News Bureau

Murals removed for restoration from the former home of the department of Latina/Latino studies and La Casa Cultural Latina will be reintroduced to the university and the local community in a pair of events Feb. 21. A reinstallation at the Illini Union will be permanent, while another display at Spurlock Museum is expected to remain for a decade.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Robert J. Jones will honor three Division of Public Safety employees Feb. 24 with the Chancellor’s Medallion for their investigation of the June 2017 disappearance of visiting scholar Yingying Zhang.

A study of 55 women found that Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy weight-loss surgeries may dramatically change patients’ sensitivity to and absorption of alcohol.

This market street, like many others in the city, bustles with activity on a cold December morning as men and women set up shops on the sidewalks for the rest of the day. But something sets this market apart from the rest. This Sunday market is a mahila bazaar, a retail zone set aside for women vendors only. 

Two University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign scientists are among 126 recipients of the 2020 Sloan Research Fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. This honor is one of the most competitive and prestigious awards available to early career researchers. 

Excessive reading by young men was seen as a cause of declining virility and of the perceived national decline in fin-de-siècle France.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign released its third survey of student  experiences of sexual misconduct and the university’s response to those incidents. The Sexual Misconduct and Perceived Campus Response Survey was administered previously in 2015 and 2017.

Nancy Sottos, an engineering professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering. She is one of 87 new members and 18 international members announced by the Academy on Feb. 6.

Birthright citizenship has served pragmatic economic purposes by giving the U.S. a competitive labor advantage, said Michael LeRoy, a professor of labor and employment relations at Illinois.

Activist organizers will talk about their work opposing detentions, deportations and criminalization of immigrant communities in a panel discussion. It is part of the Center for Advanced Study’s Abolition Initiative.

By adding infrared capability to the ubiquitous, standard optical microscope, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign hope to bring cancer diagnosis into the digital era.

A German diplomat based in Chicago but recently posted in the conflict zone of eastern Ukraine will speak on “The New Cold War: Liberal Democracy vs. Authoritarianism” as part of the annual European Union Day on Feb. 21 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

In a new study, researchers report they can manipulate how the brain encodes and retains emotional memories. The scientists found that focusing on the neutral details of a disturbing scene can weaken a person’s later memories – and negative impressions – of that scene.

Robert McKim, a professor emeritus of religion, edited a book of essays examining the issues raised by Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical calling for protection of Earth and its environment.

As many newspapers decline and disappear – highlighted by two Chicago Tribune reporters recently sounding the alarm about a perceived threat to the Trib – a journalism professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign touts the growth and viability of nonprofits and other alternatives.

Jill Ellis, the head coach of the first women’s soccer team at Illinois who later won back-to-back FIFA Women’s World Cups as coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team, will be the 2020 commencement speaker at Illinois.

Simply tasting or consuming sucralose may affect blood glucose and insulin levels on glucose tolerance tests, scientists at the University of Illinois found in a new study.

Before they can get started at their field site – a giant cave studded with stalactites, stalagmites and human artifacts – 15 undergraduate students must figure out how to use their virtual hands and tools. They also must learn to teleport. This is ANTH 399, a course designed to bring the archaeological field school experience to undergraduate students who never leave campus.

“Huh.”

Looking down at the material in the glass beaker, I’m perplexed. I’m trying to determine the ratio of silt to clay in my sample and something isn’t right. The sediments in my beaker came from the floor of a religious shrine in Cahokia, an ancient Native American metropolis that grew up in and around present-day St. Louis, 900-1,000 years ago.

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.

Targeted advertising is coming to mainstream media, says an Illinois professor of digital media, bringing concerns about equality, division and “total surveillance.”

Elizabeth Lowe, the founding director of the University of Illinois’ Center for Translation Studies, and Armine Kotin Mortimer, a professor emerita of French literature, will translate works that are not available in English.

Smaller is better when it comes to microchips, researchers said, and by using 3D components on a standardized 2D microchip manufacturing platform, developers can use up to 100 times less chip space. A team of engineers has boosted the performance of its previously developed 3D inductor technology by adding as much as three orders of magnitudes more induction to meet the performance demands of modern electronic devices.

The first case of a novel strain of coronavirus has been confirmed in the United States. Virologist Leyi Wang, a professor of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois, discussed the outbreak of the new strain with News Bureau biomedical sciences editor Liz Ahlberg Touchstone.

Receiving the earned income tax credit in installments rather than a lump sum benefitted more than 500 families living in Chicago public housing, U. of I. researcher Karen Kramer's team found in a new study.

For decades, it’s been understood that water repellency is needed for surfaces to shed condensation buildup – like the droplets of water that form in power plant condensers to reduce pressure. New research shows that the necessity of water repellency is unclear and that the slipperiness between the droplets and solid surface appears to be more critical to the clearing of condensation. This development has implications for the costs associated with power generation and technologies like de-icing surfaces for power lines and aircraft.

Dennis Baron (he/him/his), a University of Illinois professor emeritus of English, writes about the history of pronoun use and how we adapt the language to fit our circumstances.

“Hive” – a combination of 18-foot-tall inflatable sculptures and an immersive sound installation – is on view for the coming year at Krannert Art Musem.

Scholars from the Gies College of Business at Illinois – from left, Julian Reif, Tatyana Deryugina, David Molitor and Nolan Miller – studied the effects of acute fine particulate matter exposure on mortality, health care use and medical costs among older Americans through Medicare data and changes in local wind direction.

It takes a lot of energy to collect, clean and dispose of contaminated water. Some contaminants, like arsenic, occur in low concentrations, calling for even more energy-intensive selective removal processes.

A 12-week training program will be offered in Naperville, Illinois, for parents of youths and young adults with autism so they can help their children successfully transition to adulthood.

Music professor Christina Bashford was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for a project examining violin culture in Britain.

Composites made from self-assembling inorganic materials are valued for their unique strength and thermal, optical and magnetic properties. However, because self-assembly can be difficult to control, the structures formed can be highly disordered, leading to defects during large-scale production. Researchers at the University of Illinois and the University of Michigan have developed a templating technique that instills greater order and gives rise to new 3D structures in a special class of materials, called eutectics, to form new, high-performance materials.

Although luxury brands and social responsibility seem fundamentally inconsistent with each other, the two entities can coexist in the mind of the consumer, provided the brand can find someone – typically, a celebrity – who successfully embodies the two conflicting value sets, says new research co-written by Carlos Torelli, a professor of business administration and James F. Towey Faculty Fellow at Illinois.

An expert on the growing role of drones in warfare and terrorism discusses the implications of the recent killing of Iranian general Qassim Suleimani in a Q&A.

Scientists have developed new drug compounds that thwart the pro-cancer activity of FOXM1, a transcription factor that regulates the activity of dozens of genes. The new compounds suppress tumor growth in human cells and in mouse models of several types of human breast cancer.

Computer science student Adam Aaronson loves puzzles, and a crossword puzzle he created will be published in The New York Times.

University of Illinois researchers achieved the highest reported rates of inserting genes into human cells with the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system, a necessary step for harnessing CRISPR for clinical gene-therapy applications.

By chemically tweaking the ends of the DNA to be inserted, the new technique is up to five times more efficient than current approaches. The researchers saw improvements at various genetic locations tested in a human kidney cell line, even seeing 65% insertion at one site where the previous high had been 15%.

Handling very soft, delicate items without damaging them is hard enough with human hands, let alone doing it at the microscopic scale with laboratory instruments. Three new studies show how scientists have honed a technique for handling tiny, soft particles using precisely controlled fluid flows that act as gentle microscopic hands. The technique allows researchers to test the physical limits of these soft particles and the things made from them – ranging from biological tissues to fabric softeners.

Lithium-ion batteries are notorious for developing internal electrical shorts that can ignite a battery’s liquid electrolytes, leading to explosions and fires. Engineers at the University of Illinois have developed a solid polymer-based electrolyte that can self-heal after damage – and the material can also be recycled without the use of harsh chemicals or high temperatures.

Landscape design research can help solve environmental problems related to water systems.

A new course in classics uses Greek tragedies to study issues of war, trauma and displacement.

A new study in rats suggests that caffeine may offset some of the negative effects of an obesogenic diet by reducing lipid storage, weight gain and the production of triglycerides.

A fast, inexpensive yet sensitive technique to detect cancer markers is bringing researchers closer to a “liquid biopsy” – a test using a small sample of blood or serum to detect cancer, rather than the invasive tissue sampling routinely used for diagnosis.

Researchers at the University of Illinois developed a method to capture and count cancer-associated microRNAs, or tiny bits of messenger molecules that are exuded from cells and can be detected in blood or serum, with single-molecule resolution.

A new study demonstrates that nanopores can be used to identify all 20 amino acids in proteins, a major step toward protein sequencing.

The holidays are a time we focus on those in need and heap scorn on the Scrooges and Mr. Potters who don’t. But how well do we understand poverty, in either the U.S. or globally? Illinois sociologist Brian Dill addresses some misconceptions.

Head and neck cancer patients who eat a healthy diet prior to treatment may be less likely to have nutrition impact symptoms up to a year after diagnosis, according to a recent study led by U. of I. researchers.

Consumer attitudes toward private-label store brands might be driven more by social variables than price, says new research co-written by Carlos Torelli, a professor of business administration and James F. Towey Faculty Fellow at Illinois.

My hypothesis about how to improve wind-turbine efficiency arose unexpectedly one day as I was driving to Chicago to visit my fiancée. For some reason, my GPS chose to take me off the main highway and onto country roads, and I found myself traveling through a wind farm. It was a lucky coincidence: A thick mist lay on the horizon and, thanks to the fog, I could see the turbulence fields each turbine generated in its wake.

A University of Illinois-based team of engineers has found that the model currently used to predict heat loss in a common semiconductor material does not apply in all situations. By testing the thermal properties of gallium nitride semiconductors fabricated using four popular methods, the team discovered that some techniques produce materials that perform better than others. This new understanding can help chip manufacturers find ways to better diffuse the heat that leads to device damage and decreased device lifespans.