The massmail sent this week by Chancellor Jones and Provost Coleman includes updates on a variety of issues related to recent federal actions. Please continue to check federalupdates.illinois.edu for emerging updates and resources. Questions can be sent to federalupdates@illinois.edu.

Elevate your digital signage with our professionally designed templates. Our drag-and-drop Adobe Express tool makes it easy to create eye-catching displays that reflect the Illinois brand. This resource is perfect for events, announcements and information sharing across the university. Visit brand.illinois.edu to start designing today!

The 2024-2025 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Senate is scheduled to meet at 3:10 p.m. Monday, March 10, in the Illini Union Ballroom (2nd floor). Meeting materials are available online. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Your input on the Campus Transportation Survey will help prioritize future improvements on the Urbana campus. The quick 10-minute survey is open until Sunday, April 6. It covers vital transportation network focus areas, such as preferred travel methods, commute times/locations, active transportation engagement, parking options, safety perceptions and accessibility performance. Your survey participation will be anonymous, and no personal information will be collected. The results will be shared with the campus community later this year.

Effective immediately, Illinois Computes is increasing the default amount of long-term storage we make available to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers from 10 terabytes to 50 TB. This storage is provided on NCSA's Granite storage service. These allocations are for one year and can be renewed. We are actively exploring ways to offer multi-year allocations in order to provide researchers with better assurance of long-term retention of their data. Learn more by signing up for the Illinois Computes Connections newsletter!

The Arabic High School Program will take place from June 15 to June 28. This is an introductory course in Modern Standard Arabic for high school students with limited or no prior knowledge of the Arabic language. Students will experience campus life, learn a new language and earn two college credits! 

Join the OGC hosts alongside our special guest, David Martinez, as we introduce our fields of study and delve into the deeper questions surrounding them. Together, we explore the motivations behind our academic pursuits, the challenges posed by the dominance of English and Western ideologies and how we aspire to apply our knowledge in real life.

Come check out all the Illini Union restaurants at the Taste of the Union. Enjoy special deals and samples from all five restaurants - Just Bee Acai, Tropical Smoothie, Thai Fusion, Mia Za's and Maize.

The Neurocognitive Health Behavior Lab is accepting applications for undergraduate research assistants for summer and/or fall 2025. Our research focuses on understanding how nutrition, physical activity and body composition collectively impact brain health. Undergraduates have the opportunity to earn course credit, gain research experience and assist with participant appointments. This position requires 12 hours of availability per week. If interested, please contact ckroman2@illinois.edu with your resume.

Serving on a Senate committee is an enriching experience that develops new partnerships and is your voice in shared governance (where faculty, staff and students contribute to decision making). Committees inform decisions on areas such as educational policy, student life, inclusiveness and various university policies. You do not need to be a senator to serve. Submit your interest by April 23 via the appropriate online forms on the Senate website.

Announcing Wetland Regulation: Local to Global Perspective on Coursera. Led by Caitlin Bloomer, a NRES professor, explore wetland conservation through legal, ecological and policy perspectives. Learners will develop a critical understanding of wetland conservation challenges and strategies in both U.S. and international contexts. 

Announcing Wetland Conservation Through a Human Lens on Coursera. Led by Caitlin Bloomer, a NRES professor, explore how competing stakeholder interests, policy frameworks and governance structures influence wetland management and restoration. Learners will examine strategies for fostering equitable and culturally sensitive stakeholder engagement.

Courtesy winter enforcement hours conclude with the return of Daylight Savings Time. Unless otherwise posted, rental lot and lot meter enforcement hours will return to 5 p.m. starting Monday, March 10. If you're uncertain of the rules or regulations, please contact the Parking Department for additional assistance at 217-333-3530.

The Molecule Maker Lab Institute invites you to our upcoming research symposium, "AI Scientists? What Would It Take?" from April 15-16. This event will bring together researchers, industry partners and students to explore the intersection of artificial intelligence and chemistry, especially in the area of small molecule innovation, and what it takes to advance AI-driven scientific discovery. Whether you're a scientist, student or industry professional, this is a great opportunity to connect, learn and engage with the MMLI community. Register now and be part of the conversation!

Over 8 million people experiencing cancer face Health Related Social Needs challenges, such as food, housing and financial insecurity, that directly impact their health outcomes. While individuals have unmet social needs, it is not well understood if they are willing to self-screen and connect to services independently. Join us for brunch, learning and conversation with David Haynes, PhD, at the next installment of the HEROP Speaker Series at 10 a.m. Friday, where Dr. Haynes will showcase ConnectedNest, his patient-centered and oncology-focused digital social care referral platform.

Join CI MED along with more than 30 top international academic institutions, companies and government agencies at the Global Summit, April 6-8, in Champaign for a groundbreaking program with key global leaders in health care and AI! The Global Consortium of Innovation and Engineering in Medicine boldly crosses boundaries and breaks down barriers to medical innovation. The Global Summit is an annual showcase event of the Consortium’s work bringing together an international audience of health innovation leaders and world-class medical education experts. Register by March 24.

The Intellectual Property and Technology Law Program Speaker Series is proud to host professor James Hicks (Washington University Law) to present his work on intellectual property and investment. This event is free and open to the public with a limited number of lunches available for attendees.

Children will learn and hike with Master Naturalists from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. every Sunday for six weeks starting April 27. Discover birds, plants, mammals, dragonflies and more as we explore Homer Lake Forest Preserve, Kickapoo State Park and Busey Woods. Register by April 24: https://go.illinois.edu/JuniorMasterNaturalistRegistration.

Celebrate Women’s History Month with us from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, March 13! Join us in person or online on Zoom as we work together to enhance Wikipedia’s representation of women in STEM. There will be snacks, light refreshments and pizza! Visit the University Library STEM Wikipedia Edit-a-thons LibGuide for details and the Grainger Library calendar for Zoom information. Please inform Celenia Graves at celeniag@illinois.edu by Monday, March 11, if you have any accessibility requests. In-person seats are limited to 40 participants.

For the Paul M. Van Arsdell, Jr. Memorial Lecture on Litigation and the Legal Profession, the College of Law is pleased to welcome Yasmin Cader. deputy legal director at the ACLU and director of the Trone Center for Justice and Equality, Cader will be in conversation with professor Colleen Murphy. Free and open to the public; livestream also available: https://www.youtube.com/live/i5Fg9jsgRrE. 

Throughout your life you will, almost certainly, give presentations. 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.

Join Michael Levin of the University of Minnesota as he presents via Zoom at the Spring 2025 Kent Seminar Series from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, March 13. Presentations this semester focus on topics related to autonomy in transportation. Food and soft drinks will be provided beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the Illinois Center for Transportation Classroom.

The 2024-25 Dean's Distinguished Speaker Series aims to facilitate conversation with preeminent scholars in education about the connections between Community, Schools and Identity. As schools face existing and emerging challenges, they weigh shifting opportunities for educating and nurturing the students and communities they serve.

CSBS and the IGPA are excited to announce the new Partnerships for Evidence-based Public Policy fellowship program. This program will create a bridge between research experts and the public by enabling mid-career faculty across the Illinois System to conduct year-long policy research projects with Illinois government partners. A Q&A session will be held from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, March 13, on Zoom. The deadline to apply is April 15.

Google Scholar is an incredibly popular and useful tool for research with several features that scholars may not be familiar with. 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 to Google Scholar and cover some of the other more sophisticated features Google Scholar offers to support your research.

The Illinois Forum on Human Flourishing in a Digital Age lecture with John Durham Peters on March 11 has been postponed. Please stay tuned for a rescheduled date in the fall. 

Join the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Research Park for an open house and reception from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 12, to discuss the future of housing on campus at UIRP. Share your ideas and perspectives as we gather community input on residential development designed to complement the innovative ecosystem of Research Park. Light food and beverages will be served. Free parking available. 

Exciting camps this summer in 3D printing, Modeling, Generative AI and a special camp in AI+Robotics! Camps are scheduled through June and July, with a camp in the morning and one in the afternoon. Camps are five days a week, three hours a day. Campers can stay for the day as well by signing up for both camps. All camps at the Business Instructional Facility. A maximum of eight campers in one camp. 

On view: Making Place for the Arts at Home: Performance and Midcentury Modern Architecture, featuring homes in Champaign-Urbana designed by Jack Baker, John Replinger and A. Richard Williams. The museum is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Thursday until 8 p.m., when class is in session. Admission is always free. Parking access is easy during school breaks. kam.illinois.edu.

Join us next week for the Writers Workshop's Spring Break Writing Retreat! From March 17-19, we'll host productivity groups, in-person and online, from 9 a.m. to noon. All writing groups consist of a short goal-setting conversation, quiet writing time and a concluding reflection and wrap-up. Ideal for graduate students seeking to create a writing routine, make progress and meet deadlines on long-term writing projects, or jump-start a new writing project. Please note that you only need to register once to attend any or all of these dates.

Join us to learn about the collaboration between Urbana’s organic farm, Sola Gratia, and Bhakti Verma, the College of Education-HRI Fellow. Her work linking wellness and education in Urbana public schools is part of a larger “farm to school” movement, and its local roots you’ll have a chance to hear about as Bhakti joins Traci Barkley and Emily Stone in conversation.

Please join us for the University Archives' monthly Women in Science Lecture Series from noon to 1 p.m. March 13. Dr. Suneeti Jog, a research scientist in the Wetland Science Program at the Prairie Research Institute will present “Using plants to understand wetland health.” This is a hybrid event and will take place in the University Archives, Main Library 146, or you can register for the Zoom link.

In collaboration with National Taiwan University, CDA brings you the "Global Perspectives on Digital/Smart Agriculture" joint seminar series! Join us virtually from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. March 12, for a session on "Circular Bioeconomy Agriculture." Learn about net-zero transitions, turning food waste into aviation fuels, using biomass as materials for electronics and more. Free to attend – more info here.

Abstract: Nuclear security domestically and globally requires a systems engineering approach to design physical protection systems capable of defending against defined threat spaces. This discussion will focus on international and domestic security system design principles for civilian nuclear facilities and identify challenges for physical protection systems for advanced nuclear facilities such as small modular reactors and microreactors.

Learn about the essential components and applications of Cyberinfrastructure, including computing, data, software, networking and people within the NSF ACCESS program. The session will explore various computational resources available to researchers, such as high-performance computing, and help participants identify the best options for their needs. Examples of successful research projects will be given to illustrate real-world applications of cyberinfrastructure. Registration required.

This speaker series brings together researchers on campus whose work touches on environmental impacts (e.g., air quality, water quality, weather patterns) on health to share their current research and to foster discussion and collaboration. Becky Smith from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will give a talk on the title: This Bites: Vector-Borne Diseases and Environmental Change from noon to 1 p.m. March 11, on Zoom.

The next Online Student Service Watercooler Group meeting is at 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 12, via Zoom. This month, we will be joined by Jamie Hackett, assistant Provost and director of budget operations, to discuss the approved student fees for all online learners across the campus.

JSTOR is a digital library with access to more than 12 million journal articles, books, images and primary sources in 75 disciplines (primarily focused on humanities and social sciences). Recently, JSTOR merged with Artstor, a digital image database. This workshop will focus on how to search text, images and primary resources in JSTOR, and how to organize your research using the workspace feature.

CCUS technologies are regarded by experts as important to deep decarbonization, yet they have been contentious on local and regional levels. What are the main concerns people identify? How do they see these technologies fitting into the landscape of climate action and energy transition more broadly? We will discuss carbon management within the context of attitudes on green industrial development, net zero policy and desired economic activities to better understand the social challenges these technologies will likely face if stakeholders continue to try to develop carbon management projects. 

It's no secret that biopsychosocial factors can lead to uncomfortable body sensations, but what does this mean for how we approach pain and health in general? Join Malee Powell, MS, LMT, to learn more about the biopsychosocial model of pain and how to apply this framework to your daily life.

Thinking about using AI for your qualitative project? In this workshop, we’ll discuss how researchers use AI in the data analysis process for coding and analysis and look at AI integration into QDA software like MAXQDA and Atlas.ti. We’ll also review a framework for assessing whether AI use is appropriate for your methodology and the ethical concerns that come with the use of AI products.

The Intensive Language Instruction Program offers classes in 11 different languages. ILIP classes combine language and culture via engaging activities led by skilled instructors. No grade, just for fun! Students receive 30 hours of enjoyable language instruction, which maximizes exposure to the target language to help them meet their own personal learning goals. Online and in-person options are available! Register for ILIP today!

We are examining the effects of complementary protein in a meal on the rate of building muscle proteins. The study requires three days of participation, including two full-day trials with blood and muscle sample collection. You get $250 upon completion, information about your body composition (muscle and fat) and results of your lower body strength testing. Contact Zan for more information!

We are developing a technology to support cognitive and social aspects of everyday life for older adults (60+). If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulty with thinking, memory or concentration, we would like to gather your thoughts about this technology in a group discussion. Participants will be compensated. Visit this link or contact us: HFA-SPARC@illinois.edu or 217-300-5445. 

The Alcohol Research Lab is looking for social drinkers to participate in our study. Participation involves attending one 6- to 9-hour laboratory session and completing cognitive, social and communicative tasks while EEG brain responses are recorded. A referral of at least one same-gender friend is required at the time of sign up. Up to $100 in compensation. Fill out our interest form!

We are looking for kids ages 8-11 to participate in a research study about the effects of plant-based foods on cognition, body composition and metabolic health. Participation includes eating plant-based snacks daily and six visits to our lab over three months. All foods are provided by research staff, and compensation is $500. No changes need to be made to their usual diet. Email PODS-study@illinois.edu with questions or sign up for a screening call today!

This 25-minute interview study compares the effectiveness of TikTok advertising to traditional advertising. Participants must be: Latina women ages 18–34 who are active social media users. Participants will receive a $15 gift card. Please contact Michelle Garcia at mlg6@illinois.edu to schedule an interview.

Looking for adults ages 40-75 for a study on prolonged sitting and cognition. The study tests interrupting sitting with short, high-intensity exercises and measures brain and cognitive functions before and after. Participants earn $280, with travel expenses covered if living 30-plus miles from Champaign. Interested? Click here to join.