The next meeting of the 2023-2024 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Senate is on Monday, March 4, at 3:10 pm, at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center. Meeting materials are available at https://www.senate.illinois.edu/ss20240304a.asp. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Undergrad students at U. of I. and nationwide can apply to study, train and work full-time on cutting-edge machine-learning projects in NCSA’s paid, 10-week REU FoDOMMaT program this summer from May 20 - July 26. Students will be provided room and board, round-trip travel to campus and a weekly $600 stipend while working with NCSA staff and fellow participants. Deadline is March 17. Apply now!

Five Days for Change is an intensive training program designed to provide university employees with the opportunity to acquire and strengthen cultural competencies, awareness and skills. This training will increase the visibility, skill and effectiveness of allies in the cause of social justice and campus civility as critical campus incidents arise. Applications are being accepted.

The Summer Research Opportunities Program provides undergrads hands-on research experience encouraging graduate study. SROP hosts participants from across the country, partnering with the Big Ten Academic Alliance, national tribal colleges/universities, Illinois Minority Serving Institutions Alliance and the City Colleges of Chicago. SROP at Illinois takes place 6/3 - 7/26.

Applications are being accepted through March 31 for Allerton Park's summer In-Residence program: Rooting a Deeper Connection. RDC highlights and celebrates the arts and study of nature within Black and Latinx communities. Residents will live on the Allerton estate with time to explore their ideas and create work inspired by their experience. Apply here. 

Applications are now being accepted for Student Leadership Awards & Scholarships. More information about the available scholarships, the application process and criteria, is available on the Student Affairs website. Any questions about the application process can be directed to Dr. Lisa Jackson, lisaj3@illinois.edu. 

The Illini-Alert emergency notification system will be tested at 10:05 a.m. Tuesday, March 5. 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.

PITA grants enable recipients to design, implement and assess instructional innovation that has a high probability of enhancing education at Illinois. Successful applicants will receive $7,500 in financial assistance for their proposed activities. Applications should be submitted to tab-awards@illinois.edu by Monday, March 25, 2024 by 11:59 pm.

The Distinguished Teacher-Scholar Program is the premier campus award recognizing scholarly contributions and excellence in the areas of teaching and learning. Successful applicants will receive $7,500 in financial assistance and up to $7,500 in additional teaching or research support. Applications should be submitted to tab-awards@illinois.edu by Monday, March 25, 2024 by 11:59 pm.

Developed by Professor Robert Brunner, "Blockchains, Tokens and The Decentralized Future" offers deep insights and practical knowledge to leverage blockchain technology for innovation and problem-solving. Appropriate for beginners and seasoned enthusiasts, it's your gateway to mastering the blockchain ecosystem and its impact on the digital age. Enroll for free with Coursera for Illinois.

The Illini Center is the perfect location for your classes, conferences, meetings and receptions. With four fully equipped conference rooms, video conferencing options, convenient transportation options to and from campus including the UI Ride and Amtrak, and all-inclusive rates starting at $35 per hour, the Illini Center is a perfect fit for your next event! Click here for more information! 

March is Women's History Month – commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history. The Women's Resources Center invites you to join us for film screenings, lectures, book clubs, awards and more. See the calendar of events at go.illinois.edu/WHMCalendar 

NCSA Director Bill Gropp invites you to an informative session detailing everything you need to know about Illinois Computes, a program to connect University of Illinois researchers with computing resources, research consultants and data storage! Ask questions, provide feedback and get help getting started on March 4, 2–3 p.m. Join on Zoom or come in person to chat with members of the team.

Join QCB as Markus Covert, Stanford University, discusses the bacterium E. coli, especially efforts to develop a model that includes all the known functions of every well-annotated gene in order to better understand and predict the behavior of this scientifically relevant and industrially significant model organism. Light refreshments beginning 2:30 p.m. (by room 3151). Also on Zoom.

Explore the different methods for motion capture available in the SCIM Lab. While the main focus of this workshop will be the Rokoko suit and gloves, we will also investigate computer vision and depth cameras. Learn about the pros and cons of each method and how you might use this data for research or media production. Participants will be provided the data captured for further investigation.

Join us to learn more about strategic leadership from the lens of diversity. Dr. Damon Williams has spoken at over 1,000 colleges, universities and Fortune 500 companies on a variety of topics including strategic leadership diversity. As one of the founding members of the "Inclusive Excellence Model," Dr. Williams will be speaking with faculty and staff about diversity and inclusion. 

Join us on Tuesday, March 5, for a special edition of our AACC weekly Food for Thought series. We're diving deep into the topic of "Marginalized to Margin of Victory: The Rising Power of the AAPI Vote," featuring esteemed presenter Christine Chen, Executive Director of APIA Vote. Don't miss out on this insightful discussion. Mark your calendars!

It’s a monthlong, mac and cheese main event – a competitive cook-off! You’re invited to sample the savory servings as University Housing chefs in each dining hall compete to see whose mac and cheese is best. Each round will take place during dinner. Round 1: PAR Dining Hall on Tuesday, March 5 Round 2: Ike Dining Center on Wednesday, March 20 Finals: ISR Dining Center on Wednesday, March 27

We have another great Science Café talk Wednesday, March 6! Dr. Jacinda Dariotis will discuss her research on the impact of coping strategies in education. We will be at Cafeteria and Company in downtown Urbana (208 W Main St, Urbana) and as always snacks will be provided. We hope to see you there!

Please join Robert Bruno (Professor of Labor & Employment Relations and Director of the Labor Education Program) for a conversation about his new book, What Work Is. The book, published in January 2024 by the University of Illinois Press, draws on Dr. Bruno's three decades as a labor educator, sharing lessons learned from the working experiences and perspectives of his students.

Professor Zaida Luthey-Schulten will describe her pioneering research into constructing 4D models of a living minimal cell. Fundamental behaviors emerge from these simulations that reveal how the cell balances its demands and offers insight into the principles of life. This lecture is appropriate for people of all backgrounds, so previous knowledge is not required. Reception to follow. 

Abbe Gluck (Yale Law School) will present "Preventative Care, Scientific Expertise, a Healthy Population and the Courts: The Constitutional and Religious Attack on One of the Affordable Care Act’s Core Interventions" for the Ann F. Baum Memorial Elder Law Lecture. This event is free and open to the public, with lunch provided to attendees. Livestream is also available.

The annual ritual of Daylight Savings Time (DST) has repercussions on our biological rhythms. Understand the science behind circadian disruptions caused by reduced morning light and their implications for physical and mental health. Discover insights on mitigating health risks and adapting your rhythms after DST transitions. Presenter: Quang Nguyen

The audio editing software created by Adobe is available free of charge to all U. of I. students, faculty and staff. The tool offers a great variety of effects and correction tools in addition to outstanding mixing and mastering features. This workshop will introduce this powerful tool to anyone interested in audio recording and editing in a robust workstation. No experience required, but helpful.

Web of Science is the widest-scoping, multidisciplinary platform of abstract databases for full-text articles, books and conference proceedings. We will highlight how to search for literature and authors and where to find citation tracking data and grant information. Additional features: advanced search builder, refining + managing search results, analyzing citations and unpacking item records. 

Beginning March 7, the Writers Workshop will be hosting a new series of short, interactive, in-person grammar workshops. With time to learn and apply concepts regarding modifiers, punctuation, tense & voice, articles and subject-verb agreement, students will be well on their way to honing their English grammar skills! Students can register in advance for one or all five!

Please join us for the University Archives' monthly Women in Science Lecture Series, March 7 from 12 -1 pm. Dr. Karrie Karahalios Professor of Computer Science, will present her research on the relationship between computing and society, algorithmic bias and AI. This is a hybrid event and will take place in the Siebel Center for Design Gallery Space or you can register for the zoom link.

Attend the March 7 Council of Academic Professionals meeting to learn more about proposed changes to the AP Grievance Process. Although most of us will never need to file a grievance, ensuring that the process is transparent and effective is an important safeguard. We would like your input on our suggested revisions.

Join us for our next Food for Thought with CAS Associate Jason Ridlon and CAS Beckman Fellow Leona Yi-Fan Su. 

Join Linbing Wang of the University of Georgia as he presents in person at the Spring 2024 Kent Seminar Series Thursday, March 7, from 2-3 p.m. (CT). Food and soft drinks will be provided beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the ICT Classroom. 

Join the Department of Philosophy for a lecture by Professor Tushar Irani titled "Plato's Account of Being as a Theory of Predication." This event is part of our Colloquium Talks lecture series. 

The Office of the Provost invites you to attend the Charting Your Path as an Assistant Professor workshop: University 101: Peeking Behind the Curtain of Campus Systems and Processes. We invite you to register here by March 11, 2024.

The Office of the Provost invites you to the Illinois Women Faculty Networking Luncheon - Resilience Unveiled: New Realities in the Academy Post-Pandemic. We welcome tenure-stream and specialized faculty to this annual networking luncheon to learn & engage in conversations on the new realities we are facing in academia & what it could mean for faculty women at Illinois. Register here by March 18.

Rain Garden Rumble is a fun way to learn more about the Red Oak Rain Garden's native plants. To enter, send a completed bracket to RedOakRainGarden@illinois.edu by Monday, March 18. Games begin the next day at 11:00 am on Facebook and Instagram. The winner receives a $20 gift certificate to the local business of their choice. More details are at the link above and go.illinois.edu/RainGardenRumble.

Presented via webinar and in-person by Sean Hagen - President and Managing Director of Hagen Global Consulting LLC, Chairman and CEO of the Institute of Global Energy Education Inc. This presentation will cover the basic elements of electric power grids as part of a broader effort to support informed decisions related to electric power.

Are you interested in helping others handle burnout, work-life balance & general well-being? The Beckman DEI Committee & Counseling Center are offering “Life’s a lot – How to help others (& yourself) with improved mental well-being.” Lunch for those who register (https://forms.illinois.edu/sec/149629920) prior to March 18. Please encourage group members (postdocs and students) to attend!

Calling all faculty and teaching assistants who are interested in using alternative methods for course grading. Join Kary Zarate (Education) and Clara Bosak-Schroeder (Classics) for a discussion about their assessment practices. This is a space for you to ask questions, discuss current challenges, and support one another. Come and chat with us on March 22 at 1 p.m. Registration is required.

Unlock your future at the Illini Career and Internship Fair! Explore and connect with over 90 recruiters from some of the nation's leading companies, eager to engage with talent like you. Open to Illinois students of all majors and class levels. Registration is encouraged but not required. Visit Handshake to view the list of companies and register.

Registration is now open for CU Community Fab Lab Summer Camps. The CUC Fab Lab has been offering creative, hands-on, STEAM inspired camps for 10 years. Don't wait to register ... camps fill up fast!

Use dancing to take a trip through time at Traveling Time Machine: Dancing in Illinois from Statehood to the 60s from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursdays between March 14 and April 18 in The Music Barn. Popular dances of Illinois will be learned, starting with the ones that were in fashion in 1818. $75 for the entire series, $25/individual class. Register here.

Allerton’s Music Barn will host a night of jazz with the Josè Gobbo Trio featuring Raphael Ferreira on Saturday, April 13. Gobbo is a jazz guitarist, while Ferreira is a saxophonist from Brazil visiting the University of Illinois as part of the jazz forum at the School of Music. This is in collaboration with the Lemann Center for Brazilian Studies. $25/person. Register here by April 11.

Join the Grainger IDEA Lab and MakerGirl for a free Future Makers MakerGirl Session on Saturday, April 13, 2023, in the Grainger Engineering Library from 1pm to 2:30pm. Session outline: Age range: 11-14, Introduction to 3D printing, Introduction to computer-aided design, Learn about famous women in STEM, see 3D printing in action. Session theme: Architecture

Ready to be a kid again? Then punch your ticket to Camp Lost Garden on June 27-30 or Oct. 17-20 at Allerton Park! Adults will enjoy classic camp activities like arts and crafts, group games and stories around the campfire. $350 camper includes meals, snacks and drinks. Hotel rooms can also be booked for a discounted $80/night. Interested in being a camp counselor? Apply here.

Celebrate spring at the Bluebell Festival: A Folk School Fundraiser on May 3-5, featuring a Plant Sale, vendor fair and craft demonstrations, live music, workshops, food/drinks and more. Find the complete schedule here. Proceeds and donations will support The Farms: An Allerton Folk School. No registration is required to attend, but some workshops require registration. Find details here.

This workshop will elaborate on the difference between searching in Google Scholar and academic databases, demonstrate how to use Google Scholar’s Advanced Search, explain how to connect your library access and cover other more sophisticated features Google Scholar offers to support your research. We will also discuss some of the privacy concerns related to Google and how you can mediate them.

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 struggling to keep track of all your sources? Looking for an easier way to cite as you write? Mendeley is a free citation manager that helps you organize your citations, store and annotate your files, and insert formatted citations into papers. You will leave this hands-on workshop with the ability to set up and use your very own Mendeley library!

We will explore parallel programming and computing at the introductory level. Attendees will learn how to parallelize and run C/C++/Fortran applications using shared memory parallelism through hands-on exercises. General terminology, parallel computing concepts, measuring performance, identifying bottlenecks and other topics will be covered. Register by 3/4 with the link in the title.

In this webinar, Dr. J.P. Giroud will describe how geosynthetics have become the most important innovation in geotechnical engineering in the second half of the 20th century. Dr. Giroud will illustrate how geosynthetics have pervaded most branches of geotechnical engineering because of the wide variety of functions that geosynthetics can perform. 1.0 PDH

As the onslaught on Gaza continues, the West Bank has been under Israeli assault long before October 7, 2023. Along with daily military incursions, Israel has intensified and deepened the fragmentation of the West Bank. Since October 7, thousands of Palestinians have been detained in the West Bank and hundreds have been killed by military and settlers' fire.

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly changing the way that we write and research. How can we use it ethically and effectively for social science + digital humanities projects? We’ll explore ways to use AI to clean your data, generate code and analyze information. We will discuss ethics, data privacy and commonly used AI-powered tools. There will be plenty of room for experimentation and questions!

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!

We have all sat through presentations that were boring, confusing and drab. How do you communicate your message most succinctly? What visuals will captivate and inform your audience the best? Is it only about your slide design or are there other techniques that leave a lasting impression? In this session we distill the magic that just might take your next presentation from bland to grand.

Do you have grad or undergrad students preparing for a class or conference presentation? The Writers Workshop & Office of Undergraduate Research will help them figure out what their presentation should include, share tips and strategies for engagement, and discuss how to present with confidence online and in-person. Read more and register on our calendars by March 5.

The Illinois Neurodiversity Initiative (INI) is a four-year program dedicated to empowering neurodivergent students for success in academics and beyond. Introduced last year as a pilot program, INI is looking to recruit incoming freshman students for the upcoming school year. They are hosting a virtual information night on March 6, 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Are you ready to consider your course learning objectives in a new light? This workshop presents a framework for creating design challenges that address course objectives and offer students authentic design experiences. This framework can also be used to explore potential project topics and create human-centered design prompts. All instructional backgrounds are welcome! 

Join the Writers Workshop during spring break for presentations on writing routines, literature reviews, journal articles and revising structure and argumentation. These will be held on Zoom, Mon-Thu at 1:30pm. Register by 11:59pm the day before each event is scheduled, and you'll receive an email with the Zoom invitation on the morning of the event. View our calendar to read more and register!

Borrowing money can be an option to support your financial goals, but it can become overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. Learn essential factors for borrowing money and determine how it fits your values. Join us on March 13, 2024, for this free webinar!

Recruiting racial minorities (including Black, Latin, Indigenous, Pacific Islander or any other underrepresented racial or ethnic groups) who are adults (18-30 y/o). Participants will complete 2 in-lab sessions (3-4 hours each) and one 2-week remote data collection session using various wearable devices. Compensation: $200. Please send an email to radwear.uiuc@gmail.com if interested!

We are examining the effects of vary amounts of fat in a meal on the rate of building muscle proteins. The study requires 3 days of participation including 2 full-day trials with blood and muscle sample collection. You get $300 upon completion, information about your body composition (muscle and fat), and results of your lower body strength testing. Contact Zan for more information!

Testing the effect of soy flour on hunger, blood sugar and insulin responses. Participants aged 21-45, non-smokers, BMI 25-40 kg/m2, and no diabetes will complete questionnaires, product tasting (bread, tortilla or arepa), body composition scans and blood draws. Receive $260 upon completion of 4 visits 3-4 hours and free parking. Please fill out our Online Screening if interested. 

Participants needed for a study on health technology that supports BP medication adherence. Participants must be 65 years of age or older, take at least 1 medication for high BP, and use an iPhone. Participants will receive compensation. Please spread the word to family and friends. (Study in partnership with the University of Arizona). Email bp-system@pharmacy.arizona.edu or call (520) 477-9369.

Do healthy arteries help us grow old gracefully? The Cognitive Neuroimaging Lab is recruiting people who are aged 50 to 70 (native English speakers) for a study on arterial health and age. Compensation and parking will be provided. If interested, please email us at: cnl-subjects@illinois.edu or call 244-1619 and leave a message with your name and number and mention "arterial health study."

Last call! Meals are provided for 12 weeks. 3 urine collections, 4 blood draws and 7 fecal donations will be required. Those without food allergies, intestinal disease, diabetes, gallbladder removal or bariatric surgery may qualify. BMI greater than 25 meets inclusion criteria. For your participation, you will receive up to $1000. To learn more and find out if you qualify: maggieo4@illinois.edu 

We are exploring challenges encountered in daily activities for older adults (60+) with history of stroke. If you are experiencing difficulty with thinking, memory or concentration, we would like to learn from your experiences to develop solutions. The study will be conducted using videochat. Participants will be paid. Contact KCH-HFA-ENACT@illinois.edu or 217-265-0885.

Are you a Latina woman who had a planned cesarean delivery in the past 12 months? We are looking for women (aged 18-45) to help us develop a mindfulness intervention for Latina women who plan to deliver by cesarean. Eligible participants will complete a brief online survey and receive a $10 electronic gift card. Contact us today at (217) 244-9363 or mamidappstudy@illinois.edu