News

Honors course bridges gap between the sciences and...
"I felt that there was a drastic misunderstanding of the sciences by the humanities,” said Stephen Levinson , a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Illinois. "And I felt that because of that, there is a real need to try to bring the two together and to try to repair the...

Under pressure at the nanoscale, polymers play by different...
Scientists putting the squeeze on thin films of polystyrene have discovered that at very short length scales the polymer doesn’t play by the rules. From buttons to storage bins, the molding of polymers is big business. At the nanoscale, processes such as nanoimprint lithography squeeze...

Engineering in the News October 2008
Excerpts from Illinois in the News, a daily service provided by the University of Illinois News Bureau . This collection of October excerpts focuses on engineering topics and faculty contacted for their expertise by print and broadcast reporters around the world. FLEXIBLE SOLAR CELLS POSSIBLE ...

ITI wins $1.25 million in undergraduate scholarship funding
The Information Trust Institute (ITI) has just won $1.25 million in funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to support scholarships for undergraduate students who are working towards careers in information trust. The grant, which establishes the Illinois Cyber Security Scholar...

Hammack hosts radio series about our water supply
A four-part series on our water supply, moderated by William Hammack, debutted on WILL-AM 580's "Morning Edition" on Monday, September 22. The programs inaugurate a year long audio project. "I'm using the Champaign-Urbana area to examine from a local perspective the global issues that we...

Annual Student Computing Conference Brings Together Experts...
The 14th annual ACM Reflections | Projections conference kicks off October 3. The event, which annually brings together more than 500 students from across the country, is focused on providing students with a broader perspective on computer science. With lectures and workshops on topics...

Slichter awarded Medal of Science by President Bush
"We're proud to honor a new generation of people who have strived for excellence; people whose discoveries have changed America and the world. That is what we're here to honor: discovery and hard work and creative minds," said President George W. Bush, speaking from the East Room of the White...

Gropp takes key role with IACAT
William Gropp, the Paul and Cynthia Saylor Professor of Computer Science at Illinois, has been appointed the new deputy director for research for the university's Institute for Advanced Computing Applications and Technologies (IACAT). "Bill is an extraordinary scientist with a deep...

Illinois Students Win Student of the Year Honors from Boeing
University of Illinois doctoral student Juan S. Mejia has won the second-place award in the Boeing Company's prestigious "Engineering Student of the Year Award" competition, and two other Illinois students received Honorable Mention honors. Mejia, who is pursuing his doctorate under the guidance...

Photonic crystal biosensors detect protein-DNA interactions
Scientists at the University of Illinois have developed a new class of disposable, microplate-based optical biosensors capable of detecting protein-DNA interactions. Based on the properties of photonic crystals, the biosensors are suitable for the rapid identification of inhibitors of...

Siebel Scholars Class of 2009 Announced
Over the past eight years, the Siebel Scholars program has created a community of over 450 Scholars that fosters personal leadership, academic achievement, and the collaborative search for solutions to pressing societal problems. "The Siebel Scholars Program recognizes students who have...

CS Alumnus and Professor Issue New Text on Reliable Fault...
Recent University of Illinois computer science alumnus Smruti Sarangi and his advisor, Professor Josep Torrellas, have published a new text based on Sarangi's doctoral thesis work. Techniques to Mitigate the Effects of Congenital Faults in Processors presents an architecture to patch design...

AE Teams Sweep Space Design Competition
Aerospace Engineering teams from the University of Illinois swept all awards in the recent 2007-2008 Undergraduate Team Space Design Competition, sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Foundation. The competition requires teams to design a space vehicle to complete a...

NSF funds new Center for the Physics of Living Cells
The National Science Foundation announced this month that it is funding a new Physics Frontiers Center at Illinois. The Center for the Physics of Living Cells is one of nine Physics Frontiers Centers in the U.S., and the second to explore the physics of biological systems. The $7.5 million award...

Step right up, let the computer look at your face and tell...
People who hope to keep their age a secret won't want to go near a computer running this software. Like an age-guesser at a carnival, computer software being developed at the University of Illinois can fairly accurately estimate a person's age. But, unlike age-guessers, who can view a person's...

Simulations help explain fast water transport in nanotubes
By discovering the physical mechanism behind the rapid transport of water in carbon nanotubes, scientists at Illinois have moved a step closer to ultra-efficient, next-generation nanofluidic devices for drug delivery, water purification, and nano-manufacturing. "Extraordinarily fast transport of...

Guerra recognized by SHPE
Miguel Guerra, a senior in mechanical science and engineering, has been recognized with the Student Role Model Award by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers--one of the 2008 SHPE Technical Achievement Recognition (STAR) Awards recognizing the year's highest level of achievement in...

Want to know who will be the next president? Login here...
Want to know who’s going to win the presidential election this year? So did Sheldon H. Jacobson, a professor of computer science at Illinois. To answer the question on his and everyone else's mind, Jacobson, along with a group of computer science and political science students, and...

Informatics: Computing, Technology, Applications...
Since the Informatics Minor launched last spring, at least 50 students from a wide variety of majors, including engineers, have signed up so far. These students typically enjoy working with computers and technology, and their majors could benefit from an infusion of computing and information...

Illinois, Vietnam National University agree to share...
The route between Champaign-Urbana and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is about to get busier. In August, the University of Illinois and Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT) signed an agreement that would allow HCMUT to use Illinois' ECE curriculum. In addition, the contract formalizes...

CS Professor and Students Take Apartment Hunting High Tech
As anyone who has ever moved knows, searching for an apartment can be exhausting. While web listings have reduced "driving around" time, apartment seekers must still navigate through countless classified ad, rental agency, and landlord websites to find the right listing--sorting through many...

Illinois Partners with Olin College to Transform...
Representatives from one of the world's newest and most innovative engineering colleges and one of the largest and strongest research powerhouses are joining together to help transform engineering education. Richard K. Miller, president of the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, and Richard...

Leburton named Fellow of the Institute of Physics
In July, Jean Pierre Leburton, professor of electrical and computer engineering (ECE), was named a Fellow of the Institute of Physics (IOP). Based in London, the IOP is devoted to increasing the understanding and application of physics. Being named a Fellow by IOP recognizes Leburton's...

Illinois researchers watching LHC startup
The new Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the world's most powerful particle accelerator, with an energy seven times higher than the current record holder the Fermilab Tevatron near Chicago. It is housed in a 17-mile circumference tunnel that spans the Swiss-French border near Geneva. Here at...

Researchers Develop Techniques to Analyze Flight Safety Data
Aided by a $1.1 million grant from NASA, computer science researchers at Illinois are investigating new data mining techniques for analyzing flight safety data. The project aims to find computing methods to better understand anomalous flight events and improve airline safety. The work focuses...

MNTL dedication: Opening the door on a "fantastic voyage"
"We tend to forget nanotechnology is barely a gleam in broader society," explained Arden Bement Jr., director of the National Science Foundation. Bement was a featured speaker at the Nanotechnology Workshop hosted by Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST) on September 4, where he...

Researchers work to improve technology as athletes head to...
The 2008 Olympic Games have come to a close, but another group of superior athletes has moved into the spotlight in Beijing to compete in the 2008 Paralympic Games. Those games take place in China's capital city Sept. 6-17. Along with 16 U of I athletes who will compete on the U.S. men's and...

iFoundry aims to reinvent engineering education for the...
In our complex society, today's engineers must be capable of creating new products and services to compete in a globally competitive marketplace. At the same time they must respond effectively to difficult societal and environmental challenges. Ilesanmi Adesida, dean of the College of Engineering...

U of I, NCSA, IBM, and partners to build first sustained...
Extending more than 50 years of supercomputing leadership, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and its National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) announced that they have finalized their contract with IBM to build the world's first sustained petascale computational system...

STRIDE enlightens administrators on best equity practices
As part of its overall efforts to improve diversity and excellence in the College of Engineering, administrators, department heads, and laboratory directors gathered on last week to learn about successful strategies and tactics related to faculty recruitment and hiring. The workshop—led by...

New MEP director named
"Increasing diversity of faculty and students is essential to remain competitive and maintain the excellence of Engineering at Illinois, and thus, is a key component to our strategic plan," explained Ilesanmi Adesida, dean of the College of Engineering. "Since the 1960s, the college has continued...

CS Alumnus recognized with dissertation award
Computer Science alumnus Xiaoxin Yin has been awarded the SIGKDD Doctoral Dissertation award by the ACM Special Interest Group on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining for his work while a PhD student at Illinois. This annual award recognizes excellent research by doctoral candidates in the field of...

Engineering in the News September 2008
Excerpts from Illinois in the News, a daily service provided by the University of Illinois News Bureau . This collection of September excerpts focuses on engineering topics and faculty contacted for their expertise by print and broadcast reporters around the world. ILLINOIS PHYSICIST HONORED ...

Illinois’ researcher’s innovation leads to R&D 100 Award
Anasys Instruments has won the prestigious R&D 100 award for its new VESTA product, a tool which revolutionizes thermal analysis with its ability to perform "point & click" micro and nano thermal analysis at the push of a button. The award was based in part on heated atomic force microscope...

Slichter to receive National Medal of Science
Charles P. Slichter, Research Professor of Physics and Center for Advanced Study Emeritus Professor of Physics and Chemistry at Illinois, has been selected as a recipient of the 2007 National Medal of Science. President George W. Bush will present the medal at a White House ceremony on Sept. 29....

State and University officials "thinking big at the small...
On Thursday, September 4, the University of Illinois' will host Capital Development Board Chairman Anthony Licata and other state officials on campus to dedicate the recently expanded Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory (MNTL; 208 N. Wright Street, Urbana, Illinois). The dedication ceremony,...

Fang recognized as one of the TR35
Nicholas X. Fang is one of two University of Illinois' faculty to be included among the world's 35 Top Young Innovators by Technology Review, the world’s oldest technology magazine. Selected by the editors of the magazine published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the TR35...

Ahuja receives HP Research Award
On August 14, HP Labs announced that Narendra Ahuja, a professor of electrical and computer engineering (ECE), received an HP Labs Innovation Research Program Award for his proposal "3D Reconstruction of Dynamic Real-World Objects and 3D Motion Aided Gesture Recognition." "Our project is to...

Illinois remains among the top engineering schools
The undergraduate engineering program at Illinois ranked fourth in the 2009 America's Best Colleges edition of U.S. News and World Report (published last week). Overall, ten College of Engineering programs were ranked in the Top 10. Three--civil, agricultural, and materials engineering--were...

Makela twice recognized for outstanding research
Jonathan Makela , an assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering, was recently honored with two prestigious, international awards for young scientists. The awards recognize his outstanding research of the ionosphere. "Both awards are designed for young scientists, so they...

Sanders to lead CSL
William H. Sanders, director of the Information Trust Institute, has been named acting director of the Coordinated Science Laboratory (CSL) at Illinois. He replaces Ravi K. Iyer, who was recently appointed the university's Interim Vice Chancellor for Research. "Professor Sanders has...

Phillips chosen as an inaugural NSF-ACI Fellow
Physics Professor Phillip Phillips has been named one of twelve "American Competitiveness Initiative" Fellows by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Materials Research. A Bliss Faculty Scholar in the Department of Physics, Phillips was recognized "for his creative...