blog posts A deaf football team and the birth of the huddle Sep 21, 2022 1:00 pm The Guardian (Sept. 21) Legendary U. of I. coach Robert Zuppke, who is widely credited as the inventor of the huddle, admitted that he got the idea from a deaf football team. Why you want bats in your yard — and how to attract them Jul 28, 2023 10:00 am Washington Post (July 27) 'Plant long-lived trees like oaks, which will provide both foraging and roosting habitat,' says Professor Joy O’Keefe. Also, fast-growing trees like pines will provide roosting space under the bark, or in cavities inside dead branches. Gen Z’s ‘life-changing’ new way of getting what they want - without having to work for it Jan 10, 2023 1:15 pm New York Post (Jan. 9) When U of I student Samantha Palazzolo heard about so-called Lucky Girl Syndrome, she decided to try it. Palazzolo told herself every morning that she would have a lucky day. Lo and behold, it worked. LK-99 isn’t a superconductor — how science sleuths solved the mystery Aug 18, 2023 3:00 pm Nature (Aug. 16) Researchers were 'very precise about (the temperature at which LK-99 showed a tenfold drop in resistivity): 104.8 C,' says Prashant Jain, a professor of chemistry at Illinois. 'I was like, wait a minute, I know this temperature.' Can birthright citizenship be repealed? Dec 5, 2024 10:45 am Birthright citizenship was enacted as part of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and no president has the authority to eliminate or modify a constitutional amendment, says immigration law expert Michael LeRoy. Spooky Spaces at U of I: The steam tunnels Oct 28, 2022 10:30 am You can't go inside them - they're dangerous and you'd be arrested - but the steam tunnels under the campus serve important functions. Plus, the old brick tunnelways produce weird noises that complete their creepy image. Five years and $150 million later, what a mega-business school can do Oct 27, 2022 2:15 pm Poets & Quants (Oct. 27) Larry and Beth Gies returned to Illinois to celebrate all that their pledge has helped to make possible. The list of achievements for what became the Gies College of Business is extraordinary by any standard. U of I celebrates Memorial Stadium 100th Anniversary in 2024 Jan 10, 2024 11:15 am Illinois is set to host Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 19 - 100 years and one day from Red Grange's historic six-touchdown game at the stadium's opening. 100th anniversary celebrations are planned throughout the year. 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. Champaign-raised, U of I grad actor gets Broadway shot in 'Hamilton' Feb 1, 2023 11:15 am News Gazette (Feb. 1) Jonathan Butler-Duplessis, a Champaign schools and U of I grad, will make his Broadway debut Thursday, playing the iconic Aaron Burr from hit rap-musical 'Hamilton.' Monogamous prairie voles reveal the neurobiology of love Jan 17, 2023 11:45 am Scientific American (Jan. 17) Nearly 50 years ago, U of I ecologist Lowell Getz discovered that prairie voles were monogamous. His research teams went on to document their social behaviors and the hormones that underpin them. Preserving Illinois forests, one landowner at a time Apr 28, 2023 10:15 am Illinois Extension forestry and research specialist Christopher Evans describes leading the first field day of a Beginning Forest Landowner Program to give landowners the experience, skills and connections needed to better manage their forests. U.S. mortgage rates drop sharply, with 30-year at 6.47% Aug 12, 2024 10:45 am New York Times (Aug. 8) The lower mortgage rate could encourage some homeowners to get into the market, says Professor Julia Fonseca. 'But we still have a ways to go if we consider how low these rates that people have locked in actually are.' No. 24 Women's Basketball headed to Minnesota, first test as ranked squad Jan 14, 2023 1:00 pm Illinois women's basketball is back in action at Minnesota on Sunday, Jan. 15, with a 2 p.m. CT tip. Illinois is off to a 14-3 start under first year head coach Shauna Green, one of the best starts in program history. Reflecting on Thurgood Marshall's speech at U of I in 1956 Jan 17, 2024 10:15 am On March 8, 1956, future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall visited the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to talk about his work, the many cases of segregation in Illinois, and the murder of Emmett Till. There's a new sculpture on the Quad - and it's MAMMOTH Mar 23, 2023 4:15 pm The next, and past, big thing: The great wooly mammoth is back… Visible to all, not an apparition… Near the University of Illinois Main Quad. A huge number of homeowners have mortgage rates too good to give up Apr 15, 2024 3:30 pm New York Times (April 15) The average American household has a fixed rate mortgage that’s a whopping three points lower than new mortgage rates. 'You could think of your locked-in rate as an asset that you own,' says U of I professor Julia Fonseca. Why reports of period weirdness after covid shots were ignored Apr 18, 2023 10:30 am The Washington Post (April 18) U of I anthropology professor Kate Clancy writes about her research into the menstrual side effects of coronavirus vaccines and how early claims of such side effects were ignored and ridiculed. Big Ten Tournament bracket set for men's basketball Mar 10, 2025 8:15 am Seventh seed Fighting Illini will open play in Indianapolis in round 2 on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. on BTN. They'll face the winner of the round 1 matchup between 10th-seeded Ohio State and 15th-seeded Iowa. Fighting Illini take No. 25 spot in AP poll Feb 17, 2025 4:15 pm Illinois women's basketball has re-entered the national rankings, coming in at No. 25 in the AP Top-25 poll. On an eight-game winning streak, the Fighting Illini hold a 21-5 record overall,11-4 in Big Ten play. Jurassic Patent: How Colossal Biosciences is attempting to own the 'woolly mammoth' Apr 17, 2025 12:15 pm MIT Technology Review (April 16) 'Any animal with woolly mammoth genes falls under the claims' of this Texas startup company trying to bring back extinct species, says U. of I. law professor Jacob Sherkow. Illinois Men's Golf selected to host 2025 NCAA Regionals at Atkins Golf Club Oct 4, 2024 3:45 pm For the first time in program history, the U. of I. men's golf team will host an NCAA postseason tournament as of one of six NCAA Regional sites from May 12-14 at Atkins Golf Club. Four U of I students awarded Boren funding for overseas language study Apr 26, 2023 3:30 pm Graduate student Maxine Katz and undergraduates Neel Khattri, Kellie Sucha and Tina Wayne have received prestigious Boren Awards for study abroad during the 2023-24 academic year. Charles Lee Isbell Jr. named 11th chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Jun 5, 2025 10:15 am Introducing Charles Lee Isbell Jr., the 11th chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Isbell comes to Illinois from UW-Madison, where he was provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs since August 2023. His term as Illinois chancellor starts July 16, pending Board of Trustees approval. #FakeTok: How to create your own truth filter for TikTok Jul 31, 2023 10:45 am Chicago Sun-Times (July 27) U. of I. information sciences researcher Rachel Magee says that despite confusing messages circulating on social media, it can be a healthy place for young people to develop ideas and social circles. Why do we love horror films? Oct 25, 2022 9:45 am Horror films dominate Netflix queues right now. English professor Jim Hansen spoke about why we love horror. He says it’s because horror films let us 'choose the shape of our fears and then to face up to those fears.' Coleman Hawkins: Family Man Mar 6, 2023 11:45 am For Coleman Hawkins, Fighting Illini power forward, family is at the heart of everything. To really know him, you have to know his family. Carle Illinois College of Medicine behind research that may help detect concussions Nov 27, 2023 10:45 am WGN-TV (Nov. 21) New research from the U. of I. may help doctors do a better job of detecting concussions. U. of I. medical student Annabelle Shaffer discusses the new study. What does the film 'Oppenheimer' tell us about the development of the atomic bomb? Aug 1, 2023 10:15 am 'Oppenheimer' examines the process of building an organization of unprecedented scale and wrestles with how to view one individual’s decisions as relevant in the face of such a massive system, says Dean Kevin Hamilton. Before Jackie Robinson, Jorge Pasquel broke baseball’s color barrier — in Mexico Dec 7, 2022 11:15 am L.A. Times (Dec. 7) The Mexican League fully integrated pro baseball. It 'meant that you see each other as equals,' says U of I's Adrian Burgos. 'You share the locker room, the dugout space. It is a different dimension.' Five Urbana-Champaign faculty members named University Scholars Mar 24, 2023 10:15 am Five U of I professors have been named University Scholars in recognition of their excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. The award is presented by the University of Illinois System to faculty members from the Chicago, Springfield and Urbana universities. What a 19th-century farmer’s forgotten notes reveal about growing seasons May 31, 2023 11:00 am Smithsonian Magazine (May 31) Longer growing seasons can be problematic, says Christopher Evans, a U of I forest ecologist. 'The birds don’t have the food sources at the right time, or the pollinators that may pollinate these plants aren’t out yet.' U of I's Center for Children's Books announces Blue Ribbon Winners Jan 5, 2023 10:15 am 'Readers will find a healthy variety of subjects and genres, and we even have a bonus of short story collections, a format we are always thrilled to see thrive,' says editor Kate Quealy-Gainer. 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. Trump’s battles with colleges could change American culture for a generation Mar 20, 2025 5:15 pm The New York Times (March 20) 'I have not experienced, across 46 years of higher education, a period where there’s been this much distance' between the agendas of university leaders and Washington, says U. of I. chancellor Robert Jones. McDowell wins 400m Big Ten Gold on final day of Big Ten Outdoor Championships May 14, 2024 11:15 am The Illinois men's and women's track and field teams finished the Big Ten Outdoor Championships on Sunday (May 12). Junior Jessica McDowell cruised to victory in the 400m dash (51.73) to earn gold and 10 team points. Billions of cicadas are about to emerge. Cicadas on the menu? Mar 15, 2024 3:00 pm National Geographic (March 14) Some Americans plan to sauté some of this year’s double cicada brood. Cicadas are edible, according to U. of I. Extension. People eat them alongside other bugs – such as silkworms, locusts and crickets – worldwide. Grange Grove entertainment lineup set for football season Aug 17, 2022 10:45 am Illinois' premier pregame tailgating location will once again be open with a full slate of entertainment planned for the season. Ruth emerges as first Illini Big Ten champion since 2018 Mar 11, 2024 8:15 am '(Edmond) Ruth is really starting to cement himself as a national title threat. Him becoming the first Big Ten champion for us since (now-assistant coach for the Illini) Isaiah Martinez is truly incredible,' said head coach Mike Poeta. 150,000-year-old human tooth rare evidence of Denisovans May 20, 2022 11:45 am If confirmed, this discovery would be the first fossil evidence that Denisovans — an extinct hominin species that co-existed with Neanderthals and modern humans — lived in southeast Asia. Yu-Chieh Chiu: Clear for take off Jul 6, 2022 9:45 am How the joy of paper planes led graduate student, Yu-Chieh Chiu, to compete on the world stage at the Red Bull Paper Wings World Championships in Austria, and find community at Grainger Engineering What's the legacy of Federal Indian Boarding Schools in Illinois? Aug 1, 2023 12:00 pm WNIJ-AM (Aug. 1) Professor Dave Beck describes the legacy of St. Mary’s Training School for Boys in Maryville, Ill., where many Native American children were indoctrinated into white American culture, and where several of them died. Exhibition explores black ink, watercolor paintings by Shozo Sato Mar 21, 2023 1:45 pm The black ink and watercolor paintings by Shozo Sato, including landscapes of the American West, are featured at Krannert Art Museum. Contemporary work by artists using traditional Japanese aesthetics has not been well-studied by art historians, says curator Maureen Warren. Terrance Shannon Jr: 'I'm Back' Jun 1, 2023 8:00 am Shannon is a major addition to the 2023-24 Illini lineup. He averaged 17.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals in his inaugural season in Champaign, earning first-team All-Big Ten accolades. The rise in book bans, explained Jun 10, 2022 9:45 am The Washington Post (June 9): “Book banning” has become a catchall phrase, says Emily Knox, who teaches library science at the U. of I. and is the author of “Book Banning in 21st-Century America.” 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. Most cases of bird flu in humans caused by drinking raw milk Dec 23, 2024 11:15 am WTVO-TV (Dec. 19) 'The risk to humans is incredibly small... from the dairy products that we’ve consumed from stores,' Professor Jim Drackley says. 'I'd always recommend that people don’t consume raw milk ... the virus could still be there.' Illinois Volleyball unveils spring schedule Feb 7, 2024 8:00 am The Illini open the spring schedule with a match against DePaul on March 8. First serve from Huff Hall is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT. Admission is free. University of Illinois to pilot new community college transfer program Apr 3, 2025 8:00 am Forbes (April 2) The U. of I. System hopes to increase transfer rates from community colleges to its universities. The program will provide eligible students with academic coaching, financial assistance and career advice as they transfer to the U. of I. Guess what kind of cooking oil is tariff-proof? Seed oils are about to get their revenge Apr 14, 2025 2:30 pm The Atlantic (April 11) Trump's tariffs may increase the cost of olive oil - a lot. 'If the goal is to get people away from the seed oil, well, these tariffs are going to drive people into the arms of seed oils,' says professor William Clifton Ridley.