This Week in Illinois Research
Best Wishes for 2026!
It’s time to put a bow on “This Week in Illinois Research” for 2025 as we take a small break between semesters. We've built something special here at Illinois as we strive to make our community—and the world—a better place. Thanks to each and every one of you for your dedication and commitment during the past year.
Let’s all enjoy the slower pace of the next few weeks and take the time we need to be well rested and recharged heading into 2026. I’ll see you back here on January 18 to kick off the Spring semester.
Sincerely,
Susan
Featured Stories
Cultivating a culture of safety across campus is goal of new campaign
New campaign to highlight best safety practices, resources, and more
Stephanie Hess still remembers a time when personal protective equipment saved her from possible burns on her hands and arms.
Jen Tompkins to lead revamped Office of Animal Research Compliance
Jen Tompkins has been named the new Director of the Office of Animal Research Compliance at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is starting in her new role on January 27, 2025.
New Office of Research Security to help Illinois researchers meet obligations
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is launching a new office to meet federal research security mandates and to help campus researchers navigate complex and evolving research security regulations.
Around Campus
Distinguished Scholar Award
Angharad Valdivia is the 2025 recipient of the Distinguished Scholar Award from the National Communication Association, the highest honor given by the organization.
Advancing robotic and prosthetic hand technologies
Joohyung Kim and team are advancing robotic and prosthetic hand technologies with new backing from the NSF’s Convergence Accelerator program.…
"Mindful Gifting"
A new, aptly timed paper by Cele Otnes explores the idea of “mindful gifting”: the idea that gift giving at the…
Tweaked polymers that have been twisted to increase their chirality increase conductivity
Tweaked polymers that have been twisted to increase their chirality increase conductivity, according to new research from Ying Diao and…
FDA support to participate in a retail surveillance program
An Illinois team has received support from the FDA to participate in a retail surveillance program to study antimicrobial resistance in foodborne pathogens. The long-term objective is to strengthen national AMR surveillance and protect public health by identifying emerging risks from resistant foodborne bacteria.
UIUC No. 22 in the world on the Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2026
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign comes in at No. 22 in the world on the recently released Times Higher Education Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2026. The rankings are the "first effort of its kind to measure universities’ contributions and commitment to interdisciplinary science."
National Landscape
Planned “megaconstellations” of satellites would contaminate the views of four orbiting telescopes
Planned “megaconstellations” of satellites would contaminate the views of four orbiting telescopes, leaving long white streaks on an estimated 95 percent of their images.
A recent paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research
A recent paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that an influx of Chinese students enrolling in U.S. graduate programs led to strong growth in academic offerings at American universities.
The OVCRI is coordinating a campus response to a recent RFI
The OVCRI is coordinating a campus response to a recent RFI from the Office of Science and Technology Policy seeking input on accelerating the American scientific enterprise. Read the full notice here.
The NIH will not issue new SBIR and STTR awards or offer continuation awards to existing projects
The NIH will not issue new SBIR and STTR awards or offer continuation awards to existing projects. Other agencies with SBIR and STTR programs have not made similar announcements.
More than 380 clinical trials were disrupted by cuts to grant funding
More than 380 clinical trials were disrupted by cuts to grant funding from the National Institutes of Health this year.
International student enrollment is down by 17%
International student enrollment is down year-over-year by 17 percent, according to the annual Open Doors report.