Outreach

URBANA, Ill. - Kim Kidwell, dean of the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES), announced a new report today detailing the impact of Illinois Extension, the public outreach and engagement arm of University of Illinois.

URBANA, Ill. – The Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL) developed a new Guide to African Soybean Seedborne Diseases and Pests for use by African seed companies, seed multipliers, research institutions, and soybean processors, whose operations demand high-quality seed. Identifying the causes of decreased seed health, which translates to poor germination, low yields, and decreased profitability, is key to building a successful soybean industry in Africa.

URBANA, Ill. – During the COVID-19 pandemic, many are paying closer attention to numbers than ever before. Whether it’s the number of new cases in local communities or the death toll worldwide, these figures can be alarming and overwhelming.

Enter Zaheeda Darvesh. The data analyst with University of Illinois Extension is taming COVID-19 numbers for one Illinois community and helping the public make sense of the crisis.

URBANA, Ill. ­– The Academy for Home Equity in Financial Planning has a new home at the University of Illinois in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES). The academy is a hub for research, teaching and information about the role of home equity in retirement planning.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new tool uses an interactive database of geographic and genetic information to help authorities quickly identify where the confiscated tusks of African elephants were originally poached.

Developed by an international team of researchers, the Loxodonta Localizer matches genetic sequences from poached ivory to those stored in the database. It relies on genetic information from a small, highly variable region of mitochondrial DNA from African elephants.

Over the past decade, more than 200 international students have been introduced to the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois through the International Student Immersion Program (ISIP) coordinated by the ACES Office of International Programs. ISIP helps ACES maintain and facilitate strategic partnerships with key international universities, identifies potential graduate students, and serves as a bridge for cultural understanding, for both the visiting students and their hosts at Illinois.

After an engaging set of interactions in South Africa over the summer, several faculty from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) are planning new collaborations with colleagues from the University of Pretoria and the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Agronomy professionals from around the world converged at the Crop Sciences Research and Education Center’s South First Street facility on August 26 for in-field presentations and opportunities to interact with ACES faculty.

The event is hosted biannually to coincide with the Farm Progress Show in Decatur. Most of the attendees hailed from Brazil and Argentina.

URBANA, Ill. – The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center has been transforming lives in East St. Louis since 2000, fulfilling its mission to instill area youth with the dream, drive, and determination to succeed in academics, athletics, and leadership. Now, having entered a formal partnership with the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois, the center can expose kids to a whole new world.

URBANA, Ill. – The public will have the opportunity to learn from more University of Illinois scientists than ever before during the 62^nd Agronomy Day on Aug. 22. Researchers and Extension specialists from across the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences will share the latest discoveries and best practices in agronomy and land stewardship.