Speakers

On behalf of the EE&S Symposium organizing committee, we are pleased to invite abstract submissions for the 2026 Environmental Engineering and Science Symposium, to be held on April 17th, 2026, at the Civil and Environmental Engineering buildings, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

As artificial intelligence evolves from generative tools to more autonomous, agentic systems, institutions must rethink how AI fits into their teaching, learning, and operational ecosystems. This panel brings together higher education and technology leaders to share how their institutions are navigating opportunities, challenges, and strategic decisions in the age of AI.

Science on Tap is a monthly seminar series that brings scientists to the public to talk about their research in an informal setting. Our speaker will be Quang Nguyen, a neuroscientist who leads interdisciplinary projects using biochemical and physiological approaches.

Graduate Student Homotopy Theory Seminar

Speaker: Yuan Ping, Associate Professor of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Madison, Wisconsin

Csaba Forro, PhD and Daniel Wang, PhD, Group Leaders at Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago "Towards Mapping Inflammation in Real Time" "Spatiotemporal Molecular Profiling of Inflammation with Microengineered Devices"

Lectures and discussions on current work in research and development in nuclear engineering and related fields by staff, advanced students, and visiting speakers.

Grad students from all disciplines are invited to the 16th Gesa E. Kirsch Graduate Student Symposium, April 23–24, 2026—an interdisciplinary, student-led event featuring diverse presentations, workshops, and a keynote by Kaia Simon (UW Eau Claire). Proposals on writing, rhetoric, media, education, and more are welcome in traditional or experimental formats.

Exposure to particulate matter (PM) is known to have an adverse health effect on human health, leading to increased mortality globally.

Timo Seppäläinen talks about "Busemann Functions."

Graduate Student Homotopy Theory Seminar

Speaker: Kater Murch, Professor of Physics, UC Berkeley

Speaker: William Green (Rose-Hulman)

Greg Terlov (UNC) talks about "Heavy repulsion of percolation clusters".

Lectures and discussions on current work in research and development in nuclear engineering and related fields by staff, advanced students, and visiting speakers.

“Fiber Rearrangement Redistributes Energy and Modulates Intrinsic Cutting Energy in Bovine Glisson's Capsule” Shaobo Zhan, PhD Candidate Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois

Do you write code at the IGB? Do you work with someone who does? Join us for lunch as we discuss some of our best practices for developing research software – and how to come up with your own.

Speaker: Adrian Lam (Ohio State University)

Graduate Student Homotopy Theory Seminar

Speaker: Lawrence Cheuk, Assistant Professor of Physics, Princeton University

Peter Kim, PhD Department of Biochemistry; Stanford University School of Medicine "Protein Engineering of Vaccines and Antibodies for Infectious Disease"

Lectures and discussions on current work in research and development in nuclear engineering and related fields by staff, advanced students, and visiting speakers.

“Small Molecule Ion Channels Restore Anion Movement to Cystic Fibrosis Epithelia” Nohemy Celis PhD Candidate Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois

Learn about IGB research, hear about current issues in the life sciences, and connect with others at our popular poster session at the 2026 Fellows Symposium.

Science on Tap is a monthly seminar series that brings scientists to the public to talk about their research in an informal setting. Sameh Tawfick, Professor, Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois

This symposium will be hybrid allowing for remote participation and will feature a Round Table format to promote critical discussion that will lead to collaborative projects and papers. Participants should submit an abstract with ideas for one or more roundtables and bring experiences and thoughts to share in group discussion.