blog posts Illinois real estate experts are cautiously watching the housing market May 6, 2020 12:00 pm Chicago Tribune (May 5) The March data showing a 4.7% increase in home sales statewide, is 'probably the last to reflect the pre-pandemic impact of the economy,' says U of I's Geoffrey Hewings. Washington Post obituary for legendary U of I professor Nick Holonyak Jr. Sep 22, 2022 10:45 am Nick Holonyak Jr., whose development of the first practical visible-spectrum light-emitting diode(LED) was a breakthrough with countless applications, including lightbulbs, cellphones, TVs and microscopic surgical equipment, died Sept. 18. How to improve our odds against deadly tornadoes Dec 13, 2021 11:30 am CNN (Dec. 12) Joshua Wurman, director of the U. of I. Flexible Array of Radars and Mesonets and inventor of the Doppler On Wheels mobile radars, writes about how we might better protect ourselves from future events. Negotiations continue in Chicago over classroom reopening plans Jan 29, 2021 3:30 pm Washington Post (Jan. 28) The CTU wants to expand what the bargaining process should include. 'They make the case: "If it impacts our members’ lives and the employer has some control over it, we can bargain over it,"' says labor expert Bob Bruno. 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. 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.' Searching in vein: a history of artificial blood May 2, 2019 11:30 am Popular Science (May 2) Illinois' Dipanjan Pan and colleagues have created an artificial red blood cell that can be freeze-dried, stored at room temperature for extended periods, and is compatable with any blood type. Sneaky thieves steal hair from foxes, raccoons, dogs - even you Aug 9, 2021 10:30 am The New York Times (Aug. 6) 'This is just another example of something that was overlooked in the scientific literature but was common knowledge in the bird-watching and bird-feeding community,' says study co-author Henry Pollock. Alumnus and Yelp co-founder Jeremy Stoppelman makes the list of America’s Top CEOs Aug 16, 2016 12:15 pm MSN Money (Aug. 15) Stoppelman is known for his management style: Instead of an office, he sits at a desk among his employees. Chancellor Jones discusses fall semester plans at Illinois Aug 24, 2020 10:30 am CBS 2 (Aug. 24) Chancellor Robert Jones discusses the university’s plan to welcome students back to campus amid the pandemic. America's greatest AI visionary is... an English professor at Illinois Dec 6, 2023 3:45 pm Business Insider (Dec. 6) In a world filled with artificial intelligence skeptics and chatbot alarmists, Illinois English professor Ted Underwood is making one of the strongest, most compelling cases for the value of artificial intelligence. Did 'woke' investments cause Silicon Valley Bank's collapse? Mar 14, 2023 11:15 am PolitiFact (March 13) U of I business law expert Robert Lawless says 'wokeness' didn’t cause the bank’s collapse. 'It had nothing to do with it. It’s like saying, "Why isn’t ‘blue’ the answer to ‘one plus one’?" It’s Banking 101. That’s what was going on.' The government is rescuing rural colleges that would otherwise close Apr 27, 2023 11:15 am The Washington Post (April 27) Having a university nearby not only raises household income, U of I research has found; it increases high school graduation rates and boosts employment and other things that contribute to local economies. State of Illinois crafting new, equity-based higher education funding formula May 12, 2022 2:00 pm Crain’s Chicago Business (May 12) Dollars could shift from the flagship U of I system to other state schools which enroll fewer people, but have higher percentages of minority and low-income students. Rebranding Aunt Jemima Pancake Mix to remove the racist stereotypes Jun 18, 2020 12:45 pm The Washington Post (June 18) U of I professor Jason Chambers says the current climate made it impossible for brands to do nothing. 'You could be left with a brand that is smoldering on the heap. This moment is that big.' Scientists found a way to predict your death by how you walk Oct 24, 2022 11:00 am Yahoo News (Oct. 21) The test is 'a very good external measure of what’s going on internally,' and could easily be replicated using the accelerometer in a wrist sensor or a smartphone, says Professor Bruce Schatz, a leader of the U of I study. Could the biology of naked mole rats help prevent the ravages of age in people? May 24, 2021 1:00 pm Wired (May 24) 'They do age very well,' says Martha Delaney, a veterinary pathologist at Illinois. 'They’re very well adapted, just kind of like a physiological marvel.' 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.' U of I testing more than 60,000 faculty, staff, students with its own saliva test Aug 18, 2020 4:30 pm Nature (Aug 17) 'This is 2020, not 1918. We don’t want to just revert to the methodologies from back then,' says test co-creator Marty Burke. 'How do we leverage the tremendous power of modern science? We can crush this thing.' Alum Michael Hopkins commands the SpaceX Crew Dragon, launching on Halloween Oct 28, 2020 11:15 am KYTV-TV (Oct. 27) Rule change could allow foster care, adoption agencies to exclude on religious grounds Nov 4, 2019 4:30 pm Professor Robin Fretwell Wilson says the idea would harm vulnerable children. 'We're putting children squarely in the middle of the culture war. It’s hard to understand how children are being served by this move.' Anyone can fall for 'fake news': The psychology of misinformation Jan 14, 2021 2:15 pm USA Today (Jan. 14) 'Because we cannot physically verify many of our beliefs...we need to trust sources and documentation. If we trust trustworthy sources, we're generally safe... If we trust untrustworthy ones, we're in danger,' says professor. Memorial Stadium, State Farm Center expanding beer sales to general-seating concessions Apr 4, 2019 10:45 am Chicago Tribune (April 2) Plans also being finalized for alcohol sales at baseball and softball games. This is a smart move that will help attendance and boost revenue. Could tinkering with photosynthesis prevent a global food crisis? Dec 6, 2021 11:45 am The New Yorker (Dec. 6) 'We know that even our very best crops are only achieving a fraction of photosynthesis’s theoretical efficiency. So, if we can work out how to improve photosynthesis, we can boost yields,' says Professor Stephen Long. Coup D’etat Project at U of I: Jan. 6 insurrection fits definition of attempted dissident coup Feb 3, 2021 12:15 pm CNN (Feb. 3) The only other American entries in its global database? A Communist Party USA conspiracy to violently overthrow the government, and the 1996 slaying of an Arkansas family by white supremacists. Geneticists: Time to mix the Sumatran rhino subspecies with the Borneo subspecies May 30, 2018 1:00 pm Mongabay (May 29) It's 'disturbing' for a geneticist to recommend, but 'I can’t see any other way to preserve the Borneo gene pool among living rhinos,' says animal sciences professor Alfred Roca The University of Illinois COVID-19 testing plan accounts for 20% of the state's tests Aug 26, 2020 5:45 pm Business Insider (Aug. 26) As colleges across the U.S. continue to close and suspend classes because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Illinois is taking a different approach. How bad is the teacher shortage? What two new studies say Sep 7, 2022 10:30 am Education Week (Sept. 6) Three researchers, including U of I's Paul Bruno, spent years crunching data. Thier estimate: more than 36,500 teacher vacancies nationally, and more than 163,500 positions filled by teachers who aren’t fully certified. ‘A very special donkey’ stirs hope for rare breed that dates to Middle Ages Oct 4, 2021 12:15 pm The Boston Globe (Oct. 1) Hamilton, thought to be the first Baudet du Poitou donkey bred with artificial insemination in the U.S., was conceived at U of I's College of Veterinary Medicine. Why your zodiac sign is probably wrong Jan 27, 2020 3:30 pm The Conversation (Jan. 24) James Kaler, an Illinois professor of astronomy, writes that the science of astronomy is at odds with one of the basic organizing principles in astrology – the dates of the zodiac. U of I is getting into the business of angel investing Mar 2, 2023 11:15 am Crain’s Chicago Business (Feb. 28) The Urbana campus is launching Illini Angels, a program that will allow U. of I. alums to invest in startups coming out of the university as well as companies started by students after they leave. 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. Chancellor Robert Jones announced his top initiatives for the university Nov 19, 2018 9:00 am WLS-TV (Video, Chicago, Nov. 18) – Robert Jones calls it his “dream job.” He's been chancellor of the U. of I. for a little more than two years. Cleaning water naturally the ancient Maya way Jan 29, 2024 9:15 am Scientific American (Jan. 26) U of I anthropology professor Lisa Lucero discusses the way ancient Mayans cleaned their water naturally, and the lessons we can learn from them. Joy Harjo is first Native American to serve as U.S. poet laureate Jun 19, 2019 4:00 pm New York Times (June 19) Harjo is a former Illinois faculty member who taught creative writing and English, and was affiliated with the American Indian Studies program. UI researchers work toward a wearable device to predict when elderly are at risk of falling Jul 17, 2018 2:45 pm Internet of Business (July 13) Interdisciplinary approach uses data from a mobility study involving 67 women over the age of 60 to analyze walking patterns You Anon: Reconsidering what it means to 'be yourself' online Aug 2, 2021 11:30 am New York Times (July 31) Prof. Emily van Duyn recently embedded with a group of progressive women in rural Texas. 'There’s a lack of anonymity in their community,' she says, so the group turned to discreet digital organizing. U of I gets grant to start First Amendment clinic Aug 2, 2022 10:45 am Crain’s Chicago Business (Aug. 1) U of I's College of Law is establishing a First Amendment clinic to take on freedom-of-expression cases and train lawyers in the subject. Dean Vik Amar says the college already has about a half dozen clinics on other themes. China Central Bank boss's old colleagues recount his years in the U.S. Mar 21, 2018 10:00 am Bloomberg (March 20) At Illinois, Yi Gang was particularly interested in mathematical models to analyze and understand the economy, according to Professor George Judge Artificial photosynthesis breakthrough uses gold to turn CO2 into liquid fuel May 23, 2019 4:00 pm Science Alert (May 23) 'The goal here is to produce complex, liquefiable hydrocarbons from excess CO2 and other sustainable resources such as sunlight,' says Illinois chemist Prashant Jain. Robot farmers? Machines are crawling through America's fields. Some have lasers. Jun 5, 2023 10:00 am USA Today (June 4) Robots developed at Illinois can scoot under the canopy of crops to plant cover crop seed before the main crop is harvested. 'This will expand the ability to do cover cropping and take less time.' says professor Shadi Atallah. Recent Illinois study shows young adults - like the rest of us - tend to waste a lot of food Aug 28, 2018 2:15 pm Popular Science (Aug. 27) Investigators repeatedly used the word 'apathy' – the young people responding either didn’t think wasted food was worth caring about or thought they had no control over the problem U of I researchers created a high-res map to show how foods travel from farm to table Oct 31, 2019 11:30 am Yahoo! Lifestyle (Oct. 30) 'People love maps!' says Professor Megan Konar. 'Now that we have a map of our national food supply chain, we can visualize and appreciate it.' Freedom Corridor aims to create narrative of region's Black history Feb 7, 2024 1:15 pm Journal Courier (Feb. 5) "So our story — small 'o' — is now Our story — capital 'O'," says U of I professor Gerald McWorter, the great-great-grandson of he first African Americans to found a town in the U.S. Ojibwe Tribe joins scientists to save Midwest's sacred wild rice plant Feb 15, 2023 12:30 pm The Nation (Feb. 15) 'If we can scaffold (Western science and ‘traditional ecological knowledge’), we'll strengthen our knowledge about these places and what’s happening to them,' says U of I historian Rosalyn LaPier, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe. Illini Hall demolition uncovers a time capsule Feb 16, 2023 10:45 am WCIA-TV (Feb. 15) U of I officials didn't know there was a time capsule in a cornerstone of Illini Hall, but they'll be excited to see what it contains when it's opened this fall as part of the campus YMCA's 150th anniversary celebration. A fern’s ‘zombie’ fronds sprout unusual roots Feb 26, 2024 5:15 pm New York Times (Feb. 25) 'This is completely unknown in any other plant in the world'” says Jim Dalling, a professor and forest ecologist at the U. of I., who discovered the fern while searching for a completely unrelated plant. Can you hear corn grow at this time of year? In fact... Jun 13, 2023 10:45 am KKRC-FM (June 12) 'On very still nights you can hear a popping or cracking noise,' says U of I crop physiologist Fred Below. 'What you hear is the cell walls of the stalk expanding. Mostly I believe it is the tracheids expanding.' U of I, Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation creating East St. Louis ag & nutrition center Aug 2, 2022 9:45 am The space will include indoor, outdoor ag demonstration sites along with space for engagement with hands-on training and certification programs related to growing food, ag innovation, as well as space for athletics and physical training. Alumna Tatyana McFadden's fifth win in the Chicago Marathon women’s wheelchair race Oct 12, 2015 10:30 am TeamUSA.org (Oct. 11) - Now she has a chance to prove she's the world’s top wheelchair marathoner at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Paralympic Games.