CliMAS | School of Earth, Society & Environment

Starting from Scratch: CliMAS graduate student Katie Straus, and the fight for the women's decathlon

2026-06-16

A woman throwing a shotput as other people watch from behind.

Katie Straus crossed the finish line of the 1,500 meters exhausted. After two days and nine previous events of sprinting, jumping, throwing, and vaulting, the final race of the decathlon is less about speed than endurance — pushing forward even as the body begins to break down. By that...

Global rice production nearly doubled despite climate change, driven largely by human management

2026-06-10

Terraced rice fields in a mountain valley.

Global rice production nearly doubled between the 1960s and the 2010s, despite the negative impacts of climate change, according to a new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The study found that management decisions — including expanded irrigation and increased nutrient...

CliMAS program selected for LAS PURSUE program to expand student access to research

2026-05-28

PURSUE LAS is a program at the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences with the goal of expanding access to transformative undergraduate research experiences. It supports both established...

Researchers advance first-of-its-kind AI tool for translating life-saving weather warnings across the US

2026-06-01

Nearly 69 million people in the United States speak a language other than English at home, yet weather warnings have long been issued almost exclusively in English. A new study documents how the National Weather Service is using artificial intelligence to change that, developing a comprehensive...

Inside the new edition of Severe and Hazardous Weather: A Q&A with author Bob Rauber

2026-03-09

The cover of Severe and Hazardous Weather.

For decades, professor emeritus Bob Rauber has helped students understand some of nature’s most powerful and destructive forces. A longtime professor of the department of climate,...

CliMAS faculty rank among world’s most influential – Illinois News Bureau

2025-11-14

Twelve scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have been named to the 2025 Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list. The list recognizes researchers and social...

CliMAS launches new podcast

2025-08-08

Weather Realness. Illinois Weather & Climate Podcast.

Illinois Public Media premieres a new weekly radio program and podcast, a partnership with the Department of Climate, Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences in the School of Earth, Society & Environment at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Weather Realness brings the best weather and...

What happens if the landmark rule on emissions is repealed?

2025-08-04

A person in a blazer with a sweater underneath standing in front of a wooden staircase

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — On Tuesday, President Trump’s administration proposed revoking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “endangerment finding,” a 2009 scientific finding that underpins U.S. policy on greenhouse gas emissions. By identifying the gases as a threat to public health and welfare,...

She walks the line: How scientist Katharine Hayhoe’s faith drives her research on climate warming

2025-06-16

A woman standing in a field with one hand in her pocket.

Katharine Hayhoe (MS ’97, PhD ’10) has built a career around making climate science accessible—and personal. A world-renowned atmospheric scientist, Hayhoe bridges divides that often seem irreconcilable: she is both a devout Christian and a leading voice on climate change. Her work reaches...

A final look from above

2025-07-29

A satellite image of the earth's surface.

As Larry Di Girolamo stood at Vandenberg Air Force Base in December 1999, he was a relatively new professor in what would become the Department of Climate, Meteorology, & Atmospheric...

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