News Bureau

Ray Boehmer ... Lawrence “Larry” Mervin Bowden ... Leo J. Clennon ... Dale F. “Marty” Eichelberger ... Robert “Bob” Allan Moff ... Christie Tucker ... Dan Weisman

Crisis knows no season. For as little as $5 per month, faculty and staff members can make a difference in the life of a co-worker in crisis by donating to the Faculty and Staff Emergency Fundat Illinois.

Over the past year, the fund provided about $30,000 in grants to employees experiencing temporary financial hardship. Since the fund’s inception in 1992, more than 1,000 academic professionals, faculty and staff members have been helped.

At a noon event on Monday, May 7, at the Alma Mater statue, University of Illinois administrators will discuss their participation in the upcoming Illini 4000 annual cross-country fundraising ride and receive bicycle gear from experienced riders.

The statewide average temperature in April was 44.7 degrees, 7.9 degrees below normal, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel at the Illinois State Water Survey, part of the Prairie Research Institute at Illinois. It was the second-coldest April on record, dating back to 1895, and beaten only by 43.1 degrees set in April 1907.

Scott E. Denmark, a professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest professional honors a scientist can receive. Denmark is one of 84 new members and 21 foreign associates recognized for distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

By the time boys who are dubbed class clowns reach third grade, they plummet to the bottom of the social circle -- and view themselves as social failures -- as classmates’ disapproval of their behavior grows, a new study found.

The Chancellor’s Distinguished Staff Award recognizes exceptional performance by civil service staff employees at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Eight employees are being honored this year.

The Senate Committee on Honorary Degrees invites all departments and units to identify and nominate individuals who have made substantial contributions to their respective academic disciplines for an honorary degree award. Information regarding the nomination procedure and criteria for honorary degree award nominations can be found on the Senate website.

The University of Illinois Rare Book and Manuscript Library has acquired a manuscript written by Sir Isaac Newton that includes instructions for making the philosopher’s stone.

A U. of I. professor discusses drones and the implications of their use in terrorism and warfare.

Concern over the potential imminent eruptions of Earth’s supervolcanoes, like Taupo in New Zealand or Yellowstone in the United States, may be quelled by the results of a new study suggesting that geological signs pointing to a catastrophic eruption would be clear far in advance.

The Secretariat organization at Illinois has named James McGraw, an administrative aide for the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, the 2018 Office Professional of the Year. The announcement was made at the organization’s April 18 luncheon. The Secretariat is a group comprised of U. of I. employees in certain civil service classifications. Rohit Bhargava, a professor of bioengineering, nominated McGraw for the annual award, which is celebrated during Administrative Professionals Week.

The University of Illinois broke ground for the Siebel Center for Design, a multidisciplinary hub of student-focused design thinking and learning. 

Joseph Frederick Green ... Elmer Osterbur

Animal sciences adjunct professor Vickie Jarrell has been elected to the Council on Accreditation for AAALAC International, a private, nonprofit organization that promotes responsible and humane treatment of animals in research.

Losing an arm doesn’t have to mean losing all sense of touch, thanks to prosthetic arms that stimulate nerves with mild electrical feedback. University of Illinois researchers have developed a control algorithm that regulates the current so a prosthetics user feels steady sensation, even when the electrodes begin to peel off or when sweat builds up. 

A new article in the journal Science provides guidance for those intending to study ancient human remains in the Americas. The paper, written by Indigenous scholars and scientists and those who collaborate with Indigenous communities on studies of ancient DNA, offers a clear directive to others contemplating such research: First, do no harm.

Students will be able to self-report their standardized test scores in new freshmen applications to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for the fall 2019 semester, a change made to improve accessibility for students applying to college.

The public is invited to a May 1 event designed to continue the momentum from an April 10 group conversation on Native imagery. The gathering will take place from 3 to 6 p.m. in the South Lounge of the Illini Union, 1401 W. Green St., Urbana.

U. of I. historian Winton Solberg tells the story of the Big Ten’s first half-century, focusing on the organizers and issues rather than on-the-field action.

A pending U.S. Supreme Court case could lead to the most significant changes in labor relations since the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, says Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at Illinois.

An international consortium of scientists is proposing a massive project to sequence, catalog and analyze the genomes of all known eukaryotic species on the planet, an undertaking the researchers say will take 10 years, cost $4.7 billion and require more than 200 petabytes of digital storage capacity. Eukaryotes include all organisms except bacteria and archaea. There are an estimated 10-15 million eukaryotic species on Earth. Of those, the team proposes sequencing 1.5 million.

The more failing grades students have during eighth grade, the more likely they are to experience social-emotional learning problems, academic difficulties and behavioral problems as high school freshmen, a new study found.

Laser light shows are no longer just the stage dressing for rock concerts. They’re also a fun way for local middle school students to learn the fundamentals of mathematics from educators and scientists at the University of Illinois.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the Siebel Center for Design will take place Tuesday, April 24 at 2 p.m. on a site located on Fourth Street between Gregory Drive and Peabody Drive, Champaign.

Richard Francis Earl Crang ... Donald Earl Hiner ... Thomas E. Jean ... Michael Earl Schlesinger ... Leonard “Lennie” Dean Seward Sr. ... Mary Sleator Temperley ... Cora L. Williams 

Esther Ngumbi, a postdoctoral researcher at Illinois, has been selected as the Society for Experimental Biology’s SEB+ section 2018 President’s Medallist. Candidates for the medal are selected on the basis of their outstanding contribution to one of the four fields of research represented by the SEB’s four sections (SEB+, plant, cell and animal biology).

Krannert Art Museum will feature the work of graduate students in art and design in its MFA Exhibition, opening April 21.

Robert Flider joins the staff of Chancellor Robert Jones effective April 23 as the director of community and government relations. The hiring is subject to approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

A new study of trial court judges suggests these arbiters of the law sometimes let their personal ideas about gender roles influence their decision-making.

Speech and hearing science professor Laura DeThorne and doctoral students Henry Angulo and Veronica Vidal discuss how the neurodiversity movement recognizes autistic individuals’ unique experiences, skills and strengths, and resists the medicalization of autism.

Colder weather led to cooler than normal soil temperatures during the first half of April in Illinois, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring Program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey, part of the Prairie Research Institute at Illinois.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of 100 top universities taking part in the American Talent Initiative, with a shared goal of increasing the recruitment, enrollment and graduation of high-achieving lower- and moderate-income students.

A new paper from a team of U. of I. legal scholars explores restorative and transitional justice in the #MeToo movement.

Three University of Illinois students have been nationally recognized with Barry M. Goldwater scholarships, which support students with potential to contribute to the advancement of research in the natural sciences, mathematics or engineering.  A fourth Illinois student was selected for honorable mention

It’s a summer day in June, and as my husband and I approach the Great Smoky Mountains National Park visitor center, I have one goal in mind: I want to see something extraordinary. At my request, the ranger at the visitor center pulls out a map, smiles and immediately points to the tallest waterfall in the area: Ramsey Cascades. Getting there will require hiking a rugged 8-mile trail that gains 2,200 feet in elevation. Our reward: a 100-foot waterfall – something you won’t find in Illinois.

Jennifer Kee Anderson ... Joel M. Dexter ... William H. “Doc” Pirkle ... Pola Fotitch Triandis 

News media attending the April 17 Chancellor’s Critical Conversations event will be allowed to record content from the session.

News reporters interested in covering the sixth annual Day of Caring meal packaging event Saturday, April 14, are encouraged to go to Memorial Stadium between 10 a.m. and noon.

The University of Illinois is honoring 21 faculty and staff members and graduate teaching assistants for excellence in teaching, mentoring and advising.

Consuming high amounts of carbohydrates and various forms of sugar during the year prior to treatment for head and neck cancer may increase patients’ risks of cancer recurrence and mortality, a new study reports.

On Thursday, April 19 at 4 p.m., Spurlock Museum of World Cultures at Illinois presents the talk “University of Illinois Wheelchair Athletics: A Tradition of Excellence.” Adam Bleakney, the head coachof men's and women's track, field and racing, and Stephanie Wheeler, the head coach of women’s basketball, will discuss the program’s roots, its legacy and its continuing leadership and success in wheelchair sports. 

The University of Illinois has received a three-year, $1 million grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to continue funding for the Sloan University Center of Exemplary Mentoring at Illinois. The program, started in 2015, supports underrepresented minority doctoral students in science, technology, engineering and math fields and is one of nine UCEMs throughout the country.

Who was Robert Allerton, the creator of the English-style country house, grounds and sculpture park in central Illinois? Author Maureen Holtz will share insights about the life and estates of Allerton, called “Chicago’s Richest Bachelor” by the Chicago Tribune in 1906. The event is Thursday, May 17, at Spurlock Museum of World Cultures at Illinois, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana. Allerton’s Monticello, Illinois, estate, now owned by the U. of I., is listed as one of the state’s Seven Wonders, and his Kauai, Hawaii, estate, Lawai-Kai, is now a botanical garden.

University of Illinois architecture professor Sudarshan Krishnan designs lightweight and transformable structures that can expand and collapse to adapt to a user’s needs.

This year’s “Ebertfest” will close with a performance by Native American artist Pura Fe following its final film, “Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World.”

I scan the woods around me, carefully eyeing the tree-line through the darkened windows on each side of my blind. I see no turkeys and go back to reading my book. After a few pages, I glance up again and jump in surprise as turkeys emerge over a hill in the field to my right. They are about 40 feet from the Netblaster. I text my crew to let them know our prey has arrived!

Clinton Frederick Fink ... John T. Scott ... Helen T. Smith ... Al Ricco John Stasi

Political reporting in the Trump era will be the subject of a panel discussion April 12 featuring the Washington Post’s Dan Balz and columnist Roger Simon.

Six employees are recipients of the 2018 Chancellor's Academic Professional Excellence awards, which recognize academic professionals for their work, personal and professional contributions.