Awards

Raw meat and seafood can carry harmful bacteria that cause foodborne illness, posing an ongoing public health risk. These pathogens frequently show resistance to multiple antimicrobials, making them harder to treat. A University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign research team has received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to participate in a retail surveillance program that monitors meat products for resistant bacteria.

Three ACES scientists are among 12 faculty at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who have been named to the 2025 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list. The list recognizes researchers and social scientists who have demonstrated exceptional influence, as reflected through their publication of multiple papers frequently cited by their peers during the last decade.

Sarah Low, professor and head of the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics within the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has been named a Fellow of the Regional Science Association International — the highest ho

Professor Jessica Rutkoski was formally invested as the inaugural Siemer Milling Company Associate Professor of Wheat Breeding in the Department of Crop Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign during a ceremony on Oct. 27, 2025.

The Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE), College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES), and The Grainger College of Engineering celebrated the investiture of two campus researchers for their leadership in advancing resilient food systems, clean energy transitions, and shaping global sustainability technologies.

Darin Joos, Crop Sciences Research Agronomist, has been named a 2025 Chancellor’s Staff Excellence Award recipient.

Joos began his Illinois career in 1994 as a graduate student and went on to lead the state’s crop variety testing program, which evaluated commercial varieties of corn, wheat, and soybean at 14 sites across Illinois. After nearly three decades in that role, he now manages the Crop Sciences Research and Education Center farms in Champaign.

Three students from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences were selected for the 2025 Homecoming Court at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences celebrated exceptional faculty, staff, and graduate students at the 2025 Paul A. Funk Recognition Awards banquet on Sept. 15 at Pear Tree Estate. Below is a list of award recipients whom Dean Germán Bollero recognized during the ceremony. 

Paul Wallem turned 91 earlier this year, but that hasn’t slowed him down one bit. He is a regular columnist at Farm World and the author of six books, and that’s just since his retirement a decade ago.

The Blavatnik Family Foundation and The New York Academy of Sciences has announced the Finalists for the 2025 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists.