To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” the next NIU STEM Café will bring together experts in a variety of fields for a lively discussion about dead bodies and body parts. Hear how scientific quests for knowledge led to grave robbing and even murder right here in DeKalb County in the 19th century....

Researchers at NIU are investigating ways to boost the power of compact electron accelerators, with potential applications for homeland security and pollution cleanup. In a new research project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, faculty in the departments of physics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and under the Northern Illinois Center for Accelerator and Detector...

Our robots are getting smarter. Should we be excited or scared? At the next STEM Café, “RoboRevolution: The Future of Sentient Machines at Home and in the Workplace,” two NIU thinkers will explore the many ways cutting-edge robotics and artificial intelligence are changing our lives. The free talk and discussion will be held from 6:30...

Finding new ways to prevent and treat disease. Improving incubators for premature babies. Inventing a new type of solar cell. These are just a few of the exciting innovations of NIU faculty and staff who were honored recently during the Research and Innovation Partnerships Recognition Ceremony on campus. “We are pleased to highlight the incredible...

What if our cars could help save the environment? At the next STEM Café, “Renewable Nation: How Hybrid Cars and Smart Grids Will Change America,” NIU assistant professor Kevin Martin will explain how technology could transform vehicles from gas guzzlers into key components of a smarter, more sustainable power system. The free talk and discussion...

Ian D. Walker, a professor or electrical and computer engineering at Clemson University, will visit NIU at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, to talk on “Biologically Inspired Continuum Robots.” Walker’s presentation will take place in Room 354 of the Engineering Building. His research interests are in robotics, particularly novel manipulators and manipulation. His group is...

With powerful supercomputing abilities and a support team in place to help users, NIU’s new Center for Research Computing and Data (CRCD) is poised to usher in a new era of big-data scientific research on campus. Just consider some of the center’s ongoing projects: Assembling and annotating the genomes of two species of petunia. Modeling...

Anna Quider is not only representing NIU’s best interests in Washington, D.C. She also is playing a lead role in advocating for scientific research funding to our nation’s universities. Quider, NIU’s director of federal relations, recently was elected secretary of the board of directors for The Science Coalition, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization of more...

For years, humankind has thought of capable, intelligent robots as the stuff of science fiction, from the friendly droids of “Star Wars” to the mechanical overlords of “The Matrix.” In fact, smart robots are already all around us – with more coming every day. The ongoing invasion of robots into our everyday lives is the...

Milivoje M. Kostic, professor emeritus in the NIU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering, recently was appointed editor-in-chief of the thermodynamics section of the Entropy journal. Kostic served as a guest editor for two Entropy special issues in 2013 and 2015. Entropy is a monthly, peer-reviewed, open access, scientific journal covering research on all aspects of entropy...

NIU’s deep commitment to strengthening the Rockford economy vaulted into a national spotlight Monday with the announcement that the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute will locate its first chapter in the city. Called a “momentous day in the history of Rockford” and “a big win for the Rockford community and manufacturers across the country,”...

People are exposed daily to many different types of light. Although many are not consciously aware of the lights that surround them, the color and brightness of these lights affects them physiologically. Take a look around to consider the nearby sources of light. Is natural light filtering through a window? Is it sunny or overcast...