News Bureau

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.

The final event in a lecture series focusing on undergraduate education will be from 4 to 5:30 p.m. May 5 in the ACES Library Heritage Room. The event will include a conversation to reflect on the year’s four lectures and the issues they raise about undergraduate education on the Urbana campus. The series has been planned and hosted by the Lecture and Discussion Committee of the Campus Conversation on Undergraduate Education. Light refreshments will be served.

Facilities and Services and the Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment will host an Arbor Day celebration from noon to 1 p.m. April 29, on the Quad near Noyes Laboratory.

The Goodrich Savoy 16 IMAX Theater will show "A Beautiful Planet" daily at 11:30 a.m. April 29-May 5 and host members of the Advanced Visualization Laboratory to introduce the film at a special screening at 11 a.m. May 1. Tickets are on sale now online.

The Provost's Roundtable on Entrepreneurship will host its annual Entrepreneurship Forum from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 28 at the Illini Union.

The Illinois 4-H Robotics Showcase will be 10 a.m.-noon and 1-3 p.m. April 23 at the Activities and Recreation Center, 201 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign.

Anne Balsamo, the dean of the School of Media Studies at The New School in New York City, will speak on campus April 22 about the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in innovation.

Saturday Engineering for Everyone is an open and free lecture series aimed at non-engineers of all backgrounds who are interested in learning about engineering.

Art at the Y presents “Growing Community,” a collection of photographs that document the work of several local community efforts to grow healthy food close to home and to make it accessible to everyone.

Two upcoming workshops organized by the Provost’s Office – one for pre-tenure faculty members and one for midcareer faculty members – will be May 5 at the I Hotel and Conference Center.

Warmer weather in the second week of April brought warmer and drier soils, according to Jennie Atkins, a manager for the Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring Program at the Illinois State Water Survey.

The U. of I. astronomy department will host its first open house April 23, telling guests to stop by the campus Observatory, 901 S. Mathews Ave., anytime between 1- 5 p.m. and 8-10 p.m.

Advancing the University of Illinois educational mission to foster a “culture of discovery” and its commitment to innovative research and scholarship with global impact, Undergraduate Research Week, April 17-23, showcases the best of undergraduate research and creative inquiry at the University of Illinois.

Activities for Earth Week 2016 on the U. of I. campus are being organized by Students for Environmental Concerns. The U. of I. will host several other events leading up to and following the official dates, which are April 18-22.

Stanford University Ecologist Christopher B. Field will deliver the 2016 Charles David Keeling Lecture – “Climate Change: The Road through Paris” – from 7-8:30 p.m. April 14 in Room 100 Noyes Laboratory. A reception will follow.

Benjamin Cashore, a professor of environmental governance and political science with the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University, will speak on campus April 8. The Social Dimensions of Environmental Policy program is sponsoring the event.

The Staff Advisory Council seeks nominations for one representative from Equal Employment Opportunity Group 5 (clerical-secretarial) and one representative from Equal Employment Opportunity Groups 1 and 3 (executive-administrative-managerial). These representatives will serve a four-year term beginning July 1.

Michael Posner, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Oregon and an adjunct professor at Weill Medical College, will present the 2016 SmithGroup Distinguished Lecture at noon April 15 in the auditorium of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. His talk is titled "Mechanisms of Brain Network and Brain State Training.”

The committee leading an effort to update the campus master plan has announced a new website and that it will host two upcoming public forums.

Film-related panel discussions have been announced for the 18th annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, coming April 13-17 to Champaign-Urbana.

In celebration of the 18th Annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, Illinois Public Media – in partnership with the College of Media at the University of Illinois – produced “Ebertfest 2016: Center of the Universe.” This 30-minute companion documentary covers the life and legacy of Roger Ebert as well as the history of the festival. It also includes a short preview of Ebertfest 2016.

The 11th annual Edible Book Festival, sponsored by the University Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will be April 4. The campus and local communities are invited to experience this unique intersection of the book arts and cuisine.

The School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics at the University of Illinois is offering a unique learning opportunity in the form of the Intensive Foreign Language Instruction Program for spring 2016.

The University Language Academy for Children offers quality summer camp second-language programs in Spanish, Latin and Greek, where children learn the language and gain knowledge of the rich cultural traditions from around the world.

The Urbana chapter of the American Association of University Professors is sponsoring a workshop dealing with tenure and promotion issues. “Achieving Tenure and Promotion Policies and Procedures at UIUC” will be 2:30-4 p.m. April 14 at 314 B Illini Union.

Ten faculty and staff members and students associated with the department of history will get six minutes each to make their case for the book they think changed everything. A jury will then vote and declare a winner.

Tia Mowry, star of “Sister, Sister” and “The Game,” has been involved in many different facets of the entertainment industry for more than 20 years. She will speak at the Illini Union at 7 p.m. March 31 in the I-Rooms.

The Illinois Student Senate Ad-hoc Committee on the Exploration of a University Mascot will host its fourth meeting at 5 p.m. April 1 in Illini Union Room 104.

Saturday Engineering for Everyone is an open and free lecture series aimed at non-engineers of all backgrounds who are interested in learning about engineering.

The remaining films have been announced, along with the schedule and additional guests, for this year’s Roger Ebert’s Film Festival hosted by Chaz Ebert, also known as “Ebertfest,” coming April 13-17.

The Police Training Institute is again offering the Citizen Police Academy, an educational program that allows area residents to learn about issues faced by those in law enforcement. The academy begins April 14, with graduation June 16.

Global Arts Performance Initiatives will present the inaugural Sonified Sustainability Festival from April 14-May 1.

Alumni of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences are encouraged to register to attend ACES Family Academies with their young Illini fans ages 8 to 13. The one-and-a-half-day event will take place July 7-8.

Local residents will join faculty and staff members and students of the University of Illinois on April 9 for the 2016 Community and Campus Day of Service.

Soil temperatures increased through the first half of March, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring Program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey at the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois.

The College of Fine and Applied Arts will present its final Uncorked and On Topic event of this academic year at 5:15 p.m. April 14 in the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Tryon Festival Theatre foyer.

The department of French and Italian is hosting a free, live performance of Italian music at 5 p.m. March 17 in Illini Room B in the Illini Union.

The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center will host a free public information session on the Solar Urbana-Champaign’s Solar Group Purchase Program. The information session at the ISTC will begin at noon March 10 at 1 E. Hazelwood Drive, Champaign.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a travel alert to highlight countries where the Zika virus is prevalent.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2016 Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Award, the nation’s longest-running state environmental awards program.

The U. of I. took on a leadership role to more actively respond to global climate change when Interim Chancellor Barb Wilson signed Second Nature’s Climate Resilience Commitment on Feb. 9.

Registration is now open for the 11th annual Boneyard Creek Community Day. The event, to be held Saturday, April 23, encourages the public to help protect local waterways through cleanup and educational activities.

The Illinois Student Senate Ad-hoc Committee on the Exploration of a University Mascot invites faculty and staff members to share their opinions about the possibility of creating a university mascot.

Kevin Favor, a U. of I. alumnus and a psychologist, and Khalid el-Hakim, the founder and the curator of the Black History 101 Mobile Museum, will be among the speakers at the seventh annual College of Education Graduate Student Conference on March 11.

“The STEM of Innovation” is the theme for the 96th annual Engineering Open House at the U. of I. In addition to more than 200 exhibits, the open house this year offers several new attractions, with exhibits ranging from student startup exhibits to non-Newtonian fluid demonstrations.

More than $1.9 million will be available for campus projects through the Revolving Loan Fund this semester. Departments and units interested in submitting utility conservation work for consideration are encouraged to complete the application online.

Just in time for the 2016 primary election, Illinois Public Media is providing Illinois citizens with Voter’s Edge Illinois – a free, nonpartisan online voter guide.

The University YMCA announces the upcoming Art at the Y exhibition "Transformation of Being,” which will feature the paintings of Oscar Luis Martínez.

The Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana celebrates the artistry of area young people during its spring concert.