This Week in Illinois Research

Explore UIUC Research

“This Week in Illinois Research” is a weekly communication for the campus research community, from the Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation Susan Martinis. 


Subscribe to This Week in Illinois Research | View the This Week in Illinois Research Archives

March Madness, Research Edition

From the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation

I really enjoy watching March Madness games, particularly since our men's team just made it to the Sweet 16. It is terrific to see the spotlight shine brightly on colleges and universities across the nation. Wouldn’t it be fun if the media covered research and innovation in the same way that they cover basketball? 

Commentators could spend hours debating which of our plays has had the biggest impact. They could highlight team research in our interdisciplinary institutes and speculate on which of our superstars is ready for another memorable performance. Instead of seeding us in the tournament based on our wins and losses, the league could match us up based on research expenditures. (I'm happy to report we'd just nudge Big Ten rivals like Michigan State, Purdue, and Indiana!) If we went head-to-head with others across the nation on funding from specific agencies, we'd make the Final Four in DOE, the Elite Eight in NSF, and we'd just miss the Sweet Sixteen in our DOD expenditures. We could even compare our bench: only five other institutions produce more PhDs than we do here at Illinois. 

Let's keep winning, in basketball and in research alike. Go Illinois!

Sincerely,

Susan

Featured Stories

New leadership and increased visibility add up to a defining moment for CSBS

During the height of the pandemic, U.S. researchers worked around the clock to roll out a vaccine in record time. It was a triumph of scientific achievement – one capable of preventing serious illness and slowing the spread of COVID – yet nearly half of eligible Americans chose not to get a vaccine in the first nine months of availability.

Gerald Wilson joins Illinois as its first director of entrepreneurship

Turning research and innovation into tangible benefits to society has always been a priority and strength at UIUC. Now, with the hire of Gerald Wilson as Director of Entrepreneurship, the university’s commitment and impact are being elevated to new heights.

University of Illinois Scientists Win $9.5M to Study Emerging Pathogens

Researchers at UIUC have been awarded $9.5M from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to study how to prevent viruses from spreading among animals and humans.

Around Campus

A new nanoscale sensor developed by Illinois researchers

new nanoscale sensor developed by Illinois researchers significantly advances current technologies, helping scientists observe brain chemistry and track the spread of drugs through the body with greater precision.

Learn how emerging data science techniques can help social scientists

Learn how emerging data science techniques can help social scientists better address some of society's most pressing problems at the Data Science for Social and Behavioral Science Kickoff. Register by Friday to attend the April 5 event. 

Don't miss Wednesday's luncheon with Mairéad Martin

Don't miss Wednesday's luncheon with Mairéad Martin, the next installment in the Research Park's ongoing "Women in Tech" series. 

Communication training

Communication training to help the next generation of doctors work with immigrant and refugee populations is the focus of current research led by Liv Dávila, who is working with the Carle…

Vote for the People’s Choice Award

Vote for the People’s Choice Award in the 

National Landscape

The NSF's Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) marks its second anniversary

The NSF's Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) marks its second anniversary by highlighting its impact in three primary focus areas: innovation ecosystems; technology translation and development; and talent and the U.S. workforce. 

Digital Humanities Advancement Grants

Help inform the scope, requirements, and outreach for future Digital Humanities Advancement Grants as the needs of the field evolve. This National Endowment for the Humanities’ call for comments closes…

the goal of the new Office of Public Engagement just announced by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Increasing participation in the innovation ecosystem is the goal of the new Office of Public Engagement just announced by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The unit consolidates many of the agency’s outreach, education, and customer experience leaders under a single office with a single mission.

The NIH's All of Us project

The NIH's All of Us project is the focus of an NPR story that notes the project's progress to date and highlights ethical concerns about "whether the program is perpetuating misconceptions about the importance of genetics in health and the validity of race as…