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  • Tamira Brennan stand at the edge of an archaeological excavation on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. Photo by Fred Zwicky

    Excavating my own archaeology

    Oct 29, 2024 2:00 pm

    'I stand at the edge of an archaeological excavation on the U. of I. campus, watching as students dig up the remnants of a structure I helped build 22 years ago as an undergraduate student in an experimental archaeology course.'  

  • Volunteers and organizers gather to show off their fantasy garb. Photo by Anne Anderson

    Cosplaying for science

    Oct 24, 2024 10:00 am

    The quest: Combating the incursion of invasive species from the Feywild, a magical plane that exists adjacent to our own that is full of weird and wonderful wildlife. At least, that’s the lore a mix of U. of  I. students, alumni and colleagues are presenting.

  • Drowning tomatoes for science

    Sep 4, 2024 10:45 pm


    Illinois entomology professor Esther Ngumbi studies how two varieties of tomato plants and tobacco hornworm larvae respond to flooding. The hornworm caterpillars are enclosed in plastic bags affixed to the tomato plants. 

  • The team excavates ancient Maya mounds under palapas in a maize field. Copyright ©2024 VOPA and Belize Institute of Archaeology, NICH

    Unveiling the ancient Maya’s relationship to animals and nature

    Aug 12, 2024 8:45 am

    'In stark contrast to the severe environmental destruction that we see all around us, our excavations reveal the ancestral Maya’s profound respect for nature and animals,' writes graduate researcher Yifan Wang.

  • In a shared moment of jubilation, Aarya Mehta throws his arms out to the eclipse as he is hoisted up by Jacen Wong as members of the University of Illinois Astronomical Society celebrate witnessing the historic total solar eclipse. Photo by Fred Zwicky

    The Great American Eclipse and all of its magic

    May 30, 2024 3:30 pm

    I am one of many students representing the University of Illinois Astronomical Society and the Outdoor Adventure Club. Our Great American Eclipse event has us positioned well within the path of totality...

  • The observers watch as a farmer tosses a net into one of several ponds on the cooperative grounds. Photo by Quang Trieu, Vietnam Academy of Social Science.

    Learning by listening to the people who live it

    Mar 18, 2024 9:15 am

    Experts from Illinois visit a cooperative prawn and rice farm in Southeast Vietnam to hear the farmers' stories about their challenges and adaptations to a changing climate.  

  • Illinois Natural History Survey medical entomologist Jiayue (Gabriel) Yan peers through a viewing port as he works inside a sealed glove box, using tongs to carefully handle Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Photos by Fred Zwicky

    Starving mosquitoes for science

    Feb 22, 2024 9:30 am

    Go Behind the Scenes with Illinois Natural History Survey medical entomologist Jiayue (Gabriel) Yan as he studies how nutrition influences mosquito infection with dengue virus. 

  • A stream of extracellular vesicles travels through blood vessels near a tumor. Photo by Stephen Boppart

    Professors Marni and Stephen Boppart: Tracking the traffic between our cells

    Nov 21, 2023 10:30 am

    The 2023 Allen Distinguished Investigators are visualizing and tracking extracellular vesicles: tiny packages of molecular cargo in nanosized lipid carriers, released by all cells in the body. 

  • a trail runs through a rainforest reserve in Sri Lanka. Photo by the author

    Exploring multispecies relationships by walking 'with' the forest in Sri Lanka

    Nov 28, 2023 9:30 am

    Emma Lundin, a graduate student in tourism at the U of I, discusses her research in a rainforest in Sri Lanka, exploring how to create sustainable nature-based tourist experiences by walking 'with' the forest.

  • workers remove the terra cotta roof tiles from the roof below the bell tower, stacking them to be reinstalled after reinforcements to the roof and the addition of an ice and water shield. All photos by Fred Zwicky

    Renovating historic Altgeld Hall

    Nov 20, 2023 2:00 pm

    'The renovation of Altgeld Hall will mark the rebirth of one of the campus’s most storied and iconic buildings. The facility, which opened in 1897, was instrumental in the university’s early growth, and this project ensures that its legacy will continue,' says project manager Kevin Price. 

  • The multimedia 'CETACEAN (The Whale)' performance takes you to the sea

    Sep 21, 2023 10:30 am

    The 'CETACEAN' performances are Sept. 28 to Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Stock Pavilion, 1402 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Urbana. Admission is free and seating is first come, first served.

  • The author, Juliana Soto, with a sooty ant tanager, Habia gutturalis. Soto is a graduate student in the U. of I. Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology. Photo by Natalia Ocampo Peñuela

    Following in the footsteps of early 20th century naturalist Elizabeth Kerr

    Jun 5, 2023 9:15 am

    Today marks the beginning of our expedition to the Central Andes of Colombia. All eight of us are women. We are all Colombian ornithologists working together to survey the birds here. Interestingly, we are not the first women to do this.  

  • Walking as a group with their eyes closed, Illinois staff and students wind down the stairs of the Architecture Building as they experience campus spaces without sight. Photo by Fred Zwicky

    'Blind Field Shuttle' brings a new perspective to campus walk

    May 3, 2023 10:00 am

    Vancouver-based social practice artist Carmen Papalia's 'Blind Field Shuttle' focuses is on unlearning visual primacy and reconsidering our preconceptions and biases. 

  • Evans teaching landowners about the safe use of chainsaws. Photo by Taryn Bieri, University of Illinois

    Preserving Illinois forests, one landowner at a time

    Apr 28, 2023 10:15 am

    Illinois Extension forestry and research specialist Christopher Evans describes leading the first field day of a Beginning Forest Landowner Program to give landowners the experience, skills and connections needed to better manage their forests.

  • Tyrone Phillips works with the cast and crew as they rehearse prior to opening night at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Photo by Fred Zwicky

    Returning to Illinois theatre to direct, mentor students

    Apr 25, 2023 4:15 pm

    Tyrone Phillips, an Illinois theatre program alumnus and the artistic director of Chicago’s Definition Theatre, returned to direct students in a play this spring.

  • Greenhouse assistant student worker Alexandra (Lexi) Gomez cuts back dead foliage from a Ischnosiphon pruinosus plant. Photos by Fred Zwicky

    Nurturing a tropical paradise in the heart of the Midwest

    Mar 10, 2023 9:00 am

    The U of I Plant Biology Greenhouse and Conservatory houses more than 200 species and 60 families of tropical and subtropical plants selected for their botanical interest or economic importance.

  • Ph.D. student Brian Graves presented his virus-busting video game. Photo by Fred Zwicky

    Teaching generations of students about outbreaks – with art

    Jan 26, 2023 12:45 pm

    'The art show is a midpoint in a journey to revamp the health district’s Germ Busters program, which conducts outreach to K-8 students on a variety of infectious diseases.'

  • Illinois graduate student Martha Larkin pulls a lever to operate a hand press as students get hands-on experience with historical printing technologies.

    Using a 19th-century hand press to teach history of printing

    Dec 8, 2022 9:45 am

    'I want students to literally get their hands on historical technology. Rather than talking about how print worked, students do these things – set print, bind books and use computer technology,' says Professor Ryan Cordell.

  • tudent volunteers from the Wildlife Society’s U. of I. student chapter move in close to see a tiny yet spirited bird, the house wren, before it is released. Photo by Fred Zwicky

    A marvelous morning of migratory bird banding

    Oct 25, 2022 10:15 am

    Birds throughout the world are in trouble, and habitat loss is one reason for their decline. Understanding their life cycles and habitat requirements during migration is increasingly important – especially as climate change continues to affect the world.

  • steam clouds the view of the ancient works inside one of Illinois' steam tunnels

    Spooky Spaces at U of I: The steam tunnels

    Oct 28, 2022 10:30 am

    You can't go inside them - they're dangerous and you'd be arrested - but the steam tunnels under the campus serve important functions. Plus, the old brick tunnelways produce weird noises that complete their creepy image.

  • curious chickens watch photographer Michelle Hassel as she takes their picture

    Learning from chickens

    Oct 19, 2022 8:15 am

    A tour of the U. of I.’s Poultry Research Farm reveals that chickens are daring, pragmatic and curious about humans. The facility trains students in all aspects of chicken care, breeding and management, and supports research at Illinois and beyond.

  • Tamar Dallal, a senior in engineering physics, creates a flower arrangement for an exhibition at Japan House. Photo by Fred Zwicky

    Vivifying ikebana: Japanese flower arranging

    Oct 21, 2022 9:15 am

    Tamar learned jiyuka, or freestyle arrangement, which encourages contemporary artistic expression using simple design principles to create miniature arrangements highlighting the theme of kokoro, or heart, mind and spirit.

  • U. of I. field school students at the Pottersville kiln site in 2011. Credit: Photo by Bridget Lee-Calfas

    Bringing an enslaved potter's story to the Met

    Oct 17, 2022 9:15 am

    George Calfas unearthed a jug in 2011 that is now part of an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, 'Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina'

  • A view of the thornscrub habitat along the bluffs of the Rio Grande. Credit: Photo by Sara Johnson

    Searching the Texas brushland for a rare, temperamental plant

    Aug 18, 2022 9:45 am

    'As it stands with most rare species, this work isn’t always easy, but it is fulfilling. The excitement of seeing one rare plant – let alone a thriving population – is enough to sustain me in this work.'

  • young bird nests among leaves on the forest floor. Photo by author

    Waiting for the sun to set to find a rare bird

    Jun 30, 2022 10:00 am

    Each night, we perform checks of Whip-Poor-Will nests to record development of eggs and chicks, as well as instances of predation or failure. Nests are at risk on the ground, but a few broods hatch and reach fledging age, when they begin to fly.

  • Professor Lisa Lucero does field work in Belize. Anthropology professor Lisa Lucero and her colleagues are working to capture the history from Maya ruins before they are plowed under. Photo by C. Taylor. Photo copyright © 2022 VOPA and Belize Institute of Archaeology, NICH.

    Rescuing ancient Maya history from the plow

    Jun 22, 2022 3:45 pm

    Anthropology professor Lisa Lucero and her colleagues are working to capture the history from Maya ruins before they are plowed under.

  • Sourbette and Sophie, Baudet du Poitou donkeys at the U of I College of Veterinary Medicine, are inseparable. Photos by Michelle Hassel

    Vet Med: Saving an endangered breed of donkey

    Jun 3, 2022 10:45 am

    Numbers of Baudet du Poitou donkeys have dwindled to only 300-400 worldwide. A breeding effort is underway at Illinois to expand their numbers and help save the breed from extinction. Photos by Michelle Hassel.

  • Photo of a swath of prairie with more than a dozen tall stalks of yellow flowers reaching up into a blue sky. Photo by Fred Delcomyn (from “A Backyard Prairie”)

    Building back a tiny piece of prairie

    Nov 15, 2021 11:45 am

    Working to restore a prairie on century-old farmland – especially when starting from seed, as the Delcomyns did – requires plenty of patience and a lot of help. 

  • An airborne male red-winged blackbird swoops at the author while the female guards her nest. Photo by Shelby Lawson

    Staging a threatening encounter at a blackbird nest

    Oct 7, 2021 8:00 am

    'The male stares me down while flicking his tail and wings – a sign that I’m not welcome here. Red-winged blackbirds are among the most brash and vocal birds you’ll ever meet.'

  • This bur oak tree in Brownfield Woods dates to the 1600s. Photo by Brian Stauffer

    Exploring the remnants of an ancient forest

    Sep 2, 2021 4:15 pm

    Hundreds of researchers have made use of these two woodlands over the decades, and these and other natural areas owned by the U. of I. are vital to training students in ecological research.

  • The author sets a trap for ticks with dry ice. Photo by Fred Zwicky

    Hunting a creature that hunts me

    Aug 20, 2021 1:15 pm

    When I reach the trap...I see that it’s covered in ticks. Hooray! Quickly though, I realize that I’ve introduced my own CO2 to the scene, along with the added attractant of my body heat. Suddenly, I become the local target of choice for the ticks.

  • The author helps his colleagues install mist nets around a pond. ALT TEXT: Photo of the author standing near a vertical pole used to secure the nets. He grasps a cord used to tighten the nets in place. Photo by Elizabeth Beilke

    In pursuit of Indiana bats

    Jun 22, 2021 8:45 am

    'My role at this site is to attach temperature-sensitive radio tags to reproductive female Indiana bats. We’ll use these tags to track the bats to roost trees during the day and to monitor their body temperatures.'

  • Two Brood X adults of the genus Magicicada rest on a fern leaf. Photo by Marianne Alleyne

    Taking a cicada road trip

    May 27, 2021 9:30 am

    'Every night, we quietly lurk in the dark at the edge of the lawn to listen for the rustling of dried leaves as the cicadas come out of their burrows. It’s a bit creepy, but also stunning...'

  • A released big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus, clings to a tree. Photo by Sarah Gaulke

    Catching bats for conservation

    May 18, 2021 11:00 am

    'With all the intimidation and preparation leading up to this night, I had built the bats up to be something dramatic – even fearsome – in my mind, but sitting there in my hand, the bats are smaller and sweeter than I anticipated. They are fuzzy.'

  • Young woman sits on a fallen tree in the woods. PHOTO BY MELISSA DANIELS

    Pondering U of I's ecological impact

    Apr 22, 2021 9:00 am

    I am biased, but I think the university’s leadership in so many areas of environmental research is exceptional. Here’s why.

  • Thousands of sea lions gather on the breeding beaches of San Miguel Island, one of the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California. Photo: Alaska Fisheries Science Center/NOAA Fisheries.

    Connecting a virus to cancer – in sea lions

    Mar 31, 2021 9:45 am

    'To say the images made us pathologists excited is an understatement. It was a eureka moment that was a long time in the making.'

  • Artist and professor Bea Nettles found this name in a cemetery in Rochester, N.Y., and used it in her 'Head Lines' book.

    Hunting Goodenough Days

    Nov 30, 2020 8:00 am

    Artist Bea Nettles uses photographs of names from gravestones to create poetry for her book projects. Her most recent book 'Head Lines: Worlds Warning' is a chronology of the COVID-19 outbreak.

  • a boardwalk at Volo Bog State Natural Area. Photo by Anastasia Rahlin

    Finding one elusive bird

    Oct 16, 2020 9:00 am

    Illinois Natural History Survey assistant ornithologist Anastasia Rahlin conducted field surveys in Volo Bog State Natural Area, and her efforts paid off with the discovery of a king rail, a water bird that blends in well with its surroundings.

  • researcher holds small Kirtland's snake

    Unearthing an uncommon, burrowing snake

    Oct 12, 2020 9:30 am

    Kirtland’s snakes were once widespread in Illinois, but now are listed as a threatened species. With more than 99% of Illinois’ natural prairies lost to agriculture and urban development, these snakes struggle to maintain their current populations.

  • Taiwanese dish of wonton noodles with chili and crushed peanuts. Photo by Hueih Kan Dung

    Celebrating our diversity through food

    Sep 28, 2020 9:30 am

    'My background is not a gauge of my worthiness or an obstacle to communication but an amalgamation of experiences and culture that I can share with my colleagues,' writes undgrad student Yi-Ying Tung.

  • Following the sounds of prairie cicadas

    Sep 24, 2020 1:00 pm

    Scientists at the Illinois Natural History Survey study the elusive insect.

  • A Blanding’s turtle held in field researcher's hand. Photo by Andrea Colton and Emily Sunnucks

    Gathering data to save a rare turtle

    Aug 13, 2020 9:45 am

    'Our goal is to learn as much as we can about (Blanding's turtles). Knowing...how many Blanding’s turtles remain – in the context of the turtle community as a whole – will help in the development of viable conservation and recovery plans for them.'

  • Entomology professor Alexandra Harmon-Threatt and undergraduate student Sabine Miller prepare for an evening of work in a prairie the professor created to study ground-nesting bees. Photo by Fred Zwicky

    Building a prairie and watching for bees

    Aug 6, 2020 8:45 am

    Two years ago, Professor Alexandra Harmon-Threatt built this outdoor labby planting more than 80 prairie species here. Her mission is to attract ground-nesting bees. She is here to see which bees are showing up. But that’s not all she’s after.

  • Tommy McElrath collects bees in a net. Photo by Fred Zwicky

    Chasing bumble bees on a patch of prairie

    Jul 21, 2020 9:15 am

    Scientists know so little about bumble bees that it’s hard to make recommendations about the kinds of habitat they need, says Tommy McElrath, insect collection manager of the Illinois Natural History Survey. 

  • Gary Stitt, 61, stretches his arms to the sky as people gather for a Dance for People with Parkinson’s class at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. All photos by Fred Zwicky

    Grace and healing: Parkinson's dance class exercises body, mind

    Jun 12, 2020 10:30 am

    Dance for People with Parkinson’s uses dance to inspire patients to expand the limits of their condition. 'You just have to keep moving, one way or another. If I ever stop moving, that’s the end of it.' says participant Gary Stitt.

  • Milky Way. Photo by U.S. Forest Service

    Rediscovering a path to the Milky Way

    May 6, 2020 11:00 am

    We’re here because it’s wet. Archaeologist Tim Pauketat, who has studied Cahokia 25 years, wants to see it flooded. Watching how the water flows here will help unlock some of the secrets of this place, he says.

  • Rohit Bhargava. Photo by Brian Stauffer

    Rohit Bhargava: My path to Illinois

    Apr 9, 2020 9:15 am

    'Illinois technology has transformed lives, from the transistor to the LED, the MRI and the web browser. I knew we had the science and people to transform cancer too, if only we could bring them together.'

  • Professor Will Schneider

    Will Schneider: My path to Illinois

    Apr 6, 2020 2:00 pm

    'Illinois has historically played a large role in shaping our understanding of child maltreatment, and I believe that we can alter the trajectory of generations of children to come.'

  • professor of labor and employee relations Teresa Cardador. Photo by L. Brian Stauffer

    Teresa Cardador: My path to Illinois

    Mar 30, 2020 2:15 pm

    'Meaningful work is not simply something you go out and find like an egg at an Easter egg hunt. It’s something co-created, over time, by individuals and the organizations they work in.'

  • Agricultural and biological engineering professor Girish Chowdhari. Photo by Matthew Lester Photography, LLC.

    Girish Chowdhary: My path to Illinois

    Mar 27, 2020 9:00 am

    'At Illinois, this vision has bloomed into an invaluable research collaboration for some of the brightest minds crop sciences. The robots can do the research fieldwork required in a fraction of the time.'