Post-tenure faculty or equivalent are invited to participate in the 2026-2027 Emerging Research Leaders Academy, a program designed to help mid-career faculty pursue large multi-PI grants, lead campus research initiatives, enhance their own research programs, and ultimately position Illinois for research excellence. Participants must be nominated by a department head, dean, or director. Nominees will immediately receive a unique link to apply upon nomination. Nominations are due May 29, and applications are due June 8.

Our water system has sampled for a series of unregulated contaminants. Unregulated contaminants are those that don't yet have a drinking water standard set by EPA. The purpose of monitoring for these contaminants is to help EPA decided whether the contaminants should have a standard. As our customers, you have a right to know that these data are available. If you are interested in examining the results, please visit the F&S Water Quality page or contact Safety and Compliance via email at ecs@illinois.edu.

This program advances talent development collaboration between the University Academic Alliance in Taiwan and its international partner alliances/systems, including the University of Illinois System. Priority fields: semiconductors; artificial intelligence; smart Manufacturing; quantum technology; space technology; (six) health sciences and biotechnology; energy technology; sustainability and circular economy; new agriculture; digital humanities; and social sciences.          https://uaat.ntu.edu.tw/english/News_Content_n_186321_s_262923.html

Sinclaire's Cafe at the College of Law will be open for the summer. Located at the east end of the building, Sinclaire's menu includes coffee, tea, and pastries. Summer hours are 9 a.m. to noon Mondays through Fridays, beginning on May 18.

Are you the editor or on the editorial board of an open access journal that charges no fee to authors to publish (“Diamond Open Access”)? The Library encourages you to participate in a national survey of U.S.-based Diamond OA journals. This mapping effort has identified more than 500 such journals and will help inform recommendations to improve the visibility, support, and long-term sustainability of Diamond OA publishing in the U.S. Additional responses will help create a more complete picture of the scholarly communication landscape and inform future open access policy discussions.

The Odyssey Project offers tuition-free night classes in humanities subjects to income-eligible adults without a bachelor's degree. Students can earn up to eight transferable college credits from the U. of I. Classes meet on Monday and Wednesday evenings and follow the academic calendar. Dinner, supplies, textbooks, and computer loan provided. Sign up for an information session to learn more and apply.

Ted's Café at the Beckman Institute will close beginning Friday, May 15, for a few renovations. It will re-open Wednesday, June 3, for lunch only. It will re-open for full service June 4. When it re-opens, its summer hours will be 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The café will also be closed Tuesday, June 30, for inventory.

Summer hours will begin at many library locations on May 18; refer to Libraries and Hours before visiting. If you're not on campus, you can always access our online collections through the Library’s website. Access e-content using a Virtual Private Networking, or VPN, the Library's proxy bookmarklet, or by configuring your Google Scholar settings. Use the DocExpress service to request digital copies of articles or chapters from the print collections; this service is free for faculty, staff, and graduate students.

Beckman's Vis Lab has added a new flatbed scanner that can scan film positives, negatives, or slides. Use it during the Vis Lab's daily office hours (1 p.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays in Room 2203 in the Beckman Institute) or email itg-vl@beckman.illinois.edu to learn more. The Vis Lab also offers photography equipment, a Graphics Services team that can create journal covers and scientific figures, plus a variety of software packages for analyzing and visualizing research data.

The I-HELP Registry is here and ready to help you recruit participants for your research studies. With more than 300 participants across the adult lifespan waiting to be contacted about research opportunities, it is a great way to help boost your recruitment. For more details, please contact Hannah Jones.

Planning a summer lunch or retreat? Host it in the Beckman Institute's new first-floor executive dining room. The room seats up to 36 and is available for $49 per hour. Beckman offers catering through Ted's Cafe. The space includes plenty of privacy, a screen for presentations, and a beautiful view of the North Quad. You can reserve the space by using Beckman's space reservation software or by emailing spaceres@beckman.illinois.edu.

Join us for a hands-on, beginner-friendly Linux and Git Workshop! HPCBio, the bioinformatics core at the Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center, is offering a full-day workshop covering two essential research tools: Linux/Bash for navigating the command line, managing files, automating tasks, and running common software, and Git/GitHub for tracking changes to code- and text-based work, collaborating with others, and managing projects. Learn more and register at the HPCBio Workshop webpage.

NCSA, in collaboration with the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center, invites you to the next Quantum User Group Bring Your Own Lunch and Learn on Thursday, May 28. For additional details, please refer to the calendar page.

Feeling disconnected between yourself and life? Join University of Illinois Extension health and family educator Emily Harmon for Being Mindful in a Busy World from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. May 21, at Salt and Light in Urbana. Mindfulness is the act of paying purposeful attention to the present moment. Participants will learn effective methods for practicing mindfulness to help reduce stress and live life to the fullest. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is not required. If you would like to register, register here or contact Salt and Light at 217-355-5654.

Explore the IDEA Lab at Resources for Researchers Office Hours! Attend online or in person to try new tech, meet experts Stuart Turner and Eric Kurt, and discover tools for innovation, teaching, and fun. All are welcome. Don’t miss this special hands-on session!

Two more accessibility workshops are coming this upcoming week! From 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. May 19, Make Your PDF Documents Accessible, Part 2 covers using Acrobat's Accessibility Checker to find and fix issues and knowing when to refer complex PDFs to a specialist (note: Adobe Acrobat Pro required — available free from the U. of I. Webstore). From 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. May 22, Make Your Excel Spreadsheets Accessible, Part 2 builds on Part 1 with table naming, accessible links, color contrast tools, and more.

The Illini Union Board presents free Summer Movies on the Quad at 9 p.m. every Thursday night from May 21 through Aug. 13. Located on the Main Quad, screenings offer a mix of new and popular movies with snacks available from the Quad Shop and an indoor rain location in the Illini Union I-Rooms.

The Illinois Mexican and Mexican-American student initiative invites you to the Precision Brain Health: Merging Genetic Insights with Nutritional Neuroscience online symposium. Join us to foster an interdisciplinary forum in which medical students and faculty collaboratively explore and critically appraise emerging evidence on how genomic variability and targeted nutritional interventions converge to optimize cognitive function and neurological resilience. Register for the event.

Registration is now open for the third annual Illinois Online Higher Education Symposium, a free virtual event Nov. 6. This year’s symposium will focus on accessibility in online and digital learning and will bring together faculty, instructional designers, administrators, and staff from across Illinois higher education institutions. Proposal submissions are also being accepted. Learn more, register, and submit a proposal at the symposium website.

The Writers Workshop will host a retreat this week with dedicated writing time every morning (hybrid) and afternoon presentations Monday through Wednesday (in-person). Presentation topics include "Reconnecting with Your Writing," "Reading for and Writing Literature Reviews," and "Writing with Style: Strategies for Polished Academic Prose." Participants are welcome to attend as much or little of the event as their availability allows. Register for the retreat and the workshops on our calendar.

Fulbright will be hosting a info session with tips and advice on how to apply for the U.S. Scholar Program! U.S. citizen attendees will meet members of the selection team, learn about the review criteria and committees, unpack application components, and hear tips on writing specifically for the Fulbright application while gaining inspiration from other's questions. You can RSVP at the link above.

You’ve been asked to create a video for your unit or department ... but you’re doing it alone with little to no video experience. Where do you even start? In this session, Virgil Ward, assistant director of multimedia marketing and communications in the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, shares a simple, practical system for planning, shooting, and editing content as a one-person team. Designed for beginners, you’ll walk away with clear, repeatable steps and the confidence to start creating immediately.

Got a plushie or charm on your bag? We’re interested in how young men (ages 18-30) use bag charms (i.e., small decorative accessories attached to bags, such as plush toys or cartoon ornaments) in everyday life. Participants will bring their bag charm(s) and discuss their meanings. Please contact Weiting Du at wd12@illinois.edu or 217-200-0030 if you’re interested in scheduling an in-person interview. The location will be a discussion space in one of the U. of I. libraries. A $20 gift card is provided upon completion of the interview.

Help make the Next Alcohol Fitbit! The Alcohol Research Lab is looking for participants for a validation study of transdermal biosensing bracelets, and we will be running sessions over the summer. Participation involves attending three laboratory sessions, wearing at least two transdermal bracelets (on your non-dominant hand), and filling out surveys for two weeks. Up to $400 in compensation for participation.

The Institute of Communications Research is recruiting adults (18+) for a study on how people perceive and interact with social media content. Participation includes one 30-minute in-person session in Room 043 of Gregory Hall involving a simulated social media feed and a short survey. Participants will receive a $10 Amazon e-gift card. Interested individuals may complete a brief screening questionnaire (less than one minute) to determine eligibility and schedule a session: https://illinois.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cvhmiKIGLhvlDRY.

We are seeking women with a planned cesarean delivery to participate in a mindfulness-based intervention study. Eligible participants will be invited to join the program and complete surveys about their experiences. Those who complete the intervention can receive up to $195 in gift cards as a thank you for their participation. For more information, please contact us at mamidappstudy@illinois.edu or call 217-244-9363.

The Nutrition and Exercise Performance Research Group is looking for participants to partake in a 2-day study to establish the utility of the indicator amino acid oxidation method in adults. Participation in this study involves 2-day habituation lead in with all meals provided, muscle biopsies, and blood, breath, and urine sampling during two all-day trials. Upon completion, you will receive $150 and information about your body composition and caloric needs. Contact Gena (NEPRESEARCH@illinois.edu) for more information! Male participants are strongly encouraged!

The Nutrition and Exercise Performance Research Group is recruiting recreationally active adults (19–40 years old) to participate in a 2-day study examining how food combinations affect muscle protein synthesis and whole-body protein utilization. Participation includes four free meals, resistance exercise, muscle biopsies, and blood, breath, and urine sampling across two lab visits. Participants who complete the study will receive $300 and information on body composition and caloric needs. Interested individuals may contact Calvin at (cw148@illinois.edu) to learn more and see if you qualify!

This study is to understand and explore ways to design health information with older adults. The study procedures include reading health texts, completing surveys, and interacting with researchers to design health information with artificial intelligence tools. Adults older than 60 years old are welcome! The study will take two hours in the iSchool building (614 E. Daniel St.) with a compensation of $35 in cash (parking fee included). Thank you very much!

In this workshop, Juniper Cournoyer from the Vis Lab will walk through a full geometry processing pipeline, from raw point clouds to models ready for simulation and design. We’ll cover how to build triangular meshes from unstructured data, turning them into tetrahedral meshes for finite element analysis. We’ll highlight practical methods, implementation tips, and some of the common challenges that come up when bridging scanning, simulation, and CAD workflows.