Research UNCovered


Research UNCovered showcases the many faces of research at Carolina, from undergraduate students to faculty, across all disciplines. Learn what inspired our researchers to pursue their field, how they’ve overcome obstacles, and a little about their lives beyond their labs and offices.

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Rachel Despard

May 6, 2020

Rachel Despard is a senior majoring in music with minors in public policy and social and economic justice within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. She studies how recorded music boosts community collaboration, affects visibility for vulnerable populations, and addresses systematic inequalities.

Chloe Scattergood

April 22, 2020

Chloe Scattergood is a senior majoring in archaeology and minoring in art history and geological sciences within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. She has spent the past two summers uncovering artifacts in Huqoq, Israel, and plans to pursue a master's degree focused on colonial-era ceramics from the American East Coast.

Han Guo

April 8, 2020

Han Guo is a senior double-majoring in computer science and statistics and analytics within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. He researches how to build language technologies like automated image captioning.

De’Ivyion Drew

March 25, 2020

De’Ivyion Drew is a sophomore double-majoring in studio art and in African, African American, and diaspora studies within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. She is also a part-time student at Duke University, studying African American and black studies. She uses brass, ivory, copper, and stone to create sculptures that mimic representations of African royalty and serve as a positive commentary on present-day black culture.

Benjamin Frey

March 11, 2020

Benjamin Frey is an assistant professor in the Department of American Studies and adjunct professor in the Department of Linguistics within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. He studies the Cherokee language, now endangered, in order to recover the social networks, spaces, domains, and means of transference that once allowed it to thrive.

Emma York Marzolf

March 4, 2020

Emma Marzolf is a conservation grower at the North Carolina Botanical Garden. She collects native seeds from wild plant populations across North Carolina and then grows and stores them for future seed restoration efforts.

Li Ke

February 26, 2020

Li Ke is a postdoctoral researcher in the Culture, Curriculum, and Teacher Education program within the UNC School of Education. He promotes scientific literacy among K-12 students by helping them utilize models and reasoning to approach social issues in science such as climate change.

Beatrice Williams

February 19, 2020

Beatrice Williams is a doctoral candidate within the UNC Adams School of Dentistry. She researches how comprehensive dental care can improve the physiological and physical health of people living with HIV.

Michael Terry

February 12, 2020

Michael Terry is an associate professor in the Department of Linguistics and adjunct associate professor in the Department of African, African American, and Diaspora Studies within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. He researches the structure of dialects and the implications of dialectal differences for linguistic theory and educational practice.

Katie Harmon

February 5, 2020

Katie Harmon is a postdoctoral research associate at the UNC Highway Safety Research Center. She uses data to analyze pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and fatalities to encourage safe and best practices among commuters of all kinds.