminated waters into valuable ammonia within a single electrochemical cell.

  • CUMTD bus on U. of I. campus

    Researchers illuminate gaps in public transportation access, equity

    Public transit systems offering broad coverage of stops and routes may still underserve the communities that rely on them the most, according to a new University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign study. The study, by former civil and environmental engineering student Dale Robbennolt and Applied Research Institute senior research scientist Ann-Perry Witmer, applies contextual engineering to help determine lapses in equity in public bus transportation access using data from the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District as a case study.

  • Triptych of images, including a painting with bright Northwest Coast graphics, a hanging scuplture made of suspended rice paper kites and a triptych of images in the colors of stoplights.

    Krannert Art Museum exhibition examines how pattern helps make sense of the world

    A new exhibition at Krannert Art Museum, “Pattern and Process,” examines how artists use pattern to understand natural, physical and personal realms.

  • Educational psychology professor Kaylin Ratner wearing a blazer and button-down shirt, standing in front of a colorful mural with one hand on her hip

    A sense of purpose may have significant impact on teens' emotional well-being

    Educational psychology professor Kaylin Ratner found in a study of more than 200 adolescents that feeling a sense of purpose had a significant impact on teens' emotional well-being.

  • Diptych image of two paintings of brilliantly colored cranes, one in a green landscape with pastel mushrooms and the other in a grey, devastated landscape of rubble.

    Exhibition of art professor's work examines human impulses, culture and the environment

    A new exhibition, “Deep Well,” features University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign art professor Laurie Hogin’s work, including installation and sculptural pieces that are exhibited less often than her paintings.

  • A graphic of a DNA shield guarding a simple human figure with the liver highlighted

    Possible genetic basis and mouse model found for severe nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

    A mutant or damaged gene may be a cause of a severe, mysterious form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers have found. Mice and human liver cells lacking the SRSF1 gene show all the hallmarks of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, also known as NASH, the researchers found. The unique mouse model captures all three hallmarks of excess fat, inflammation and scarring in the liver, opening the doors to better understanding and development of treatments for NASH.

  • Photo of Dominika Pindus

    Study links exercise intensity, attentional control in late-adolescent girls

    Adolescent girls who engage in more moderate and vigorous physical activity each day have better attentional control, a new study finds. The study focused on girls and boys aged 15-18.

  • Headshot of Abbas Aminmansour

    Why are so many tall and supertall buildings being built?

    Very tall buildings are attractive options in cities where land is at a premium, but they come with construction challenges, said University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign architecture professor Abbas Aminmansour.

  • PTI Director Michael Schlosser presents to police recruits at the Police Training Institute.

    Wrongful conviction course now required for all police recruits in Illinois

    Starting in 2023, all police recruits in the state of Illinois must take a Wrongful Conviction Awareness and Avoidance course as part of their training. This course was first developed by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Police Training Institute director Michael Schlosser with leaders of the Illinois Innocence Project at the University of Illinois Springfield.

    The course impresses upon new recruits the importance of carefully gathering and analyzing evidence in investigations and not jumping to conclusions about potential suspects. It offers real-world examples of the harm that accrues from wrongful convictions, including a presentation from an exoneree.

  • A composite image of seven faculty portraits

    Seven Illinois faculty members elected to AAAS

    Seven professors at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have been elected 2022 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Fellows are chosen by their peers for outstanding contribution to the field.

  • Photo of a brick home surrounded by trees, with brick pillars on either side of the front walk.

    Site of integrated Illinois town founded by former slave is newest national park

    The New Philadelphia National Historic Site in western Illinois, commemorating the first U.S. town to be legally founded by African Americans, is the nation’s newest national park. Several University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professors were among those leading the effort seeking national park status for the site.

  • Photo of Richard L. Kaplan, an internationally recognized expert on U.S. tax policy and the Guy Raymond Jones Chair in Law at Illinois.

    Paper: New law and regulations may diminish appeal of certain retirement accounts

    A new law and regulations affecting inherited retirement accounts could create hefty taxation issues for some beneficiaries, says Richard L. Kaplan, the Guy Raymond Jones Chair in Law at Illinois and an expert on U.S. tax policy and retirement issues.

  • Jessica Brinkworth’s daughter, Jordan Brinkworth-Sykes, age 10, plays the game “Stop the Pathogens!” created by U. of I. student Claire von Ebers in the evolutionary immunology class.

    Teaching generations of students about outbreaks – with art

    Most people don’t visit the health department to view student art, but here we are, in the busy main hall of the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District. We are wearing face masks, reading artist statements and reviewing more than a dozen visual and digital explorations of influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, COVID-19 and – the trickiest of all health topics – human behavior. Nurses and dental assistants whiz by with young patients. People walk by to pick up birth certificates. Two kids sit in a corner and play with one of the art pieces.

    It’s obvious this isn’t just an art show. It’s an end-of-term presentation designed by students in my evolutionary immunology class for students in kindergarten through the eighth grade. These creative works are meant to show the youngsters how to prevent the spread of respiratory infections in the community. These kids are using the art exactly the way it was intended.

  • Professor Tugce Baser

    Geothermal 'battery' repurposes abandoned oil and gas well in Illinois, researchers report

    Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have successfully demonstrated efficient geothermal heat storage while simultaneously repurposing an abandoned oil and gas well. A new study, led by civil and environmental engineering professor Tugce Baser, is the first field investigation of a geothermal energy storage system within the Illinois Basin – a geologic structure located deep within the subsurface.

  • Professor Ning Wang, front right, is joined by researchers, from left, Fazlur Rashid, Kshitij Amar and Parth Bhala.

    Probe can measure both cell stiffness and traction, researchers report

    Scientists have developed a tiny mechanical probe that can measure the inherent stiffness of cells and tissues as well as the internal forces the cells generate and exert on one another. Their new “magnetic microrobot” is the first such probe to be able to quantify both properties, the researchers report, and will aid in understanding cellular processes associated with development and disease.

  • Photo of a Black man with a graying goatee dancing with outstretched arms, while several female dancers with raised arms dance in the background.

    Four women choreographers to present at Studiodance 2023

    Four women choreographers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign dance department will present their work at Studiodance 2023.

  • Photo of Jacob S. Sherkow, a professor of law at Illinois who studies the ethical and policy implications of advanced biotechnologies

    Paper: California's proposal to manufacture insulin could curb prices, improve public health

    A new paper co-written by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign legal scholar Jacob S. Sherkow argues that the state of California’s proposal to manufacture and distribute insulin at cost could be a game-changer for curbing out-of-control price increases and a boon to public health.

  • Graphic of click beetle and coiled actuators

    Click beetle-inspired robots jump using elastic energy

    Researchers have made a significant leap forward in developing insect-sized jumping robots capable of performing tasks in the small spaces often found in mechanical, agricultural and search-and-rescue settings. A new study led by mechanical science and engineering professor Sameh Tawfick demonstrates a series of click beetle-sized robots small enough to fit into tight spaces, powerful enough to maneuver over obstacles and fast enough to match an insect’s rapid escape time.

  • Camera-trap photo of several pumas in the wild.

    Camera-trap study provides photographic evidence of pumas' ecological impact

    A camera-trap study of two ecosystems – one with pumas and one without – adds to scientists’ understanding of the many ways apex predators influence the abundance, diversity and habits of other animals, including smaller carnivores.

  • Working in the lab, the team continues its work on soybean proteins

    A soybean protein blocks LDL cholesterol production, reducing risks of metabolic diseases

    Soybean varieties with greater proportions of the protein B-conglycinin reduce plasma cholesterol levels and promote liver homeostasis, showing potential for preventing fatty liver disease and atherosclerosis, according to research by food scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

  • Photo of Jerry Davila

    What led to the attempted coup in Brazil, what comes next?

    The Jan. 8 insurrection in Brazil’s seat of government was styled after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, says Jerry Dávila, the Lemann Chair in Brazilian History at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and executive director of the Illinois Global Institute.

  • A photograph of an eBiobot prototype, lit with blue microLEDs.

    Microelectronics give researchers a remote control for biological robots

    First, they walked. Then, they saw the light. Now, miniature biological robots have gained a new trick: remote control. The hybrid “eBiobots” are the first to combine soft materials, living muscle and microelectronics, said researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University and collaborating institutions.

  • Headshot of Erin Riggs

    Illinois anthropology professor awarded NEH Fellowship

    Anthropology professor Erin Riggs has been awarded a 2022 National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship.

  • Photo of Robin Fretwell Wilson

    What's the significance of the Respect for Marriage Act?

    The bipartisan Respect for Marriage Act requires states to recognize same-sex marriages while balancing the interests of religious groups, says Robin Fretwell Wilson, the director of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs and the Mildred Van Voorhis Jones Chair in Law at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

  • Photo of social work professor Ryan Wade seated at the desk in his office

    A strong ethnic identity can buffer or bolster the effects of online sexual racism in Black men

    A strong commitment to their ethnic identity may be a double-edged sword for young sexual minority Black men when they encounter sexual racism online, according to a study by U. of I. social work professor Ryan Wade.

  • African savanna elephants

    Team streamlines DNA collection, analysis for elephant conservation

    A new DNA-collection approach allows scientists to capture genetic information from elephants without disturbing the animals or putting their own safety in jeopardy. The protocol, tested on elephant dung, yielded enough DNA to sequence whole genomes not only of the elephants but also of the associated microbes, plants, parasites and other organisms – at a fraction of the cost of current approaches.

  • Illustration of a sailing ship on the water amid icebergs.

    New website compiles ocean data from landmark 19th-century scientific voyage

    English professor Gillen D’Arcy Wood’s Oceans 1876 project makes a treasure trove of 19th-century marine data accessible to help scientists better understand how our oceans have changed and how to protect them.

  • Photo of Scott Althaus, director of The Cline Center for Advanced Social Research and a professor of both political science and communication at Illinois.

    Why was the Jan. 6 assault on the US Capitol considered an 'auto-coup d’état'?

    The Cline Center for Advanced Social Research’s Coup d’État Project initially categorized the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as an “attempted dissident coup.” But that classification has evolved to include the additional classification “attempted auto-coup d’état,” said Scott Althaus, the center’s director and a professor of both political science and communication at Illinois.

  • Photo of U. of I. researchers.

    First test of anti-cancer agent PAC-1 in human clinical trials shows promise

    A phase I clinical trial of PAC-1, a drug that spurs programmed cell death in cancer cells, found only minor side effects in patients with end-stage cancers. The drug stalled the growth of tumors in the five people in the trial with neuroendocrine cancers and reduced tumor size in two of those patients. It also showed some therapeutic activity against sarcomas, scientists and clinicians report in the British Journal of Cancer.