University of Illinois News Bureau

The U.S. is widely expected to lose its measles elimination status in November. A few thousand cases can quickly snowball when there are gaps in immunity, says pathobiology professor Nídia S. Trovão. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/what-would-i...

Although Asian Americans in the U.S. are often treated as one homogenous group in research, the ethnic subgroups they represent are very diverse in their political affiliations, income levels and other factors, U. of I. scholar Ting-Syuan Lin found. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/partisan-seg...

Individuals’ probability of recovery and remission from substance use may be based on their genetic risk and the various resources available to support them, an Illinois study found. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/substance-us...

Professor emerita Kimiko Gunji was awarded the Chancellor’s Medallion for her achievements in promoting Japanese arts and culture through teaching and as director of Japan House. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/gunji-honore...

Illinois researchers Diwakar Shukla and Diego E. Kleiman mapped the moving parts of more than 18,000 proteins in the human body in less than two days, a feat that used to take months on a supercomputer. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/ai-model-off...

Cynthia Oliver, an award-winning choreographer and an Illinois dance professor, has been awarded the 2026 Knight Choreography Prize. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/illinois-dan...

A new book by English professor John Gallagher aims to counter the hype surrounding artificial intelligence by focusing on AI researchers and their work. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/book-counter...

The University Archives is hosting an exhibit of its records on the Morrow Plots, showing the history and impact of the longest-running agricultural experiment in the U.S., to celebrate its 150th anniversary. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/university-a...

🧠Xiaotang Lu received the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award for her work mapping connections within the brain. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/lu-receives-...

Bird flu doesn’t stop at birds: The Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory found spillover from a backyard flock to a cat and a rat on an Illinois farm. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/avian-influe...

Sociology’s treatment of institutional racism as the default explanation for disparities has stymied research and debate, Illinois sociology professor Ilana Redstone says in a new study. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/paper-explor...

Scientists used machine learning and super-resolution microscopy to overcome a decadeslong obstacle to categorizing grass pollen fossils. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/pollen-study... @lasillinois.bsky.social @uofilsystem.bsky.social @ibioillinois.bsky.social

Illinois dance professor and choreographer Cynthia Oliver’s work “Turn. Turning. TURNT.” — a triptych of three interconnected dance pieces — is a meditation on negotiating time and relationships through collective life-changing conditions. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/triptych-of-...

More than a decade of research in the IKIDS program offers insight into some of the ways chemical exposures affect child cognition and development. @beckmanillinois.bsky.social @vetmedillinois.bsky.social Read more here: news.illinois.edu/studies-offe...

Illinois architecture professor Joseph Altshuler and art professor Nekita Thomas reimagine how graphic design can transform public spaces in their new book “Supergraphic Landscapes: From Public Art to Urban Design.” Read more here: news.illinois.edu/illinois-res...

Illinois professor Kaiyu Guan and Illinois alumnus Liangfang Zhang have been named 2026 MacArthur Fellows, each receiving what is commonly known as a “genius grant” from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/u-of-i-resea...

A new exhibit at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library explores the life and career of author Mary Shelley and the context for her novel “Frankenstein.” Read more here: news.illinois.edu/rare-book-an...

Health and kinesiology Ph.D. student Kaitlyn Thornton travels with a team of researchers to bring wheelchair rugby to Armenia. @ahsillinois.bsky.social Read more here: news.illinois.edu/bringing-whe...

Postpartum women reported in a new U. of I. study that lingering pain, particularly after C-sections, and depressive symptoms hampered their ability to care for themselves and their infants. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/postpartum-p... @ahsillinois.bsky.social @ahsillinois.bsky.social

Spurlock Museum of World Cultures is returning 201 objects from its collection to Peru in the museum’s first voluntary international repatriation. @spurlockmuseum.bsky.social Read more here: news.illinois.edu/spurlock-mus...

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is unveiling Illinois Leads, a strategic plan to set the course for the future of the state’s flagship public-serving university. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/illinois-lea...

The first step in gauging the existential risks of AI should be a common scale with independent verification, says Robert Brunner, the chief disruption officer @giesbusiness.bsky.social Read more here: news.illinois.edu/ai-apocalypse/

U. of I. aerospace engineering alumnus, U.S. Space Force colonel and retired astronaut Mike Hopkins will return to campus to serve as the grand marshal of the U. of I. Homecoming parade Friday, Oct. 2 Read more here: news.illinois.edu/hopkins-name...

Go on an adventure with graduate student Wardah Noor Syeda as she and her colleagues capture dragonflies and cockroaches in the Peruvian Amazon. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/chasing-inse...

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign continued a trend of enrollment milestones with a record-breaking class for the fall 2026 semester, marking the third consecutive year the university has tallied its largest-ever first-year class. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/illinois-wel...

Lissette M. Piedra, a @UofISocialWork professor, is co-leading a $17 million research project that is investigating how caregiving evolves across the life course and its impacts on health, social relationships and other factors. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/u-of-i-resea...

How amyloid-forming proteins unfold is the key to how they cause disease — and researchers just found a new unfolding pathway. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/amyloidosis-...

An exhibition created by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign architecture professor Kevin Hinders celebrates the influence of architect Charles Platt on the design of the campus and its buildings. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/architecture...

Go Behind the Scenes with wheelchair athlete Jean Driscoll as she reflects on her many adventures at Illinois, first as a student and later as an assistant dean in the College of Applied Health Sciences. @ahsillinois.bsky.social Read more here: news.illinois.edu/feeling-grat...

Illinois Sustainable Technology Center researcher John Scott found that many popular disposable e-cigarette devices contain extremely high levels of lead and other metals in the liquid, raising new concerns over fast‑growing piles of vape waste. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/vape-waste-p...

The Alma Project, a new character education project at the University of Illinois, aims to cultivate the qualities of neighborliness and purpose in Illinois undergraduate students and enhance campus culture. @educationillinois.bsky.social Read more here: news.illinois.edu/illinois-new...

Dual Credit at the U. of I. is bringing popular general education courses from #Illinois directly to high school students across Illinois — at no cost to those students. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/illinois-ann...

A new book by professor of African American studies Bobby J. Smith II tells how the New Farmers of America taught tens of thousands of rural Black boys about farming and transformed rural Black life. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/book-tells-t...

📚The Rare Book and Manuscript Library holds a large collection of books, manuscripts, letters and other materials related to author Ian Fleming and his character James Bond. The materials were donated by collector and Illinois alumnus Michael VanBlaricum. news.illinois.edu/rare-book-an...

Kelli Trei of the University Library oversaw the relocation of the Biodiversity Heritage Library, the world’s largest digital library dedicated to biodiversity literature, from the Smithsonian Institution to other institutions across the U.S. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/what-is-the-...

Black parents with lighter skin tones impart fewer protective messages that affirm racial pride, resilience and self-worth to their children, according to a recent study on racial-ethnic socialization practices led by Illinois professor Shardé McNeil Smith. news.illinois.edu/appropriated...

A new exhibition at Krannert Art Museum explores mid-20th century ceramics production and experimentation through selections from the museum’s collection. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/krannert-art...

Fluctuating work hours have significant adverse effects on employees’ health, but men and women respond in different ways, a new study by Tim Liao and Sinyee Qianyi Lu found. @lasillinois.bsky.social @uofillinois.bsky.social Read more here: news.illinois.edu/volatile-wee...

A new book by Illinois professor of English and of gender and women’s studies Siobhan Somerville looks at naturalization and how assumptions about race, sexuality and Indigeneity have historically been part of the question of citizenship. Read more here: news.illinois.edu/illinois-pro...

A new book co-written by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign political scientist Matthew S. Winters explores the “state-centric persistence” of poor citizens of the Global South in their pursuit of benefits from government-run social welfare programs. news.illinois.edu/persistent-c...