Growing up in Taipei, K.C. Ting never anticipated that agricultural engineering would be his calling. “It took me by surprise,” he shared, recalling the entrance exam system in Taiwan that directed students to universities based on their rankings. Out of 100 options, his assignment to agricultural engineering wasn’t his top choice, yet it set the stage for a lifelong career that blended his love for engineering with agriculture.

A delegation representing Argentina’s Córdoba province visited the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on Nov. 6 as part of a tour to learn how industry, government, and start-ups interact in the U.S. university ecosystem. 

Albert “Bert” Kemp’s legacy is one of service, hard work, and lasting generosity. He was just one of 25 students in Mahomet Community High School’s Class of 1938, yet he would go on to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where he earned his undergraduate degree in dairy science from the Department of Animal Sciences in 1942.

His formative undergraduate education set Bert up for a successful career and the means to one day give back to the institution that gave him his start in life. 

Fungal contamination of cereal grains poses a substantial threat to food security and public health while causing hundreds of millions of dollars in economic losses annually. In a new study, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign evaluated far-ultraviolet C (far-UVC) light as a safe way to alleviate fungal contamination of corn and wheat and found this technology to be effective.

Two researchers in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have been named to the 2024 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list. The list recognizes research scientists and social scientists who have demonstrated exceptional influence – reflected through their publication of multiple papers frequently cited by their peers during the last decade. 

A few years back, a group of weed scientists showed that soil-applied herbicides are less effective against agricultural weeds in the context of our changing climate. Now, the same research group, led by the USDA Agricultural Research Service and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has shown the same is true of post-emergence (POST) herbicides.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has been named one of the nine colleges with the best financial planning programs by WealthManagement.com, a distinction that places Illinois alongside top institutions nationwide and highlights the program’s ability to prepare students for successful careers as financial advisors. 

The University of Illinois Extension just released a 10-year strategic plan that commits to serving the state by focusing on food and agriculture as well as the economic, community, environmental and health sectors through partnerships, discovery, technology and workforce excellence.

Microbes might be invisible, but their teeming masses influence everything from agriculture to the environment to the food we eat. That’s why experience working with microbes has become a must for countless industries. Now, community college students from across the country can gain that experience through a National Science Foundation-funded summer program led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Parkland College.