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  • With increasing obesity, fuel consumption becomes weighty matter

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Excess fuel consumption caused by excess driver and passenger weight has increased in the past two years, with no end in sight.

  • Portrait of researcher Kelly Stephani

    Why is the use of hypersonic missiles in the Russia-Ukraine conflict significant?

    The U.S. recently confirmed that the Russian Ministry of Defence fired a hypersonic ballistic missile to destroy an underground arms depot in western Ukraine. This event marks Russia’s first use of the Kinzhal ballistic missile in this war and the first known use of a hypersonic missile in combat. Mechanical science and engineering professor Kelly Stephani spoke with News Bureau physical sciences editor Lois Yoksoulian about the significance of this technology.

  • Rizwan Uddin

    Why has it been so difficult to stabilize Japan's damaged nuclear reactors?

    A Minute With™... Rizwan Uddin, a professor of nuclear, plasma, and radiological engineering

  • George Gross is a professor of electrical and computer engineering and at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs.

    What you need to know about the spike in Illinois electric rates

    George Gross is a professor of electrical and computer engineering and at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs. He discusses the higher electric rates that went into effect on January 1, 2007. He was interviewed by the News Bureau's business and law editor Mark Reutter.

  • George Gross

    What you need to know about the spike in Illinois electric rates

    A Minute With™... George Gross, a professor of electrical and computer engineering

  • Researchers, from left, Ephantus Muturi, Allison Gardner and Brian Allan found that different types of leaf litter in water had different effects on the abundance of Culex pipiens mosquitoes, which can carry West Nile virus.

    What's in your landscape? Plants can alter West Nile virus risk

    A new study looks at how leaf litter in water influences the abundance of Culex pipiens mosquitoes, which can transmit West Nile virus to humans, domestic animals, birds and other wildlife.

  • The Supreme Court punted on the issue of partisan gerrymandering in a June 18 ruling, but left the door open to future court action, says Wendy K. Tam Cho, a professor of political science, statistics, math and law at Illinois. She hopes to be part of the solution with research that employs algorithms and supercomputers to draw nonpartisan maps.

    What now with gerrymandering? Are algorithms part of the answer?

    The Supreme Court “punted” this week on the issue of partisan gerrymandering, but left the door open to future action. An Illinois professor hopes her research can be part of the solution.

  • Researcher Viktor Gruev standing in front of the ocean wearing an orange and blue U. of I. wetsuit and holding a specialized camera.

    What is the state of underwater geolocation technology?

    The loss of OceanGate's Titan submersible this week has triggered questions about how underwater craft navigate and how these vehicles can improve their geolocation abilities. Electrical and computer engineering professor Viktor Gruev spoke with News Bureau physical sciences editor Lois Yoksoulian about the current state of the science behind underwater geolocation, and some advances his team is working on now.

  • Photo of Ann-Perry Witmer

    What is place-based adaptation to climate change?

    A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll states that roughly half of registered voters say climate change is either “very important” or “one of the most important issues” in their vote for Congress this year. However, many citizens struggle to understand their place in this global issue. Applied Research Institute senior research scientist Ann-Perry Witmer, also a lecturer in agricultural and biological engineering, spoke with News Bureau physical sciences editor Lois Yoksoulian about a more digestible approach to the climate crisis and encouraged readers to participate in a public panel discussion this week.

  • Wynne Korr, Dean of the School of Social Work

    What are the challenges of providing services for children with mental illnesses?

    Wynne Korr, dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois, discusses the challenges of diagnosing and providing treatment for this vulnerable population in light of the state's financial problems

  • Undergraduate student Lily Kettler, left, professor Joaquin Viera and graduate student Kedar Phadke photographed inside an astronomical observatory

    Webb Space Telescope detects universe’s most distant complex organic molecules

    Researchers have detected complex organic molecules in a galaxy more than 12 billion light-years away from Earth – the most distant galaxy in which these molecules are now known to exist. Thanks to the capabilities of the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope and careful analyses from the research team, a new study lends critical insight into the complex chemical interactions that occur in the first galaxies in the early universe. 

  • Ways to alleviate India's water shortages, even as global warming adds to pollution problems with the Ganges

    A Minute With™... Prasanta Kalita, a professor of agricultural and biological engineering

  • Portrait of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers involved in this study

    Water filtration membranes morph like cells

    Morphogenesis is nature’s way of building diverse structures and functions out of a fixed set of components. While nature is rich with examples of morphogenesis – cell differentiation, embryonic development and cytoskeleton formation, for example – research into the phenomenon in synthetic materials is scant. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers are taking a step forward using electron tomography, fluid dynamics theories and machine learning to watch soft polymers as the polymers learn from nature.

  • A vascularized fiber-reinforced composite material. Illinois researchers developed a class of sacrificial fibers that degrade after composite fabrication, leaving hollow vascular tunnels that can transport liquids or gases through the composite.

    Vascular composites enable dynamic structural materials

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Taking their cue from biological circulatory systems, University of Illinois researchers have developed vascularized structural composites, creating materials that are lightweight and strong with potential for self-healing, self-cooling, metamaterials and more.

  • Sheldon Jacobson

    Using a little science in your March Madness picks

    A Minute With...bracketology expert Sheldon Jacobson

  • Photo of graduate student Ben David standing outdoors with his arms crossed.

    U of I virtual test assesses bioengineering students' laboratory skills

    When COVID-19 forced the U. of I. to go to online-only instruction last spring, a team led by bioengineering professor Karin Jensen created a test to remotely assess students' ability to culture cells in the laboratory.

  • Aerial view of the U. of I. campus.

    U of I to lead two of seven new national artificial intelligence institutes

    The National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture are announcing an investment of more than $140 million to establish seven artificial intelligence institutes in the U.S. Two of the seven will be led by teams at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

    The USDA-NIFA will fund the AI Institute for Future Agricultural Resilience, Management and Sustainability at the U. of I. Illinois computer science professor Vikram Adve will lead the AIFARMS Institute.

    The NSF will fund the AI Institute for Molecular Discovery, Synthetic Strategy and Manufacturing, also known as the Molecule Maker Lab Institute. Huimin Zhao, a U. of I. professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and of chemistry, will lead this institute.

  • Photo of the INVITE leadership team members

    U of I to lead National Artificial Intelligence Research Institute focused on STEM learning

    Scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will lead a National Artificial Intelligence Research Institute focused on developing learning technologies that will accelerate youths' STEM learning and broaden diversity in related occupations.

  • The moon shines over the Gable House, the University of Illinois team's entry in the 2009 Solar Decathlon, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Illinois team won second-place honors in the competition.

    U. of I. team is top U.S. finisher in Solar Decathlon competition

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A team of students from the University of Illinois won second place today (Oct. 16) in the 2009 Solar Decathlon design competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.

  • U. of I. students to build solar home for contest in Washington, D. C.

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of 20 universities selected to participate in the 2007 Solar Decathlon, a competition in which teams of students from colleges and universities in the United States, Europe and Canada compete to design, build and operate homes powered exclusively by solar energy.

  • photo of engineering professor Katy Huff

    U of I engineering professor appointed to US Department of Energy leadership role

    Kathryn D. Huff, a professor of nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering in the Grainger College of Engineering, was sworn in today to a position in the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy.

  • U. of I. Engineering Open House to take place March 10-11

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Wild and wacky Rube Goldberg machines, "robot wars," and more than 160 fun-filled exhibits await visitors to "Beyond Imagination," the 86th annual Engineering Open House at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

  • Jonathan Naber, left, and Adam Booher fit the first amputee patient with one of three prototypes Illini Prosthetic Technologies tested on a trip to Guatemala in July 2010.

    U. of I. alumnus named Marshall Scholar

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Jonathan Naber, of Waterloo, Ill., has been awarded a Marshall Scholarship. Each year, about 40 students from the United States are selected as Marshall Scholars for postgraduate study at a university in the United Kingdom. Naber is the third U. of I. student in the last six years awarded this honor. Naber graduated from Illinois in May 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering.

  • Illinois researchers developed a technique to unmute silent genes in Streptomyces bacteria using decoy DNA fragments to lure away repressors. Pictured, from left: postdoctoral researcher Fang Guo, professor Huimin Zhao and postdoctoral researcher Bin Wang

    Unmuting large silent genes lets bacteria produce new molecules, potential drug candidates

    By enticing away the repressors dampening unexpressed, silent genes in Streptomyces bacteria, researchers at the University of Illinois have unlocked several large gene clusters for new natural products, according to a study published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.

  • A large land snail with eyestalks and a slimy foot

    Unified theory explains how materials transform from solids to liquids

    Years of meticulous experimentation have paid off for researchers aiming to unify the physics that defines materials that transition from solids to liquids. The researchers said a new theoretical model could help develop new synthetic materials and inform and predict civil engineering and environmental challenges such as mudslides, dam breaks and avalanches.

  • Researchers

    Ultrathin self-healing polymers create new, sustainable water-resistant coatings

    Researchers have found a way to make ultrathin surface coatings robust enough to survive scratches and dings. The new material, developed by merging thin-film and self-healing technologies, has an almost endless list of potential applications, including self-cleaning, anti-icing, anti-fogging, anti-bacterial, anti-fouling and enhanced heat exchange coatings, researchers said.  

  • Stretchable micro-LED display, consisting of an interconnected mesh of printed micro LEDs bonded to a rubber substrate.

    Ultrathin LEDs create new classes of lighting and display systems

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A new process for creating ultrathin, ultrasmall inorganic light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and assembling them into large arrays offers new classes of lighting and display systems with interesting properties, such as see-through construction and mechanical flexibility, that would be impossible to achieve with existing technologies.

  • Ken Suslick led a team of Illinois chemists who developed an ultrasonic hammer to help explore how impact generates hotspots that trigger explosive materials.

    Ultrasonic hammer sets off tiny explosions

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Giving new meaning to the term "sonic boom," University of Illinois chemists have used sound to trigger microscopic explosions.

  • Two U. of I. graduate students win Intel Ph.D. Fellowships

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Two graduate students at the University of Illinois have won Intel Ph.D. Fellowships for the 2013-14 academic year. Fifteen fellowships were awarded nationwide.

  • Portraits of professors Nancy Sottos, left, and Maria Todorova.

    Two Illinois faculty members elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign materials science and engineering professor Nancy Sottos and history professor Maria Todorova have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest honor societies in the nation.  They are among 261 new members elected to the academy this year in recognition of their accomplishments and leadership in academia, the arts, industry, public policy and research.

  • Illinois researchers developed a way to target tumors using sugars that are metabolized by the cancer cell’s own enzymes. From left: postdoctoral researcher Yang Liu, professor Jianjun Cheng, postdoctoral researcher Zhiyu Wang, graduate student Kaimin Cai, research scientist Iwona T. Dobrucka, professor Wawrzyniec Lawrence Dobrucki and graduate student Ruibo Wang (seated).

    Tumor-targeting system uses cancer’s own mechanisms to betray its location

    By hijacking a cancer cell’s own metabolism, researchers have found a way to tag and target elusive cancers with small-molecule sugars. This opens treatment pathways for cancers that are not responsive to conventional targeted antibodies, such as triple-negative breast cancer.

  • Dean of the Grainger College of Engineering Rashid Bashir.

    Training neural circuits early in development improves response, study finds

    When it comes to training neural circuits for tissue engineering or biomedical applications, a new study suggests a key parameter: Train them young.

     

  • Illinois researchers developed a tiny thermometer to take fast temperatures inside of cells. Pictured, from left: Graduate student Jeffrey W. Brown; Rhanor Gillette, emeritus professor of molecular and integrative physiology; Sanjiv Sinha, professor of mechanical science and engineering; Daniel Llano, professor of molecular and integrative physiology. Front row: graduate student Manju Rajagopal.

    Tiny thermometer measures how mitochondria heat up the cell by unleashing proton energy

    Armed with a tiny new thermometer probe that can quickly measure temperature inside of a cell, University of Illinois researchers have illuminated a mysterious aspect of metabolism: heat generation.

  • Engineers developed the first tiny, synthetic machines that can swim by themselves, powered by beating heart cells.

    Tiny swimming bio-bots boldly go where no bot has swum before

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The alien world of aquatic micro-organisms just got new residents: synthetic self-propelled swimming bio-bots.

  • Tiny superconductors withstand stronger magnetic fields

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Ultrathin superconducting wires can withstand stronger magnetic fields than larger wires made from the same material, researchers now report. This finding may be useful for technologies that employ superconducting magnets, such as magnetic resonance imaging.

  • A portrait of Illinois researchers involved in the study

    Tiny porous crystals change the shape of water to speed up chemical reactions

    Chemical engineers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign now understand how water molecules assemble and change shape in some settings, revealing a new strategy to speed up chemical reactions critical to industry and environmental sustainability. The new approach is poised to play a role in helping chemical manufacturers move away from harmful solvent catalysts in favor of water.

  • University of Illinois engineers  -  from left, postdoctoral researcher  Fei Tan, graduate students Mong-Kai Wu  and Michael Liu, led by Milton Feng, front - developed a laser that can transmit data at a blazing fast 40 gigabits per second, without errors - the fastest in the U.S.

    Tiny laser gives big boost to high-speed data transmission

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - High-speed communication just got a turbo boost, thanks to a new laser technology developed at the University of Illinois that transmits error-free data over fiber optic networks at a blazing fast 40 gigabits per second - the fastest in the United States.

  • A constellation of vesicles, tiny cellular transport packages seen here as blue dots, are released by cancer cells into the surrounding tissue. Illinois researchers found that these vesicles, coupled with molecular changes in metabolism, can signal big changes in the tissue around tumors.

    Tiny exports signal big shifts in cancer tissue, researchers find

    Microscopic shifts in metabolism and increases in tiny transport vesicles out of tumor cells preface larger changes to the tumor environment and could prepare the way for cancerous cells to spread and metastasize, University of Illinois researchers report.

  • The small sensor connects to an embeddable wireless transmitter that lies on top of the skull.

    Tiny electronic implants monitor brain injury, then melt away

    A new class of small, thin electronic sensors can monitor temperature and pressure within the skull – crucial health parameters after a brain injury or surgery – then melt away when they are no longer needed, eliminating the need for additional surgery to remove the monitors and reducing the risk of infection and hemorrhage.

  • Illinois professor Kyekyoon "Kevin" Kim, graduate student Benjamin Lew and research scientist Hyungsoo Choi developed a method to make it easier to transplant pancreatic islet cells from pigs to treat type I diabetes.

    Tiny drug-delivering capsules could sustain transplanted insulin-producing cells for diabetics

    A drug-carrying microsphere within a cell-bearing microcapsule could be the key to transplanting insulin-secreting pig pancreas cells into human patients whose own cells have been destroyed by type I diabetes.

  • University of Illinois postdoctoral researcher Juyeong Kim, left, graduate student Zihao Ou and professor Qian Chen have developed a new technique for observing colloidal nanoparticles while they interact and self-assemble.

    Tiny aquariums put nanoparticle self-assembly on display

    Seeing is believing when it comes to nanoparticle self-assembly. A team of University of Illinois engineers is observing the interactions of colloidal gold nanoparticles inside tiny aquariumlike sample containers to gain more control over the self-assembly process of engineered materials.

  • Nanoantennas made of semiconductor can help scientists detect molecules with infrared light.

    Tiny antennas let long light waves see in infrared

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers have developed arrays of tiny nano-antennas that can enable sensing of molecules that resonate in the infrared (IR) spectrum.

  • Individual photos of each of the three researchers described in this release.

    Three Illinois scientists rank among world's most influential

    Three faculty members at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have been named to the 2020 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list. The list recognizes leading researchers in the sciences and social sciences from around the world. It is based on an analysis of journal article publication and citation data, an objective measure of a researcher’s influence, from 2009-2019.

    The highly cited Illinois researchers this year are: materials science and engineering professor Axel Hoffmann, crop sciences and plant biology professor Stephen Long, and plant biology professor Donald Ort.

  • photos of Tamer Basar, David Cahill and Vidya Madhavan

    Three Illinois scientists elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

    Three University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign scientists have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.


  • Three U. of I. professors are recipients of Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowships this year.

    Three Illinois professors named Sloan Research Fellows

    Three Illinois scientists are among 126 recipients of the 2018 Sloan Research Fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. According to the foundation, the awards “honor early career scholars whose achievements mark them as among the very best scientific minds working today.” Winners receive a two-year $65,000 fellowship to further their research.

  • U. of I. dance professor Tere R. O'Connor, materials science and engineering professor John A. Rogers and chemistry professor Wilfred A. van der Donk have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  Click photo to enlarge

    Three Illinois professors elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Three University of Illinois professors have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the longest-standing honorary societies in the nation. Tere R. O'Connor, a professor of dance; John A. Rogers, the Swanlund Chair of Materials Science and Engineering; and Wilfred A. van der Donk, the Richard E. Heckert Endowed Chair in Chemistry, will join other new members in an induction ceremony in October at the academy's headquarters in Cambridge, Mass.

  • Photos of new NAS members

    Three Illinois faculty members elected to National Academy of Sciences

    Three University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professors have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest professional honors a scientist can receive. Physics professor Nadya Mason and chemistry professors Ralph Nuzzo and Wilfred van der Donk are among 120 newly elected U.S. members – 59 of whom are women, the most elected in a single year – and 30 international members in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

  • Miniature "bio-bots" developed at the University of Illinois are made of hydrogel and heart cells, but can walk on their own.

    These bots were made for walking: Cells power biological machines

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - They're soft, biocompatible, about 7 millimeters long - and, incredibly, able to walk by themselves. Miniature "bio-bots" developed at the University of Illinois are making tracks in synthetic biology.

  • 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.

  • Civil and environmental engineering professor Tami Bond and colleagues say that reducing the use of kerosene lamps is a quick way to reduce global warming.

    The dark side of kerosene lamps: High black carbon emissions

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The small kerosene lamps that light millions of homes in developing countries have a dark side: black carbon - fine particles of soot released into the atmosphere.