The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has announced the creation of a new administrative unit — the Division of Parks and Natural Spaces (DPNS) — to oversee Allerton Park and Retreat Center and the Illinois Arboretum. Headed by current Allerton Executive Director Derek Peterson, DPNS will ensure long-term sustainability of these public recreational spaces by focusing on conservation and community engagement.

A first-of-its-kind interdisciplinary center focused on creating a climate-smart circular bioeconomy is poised for significant growth, with the appointment of a director, two endowed professorships, and a major campus commitment to hire four new faculty in departments across the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Energy drinks are becoming an increasingly important topic in public health, nutrition and food policy, with global sales more than doubling from 2018-2023 and product selection expanding by 20% since 2021.

Lisa Ainsworth has been named director of the internationally acclaimed Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency project, which is led by the University of Illinois.

Longtime Chicago residents may miss the chocolatey fragrance wafting from Blommer Chocolate Company's now-shuttered West Loop factory. However, despite the closing of the factory, the Chicago headquarters and laboratories of one of North America’s largest cocoa processor remain. 

Twenty-five members of the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program participated in two days of seminars at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on Feb. 6-7 to broaden their international perspectives and understanding of Illinois’ place in global agriculture. 

People living in rural areas are at greater risk for obesity than the general population, and they often have limited access to healthy, affordable food, physical activity facilities, public transportation, and health care institutions. Weight loss interventions are more successful with support from a dietitian, but many rural residents do not have preventive care providers nearby.

Each spring, roughly 3.5 billion wild birds migrate from their warm winter havens to their breeding grounds across North America, eating insects, distributing plant seeds and providing a variety of other ecosystem services to stopping sites along the way. Some also carry diseases like avian influenza, a worry for agricultural, environmental and public health authorities. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor of natural resources and environmental sciences Michael P.

According to some popular culture writers and online posts by discouraged singles lamenting their inability to find romantic partners, dating is “broken,” fractured by the social isolation created by technology, pandemic lockdowns and potential partners’ unrealistic expectations.

The world lost a humble giant on July 30, 2023. Steve Gerdes (ACE, ’77) was a man of boundless dreams and even greater determination. His deep love for farming, family, community, and life itself was evident in everything he did and continues to inspire through the legacy he leaves behind.