News Bureau

The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign is now performing its new rapid, saliva-based COVID-19 test on all students, faculty members and staff.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has been chosen to lead the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago – a new biomedical hub – along with the University of Chicago and Northwestern University. The three-university team was selected to lead the new biomedical hub as part of a competitive application process for a research initiative explicitly focused on measuring human biology.

The new freshman class at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is the largest, most academically talented and most diverse in the history of the university.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has announced 8,209 Dean’s List students, 253 Bronze Tablet honorees and more than 10,500 graduates for the 2023 spring semester. 

Nick Holonyak Jr., a renowned innovator of illumination, has died. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor was 93 years old.

Holonyak (pronounced huh-LON-yak) is credited with the development of the first practical visible-spectrum LED, now commonly used in light bulbs, device displays and lasers worldwide. 

The Carle Illinois College of Medicine, the world’s first engineering-based medical school, welcomed its first class of 32 students July 2.

A partnership between the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Carle Health System, the college aims to create a cohort of physician-innovators who exemplify the qualities of compassion, competence, curiosity and creativity. The students will receive full four-year tuition scholarships, privately funded, valued at more than $200,000 each.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign announced Dean’s List honorees and graduates for the fall semester 2023, and the graduates for August 2023.
 

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's incoming class of 8,325 includes the largest number of in-state residents in nearly two decades.

The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign’s new measures for undergraduate students in response to a recent upward trend in positive COVID-19 cases will be discussed at a Zoom news conference at 3:30 p.m. today. 

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign announces graduates, Dean’s List and Bronze Tablet honorees for the 2024 spring semester.

Dr. King Li, a renowned researcher, educator, inventor and clinician in molecular imaging and radiology, will become the inaugural dean and chief academic officer of the Carle Illinois College of Medicine effective Oct. 1. 

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has welcomed a record-breaking class for the fall 2024 semester. With a freshman enrollment of 9,008, the new class brings record total student enrollment at 59,238, including on-campus and online students.

Nine U. of I. researchers have been named to the 2022 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list. The list recognizes research scientists and social scientists who have demonstrated exceptional influence – reflected through their publication of multiple papers frequently cited by their peers during the last decade. This year’s list includes 6,938 individuals from around the world whose papers rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in the Web of Science.

Eight University of Illinois researchers have been named to the Thomson Reuters / Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list for 2016. The list identifies scientists “whose research has had significant global impact within their respective fields of study."

Six researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign were named recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. 

The Carle Illinois College of Medicine has announced nearly 100 inaugural faculty members.

Eight researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have been named to the 2023 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list. The list recognizes research scientists and social scientists who have demonstrated exceptional influence – reflected through their publication of multiple papers frequently cited by their peers during the last decade. 

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Six professors at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have been elected 2020 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Evolution, ecology and behavior professor Alison Bell; plant biology professor Carl Bernacchi; bioengineering professor Rohit Bhargava; materials science and engineering professor Paul Braun; chemistry professor Prashant Jain; and materials science and engineering professor Nancy Sottos are among the 489 scientists to be awarded the distinction of AAAS Fellow this year.

Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost Andreas C. Cangellaris will leave the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in August to become the Founding President of NEOM University in Saudi Arabia, Chancellor Robert J. Jones announced today.

The Carle Illinois College of Medicine, the first engineering-based medical school, has received preliminary acreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education and is recruiting students for its first class.

Illinois Homecoming takes place Oct. 13-19 with new events, a new parade route and former University of Illinois President Stanley O. Ikenberry serving as the parade grand marshal.

Dr. Mark S. Cohen will be the next dean of the Carle Illinois College of Medicine and senior vice president and chief academic officer at Carle Health, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Cohen is currently a professor of surgery and pharmacology at the University of Michigan.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Eight professors at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have been elected 2019 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

John Coleman will be the next vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. 

Researchers have completed a prototype for a mobile laboratory designed to demonstrate a way to rapidly deploy the I-COVID saliva-based test for COVID-19 developed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The lab, called mobileSHIELD, also could deliver other testing capability during a public health crisis, and it will serve as a rich source of human factors engineering data.

The online master’s degree in strategic brand communication, a unique joint program between the College of Business and College of Media, aims to prepare the strategic leaders of tomorrow in an ever-changing global digital-media environment.

The “With Illinois” fundraising campaign officially ended June 30 and concluded with a $200,000 personal contribution from Chancellor Robert J. Jones and his wife, Dr. Lynn Hassan Jones.

Germán Bollero will be the next dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Bollero has served as the interim dean of ACES since September 2021.  

Recent graduates from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign landed postgraduation opportunities at high rates and with increased starting salaries, according to data compiled from the annual Illini Success report.

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.

Students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who have not yet been vaccinated against COVID-19 can enroll in a study to help understand the effectiveness of vaccines in reducing the spread of the coronavirus. Participants will be paid and could receive the vaccine as soon as April 1.

Eric Minor, a University of Illinois alumnus with more than two decades of experience in corporate brand marketing, will become the university’s first-ever chief marketing officer effective Jan. 31 pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

Chrystalla Mouza has been appointed dean of the College of Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign effective Aug. 15, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

This year’s Ebert Film Fest will include “Almost Famous” and “Sideways,” documentaries on Maya Angelou and Fred Rogers, and guest actresses Gina Gershon, Virginia Madsen and Jennifer Tilly.

A panel of local health officials will discuss the coordinated local response to the global coronavirus concern at a 9 a.m. forum Tuesday, Jan. 28, at the Fire Service Institute, 11 Gerty Drive, Champaign. Experts will be available onsite for media interviews.

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.

Eunice Santos will become the dean of the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign effective Aug. 16, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Andreas C. Cangellaris, the vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost, recommended the appointment to Chancellor Robert Jones after the conclusion of a yearlong national search.

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.

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.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Education Dean James Anderson, physics professor Nadya Mason, chemistry professor Nancy Makri and materials science and engineering professor Kenneth Schweizer have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest honor societies in the nation.

Jamelle Sharpe has been named the 14th dean of the College of Law, pending approval by the U. of I. Board of Trustees.

Currently the executive associate dean of the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences at Washington State University, Kimberlee Kidwell will be the new U. of I. dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences effective Nov. 1, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. She also will hold the inaugural Robert A. Easter Chair.

The Chancellor’s Commission on Native Imagery: Healing and Reconciliation begins its work today.

Nathan Stephens will become the director of the Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center effective Jan. 9. The center is named for Bruce D. Nesbitt, who led the U. of I.'s Afro-American Cultural Program for 22 years.

Bill & Melinda Gates Agricultural Innovations has awarded a grant of $34 million to the Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency project, an international research effort led by scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In its 10-year history, RIPE has demonstrated large increases in crop productivity in replicated field trials on the university farm.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign dance professor Cynthia Oliver is leading the chancellor’s arts integration initiative for campus.

Feng Sheng Hu, the associate dean for biological, chemical, physical and mathematical sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will become the LAS dean Jan. 1 pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

Thirteen University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign students and recent graduates were offered Fulbright grants to pursue international education, research and teaching experiences around the globe this coming year. Another six Illinois students were named Fulbright alternates.

Currently the dean of libraries and university librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, John Wilkin will become the interim vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost designate effective Feb. 18.

Entomology professor Gene Robinson, an international leader in honey bee research, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine “for pioneering contributions to understanding the roles of genes in social behavior.” Robinson directs the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.