CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In a new study, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign tackled a thorny problem: How do nutritional stress, viral infections and exposure to pesticides together influence honey bee survival? By looking at all three stressors together, the scientists found that good nutrition enhances honey bee resilience against the other threats.

Their findings are detailed in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

Champaign, Ill. – The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign welcomed its largest cohort of incoming graduate students to date, with 7,425 new graduate students for fall 2024. This marks an 18% rise in new enrollments compared to the previous year.

PhD student Gladys Kemboi has been awarded the 2024 Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) Fellowship Award for her distinguished contribution to securing digital legacy to advance local and Indigenous knowledge in development in Kenya and across Africa. She received the award virtually during the DPC's biennial awards ceremony, which took place last month during the International Conference on Digital Preservation (iPRES 2024).

David Stanley’s interest in climate change led him to develop a program to improve how we gather data to study the inside of a cloud. The program simulated multiple satellites, collecting images of a cloud from many angles at the same time, which could help us to better understand what’s happening inside the cloud.

Chemical and biomolecular engineering doctoral student Jiachun Shi has been selected as a winner of the Outstanding Graduate Student Member Award by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). Shi is one of only five graduate students to receive this award, which is one of several awards that are part of the organization’s annual awards program.

Kyle Timmer is on a mission to help your body heal faster after an injury.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool for researchers, but with a significant limitation: The inability to explain how it came to its decisions, a problem known as the “AI black box.” By combining AI with automated chemical synthesis and experimental validation, an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has opened up the black box to find the chemical principles that AI relied on to improve molecules for harvesting solar energy.

On Monday, July 22, 2024, nearly 140 students presented research at the Illinois Summer Research Symposium (ISRS). 

ISRS showcases cutting-edge research, achievement, and creativity of scholars from several summer programs hosted by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois Chicago at the Illinois Conference Center. The schedule of events included poster presentation sessions, research talks, networking opportunities, and an awards ceremony.

Sixteen graduate students, seven undergraduates, and one alum from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have been offered Graduate Research Fellowships from the National Science Foundation (NSF). An additional twenty-two students have been accorded Honorable Mention.

Krishnakant Saboo is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of California, San Francisco.