blog navigation

Fueling Innovation
Read the latest stories about how the University of Illinois System is fueling innovation at home in Illinois and beyond.

blog posts

  • student works in lab

    A breakthrough discovery in carbon capture conversion for ethylene production

    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.  

  • illustration of carbon capture process

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

    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.

  • diagram of a solid state battery

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

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

  • artist rendering of biobot

    New generation of biobots developed

    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...

  • Robert Klie, Mohammad Asadi, Amin Salehi-Khojin and Fatemeh Khalili.

    True lithium-air battery

    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...

  • Professor in lab with table full of plastic materials

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

    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. 

  • rendering of future test track

    Groundbreaking self-driving test track coming to Central Illinois

    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.

  • EarthSense robot in the field

    Collaboration for robotic farming aids

    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.

  • baseball cap

    New seizure-monitoring baseball cap innovated by Carle Illinois students

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

  • Ruixuan Gao

    UIC researcher wins McKnight Award for neuroscience innovations

    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.

  • research team

    New technique to de-ice surfaces in seconds

    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...

  • Amanda De Souza in a field of soybeans

    Bioengineering better photosynthesis increases yield in food crops

    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.

  • Bardeen engineering quad at UIUC

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

    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.

  • Amanda Maldonado and Karol Sokolowski

    Two UIC researchers biomedical fellowships

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

  • Blue entrance to UIC Engineering Innovation building

    UIC joins national quantum computing center

    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.

  • Amin Salehi-Khojin

    Fully rechargeable carbon dioxide battery

    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...

  • 2D diagram

    Lithium-air batteries

    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...

  • virtual cave

    Virtual Archaeology

    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...

  • the Electrical and Computer Engineering Building on the UIUC campus

    Engineering building first to go zero-energy on UIUC campus

    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.

  • biobot

    Spinal cord gives bio-bots walking rhythm

    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. 

  • student sits in doorway to electric vehicle

    Students build solar charging station for sustainability vehicle

    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.

  • Engineering building

    New UIC Engineering Innovation Building

    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...

  • green/blue/black image of a hair folicle

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

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

  • Jack Albright and Patricia Gregg

    New volcanic eruption forecasting technique

    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...

  • a battery pack

    UIC, Argonne National Lab partner for Next Generation Electrochemistry event

    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.

  • power lines at sunset

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

    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.

  • a bionic hand lightly holds a raspberry

    Lighter, stronger, faster bionic hand aided by composites design

    As a Ph.D. student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Aadeel Akhtar began working on a bionic prosthetic hand concept that would be faster, more functional, and more affordable than alternatives on the market. 

  • two men in suits posing in front of Chicago skyline

    Scientists develop environmentally safe, frost-resistant coatings

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

  • Viktor Gruev in scuba suit

    Shrimp-inspired camera

    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...

  • Professor Steve Long working in an experimental crop field

    UIUC professor looks to 'turbo-charge' photosynthesis process

    Professor Steve Long is the principal investigator and director of a project called Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), which aims to genetically tweak plants to increase their yields by improving their ability to photosynthesize.

  • oil rig at sunset

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

    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.

  • NSF awards UIC $1.5M for new data science institute

    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...

  • a sketch of the original concept design for the wheelchair

    Hands-free "ballbot" wheelchair prototype achieves major milestone

    PURE - Personalized Unique Rolling Experience - is a hands-free wheelchair that rolls on a ball or “spherical” wheel. The rider simply leans in the desired direction of travel.

  • Lavanya Marla

    Using AI to improve airline pricing

    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...

  • Urbana engineering campus

    U of I to lead two of seven new national artificial intelligence institutes

    The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will host two new artificial intelligence institutes funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

  • Elephants

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

    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...

  • Alma Mater statue

    USDA grant to support processing pig waste into binders for asphalt

    A team of UIUC researchers have been awarded a $2.7M grant to investigate the conversion of swine manure and food waste into materials for road pavement and roof shingles.

  • tunnelbot rendering

    Tunnelbot on Juipiter's moon

    Researchers at the Unviersity of Illinois at Chicago, part of a NASA team of scientists, presented a nuclear-powered tunnelbot solution to drill below the icy surface of Europa, Jupiter's moon, for possible evidence of life. More...

  • From left: Angie Lewis displays a piece of Pyrus, while Gabe Tavas shows a Pyrus plank and Brian Cheng holds a ukelele with parts made from Pyrus.

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

    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. 

  • New 3D inductor technology expands microchip capability

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

  • The winning UIC team at the 2023 HUD Innovation in Affordable Housing Student Design and Planning Competition

    UIC students design winning solution for renovating CHA property

    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.

  • group of researchers pose in lobby with device

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

    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. 

  • glass rectangular device in palm of a hand

    Combining sunlight and wastewater nitrate to make ammonia

    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.  

  • Simulation lab

    UIC opens three new health care simulation centers

    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...

  • close up of wires and transmitter

    Students dream it, build it and patients benefit

    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.

  • Chemistry team and projection of the computational model

    Computational human cell reveals new insight

    Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed the most complete computational model of a human cell to date. More...

  • simulated head used for auditory experiments

    Augmented Listening Lab simulates group conversations with talking heads

    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.

  • organic solar cell

    New polymer property could give accessible solar power a boost

    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.

  • Aadeel Akhtar

    Prosthetic arms provide sensory feedback

    Aadeel Akhtar, an M.D./Ph.D. student at Illinois, developed a control algorithm to give prosthetic arm users reliable sensory feedback. More...

  • Miranda Mogle

    Good News Now

    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...