Part of Beckman’s 30th anniversary celebration, this free performance explores quantum physics and its
role in our universe through
live music, narrative, and visuals.
Taylor Jansen, a recent graduate of the University of Illinois, and her interdisciplinary research team conducted a project focused on aging and chronic disease management in the summer of 2017. Now a published journal author, Jansen thanks the CLEAR Initiative for kick-starting her research experience as an undergraduate.
Neil Dettling, a resident Facilities and Services painter, reflects on his time at the Beckman Institute. Dettling will retire at the end of March.
Illinois Computer Science – In less than a decade, driven by the deep learning revolution, computer vision has boomed and begun to transform photography, social and interactive computing, manufacturing, health care, construction industry, agriculture, and other fields. Illinois Computer Science’s three vision professors and their widening network of alumni are among the leaders driving and shaping that growth. Professor David Forsyth and Associate Professors Derek Hoiem and Svetlana Lazebnik lead Illinois Computer Science’s Vision Group and play, as Forsyth says, a significant role in the academic computer vision community.
Aerospace at Illinois – Polette Centellas, a Ph.D. student in aerospace engineering who is in Beckman's Autonomous Materials Systems Group, competed at the JEC World Composites Challenge in Paris last week. Her challenge was to pitch her thesis in just 5 minutes, using only one slide. This is not an easy task when communicating highly technical information. But honing what's commonly referred to as an "elevator speech" is a science Centallas has mastered.
Mei Shen, an assistant professor of chemistry at Illinois, has joined the Beckman Institute as a part-time faculty member. Shen will be a member of the Neurotecnology for Memory and Cognition Working Group within the Intelligent Systems research theme, and have a secondary affiliation with the Extracellular Vesicle Imagaging and Therapy Working Group within the Integrative Imaging research theme. Her research interests include nano-electrochemistry, neurotransmitter detection, liquid-liquid interfaces, somatic and synaptic neurotransmission, and scanning electrochemical microscopy.
Join us for the premiere of Quantum Rhapsodies the evening of Wednesday, April 10, 2019, at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. Reception at 5 p.m., performance at 6 p.m., meet and greet with the creators at 7 p.m. The live performance features narrative, music, and visuals. It features the Jupiter String Quartet in collaboration with creator and physicist Smitha Vishveshwara, Beckman Institute researchers and visualization experts, Protagonist Pizza Productions, theater-maker Latrelle Bright, the students of PHYS 498 ART, and more. The performance is part of the 30th anniversary celebration of the opening of the Beckman Institute. Free to the public. Please register at https://forms.illinois.edu/sec/1449126
Naira Hovakimyan discusses how drones, planes, satellites, and artificial intelligence will help farmers meet the food needs of our growing world population. Havakimyan is the W. Grafton and Lillian B. Wilkins Professor of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is also a member of the CLEAR initiative at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and Chief Scientist for IntelinAir.
Jeffrey Moore discusses bio-inspired, vascularized materials and how manufacturers will take inspiration from the natural world to create better products. Moore discusses how many manufactured goods of the future will include vascular networks that make them more adaptable, functional, and longer-lasting. Moore is a professor of Chemistry and Materials Science and the Director of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Comparative biosciences professor Susan Schantz warns how common chemicals around the house can impact human development and what can be done to help protect children. Schantz is a professor of Comparative Biosciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is also a member of the Cellular and Molecular Foundations of Intelligent Behavior group at the Beckman Institute. What have you done to reduce your exposure to potentially harmful chemicals? Tell us at #scifuture. And to read a full Q&A with Professor Schantz about chemical contaminants in our home environments, please visit... http://beckman.illinois.edu/news/
Bioengineering professor Rohit Bhargava discusses how advances in chemical imaging, machine learning, and 3D printing are changing how we think of and fight cancer. Cancer is more than just an isolated collection of diseased cells. The environment around the tumor plays an important part in whether the cancer spreads or not. By building real-world 3D models of a tumor environments, scientists hope to better predict and fight cancer growth.
From cell phones to electric cars, society is more and more dependent on reliable and portable energy. University of Illinois Professor Nancy Sottos discusses green energy and our ever-growing need for energy storage. Sottos is a professor in the Materials Science and Engineering department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a member of the Beckman Institute's Autonomous Materials Systems group. To read a full Q&A with Professor Sottos about the future of energy storage, please visit... https://beckman.illinois.edu/news/2018/6/scifuture-energy Energy storage is a huge challenge for a greener future. What hurdles do you think green energy faces? Join the conversation: #scifuture
The handheld medical devices of science fiction are becoming science fact. Doctor Stephen Boppart looks at how technology, including phones and personal health monitors, will change our visits to the doctor's office and our relationship to our own health. Boppart is an MD, Ph.D. and professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering and Bioengineering departments at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. What do you think the future of health care will look like? Tell us at #scifuture. And to read a full Q&A with Dr. Boppart about the doctor's office of the future, please visit... https://beckman.illinois.edu/news/2018/5/scifuture-doctor
Professor Stephen Boppart uses light to diagnose diseases such as cancer. Called "biophotonics," the technique generates high-resolution, real-time, non-invasive images of biological tissue at the cellular and molecular level. Boppart is a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Bioengineering. He heads the Biophotonics Imaging Laboratory at the Beckman Institute and is a full-time faculty member in the Bioimaging Science and Technology group.
March 14 (3.14) is "Pi Day." Sing along with our favorite mathematical constant.
Professor Stephen Boppart uses ultrafast pulses of tailored light to make neurons fire in different patterns. This is the first example of "coherent control" in a living cell. The technique may lead to one day using light as a therapy to improve people's health. Boppart is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is also a member of the Bioimaging Science and Technology Group at the Beckman Institute. For more information on this research, please visit: https://news.illinois.edu/blog/view/6367/579772
Beckman Institute Bioimaging Science and Technology group member Rohit Bhargava presents his research in sixty seconds. Bhargava is a pioneer in the development of infrared spectroscopic imaging and works to develop novel chemical imaging technologies and instrumentation that can be employed to detect, diagnose and understand tissue structures and cancer pathology. He is Bliss Faculty Scholar and Professor of Bioengineering and has appointments in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Mechanical Science & Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering and Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Bhargava also founded and serves as the Director of the Cancer Community@Illinois, a University-wide effort dedicated to advancing cancer-related research and scholarship at Illinois.
Beckman Institute Bioimaging Science and Technology group member Stephen Boppart presents his research in sixty seconds. As the head of the Biophotonics Imaging Laboratory at the Beckman Institute, Boppart uses light to image biological tissue and diagnose disease. By combining optical imaging, biophotonics, and other advanced imaging techniques with clinical research, Boppart creates high-resolution, real-time, non-invasive images of biological tissue at the cellular and molecular level for diagnosing diseases such as cancer. Boppart is a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Bioengineering, and is affiliated with the Department of Internal Medicine in the College of Medicine, the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, and the Institute for Genomic Biology.
Researchers discuss the differences in working with anemonefish, better known as clownfish, in their lab at the University of Illinois and in the wilds of Indonesia. Justin Rhodes is a Professor of Psychology and member of the NeuroTech Group at the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ross DeAngelis is a graduate research assistant in the Cellular and Molecular Foundations of Intelligent Behavior Group at the Beckman Institute.
Clownfish dads are some of the best fathers in all of nature. Unlike most vertebrates, clownfish males are the primary caretakers of the eggs and spend most of their time nipping and fanning them to ensure their survival. Also known as anemonefish, this species gives researchers at the Beckman Institute a valuable window into the powerful hormonal changes that take place in the brains of nurturing fathers. Justin Rhodes is a Professor of Psychology and member of the NeuroTech Group at the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ross DeAngelis is a graduate research assistant in the Cellular and Molecular Foundations of Intelligent Behavior Group at the Beckman Institute. To learn more about this research, please visit... https://news.illinois.edu/blog/view/6367/495695 This video won the 2018 Mid-America EMMY Award for best "Informational/Instructional: Feature Segment."
Beckman Institute NeoroTech Group member Justin Rhodes presents his research in sixty seconds. His fields of research interests are behavioral genetics and neurobiology of motivation and addiction, and effects of exercise on brain function and cognition using mice as a model organism. He also has an extensive research program looking at the neurobiological processes involved when clownfish change their sex from male to female. Rhodes is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is also a member of the Neuroscience Program and the Institute for Genomic Biology.
