NIU Today

Psychology student Christopher J. Budnick came to NIU because it was close to home. But he stayed for entirely different reasons. “Originally, I transferred to NIU out of convenience; it was near my hometown. I finished my B.A. in psychology, and then I chose to remain at Northern for my graduate degree because of the...

Spring-breakers headed for the beachfront be forewarned: It’s not just polluted water that can harbor illness-causing microbes; digging around in the sand can pose risks, too, especially for children. “Beach sand is definitely a major source of pathogen exposures,” says Northern Illinois University’s Tomoyuki Shibata, a professor of public health and an associate of the...

Renewable energy is a rapidly growing area of study in today’s world. As the population begins to use up other natural resources such as coal and oil, the future of energy is clean, green and renewable. At the NIU College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, students have the opportunity to experience this field first-hand, thanks...

A lounging Weddell seal, wandering Adelie penguin, stark white landscapes, the Transantarctic Mountains and lots of scientists in action. All of that and more can be found on this micro-blog created by NIU Board of Trustees Professor Reed Scherer in geology. Scherer just recently returned from a historic research expedition in the Antarctic. He was...

Northern Illinois University is seeking non-NIU college students who are interested in environmental issues to work on research projects this summer with university scientists. As many as eight undergraduates will be chosen. Selected students will receive free housing on NIU’s campus – and each will be paid a stipend of $4,478. The students also will...

J. Britt Holbrook, assistant director of the Center for Study of Interdisciplinarity at North Texas University, will visit campus Friday, Dec. 7, as a guest of the PI Academy. Holbrook will speak from 2 to 3:30 p.m. on “Taking a Proactionary Approach to Grant-Writing, Peer Review and Broader Impacts.” The talk will take place in...

The plan sounds like something from an adventure novel. Just after Christmas this year, a team of scientists that includes NIU’s Ross Powell and Reed Scherer, with colleagues from nine other major universities, will begin a major research project in the Antarctic. The operations team will use Giant Caterpillar tractors to pull sleds loaded with...

OK, here’s a cool summer gig for bright college kids. Northern Illinois University is looking for as many as eight non-NIU undergraduate students who are interested in environmental issues to work closely on research projects with university scientists. Selected students will rub elbows with researchers at federal laboratories, participate in a number of regional workshops...

NIU professor Tao Xu, who has developed a promising nanoscience research program in solar energy conversion, is now getting a big boost from the National Science Foundation. NSF awarded the chemistry and biochemistry professor with a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grant of $400,000 to support his research and teaching efforts. CAREER awards support...

In Springfield … This will be a very busy week in Springfield. Gov. Pat Quinn will give his Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Message at noon Wednesday, Feb. 22. You will recall that in his Feb. 1 State of the State message, he talked about his desire to eliminate a tax on natural cost (at an...

In Washington, D.C. … As expected, Congress last week approved the first “minibus” Fiscal Year 2012 appropriations, which included funding for Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science and Transportation-HUD. It also included an extension of the Continuing Resolution so that the government can operate until Friday, Dec. 16. Of special interest to NIU is the increase in the National Science...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Northern Illinois University with a $2 million grant to ramp up efforts to encourage more students to choose career paths in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The funding, to be dispersed over five years through NSF’s Science Talent Expansion Program (STEP), is being used...