NIU Today

Starting next fall, engineering students from the Rockford area can earn bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees from NIU without leaving the campus of Rock Valley College. Presidents and other leaders of both institutions made the announcement and signed letters of intent this morning before a standing-room-only and energetic crowd gathered inside the Woodward Technology Center....

Just weeks after receiving formal designation as an “Innovation and Economic Prosperity University,” NIU has received one of the nation’s top awards for regional economic development. The Association for Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) on Tuesday announced NIU as the winner of APLU’s inaugural “Place” award for “excelling in community, social, and cultural development work.”...

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...

Northern Illinois University is among the inaugural 16 institutions nationwide designated as an “Innovation and Economic Prosperity University” by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU). The designation, announced last week, acknowledges universities working with public and private sector partners in their states and regions to support economic development through innovation and entrepreneurship, technology...

Proton Computed Tomography. STEM education. Aerospace job creation. NIU’s significant accomplishments in advancing the creation and application of knowledge will move into the spotlight today in Washington, D.C., where federal lawmakers and their representatives will participate in the university’s first Research Roundtable. Led by President Doug Baker, Board of Trustees Chair John Butler and immediate...

The Joint Institute of Engineering and Technology-Aerospace (JiET-A) has announced that it has received more than 100 applicants in growing the region’s aerospace talent pipeline. Driven by the Rockford Area Aerospace Network (RAAN), JiET-A formed in 2010 to gain more high-paying jobs and increase business opportunities for aerospace suppliers in the area. The program offers...

Regional partners reported results and progress achieved during the first year of the federal Jobs & Innovation Accelerator Challenge (JIAC) grant, which is focused on four major areas – branding, product innovation, work-force pipeline and business entrepreneurship. Examples of innovative and unique services introduced include a new engineering internship program, an integrated marketing strategy and...

NIU is joining an effort to help maintain the Rockford region’s status as one of the leading aerospace clustersin the country. Representatives from NIU and the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology joined Rockford-area leaders today to announce a new, community-based initiative that will significantly increase the region’s aerospace talent pipeline for high-paying jobs. Establishment...

Rockford is one of 20 U.S. cities that have won a federal Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge grant. A grant totaling $2.4 million has been awarded to a collaborative made up of Northern Illinois University, Rock Valley College, the Rockford Area Economic Development Council and EIGERlab to accelerate job creation and innovation for small and...