What's Happening at the NEIU Libraries?

Each year, the NEIU Libraries hosts the Library Research Awards to celebrate the excellent research of NEIU students! We're thrilled to announce the winners of the 2025 award as well as a shoutout to our honorable mentions!

Winners

Sana Kausar Habiya

It's been over two years since I started my master's in public health in spring 2023 at NEIU. I am almost done with my master's, expecting to graduate in Fall 2025. I became a more active student when I started working as a research assistant last fall, 2024. Since then I have worked on many research projects on campus that focus on students' well-being, including studies on neurodivergent students, sleep quality, and substance use.

I would like to acknowledge my faculty advisor, Dr. Chika Ejike, for her invaluable guidance throughout this project. I also extend my heartfelt gratitude to my mentor, Dr. Christina Ciecierski for her support and mentorship in helping me achieve these milestones. Lastly, I want to thank Lisa Wallis from the NEIU library for her assistance in guiding me through the fundamentals of research.

Courtney Moran

I worked with Dr. Geddes as an NEIU Honors Scholar researching cattail DNA for my undergraduate research. I graduated in 2014 and just returned this semester to pursue my MS in Biology. I started this semester with a deep dive into literature research and jumped at the chance to present because I believe that sharing my research with others, in any stage of the process, will enhance it.

I'd like to thank my mentor, Dr. Geddes, has provided excellent guidance so far as I begin my graduate journey. Research librarian Lisa Wallis helped me refine my research process and introduced me to Zotero, a reference management software, which has proven to be a great asset.

Congrats to our winners, who will each receive a $300 cash prize!

Honorable Mentions

This year the Committee also chose to award several honorable mention awards. These students will receive $50 each as a prize for their excellent work!

• Danya Adhami & Celeste Lopez (Co-Investigators, Honorable Mention for Bibliography)
• Diana Mireille Ortiz Rojo (Honorable Mention for Short Essay)

Congratulations from the NEIU Libraries!

As the semester draws to a close, a few reminders about the NEIU Libraries:

Power through the semester with Fuel for Finals
Free coffee and snacks in the Ronald Williams Library café, May 5-8, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Take a break from studying. 
Visit the café space in the Ronald Williams Library to do some coloring or work on a puzzle.

Remember to return your library books and materials before you head out for your summer!
Also remember to return laptops by appointment (or lockers) between May 5-9th. Email libtech@neiu.edu with questions!
Watch your Nmail for more information on long-term laptop loans for next semester!

Normal library hours continue through the summer. 

Students: Are you struggling to get artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT to actually help with your assignments? Curious about how AI fits into your studies and what it can’t do? Join NEIU Libraries for a workshop:

Using GenAI Effectively – Creating Prompts
Tuesday, April 29
3 p.m.
Main Campus, Ronald Williams Library, 3rd floor classroom 

Why you should attend
In just one hour, you’ll learn how to:

• Write better prompts to get better results
• Spot errors in AI-generated content
• Use AI responsibly and ethically for schoolwork
• Turn GenAI into your brainstorming and studying sidekick

This isn’t just theory. We’ll do hands-on practice, compare real prompts and show how small tweaks can lead to better output.

AI is already a part of school, work and life. Knowing how to use it well gives you an edge. Plus, we’ll show you how to avoid academic pitfalls and make AI work for you, not against you.

Can’t make the workshop? Check out our Student Guide to ChatGPT and other AI Resources. 

Contact Robin Harris at r-harris14@neiu.edu or Lisa Wallis at l-wallis@neiu.edu with any questions.

Physicists Scott Dodelson and Stacy McGaugh explored this topic during a virtual discussion on Monday, April 7, 2025.

Professor Dodelson defends the standard cosmological model, according to which the laws of general relativity taken together with dark matter can adequately account for the evolution of the universe up to the present.

Professor McGaugh, by contrast, argues that evidence supports the need to modify our understanding of how matter behaves under the influence of gravity, without invoking any need for the existence of dark matter.

Each speaker delivered a 20-minute opening presentation followed by a response round and audience Q&A. This event was moderated by NEIU Associate Professor of Physics Orin Harris.

This event was sponsored by the Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) Department of Physics, the NEIU Libraries, and the NEIU Heterodox Academy Campus Community.

Speaker biographies:

Scott Dodelson is a Fermilab scientist and professor in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago. His primary research interest is in analyzing data from cosmic surveys to inform our understanding of dark matter/dark energy neutrinos, primarily within standard cosmological model.

Stacy McGaugh is a professor in the Department of Astronomy at Case Western Reserve University. His primary research interest is the study of low-surface-brightness galaxies, which connects more broadly to his work in using astronomical and cosmological data to test the predictions of dark matter versus modified Newtonian dynamics.

Moderator biography:

Orin Harris did his PhD work on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider before switching fields, in 2013, to using bubble chambers to search for dark matter. He is a member of the PICO and SBC collaborations, and he’s an Associate Professor of Physics at NEIU.

The University community is invited to attend a reception in honor of the annual NEIU Faculty Publications and Creative Works Recognition from 3-5 p.m. on Thursday, April 3 in the Cafe and Gallery Space of the Ronald Williams Library.

The event highlights the scholarly and creative works of NEIU faculty completed in 2024. Light refreshments will be served. Please stop by to congratulate and appreciate the professional accomplishments of NEIU faculty!

The annual Faculty Publications and Creative Works Recognition celebration continues with the launch of the online 2025 Faculty Publications and Creative Works interactive presentation, celebrating the good work done by NEIU faculty throughout 2024. This year, the recognition highlights 70 scholarly or creative submissions from 43 faculty.  

The books, articles and creative works are also on display in the lobby of the Ronald Williams Library through April 18.

Please stop by and take some time to appreciate the efforts and accomplishments of NEIU faculty in 2024!

The 2025 Black History Month theme, "African Americans and Labor," focuses on the various and profound ways that work and working of all kinds – free and unfree, skilled, and unskilled, vocational and voluntary – intersect with the collective experiences of Black people. Work is at the very center of much of Black history and culture, and this Black History Month theme sets out to highlight and celebrate the important impact of this work.                                                                

In honor of Black History Month, you can find physical book displays at the Ronald Williams Library and the CCICS Library, and the virtual display can be found here:  Black History Month. 

All materials are available through the NEIU Libraries. 

And check out the Black History Month events led by faculty, staff, and students that celebrate, honor, and recognize the work and culture of Black people.

More info: https://neiulibraries.libcal.com/event/13531395

Register at the following link: https://neiulibraries.libcal.com/event/13508462

The NEIU Libraries is honored to host a traveling exhibit from Nov 14-Dec 16 in the 1st floor gallery space - be sure to swing by to check it out!

From the Presbyterian Historical Society:

Assyrians are the last Aramaic-speaking ethnic community indigenous to a homeland between Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Iran. Their communities were transformed by missionary education beginning in the 19th century, but documenting this history through Assyrian voices has proven elusive in the wake of their displacement. This exhibit's unique collection of papers and objects from the Lake Urmia region (Iran), documents the life, travels, and education of one Assyrian-Iranian family in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The letters, journal, historic images, passport, and currency that form the exhibit are intended to highlight the importance of archiving and preserving family-held documents that enhance deeper understanding of the modern evolution of social and cultural change, especially among indigenous minority populations.