blog posts

• Marching Illini

  Nov 25, 2015 11:15 am0 views

  Chicago Tribune (Nov. 24) -- An estimated 65 million people will be watching on television – and 3 million more in person – when the Marching Illini, for the first time in the band's storied history, perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.

• Work

  Nov 30, 2015 10:00 am0 views

  Discovery News (Nov. 27) -- Working all the time can make a person worse at work. “Constant work creates cognitive clutter,” says Laura Payne, a professor in the department of recreation, sport and tourism at Illinois. “That clutter stifles the openness that is so vital for problem solving and epiphanies.”

• Dance

  Dec 1, 2015 10:15 am0 views

  The New York Times (Nov. 25) -- For one semester a year, Illinois dance professor Tere O’Connor trades New York City for Urbana-Champaign. The good part is that he always returns, ready to start a new work, and this season it’s a doozy in sheer numbers alone.

• State Farm Center

  Dec 2, 2015 12:00 pm0 views

  Chicago Tribune (Dec. 1) -- After a nearly $170 million renovation project, the Illini open the doors to the State Farm Center for the first time to fans Wednesday night when they play host to Notre Dame (4-2) in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.  "It's a program-changer," said men's basketball coach John Groce. "It's great to see it come to fruition. Our guys are excited."

• Administration

  Dec 3, 2015 11:00 am0 views

  Chicago Tribune (Dec. 2) -- Illinois Interim Chancellor Barbara Wilson says she’s aiming to hire a permanent athletic director by the Jan. 21 board of trustees meeting in Chicago, although she’s willing to pass that deadline if the right candidate hasn’t been identified.

• Drones

  Dec 4, 2015 1:45 pm0 views

  The New York Times (Dec. 4) -- The ranks of older and frail adults are growing rapidly in the developed world, raising alarms about how society is going to help them take care of themselves in their own homes. Illinois professor of mechanical science and engineering Naira Hovakimyan has an idea: drones.

• Illinois Budget

  Dec 7, 2015 3:15 pm0 views

  WGN-720 AM (Chicago, Dec. 6) -- Richard Dye from the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois joins the show to talk about his ideas for the state to adopt better budget practices – if the state ever gets a budget.

• College Towns

  Dec 8, 2015 12:15 pm0 views

  Chicago Inno (Dec. 7) -- Champaign is ranked as one of the top college towns nationwide, according to WalletHub. Champaign is ranked the 7th best among small cities, and 11th overall.

• Cancer

  Dec 9, 2015 1:15 pm0 views

  Gizmag (Dec. 8) -- No cancer treatment is straightforward, but attacking a tumor in the liver is an especially problematic process that normally involves surgery. A new technique developed at Illinois may come to offer a less-invasive approach, however, by relying on nanobubbles that sneak cancer-fighting drugs into the tumor and can be popped to release their payload at just the right time.

• Cultural Center

  Dec 10, 2015 11:45 am0 views

  Chicago Sun-Times (from The Associated Press; Dec. 9) -- Illinois has committed nearly $5 million to build a new African-American Cultural Center at its Champaign-Urbana campus.

• Affirmative Action

  Dec 11, 2015 11:15 am0 views

  Chicago Sun-Times (Opinion, Dec. 10) -- “What unique perspective does a minority student bring to a physics class?” Chief Justice John Roberts asked during oral arguments of Fisher v. University of Texas, a case on affirmative action brought by a white student who says the university denied her admission because of her race. I posed Roberts’ question to Illinois physics professor Philip Phillips, an African American well regarded internationally for his work in a field that would leave most of us dizzy because of its complexities.

• Campus

  Dec 15, 2015 8:45 am0 views

  The Washington Post (Dec. 11) -- For one week in December, between finals and end-of-semester goodbyes, Illinois students in one college dorm take turns singing holiday tunes to strangers.

• Labor

  Dec 17, 2015 3:00 pm0 views

  NPR (Dec. 17) -- Uber has grown into a global phenomenon with a flexible labor system in which drivers are treated as independent contractors. Increasingly, that system is under attack. Matthew Finkin, a labor law professor at Illinois, says "Because (contract workers are) excluded from federal coverage doesn't mean the federal law meant for them to have no rights at all. What rights they're able to assert could be provided by state law or in this case municipal ordinance."

• Astronomy

  Dec 18, 2015 11:30 am0 views

  National Geographic (Dec. 17) -- Like cosmic clairvoyants, scientists predicted precisely where and when to see a distant star blow itself to bits – and caught the explosion in action on Dec. 11. “This is incredibly fun. It's amazing to work on something that you know will one day be in a textbook,” says Ryan Foley, an astronomy professor at Illinois who was part of the team that observed the supernova.

• Health

  Dec 21, 2015 10:30 am0 views

  Newsweek (Dec. 18) -- Luckily, most people are able to handle tinnitus relatively well, getting used to the noise so that it doesn’t interfere with their ability to function, says Fatima Husain, a researcher at Illinois.

• Alumnus

  Dec 22, 2015 11:00 am0 views

  Chicago Tribune (Dec. 22) -- How and why Brookfield Zoo is working to save wildlife in Peru centers primarily on Mike Adkesson, 36, a native of Decatur in central Illinois. After earning his doctorate in veterinary medicine at Illinois, Adkesson heard about a postdoctorate opportunity to conduct research on the health of penguins at Punta San Juan in Peru. 

• International Students

  Dec 23, 2015 10:30 am0 views

  Chicago Tribune (Dec. 22) -- Foreign students at Illinois, far from home at the holidays, get into the Christmas spirit.

• Terrorism

  Jan 4, 2016 4:15 pm0 views

  BBC News (Dec. 25) -- Several research groups across the globe are now developing sensors to detect TATP – the explosive used in the Paris attacks – before it can be detonated. "Anyone who could follow a recipe to make a pumpkin pie could follow the recipe to make TATP," says Kenneth Suslick, a professor of chemistry at Illinois.

• Engineering

  Jan 5, 2016 10:00 am0 views

  Chicago Tribune (Jan. 4) -- Courtney Leverenz, a senior at Richards High School in Oak Lawn, dreams of traveling to Mars and exploring space. In July, Leverenz found herself at Illinois for the GAMES (Girls Adventures in Mathematics, Engineering and Science) Engineering Camp. There, she learned more about the technical side of engineering.

• Climate

  Jan 6, 2016 12:45 pm0 views

  Politico (Jan. 5) -- It was thought that the expanded availability of air conditioning in the U.S. had eliminated the economic advantage that cooler regions enjoyed historically over hotter ones. That turns out to be wrong, according to a paper that finance professor Tatyana Deryugina of Illinois and Solomon M. Hsiang of Berkeley presented Sunday at the American Economic Association’s annual meeting in San Francisco.

• Race

  Jan 7, 2016 12:45 pm0 views

  The Wall Street Journal (Jan. 6) -- Writing in the Journal of Neuroscience in 2013, psychology professor Eva Telzer of Illinois and colleagues studied children adopted by European-American families from either Asian or Eastern European orphanages. Such orphanages are notorious for their understimulating environments, a facet of which is that their young wards never get exposed to other-race faces.

• Creativity

  Jan 8, 2016 11:45 am0 views

  Crain's Chicago Business (Jan. 8) -- If you feel like you do your best work only after plopping down around strangers, it's not in your head. “Moderate levels of chatter or noise in environments such as coffee shops induce some distraction, which our research has shown causes people to think at a higher level or from a broader perspective,” says Ravi Mehta, a professor at Illinois' College of Business. “This effectively enhances their creativity.”

• Economics

  Jan 11, 2016 2:00 pm0 views

  The Atlantic (Jan. 11) -- As the Stanford economist Caroline Hoxby and Illinois economist Jeffrey Brown have famously argued, students were more likely to enroll and stay in college during the Great Recession; at a time when there are fewer jobs, would-be college students are more likely to invest in opportunities to develop skills and enhance their chances at getting employed.

• Distance Education

  Jan 12, 2016 11:15 am0 views

  AOL News (from U.S. News & World Report; Jan. 12) -- Students considering online learning programs can use U.S. News' 2016 Best Online Programs rankings to research and compare their options. Among the greatest ranking changes in the education category was Illinois, rising to a tie at No. 7 from a tie at No. 47.

• Hoverboard Policy

  Jan 13, 2016 1:15 pm0 views

  CBS Local (Chicago, Jan. 12) -- When students return to classes next week at the University of Illinois’ flagship campus, officials want them to leave their hoverboards at home.

• Climate Change

  Jan 14, 2016 1:15 pm0 views

  Smithsonian Magazine (Washington, D.C., Jan. 13) -- Illinois' Stephen Long is among the many researchers who have conducted experiments at a Smithsonian marsh site. He says the very thought of doing this type of work in the natural environment was revolutionary when the first experiment was established 30 years ago.

• Astronomy

  Jan 15, 2016 1:30 pm0 views

  The Atlantic (Jan. 14) -- What if history's brightest supernova exploded in Earth's backyard? In 1996, grad student Brian Fields and his adviser listed out the radioactive elements blasted into space by a supernova that you might be able hunt down on Earth. A supernova close enough to leave a trace, they reasoned, might also have been close enough to pose a serious threat to life. “If we were really lucky we could connect it to a mass extinction,” says Fields, now an astronomy and physics professor at Illinois. “That’s sort of the Holy Grail, or the unholy grail, of the field.”

• Brain Sensors

  Jan 19, 2016 1:00 pm0 views

  The Atlantic (Jan. 19) -- Brain sensors developed by Illinois and the Washington University School of Medicine disintegrate once they've monitored a person's brain injury. These dissolvable sensors come from the lab of John Rogers from Illinois. He specializes in creating flexible electronics, including electric socks for the heart, temporary tattoos that double as medical sensors and curved cameras based on the eye.

• Alumnus

  Jan 20, 2016 1:45 pm0 views

  NBC News (Jan. 19) -- Illinois alumnus Ervin A. Johnson is a 27-year-old Chicago-based artist who uses photography and other creative techniques to inspire the healing of others.

• Tuition Freeze

  Jan 21, 2016 10:45 am0 views

  Chicago Tribune (Jan. 20) -- For the second year in a row, Illinois is poised to freeze tuition for new in-state undergraduates next academic year, a decision aimed at attracting students who have been leaving the state as costs have increased and the state's financial outlook is uncertain.

• Theater

  Jan 22, 2016 1:00 pm0 views

  The Wall Street Journal (Jan. 21) -- The memories of the long-running “Cats” Broadway show will live again. And for some, it’s all too soon. “The question is, how does ‘Cats’ speak to us now, in a way that ‘Hamilton’ or other shows do?” says Jeffrey Eric Jenkins, a professor and head of the department of theatre at Illinois and a former New York theater critic. “It became a rite of passage for people coming to New York,” he says. “I don’t know if it will have that resonance for this generation.”

• Vet Med

  Jan 25, 2016 1:15 pm0 views

  The Pantagraph (from The Associated Press; Bloomington, Ill., Jan. 22) -- A bobcat kitten that was struck by a car will soon head back to Indiana following treatment at Illinois' College of Veterinary Medicine.

• Education

  Jan 26, 2016 12:45 pm0 views

  Chicago Tribune (Opinion, Jan. 22) -- Rob Garite, a convicted murderer who has been released from prison, seeks to succeed outside of prison through a college education that could lead to better job prospects. If he does, it will be due in large part to Rebecca Ginsburg, a U. of I. professor of education policy. Ginsburg is the co-founder and director of the Education Justice Project, a prisoner-education advocacy organization affiliated with Illinois.

• Agriculture

  Jan 27, 2016 11:45 am0 views

  U.S. News & World Report (Jan. 26) -- Fertilizer prices at the end of 2015 fell to the lowest – as a whole – in six years, according to an Illinois study.

• Labor

  Jan 28, 2016 12:15 pm0 views

  The New York Times (Jan. 27) -- The New York Jets have become the fourth team in the NFL to settle a class-action lawsuit over wages paid to their cheerleaders. Some have called for dancers to be direct employees, as the Jets cheerleaders were, rather than independent contractors. Such contracts can insulate teams from liability related to on-the-job injury or sexual harassment claims, says Michael H. LeRoy, a law professor of labor and employment relations at Illinois.

• Interviewing Skills

  Jan 29, 2016 1:00 pm2 views

  Fast Company (Jan. 27) -- While reporters have ample opportunities to hone their interview skills, business managers may only do it a few times a year. Even still, Brant Houston, who teaches investigative and advanced reporting at Illinois, says it’s natural to overestimate your abilities. “Everybody thinks they’re an interviewer, that interviewing’s easy,” he says. “Good interviewing takes practice.”

• Yellowstone

  Feb 1, 2016 1:15 pm0 views

  The Guardian (Jan. 31) -- Many geologists believe Yellowstone National Park sits on top of a “hot spot” – a plume of warm mantle rising up from the edge of the Earth’s core. But new research makes this seem unlikely. Instead, researchers found what appears to be the remnants of an ancient ocean tectonic plate. By modeling the way the mantle might flow around this ancient plate, geology student Tiffany Leonard and geology professor Lijun Liu from Illinois have shown that this sinking slab would block the heat and get in the way of any mantle plume.

• Landscape Architecture

  Feb 2, 2016 1:00 pm0 views

  Fast Company (Feb. 1) -- Gazing out of the window onto green pastures or a peaceful copse of trees while taking an exam will actually help students score higher. And not just a little bit, either -- a new Illinois study has found that students’ capacity to pay attention increased 13 percent with a green view outside their classroom window.

• College ROI

  Feb 3, 2016 12:00 pm0 views

  Chicago Inno (Feb. 2) -- The Princeton Review recently released the 2016 list of  “Top 50 Schools That Pay You Back,” offering students a look at what colleges are the best return on investment based on affordability, academics and career prospects for students. Illinois ranked 22nd for colleges that pay you back if you don’t qualify for financial need.

• Politics

  Feb 9, 2016 1:00 pm0 views

  The New York Times (Feb. 6) -- As Hillary Clinton fights off intense criticism over her ties to Wall Street, a central question has gone unanswered: Has she ever taken any action that favored the financial industry? Charles J. Tabb, a law professor at Illinois, says Clinton’s vote to make it harder for Americans to wipe out their debts through bankruptcy, “shows the power of the consumer credit industry and our campaign finance world.”

• Zika Virus

  Feb 10, 2016 11:45 am0 views

  National Geographic (Feb. 5) -- In the 1960s, an outbreak of rubella virus expanded women’s access to abortion in the United States. Could Zika do the same in Latin America? Illinois history professor Leslie J. Reagan, who has written a book about the 1960s rubella virus outbreak, weighs in.

• Ethanol

  Feb 11, 2016 12:00 pm0 views

  NPR (Feb. 10) -- If the law requiring the blending of ethanol with gasoline changed tomorrow and gasoline companies were free to ignore ethanol, they'd almost certainly keep right on blending ethanol into their fuel, according to Illinois economist Scott Irwin.

• Ants

  Feb 12, 2016 12:45 pm0 views

  Discover Magazine (Waukesha, Wis. Feb. 11) -- To settle a labor dispute, ants put up their dukes. And when the bell rings, they can unleash a flurry of punches in the blink of an eye. A new study from researchers at Illinois and North Carolina State University used slow-motion videos to watch trap-jaw worker ants square off in antenna boxing matches.

• Alumna

  Feb 15, 2016 12:15 pm0 views

  The New York Times (Feb. 13) -- In The New York Times' list of potential Supreme Court nominees to replace Antonin Scalia, Illinois alumna Patricia Ann Millett is listed. Her nomination in 2013 by President Barack Obama to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circut (to fill the seat vacated by John G. Roberts Jr. after his elevation to the Supreme Court) was one of three nominations caught up in a Senate debate over the use of the filibuster. She received a bachelor's in political science from Illinois.

• Supreme Court

  Feb 16, 2016 11:30 am0 views

  Los Angeles Times (Opinion, Feb. 16) -- Illinois College of Law Dean Vikram Amar co-writes an op-ed on the Supreme Court vacancy left by the late Antonin Scalia. The situation mirrors a similar case 28 years ago.

• Athletics Director

  Feb 19, 2016 12:45 pm0 views

  Chicago Tribune (Feb. 18) -- Josh Whitman started his day as Illinois' new athletics director with a four-mile run and the top of the Memorial Stadium stairs as his destination.

• Advertising

  Feb 22, 2016 11:30 am0 views

  The New York Times (Feb. 21) -- Companies introduced advertising in the early and mid-2000s with women who did not look like stereotypical models. But after that splash of realism, subsequent years saw only a smattering of the same. “YouTube, selfies and everyone being a media creator are helping to change what we see,” says Michelle R. Nelson, a professor of advertising at Illinois. “At the same time, we want to see people who are like us, but maybe the idealized version of ourselves.”

• Communication

  Feb 24, 2016 4:15 pm0 views

  United Press International (Washington, D.C., Feb. 23) -- While smokers and non-smokers agree in their disdain for graphic images on packs of cigarettes, smokers say the pictures still won't stop them from lighting up. Researchers at Illinois found the images made people feel like their freedoms were being infringed on, and in some cases encouraged people's smoking habit.

• Materialism

  Feb 26, 2016 11:30 am0 views

  Chicago Tribune (Feb. 25) -- Aric Rindfleisch, professor of business administration at Illinois, has spent 20 years researching materialism. He calls it a learned value that can negatively impact a person's lifelong well-being.

• Online Learning

  Feb 29, 2016 2:00 pm0 views

  Chicago Tribune (Feb. 26) -- Illinois is teaming with online learning platform Coursera to bring 3-D printing skills to the masses this spring.