The next meeting of the 2022-2023 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Senate is on Monday, March 6, at 3:10 pm via Zoom Webinar (Please note for security purposes, you must log into Zoom before clicking the link). Meeting materials are available at https://www.senate.illinois.edu/20230306a.asp. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

The Civil Service Employees and Dependents Scholarship Program Fund in Honor of Marjorie Beasley provides financial assistance to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign civil service employees and their dependents. Click on the title above to find out about the many ways you can donate to this fundraising drive!  

Are you retiring or separating from the university? You may defer a portion of your vacation leave payout to your 403(b) and/or 457 retirement accounts. Deferral forms must be completed 60 days prior to your last day of employment. Contact University Payroll & Benefits to complete the necessary form(s). Create a UPB Service Ticket or call 265-6363 for more information.

The 2023 Health Equity Research Internship pilot program will provide two Illinois undergrads with the opportunity to address health disparities at Mayo Clinic for 10 weeks this summer. Health Equity interns will participate in a supportive community of undergraduates, including Illinois SURF, receiving support from a faculty mentor and a $6,000 stipend to cover living expenses. Learn more.

The AACC is now accepting applications for a $5000 scholarship. We are seeking a UIUC student currently enrolled and continuing in Fall 2023. May be undergraduate or graduate/professional student, domestic or international, and majoring in special education, psychology, social work, counseling, human development and family studies, or related degrees. Due March 22, 2023. See website for more info

Mulch Madness is a fun way to learn more about the Red Oak Rain Garden's native plants. To enter the contest, send completed bracket to uie-redoakraingarden@illinois.edu by 10am Tue, Mar 14. Games begin that same day at noon on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The winner receives a $20 gift certificate to the local business of their choice. More details are at the link above.

Research development (RD) is a recent area of professional practice with a growing presence at Illinois. The Research Development Community welcomes staff members whose roles incorporate tasks related to RD to join. Complete this informational survey to connect with 200 colleagues who are already part of this community! We share resources, event news, and professional development opportunities.

Mark your calendar! Registration for Campus Recreation's new summer youth camp, Active Illini Day Camp, will open the morning of Wednesday, March 8. A registration link will be uploaded to the Campus Rec website for you to register your little one(s). The camp is open to rising first graders through rising sixth graders. Spots are limited, so be sure to sign up as early as possible!

The New Frontiers Initiative is calling for applications for its New Frontiers Graduate Fellowships that will run August 2023 through July 2024. The fellowships provide doctoral students with a year of full-time research support, a $38,000 stipend, up to $12,000 in tuition allowance and an allocation of 50,000 hours on NCSA’s Delta computing system. The deadline for applications is March 6, 2023.

The Illini-Alert emergency notification system will be tested at 10:05 a.m. Tuesday, March 7. Visit go.illinois.edu/illinialert for additional information and technical support. To receive prompt emergency notifications, add or update your cellphone numbers and email addresses at emergency.illinois.edu.

REEEC and the SRS invite all interested researchers to participate in the Language Learning and Language Competencies for Field Research in Eurasian Studies workshop on June 15th-16th, 2023. This workshop is a part of this year’s REEES-centered Summer Research Laboratory (SRL), with the priority deadline for applications being March 10th. For more information, please visit REEEC's website.

REEEC and the SRS invite all interested researchers to participate in the Language Learning and Language Competencies for Field Research in Eurasian Studies workshop on June 15th-16th, 2023. This workshop is a part of this year’s REEES-centered Summer Research Laboratory (SRL), with the priority deadline for applications being March 10th. For more information, please visit REEEC's website. 

Be introduced to the CDL and ECDL facilities, learn about the full-day program and the selection and enrollment process. Call and/or email Associate Director, Meghan Redeker, to schedule a tour. 217-333-2550 meghanew@illinois.edu

Full-day child care programs for children ages 6 weeks to 4 years are in session Monday through Friday from 7:30 am until 5:30 pm on a year-round basis. To submit an application, or for further information, visit cdl.illinois.edu. To schedule a tour, call 217-333-2550. For full consideration, submit your application by April 1. 

CITL’s Exam Scoring Services has moved to 151A Armory Building, on the north side of the building next to the Einstein Bros. Bagel kiosk. Stop by to pick up your Scantron exams or have them processed. We’re open from 8:30 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday except during the noon hour (12 pm to 1 pm).

Basic introduction to using Audacity for research. Includes recording using loanable tech from the Scholarly & Media Commons.

This session introduces the podcasting equipment and technology available to our campus community from the libraries. In addition to familiarizing ourselves with the equipment for recording, we will cover some beginning recording and audio editing techniques, particularly within the software Audacity.

Memphis Jookin’ the Show Powered by Nike is a metaphor for the evolution and history of Memphis Jookin’ told through the lives of fictional characters. A young aspiring film maker, JJ, is front and center for the ups-and-downs of the burgeoning international dance movement known as Memphis Jookin'. We witness the community of Memphis Jookin’ through their joys, battles, struggles, and successes.

Learn how to use EndNote, a citation management software program, to keep track and organize citations and cite while you write your papers. Heavily used by researchers across campus, EndNote is available for Macs and PCs and can be purchased from the U of I Webstore (Endnote on Webstore for $110). Please note that this introductory session is geared towards those who are new to EndNote. 

The Painkillers Blues Band has provided the blues for Central Illinois audiences for more than 20 years. They play a mix of Chicago blues, Southern blues, and swing blues, with both traditional and original songs. Some of the major blues influences on the band come from Koko Taylor, Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, Etta James, Charlie Musselwhite, T-Bone Walker, Louis Jordan, and the Doors.

Adobe InDesign is a layout and design software program that allows you to create print and digital media. It is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, which is available to all UIUC students for free! This workshop is designed for those with little to no experience with InDesign to help them learn the basics of using this document design program. 

Are you curious about what kind of sources and perspectives are out there beyond journal articles? This hands-on workshop will help you locate, use, and cite multimedia for your research. Some of the multimedia we go over includes images, podcasts and videos. You’re welcome (and encouraged) to bring a project you are currently working on!

Are you preparing for an upcoming conference? Need to design a poster for your class? This workshop will give you tools for communicating your research for academic conferences and professional meetings in a concise and visually effective poster presentation. 

The McCraw Family Visitor Center (MFVC) will officially open to the public at Allerton Park on March 20, 2023, which also happens to be Robert Allerton’s 150th birthday. There will be a ribbon cutting at 4pm, followed by cake, punch and a cash bar. The space will be open until 6 p.m. for ‘open house’ style viewing. This event is free, but registration is appreciated. Register here.

If you are a history buff and enjoy sharing your knowledge with others, consider becoming an Allerton Tour Guide. Learn about Allerton Park — from its history to the creation of its beautiful formal gardens — during our upcoming tour guide training. All new trainees will need to attend a general informational in the Visitor Center. Register here.

Make your own “Sangamon Necklace” at a Jewelry Making Workshop at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 18 in the Greenhouse Auditorium at Allerton Park. The “Sangamon Necklace” that will be created is a beginner beading project that incorporates stringing and crimping, and includes a lotus-stamped brass pendant. Materials and tools will be provided. Cost is $40/person; all sales are final. Register here.

Join Alexander Brand, assistant professor at Virginia Tech, as he presents in person at the Spring 2023 Kent Seminar Series Thursday, March 9, from 2-3 p.m. (CT). This semester we honor the legacy of Paul Kent with a special alumni series. Pizza and soft drinks will be provided beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the ICT Classroom. 

Join us on March 8 | 12 pm | Rm 108 Coble Hall and zoom as Prof. Teresa  Barnes examines the phenomenon of migrants from the African continent seeking entry into the US via Latin America. Since 2016, thousands of African migrants walk to the US-Mexico border from Peru and Brazil, facing untold dangers along the way. The efforts of the Biden administration to deal with "the crisis." Visit CAS web

Danielle Andress "Laboring in Obscurity" 

"Tell me about what you do." The dreaded, sometimes difficult question. Whether you're preparing for a job interview, a conference, or an internship, this workshop will teach you how to develop a clear, compelling elevator pitch for any scenario. Learn how to build a persuasive case for you! This workshop is open to any member of the university community. Please register using the link above.

Join dinosaur expert Stephen Brusatte, University of Edinburgh, as he tells the story of over 230 million years of dinosaur evolution. Brusatte is the paleontology advisor to the Jurassic World film franchise, has named more than 15 dinosaur species, and authored The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs & The Rise and Reign of the Mammals. Reception and book signing to follow the talk. 

UIUC faculty and researchers are invited to a showcase of cutting-edge research and services offered by NCSA and discover the exciting, new campus investment in research computing. Engage with NCSA’s distinguished researchers and affiliates, explore potential collaborations and share your research interests and needs. Complimentary lunch and hors d’oeuvres will be served. RSVP by April 5!

Please join us for the University Archives' monthly Women in Science Lecture Series, March 9th from 12 -1 pm.  Dr. Heidi Imker, Director of Research Data Service and Associate Professor at the University Library, will discuss research as a modus operandi. This is a hybrid event and will take place in the University Archives, Main Library 146 or you can register for the zoom link.

The University of Illinois is transitioning from Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams starting May 17. Faculty and staff that wish to order Teams compatible equipment can see it at the Hardware Showcase on Wednesday, March 8 from 11 am - 2 pm in DCL L410. 1304 W Springfield Ave, Urbana, IL. Departments are urged to place equipment orders immediately.

Led by the Counseling Center, this workshop is open to all students. Learn about addiction, what it looks like, and ways to fight against it. This is a hybrid workshop, come in-person to Main Library 106 or register to receive the zoom link: https://uiuc.libcal.com/event/10072584

The title stems from the ancient Chinese Wenren, artistic philosophers who believed in unifying all the senses via artistic expression. The concert is a multimedia exploration of Chen Yi’s repertoire via her fusion of traditional Chinese and modern Western practice. The musicians will be joined by Yingman Tang (lighting designer), Joseph Obanudi (visual artist), and the Department of Dance.

UIUC - OMU Symposium 2023 "Transnational Translations and Adaptations in Asia"
*This is a hybrid event. Illinois participants are encouraged to attend in person. Panelists: Yangyang Liu (UIUC), Izumi Nagai, PhD (OMU); Hisatsugu Kusabu, PhD (OMU); Honoka Inomoto (OMU); Sarah Herendeen (UIUC); Hanyun Zeng (UIUC); Yu Ishikawa, PhD (OMU)

This documentary film sheds light on the people and politics that influenced the signing of the infamous Executive Order 9066 which authorized the mass incarceration of nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans, and exposes the lies used to justify the decision and the cover-up that went all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

Join the Accessibility & Accommodations Division for an informative event you wont want to miss with information to help you actionable steps to plan accessible virtual and in-person events. From disability etiquette to ways to ensure you select accessible places we will help you navigate best practices to ensure access for all. Register today!

Known for his analytical work with election data at the “Big Board,” Steve Kornacki is an NBC News and MSNBC national political correspondent and an NBC Sports contributor. He will talk politics and sports in a Q&A with Colleen King, Frank Center for Leadership and Innovation in Media director and clinical assistant professor of journalism. Join us Tuesday at Spurlock or register to join via Zoom.

Office hours function like group advising, so bring your questions about the Fulbright application process, selection criteria, and award opportunities to receive answers in real time - or simply join to listen to the conversation. Office hours are not recorded but are held weekly.

Infographics can be an effective way to convey small bits of information very quickly, while drawing viewers in due to their visual appeal. Learn about best practices for creating infographics, as well as several free online tools that allow users to create their own infographics, including: Piktochart, Infogr.am, and Visme. All welcome!

Gain insight and strategies for getting the most out of Scopus, the largest interdisciplinary database of peer-reviewed literature including journals, books, and conference proceedings, particularly in the sciences. We will highlight how to find literature about a particular topic, reviewing author details, using article citations to discover more information, and evaluating sources. All welcome!

Are you overwhelmed by organizing your sources? Zotero is a free, open-source citation manager that helps you store and organize your files and insert formatted citations into papers. You will leave this hands-on workshop with a Zotero library set up and ready to use!

Tired of getting zero results in your database searches? This workshop will break down how the professionals identify resources, and search for articles, books, and other scholarly works. We’ll cover chasing citations, creating optimal keyword searches, using built-in database functions to improve your searches, and other strategies to make you a more efficient researcher.

MAXQDA is a software for conducting qualitative and mixed methods analysis. Within an MAXQDA file, you can upload and analyze text, multimedia, or survey data in a way that helps you answer your research question. This workshop does not assume any previous knowledge of MAXQDA or any other qualitative data analysis software.

The Image of Research — UR Edition is a multidisciplinary competition celebrating the diversity and breadth of undergraduate student research. “Research” is defined broadly to include creative and scholarly work in all fields. Encourage your students to attend this workshop. We will share competition details and get tips and tricks for visualizing your research: 3/7 at 4pm and 3/9 at 12pm

Lea Peck, Senior Assistant Director of Social Media and Digital Strategy for the University of Illinois, will be presenting the March Web Con workshop: "10 reasons why Airtable is your MVC—Most Valuable Coworker." Join us on Zoom to see demonstrations on building collaborative campaigns, creating social media content calendars, setting up email messaging approvals, and more. 

Michael Galkin, Research Scientist at Intel AI Labs, will present "Towards Neural Graph Databases." We continue the CIRSS speaker series in Spring 2023 with a focus on “Knowledge Graphs and Semantic Computing”. 

Join us for the next installment of the Meet the National Libraries series to learn about the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia. Dr. Maia Simonishvili (Leading Specialist of the PR & Cultural Programs Division) will present on “New Projects of the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia.” For more information and to register, please visit: https://forms.gle/pfkxAZnR5qLHhTMG7. 

The Collaboration Cafe is a monthly webinar, hosted by the NCSA-led Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub, to explore funding opportunities and foster collaborative proposal development. On Wednesday, March 15 at 3:00pm CT, we will explore the NSF Research Coordination Networks (RCN) program as a way to build a community of researchers creating and using water data and related tools in the Midwest.

The Program Leader Safety and Best Practices Workshop guides program leaders in preparing for the safest possible experience abroad. Those who lead or assist with short-term education abroad or other University-related travel abroad for students must attend at least one workshop a year. Please visit safetyabroad.illinois.edu for more information and to register.

Join NCSA Graduate Student Researcher Priyam Mazumdar for an online training session March 8 at 3 p.m. to help users to get started with deep learning projects on HAL, the hardware accelerated learning cluster at NCSA. This tutorial will demonstrate how to use basic pretrained PyTorch models and introduce how to get started using models from the Hugging Face ecosystem. Sign up!

This panel is being organized by the College of Education to discuss recent progress in ChatGPT, its impact on research, and particularly how it impacts the research of teaching and learning. The aim of this discussion is to consider the impact of multi-purpose AI on research and teaching and what we must consider as we continue to study teaching and learning in response to current developments.

Please join us for Episode 4 of the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) speaker series sponsored by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation. This week, Dr. Ryan Dilger, professor of Animal Sciences and chair of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), will speak on the topic of "IACUC".

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) can be a complicated system, and speaking with a first responder or 911 dispatcher can be nerve-wracking, especially during an emergency. Learn about how EMS works, and how to advocate for yourself and your loved ones when interacting with 911 dispatchers and first responders during an emergency. 

Richard Graves, Director of the Center for Sustainable Building Research at the University of Minnesota, will discuss the importance of embodied carbon. As the new buildings and major renovations we design become more and more efficient for energy and carbon emissions, the importance of the energy and carbon emissions associated with the materials (embodied carbon) to create buildings increases.

William Eskridge Jr. of Yale Law School will deliver the Ann F. Baum Memorial Elder Law Lecture at the College of Law. What can law do to ameliorate the pain and challenges of lonely old age? Eskridge will address this and other questions in "Dying Alone? The Value of Designated Beneficiaries.” Learn more.

Looking for adults aged 21-64 years with high weight for height to participate in a study into prolonged sitting and how adults think. The study involves 3 visits to Freer Hall, wearing activity monitors, and screening. Measures include cognitive tests, electroencephalography, a body scan, maximal exercise test, and blood draws. Compensation up to $350.Click here if interested!

Seeking healthy volunteers (males/females, 21-50yrs) who don't smoke to participate in a taste test to explore individual differences in some flavor-related genes and bitter taste perception. May be invited for up to 6 visits lasting 1-1.5 hrs each. Participants will receive $20 upon completion of each study visit. Please fill out our Online Screening or contact howbitterisit@gmail.com

Recruiting care partners for a paid online study about the utility of a new medication management app designed for older adults with mild cognitive challenges. Participants must be 21 years or older, fluent in English, have experience helping a family member with memory issues who takes medication(s) for hypertension or high cholesterol, and use a smartphone. For details email nila@illinois.edu.

Veterans: Do you want to help other Veterans? You may be able to help us with research that will lead to advances in screening, treatment, and care of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). We are interested in talking with you if you have experienced either MDD or TBI, or if you are healthy and have not had MDD/TBI. Please reach out here to learn more and participate.

Are you interested in a study involving research that will lead to advances in screening, treatment, & care of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) & Anxiety Disorder (AD)? We seek participants who currently have MDD or AD & participants who do not have either of these conditions.Participating in the study will involve completing surveys about physical and mental health & participating in an interview.

This complete feeding study investigates walnut consumption, gut microbes, & metabolism. All meals & snacks are provided for 9 weeks. Blood & fecal donations required. Adults without food allergies/intolerance, metabolic or gastrointestinal disease, or medications that affect the gut are eligible. Compensation up to $1,000. Email fshn-walnut-study@mx.uillinois.edu for more information. 

Recruiting 8-12 yr olds for paid research study about speech in noise ability. They will take a speech test in the lab, then take home a 5-min. game to play for 5 days. They'll return to lab for a speech test. Study time is 2 hrs over 1wk. Payment is $15/hr. Must be native English speaker with access to computer/laptop. Game equipment provided. Open over Spring Break! Email child-SRL@illinois.edu

Are you a parent/primary guardian with a child between the ages of 3 & 6? Want to better understand gender expression & how to discuss it with your child? You might be eligible to participate in an IRB-approved case study to determine if graphic design interventions can promote an understanding and empathy for diverse gender expressions. Learn more or apply at https://tinyurl.com/FamilyConvoStudy

Are you a parent/primary guardian with a child between the ages of 3 and 6? Want to better understand gender expression and how to discuss it with your child? You might be eligible to participate in an IRB-approved case study to determine if graphic design interventions can promote an understanding and empathy for diverse gender expressions. Learn more or apply at tinyurl.com/FamilyConvoStudy.