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URBANA, Ill. – The Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL), the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS), and the USAID-funded Southern Africa Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) have partnered to provide support to agro-processors in Southern Africa.

URBANA, Ill. – Underground tunnels have been used by warriors and smugglers for thousands of years to infiltrate battlegrounds and cross borders. A new analysis published in the Open Journal of Soil Science presents a series of medieval and modern case studies to identify the most restrictive and ideal soil and geologic conditions for tunneling.

URBANA, Ill. ­–  As University of Illinois employees and students return in the fall, safety measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 are critical. University administrators have announced a partial return to normal activities, with a combination of in-person and online instruction. Precautions include limited crowd sizes, frequent cleaning of classrooms, and hand sanitizer stations in all buildings.

URBANA, Ill. – Food banks help alleviate food insecurity, and their contribution has become increasingly important during the COVID-19 pandemic. Food banks receive supplies from many sources, including major food retailers, but little is known about their role in the food supply chain.

A team of researchers received a $500,000 grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to study the relationship among food retailers, food banks, and food security.

URBANA, Ill. – Debra Korte has been named the first director for learning innovation and e-learning in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at University of Illinois.

Korte, previously a teaching assistant professor in the Agricultural Leadership Education and Communication program in ACES, assumed the new role in ACES’ Office of Academic Programs June 22.  

URBANA, Ill. – Where coronavirus puts human workers at risk, robots can step in to do the job. Girish Chowdhary and his research team at the University of Illinois already have developed the robot, and they are now adapting it to current needs.

TerraSentia is a small, semi-autonomous robot that moves nimbly on the ground. A team of these robots work together, combining the speed and power of technology with the attention to detail of human labor.

URBANA, Ill. ­– Traffic accidents are the leading cause of non-natural deaths worldwide. Lower speed limits may help prevent accidents. But speed-reduction policies can be controversial and effects are not well documented.

A new study from University of Illinois shows that speed reductions in São Paulo, Brazil, dramatically reduced fatal accidents and increased travel times only minimally.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Faculty and staff members and graduate teaching assistants at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign this spring were honored for excellence in teaching, mentoring and advising, collectively known as Campus Awards for Excellence in Instruction. Read more.

URBANA, Ill. ­– The number of people in the U.S. who are food insecure will likely skyrocket over the next year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Soaring unemployment and poverty rates may lead to record numbers of food insecure households, according to new projections from Feeding America.

Almost 55 million Americans could lack access to adequate food, says Craig Gundersen, ACES distinguished professor of agricultural and consumer economics at the University of Illinois.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. —  Lisa Ainsworth, a research plant physiologist with the USDA Agricultural Research Service and adjunct professor of plant biology and crop sciences at the University of Illinois, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences — largely considered one of the highest honors that a scientist can receive.