News Bureau

Tap at Illinois will celebrate tap dancing with a semesterlong series of tap performances at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

The Illinois Fire Service Institute, part of the U. of I., will host a ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 10 a.m. on the IFSI training grounds in Champaign. The event, held in cooperation with the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal, will officially release four mobile trailers containing equipment essential for firefighting skills training.

Edward E. Durbin ... Doris Patricia “Pat” Foster ... Judy Kurlakowsky ... Marjorie E. Nelson ... Frances Joann Pierce

With warmer-than-average temperatures, December 2018 brought slight snowfall and a historic late-season severe weather outbreak to Illinois.

On Dec. 1, the National Weather Service confirmed 29 tornadoes in Illinois, an event that is considered the largest December tornado outbreak in state history, according to Brian Kerschner, a spokesman for the state climatologist office at the U. of I.’s Illinois State Water Survey. The second-largest number of tornadoes in December was 21  in 1957.

2018 marks the 80th anniversary of the landmark physics discovery of superfluidity. News Bureau physical sciences editor Lois Yoksoulian asked University of Illinois physics professor and 2003 Nobel Prize winner Anthony Leggett about the significance of the historic finding.

Illinois Public Media announces the launch of “Reel Midwest,” a new independent film series that aims to find the best in features, documentaries and short films in Illinois and across the Midwest. “Reel Midwest” showcases the region’s brightest talents through a selection of thought-provoking documentaries, narrative dramas and short films.

For tech company workers protesting sexual harassment in the workplace, there are few practical benefits to be gained from employers ending mandatory arbitration beyond an increased perception of procedural justice, says U. of I. labor professor Ryan Lamare.

Sammy Ray “Sam” Sommer ... Kerrin Thompson

Twelve Illinois undergraduates have been awarded Gilman scholarships to study abroad during the spring 2019 semester.

An Illinois professor who has aided in asylum cases talks about the criteria, changes in the process and why Central Americans are seeking this protection.

Screenwriter and Illinois alumnus David Magee wrote the script for "Mary Poppins Returns."

William Curtis Blaylock ... Susan Blunier ... Paula Jo Goodwin ... Barbara Clarke Swain

With the “Land of Lincoln” celebrating its bicentennial, a historian looks at the influence of four Illinois-connected presidents.

Alumna Anna Oates won the National Records of Scotland Award for the Most Outstanding Student Work in Digital Preservation for her master’s thesis work on the PDF/A standard. She received the award Nov. 29 at a ceremony at the Amsterdam Museum as part of an international conference hosted by the Dutch Digital Heritage Network and the Amsterdam Museum on World Digital Preservation Day. Anna Oates received her master's degree in 2018 from the School of Information Sciences.

The statewide average temperature for November in Illinois was 35.3 degrees, which is 7.2 degrees below normal, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey at the U. of I. November 2018 was ranked the eighth-coldest November on record.

On Dec. 5, the Global Carbon Project published the Global Carbon Budget 2018, giving world leaders access to data on atmospheric carbon concentrations, emissions and trends. Illinois atmospheric scientist Atul Jain was among the many scientists worldwide who contributed data to the report. Jain talked about the carbon budget and this year’s findings with News Bureau physical sciences editor Lois Yoksoulian.

Jim Angel, the Illinois state climatologist, has announced that he will retire in December 2018 after 34 years at the Illinois State Water Survey. News Bureau physical sciences editor Lois Yoksoulian spoke with him about his career, climate change and the National Climate Assessment released on Black Friday.

Alva “Tad” LeRoy Addy ... Nancy J. Blackburn ... Belle Anna Brine ... John Roy Campbell ... Judith “Judy” Arlene Corray ... Terry Denny ... Marjorie Ellen (Keagle) Lange ... Alleta A. (Sue) Moore ... John (Jim) J.E. Mullen ... George Robert Young

Eleven faculty members at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have been named to the 2018 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list.

The Chancellor’s Commission on Native Imagery: Healing and Reconciliation begins its work today.

Krannert Art Museum will screen short films about AIDS activism – the only downstate Illinois venue to show the films – for World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.

Four professors at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have been elected 2018 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They are: mechanical science and engineering professor Narayana Aluru, computer science professor William Gropp and plant biology professors Andrew Leakey and Ray Ming.

Low-income undergraduate students at the U. of I. who need assistance juggling the demands of parenthood and college will be able to get assistance through programs and services offered by the Child Development Laboratory.

Soil temperatures have fallen significantly throughout the state in November, according to Jennie Atkins, the Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring Program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey at the U. of I.

Martin Ostoja-Starzewski, a professor of mechanical science and engineering at Illinois and a member of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology Computational Imaging Group, was awarded the 2018 Worcester Reed Warner Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers during a ceremony at ASME’s International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in Pittsburgh.

The Winston Knolls Education Group has awarded the department of special education at the College of Education at Illinois the 2019 Margaret Bancroft Distinguished Leadership Award. The award celebrates recipients’ accomplishments, professional achievements and public and civic service.

James B. Sinclair

Constitutional checks and balances and the power of the presidency will be topics of a speech and roundtable Nov. 29 at the U. of I.

Donald J. Wuebbles, the Harry E. Preble Endowed Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at Illinois, has been selected as the 2018 Bert Bolin awardee and lecturer of the American Geophysical Union’s Environmental Change section.

A Native American dance exhibition is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. at Spurlock Museum of World Cultures at Illinois. Sponsored by the Native American House and Spurlock Museum, the free event features interactive Native American dances highlighting the Men’s Traditional and Woodlands styles.

On Nov. 10, the Illinois Fire Service Institute will host the inaugural “Veterans in the Fire Service Day: An Opportunity for Firefighters Past, Present, and Future.” It is a professional development opportunity for U.S. Armed Forces veterans who also have served, are serving or may be interested in serving as firefighters.

A University Library event and exhibit will recognize the services of veterans of the armed forces.

The Krannert Center for the Performing Arts will present “Virago-Man Dem” by choreographer Cynthia Oliver Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Colwell Playhouse.

Stephen Mitchell ... Patsy R. Paye ... Alan Rankin ... Stanley James Rankin ... Arthur J. Slates ... Edward L. Young

November Dance will celebrate the University of Illinois dance department’s 50th anniversary with collaborations between faculty members and alumni.

Illinois’ weather in October was a mixed bag of conditions with temperatures in the 90s, the first fall frost, the first snow of the season and widespread heavy rains, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel at the Illinois State Water Survey, part of the Prairie Research Institute at Illinois.

The first solo U.S. exhibition by Irish artists Kennedy Browne at Krannert Art Museum raises questions about global commerce and technology.

The EU’s ambassador to the U.S. will discuss the U.K. Brexit process and transatlantic relations as part of EU Day on Nov. 9.

Slavery in Illinois and the move to freedom will be the subject of a Nov. 8 lecture at the U. of I., part of a series commemorating the state’s bicentennial.

Kenneth Nelson Dugan ... Henry William Lippold ... Dr. Thomas N. “Doc” Monfort ... William “Harry” Soloman

In adopting the 14th Amendment, Congress unambiguously intended that the children of immigrant workers would have birthright citizenship in the U.S., said University of Illinois labor and employment relations professor Michael LeRoy, an expert on immigration and employment law.

Brazilian expert Jerry Davila analyzes the country’s election of a far-right president and what it might mean for the future.

University of Illinois art and design faculty members show their work at Krannert Art Museum.

Influenza has no cure, but vaccines and anti-viral treatments could help thwart another deadly outbreak, says microbiology professor Christopher Brooke.

University of Illinois entomology professor and department head May Berenbaum, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and longtime editorial contributor to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and other journals, has been appointed editor-in-chief of PNAS, effective Jan. 1.

Passes for the 21th annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, shortened from five days to four, go on sale Nov. 1.

With a much-anticipated midterm just a week away, political scientist Brian Gaines suggests we check some common assumptions about polling.

The Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center is the centerpiece of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s $15 million investment in the emerging area of quantum information science and engineering.

University of Illinois social work professor Ryan Wade explores the prevalence and impact of racialized sexual discrimination on sexual networking websites used by gay or bisexual men of color.

William Boyd Buck ... Emanuel “Manny” Donchin ... Les Gasser ... Marjorie Ellen “Marge” Gordon ... Alvin E. Gustafson ... Phillip I. Henson ... Matthew McClure ... Kurt A. Mitchell ... Pauline Rymer ... Rebecca J. Simon ... Bernard “Bernie” Daniel Taylor