In this seminar, I will present methodologies developed in my lab that integrate multiplexed molecular labeling with electron microscopy–based connectomics, permitting simultaneous mapping of synaptic connectivity and molecular identity.

Seminar will discuss how cellular communication breaks down in the meninges in CNS autoimmune disease.

Walker Gauthier, in Benjamin Auerbach's lab will defend the thesis
Wednesday, April 8th, 2026 at 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM in the Beckman Institute (Tower Room 3269) 
at 405 N Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL 61801
All are invited to the seminar on 
"Characterizing Bottom-Up & Top Down Contributions to Atypical Sound Processing in a Rat Model of Fragile X Syndrome"
Zoom
Meeting ID: 872 0721 4678
 Password: 403106

Join Carle's Bruce Damon and Dr. Christina Laukaitis for a seminar on, "Mechanistic biomarkers of knee function in hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome." Want to be added to the group's list of members? Email nmskAtCI@gmail.com. 

Abstract:  Many brain functions require neural activity with a broad repertoire of time scales, from the fleeting response to brief sensory signals, to the moderate time scales of motor control and body movement, to even longer time scales of memory.  How the brain generates such a wide range of time scales is crucial to understanding cognitive computation.  In this talk I will discuss the hypothesis that the brain tunes itself near criticality and, by doing so, tunes its repertoire of intrinsically generated time scales.  I'll introduce the criticality hypothesis and new data analytic tools to measure proximity to criticality.  I will show applications of these tools in the context of sleep and the arousal system.

Bio:  I received my PhD in Physics in 2004 from University of Maryland, building experiments to study fluid turbulence and geophysical magnetohydrodynamics.  I did my first postdoc at Ecole Normale Superieure in Lyon, France, studying fluid dynamics of bubbles and tiny robots.  I switched fields to neuroscience in 2006, doing systems neuroscience at NIH in Dietmar Plenz's lab (following in John Beggs' footsteps).  I started my own lab in 2012 at University of Arkansas.  We do high density electrophysiology in awake behaving rodents (mostly) and theory to investigate the critical brain hypothesis (mostly).  

Click below for the Program / Schedule for April 22-23rd

Art Arnold, PhD
Distinguished Professor of Integrative Biology & Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles

"Changing the conceptual framework for understanding sex differences in physiology and disease"

See flyer

Abstract:  Many complex systems consist of simple units that follow local rules yet collectively produce large-scale patterns. A long-standing challenge is understanding when the future behavior of such systems becomes predictable. In many deterministic systems, the rules are fully known but the outcome of a particular initial configuration remains difficult to anticipate. In this talk, I will describe a computational “experiment” based on a generalized cellular automaton of non-locally communicating cells that self-organize into distinct macroscopic patterns, including static arrangements, traveling waves, and spiral waves. Although the dynamics are entirely deterministic, the final pattern cannot be reliably inferred from the initial configuration. By recasting the system in terms of a discrete phase field, hidden structures become visible: localized vortices that move, interact, and annihilate over time. These vortices form a set of collective dynamical objects whose interactions progressively constrain the system’s future. As the dynamics unfold, the system passes through stages where the remaining trajectories become increasingly restricted, revealing when and how predictability arises. These results suggest a general principle: in some high-dimensional deterministic systems, predictive structure is not encoded in the initial state but instead emerges through the system’s evolving collective dynamics.

Bio:  Hyun Youk is an Associate Professor of Physics at UIUC. His research combines experiments and computational “experiments” to study how simple interacting units—such as communicating cells—give rise to collective behaviors. His group develops computational and mathematical models alongside wet-lab experiments to uncover dynamical principles underlying self-organization and predictability in biological systems, including how living cells maintain—or irreversibly lose—the capacity to self-organize during slow or suspended states of life.

A diverse workforce brings varied perspectives and understandings. At times, diversity can present challenges in creating an inclusive environment. This seminar empowers the participants to connect and understand the importance of being culturally competent and see how through inclusivity their work environments will blossom as we maintain a community of respect and civility.

The Writers Workshop will review genre expectations for diversity statements and provide examples from a range of disciplines. We will share strategies for drafting and tailoring your own diversity statements.

This presentation will be held via Zoom and is open to all current U of I affiliates (students, faculty, and staff). You will need to be logged into your Illinois Zoom account to join. 

Please register with your Illinois email by April 8 to receive the Zoom details on the morning of the event. If you register on the day of, please email wow@illinois.edu immediately to request the Zoom details - we will do our best to get them to you prior to the event.

All registrants will receive access to the presentation materials via email the following business day. 

For interested graduate students from all areas of study (not just American Literature). All are equally welcome. 

Participants are invited to read a Selection from The Literature of Extreme Poverty on the Great Depress (Oxford UP, 2025) and then gather For a wide-ranging discussion with Parker about this particular book and the process and methods behind it, with the goal of encouraging graduate students to think about the processes and methods of their own current and potential research and writing, including course papers, articles, dissertations, and—potentially, eventually—books of literary criticism We encourage graduate students to bring questions and responses of any kind about The Literature of Extreme Poverty in the Great Depression and about their own Scholarly research, process, and writing. 

An electronic version of The Literature of Extreme Poverty in the Great Depression is available for free on the UIUC Library website. Suggested reading for the seminar participants: Chapter 1 and if time permits, any parts of Chapters 2,3,4 or 5. 

If you hope to attend, it will help if you can drop a note to rparker1@illinois.edu, just so we can plan how much pizza to order (all are welcome whether you dop a note or not). 

Explore ways to make communication and meetings more effective, including developing strong agendas and ensuring that three key leadership roles are filled. Specific skills for facilitating brainstorming sessions are discussed, along with practical tools for helping groups distill the results of brainstorming into actionable solutions and activities to help spark creativity.

Thank the graduate student in your life!

Join us for this special live event where Illinois graduate students share their remarkable research in three minutes or less!

The 2026 Research Live! Finalist Showcase will include live presentations from our finalists, voting for the People's Choice Award, and an announcement of the winners!

Our final round judges will award Grand Prize and special recognition awards. Finalist Showcase audience members will vote for the People's Choice Award.

The event will be held in person on Tuesday, April 7, at 5:00 p.m. at the Gregory Hall Auditorium, Room 112  (810 S. Wright St., Urbana).
 
Congratulations to the Finalists!

• Asif Ahmed (Mechanical Engineering)
• Bayezid Baten (Civil Engineering)
• Prajna Beladakere Krishnamurthy (Speech and Hearing Science)
• Brian Graves (Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology)
• Colin Hochstetler (Music)
• Hyunju Park (Agricultural and Applied Economics)
• Nick Pierle (Music)
• Weiqing Qu (Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology)
• Nate Wahl (Education Policy, Organization and Leadership)

Cheer on the finalists and vote for your favorite!

This event is open to the public. Everyone is welcome to join us.

April 10 is the last day to vote for your favorite submissions in this year's Image of Research. View the finalists in the online gallery and vote for them here.

The Beckman Institute Open House is an opportunity for Champaign-Urbana community members to encounter the science, meet the people and experience the impact of world-changing discovery. Visitors of all ages are encouraged to engage with more than 30 exhibits, participate in hands-on demos, complete the science scavenger hunt and take a commemorative photo at the selfie station. This event is free and open to the public.

Full event dates and times are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, April 10, and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 11, 2026. It happens at the same time as Engineering Open House each year.