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Astronomers find stellar cradle where planets form

Astronomers at the UI have found the first clear evidence for a cradle in space where planets and moons form. The cradle, revealed in photographs taken with NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, consists of a flattened envelope of gas and dust surrounding a young protostar. Full story

Christmas spirit lives in family tree-trimming rituals, UI expert says

Worried the Christmas spirit has been cast aside like a lousy gift amid a frantic, commercialized holiday rush that cranks up even before Halloween’s pumpkins start to shrivel? A UI marketing expert says twinkling examples of the storied yuletide theme will turn up in more than 80 million homes across the country over the next few weeks, wrapped in garland and flecked with ornaments. Full story

Small RNA plays parallel roles in bacterial metabolism

They are often overlooked, and were once thought to be too small to contribute much to major cellular processes, but in recent years the study of small ribonucleic acids (sRNA) has gained momentum. Now a team from the UI has identified the unique metabolic activities of one of these bit players, a 200-nucleotide-long RNA molecule in bacteria called SgrS. Full story

Catalyst-free chemistry makes self-healing materials more practical

A new catalyst-free, self-healing material system developed by researchers at the UI offers a far less expensive and far more practical way to repair composite materials used in structural applications ranging from airplane fuselages to wind-farm propeller blades. Full story

Researchers develop better membranes for water treatment, drug delivery

Researchers at the UI have developed a new generation of biomimetic membranes for water treatment and drug delivery. The highly permeable and selective membranes are based on the incorporation of the functional water channel protein Aquaporin Z into a novel A-B-A triblock copolymer. Full story

Expert: Cutting-edge gains not always death knell for old-guard firms

For every technological breakthrough that spawns new industry giants such as Microsoft or Intel, old-guard companies wither or die, according to an evolutionary theory of capitalism embraced for well over a half-century. But a new research paper co-written by UI business professor Rajshree Agarwal argues that innovation isn’t necessarily a death knell for companies that wind up on the wrong side of the cutting edge. Full story

Expert compares high cost of health care to goods consumers can relate to

If Americans spent the same amount of money on health care as counterparts in Canada and a number of other countries, the difference between what they spend now and what they would save annually would be enough to pay for two plasma TVs or three Big Macs a day. Those are just some of the scenarios worked out in a new study by Tom O’Rourke, a professor emeritus of community health at the UI who has spent much of his professional career examining the nation’s ailing, failing health-care system. Full story

Energy conservation policy approved by board of trustees

The UI spends $100 million annually on energy, and adopting an energy conservation policy is the university’s best opportunity for obtaining the resources needed for academic programs, faculty salaries and other initiatives, said UI President B. Joseph White and Lawrence Eppley, chair of the UI Board of Trustees, when the board met Nov. 14 in Springfield. Full story

Budget and campus projects approved

Senate discusses resolution on use of Chief imagery

A resolution from the Senate Committee on Equal Opportunity regarding displays of Chief Illiniwek imagery during Homecoming generated debate at the Dec. 3 meeting of the Urbana-Champaign Senate. Full story

Faculty members, academic professionals retire

Between Sept. 1, 2006, and Aug. 31, 2007, 109 faculty members and academic professionals retired from the UI, according to the Office of Academic Human Resources. The retirees, their positions, units and years of service are online.

Gentry fills retirement with travel and home renovations

• Elbert Gentry, senior management methods analyst, University Office for Planning and Budgeting

• Sharon Michalove, academic adviser, adjunct assistant professor, associate director of undergraduate studies, visiting lecturer

New Faces 2007

Among the newcomers to the Urbana campus are more than 7,500 freshmen and about 100 tenure/tenure track faculty members whose appointments began this summer or fall. Inside Illinois continues its tradition of introducing some of the new faculty members on campus and will feature at least two new colleagues in each fall issue.

• Diana Grigsby-Toussaint, assistant professor of kinesiology and community healthCollege of Applied Health Sciences

• William D. Gropp, Paul and Cindy Saylor Professor of Computer ScienceCollege of Engineering
  

UI senior named Marshall Scholar

Ian Clausen, a senior in religious studies and English at the UI, has been named a Marshall Scholar. Full story

A good book

Promoted and newly tenured faculty members were honored Nov. 28 with a reception and book plating in the Grand Gallery of Grainger Engineering Library. Photos

Artist's future forest anything but a tranquil woods

If Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz” were to find herself magically inserted into one of the Technicolor parallel universes created by UI faculty artist Laurie Hogan, the pigtailed accidental tourist might even wish she were back in the Emerald City. Full story

Busboom’s dream house has more than medieval theme

Depending on the dreamer, the phrase “dream house” means different things. To Bruce Busboom, construction superintendent in the Facilities and Services Division, it meant a castle – complete with a drawbridge and a pair of gargoyles spouting water 30 feet down into a moat. Full story

UI a recipient of grant funds to upgrade rural health network

The UI is one of 12 institutions in Illinois to receive funding from the Federal Communications Commission Rural Health Care Pilot Program, an initiative to improve health-related communications infrastructure nationwide. Full story

DEPARTMENTS

A Minute With™

Marketing expert Lan Chaplin … on using the holidays to reinforce values other than materialism

brief notes Free guide provides reviews for gift books … Nominations for CDSA accepted until Jan. 21… Exhibitions explore poster art, colors …Proposed Web redesign revealed … Vet Med dentistry service now open on weekends … Win free airfare at hockey games … Ring in the New Year at Allerton …Campus category added to photo competition … Sign up for video visit with your soldier…More

Careers and Employment at the UI

Academic Human Resources
Suite 420, 807 S. Wright St., MC-310 • 333-6747
Listings of academic professional and faculty member positions can be reviewed during regular business hours or online.

Staff Human Resources
52 E. Gregory Drive, MC-562 • 333-3101
Paper employment applications or paper civil service exam requests are no longer accepted by SHR. Applicants may complete an online employment application and to submit an exam request, visit the online Employment Center. 

deaths

Israel Holland, 91, died Nov. 19 at home in Urbana. Holland worked in the forestry department for 22 years, retiring in 1981 as head of the department. Memorials: National Arbor Society.

Raymond F. Hott, 91, died Nov. 13 at his home in Moline. He worked at the UI for more than 35 years, retiring in 1976 as a purchasing assistant II for the Purchasing Department. Memorials: UI Alumni Association.

Ernest Minnick, 80, died Nov. 30 at Manor Care Health Services, Champaign. Minnick worked at the UI for 29 years, retiring in 1987 as an electrician for the Facilities and Services Division. Memorials: St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital or First Baptist Church of Champaign at Savoy.

Jerry Palmer, 70, died Nov. 21 at Zeeland Hospital in Holland, Mich. Palmer was a professor of veterinary medicine from 1976 to 1980.

death archives