University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign

Could coal be used to create better microelectronics?
The Tribo-sanitizer is a self-powered device that uses a UVC lamp to inactivate bacteria that cause foodborne illness on fresh produce, food packaging and surfaces. Photo by Fred Zwicky
A self-powered ultraviolet-C device that can inactivate two of the bacteria responsible for many foodborne illnesses and deaths
The mechanism for a critical but highly toxic antifungal is revealed in high resolution. Self-assembled Amphotericin B sponges (depicted in light blue) rapidly extract sterols (depicted in orange and white) from cells. This atomic level understanding yielded a novel kidney-sparing antifungal agent.
Killing fungus without toxicity
The device designed by Leburton’s group. When salt ions flow from the higher concentration to lower concentration through the device channel, charges are dragged from one end to the other, creating voltage and electric current.
Generating power from salt water at seawater-freshwater boundaries
Plastic mulch used in strawberry cultivation, shown here, is only one example of plastic use in agriculture. Photo by Glysiak via Wikimedia Commons.
Soil introduced drug-resistant superbugs in the food supply from microplastics?
Discovery images from the ATLAS survey, with 2022 SF289 visible in the red boxes.ATLAS/University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy/NASA
A new hazardous asteroid-finding algorithm previews the coming era of data-intensive astronomy
This illustration, created at the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain
The first all-species coronavirus test to help spot the potential next viral bad actor
The device created by the researchers to complete their redox-inspired electrodialysis method for water purification.
Redox-inspired electrodialysis: The electrified future of clean water?
A line grating fabricated with SCRIBE to form the UIUC “I” logo with accurate colors. The left grating was fabricated without the improvements, and the right grating incorporates the improvements. CREDIT The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Micro-printing inside existing materials unveils the future of precision micro-printing
A conceptual schematic of the type of advanced geothermal energy storage system demonstrated in this study. Graphic courtesy Tugce Baser and Renewable Energy
Repurposing abandoned oil and gas wells as geothermal batteries
Remotely controlled miniature biological robots have many potential applications in medicine, sensing and environmental monitoring. Image courtesy of Yongdeok Kim
A remote control for biological robots
Light filtering through soybean canopy. Credit: Allie Arp/RIPE project
Bioengineering better photosynthesis increases yields in food crops for the first time ever
From left: Brian Cunningham, Amanda Bacon, Aaron Jankelow, Katherine Koprowski, Han Keun Lee, Weijing Wang, Robert Stavins, and Enrique Valera. Bacon and Koprowski are holding the instrument and the cartridge, respectively. CREDIT Julia Pollack
Detecting Zika virus in blood samples with a smartphone clip-on
A new chemical tool can access renewable energy from plant matter that could lessen our dependence on fossil fuels
From left: FAU graduate student Anthony Davis; Warner A. Miller, Ph.D.; and collaborator Pedram Nimreezi, stand behind the large drone, which includes a network of a ground station, lasers and fiber optics. (Photo by Alex Dolce)
The first drone based mobile quantum network provides unrivaled security