News Bureau

Illinois professors Erik McDuffie and Carol Symes have been awarded National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships for 2017.

Howard D. Eskridge ... Kathryn "Katie" Matilda Gravlin

The concept of “cultural distinctiveness” prompts consumers to fulfill a need to connect with home by favoring brands or products associated with a related cultural group, says U. of I. business professor and branding expert Carlos J. Torelli.

Credit screening as a condition of employment is a flawed practice that can result in discrimination against low-income and minority applicants, says research from Andrew Weaver, a professor of labor and employment relations at Illinois.

Children’s reggae artist Aaron Nigel Smith and his band will perform a free family concert at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 4 in the lobby of  Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana.

Books are great gifts, and the Center for Children’s Books at the University of Illinois can help gift givers find the right book for the young people on their lists.

A new book co-written by University of Illinois labor professors Steven K. Ashby and Robert Bruno chronicles the seven-day strike by the Chicago Teachers Union in 2012.

A study of older adults offers insight into how a pigment found in leafy greens that tends to accumulate in brain tissue may contribute to the preservation of “crystallized intelligence,” the ability to use the skills and knowledge one has acquired over a lifetime.

An informatics approach can help prioritize chemical combinations for further testing by determining the prevalence of individual ingredients and their most likely combinations in consumer products.

Even if the Affordable Care Act is ultimately repealed, the law’s so-called “Cadillac tax” on high-cost health care plans has already affected employers’ health insurance offerings, says Richard L. Kaplan, the Peer and Sarah Pedersen Professor of Law at Illinois.

I wake up to the sound of the engine running. The cook needs power to begin making breakfast at 4:30 a.m., and the captain begins steering the boat to where we will examine the riverbanks. I get dressed, wearing a long-sleeved shirt and pants tinged with the red of the rocks we have studied – their iron stain is slowly becoming the main color of my wardrobe.

It remains uncertain that plans being floated to privatize Medicare by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan will have the support of President-elect Donald Trump, says Richard L. Kaplan, the Peer and Sarah Pedersen Professor of Law at Illinois.

Sexual harassment is a prevalent form of victimization that most antibullying programs ignore and teachers and school officials often fail to recognize, according to a new five-year study by researchers at the University of Illinois.

Darrel F. “Bump” DeDecker ... Jean M. Due 

A new report by prominent leaders in computational methods and reproducibility lays out recommendations for ways researchers, institutions, agencies and journal publishers can work together to standardize sharing of data sets and software code.

The Standing Rock protest has been a significant event in the 200-year history of American Indian activism, says recently retired Illinois professor Frederick Hoxie.

Given the confining nature of our vessel, many routines that require no thought or preparation in our everyday lives become chores on the boat.

A Chicago-based architecture firm led by an Illinois alumna has been selected to design the rebuilt Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus.

Weed scientists in at least two Midwestern states have been reporting for years that a conservation program meant to provide habitat for pollinating insects is sowing bad seeds – including seeds of the potentially devastating agricultural weed Palmer amaranth – along with the good. Now, researchers at the University of Illinois have traced the weed seeds to at least one source: pollinator habitat seed sold by a company in the Midwest.

The YWCA at Illinois is seeking nominations for the 31st annual Women’s Leadership Awards.

Prospective nominees are exceptional women who display leadership, initiative, creativity and dedication, and go the extra mile to get involved in programs and activities that benefit the communities in which they live and work. The awards recognize the achievements and contributions of exceptional individuals, organizations and businesses in the greater Champaign-Urbana community who work to advance the mission of the YWCA.

An enzyme that converts the dietary carotenoid beta carotene into vitamin A in the body may also regulate testosterone levels and growth of the prostate, researchers at the University of Illinois found in a study.  

Dial-A-Carol is a student-run holiday program at Illinois. Each year, the students of Snyder Hall, a University Housing residence hall, host the event. Anyone from anywhere may call 217-332-1882 and request any holiday tune, which will be sung live by students over the telephone.

A new program for worldwide agricultural development kicked off Nov. 30 at Illinois. AgReach was welcomed by a West African drum performance and introduced by professor Alex Winter-Nelson, representing the agricultural and consumer economics department in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.

A worldwide smallholder farming initiative, AgReach closes gaps in agrisystems so that smallholder farmers thrive. Paul McNamara, an economist and a professor at Illinois, leads the initiative and the team of 18 professionals based at Illinois and in some of the poorest countries in the world, including Sierra Leone, Malawi and Bangladesh.

With more than 20 years of experience in agricultural economics and development, McNamara founded AgReach to continue building the $22 million development portfolio composed of projects that have improved the quality of farming in more than 50 countries.

“One thing notable about the AgReach program is the mix of disciplines and the breadth of experience among the team,” said Kim Kidwell, the College of ACES dean. “People are a key ingredient in any well-functioning and impactful extension program, and in a relatively short amount of time, the AgReach team has assembled a world-class group of development professionals and scholars to implement its program of capacity development and action-oriented research.”

Initiated by the Modernizing Agriculture and Extension Services in 2012, AgReach builds upon other programs including the Integrating Gender and Nutrition within Agricultural Extension Services and the Malawi Strengthening Agriculture and Nutrition Extension Services Project, both housed at Illinois.

More information may be found online.

There could be an easy way to reduce lines at the airport, increase security, and save the Transportation Security Administration money, according to a new study by University of Illinois researchers: waive the $85 fee for frequent fliers to enroll in the TSA PreCheck program, which allows pre-screened, verified travelers to go through expedited security at airports.

Sarah Lubienski, a professor of curriculum and instruction at Illinois, spoke recently about the possible future of public schools under the Trump administration.

The Rolodexes of the business elite help account for the surprising resilience of managerial control of publicly held corporations, leading to an entrenched management structure that comes at the expense of shareholder value, says research from U. of I. labor professor Richard Benton.

Keeping your message brief and simple – on the level of a gentle reminder, as opposed to constant nagging – can produce gains when trying to increase engagement with health care programs, says new research from U. of I. professor and social psychology expert Dolores Albarracin.

For the third consecutive year, a U. of I. student has been named a Marshall Scholar. Devin Weiss, of Northbrook, Illinois, is a senior majoring in sociology. 

Paul Fischer, a professor of computer science and of mechanical science and engineering, and research colleague Misun Min at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory recently earned an R&D 100 Award, which recognizes top technologies of the year. Known as the “Oscars of Invention,” the awards are organized by R&D Magazine.
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A new documentary film, “Starving the Beast,” will be shown in a free screening Thursday, Dec. 1, at 7:30 p.m. at the Art Theater Co-op, 126 W. Church St., Champaign.

Harold Stever Bryan ... Daral Gene Carr ... Frank Crossman Hinds ... Randall Musselman ... Paul Newbold ... Robert M. Richey ... Joe Louis Smith

A new study finds that, under the right conditions, 2 1/2-year-old children can answer questions about people acting on false beliefs, an ability that most researchers believe does not develop until age 4.

Laboratory rats will drink alcohol if it’s available, and may even get a little tipsy, researchers report in a new study. But they won’t voluntarily drink until they’re drunk. And while ethanol is calorie-rich, rats that drink it eat less food and their total energy intake remains steady, the research team found.

Illinois atmospheric scientist Atul Jain was among the many scientists worldwide who contributed data to the Global Carbon Budget 2016, providing new data on atmospheric carbon concentrations, emissions and trends.

Next week, we’ll be in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, near the frontier town of Tefé, to conduct research on the river.

A new study reveals an efficient means of attaching lipids (fat molecules) to peptides (the building blocks of proteins). This can improve the molecules’ drug-delivery capabilities.

The Urbana campus will host two sessions Nov. 29-30 to brief the campus community and the general public on the design update of the campus master plan.

Six University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign faculty members have been elected 2016 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science: Jianjun Cheng, Brian T. Cunningham, Kevin T. Pitts, Bruce L. Rhoads, Chad M. Rienstra and Josep Torrellas.

Eight University of Illinois researchers have been named to the Thomson Reuters / Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list for 2016. The list identifies scientists “whose research has had significant global impact within their respective fields of study."

Richard Gene "Dick" Horn ... Marianne Mosey ... Elizabeth Ann Wells ... Samuel H. Williams

Researchers report  that they can increase plant productivity by boosting levels of three proteins involved in photosynthesis. This confirms a hypothesis some in the scientific community once doubted was possible.

The Symbols of Service exhibit at the University of Illinois Library tells the stories behind the tattoos of student veterans.

Donald Trump may not get everything he wants from Congress, despite its Republican majorities, says Illinois political science professor Tracy Sulkin.

A study of the genomes of 25 individuals who lived 1,000 to 6,000 years ago on the north coast of present-day British Columbia, and 25 of their descendants who still live in the region today, opens a new window on the catastrophic consequences of European colonization for indigenous peoples in that part of the world.

Older adults who practiced hatha yoga for 8 weeks were better able to manage stress and performed better on cognitive tests than peers  in a stretching and weight-training program, researchers report.

Illinois political scientist Brian Gaines, an expert on polling and public opinion, spoke about what might have happened and the challenges of getting it right.

This weekend, Illinois alumni, students and staff will gather to celebrate 20 years of the First Year Campus Acquaintance Rape Education (FYCARE) Program, a nationally renowned mandatory sexual assault prevention workshop for first-year students.

Krannert Art Museum is hosting a solo exhibition of artist Zina Saro-Wiwa’s work, primarily photography and video, showing images of the Niger Delta and its culture.

Paul Eugene Strader ... Samuel H. Williams

University of Illinois art professor Emmy Lingscheit created a pack of coyotes, made of vitreous china, during a Kohler Arts/Industry residency. The coyote sculptures are on display through Nov. 20 at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. One piece will be included in the School of Art and Design Faculty Exhibition at Krannert Art Museum, opening Nov. 17.