Illinois researchers believe they are getting close to producing food anywhere on the planet — using only air, water and electricity. Join Lauren Laws as she sits down with principal investigator Ting Lu, and co-PIs Mohan Sankaran, Keith Cadwallader to learn more about this DARPA-funded project.

A shared love of physics, music and education outreach has been sparking a creative partnership between Maggie and Fahad Mahmood for the last 14 years. The couple is continuing their musical journey in the Physics Department at The Grainger College of Engineering by writing song parodies, which celebrate and teach all things physics.

On this episode of Illinois Innovators we're joined by Founder Professor of Bioengineering Rohit Bhargava.

In March 2005, Professor Rohit Bhargava was the first external hire to join the Department of Bioengineering as it launched. Now he is an established researcher in chemical imaging and digital pathology techniques and has led the Cancer Center at Illinois since it was formed in 2011.

As the Cancer Center at Illinois enters its second decade, he reflects on its unusual approach to cancer research and its impact on people’s health and well-being.

On this episode of the Illinois Innovators Podcast, we explore hypersonics.

When a vehicle travels faster than the speed of sound, its exterior surface becomes extremely hot — risking the safety of the people and cargo inside. Molecules in the flow around the vehicle collide and change, creating a shockwave. This hypersonic environment is difficult to understand and even more difficult to study.

We asked Marco Panesi to clarify some of the mysteries of hypersonics and tell us what he and his colleagues are working on to better understand the phenomenon. He is a professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, a Caterpillar Faculty Scholar, and director of the Center for Hypersonics and Entry Systems Studies.

Vilas Dhar is President of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, a $1.5 billion global philanthropy advancing artificial intelligence and data solutions to create a thriving, equitable, and sustainable future for all. He earned bioengineering and computer science degrees from The Grainger College of Engineering in 2004, followed by a JD from New York University School of Law and a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

He spoke to us in June, sharing his vision for empowering nonprofits and change-makers with technology, encouraging technologists and engineers to pursue careers in public interest technology, and building a better future with people from all backgrounds doing the work.

Transcript: https://grainger.illinois.edu/40773

Conversation with Prof. Girish Chowdhary from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and his team at EarthSense. They share about their work in AI robotics, sustainable agriculture, and how to address labor shortages in ag.

Optimizing wind turbine efficiency can save millions and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Grainger Engineering doctoral student, Lucas Buccafusca, is helping make it happen.

Ever wondered where the food on your plate came from? While it is much easier at Farmer’s Markets or Farm-to-table restaurants for the consumer to know its origination, supermarkets and restaurants are a little more complicated. A group led by Megan Konar, an assistant professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has created the first comprehensive map detailing the food chain within the United States. The team cites 132 Freight analysis framework locations to the 3,142 counties in the US. Those combine form 9.5 million links. Professor Konar joins the program to talk about the enormous project and more of her work. Her research focuses on the intersection of water, food, and trade.

Ever wondered where the food on your plate came from? While it is much easier at Farmer’s Markets or Farm-to-table restaurants for the consumer to know its origination, supermarkets and restaurants are a little more complicated. A group led by Megan Konar, an assistant professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has created the first comprehensive map detailing the food chain within the United States. The team cites 132 Freight analysis framework locations to the 3,142 counties in the US. Those combine form 9.5 million links. Professor Konar joins the program to talk about the enormous project and more of her work. Her research focuses on the intersection of water, food, and trade.

As the world assesses how they can support projects in non-industrialized countries, a new study brought to light just how important cultural and environmental factors are when providing humanitarian engineering aid in these regions. Ann Perry Witmer, a lecturer of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, joins the program to discuss her study on how contextual engineering improves the success of projects in non-industrial societies. It takes an in-depth look at some of the perspectives that may determine its effectiveness. She has created and supported a number of organizations that have provided engineering assistance to communities in Central America, the Caribbean, South America, and Africa and was a past faculty advisor for Illinois’ chapter of Engineers Without Borders.