Category: Science and Technology
Famously dubbed the “God particle,” the Higgs boson took thousands of scientists nearly five decades to discover, at a cost that one journalist estimated at $13.25 billion. Over the past 18 months, there has been plenty of hype about “the Higgs,” beginning with the boson’s discovery in 2012 at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN...
When most people hear the word “drone,” they think of covert military airstrikes, but proponents of autonomous systems see them becoming a part of everyday life. Experts have proposed their use in everything from aerial art to pizza delivery. At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12, NIU STEM Outreach invites community members to learn more about...
Sarah Stuebing can walk from her childhood home to her college campus in a matter of minutes. The path she chose at Northern Illinois University put the world at her feet. Since enrolling at NIU in 2010, she has been the model of the engaged student. She has conducted original scholarly research, cultivated a series...
Erik Rodgers, a graduate student from the math department at NIU, somewhat reluctantly admits that math is often a solitary discipline. For those who’ve seen “Good Will Hunting” too, too many times, the math student – especially the math graduate student – who comes to mind is a lean, pale lad or lass hunkered down...
The government shutdown was resolved last week, but it wasn’t soon enough to save a multimillion-dollar NIU research project in the Antarctic. The National Science Foundation, which was funding the research, has notified NIU scientists and two participating graduate students that their planned Antarctic research season to begin in January has been canceled. Earlier this...
Two NIU students have created a business plan that has been selected to advance to the final round of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology Student Business Plan Competition. Rachel Magann Faivre and Liz Tusler will represent the university and compete against four other student teams at the ADA convention in November. “Our task was...
STEMfest will wow spectators at the NIU Convention Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19. This annual festival introduces learners of all ages to cutting-edge technologies and intriguing science phenomena that will amaze students, parents and educators alike. The event is open to the public. Parking and admission are free. Hosted by...
The government shutdown has put in jeopardy the upcoming field season for the U.S. Antarctic Program – a potentially major blow to dozens of research projects nationwide, including a large-scale expedition investigating ice sheet dynamics and climate change and to be led by NIU geologist Ross Powell. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is likely to cancel...
Thomas J. Schall, a 2013 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, will give a talk Friday, Oct. 11, on “Chemokines and Chemoattractant Receptors: From Flesh-Eating Bacteria to AIDS to Autoimmune Disease.” The lecture will begin at noon in Room 201 of LaTourette Hall. The public is invited to attend. Founder and...
Building on the success of its first regional conference on broadband and economic development held last November in Danville, Va., Broadband Communities will host its second regional conference from Tuesday, Nov. 5, through Thursday, Nov. 7, in Tinley Park. The conference will focus on the extraordinary experiences of dozens of communities in America’s Midwestern heartland,...
Northern Illinois University has been approved for membership to the Council for European Studies (CES) Academic Consortium, an international coalition of universities, centers and other organizations dedicated to furthering the study of Europe. U.S. institutions that are counted among the CES members consist primarily of elite private or state flagships universities. In Illinois, only two...
Two thousand years ago, philosophers of nature believed the universe was made from symmetrical forms such as circles. Physicists now know that a perfectly symmetric universe is a lifeless void – that it’s the asymmetries that give rise to forms from stars to life itself and offer clues to one of time’s most elusive mysteries....
