University of Illinois System
The University of Illinois is the set of three public universities in Illinois. These schools are taxpayer-subsidized institutions of higher learning.
At Chicago
The Chicago campus has existed in several forms over the years. It began at Navy Pier, and then later moved to what was called the Chicago Circle Campus. In 1982, the Circle Campus merged with the University of Illinois Medical Center campus to create the University of Illinois at Chicago.
The Chicago campus is home to the university system's medical school, which has satellite campuses in Rockford, Peoria, and Urbana. The Urbana school is considered a part of UIC despite being on the UIUC campus.
At Urbana-Champaign
The Champaign-Urbana campus is the largest of the three. It holds 18 schools, including a law school and an aviation school. It also houses the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, NCSA. This was where, amongst others, Marc Andreesen (later of Netscape fame) helped forge the Mosaic web browser, the first HTML browser capable of rendering images. In addition, in 1987, NCSA created NCSA telnet, a program which permitted users access to the supercomputer's resources remotely. UIUC is also famous for its contributions in Electrical Engineering, and the birth place of world's first light-emitting diode (LED). The computer science, physics, and engineering departments are very high-quality, and world-renowned. The school's marching band, named the Marching Illini, also enjoys a superb reputation.
At Springfield
Another campus is University of Illinois at Springfield, formerly Sangamon State University from 1969 till June 30, 1995. It is the smallest of the three, and is located in Springfield, Illinois, the state capital of Illinois.
Notable alumni
Noteworthy alumni are listed on the individual wiki pages for each of the campuses. At a glance: 11 alumni and nine professors from U of I have won the Nobel Prize, including two in 2003; professors Paul Lauterbur and Anthony Leggett won for their work in physiology/medicine and physics, respectively.
- Roger Ebert graduated from the University of Illinois; he was the editor of The Daily Illini, a student-run daily newspaper owned by the independent, non-for-profit Illini Media. In 1975, he won a Pulitzer Prize.
- Playboy creator Hugh Hefner is rumored to have donated an entire collection of the magazine to the University's archives.
- Marc Andreesen, creator of the Mosaic web browser and co-founder of Netscape Communications Corporation, graduated in 1993
- Inventor of the integrated circuit, Jack Kilby graduated in 1947 and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000 for his breakthrough discovery.
- Founder of Delta Air Lines C. E. Woolman, who graduated from the university with a B.A. in agriculture.