News Bureau

The Big Ten Academic Alliance recently announced the 2023-24 fellows for its Academic Leadership Program and Department Executive Officers Seminar. Eleven U. of I. faculty members have been selected to participate.

The unsanctioned police raid on a newspaper in rural Kansas underscores the need to provide journalists with legal protections such as the recently re-introduced bipartisan Protect Reporters from Exploitive State Spying Act, says Lena Shapiro, a clinical assistant professor of law and the inaugural director of the College of Law’s First Amendment Clinic.

Shafts of sunlight are coming through the skylights of the Stock Pavilion on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, illuminating swirls of dust stirred up as several people standing on the dirt floor uncoil ropes, pulling them taut and twirling them in circles like lassos. It looks like the setting for a rodeo, but this is a nautical environment.

“CETACEAN (The Whale),” the latest multimedia performance in “The Unreliable Bestiary,” tells stories about eco-anxiety and resilience in adjusting to changing conditions.

Two University of Illinois students, Christiana Lewis, a junior in psychology, and Andres Vazquez, a junior in urban and regional planning, have received the Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service.

It’s one of the hottest days of the summer, but a dozen people have gathered with their water bottles, sun hats and gardening tools in front of Krannert Art Museum at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. They're starting early in the morning, before it gets even hotter, amid blooms of pink, purple, yellow, orange and white. They're clipping the spent flowers from zinnias and the dead leaves from day-lilies, weeding and watering.

Non-monetary benefits such as independence, autonomy and the ability to work on innovative technologies are among the key selling points for talented scientists and engineers who spurn working for a bigger technology firm in favor of a riskier startup, said Michael Roach, a professor of business administration at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

New research led by data science experts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and United Nations Global Pulse found that there is no strong evidence that YouTube promoted anti-vaccine sentiment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, performed an algorithmic audit to examine if YouTube’s recommendation system acted as a “rabbit hole,” leading users searching for vaccine-related videos to anti-vaccine content

Information sciences professor JooYoung Seo is developing a data visualization tool that converts data to sound or Braille to make visual representations of statistical data accessible to researchers who are blind or visually impaired.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's incoming class of 8,325 includes the largest number of in-state residents in nearly two decades.

A new paper co-written by Gies College of Business professor David Molitor found that air pollution via drifting wildfire smoke disproportionately elevates the risk of suicide among rural populations in the U.S.

Emily Knox, a professor of library and information sciences, will testify before the Senate judiciary committee about the right to intellectual freedom and why people attempt to ban books.

New research finds that blood levels of amino acids may predict estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer in African American women while free fatty acid levels may predict the disease in non-Hispanic white women.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Researchers investigated the relationship between historical traumatic events experienced by Alaska Native communities and epigenetic markers on genes that previous studies have linked to trauma. The new study found a similar pattern among Alaska Native participants, with specific epigenetic differences observed in those who reported experiencing the most intense symptoms of distress when reflecting on historic losses. 

The study also found that individuals who strongly identified with their Alaska Native heritage and participated in cultural activities generally reported better well-being. The new findings are detailed in the International Journal of Health Equity.

Joanne Lee Molinaro, known as “The Korean Vegan,” gained fame through her TikTok videos and now is a best-selling cookbook author. She’ll be on campus at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts as part of the PYGMALION Festival.

Seven years after an initial $17.9 million award from the National Institutes of Health, the Illinois Kids Development Study at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will receive approximately $13.7 million – awarded in two phases – to continue its work for another seven years. The money coming to Illinois is part of a national collaborative effort to explore how environmental exposures influence child development, cognition, growth and health.

New research led by Bo Zhang, a professor of labor and employment relations and of psychology at Illinois, points to a better way of assessing noncognitive abilities such as personality and career interests.

An exhibition at the Illini Union Art Gallery during September will feature photographs of artwork from the Mexican Muralism movement.

When an immunocompromised person’s system begins to recover and produce more white blood cells, it’s usually a good thing – unless they develop C-IRIS, a potentially deadly inflammatory condition. New research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has found that the pulmonary distress often associated with C-IRIS is caused not by damage to the lungs, but by newly populated T-cells infiltrating the brain. Knowing this mechanism of action can help researchers and physicians better understand the illness and provide new treatment targets.

African American studies professor Bobby J. Smith II tells the overlooked story of how food was used as both a weapon and a tool of resistance during the Civil Rights Movement in his new book “Food Power Politics: The Food Story of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement.”

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has announced 8,209 Dean’s List students, 253 Bronze Tablet honorees and more than 10,500 graduates for the 2023 spring semester. 

Krannert Art Museum is hosting a traveling exhibition of the prints of artist Marie Watt, whose work draws on pop culture, mythology and her Native American and European ancestry.

President Biden has been heralded as the most pro-labor president ever, but the state of U.S. labor and the labor movement in 2023 is “very agitated,” reflecting decades of stagnant wage increases and deteriorating job quality, says Robert Bruno, a professor of labor and employment relations at Illinois.

Families that perceived themselves as members of a team working for their collective benefit were more likely to improve their family's well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, U. of I. professor  Allen W. Barton found in a new study.

Hilary was the first tropical storm to hit California in 84 years. Atmospheric sciences professor Deanna Hence spoke with News Bureau physical sciences editor Lois Yoksoulian about what made this storm unique and if the Southwest U.S. should expect more like it in the future. 

A new Illinois law that expands the eligibility for law enforcement jobs to non-U.S. citizens such as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program participants is mostly aspirational since DACA recipients aren’t legally allowed to possess firearms, says Lauren R. Aronson, a clinical professor and the director of the Immigration Law Clinic at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Law.

University of Illinois English professor Jamie L. Jones examines the massive energy transition from whale oil to fossil fuels and the continuing influence of the dying industry of whaling in her new book “Rendered Obsolete: The Afterlife of U.S. Whaling in the Petroleum Age.”

A new law requiring Illinois public schools to teach Native American history will help students learn about the Indigenous people who originally occupied the land, as well as the contemporary Native American community in the state, says Illinois history professor Rosalyn LaPier.

New research shows that a person’s own behavior is the primary driver of how they treat others during brief, zero-sum-game competitions. Generous people tend to reward generous behavior and selfish individuals often punish generosity and reward selfishness – even when it costs them personally. The study found that an individual’s own generous or selfish deeds carry more weight than the attitudes and behaviors of others.

Jamelle Sharpe has been named the 14th dean of the College of Law, pending approval by the U. of I. Board of Trustees.

A new paper spanning known data about the neurotransmitter GABA and its principal receptors showcases evidence of the receptors’ importance in depression and potential as therapeutic targets. Based on evidence from research on the receptors’ function in the brain and the drugs that can activate or inhibit them, the authors propose possible mechanisms by which GABA-modulating treatments could help address the cognitive and affective symptoms associated with depression.

CAR-T immune therapies could be effective against solid tumors if the right targets are identified, a new study led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers suggests. The researchers successfully deployed CAR-T in a mouse model of ovarian cancer, a type of aggressive, solid-tumor cancer that has eluded such therapies until now.

“Oppenheimer” examines the process of building an organization of unprecedented scale and wrestles with how to see one individual’s decisions as relevant in the face of such a massive system, says Kevin Hamilton, the dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts and the co-author of a book about the film studio that documented nuclear testing for the U.S. government.

Scientists have identified a protein that plays a critical role in the action of several emerging cancer therapies. The researchers say the discovery will likely aid efforts to fine-tune the use of immunotherapies against several challenging cancers. They report their findings in the journal Cancer Research.

High-quality trees and other vegetation in cities can help reduce temperatures and provide shade for residents, says University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign urban and regional planning professor Fang Fang.

President Biden would likely alienate a key constituency ahead of the 2024 presidential election cycle if he used his presidential powers to intervene in a potential UPS strike, says Michael LeRoy, an expert in labor law at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Strikes by Hollywood writers and actors are driven by the “existential concerns” posed by the proliferation of streaming services and the rise of artificial intelligence, says Michael LeRoy, an expert in labor law at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Russian president Vladimir Putin weathered a recent insurrection by the Wagner mercenary group, but the crisis has damaged his standing, said Illinois professor of Slavic languages and literatures Richard Tempest.

Firms whose chief executive officers also own company stock often delay the decision to recall faulty medical devices until long after they become aware of a defect, says research co-written by Ujjal Kumar Mukherjee, a professor of business administration at the Gies College of Business at Illinois.

According to two psychologists who study memory and perception, fraudsters tend to exploit the common habits of thought and decision-making that make us susceptible – and often oblivious – to their fabrications. Their book, “Nobody’s Fool: Why We Get Taken In and What We Can Do About It,” gives readers an overview of dozens of types of scams, hoaxes and strategies used by cheaters to deceive, and explains how to evaluate their ploys and avoid becoming a victim.

In an advance that will help scientists track coronavirus variants in wild and domesticated animals, researchers report they can now detect exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in any animal species. Most coronavirus antibody tests require specialized chemical reagents to detect host antibody responses against the virus in each species tested, impeding research across species.

Engineers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a new test that can predict the durability of cement in seconds to minutes – rather than the hours it takes using current methods. The test measures the behavior of water droplets on cement surfaces using computer vision on a device that costs less than $200. The researchers said the new study could help the cement industry move toward rapid and automated quality control of their materials.

Flexible displays that can change color, convey information and even send veiled messages via infrared radiation are now possible, thanks to new research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Engineers inspired by the morphing skins of animals like chameleons and octopuses have developed capillary-controlled robotic flapping fins to create switchable optical and infrared light multipixel displays that are 1,000 times more energy efficient than light-emitting devices.

A new report reveals that U.S. beekeepers lost roughly half of the honey bees they managed last year. In an interview, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign entomology professor Adam Dolezal describes the current status of bees in the U.S.

A new paper co-written by team of U. of I. researchers analyzes how air pollution via the effects of drifting wildfire smoke impacts the U.S. labor market.

Women with greater lean body mass, including those with obesity or who are older, eliminate alcohol from their system faster than those of normal weight or who are younger, says research by a team at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

50 million years ago in what is now northwestern Colorado, a katydid died, sank to the bottom of a lake and was quickly buried in fine sediments, where it remained until its compressed fossil was recovered in recent years. When researchers examined the fossil under a microscope, they saw that not only had many of the insect’s hard structures been preserved in the compressed shale, so had several internal organs and tissues, which are not normally fossilized.

The loss of OceanGate's Titan submersible this week has triggered questions about how underwater craft navigate and how these vehicles can improve their geolocation abilities. Electrical and computer engineering professor Viktor Gruev spoke with News Bureau physical sciences editor Lois Yoksoulian about the current state of the science behind underwater geolocation, and some advances his team is working on now.

Fifteen years of archaeological work in the Tam Pa Ling cave in northeastern Laos has yielded a reliable chronology of early human occupation of the site, scientists report in the journal Nature Communications. The team’s excavations through the layers of sediments and bones that gradually washed into the cave and were left untouched for tens of thousands of years reveals that humans lived in the area for at least 70,000 years – and likely even longer.

Teens who live in Illinois ZIP codes with medical cannabis dispensaries are significantly less likely to use the drug, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign found in a new study.

The Heavy Metals Project of the University Library will survey the 19th-century books in the Library’s collection and test those with their original cloth-covered bindings to determine if they contain traces of heavy metals in the pigments used for the covers.