Congratulations to Professor Liang Kong–his joint proposal with Professor Yanhui Guo (UIS CSC) has been awarded a $30,000 grant from SHIELD Illinois! 

The team proposes to study and improve forecasting pandemic infections at the community level in Illinois using advanced mathematical modeling and deep learning that take into account the complexity of human mobility and interactions. 

SHIELD Illinois, the non-profit COVID-testing unit of the University of Illinois System, is seeking to leverage the system’s network of researchers to help improve operations, better understand the broader impact of the SHIELD Illinois unit, and discover best practices for guiding public responses to future crises. 

SHIELD has grown rapidly in the past 20+ months, starting with 10 employees and processing less than 5,000 tests in the fall of 2020 to growing to over 300 employees and running more than 5-million tests as of last month. The unit is looking to further understand its internal data, impact, organizational growth, strengths, capabilities, and operations to serve the state of Illinois and inform senior leadership. SHIELD launched a request for proposals and funded 20 projects through a competitive selection process. 

For more information, contact Professor Kong at lkong9@uis.edu.