blog posts

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  A breakthrough discovery in carbon capture conversion for ethylene production

  Sep 9, 2022 10:45 am

  A team of researchers led by Meenesh Singh at UIC has discovered a way to convert 100% of carbon dioxide captured from industrial exhaust into ethylene, a key building block for plastic products.  

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  New technique to de-ice surfaces in seconds

  Sep 3, 2019 12:00 pm

  Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign collaborated with Kyushu University researchers to develop a system that can de-ice surfaces in seconds. More...

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  Groundbreaking self-driving test track coming to Central Illinois

  Aug 11, 2021 12:15 pm

  The Rantoul Village Board approved a lease agreement with the University of Illinois on Tuesday night that is the latest step toward construction of a multimillion-dollar autonomous-transportation testing facility and track on the grounds of the former Chanute Air Force Base.

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  Collaboration for robotic farming aids

  Jul 28, 2022 1:30 pm

  For farmers, GPS-guided equipment makes easier work of planting and harvesting thousands of acres each season. Now, thanks to a partnership between UIUC’s Center for Digital Agriculture, and robotics start-up EarthSense, some of the work is being assigned to machines of a much smaller scale.

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  Bioengineering better photosynthesis increases yield in food crops

  Aug 23, 2022 10:30 am

  For the first time, RIPE researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have proven that multigene bioengineering of photosynthesis increases the yield of a major food crop in field trials.

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  UIC researcher wins McKnight Award for neuroscience innovations

  Aug 11, 2022 10:30 am

  Ruixuan Gao, UIC assistant professor of chemistry and biological sciences, is one of three researchers recently selected to receive funding from the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience for his project that could advance the ability to analyze brain function.

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  UIUC co-leads DOE grant to engineer infinitely recyclable bioplastic packaging

  Mar 23, 2022 9:15 am

  The Department of Energy has granted $2 million over three years to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and two partners to develop plastic that can be recycled perpetually, reducing waste and pollution from single-use plastics. 

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  New volcanic eruption forecasting technique

  Sep 10, 2019 7:00 am

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign geologists are part of a team that has developed new computer models to help researchers better forecast volcanic eruptions. More...

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  New generation of biobots developed

  Sep 16, 2019 2:00 pm

  Urbana-Champaign researchers have developed soft robotic devices driven by neuromuscular tissue that triggers when stimulated by light – bringing mechanical engineering one step closer to developing autonomous biobots. More...

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  Lithium-air batteries

  Feb 15, 2019 9:30 am

  Lithium-air batteries, according to UIC researchers, could be even more efficient and provide more charge with the incorporation of advanced catalysts made from two-dimensional materials. More...

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  Spinal cord gives bio-bots walking rhythm

  Apr 28, 2020 10:30 am

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers developed tiny walking “spinobots,” powered by rat muscle and spinal cord tissue on a soft, 3D-printed hydrogel skeleton. 

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  Students build solar charging station for sustainability vehicle

  May 26, 2022 8:45 am

  A team of students from the UIC chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World designed and built a solar charging station for Gemma, an electric vehicle used by the Office of Planning, Sustainability and Project Management.

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  Virtual Archaeology

  Nov 14, 2018 8:30 am

  A team at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is designing Virtual Archaeology, a classroom and laboratory course that will allow students to experience an archaeology field dig without leaving campus. More...

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  UIC joins national quantum computing center

  Jun 15, 2022 10:30 am

  The University of Illinois Chicago has been selected to join the Co-design Center for Quantum Advantage, a U.S. Department of Energy-funded center focused on building the tools necessary to create scalable, distributed and fault-tolerant quantum computer systems.

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  Artificial leaf uses less power than light bulb to capture 100x more carbon

  Jan 28, 2022 9:45 am

  Engineers at the University of Illinois Chicago have built a cost-effective artificial leaf that can capture carbon dioxide at rates 100 times better than current systems.

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  Researchers create room-temperature 1,000+ cycle solid-state Li-air battery

  Mar 21, 2023 10:00 am

  Senior author Mohammad Asadi said the battery design could store 1 kWh/kg or more, four times more than current Li-ion batteries. 

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  True lithium-air battery

  Jul 20, 2018 2:00 pm

  Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago and at Argonne National Laboratory have designed a new lithium-air battery that works in a natural air environment and still functioned after a record-breaking 750 charge/discharge cycles. More...

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  Fully rechargeable carbon dioxide battery

  Sep 25, 2019 2:30 pm

  Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are the first to show that lithium-carbon dioxide batteries can be designed to operate in a fully rechargeable manner. More...

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  New seizure-monitoring baseball cap innovated by Carle Illinois students

  Jan 21, 2022 3:15 pm

  A new seizure-monitoring baseball cap could help doctors diagnose patients with epilepsy more quickly and comprehensively. The innovation is called Epicap. 

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  Two UIC researchers biomedical fellowships

  Mar 8, 2022 9:45 am

  Two UIC researchers have been named to the inaugural class of the Chicago Biomedical Consortium Entrepreneurial Fellows program. 

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  UIC Engineering faculty win $2M grant to improve power grid transmission, security

  Mar 13, 2023 1:30 pm

  UIC College of Engineering faculty members Sudip K. Mazumder and Mohammad B. Shadmand believe these substations will detect power grid anomalies faster, and will better resist cyberattacks on the power grid.

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  NSF awards UIC $1.5M for new data science institute

  Mar 24, 2020 2:30 pm

  A multidisciplinary team of University of Illinois at Chicago researchers received a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to form a new data science institute. More...

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  Dozens of potential new antibiotics discovered with free online app

  Nov 18, 2019 10:15 am

  A University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign team developed a web app that can identify drug compounds that will accumulate in Gram-negative bacteria. More...

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  Engineering building first to go zero-energy on UIUC campus

  Feb 27, 2023 10:00 am

  The Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) building on the north end of campus is the university’s first zero-energy-certified facility. All of the energy comes from solar panels on the roof and a solar farm in Savoy.

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  Scientists develop environmentally safe, frost-resistant coatings

  Apr 7, 2022 9:00 am

  UIC researchers have developed a longer-lasting alternative to conventional deicers, like those used on airplanes. They say it could also benefit other industries.

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  IBM and Grainger College of Engineering to launch new Discovery Accelerator Institute

  May 26, 2021 10:00 am

  IBM and The Grainger College of Engineering at UIUC plan to launch a large-scale collaboration designed to increase access to technology education and skill development, and to combine the strengths of academia and the industrial sector to spur breakthroughs in emerging areas of technology.

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  New smartphone clip-on can detect Zika virus in blood samples

  Aug 4, 2022 1:15 pm

  Rsearchers at UIUC have developed an instrument that can be clipped on to a smartphone to rapidly test for Zika virus in a single droplet of blood. 

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  Carle Illinois student's research identifies molecule key to hair regrowth

  Aug 11, 2022 10:30 am

  New research by a Carle Illinois College of Medicine student may unlock new naturally occurring treatments for patients with hair loss. 

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  Combining sunlight and wastewater nitrate to make ammonia

  Sep 8, 2021 10:30 am

  Engineers at the University of Illinois Chicago have created a solar-powered electrochemical reaction that not only uses wastewater to make ammonia, but also achieves a solar-to-fuel efficiency that is 10 times better than any other comparable technology.  

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  UIC opens three new health care simulation centers

  Sep 13, 2019 2:30 pm

  This fall, UIC celebrates the opening of three health care simulation centers, run individually by the university’s College of Medicine, College of Nursing and College of Pharmacy. More...

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  UIUC team transforms abandoned oil well into geothermal energy storage 'battery'

  Feb 6, 2023 11:45 am

  The researchers successfully turned an abandoned oil and gas well into a geothermal energy storage system, repurposing a once-polluting resource extraction site into what they say amounts to a green energy battery.

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  Students dream it, build it and patients benefit

  Feb 23, 2022 9:15 am

  Wearable Tech is a 400-level course at UIC where students dream it, build it and patients benefit. It is the brainchild of clinical associate professor Hananeh Esmailbeigi.

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  New 3D inductor technology expands microchip capability

  Mar 25, 2020 2:30 pm

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign engineers introduce a micrhochip inductor capable of tens of millitesla-level magnetic induction in a new study. More...

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  Using waste biochar to conserve water for agriculture, reduce air pollution

  May 15, 2023 9:45 am

  Burnt pistachio shells are injected deep under farmland using a machine normally used to aerate golf courses. UIUC ACES professor emeritus Gerald Nelson is conducting the field trial.

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  UIC, Argonne National Lab partner for Next Generation Electrochemistry event

  Jun 5, 2023 3:45 pm

  Electrochemistry is the study of chemical reactions that generate, or are driven by, external electrical currents. Because the field is expanding so significantly — and quickly — there is a growing need to attract scientists to careers in electrochemical science and technology.

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  New polymer property could give accessible solar power a boost

  Jun 9, 2022 8:30 am

  Researchers at the Beckman Institute are the first to observe structural chirality, a biological property important to photosynthesis, emerging in achiral conjugated polymers. Their discovery could help enhance flexible solar cell design and increase access to affordable renewable energy.

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  Agricultural robots ready to do hardest jobs in farm fields

  Jun 14, 2023 12:00 pm

  Farms are already more high-tech than most may think. Such robotic systems are currently being used in more than 50% of row crops such as corn, soybeans, cotton and winter wheat, according to the USDA.

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  Shrimp-inspired camera

  Jul 21, 2018 2:45 pm

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign electrical and computer engineering professor Viktor Gruev led a study demonstrating underwater global positioning made possible by a bio-inspired camera that mimics the eyes of a mantis shrimp. More...

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  New UIC Engineering Innovation Building

  Jul 22, 2019 12:00 pm

  UIC's new 57,500-square-foot building will add depth and breadth to the university’s expanding engineering footprint. It will house engineers investigating phenomena on a scale from the very large to the exceedingly small. More...

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  Real Impact: Start-up shows what happens with the right support

  Sep 2, 2022 9:15 am

  “Distillery Labs, the network of Illinois Innovation Network hubs, iVenture Accelerator and others – we are all on his side with resources and want to see the We Hear You team succeed.”

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  Online tool speeds response to elephant poaching by tracing ivory to source

  Nov 1, 2019 5:30 am

  A new tool uses an interactive database of geographic and genetic information to help authorities quickly identify where the confiscated tusks of African elephants were originally poached. More...

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  Nature-loving maker converts food waste into Pyrus, a wood proxy

  Jan 24, 2023 11:45 am

  Gabe Tavas founded SymmetryWood, one of many startups born at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, his alma mater. A research powerhouse, UIUC is part of the University of Illinois System, which prioritizes innovation that improves lives in the state and beyond. 

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  Musicians, chemists use sound to better understand science

  Feb 23, 2022 9:00 am

  A team of researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is using sonification – the use of sound to convey information – to depict biochemical processes and better understand how they happen.

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  A UIUC-led campaign to study tornado formation enters its second year

  Apr 24, 2023 11:00 am

  The Propagation, Evolution, and Rotation in Linear Storms (PERiLS) campaign is helping scientists better understand the significance of thunderstorm squall lines in tornado formation.

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  Augmented Listening Lab simulates group conversations with talking heads

  May 22, 2023 10:30 am

  Researchers need datasets of spatial audio that mimic what is sensed by the ears of a real listener. Acoustic head simulators provide a solution for generating such datasets.

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  UIC students design winning solution for renovating CHA property

  Jun 26, 2023 10:30 am

  The team's plan to revitalize two vacant, low-rise six-unit buildings at 420-430 W. North Avenue beat out teams from across the country, and netted them a $20,000 prize.

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  Good News Now

  Jul 19, 2018 3:00 pm

  While attending the University of Illinois at Springfield, Miranda Mogle came up with the concept for a new computer application called Good News Now, a news content aggregator that screens out unpleasant news stories providing consumers with only positive news. More...

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  NSF, DOE grants fund UIC research to decarbonize cement manufacturing

  Jul 28, 2022 1:30 pm

  Chemical engineers at the University of Illinois Chicago are investigating new methods to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from cement manufacturing.

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  Using AI to improve airline pricing

  Aug 1, 2019 12:15 pm

  Researchers are using artificial intelligence to help airlines price ancillary services such as checked bags and seat reservations in a way that is beneficial to customers’ budget and privacy, as well as to the airline industry’s bottom line. More...

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  Printing flattens polymers, improves conductivity

  Aug 9, 2019 12:00 pm

  Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have found a way to use polymer printing to stretch and flatten twisted molecules so that they conduct electricity better. More...