NIU Today

The American Physical Society Office of Government Affairs has named NIU’s Gerald Blazey among 10 society members selected as Five Sigma Physicist awardees for their outstanding efforts to enable or participate in advocacy activities. Blazey serves as NIU’s Vice President for Research and Innovation Partnerships. This year’s honorees participated in various initiatives to help advance...

NIU faculty members who seek to improve the likelihood of success on external research funding proposals might be wise to check out Research Methodology Services (RMS). Over the past five years, RMS consultants have helped faculty from six different colleges at NIU win external funding awards totaling over $1 million for their research projects. Best...

In July of 2021, NIU Associate Professor Courtney Gallaher stepped into a new role as NIU’s first sustainability coordinator. While sustainability efforts have been active across campus for at least a decade, the sustainability coordinator will help to unify the work of many different departments and organizations. For her first year, Gallaher has three main...

Robert Sims, professor of music in the NIU School of Music is featured in a PBS American Masters documentary film on renowned American vocalist Marian Anderson. Sims worked as a music consultant, interviewee and actor on the project. “I was honored to be included in this fabulous film about the great Marian Anderson,” Sims said. “Emmy...

Huskies will have the opportunity to showcase their efforts in undergraduate research and other engagement projects during the Conference on Undergraduate Research and Engagement (CURE), which takes place April 25-29, 2022. The five-day event, formerly known as Undergraduate Research and Artistry Day (URAD) and the Community Engagement Showcase (CES), will take place online and in-person...

Despite the pandemic, the university’s research, service and engagement enterprises are firing on all cylinders. External funding awarded to faculty and staff hit a 10-year high in Fiscal Year 2021. According to the latest Annual Report from NIU’s Sponsored Programs Administration, 127 faculty and staff members won 343 awards for research, instruction, outreach, public service and other...

Human behaviors are complicated, messy and sometimes unpredictable. This means social and economic policies often have unanticipated effects, according to John T. Murphy, NIU research associate professor of anthropology and computational engineer at Argonne National Laboratory. Murphy also points out that cities such as Chicago are often studied in isolation, without taking into account their...

Gabe Brown, a pioneer in the agricultural soil restoration movement that is successfully and sustainably changing farming methods across the country, will be the keynote speaker in an upcoming “Evening with Innovators,” focusing on innovations in food systems. The non-profit DeKalb Area Agricultural Heritage Association, Inc. (DAAHA) and NIU’s Division of Research and Innovation Partnerships...

An all-star lineup of speakers is planned for NIU’s new series of Innovation Conversations, which launched last spring and brings in high-level experts to discuss sustainable food systems. “Food systems affect everybody—we all eat,” says Bryan Flower, assistant director of food systems innovation for NIU’s Division of Research and Innovation Partnerships (RIPS). “It’s time to start...

NIU Professor Elizabeth Gaillard has gained statewide recognition for her efforts to improve the way sufferers of ocular disease are diagnosed and treated. One of the top researchers of macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy—among the leading causes of blindness—Dr. Gaillard recently won an innovation award from Illinois Innovation Network (IIN). IIN represents a group of...

Donor-funded collaboration hub will foster creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship throughout the NIU community and beyond. To enter Barsema Hall is to enter a world where anything seems possible. The high ceilings and busy common areas seem to vibrate with the energy and ideas of those who work and learn there. That energy was at a...

A new pilot program inspired by Professor Melani Duffrin aims to help NIU faculty to focus their research enterprises, foster interdisciplinary collaborations and sharpen their grant-writing skills. The Division of Research and Innovation Partnerships (RIPS) will kick off its STARS Faculty Academy with informational sessions in early September. The academy is being patterned after Duffrin’s...