Illinois Featured Content

'Bee genomics research may not sound flashy, but it’s incredibly important with 35% of our food crops dependent on pollinators. The work being done by U. of I. and USDA scientists is a great example of why federal investment in research is critical.'

A new study has found that online misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theory groups and their former partners’ rabbit-holing behaviors caused insurmountable rifts in their relationships, ultimately causing divorces or breakups.

Now on a three-match winning streak, the Fighting Illini improved to 2-0 in Big Ten contests and 7-4 overall after defeating the Boilermakers away from home. 

On the final drive of the game, quarterback Luke Altmyer marched the Illini 51 yards down the field to put Olano 41 yards away from a game winning field goal. As time expired, Olano split the sticks giving Illinois its fourth win of the season, 34-32. 

The New York Times (Sept. 24) A rocket launched Wednesday morning carrying the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory. U. of I. electrical and computer engineering professor Lara Waldrop is the principal investigator for the mission.

Illinois opens its 2025 Big Ten slate with two matches this weekend, starting on Friday at Huff Hall against [RV] Oregon before hitting the road to face #10 Purdue on Sunday afternoon. 

The Morrow Plots Revitalization project honors the sesquicentennial of the nation’s oldest agricultural research field. A new landscape design will replace the overgrown shrubs that had surrounded and obscured views of the plots. 

Everyday Health (Sept. 19) 'The Make America Healthy Again movement has also amplified skepticism about vaccine schedules, which can reinforce doubts for parents who are already hesitant,' says U. of I. professor Violeta Rodriguez.

Brandon Yates' CEE 395 course project seemed like just another assignment. Today, that project is a startup with $4.2 million in funding serving 90 municipalities, and is revolutionizing how cities make communities more accessible. 

The Fulcrum (Sept. 20) Illinois professor Rachel Hoopsick writes, 'Countries like Japan, Denmark, and Australia, which invest more heavily in public health prevention,  experience longer life expectancies at a fraction of the cost of the U.S.'

The iBioFoundry builds on more than a decade of research at the U. of I. to integrate synthetic biology, laboratory automation and artificial intelligence to advance protein and cellular engineering. 

Cameron Jones, a major in the U.S. Air Force, is originally from Savanna, Illinois. He earned his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2012 and a master’s degree in 2018.

Thanks to a 2023 Supreme Court decision, roughly 72% of Illinois wetlands are no longer protected by the Clean Water Act. That could mean the loss of flood control, groundwater recharge, water purification and natural habitat these wetlands provide.

Studies suggest that whole foods are better at stimulating post-workout protein synthesis than their processed counterparts, and that the fat content of whole foods may, in some circumstances, improve the rate of muscle-building.

Wall Street Journal (Sept. 17) Bret Bielema has turned around Illinois’ program by getting his players to stick around. He did it in part by winning over their mothers.

At a critical climate crossroads, Professor Katy Huff stepped up to lead the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy. No she's back on campus to continue her mission. 

Illinois and USC will meet for the first time since the 2008 Rose Bowl Game following the 2007 season. USC will be making its first visit to Champaign since 1996. 

No. 18 Illinois soccer defeated Oregon 1-0 for head coach Katie Hultin’s first Big Ten win. 

Research co-written by business administration professors shows consumers who actively contribute creatively on behalf of a brand feel more connected to that brand than those who passively engage.

Chancellor Charles Isbell Jr. on higher education as a public good.

Members of the chart-topping classic rock band REO Speedwagon return to campus to serve as grand marshals of the Homecoming parade Friday, Sept. 26. 

A new book by a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign expert examines the world’s premier human rights court as rule of law comes under threat.

Interested in Illinois? Visit campus this fall!

Military spouses reported that they relied more often on people in their social networks for emotional support and assistance than formal sources, according to a new study led by communication professor Leanne Knobloch.

U. of I. alumna Marla Dickerson and her team were recognized with the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for a series on the international trade in the chemicals used to make fentanyl. Dickerson is the 26th alum to ever win a Pulitzer.

In subtle and not-so-subtle ways, today’s bioeconomy touches nearly every aspect of our lives. And new technologies and programs Illinois are leading the way, now and into the future.

Excessive alcohol consumption can disrupt the liver’s unique regenerative abilities by trapping cells in limbo between their functional and regenerative states, even after a patient stops drinking, U. of I. researchers describe in a new study. 

No. 9 Illinois shut out Western Michigan, 38-0, on Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd at the newly debuted Gies Memorial Stadium. 

The artwork of printmaker Emmy Lingscheit, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign art professor, examines human entanglements with the environment, deep time and how social justice and ecological justice are intertwined.

U. of I. professor Lara Waldrop is leading this groundbreaking mission to orbit the sun and capture high-resolution ultraviolet images of Earth’s upper atmosphere.

New Scientist (Sept. 11) Shifting an asteroid into a new orbit can push it through a window, boomeranging and hitting the planet later. Illinois alum Rahil Makadia has developed a system to locate the perfect spot for a colliding satellite to minimize this risk.

Illinois volleyball is set for its final nonconference road trip of the 2025 regular season this weekend, taking part in Illinois State's Linda Herman Volleyball Classic from Sept. 12-14. 

With freshman enrollment tallied at 9,207 (compared to 9,008 last year), the new class brings total student enrollment — undergraduate, graduate and online students — to more than 60,000 for the first time in university history at 60,848 students.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumnus Larry Gies has made a $100 million gift to Illinois Athletics. The commitment is the largest gift in DIA history and represents one of the largest single gifts ever received by a college athletics program.

The Illinois football team moved up two spots to No. 9 in the AP Top 25 rankings following the 45-19 win at Duke. The No. 9 AP ranking is Illinois' highest since December 2001.

Following a 52-3 win in the season opener against the Western Illinois Leathernecks, Illinois (1-0) is looking to extend its winning streak to six games dating back to last season. 

The Homecoming Parade is Friday, September 26 at 6 p.m. The parade will get underway at the intersection of Kirby Avenue and Fourth Street before heading west on Gregory Drive and turning south on First Street. 

New York Times (Sept. 4) The price for new tractors rose at least 60% over the last eight years, according to U. of I. Extension, with some models more than doubling in price, costing at least $250,000 more than they used to.

'The University Scholars embody the highest standards of academic excellence. Given the breadth and depth of scholarly work across our three campuses... every recipient of this award has earned this recognition through truly commendable work.'

Fox Business (Sept. 3) 'It may not be obvious to...at least some politicians how important that independence is for economic stability and what independence from political influence should look like in practice,' said Professor Tatyana Deryugina.

Charismatic leaders like Trump and Putin promise magical solutions to the difficulties of living in a complex society, says U. of I. professor Richard Tempest, who writes and teaches about charismatic leadership.

'The work that we're doing is fundamental to having high quality models of tissue you could use to understand disease progression and aging, and to validate new therapeutics,' said Professor Brendan Harley.  

Illinois plays its first true road matches of the 2025 season after competing at neutral sites for its first two matches of the year. The Illini begin the weekend at Notre Dame on Friday at 5:30 p.m. before taking on No. 3 Louisville on Sunday at 2 p.m. 

U. of I. researchers have developed a new high-volume method that can rapidly build and test large numbers of antibodies. With it, they have already uncovered common aspects of how antibodies bind across variants of a key influenza target protein.  

Professor Irvin Hunt was commissioned as a lead screenwriter on an Afro-futurist film that 'interweaves fictional and historical characters in an immersive story that spans 247 years across land and sea.' 

The Illinois football team moved up one spot to #11 in the AP Top 25, the Associated Press announced Tuesday. Illinois remained at #12 in the US LBM Coaches Poll.  

The annual open house on Friday will include food offerings and tours of the farm, and talks from SSF partners. Get details on shuttles for students to and from the event at Lincoln Avenue and Ike Residence Halls from 2:30 – 6 p.m. 

Whether you have walked the far corners of campus or only seen it from a distance, we have a playful Spot the Spot game just for you. 

Forbes (JAug. 31) 'Because the data shows that the racial disparities hold for all income levels, our study reinforces findings that race/ethnicity, independently of income, drives air pollution-exposure disparities,' says Professor Christopher Tessum. 

An internationally recognized sociologist, Aiken served as Illinois chancellor from 1993 to 2001. His leadership led to the development of the Research Park, increased graduate student and faculty support, and a $1 billion fundraising campaign.