Awards

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.

Evelyn Brandt Thomas turned 100 on her last birthday, and just over 100 days into this year, she was awarded the prestigious Order of Lincoln by the Lincoln Academy of Illinois. This award is Illinois’ highest honor for professional achievement and public service. 

The Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment has awarded $30,000 in seed funding to Andrew Hultgren, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, and others for an interdisciplinary proposal examining the economic and human health effects of exposure to wildfire smoke on a broad scale. The project aims to inform policy related to climate change.

This April, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign students were among 25 teams participating in the National Collegiate Soil Judging Contest hosted by Iowa State University near Ames, Iowa. The Illinois team earned first place in the team-judging category and 13th in the competition overall. The team was led by Liz Miernicki and assistant coach Scott Wiesbrook, both soil scientists at the Illinois Natural History Survey, part of the Prairie Research Institute.

Today, the Walder Foundation of Chicago announced the recipients of its 2024 Biota Awards, recognizing early-career researchers working to understand, protect, and restore the unique and diverse ecosystems in Chicago and around the world.

Each year, the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign honors high-achieving juniors and seniors who demonstrate leadership, academic excellence, and a commitment to the ACES mission. This year, the Hugh P. Morrison Award and Warren K. Wessels Award went to seniors Olivia Messerges and Emma Kuhns, respectively. Junior Carmen Trotta received the Robert M. Harrison Leadership Award. 

Professor Michael P. Ward was honored as the Stuart L. and Nancy J. Levenick Chair in Sustainability in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (NRES) at an investiture ceremony held by the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign on April 18. 

Two faculty members in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have been elected 2023 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Fellows are recognized for their achievements in research, teaching, technology, administration, and science communication.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign each year presents Campus Awards for Excellence in Instruction to exceptional faculty and staff members, graduate teaching assistants and advisers campuswide. This year’s recipients, two of which are from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES), are being honored at a ceremony. 

Andrew and Karlie Bowman, the innovative minds behind the popcorn brand Pilot Knob Farms, have won the 2024 Glen “GB” Brandt Prize for Ag Entrepreneurism, a prestigious award recognizing a grower, producer, or farmer who exemplifies an entrepreneurial spirit and advances innovation in agricultural practices and products.

The award announcement was made on March 5 at the 2024 AgTech Summit, hosted by the University of Illinois Research Park.