News Bureau

Zeynep Madak-Erdogan, Robert Morrissey, Joaquín Rodríguez-López, Jacob Sherkow and Hanghang Tong have been named University Scholars in recognition of their excellence in teaching, scholarship and service.

The Biden administration’s new rule to protect workers from the dangers of extreme heat ultimately may be undermined by a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, says Michael LeRoy, an expert in labor law at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Researchers analyzed the financial and environmental costs and benefits of four biofuels crops used to produce sustainable aviation fuels in the U.S. They found that each feedstock — corn stover, energy sorghum, miscanthus or switchgrass — performed best in a specific region of the rainfed United States. Their study will help growers and policymakers select the feedstocks most suited to meeting goals like reducing production costs, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and building soil carbon stocks.

Former University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign track star Harold Osborn won two gold medals at the 1924 Paris Olympics. The U. of I.’s Student Life and Culture Archives has a collection of Osborn’s memorabilia from his athletic career, including his gold medals.

A new virtual reality training series being co-developed by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign teaches medical students about implicit bias in health care and the ways it harms Black patients and contributes to race-based health disparities.

Understanding how soft materials fail under stress is critical for solving engineering challenges as disparate as pharmaceutical technology and landslide prevention. A new study linking a spectrum of soft material behaviors — previously thought to be unrelated — led researchers to identify a new parameter they call the brittility factor, which allows them to simplify soft material failure behavior. This will ultimately help engineers design better materials that meet future challenges.

Doctoral student in humanities participating in community-based project to bring awareness to food sourcing and sustainable agriculture.

Consumption tracking technologies meant to head off consumer penalty fees offer the promise providing an early-warning system to consumers about potentially incurring penalty fees, but also may instill a false sense of security among consumers who are only partially cognizant of their own forgetfulness, says Ying Bao, a professor of business administration at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The new executive order from the Biden administration aimed at protecting the undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens from deportation will benefit upwards of half a million unauthorized immigrants, meaning it’s more focused on family unity than the “mass amnesty” some critics have portrayed it as, says Lauren R. Aronson, a clinical professor and the director of the Immigration Law Clinic at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Law.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign information sciences professor Kate McDowell leads a data storytelling project that helps librarians use data to advocate for public libraries.

W. Brooke Elliott has been selected as dean of Gies College of Business and the Josef and Margot Lakonishok Professor in Business, pending approval by the U. of I. Board of Trustees. Until officially approved, her title will be dean of Gies College of Business and Josef and Margot Lakonishok Professor in Business designate. The appointment will begin Aug. 16.

New weight-loss drugs like those sold under the names Ozempic and Wegovy can be life-changing for those with type 2 diabetes or severe obesity, but are not the best choice for those only looking to lose a few pounds, says Patrick Sweeney, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor of molecular and integrative physiology. 

A new method of precisely targeting troublesome cells for death using light could unlock new understanding of and treatments for cancer and inflammatory diseases, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers report.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was recently ranked second in the nation as a partner-friendly institution on the Partner Hire Scorecard — an online, research-based ranking of universities that provide support for academic couples in the job search process.

Justin Wytmar, who recently completed his junior year at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is among 20 students nationally who were awarded the Beinecke Scholarship, which is valued at $35,000. The Beinecke award supports graduate study in the arts, humanities or social sciences. 

Following a national search, Jacob Pinholster has been selected as dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts, effective Sept. 16, pending University of Illinois Board of Trustees approval. Pinholster’s title will be dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts designate until board approval.

The roots of emotional overeating may be found in temperament and self-regulation of one’s emotions, but caregivers’ responses to children’s negative emotions also influence whether those as young as age 3 eat to ease their distress, according to new study by researchers at the U. of I.

Release of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid has been fraught with glitches and delays, according to Stacy Bennett, a professor of education policy, organization and leadership, and a senior research associate for the Office of Community College Research and Leadership. 

By giving artificial intelligence simple associative learning rules based on the brain circuits that allow a sea slug to forage — and augmenting it with better episodic memory, like that of an octopus — scientists have built an AI that can navigate new environments, seek rewards, map landmarks and overcome obstacles.

The human body has sophisticated defenses against the deposition of calcium minerals that stiffen heart tissues, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and collaborators at UCLA Health and the University of Texas at Austin found in a new study that provides the first detailed, step-by-step documentation of how mineralization progresses.

The recipients of the 2024 Campus Awards for Excellence in Public Engagement include faculty members Sheldon Jacobson and Emily Knox; graduate students Dusty Bacon and Imani Canton; the Champaign-Urbana Community Fab Lab community engagement team; and the University of Illinois Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Clinic.

Scientists have identified a potential driver of aggressive lung cancer tumors in patients who live in areas with high levels of violent crime. Their study found that stress responses differ between those living in neighborhoods with higher and lower levels of violent crime, and between cancerous and healthy tissues in the same individuals.

An extended strike by Chicago public school teachers seems unlikely thanks to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s union credentials, says Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at Illinois and co-author of the 2016 book “A Fight for the Soul of Public Education: The Story of the Chicago Teachers Strike.”

Popular music has a deep relationship with invoking the past, writes University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor of African American studies John Paul Meyers in his new book “Same Old Song: The Enduring Past in Popular Music.”

Offering certain baccalaureate degrees through community colleges could be a game-changer for the state's workforce and underserved students, says Lorenzo Baber, director of the Office of Community College Research and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Fraud and corruption in Puerto Rico flourished under its anti-corruption policies, which promoted the outsourcing of government services to private sector corporations, according to new research by sociology professor Jose Atiles.

Debra Flessner was selected as the 2024 Office Professional of the Year by the Illinois Administrative Professionals at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The office administrator for System Offices Shared Services, Flessner is the 32nd recipient of the annual award. 

When scientists transplanted the gut microbes of aged mice into young “germ-free” mice — raised to have no gut microbes of their own — the recipient mice experienced an increase in inflammation that parallels inflammatory processes associated with aging in humans. Young germ-free mice transplanted with microbes from other young mice had no such increase.

Yannick Kluch, an expert on sport as a platform for social justice protests, explores the contentious history of political protests by Olympic athletes and if the controversial Rule 50 could be invoked to saction those who make them during the 2024 Summer Games.

Despite the state of Illinois' exemplary record in advancing policies on the detection and treatment of perinatal mental health problems, more work remains to be done, according to a review of the state's policies by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Sociology professor Stefan Vogler at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a co-author of a new American Civil Liberties Union research report, “Policing Progress: Findings from a National Survey of LGBTQ+ People’s Experiences with Law Enforcement.”

Crowds of people bustle about at the Martinsville Agricultural Fairgrounds on a Monday afternoon with their eyes on the sky. The air ripples with excitement as we eagerly await our chance to witness the moon consuming the sun — a total solar eclipse!

Poet Corey Van Landingham, an English professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, writes about new marriage, its conventions and how it can both shrink and expand one’s world in her new collection of poems, “Reader, I.”

Researchers have developed a new antibiotic that reduced or eliminated drug-resistant bacterial infections in mouse models of acute pneumonia and sepsis while sparing healthy microbes in the mouse gut. The drug, called lolamicin, also warded off secondary infections with Clostridioides difficile, a common and dangerous hospital-associated bacterial infection, and was effective against more than 130 multidrug-resistant bacterial strains in cell culture.

In a new book, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign history professor David Beck describes how the federal government used bribery to end its legal and political relationships with Native American tribes.

A study conducted by a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign economist found that the activities of the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation in St. Clair County, Illinois, will provide $32 million in labor income creation, 474 new jobs and $10.7 million in new tax revenue throughout the state of Illinois by 2026.

Di Lan Johnson, a junior in global studies, was awarded the Boren scholarship and plans to study in Taiwan for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Short but severe episodes of flooding from hurricanes in Texas and Florida triggered a nationwide increase in flood insurance sign-ups depending on how socially connected a county was to the flooded counties, says new research co-written by U. of I. professor of agricultural and consumer economics Yilan Xu and U. of I. graduate student Sébastien Box-Couillard.

Urban greening projects should consider historical development patterns and past discriminatory practices to avoid exacerbating the unequal distribution of environmental benefits, says Rebecca Walker, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign urban and regional planning professor.

Natural materials like bone, bird feathers and wood have an intelligent approach to physical stress distribution, despite their irregular architectures. However, the relationship between stress modulation and their structures has remained elusive. A new study that integrates machine learning, optimization, 3D printing and stress experiments allowed engineers to gain insight into these natural wonders by developing a material that replicates the functionalities of human bone for orthopedic femur restoration.

By converting their data into sounds, scientists discovered how hydrogen bonds contribute to the lightning-fast gyrations that transform a string of amino acids into a functional, folded protein. Their report, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offers an unprecedented view of the sequence of hydrogen-bonding events that occur when a protein morphs from an unfolded to a folded state.

Jeanne Gang, an internationally renowned architect, graduated from the university in 1986 with a degree in architecture. Here's the transcript of her 2024 Commencement speech.

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts will feature a wide variety of performers for its 2024-25 season.

Large language model-based chatbots can’t effectively recognize users’ motivation when they are hesitant about making healthy behavior changes, but they can support those who are committed to take action, say University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers.

Internationally renowned architect Jeanne Gang believes architecture can connect people to each other, their environment and their communities. She is the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Commencement speaker and an Illinois alumna.

Exercise prompts muscles to release molecular cargo that boosts brain cell function and connection, but the process is not well understood. New research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found that the nerves that tell muscles to move also prompt them to release more of the brain-boosting factors.

Three University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professors have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of a scientist's highest professional honors. Physics professor Chen-Yu Liu, biochemistry professor emeritus Steve Sligar and chemistry professor emeritus Ken Suslick are among 120 newly elected U.S. members and 24 international members in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

Numerous states have enacted laws that redefine tenure and academic freedom protections at their universities. Carol Symes, a professor of history at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, discusses how these laws may fundamentally change teaching and research.

Dr. James Lowe, a professor of veterinary clinical medicine at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, describes the factors that influence infection with the H5N1 virus in humans and other animals.

The Trump criminal and civil trials are likely to highlight the importance of juries and civic participation by ordinary citizens, says Suja Thomas, the Peer and Sarah Pedersen Professor of Law at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and author of the 2016 book “The Missing American Jury: Restoring the Fundamental Constitutional Role of the Criminal, Civil, and Grand Juries.”