Ingenious: The nation’s oldest
In October 1969, students protesting the Vietnam War charged toward the Morrow Plots located in the heart of the UI campus. In a bit of guerilla theater, they planned to
Ingenious: Beneath icy waters
The Antarctic toothfish, which can weigh more than 200 pounds and grow as long as 5 feet, moves easily through the crystal-clear water beneath the thick ice. The toothfish, like
Ingenious: When science came home
Beyond the main doors of Bevier Hall, the stairs rise to a landing adorned with a large painting of a larger-than-life woman—Isabel Bevier, for whom the building is named. In
Ingenious: First in class
When Nathan Ricker graduated from the University of Illinois in 1873, he became the first person in the nation to receive a degree in architecture. He might have achieved that
Ingenious: Indoor air quality
The world had not seen anything like it before. It was the 1920s and transportation planners had decided to build a tunnel directly below the Hudson River, connecting New York
Ingenious: Sonic surgery
Some called it “sonic surgery,” but William J. Fry described it as “surgery by sound.” Fry, a UI professor of physics, was one of the first to develop a system
Class Notes Profile: Quick-starter
Success came early for sports journalist Taylor Rooks, ’14 MEDIA. While still an undergraduate, she broke athletic recruiting stories for scout.com and appeared on the Big Ten Network and CBS
Ingenious: Cureton’s cure
Thomas Cureton generated plenty of headlines in the 1950s when he boldly declared that, for many people, middle age begins prematurely at age 26. Without regular exercise, he argued, the
Ingenious: Fast thinker
There are many stories about how the fabled chemistry professor got his nickname. According to one, which traces back to 1938, he lectured so rapidly—scribbling equations on the blackboard as
Ingenious: Atom smasher
When Illinois Physics Professor Donald Kerst invented his revolutionary atom smasher in 1940, he found naming his device to be a project in itself. After a year with no luck,
