Talking Points

All-time research accomplishments

1867-The University of Illinois was chartered in 1867 as the Illinois Industrial University, and it opened in 1868
1868-First architectural instruction west of the Allegheny Mountains
1869-First laboratory study for botany students in America
1870-First shop for engineering education in the U.S.
1873-Alumnus Nathan C. Ricker established an architectural program at the University
1876-Nation's oldest soil fertility plots, the Morrow Plots, established
1877-First general bacteriology course, T.J. Burrill
1881-First evidence of bacteria causing plant disease, T.J. Burrill
1890-First course in architectural engineering
1895-Arthur W. Palmer began work for the Illinois State Water Survey, a part of the University of Illinois department of chemistry
1896-First statewide study of water-borne epidemics
1898-First hydraulic-type railway dynamometer test car
1903-First Engineering Experiment Station in America
1907-First legislative grant by any state specifically for graduate study
1910-First use of a photoelectric cell for the measurement of stellar magnitude
1910-First marching band to spell words and perform intricate maneuvers while playing
1913-Invention of sensitive photoelectric cell
1918-First industry-sponsored cooperative engineering research
1922-First sound-on-film sound movies, J.T. Tykociner
1924-First house designated specifically for home-heating research built
1932-Former U of I professor of geology Harold R. Wanless introduced the term cyclothem to describe the succession of sedimentary rock layers found in coal-bearing formations
1933-Alumnus Allan Nevins won the Pulitzer Prize in biography
1935-Discovery of the essential amino acid threonine
1936-First to develop down-draft coking principle for burning soft coal, J.R. Fellows
1937-First comprehensive study of the use of automobile license plates
1939-Alumnus Carl Van Doren won the Pulitzer Prize in biography
1940-Invention of betatron for high-energy physics
1940-Alumnus Mark Van Doren won the Pulitzer Prize in poetry
1940-Construction of the Illini Union, built with a $450,000 grant from the Public Works Administration, is completed
1940's-Former faculty member David Gottlieb isolated a strain of streptomyces, a soil bacterium
1943-Alumnus Edward Doisy shared the Nobel Prize in medicine and physiology
1944-One of the first of its kind in the nation, the Physical Fitness Research Laboratory was established at the U of I
1945-Dedication of the world's largest university airport
1945-Alumnus James B. Reston won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting
1946-Alumnus Wendell Stanley shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry
1947-Harper's Magazine named a book written by former faculty member James G. Randall as one of the ten best books of 1947.
1948-First state Business Management Service
1948-First comprehensive college program for students with severe physical disabilities
1949-First betatron for cancer research
1949-Wilbur Schramm organized a conference of the National Association of Educational Broadcasters
1950-Alumni Roy J. Harris and George Thiem shared the Pulitzer Prize in public service
1950's-Alumnus and former faculty member D. Eugene Becker demonstrated that it was possible to ensure swine growth with a simple combination of corn, soybean mean, vitamins and minerals
1952-The digital computer laboratory of the University of Illinois developed Illiac I, the first digital computer built and owned entirely by an educational institution. It weighed five tons and contained 2,800 vacuum tubes.
1954-Development of two new kinds of synthetic rubber for heavy-duty truck and airplane tires
1955-Alumnus and former faculty member Vincent Du Vigneaud won the Nobel Prize in chemistry
1955-Alumnus Polykarp Kusch shared the Nobel Prize in physics
1956-Former faculty member John Bardeen won the Nobel Prize in physics
1956-Theodore B. Peterson, former dean of the College of Communications, wrote Four Theories of the Press which was published in 1956.
1956-The "Illiac Suite," the first substantial computer produced musical composition, premiered on the U of I campus.
1959-Development of Plato, the first computer based education system and the first time-shared education system
1959-Alumnus Robert Lewis Taylor won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction
1961-Alumnus David Herbert Donald won the Pulitzer Prize in biography
1962-Completion of Assembly Hall, the world's largest edge-supported dome
1962-Development of the method by which x-ray motion pictures could be viewed with depth and perception on a screen as still pictures
1965-First academic year institute for machine design technology
1966-World's first research conference on marine geotechnique (soil mechanics)
1967-Co-authorship of the concept of no-fault insurance
1967-Alumnus Monroe Karmin shared the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting
1968-Alumnus Robert Holley won the Nobel Prize in medicine and physiology
1968-Alumnus George Crumb won the Pulitzer Prize in music
1969-Former faculty member Salvador Luria won the Nobel Prize in medicine and physiology
1971-First marching band in the Big Ten to admit women
1971-Alumnus Abe Zaidan shared the Pulitzer Prize for local reporting
1972-Alumni and former faculty member John Robert Schrieffer, faculty member John Bardeen, and postdoctoral fellow Leon Cooper shared the Nobel Prize in physics
1972-Professor John Bardeen is awarded his second Nobel Prize in physics, making him the first person to receive two Nobel Prizes in the same field
1974-Publication of the concept of "Transfer of Development Rights" as a means of landmark preservation and urban planning
1974-Alumni Arthur M. Petacque and Hugh Hough shared the Pulitzer Prize for local general spot news reporting
1975-Alumnus Roger Ebert won the first-ever Pulitzer Prize in criticism
1976-First operational talking computer in the U.S. for the blind
1976-First proof of the four-color theorem which states that no more than four colors are required to color all neighboring regions of a map in different colors
1976-Faculty member Bill Gaines shared a Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting
1977-Development of the Quantumwell laser, the principle component in compact disk players
1977-Discovery that a group of microorganisms, now known as Archaea, are a third form of life
1977-Alumnus Rosalyn Sussman Yalow shared the Nobel Prize in medicine and physiology
1978-Publication of the first comprehensive treatment of criminal conspiracy law
1978-Alumnus Hamilton Smith shared the Nobel Prize in medicine and physiology
1978-Alumnus Michael Colgrass won the Pulitzer Prize in music
1981-Alumnus Beth Henley won the Pulitzer Prize in drama
1985-Former faculty member Franco Modigliani won the Nobel Prize in economics
1990-Invention of electronic mail program Eudora
1990-Former faculty member Elias Corey won the Nobel Prize in chemistry
1992-Alumnus Edwin Krebs shared the Nobel Prize in medicine and physiology
1992-Former faculty member Rudolf Marcus won the Nobel Prize in chemistry
1993-Development of Mosaic, the first browser for the World Wide Web, at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications
1993-Alumnus Phillip A. Sharp shared the Nobel Prize in medicine and physiology
1993-Alumnus Paul Ingrassia shared the Pulitzer Prize for beat reporting
1995-Faculty member Leon Dash shared the Pulitzer Prize in explanatory journalism
1996-Discovery of processing method to extend the life of a silicon microchip as much as 50 times
1997-Center for Simulation of Advanced Rockets (CSAR) is established
2000-Alumnus Jack S. Kilby shared the Nobel Prize in physics
2001-Researchers at the University of Illinois developed a synthetic material that can heal itself when cracked or broken
2003-Faculty member Paul C. Lauterbur shared the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine
2003-Faculty member Anthony J. Leggett shared the Nobel Prize in physics

Household Name Alumni

Talking Points

All-time research accomplishments

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