I’ve been around coffee for as long as I can remember. I was born in Guatemala, and I’ve enjoyed many sunsets at my family’s coffee farm in the town of Antigua Guatemala. As kids, my cousin and I spent countless hours playing hide and seek between the rows of coffee plants and made paper boats that we released in the coffee mill water channels where the coffee grains were washed.
URBANA, Ill. – Nicolas Martin, assistant professor of crop sciences, and Bruce Sherrick, professor of agricultural and consumer economics, have been selected as 2022-2023 faculty scholars by the University of Illinois Office of Risk Management and Insurance Research (ORMIR) to advance academic research on risk management and preparedness.
In December 2020, the College of ACES celebrated surpassing its $200 million With Illinois campaign goal 18 months ahead of schedule. Now, the college—and the university—have set their sights on recognizing the impact of the generosity of its supporters.
"With Illinois" is the most ambitious philanthropic endeavor in the history of the University of Illinois, raising $2.7 billion from October 2017 to June 2022. A celebration was held on October 14, 2022, to showcase the transformational power of gifts accrued during the campaign.
A team of Agroecosystem Sustainability Center (ASC) scientists, including faculty from the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences and the Department of Crop Sciences, was awarded a grant from the Illinois Nutrient Research and Education Council to quantify streambank erosion across the state and its contributions to phosphorus loading of surface waters.
Harvard University’s Center for the Environment awards environmental fellowships. The fellowships enable recent doctorate recipients to use Harvard’s resources to tackle complex environmental problems. Eligibility for funding extends to candidates with a doctorate or equivalent in any subject area from any university in the world. Candidates may propose research projects in any discipline. The fellowship includes a salary of US$83 thousand per year, plus reimbursement for relocation expenses, annual allowance for travel and other professional expenses.
URBANA, Ill. – Plants are designed to travel. They might not stand up and walk, but many plants produce seeds or other bits that can be carried long distances by wind or animals and start growing. While that might be great news for the plant, escapes like these can disrupt natural ecosystems and be costly to remove.
But just how costly?
URBANA, Ill. – Chronic wasting disease, the prion disease affecting white-tailed deer and other cervids, is spreading. With documented cases in 29 U.S. states, two Canadian provinces, three Scandinavian countries, and South Korea, free-ranging and captive cervids are under threat. Efforts to conserve endangered deer against this backdrop are understandably fraught.
A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll states that roughly half of registered voters say climate change is either “very important” or “one of the most important issues” in their vote for Congress this year. However, many citizens struggle to understand their place in this global issue.
URBANA, Ill. – Decades of corn breeding efforts emphasizing yield have contributed to modern hybrids with shallower and less complex root systems than their predecessors. Because the breeding and selection of most modern hybrids has taken place in environments with high nutrient concentrations, optimal weed control, and soil moisture conditions, hybrids perform best under high input systems.