University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Professor Emerita Lila Ann Vodkin, a pioneering figure in plant genetics and the former Charles Adlai Ewing Chair of Soybean Molecular Biology in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) died on June 20, 2024, at the age of 73.

Urban agriculture has the potential to improve food security through local, efficient, and sustainable food production. Examples of urban food systems include hydroponics, where plants grow in a nutrient solution without soil, and aquaponics, which combines hydroponics with raising fish in tanks.

The Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing (iFAB) Tech Hub has been awarded approximately $51 million from the Tech Hubs Program through the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration.

Domesticated animals play a prominent role in our society, with two-thirds of American families enjoying the companionship of pets and many others relying on animal products for their nutritional needs. But the process of domestication remains a bit of a mystery. Convincing wild animals they are safe enough to coexist and mate in enclosures and in close proximity to humans and other animals is no small feat. What does it take behaviorally and genetically for that to happen? 

Australian agricultural journalist and broadcaster Kallee Buchanan has been named the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s second Visiting Global Agricultural Journalist.

Managing a fussy infant or a determined toddler can be a daily test of patience and endurance for parents and caregivers. New research on the origins of emotional overeating in 3-year-olds suggests that how caregivers respond to infants’ and toddlers’ negative emotions such as disappointment, fear and anger influences the children’s development of emotional overeating.

LGBTQ+ people involved in farm work are over three times more likely to experience depression and suicidal intent and about two and a half times more likely to experience anxiety than the general population. That’s according to a new study led by farmer mental health experts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.  

As part of a longstanding, unique training program facilitated by the Office of International Programs (OIP) in the College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES), the members of the 2024 ACES Global Academy immersed themselves in France where they made connections for future collaborations and found inspiration for lifetime engagement in the global arena.

By giving artificial intelligence simple associative learning rules based on the brain circuits that allow a sea slug to forage — and augmenting it with better episodic memory, like that of an octopus — scientists have built an AI that can navigate new environments, seek rewards, map landmarks and overcome obstacles.