URBANA, Ill. – In the center of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) campus at University of Illinois, look up and you’ll see a massive, hexagon-shaped building, recognized for its gorgeous interior and well-loved study spaces with lush, green views of south campus.

That scene of the ACES Library, Information, and Alumni Center (LIAC), against the background of bright blue Midwestern skies, is iconic these days. But just two decades ago, the land LIAC stands on was an empty parking lot.

URBANA, Ill. – Financial inclusion is key to improving economic and social welfare, reducing inequality, and promoting economic growth. Globally, 1.7 billion people have limited access to financial services, especially in the developing world. As governments and NGOs work to strengthen financial resilience, digital technology has become a crucial component.

URBANA, Ill. – Every one of Stacy Zuber’s career goals centered on science. That doesn’t mean she took a direct path.

“In middle school, I was certain I wanted to be a veterinarian. I learned quickly that I didn’t like the sight of blood, so I tried biochemistry,” she says. “If had done an internship instead of working on the family farm during the summer, I would have seen what was really out there and made up my mind earlier.”

URBANA, Ill. -- Researchers combed through thousands of historical documents for first-person accounts of fires occurring between 1673 and 1905 in the Midwestern tallgrass prairie. Their study is the first systematic analysis of the timing, causes and consequences of prairie fires in this part of the world. They report their findings in Natural Areas Journal.

URBANA, Ill. – Once aquatic invasive species establish, they typically refuse to budge. That’s why it’s critical to prevent invasive quagga mussels, Eurasian watermilfoil, and other bad actors from getting established in the first place.

URBANA, Ill. – Global financial markets collapsed in March 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the world. But weeks earlier, soybean futures had already started providing an early warning sign of troubles ahead. Soybean futures were “the canary in the coal mine,” according to a team of agricultural economists from the University of Illinois, who studied soybean, corn, and wheat market trading in early 2020.

URBANA, Ill. – A new high-oil corn product offers greater amino acid and energy digestibility in growing pigs, according to new research from the University of Illinois.

URBANA, Ill. – By now, it’s clear the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly unkind to communities of color and low-income populations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ties these disparities to disproportionate representation of nonwhite populations in essential worker roles, discrimination, lack of healthcare access, wage gaps, housing factors, and more.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In a study of crayfish in the Current River in southeastern Missouri, researchers discovered – almost by chance – that the virile crayfish, Faxonius virilis, was interbreeding with a native crayfish, potentially altering the native’s genetics, life history and ecology. Reported in the journal Aquatic Invasions, the study highlights the difficulty of detecting some of the consequences of biological invasions, the researchers say.

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URBANA, Ill. – Drying is one of the most energy-intensive aspects of manufacturing, and new Phase II funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will allow the Center for Advanced Research in Drying (CARD) to build upon five years of successful drying innovations in order to help reduce the considerable energy consumption by manufacturers across varying industries.