News Bureau

Illinois theatre students are presenting the first public readings of a new play during the inaugural workshop performances of the department’s Daniel J. Sullivan Playwright-in-Residence Program.

Nick Holonyak Jr., a renowned innovator of illumination, has died. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor was 93 years old.

Holonyak (pronounced huh-LON-yak) is credited with the development of the first practical visible-spectrum LED, now commonly used in light bulbs, device displays and lasers worldwide. 

“The Joy of Regathering” combines science, music and movement to explore humanity’s place in the universe in a Sept. 17 performance at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

A strike by railroad unions would have been bad news for the Biden administration and an already-stressed economy, says Michael LeRoy, an expert in labor law at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

“Quiet quitting” means forgoing the extra mile at work but is different than work withdrawal or employee disengagement, says University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign labor expert YoungAh Park, who studies work stress and recovery.

New COVID-19 vaccine boosters that target omicron variants are being distributed. Although the variants seem less deadly, the boosters are needed to keep up with the virus as it evolves, says University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign microbiology professor Christopher Brooke, a virologist and vaccine expert.

The Center for Advanced Study at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has appointed 16 faculty members as associates or fellows for the 2022-23 academic year.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is investing $50 million to hire new faculty members. As part of this new multiyear initiative, academic units will hire additional faculty in specified strategic areas.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's incoming class of 7,957 first-year students brings greater representation by gender, nationality and students who are the first in their family to go to college, while a change in the application process resulted in greater academic competition.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign announces graduates, Dean’s List and Bronze Tablet honorees for the 2022 spring semester. 

As emergency coordinators across the U.S. prepare for the upcoming hurricane season, they are busy planning evacuation routes. Currently, these plans don’t anticipate the needs of people driving electric vehicles, which have shorter driving ranges than gas vehicles and require recharging at stations with charging ports. Civil and environmental engineering professor Eleftheria Kontou spoke with News Bureau physical sciences editor Lois Yoksoulian about this issue and her newly published study.

Funds in the Inflation Reduction Act targeted for energy security and climate change reduction will encourage a major transformation in the U.S. renewable energy infrastructure, says Don Fullerton, the Gutgsell Professor of Finance at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a senior scholar at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs.

As the COVID-19 pandemic wanes and remote work gradually turns into hybrid work, organizations will pay close attention to which workers and occupations function well in a hybrid-work arrangement, said Amit Kramer, a professor of labor and employment relations at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who studies the relationship between work, family and health.

Eight civil service employees were recognized for exceptional performance by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Each recipient of the Chancellor’s Distinguished Staff Award receives a cash award and their names appear on a plaque in the Illinois Human Resources Office.

A new exhibition at Krannert Art Museum, “Fake News & Lying Pictures: Political Prints in the Dutch Republic,” examines the visual strategies of Dutch printmakers and the ways they used images to promote political interests.

Illinois Chancellor Robert Jones has been named to the board of directors of Hope Chicago, a nonprofit organization seeking to reduce economic and social inequity by funding postsecondary scholarships and nontuition costs for Chicago Public Schools graduates and adult family members. Founded by businessman Ted Koenig and entrepreneur Pete Kadens, Hope Chicago has a goal of raising and investing at least $1 billion dollars over the next decade to help tens of thousands of Chicago students and family members earn postsecondary credentials.

Counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan and the war in Ukraine underscore the importance of unmanned aircraft to future military capabilities, said University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign political scientist Nicholas Grossman, the author of “Drones and Terrorism: Asymmetric Warfare and the Threat to Global Security.”

Krannert Center for the Performing Arts’ upcoming season will include touring artists, rescheduled performances that were canceled due to COVID-19 and work from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s dance, music and theatre departments.

The “With Illinois” fundraising campaign officially ended June 30 and concluded with a $200,000 personal contribution from Chancellor Robert J. Jones and his wife, Dr. Lynn Hassan Jones.

Blockchain technology has the potential to transform industries ranging from health care to government, says Robert Brunner, the associate dean for innovation and chief disruption officer at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is partnering with local businesses and organizations to invest $300,000 to fight violent crime in Champaign County. The university is joined by Busey Bank, Carle Health, Christie Clinic, OSF HealthCare and the United Way of Champaign County, each of which is investing $50,000.

Chrystalla Mouza has been appointed dean of the College of Education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign effective Aug. 15, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

Cryptocurrencies have real-world use cases and will remain a viable investment because of the functionality blockchain technology provides, says Robert Brunner, the chief disruption officer at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Illinois officials this month announced that Asian carp would now be called “copi” in an attempt to make the fish more desirable for eating. Joe Parkos, the director of the Illinois Natural History Survey’s Kaskaskia, Ridge Lake and Sam Parr biological stations in Illinois, spoke with News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates about scientific initiatives to study and control carp/copi fish populations and the potential for rebranding to aid those efforts.

The Illinois Neurodiversity Initiative, a pilot program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, will provide autism-specific support to freshmen with autism.

Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost Andreas C. Cangellaris will leave the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in August to become the Founding President of NEOM University in Saudi Arabia, Chancellor Robert J. Jones announced today.

It’s unlikely that the ongoing Jan. 6 committee hearings will resonate with the public as much as the Watergate hearings did 50 years ago, says University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign political science professor Brian Gaines.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine directly challenges the security order established by the Western democracies after World War II, said Edward A. Kolodziej, Emeritus Research Professor of Political Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an expert in international relations and global politics.

The increasing number of bills aimed at limiting transgender rights is part of the rise in authoritarianism in the U.S., said Toby Beauchamp, a professor of gender and women’s studies.

Sixteen University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign students and recent graduates were offered Fulbright grants to pursue international education, research and teaching experiences around the globe this coming year. Another six Illinois students were named Fulbright alternates.

In the fall of 2020, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign welcomed students back for in-person instruction amid the powerful first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The university successfully maintained operations throughout the semester – with zero COVID-19-related deaths or hospitalizations in the campus community – thanks to its “SHIELD: Target, Test, Tell” program. In a sweeping report, the team behind the campuswide collaboration details the innovations in modeling, saliva testing and results reporting that helped mitigate the spread of the virus, and shares the data collected and lessons learned through the process.

An expiring labor agreement between dockworkers and West Coast port operators could further snarl U.S. supply chains if a strike or lockout occurs. The Biden administration should prepare to act because presidents have unique powers to temporarily halt these types of work stoppages, says Michael LeRoy, an expert in labor law at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Outstanding individual and group outreach efforts were recognized with the 2022 Campus Awards for Excellence in Public Engagement. The awards spotlight individuals at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who have consistently applied their knowledge and expertise to issues for the public good.

Ingrid S. Fulmer will be the next dean of the School of Labor and Employment Relations at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. The appointment takes effect July 1.

Four University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty members were honored by the Office of the Provost with the 2022 Campus Awards for Excellence in Faculty Leadership. Also listed are the four recipients of the award from 2021.

Two University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign students received recognition from the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation for their commitment to the environment.

Three University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign undergraduates are among 208 students nationwide awarded David L. Boren Scholarships. The National Security Education Program selects students to add international and language components to their education by studying overseas in world regions critical to U.S. interests.

Twenty-four University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign students have been offered Gilman Scholarships to study abroad, maintaining the university’s ranking among the top producers of award recipients. Recipients are listed by Illinois hometown or nation of residence.

Stadium passes and parking passes for news media representatives covering the May 14 commencement at Memorial Stadium may be picked up through Thursday this week at the Office of Public Affairs between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Following a pandemic, workers historically have recognized the value of their labor and become unwilling to accept poor wages and working conditions, said Carol Symes, a history professor who specializes in medieval studies.

The annual exhibition includes work from a variety of disciplines and allows students to highlight their senior projects.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign materials science and engineering professor Nancy Sottos has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest professional honors a scientist can receive. She is among 120 members and 30 international members elected this year to recognize their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

The U.S. isn’t on the verge of a food crisis but is experiencing rampant food price inflation, says Scott Irwin, professor of agricultural and consumer economics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign materials science and engineering professor Nancy Sottos and history professor Maria Todorova have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest honor societies in the nation.  They are among 261 new members elected to the academy this year in recognition of their accomplishments and leadership in academia, the arts, industry, public policy and research.

The concerts will show the breadth of the school’s music programs, with performances by jazz ensembles, choirs, orchestras and others.

Illinois students Caleb Apperson, Dahlia Davis and Aiman Ghani were awarded U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarships to study foreign languages this summer. The program is part of a U.S. government initiative to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign language and cultural skills to enable them to contribute to U.S. economic competitiveness and national security.

Marcy Frerichs, an administrative assistant in the Office of the President, was named  Office Professional of the Year by the Illinois Administrative Professionals organization at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

I-Ready, a virtual summer camp for college-bound high school students on the autism spectrum, is being offered by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Deadline to register has been extended to May 16.

Sanctions imposed against Russia and Belarus may only have meaningful consequences in the longer term, says Taisa Markus, an expert in securities law.

Mariama Mwilambwe, a junior at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, was awarded a $30,000 Truman Scholarship. Mwilambwe was one of 58 Truman Scholars selected from a pool of 705 nominees from colleges and universities across the country.