UPDATE: The statue has been placed in its permenant home. Check out the photos >

Illinois’ most revered football player, Red Grange will be honored this week in a number of ways. After being labeled as the Greatest College Football Player of All Time last year, there is a lot to be said about Red Grange.

The Illini have chosen to honor the player with an eternal monument, a statue on the west side of Memorial Stadium. The Red Grange statue is expected to be installed today in its permanent home looking over the west lawn. The statue is made of bronze with an estimated cost of $350,000 paid by an anonymous donor. It will sit high upon a 14- to 18-foot base made from the same brick and limestone used at Memorial Stadium. It was built by UI Fine Arts alum George Lundeen and has a height of 12 foot, twice that of Grange’s.

In the statue, Grange will be standing on one leg, ball in hand, “hellbent for the goal line,” Lundeen said. “That’s not the title. We’re just going to call it ‘Harold “Red” Grange.’ ”

At first, Illinois officials discussed a lifesize statue. Lundeen wanted something bigger.

“Even 12 feet isn’t going to look real big outside,” Lundeen said. “It’s amazing how small something looks when you get it scaled up against something like the stadium.”

The new feature is part of the Memorial Stadium Renaissance project. Saturday’s game is the dedication of the statue. Read more about the statue and its designer here.

Some other ways to honor the Galloping Ghost include the Grange Rock,  which was unveiled by the University last year as a timeless symbol of Illinois’ storied history. Additionally, WILL TV will air never before seen footage of a 1982 interview with Red Grange at 7pm tonight as part of a special “Illini Night” production. 

Don’t miss it!

Photo Credit: The News-Gazette, Inc.

The 2009 astronaut class has been announced by NASA and among the nine individuals is Air Force Lt. Colonel Michael S. Hopkins,  an aerospace engineering graduate from the University of Illinois.

Michael S. Hopkins, Lt. Colonel U.S. Air Force, 40, of Alexandria, Va.; special assistant to the Vice Chairman (Joint Chiefs of Staff) at the Pentagon; born in Lebanon, Mo. Hopkins holds degrees from the University of Illinois and Stanford University.

“This is a very talented and diverse group we’ve selected,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for Space Operations. “They will join our current astronauts and play very important roles for NASA in the future. In addition to flying in space, astronauts participate in every aspect of human spaceflight, sharing their expertise with engineers and managers across the country. We look forward to working with them as we transcend from the shuttle to our future exploration of space, and continue the important engineering and scientific discoveries aboard the International Space Station.”

Congratulations to Mr. Hopkins and the rest of the class! Go Illini!

2009 Astronaut Class – NASA

Suze Orman, television financial personality and University of Illinois alumna, will be speaking at the commencement ceremonies on May 18.

The speaker at the 10:30 a.m. ceremony will be Suze Orman, Emmy Award-winner, New York Times best-selling author, TV host and philanthropist, and Illinois alumna; at the 2 p.m. ceremony, the speaker will be Carl Schramm, the president and chief executive officer of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Seniors, don’t forget your cap and gown!

Commencement ceremonies to take place May 17 at Illinois

If you’re watching the Masters Golf Tournament today, check out Steve Stricker, a 1990 graduate of the University of Illinois. At the time of writing, he’s tied for fifth. Oskee Wow Wow!

Stricker turned professional in 1990 and has won four times on the PGA Tour. His most successful season on tour came in 1996, when Stricker notched two victories (Kemper Open, Motorola Western Open) and seven top ten finishes on his way to finishing fourth on the 1996 PGA Tour money list. Stricker’s third and most impressive win came at the 2001 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, where he defeated Pierre Fulke 2 and 1 to earn the $1,000,000 prize. His most recent victory came at The Barclays tournament on August 26, 2007 ending an 11 year span for a win on American soil.

Wikipedia: Steve Stricker

And if you’re currently “undecided” for your major, golf is not a bad profession – Stricker has made over $18 million during his PGA Tour career.

The Space Shuttle Discovery launched on Sunday carrying along Lee Archambault, a University of Illinois graduate.

On board Discovery, the seven astronauts, including University of Illinois graduate Lee Archambault, geared up Monday afternoon for an in-depth inspection of their ship’s wings and nose with a laser-tipped boom. It’s standard procedure the day after launch to check for any damage that may have occurred during liftoff.

Shuttle with UI grad at helm heads toward space station
UPDATE: Article from Engineering at Illinois

Today marks the 46 year anniversary of the opening of Assembly Hall. Did you know that it was a UIUC architecture alum who designed it?

His name is Max Abramovitz. He graduated from the School of Architecture in 1929 with a bachelors and went on to receive his masters degree from Columbia University. He designed three buildings on the UIUC campus including the Hillel building, the Krannert Center and the Assembly Hall. He also designed a number of buildings at the campus of Columbia University.

His most prominent works include the United Nations Headquarters building, New York; Avery Fisher Hall (at Lincoln Center, originally the Philharmonic Hall, opened 1962), New York; the Corning Glass Center, Corning, New York; the U.S. Steel Tower (aka USX Tower) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; the National City Tower in Louisville, Kentucky; and the Tour Gan, La Defense (Paris), France.

Mr. Arbramovitz died in the fall of 2004 at the age of 96. His legend at UIUC will be remain forever.

Editor’s Note: I’ve heard rumor that the Assembly Hall design was actually submitted as a final architecture project upon which it recieved a failing grade. The validity of this rumor has yet to be determined. If you have any information please pass it on to The Quad.

Are you glad you have that sharp, bright television display on your wall? Thank Illinois alumnus Gene Slottow, co-inventor of the plasma display, who thought of the the idea with Donald Bitzer while waiting for a ride in 1964.

The morning after their revelation, Bitzer, Slottow and Willson started on a new model that used three layers of glass, the center layer with rows of tiny holes filled with a mixture of gas, and the outer layers lined with transparent metallic lines to carry the necessary electrical current to excite the gas in the tiny holes. The trio completed the first plasma panel, a monochrome display that glowed orange, in July 1964.

Consumer Electronics Association: H. Gene Slottow

Apparently the patent of the discovery is owned by the University, though.

The patent on the plasma display panel has been the most lucrative in the history of the University, bringing in millions of dollars.

ECE Illinois: H. Gene Slottow

In 1986 Slottow retired, and passed away three years later. In 2002, his wife accepted the Emmy awarded her husband, Bitzer and Willson for their work in inventing the plasma display.

Did you know that Irna Phillips, the creator of the soap opera, graduated from Illinois in 1923?

Phillips was one of ten children born to a German Jewish family in Chicago. She studied drama at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (where she became a member of Phi Sigma Sigma sorority), receiving a Master of Arts degree … Currently, a play is being written based on her life. It is called Irna.

When you hear Dee Brown, you probably think “amazing Fighting Illini Basketball star who led Illinois to the NCAA Championship game his junior year.” But did you know that there are two famous Illinois alumni named Dee Brown?

The other, unfairly forgotten Dee Brown was an author and historian. He graduated from our Graduate School of Library and Information Science in 1951. He is famous for writing “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.”

From 1948 to 1972, (Dee Brown) was an agriculture librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he had gained a master’s degree in library science and became a professor. In 1973, he retired back in Arkansas and devoted his time to writing.

So next time you hear someone mention “Dee Brown” – be sure to ask what Dee they mean.

Dan Fogelberg, a UIUC alumni and popular singer/songwriter of the 1970s and 1980s, died Sunday.

[Fogelberg] studied theater arts and painting at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and began performing as a solo acoustic player in area coffeehouses.

USA Today: Singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg dies
Wikipedia: Dan Fogelberg