Like Water for Dancers
First appeared in Illinois Alumni in June 2011 under Features
For Jennifer Monson, the whole world is her classroom, from bird migration patterns that tie the corners of the world together to vast underground aquifers of burbling waters. You’ll rarely see the University of Illinois professor of dance at the front of a regular class setting - instead, her idea...
Object Lessons
First appeared in Illinois Alumni in April 2011 under Profiles
When I walk into Billie Jean Theide’s metalsmithing class, I seem to have time-warped to the 1950s. High, wooden desks reminiscent of architects’ drafting tables fill the second-floor classroom. Gooseneck lamps provide an ambient glow. Radiators clank and hiss. We are warm within the walls of an old brick building,...
Unsilent Night
First appeared in Illinois Alumni magazine in December 2010 under Features
Want to be serenaded with “I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas” at 2 a.m.? No problem. “Come All Ye Faithful” … in Latin? Coming right up. It’s all in a day and night’s work for Snyder Hall’s Dial-A-Carol volunteers, who satisfy callers’ desires for Christmas carols, common and obscure, for...
Lois Duncan: A Born Writer
First appeared in Council Chronicle in November 2010 under Profiles
Lois Duncan is one of those rare creatures who knew from a very young age what she wanted to do. “I was born wanting to be a writer,” she says. “I started composing rhymed verse as soon as I could talk. I submitted my first story to a magazine when...
The Human Condition
First appeared in Illinois Alumni Magazine in September 2010 under Profiles
Before you meet her, the credentials of Virginia Dominguez may intimidate you. The University of Illinois professor of anthropology holds a prestigious Edward William and Jane Marr Gutgsell professorship, plus she’s president of the American Anthropological Association, the largest and most visible international organization for anthropologists (“like an elephant in...
Carl Woese and the Three Flavors of Life
First appeared in Muse: the magazine of life, the universe, and pie throwing in June 2010 under Profiles
You may not have heard of Carl Woese, but his discovery shook the very roots of biology. At a time when scientists believed all life on Earth could be divided into two categories, Woese (rhymes with “rose”) discovered a third. He persevered in the face of strong opposition, and ultimately...