The Illinois Polymer Maker Lab, Beckman’s newest core facility, will open soon in the institute’s basement. The lab will be the first-of-its-kind facility for the automated formulation and testing of polymer-based materials and will soon be open to researchers across campus and across the nation.

The lab will help researchers accelerate the development of materials and products related to paints and coatings, adhesives, personal care items, composites, and materials for 3D printing. It could also help researchers design resins for energy-efficient manufacturing and products in the food science industry. It’s funded by a Major Research Instrumentation grant from the National Science Foundation.

Dan Krogstad

“The core capabilities will be pretty unique,” said Dan Krogstad, the lab’s manager and a research professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. “The IPML facility at Beckman provides researchers with an incredible opportunity to accelerate the development of polymer-based formulations through the creation of rich, digital datasets using automated equipment and workflows.”

The lab joins four other Beckman core research facilities: the Biomedical Imaging Center, Microscopy Suite, Molecular Imaging Lab and Visualization Lab.

“The Illinois Polymer Maker Lab is another example of how Beckman provides cutting-edge facilities that you can’t find anywhere else,” said Beckman Director Steve Maren. “This facility will fuel materials discovery for our researchers and especially allow them to push the boundaries of knowledge through AI.”

The Anton Paar high-throughput rheometer, an HTR 7000, was the first instrument to be installed in IPML earlier this spring. It’s a robotic instrument capable of dispensing polymers and measuring their flow behavior automatically.

Installation time lapse and fast facts about the Anton Paar HTR 7000 rheometer.Specifically, the HTR is designed to test the rheological properties of polymer solutions, pastes and gels, Krogstad said. In other words, it will look at how the materials flow when exposed to force or pressure. It’s important information for many real-world situations.

For example, the rheological properties tell us whether a paint will drip after being applied to a surface, how easy it is to squeeze toothpaste out of a tube or how well the materials will flow through pipes in a factory.

However, while the rheological properties are important in the development of new materials, collecting related data can require a lot of time. High-throughput systems, like IMPL’s Anton Paar HTR 7000, help overcome this limitation.

Sam Tawfick

Sam Tawfick, a co-leader of the Autonomous Materials Systems group, said his Beckman research colleagues are researching how to better manufacture advanced materials through 3D printing or resins for polymers reinforced with carbon fibers

“The flow behavior of polymers is critical to assess their manufacturability,” said Tawfick, the Anderson Family Scholar and professor of mechanical science and engineering, adding that the IPML rheometer’s usefulness is in how it dispenses polymers and automatically measures their flow.

“This changes the students’ workflow in the lab by minimizing sample preparation steps and enabling the equipment to run and take measurements 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For the students, this means higher productivity and the ability to focus on interpretation of the results.”

Beyond reducing the time required, automating rheological measurements promotes machine learning by making procedures more uniform, creating organized digital datasets and increasing the amount of data that can be collected.

Tawfick believes access to the lab will have incredible implications for both expanding knowledge and offering new materials to the public.

“I personally think students will achieve more during the same timeline of a Ph.D. or postdoctoral training, connecting more dots around their discovery and tightening both the scientific understanding and the reliability of their discoveries,” he said.

In the past, it’s taken up to 20 years for a new polymer, like a high temperature resistant silicone or high strength composite, to be ready for commercial use. Material readiness is ranked on a scale (called the Technology Readiness Level, or TRL) between 0 and 9, the latter which describes a material that’s commercially established.

“It takes about 10 years to move the concept of a material from TRL 0 to TRL 3 in a lab,” Tawfick said. “IPML is targeting this stage, with the aim of shortening it from a decade to potentially weeks.”

And because the lab will be a Beckman core facility, knowledge can transfer among users thanks to the help of expert staff members and the creation of institutional knowledge, Tawfick said.

“Groups from campus and external users from the private sector will benefit from and contribute to this institutional knowledge,” he said. “This will be accomplished by gradually optimizing the workflows and the AI models used in the facility.”

The LA Clippers selected Illinois guard Keaton Wagler with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2026 NBA draft on Tuesday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Wagler became the first Illini freshman to be named a consensus All-American after averaging 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists while shooting 39.7% from 3-point range. He set numerous freshman program records, including points (663), field goals (202) and 3s (87).

The 6-foot-6 Wagler is the first player in franchise history to be taken with the fifth pick and the highest player drafted since Blake Griffin went No. 1 in 2009. He is Illinois’ third top-10 pick in the draft era (1966), joining Kendall Gill (1990, No. 5) and Deron Williams (2005, No. 3).

Wagler is highly touted because of his shooting, feel and ability to convert difficult finishes at the rim. He had a monumental rise up draft boards throughout the year after leading Illinois to its first Final Four appearance since 2005.

CHICAGO – A former Illinois teacher living in the United States illegally, who was allegedly involved in a 2024 Tren de Aragua mass shooting that killed three people at a Chicago house party, was arrested by federal authorities, officials said Monday.

Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti, 32, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela with dual citizenship in Italy, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on May 13, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.

Occhipinti entered the U.S. in October 2021 under the Visa Waiver Program and was supposed to leave by Jan. 2, 2022. She overstayed her visa, DHS said.

On the night of the Dec. 2, 2024, shooting, she allegedly drove the two gunmen—Ricardo Granadillo Padilla and Edward Martinez Cermeno—to the scene of the crime, where five people were injured in addition to the three fatalities, authorities said.

“Although Chicago police arrested this illegal alien shortly after the shooting, sanctuary politicians released her from jail without notifying ICE,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. “Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, DHS is doing the job that sanctuary politicians in Illinois refuse to do: putting the American people first and removing these dangerous criminals from our communities.”

Martinez Cermeno was released from ICE custody in January 2025 after a federal judge determined that federal prosecutors failed to meet their burden of proof to keep him incarcerated while awaiting trial.

Immediately after the shooting, authorities found multiple weapons in Occhipinti’s vehicle, DHS said. Authorities believe she helped Granadillo Padilla and Martinez Cermeno evade law enforcement after the attack.

The Chicago Police Department arrested Occhipinti on Dec. 5, 2024, on charges of unlawful use of weapons and other weapons offenses. However, she was released without ICE ever being notified under Chicago’s sanctuary policies, which protect illegal immigrants from federal immigration authorities.

The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office decided not to prosecute the suspects, DHS said, and Granadillo Padilla and Martinez Cermeno were eventually deported.

“Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti’s actions were calculated and deliberate, leading to the loss of three lives,” said HSI Chicago Special Agent in Charge Matthew Scarpino. “I’m proud of our agents for pursuing this case to the end, ensuring that everyone who helped facilitate this mass homicide is brought to justice.”

Fox News was told by DHS that Occhipinti was a teacher at an unspecified school in the Chicago suburb of Elgin. Illinois officials have refused to cooperate with federal authorities and will not tell DHS the name of the school, Fox News has learned.

Occhipinti is being held at the Grayson County Detention Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky.

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