Fueling Innovation

USDA selects UIUC team to study spring dust storms over Midwest

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 11 Dec 2023 12:00:00 CST

A team led by the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE)'s Agroecosystems Sustainability Center will study how climate, farming activities, and extreme weather events contribute to creating Midwestern dust storms, thereby predicting their formation earlier and more accurately.

Dept. of Crop Sciences team identifies gene that lends resistance to nuisance weed

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 11:45:00 CST

Waterhemp is a weed that plagues corn and soybean fields across the Midwest. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have discovered that a single gene is responsible for its ability to survive soil-applied herbicides.

Dept. of Animal Sciences creates cows that produce twenty times more milk

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 13:45:00 CST

A team of animal scientists from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is set to deliver a potential game changer for subsistence farmers in Tanzania: cows that produce up to 20 times the milk of indigenous breeds.

UIUC team working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cattle

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 10:00:00 CDT

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) animal sciences researchers Rod Mackie and Josh McCann are leading a three-year international effort to reduce methane greenhouse gas emissions resulting from rumen fermentation in beef and dairy cattle.

New UIUC greenhouse aims to incubate bioenergy crops

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 10:00:00 CDT

The new facility will house a high-throughput plant phenotyping facility designed to monitor the growth of grasses such as miscanthus and specialized strains of sugarcane and sorghum that could be developed into biofuels.

UIUC professor looks to 'turbo-charge' photosynthesis process

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 10:15:00 CDT

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.

UIUC group develops steam condenser coating that could boost global power efficiency

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 14:15:00 CDT

The coating is for steam condensers used in fossil fuel steam-cycle generation, and it could boost the overall process efficiency by 2% - savings megatons of carbon dioxide and trillions of gallons of water each year globally.

New UIUC ACES dean Bollero points college towards innovative future

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 10:15:00 CDT

“What allures me is the curiosity of learning new things. I’m still curious about the future — and that really drives me to do better,” says Germán Bollero, dean of the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.

UIUC professors examine effects of warming planet on beef production

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 14:30:00 CDT

About 20% of all global greenhouse gas emissions come from animal-based food products, and a 2022 study in the Lancet Planetary Health found that cattle heat stress losses will be far greater in most tropical regions than in temperate regions.

Sunlight polarization patterns may be effective underwater substitute for GPS

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 14:00:00 CDT

The UIUC team's method uses the polarization angle of incoming sunlight, matched with precise time-of-day and geographic coordinates, to find a location on Earth down to almost 1,000 feet underwater.

All-species SARS-CoV-2 test created by UIUC researchers

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 12:15:00 CDT

In an advance that will help scientists track coronavirus variants in wild and domesticated animals, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign team report they can now detect exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus in any animal species.

UIUC team develops novel method for desalinating water at scale

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 10 Jul 2023 13:45:00 CDT

The researchers modified an electrodialysis method for efficiency and cost savings to provide a broadly accessible way to create drinking water through desalination.

UIC students design winning solution for renovating CHA property

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 10:30:00 CDT

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.

Agricultural robots ready to do hardest jobs in farm fields

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 12:00:00 CDT

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.

UIC, Argonne National Lab partner for Next Generation Electrochemistry event

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 15:45:00 CDT

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.

Augmented Listening Lab simulates group conversations with talking heads

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 22 May 2023 10:30:00 CDT

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.

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

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 15 May 2023 09:45:00 CDT

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.

Promising nanoscale material captured by UIC's Electron Microscopy Core

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 08 May 2023 10:15:00 CDT

Researchers visually captured the structure of MXenes - synthetic compounds with promise for energy storage, sensing, and superconductivity - using the world-class electron microscopy resources and expertise at UIC to reveal novel structures with intriguing properties.

Beckman researchers find exercise releases chemicals that boost brain health

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 01 May 2023 11:30:00 CDT

They studied how chemical signals from contracting muscles promote healthy brains. Their findings reveal how these signals help grow and regulate new brain networks, while also pointing toward ways of improving brain health through exercise.

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

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 11:00:00 CDT

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

Students build solar-powered home in Rantoul for DOE Decathlon

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 12:00:00 CDT

The student-led Illinois Solar Decathlon is competing with more than a dozen national and international collegiate teams to design and build the most sustainable, cutting-edge house powered by renewables.

Hands-free "ballbot" wheelchair prototype achieves major milestone

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 10 Apr 2023 11:30:00 CDT

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.

UIS Computer Science Department opens high-tech research laboratory

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 03 Apr 2023 10:00:00 CDT

The lab is open to all UIS students, faculty and staff for their research projects and includes 3D printers, CNC machines, laser cutters and engravers, computing, cyber security, and fabrication equipment.

Lighter, stronger, faster bionic hand aided by composites design

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 11:30:00 CDT

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.

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

aquigley@illinois.edu (Alex Quigley) — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 10:00:00 CDT

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