Tag: university of illinois

U Of I Researchers Developing Smartphone App For Coronavirus Testing

A team of University of Illinois researchers is working on a smartphone application that would detect the novel coronavirus within 30 minutes, without the need for a diagnostic lab. Illinois Newsroom’s Brian Moline spoke with Brian Cunningham. He’s a professor of electrical and computer engineering, and the director of the micro and nanotechnology lab on

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News Around Illinois – April 3, 2020

Suit Seeks Illinois Inmates’ Release Due To Coronavirus CHICAGO — A new federal lawsuit seeks an court order directing state officials “to drastically reduce Illinois’s prison population” on grounds that hundreds of inmates are particularly vulnerable to catching and dying from the coronavirus. The lawsuit filed Thursday in Chicago names ten inmates but seeks class-action

U Of I Team Designs Emergency Ventilator In Days

Hospitals treating patients with COVID-19 face a growing need for ventilators to help them breathe. Engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have come up with a design for a ventilator … and they’re offering it for free. The Illinois RapidVent, looking at first sight like a few pieces of plastic plus some screws,

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News Around Illinois – March 31, 2020

Illinois Confirmed COVID-19 Cases Top 5,000 CHAMPAIGN – On Monday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 461 new cases of the coronavirus disease, COVID-19, bringing the state’s total so far to 5,057. In addition, the death toll in Illinois stands at 75. For health questions about COVID-19, call the hotline at 1-800-889-3931 or email

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News Around Illinois – March 28/29, 2020

Updated: Sunday 3:20 p.m. Tornado Damages Homes, Uproots Trees In Northern Illinois OREGON — Weather officials have confirmed a tornado touched down in northern Illinois damaging homes and uprooting trees. The tornado touched down in Ogle County just outside Oregon around 9 p.m. on Saturday. National Weather Service meteorologist Gino Izzi says it was on

University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

University Of Illinois Raises Student Health Insurance Premiums Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

The University of Illinois Board of Trustees voted earlier this month to increase health insurance premiums by more than 30 percent for students at its Urbana-Champaign campus.  Beginning in the fall, undergraduate premiums will increase by almost $200 per semester, while premiums for graduate students will go up by about $230 per semester. The Graduate

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News Around Illinois – March 23, 2020

Illinois COVID-19 Cases Top 1,000 URBANA – The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 296 new cases of coronavirus disease in Illinois. The number of cases now stands at 1,049 in 30 counties.  There are also three new deaths: a Cook County man in his 80s, a Chicago man in his 80s and a woman

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News Around Illinois – March 12, 2020

Illinois Colleges Suspend In-Person Classes Due To COVID-19 CHICAGO  — Illinois, DePaul, Northwestern and Illinois State universities have decided to suspend in-person classes due to coronavirus fears. The schools on Wednesday joined colleges and universities around the U.S. that have announced a halt to face-to-face instruction. None of the universities are reporting cases of COVID-19

University Of Illinois Tells Students In Italy To Return Home Now

URBANA – At the beginning of this semester, 137 University of Illinois students were studying in Italy. On Sunday, university administrators told them to leave the country as soon as possible. The same day, the Italian government said its coronavirus infections jumped 40% to 1,576 and deaths of infected people rose to 34.

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News Around Illinois – February 19, 2020

New Tool Will Help Farmers Calculate Crop Insurance URBANA – Farmers must make decisions about crop insurance over the next few weeks, and a new tool from the University of Illinois can help. The crop insurance calculator allows farmers to enter their state, county, crop, and other farm information, and it spits out different premiums. It was

University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

U Of I Student Isolated After Bacterial Meningitis Diagnosis

URBANA – The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign reported Friday that a student is being treated for bacterial meningitis, but there is a low risk of the illness spreading in the general population. That’s because the student lived in off-campus housing and has been isolated in a hospital during treatment.  In a notice to the community,

Fretwell Wilson Discusses New Leadership Post At IGPA

URBANA – The University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs has a new director. Robin Fretwell Wilson begins her new role leading the U of I system’s public policy research institute in a designate capacity on Feb. 16, and the Board of Trustees will vote on her appointment at its March 12th meeting.

How Lasers, Microscopes And Machine-Learning Could Help Improve Cancer Treatment

URBANA – Researchers at the Cancer Center at Illinois have developed a new technique aimed at improving the way cancer diagnoses are performed.  The approach combines an infrared laser, a high-resolution optical microscope and machine-learning algorithms to generate high-resolution images paired with detailed chemical information about the cells within a patient’s tumor.