News Bureau

Brendan Harley, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, has been selected to participate in the National Academy of Engineering’s 22nd annual U.S. Frontiers of Engineering symposium. Each year the academy invites engineers ages 30 to 45 who are performing exceptional engineering research and technical work in a variety of disciplines to attend the event.
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Jennifer T. Bernhard, the associate dean for research in the College of Engineering, has been elected to the Engineering Research Council Executive Board of Directors for 2016-19. As part of the American Society of Engineering Education, the Engineering Research Council is composed of representatives from engineering colleges, industry and government as a forum for discussion of problems and exchange of information pertaining to the research activities of ASEE members.
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The chirp of screws being driven into wood and the whirr of drills filled the air in the front room of the old white house at 510 E. Chalmers St. that’s the birthplace of La Casa Cultural Latina and the former home of the U. of I.’s department of Latina/Latino studies.

Art-handling company Terry Dowd Inc. project manager Darren Martin and his work crew are creating a roughly 6 feet by 6 feet panel, part of the “bread” that will be used to make a large art “sandwich.”  The “meat” is a section of lathe, plaster and wallpaper of part of a wall covered with a vivid mural filled with bold depictions of heritage and social justice, of individual and community strength.

“We basically sandwich the walls,” Martin said. “It almost turns it into a crate.”

Nolan McNeely ... Jean Colee "Jeanie" Mullen ... Kathryn Jean Glasper ... Mary Matilda (Brownfield) Ebert ... Junetta Blythe Gillespie ... Jerome B. Kaufman

Cheryl Hanley-Maxwell will join the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as dean of the College of Applied Health Sciences effective Aug. 16, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

A Minute With...™ Illinois State Geological Survey director Richard Berg

2016 graduates of the U. of I. teacher preparation programs who will begin their first teaching jobs this fall are invited to take part in a boot camp offered June 30-July 1, including joint sessions with the Illinois New Teacher Collaborative's Beginning Teacher Conference.

Annie (Anne) Council Daley

A Minute With...™ labor expert Robert Bruno

All faculty and staff are asked to register campus automated external defibrillators (AEDs) by 5 p.m. Friday, July 8. The information will better equip the Illinois Fire Service Institute to maintain and provide access to this life-saving equipment.

 Please coordinate reporting within your unit to avoid multiple submissions. Questions should be addressed to IEMS-AED@illinois.edu.

Harry R. Wetenkamp

A Minute With...™ veterinary diagnostic laboratory professor Adam Stern

The University of Illinois Summer Band will present its annual summer concert series on the Quad on Thursday, June 23, and Thursday, July 21, both at 7 p.m. The performances are free, and attendees are welcome to bring lawn chairs and blankets.

Kenneth J. Frantz ... David Ledbetter Nanney ... Joyce F. Norris ... Jessica Giannerini-Thomas ... Marjorie Lou Castle ... Roy J. Charles ... Norman D. Busboom ... Walter W. "Buddy" Holt ... Robert J. Silver ... Bryan D. Stewart

Illinois budget impasse: A Minute With…™ Christopher Z. Mooney, expert on Illinois politics

The book “Sensing Chicago: Noisemakers, Strikebreakers, and Muckrakers” by Adam Mack, published by the University of Illinois Press, won an award for superior achievement from the Illinois State Historical Society.

With the Ebola virus outbreak now ended in Sierra Leone, the University YMCA, the Illinois State Alliance of YMCAs and the Sierra Leone YMCA are revisiting an international-service learning exchange partnership that was brought to a halt by the Ebola outbreak relief efforts in 2014.

Campus members are invited to meet Christian Kamara, the CEO and national secretary of the YMCA of Sierra Leone, to learn more about the work that the organization performs and to explore possible collaborations.

National Park Service at 100: A Minute With™ parks and politics expert Robert Pahre

Rethinking inequality and its causes: A Minute With™ sociologist Kevin Leicht

“You never know what path you’re going on,” said Patty Jones, the associate director for research at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. And, yes, she has gone on many different paths.

Bryan D. Stewart ... Vivian Ilene (Ohl) Alsip ... Mary Alyce (Carpenter) Pearson ... Delwyn (Del) Lynn Harnisch

College of Engineering faculty members Paul V. Braun, Huimin Zhao, Jianming Jin, Rizwan Uddin and Jessica Krogstad were all recently honored, and a former nuclear reactor on campus became an America Nuclear Society Nuclear Historic Landmark.

Michael J. Plewa, a professor emeritus of genetics and University Scholar at Illinois, has been selected by The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi - the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline honor society - as the 2016-18 Phi Kappa Phi Scholar. Plewa received the award for his achievements in research, teaching, service and leadership.

Three University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign students have been awarded U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarships to study a foreign language this summer. During the past 10 years, the program has sent over 5,000 American undergraduate and graduate students overseas to learn critical languages.

The Audiology Clinic at the U. of I. is offering free hearing screenings June 1 to July 22. Screenings appointments may be scheduled by calling 217-333-2230. The clinic does not schedule appointments by email.

A Minute With...™ Robin Fretwell Wilson, director of the Program in Family Law and Policy

A Minute With...™ Kathryn Anthony, an Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Distinguished Professor of architecture

Illinois Theatre, the producing entity of the department of theatre at Illinois, announces the 2016 presentation of “The Sullivan Project,” a new-play production curated by Tony Award-winning director Daniel Sullivan. Sullivan is the holder of an endowed Swanlund chair and a theatre professor at Illinois.

The Illini Union Board’s Summer Quad Cinema Series features four films open to the Champaign-Urbana community, free of charge. 

Film titles, run dates and ratings are Zootopia, PG, May 26; Eye in the Sky, R, June 9; The Boss, R, July 7; and The Angry Birds, PG, Aug. 4. Start time for all films is 9 p.m. In case of inclement weather, the movies will be shown inside the Illini Union.

A Minute With...™ Jacob Sosnoff, professor of kinesiology and community health

The Illinois Learning Sciences Design Initiative recently awarded $164,000 in grants to six interdisciplinary research teams on campus.

The awards were disbursed under the second phase of ILSDI’s seed-funding program, which was implemented to foster interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaborations among faculty members on campus and facilitate development of large-scale proposals for external funding

Ten University of Illinois students have been offered student Fulbright grants to pursue international educational, research and teaching experiences this coming year. The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to build international relations to solve global challenges. 

The Slavic collection at the U. of I. is the largest in Illinois, the Midwest and any state-supported U.S. university. Jan Adamczyk, a senior library specialist, takes care of the collection and responds to questions about it.  

Four faculty members were honored with the Campus Awards for Excellence in Faculty Leadership at the Celebration of Academic Service and Leadership event held at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center on May 11.

Given by the Office of the Provost, the three annual awards recognize faculty members who distinguish themselves with their vision of the future and their effort to enable and promote others in shaping that future. Each award consists of an honorarium of $2,000 for the personal use of the recipient and a personalized commemorative plaque. The event also recognized members of provost committees.

A Minute With...™ Sheldon Jacobson, expert on aviation security

The College of Engineering seeks applicants to its Faculty Entrepreneurial Fellows Program. Selected fellows receive $50,000 in proof-of-concept funding, along with release from their teaching and committee service, to focus on bringing their work to the world by developing a specific technology innovation. In return for their release from teaching, fellows educate students about innovation and entrepreneurship. Students receive course credit.

Organizers of a new independent high school, Academy High, will share details with prospective parents and students at two meetings May 18 at the I Hotel and Conference center.

The history of Latinos in baseball is the subject of a new documentary, “Playing America’s Game,” which premieres Saturday, May 21, on the Big Ten Network. A production of BTN and the University of Illinois, the film profiles U. of I. history professor Adrian Burgos Jr., a leading expert on Latino baseball history.

A Minute With…™ Julian Reif, expert in health care economics

Betty Ann Nelson … Roger A. Sommer … Jane Terry … Pauline Elizabeth Thrasher

University of Illinois history professor Harry Liebersohn has been chosen to receive the prestigious Humboldt Research Award honoring a career of research achievements. This follows news earlier this spring that he had been named as a fellow at the American Academy in Berlin – the first U. of I. history professor, and perhaps the first Illinois professor in any field, to receive that honor.

The number of first-year students expected to report to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus for the upcoming fall semester is similar to the fall 2015 total.

Amazon will host an AWSome Day for U. of I. researchers from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 11. The event will take place in the Training Room of the Atkins Building, 1800 S. Oak St., Champaign, in the Research Park. The goal of this event is to help researchers and their staff members understand Amazon Web Services.

The U. of I. chapter of the American Association of University Professors will host an open meeting with former Gov. Jim Edgar from 3 to 4:30 p.m. May 10 in the General Lounge of the Illini Union Room 210. 

For decades, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts has welcomed thousands of the area’s young people each season for a series of inventive and inspiring daytime programs, carefully curated to awaken minds while also addressing Common Core and Illinois learning standards.

The Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory will host the 10th annual Advanced Materials Characterization Workshop at the Urbana campus June 7-8. This workshop provides a critical, comparative and condensed overview of major analytical techniques for materials characterization with emphasis on practical applications.

This is the final issue of Inside Illinois, but it’s not the end of the campus news function.

Last week, a flier announcing the May Benefit Choice period was mailed from the state of Illinois Central Management Services, which administers health coverage for state employees. It included information at the bottom of page 5 about the possibility that U. of I. employees would be required to pay retroactive increases to their insurance premiums, depending on the outcome of an ongoing legal dispute pending before the Illinois Labor Relations Board. The potential retroactive costs are unknown at this time and will remain unknown during the Benefit Choice period, during which time employees must select a health plan.

A report on honors, awards, appointments and other outstanding achievements of faculty and staff members.

In addition to the main gardens at Allerton Park and Retreat Center, there are 1,500 acres of grounds that have to be maintained, and Nate Beccue manages to do it all by himself.

Expanded polystyrene – more commonly known by its brand name “Styrofoam” – is everywhere. It makes up your disposable coffee cup, the packing peanuts in those care packages to students, and the insulation in your office walls. At Illinois, countless bottles of chemicals, biology specimens and fragile parts of lab equipment arrive in packaging made of Styrofoam every day, and, sadly, almost all of it gets tossed in the trash.