blog posts On Reuters list of the 100 most innovative universities in the world, U of I System ranks No. 25 Nov 28, 2017 11:15 am The news service highlighted a new Caterpillar-run data innovation lab at the UI Research Park, and EnterpriseWorks, a tech incubator that turns faculty research into startups On the trail of the Denisovans Mar 4, 2024 12:30 pm The New York Times (March 2) U of I anthropology professor Laura Shackelford said her team's discoveries raised the possibility that Denisovans and modern humans coexisted and interacted for tens of thousands of years. On Tuesday, alumnus Stephen Elledge received the highest American honor for a scientist Sep 9, 2015 11:45 am The Boston Globe (Sept. 8) - Elledge majored in chemistry at Illinois. He will share the $250,000 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award with Evelyn Witkin, 94, of Rutgers University. Op-ed: The ideas promoted in Trump’s flawed 1776 Report must be denounced Jan 22, 2021 10:45 am Chicago Tribune (Jan. 21) Leaders in education must state without equivocation that the curriculum promoted by The 1776 Report is not only bad history, but also simply wrong, writes Jon Hale, a professor of education. Optimism is valued trait in workplace, but too much can be a problem Nov 19, 2020 11:15 am Fast Company (Nov. 19) – Illinois Professor Robyn Gobin: When your optimism clouds your view to the point where you can’t see (or even deny) problems, you could be exacerbating problems, a situation experts call 'toxic positivity.' Oscar winner Tom Hanks: I'm a 'man whose brother is a tenured professor in entomology at Illinois.' May 1, 2017 12:15 pm "I said, 'Well, I'm Tom Hanks.' And they said, 'Yeah, and your brother is Dr. Larry Hanks.' So I was like the famous guy's brother...And it rattled me." Over 20 years, Ebertfest brings fans together to celebrate greatness Apr 17, 2018 10:30 am Chicago Sun Times (April 16) Roger Ebert's former TV partner Richard Roeper reflects on the film critic and his festival, which marks its 20th year when it kicks off tomorrow Pandemic worsens gendered inequalities in workforce Mar 11, 2021 10:45 am Illinois Times (March 11) 'This could be a ticking time bomb for women in the workforce,' says ecomonics professor Elizabeth Powers. 'There’s a core of women who have all these home responsibilities that actually keep them out of the labor market.' Paralympians race to remove obstacles for the next generation Sep 1, 2016 9:30 am The New York Times (Sept. 1) - If Illinois' Tatyana and Hannah McFadden finish side-by-side on the podium, they will be the first sisters to do so in a Paralympics. Paralympic athletes get boost with tech from Chicago startup Rithmio Sep 7, 2016 9:45 am Rithmio, which was founded at Illinois, offers motion recognition software to help companies build wearables and connected clothing. Now, the company is using its tech to give Paralympic track athletes better data into the movements they use to propel their wheelchairs. Parasitic fungus could be a natural weapon against non-native crustaceans Sep 28, 2021 11:00 am National Geographic (Sept. 27) About seven years ago, U. of I. ecologist Eric Larson began noticing a decline in the number of invasive crayfish in a northern Wisconsin lake. What he found could be a rare, effective tool in fighting the tricky invaders. Parasitic Russian cuckoos invade Alaska May 10, 2018 11:15 am A particularly dangerous species of bird has been spotted living and mating in Alaska recently, and experts say that could spell disaster for the local bird ecosystem. Parents nervous about math can still help their kids learn it May 1, 2023 10:30 am Education Week (May 1) U of I researchers asked parents to log their time spent helping with math homework and with low-stakes math-related activities, like measuring ingredients for a recipe or playing a card game that involves addition. Partisan gerrymandering is nothing new, but technology has made it much more precise Jul 16, 2019 2:30 pm WCBU-FM (July 16) U of I's Chris Mooney says drawing congressional districts used to involve guesswork. "But now, it’s super high-tech, they really can identify where people are given the data we’ve got.” Past year shows 62.5% increase in the number of publicly 'out' LGBTQ college coaches Aug 24, 2018 3:00 pm Outsports (Aug. 23) Illinois Women's Diving coach Manny Pollard has organized a group for LGBTQ athletes called Illini Allies, through which he is helping initiate Pride Nights at Illini sporting events Pathogen that's killed many oak trees in California, Oregon identified in Illinois Jul 3, 2019 11:45 am WTTW-TV (July 2) 'The pathogen can cause both a blight and sudden death, depending on the host,' says Illinois' Diane Plewa. 'Currently, there is no evidence that any oak trees in Illinois are infected at this point.' PBS NewsHour live from U of I: 'Tipping Point: Agriculture on the Brink' May 17, 2023 11:30 am PBS (May 16) – U. of I. professor of crop sciences Andrew Margenot joins a PBS NewsHour panel discussion called 'Tipping Point: Agriculture on the Brink' on Wednesday, May 24. Pell Grant funding will soon be widely available for prison-based college classes Apr 19, 2022 10:45 am Truthout (April 18) U of I Education Justice Project director Rebecca Ginsberg is worried that programs motivated by profit and unprepared to deal with carceral settings could reinforce the dehumanizing aspects of prison. Pentagon's supply and demand problem: Shortage of tech talent, oversupply of jobs Jul 9, 2019 12:15 pm Roll Call (July 9) 'It’s hard to beat the pay' of the private sector, says Illinois computer science professor Sibin Mohan, whose latest graduates earned an average starting salary of $99,741. People infected with COVID remain contagious up to nine days after testing positive Apr 29, 2022 1:45 pm UPI (April 28) A new study at the University of Illinois may help explain why the COVID virus appears to spread so easily - and quickly - in some cases but not in others. People of color breathe more hazardous air. The sources are everywhere. Apr 29, 2021 2:45 pm The New York Times (April 28) 'We expected to find just a couple of different sources were important for the disparate exposure among racial ethnic groups. But what we found was that almost all source types that we looked at contributed.' People report unexpected side effects after COVID vaccination. It's normal Apr 23, 2021 11:45 am Time (April 22) Scientists have not confirmed the vaccines can cause menstrual changes, but stories collected by Professor Kathryn Clancy show that vaccination side effects can be more varied than what’s often discussed. People tend to overestimate or underestimate COVID risk Aug 12, 2021 11:15 am The Conversation (Aug. 12) Professor Sheldon Jacobson writes that emotion is a big part of how you assess risk - and why it's so hard to be objective about pandemic precautions. People who drink coffee, tea with milk or sugar more likely to eat junk food later Feb 7, 2017 12:45 pm Huffington Post (Feb. 2) Like Junk food, "These add-in items are often dense in energy and fat but low in nutritional value," acccording to Illinois researchers. People who get COVID-19 news from conservative, social media less informed Apr 28, 2020 11:30 am MinnPost (April 28) The study, study co-written by U. of I. professor Dolores Albarracin, also found those who rely on conservative media and social media were more likely to believe conspiracy theories about the virus. 'People who think climate change is somewhere in the future? No, it’s here now...' Apr 25, 2017 11:30 am Chicago Tribune (April 24) And it's only going to get worse, says Illinois atmospheric sciences professor Don Wuebbles. 'People will like it': 4-day work week paying off for Chicago company Mar 7, 2023 11:15 am WBBM-TV (March 6) An overwhelming majority of employers who've tried it prefer the four-day workweek. Why keep five days? 'I think some habit, some history. We’re stuck in this industrial mode,' says U of I labor expert Robert Bruno. Perennial rice could raise yields and cut costs Nov 29, 2022 11:00 am 'Now we can consciously choose to make a better crop and a better, more sustainable agriculture. We can fix the errors of history,' says study co-author Erik Sacks, a plant geneticist at the U. of I. Perennial rice: Plant once, harvest again and again Mar 27, 2023 10:45 am NPR (March 27) – Illinois crop sciences professor Erik Sacks, who helped develop perennial rice over the last two decades, discusses how perennial grains could bring huge environmental benefits and be a boon for farmers. Personal bankruptcies have plunged during the pandemic, but that could soon change Jul 13, 2020 11:45 am Yahoo Money (July 12) – 'People’s mental inboxes are full,' says U. of I. law professor Robert Lawless. 'There are a lot of things to sort out in their lives. Going to see a bankruptcy lawyer has been pushed further down on the to-do list for understandable reasons.' PFAS lurking in US water supply as U of Illinois researchers develop filter technology Apr 21, 2023 12:00 pm WLS-TV (April 20) U of I researchers are designing an electrode that can capture a range of a new breed of 'forever chemicals' called short-chain PFAS. Meanwhile, the EPA is moving to impose new limits on those chemicals in drinking water. Phishing scheme targeting Gmail users fools even seasoned security experts Jan 20, 2017 12:30 pm Chicago Tribune (Jan. 19) Nikita Borisov, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Illinois, says the scam can be hard to spot. Planet Hunger: Inside the global food crisis Jun 20, 2022 10:30 am Rolling Stone (June 19) Study says crop production today 21% lower than without climate change; alarming declines may begin as early as 2040. 'The largest single global change that threatens food security is high temperature,' says Professor Don Ort. Plant pathologist says this year, Illinois' average pumpkin yields could exceed 22 tons/acre Sep 27, 2016 1:00 pm Money Magazine (Sept. 26) The state of Illinois typically produces about 90 percent of the United States’ canned or processed pumpkins. Illinois' Mohammad Babadoost comments. Plastics of the future must be recyclable. Illinois researcher have taken this to the extreme Mar 13, 2019 12:45 pm Engineering & Technology (March 13) Chemistry professor Jeffrey Moore and colleagues have honed a particular polymer to, quite literally, disintegrate on demand. Players may sue if NFL punishes them for not standing during anthem Oct 11, 2017 3:00 pm New York Times (Oct. 10) 'There’s a basic fairness issue when you change a rule during the season, especially when you are getting browbeaten by the president,” says Illinois prof Michael LeRoy Play provides a good brain carwash Feb 6, 2024 9:00 am NOLA.com (New Orleans, Feb. 4) Illinois recreation, sport and tourism professor Lynn Barnett co-wrote a study that concluded that playful adults report lower levels of perceived stress than their less playful counterparts. Plucky birds caught on video while yanking hair from live animals Aug 4, 2021 11:45 am Live Science (Aug. 4) The inspiration for a study of birds that pluck hair off of living animals to line their nests came when a U of I researcher saw a tufted titmouse standing on a raccoon’s back, plucking its hair. 'My curiosity was piqued.' Poets&Quants’ MBA Program of the Year for 2022: The Gies iMBA Jan 5, 2023 10:45 am Poets & Quants (Jan. 5) Illinois' iMBA has revolutionized online business education, and not just because of its $23K price tag. In 2022, it launched a pair of fully online, credit-bearing graduate certificates, with up to six more options within the year. Police should be trained to consider someone’s mental status when applying force, if possible Jan 8, 2018 11:45 am WBEZ-FM (Jan. 8) By doing so, officers can potentially step back and realize they don’t necessarily need to use force, according to the director of the Police Training Institute at Illinois Police unions don't always fund the legal defense of bad actors May 7, 2015 10:30 am Illinois Professor Robert Bruno: “The public would be surprised by the level of rational behavior on the part of union grievance officers.” Police use-of-force data is not consistently reported to the FBI Jun 1, 2015 10:00 am Cleveland Plain Dealer (May 29) - Illinois criminal justice professor Stephen Rushin says there is also limited data available on tactics such as the use of neck holds and Tasers. Politics aside, market forces mean fossil fuels will get phased out Oct 27, 2020 12:30 pm Washington Post (Oct. 26) 'The Republicans are intentionally ignoring that fact because they want fossil fuel supporters to think it’s the Democrats that are against them, not just impersonal market forces,’ says U. of I. economist Don Fullerton. Polyurethane waste is an environmental problem. Illinois is developing a solution. Oct 29, 2019 11:15 am Advanced Science News (Oct. 29) An Illinois team led by chemistry professor Steven Zimmerman has developed a method to break down polyurethane waste and turn it into other useful products. Pop-up Christmas card inspires newest 3D fabrication development Sep 18, 2015 11:00 am Researchers at Northwestern University and Illinois say they have developed a way to create complex 3-D structures from flat surfaces, which could revolutionize a host of areas. Portable microfluidic platform developed for detecting coronavirus using smartphone Apr 27, 2020 2:15 pm Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (April 24) Researchers led by a team at Illinois have developed an inexpensive, sensitive smartphone-based device that can detect pathogens in about 30 minutes. Possible effects of climate change on Chicago include 'catastrophic ice storms' next century Oct 13, 2016 11:30 am DNAinfo Chicago (Oct. 13) “That’s the scary part," says alumnus Jeff Walk, the Nature Conservancy in Illinois’ acting director of conservation. “We’d go from a potential 18-inch snow storm to a 3-inch ice storm.” Post-COVID, door opens wider for rural Illinois tourism Jul 14, 2023 2:00 pm The Center Square (July 12) U of I professor Sharon Zou says the pandemic has given rural communities an opportunity 'because people feel safe to travel to a destination that is rural, outdoors and has lower population density.' Potential shortage of canned pumpkin around Thanksgiving after rainfall hurt crop yield Oct 7, 2015 11:15 am Time (Oct. 7) - “I would not wait until Nov. 20 [to buy canned pumpkin],” - Illinois crop sciences professor Mohammad Babadoost Praying mantis sign of a healthy garden, says U. of I. Extension Nov 11, 2016 10:45 am WJBC-AM (Bloomington, Ill., Nov. 7) – Don’t swat that green or brown bug with the long legs – it’s a sign that your garden is healthy.