News Bureau

The Flatlands Dance Film Festival at the University of Illinois will screen a new documentary film about performer Okwui Okpokwasili and her one-woman show “Bronx Gothic.”

The Russian Revolution marks its centennial this year and the University of Illinois, a leading center of Slavic studies, is exploring the revolution’s legacy through a series of fall events.

An exhibition at Krannert Art Museum uses the centennial of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and contemporary artworks to spark conversations about the broader concept of revolution.

The first major traveling exhibition in the U.S. on the arts of the Swahili coast of Africa will premiere at Krannert Art Museum this fall. “World on the Horizon: Swahili Arts Across the Indian Ocean” will include objects loaned from the National Museums of Kenya and the Bait Al Zubair Museum in Oman that will be exhibited for the first time in the U.S.

Fuels that are produced from nonpetroleum-based biological sources may become greener and more affordable, thanks to research performed at the University of Illinois’ Prairie Research Institute that examines the use of a processing catalyst made from palladium metal and bacteria.

Albert E. Bloemker

Tinnitus, a chronic ringing or buzzing in the ears, has eluded medical treatment and scientific understanding. A new study by University of Illinois researchers found that chronic tinnitus is associated with changes in certain networks in the brain, and furthermore, those changes cause the brain to stay more at attention and less at rest.

Choreographer and visual artist Jonah Bokaer recently spent a two-week residency at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts as he develops two opera productions. He was participating in Krannert Center's Intensive Development Lab, a program funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation that offers artists space and resources to develop a new work.

An Illinois expert on affirmative action in higher education talks about the Justice Department’s plans to investigate possible racial discrimination in college and university admissions policies

Soils across Illinois were cooler and drier than average in the first half of August, said Jennie Atkins, the water and atmospheric resources monitoring program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey, part of the Prairie Research Institute at Illinois.

Take a fish out of water and its stress hormones will go up. Adrenaline and noradrenaline, the “fight or flight” hormones, peak first, followed more gradually by cortisol. A new study finds that largemouth bass whose cortisol levels rise most after a brief bout of stress are inherently harder to catch by angling.

The University YMCA will hold its annual Dump and Run sale Saturday, Aug. 26, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the University of Illinois Stock Pavilion, 1402 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Urbana. Admission is $3. A follow-up sale will occur Sunday, Aug. 27, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the pavilion, with a “free” sale from 2:30 to 3 p.m. Dump and Run is a community recycling program that reduces litter and consumer waste, saves space in landfills, lowers dumping costs for certified housing and apartments, and provides inexpensive items for people to purchase.

Clinical signs may be better predictors of mortality in neonatal calves with diarrhea than blood pH levels and other laboratory findings, suggests a new study co-written by University of Illinois researcher Peter D. Constable.

Jerome “Jerry” Carlson ... Raymond (Ray) Eugene Jenkins ... Janis Elaine “Jan” Shearer ... Karen L. Wold

A new study suggests it may be possible to slow dangerous infections by manipulating the messages microbes send to one another, allowing the body to defeat an infection without causing the bacteria to develop resistance to the treatment.

Japan House at the University of Illinois is preparing for its third Matsuri Festival on Aug. 27. It has become the organization's biggest event.

The highly physical choreography of University of Illinois dance professor Abby Zbikowski has earned her a 2017 Juried Bessie Award and recognition in the dance world.

John A. Lynn II, a professor emeritus of history at Illinois, will give a talk and answer questions covering the events depicted in the film “Dunkirk” immediately following the 1 p.m. screening Aug. 20 at the Virginia Theatre, 203 W. Park Ave., Champaign.

Labor and employment relations professor Michael LeRoy discusses his research about confronting a resurgent white supremacy movement.

The Carle Illinois College of Medicine has appointed a permanent executive associate dean: Rashid Bashir, a professor and the department head of bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Academic and administrative units at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will go back to the familiar orange block “I” logo, retiring the column “I” they have used since 1997.

New research out of the University of Illinois suggests that some mothers’ and fathers’ psychological well-being may suffer when their work and family identities – and the amount of financial support they provide – conflict with conventional gender roles.

Astronomy professor Leslie Looney on what will it look like on – and off – the "path of totality."

Barbara Ann Albin Brown ... Nancy Doris Chumbley ... Harvey Albert Hermann Jr. ... William “Bill” J. Kubitz ... Donald Eugene Senn 

Northern Illinois experienced heavy rain and widespread flooding in July. Meanwhile, parts of central and southern Illinois experienced dry weather that caused crop damage, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey, part of the Prairie Research Institute at Illinois.

On average, however, the statewide precipitation was 4.81 inches, which is 0.73 inches above normal.

A new paper by University of Illinois scholars suggests that the physiological and psychological effects of profanity and other taboo words on people who read or hear them may be due largely – but not entirely – to the context and individual audience members’ likelihood of being offended.

"Because future climate projections exhibit 'more extreme extremes,' drought recovery times will be critical for assessing ecosystem resilience."

A new exhibition at Krannert Art Museum celebrates images of nature, with an emphasis on female artists.

An analysis of nearly 200 independent studies involving more than 230,000 adult participants finds that having been sexually assaulted is associated with significantly increased risk of anxiety, depression, suicidality, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse, obsessive-compulsive disorder and bipolar disorder.

University of Illinois researchers have developed a way to produce 3-D images of live embryos in cattle that could help determine embryo viability before in vitro fertilization in humans.

Barton Marshall Clark ... Julia Ann “Julie” Dawson ... Mary “Joan” Dawson ... L. Thomas Fredrickson ... Louine A. Friese ... Dorothy M. (Lee) “Meenah” Mapson ... Walter Emil Splittstoesser ...  Norma Jeanne Woolen

Media portrayals of pregnant and postpartum women tend to be unrealistic, and their focus on women's bodies may may be detrimental to women and their infants, suggests a new study by University of Illinois scholar Toni Liechty.

An unusually cold winter in the U.S. in 2014 took a toll on the green anole lizard, a tree-dwelling creature common to the southeastern United States. A new study offers a rare view of natural selection in this species, showing how the lizard survivors at the southernmost part of their range in Texas came to be more like their cold-adapted counterparts further north.

John Lynn, a professor emeritus of history at Illinois, has received a selective NEH Public Scholar award less than six months after receiving the highest career award in the field of military history.

Krannert Art Museum recently launched an expanded, redesigned website that will allow online visitors to search the museum’s art collection.

It is our final day in the field and we are searching for the last of the ancient Maya ceremonial pools, Pool 25. Mud sucks at our boots as we wade through a jungle swamp. The sap from black poisonwood trees (Metopium brownie) burns our skin. Spike-covered trees snag us, while others swarm with ants. The grassland around this last pool should be a welcome relief.

At the edge of the jungle, however, we are met with cutting grass, aptly named for its razor-sharp edges, rising well above our heads. The knee-deep water hides holes that catch us unaware.

A new video celebrates the history of the Altgeld Chimes and the chimes players.

Researchers are looking to insects – specifically cicadas – for insight into the design of artificial surfaces with de-icing, self-cleaning and anti-fogging abilities. 

Illinois Chamber Singers got a taste of Europe this summer.

Honey bees that consistently fail to respond to obvious social cues share something fundamental with autistic humans, researchers report in a new study. Genes most closely associated with autism spectrum disorders in humans are regulated differently in unresponsive honey bees than in their more responsive nest mates, the study found.

State investments in high-tech development generally pay off, given time, patience and modest expections, according to a University of Illinois study.

A new book by Robert Olshansky, the head of the University of Illinois department of urban and regional planning and an expert in post-disaster recovery, details the lessons learned from disaster recovery all over the world that can guide governments in better responding to a large disaster.

Lynne M. Thomas, the incoming head of the Illinois' Rare Book and Manuscript Library, says one thing has been consistent about 'Doctor Who' – it keeps changing with the times

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Steven Anderson, the director of the School of Social Work at Michigan State University, was named the dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign effective Sept. 16, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

No provision of the Constitution prohibits it, but the threat of impeachment should function as a check on the president's clemency powers, said law professor Jason Mazzone

George Allen Bark ... Cyrus Johnson

CARA BLANCA, Belize — Armed with a compass, a map, a GPS device and a drone, we begin our exploratory trek through the jungle. The thick vegetation is no match for our team of eight, six of whom are quick with a machete.  Four hours after circumventing towering hardwoods and hacking our way through spidery vines, massive palm fronds and dense fern bushes, we stand at the edge of Pool 21, less than a kilometer from the road.

Culture’s pivotal role in effective educational and social assessments – and how related research findings can spark social change – will be the focus of an international conference in Chicago this fall.

Lynne M. Thomas, who earned her master’s degree in library and information sciences at the University of Illinois, has been selected as the new head of the U. of I. Rare Book and Manuscript Library.