News Bureau

Cancer lurking in tissue could be more easily found when looking through a butterfly’s eye.

University of Illinois professor of geography Jesse Ribot has been awarded a 2018 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship.

R. Marie Griffith, the director of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis, will talk about political and religious disagreements surrounding sex when she delivers the annual Majorie Hall Thulin Lecture in Religion at the University of Illinois.

Illini Emergency Medical Services, a program of the Illinois Fire Service Institute at Illinois, will be honored by the Congressional Fire Services Institute and Masimo, a medical device manufacturer, for excellence in emergency medical services. IEMS will receive the 2018 Excellence in Fire Service-based Emergency Medical Services Award at the 30th annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner on April 19 in Washington, D.C.

A new, automated system that allows flyers to pay for parking with credit cards has replaced the parking booth at the University of Illinois Willard Airport. Customers who wish to pay with cash may pay for parking inside the terminal.

The underwater environment may appear to the human eye as a dull-blue, featureless space. However, a vast landscape of polarization patterns appear when viewed through a camera that is designed to see the world through the eyes of many of the animals that inhabit the water. 

The statewide average precipitation for February-March was 8.69 inches, which made it the fourth-wettest February-March on record, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey, part of the Prairie Research Institute at Illinois.

A new website celebrates the achievements women have made during the University of Illinois’ 150-year history.

Deaths from homicides, accidents, disasters or armed conflicts can result in unknown human remains that require identification before further investigation. To identify these remains, an anthropologist can piece together details about a person’s life from their bones. The accuracy of such anthropological methods depends on the diversity of available skeletal research collections, of which there are few around the world. 

Schools have a limited ability to challenge cyberbullies, but an Illinois professor has made a legal study on how to change that.

Surprising someone – whether it’s by a joke or via a gasp-inducing plot twist – can be a memorable experience, but a less heralded effect is that it can provide an avenue to influence people, said Jeffrey Loewenstein, a professor of business administration at the Gies College of Business at Illinois.

The “Chancellor’s Critical Conversations” series of discussions will begin with a session on native imagery April 10, followed by an April 17 conversation on the topic of free speech.

As a chef-turned-nutritional neuroscientist, I explore how the food we eat impacts the way we think. As a part of my graduate training, I design dietary interventions.

The “cupcakes” in the image above are actually not cupcakes at all. They’re 90 percent egg powder with a dash of sugar and flour. In academic speak, they’re “tightly controlled isocaloric vessels of lutein that will serve as the intervention of a randomized control trial in preadolescents with below-average retinal lutein levels.”

Artists Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme want you to listen to, and not just look at, their work on view at Krannert Art Museum.

“Interstellar” in 70mm coming to 20th annual “Ebertfest,” as well as documentary on the role of American Indians in rock music.

A citizenship question on the 2020 census could add to existing undercounts, says an Illinois professor who serves on a Census Bureau advisory committee

As an architecture student, I came across a whole new world of kinetic structures. I learned that almost any form can be given mobility and deployed by calculating its geometry accurately and by strategically selecting the joints to allow rotation.

Federal funding is needed to improve diagnosis and treatment of perinatal depression in Latina and black women, according to University of Illinois kinesiology and community health professor Sandraluz Lara-Cinisomo. 

Latinos who are the most optimistic are more likely to have healthy hearts, according to a new study of more than 4,900 Latinos in the U.S. led by University of Illinois social work professor Rosalba Hernandez.

Kathleen L. Hornaday ... Mary Katherine Newman ... Charles P. Slichter

Bacteria in tap water can multiply when a faucet isn’t used for a few days, such as when a house is vacant over a week’s vacation, a new study from University of Illinois engineers found. The study suggests a new method to show how microbial communities, including those responsible for illnesses like Legionnaires’ disease, may assemble inside the plumbing systems of homes and public buildings

“The Big Lebowski” is coming to the 20th annual “Ebertfest,” along with the man who inspired the movie’s central character, “The Dude,” as a guest.

Rachel Switzky has been selected as the inaugural director of the Siebel Center for Design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Switzky, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial design at Illinois, will begin the new role June 18. 

The University of Illinois Wind Symphony and Chamber Singers will perform a new composition written to celebrate the U. of I.’s sesquicentennial in April concerts at New York City’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and at Urbana’s Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

Spurlock Museum of World Cultures invites visitors of all ages to the 12th annual WorldFest celebration on Sunday, April 8, from 1-4 p.m. Experience performing arts from around the world and hands-on crafts. Admission is free. The museum is located at 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana. Parking is free in lot D-22 in non-reserved spaces. 

“Quantum Voyages,” an interdisciplinary theater piece created by University of Illinois physics and theatre professors, gives a glimpse into the strange world of quantum physics.

Gender differences in vocational interests increase drastically during puberty but tend to decrease across the lifespan, researchers at the University of Illinois found in a new study.

Have you wondered how to preserve an old film of family memories or take proper care of grandma’s quilt? Bring your small items or come with images of larger pieces to the Preservation Emporium at Spurlock Museum of World Cultures at Illinois on Saturday, April 7, from 1-4 p.m., and have your preservation questions answered by experts.

Scientists have built a “computational microscope” that can simulate the atomic and subatomic forces that drive molecular interactions. This tool will streamline efforts to understand the chemistry of life, model large molecular systems and develop new pharmaceutical and industrial agents, the researchers say.

Joanne Daugherty Hayes ... Mildred Alene Maddock Landreth ... Vivian Phyllis Larson ... Michele Henriette Miller ... Rosemary Rutledge ... Nancy Jean Stark 

Cooler, drier weather has led to declining soil temperatures and moisture levels, 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.

Each day brings with it a host of decisions to be made, and each person approaches those decisions differently. A new study by University of Illinois researchers found that these individual differences are associated with variation in specific brain networks – particularly those related to executive, social and perceptual processes.

Etha Jereen Broom ... Constance “Connie” Ellen Brown ... Carole Couch ... Sue Jones ... Maurice “Doc” Mecum ... Emily Ann Stipes Watts 

Native Pop, an organization that brings American Indian pop art and art making to widespread venues and communities, will present a weekend of events March 30-31 titled “Native Pop Presents: Strong Women: Reclaiming Imagery.” The events feature MaryBeth Nelson (Cherokee), Serena Penaloza (Navajo and Maricopa) and Brent Learned (Cheyenne-Arapaho), who will bring their art, insight and skills to a variety of programs.

Researchers have produced a “human scale” demonstration of a new phase of matter called quadrupole topological insulators that was recently predicted using theoretical physics. These are the first experimental findings to validate this theory.

The NFL has reflected the changing dynamics of the modern U.S. workplace due to the football-workplace connection that was forged during the sport’s early years, said Daniel A. Gilbert, a professor of labor and employment relations at Illinois and an expert who studies the cultural and labor history of sports.

Mixed-plastic electronics waste could be a valuable source of reusable polymers, a new study led by Illinois Sustainability Technology Center scientists suggests. The team has developed the first energy-efficient and environmentally friendly process that separates mixed polymers so that they can be recycled into new, high-quality plastic products.

Conferences of the organizations Presidents United to Solve Hunger Leaders Forum and Universities Fighting World Hunger will take place on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus this week, co-hosted by the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Illinois at Springfield and the University of Illinois System.

By peering at the brains of study subjects prompted to suppress negative emotions, scientists have gained new insights into how emotional regulation influences negative feelings and memories. They hope the findings will lead to new methods to combat depression.

The Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities at the U. of I. has awarded its annual faculty and graduate student fellowships for the 2018-19 academic year to seven faculty members and seven graduate students. IPRH also announced the Ragdale Residential Creative Fellow for 2018.

Illini Emergency Medical Services, a student program under the Illinois Fire Service Institute, received national recognition recently when the U. of I. was awarded the designation of a HEARTSafe Campus. IEMS accepted the award Feb. 24 at the National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation Awards Reception in Philadelphia. 

Max Levchin, a U. of I. alumnus, co-founder of PayPal, former chairman of Yelp and currently the CEO and founder of the consumer-financing platform Affirm, will serve as the commencement speaker Saturday, May 12.  

A new lightweight, low-cost agricultural robot, developed by a team of scientists at the University of Illinois, could transform data collection and field scouting for agronomists, seed companies and farmers.

Researchers say they can now produce a vast library of unique cyclic compounds, some with the capacity to interrupt specific protein-protein interactions that play a role in disease. The new compounds have cyclic structures that give them stability and enhance their ability to bind to their targets.  

The 20th Ebert Film Festival will open with "The Fugitive" and feature Ava DuVernay, the director of the Oscar-nominated "Selma" and "The 13th," among its guests.

Tom Percival ... Penny A. Watkins-Zdrojewski ... Robert J. Cheek

Drawing from the experiences of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign students who recently completed undergraduate degrees, an annual survey indicates that the campus will once again exceed national averages related to graduates securing first destinations.

The job of a Congress member is not one size fits all, say two U. of I. political scientists. In fact, there are five "legislative styles."

Storing your dead tarantulas in a gallon-sized pickle jar is not the best solution to long-term preservation. Especially when those tarantulas are toe-tagged – like corpses in a morgue. But that’s what I find this morning when I open one of the dozens of metal storage cabinets in the chilly insect collection: a pickle jar full of tarantulas.

Illinois’ milder winter soil temperatures may have an impact on pest populations, according to researchers at the Prairie Research Institute at Illinois.

Overall, soil temperatures were milder than normal, according to Jennie Atkins with the Illinois State Water Survey’s Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring Program. At depths of 4 inches under bare soil, temperatures averaged 35.2 degrees this winter, or 1.4 degrees above the long-term average. Soils averaged 1.8 degrees cooler than last winter.