Society

Society: Understanding Human Nature and Behavior

A High-Tech Solution to Hunger

August 24, 2021

With a passion for technology, a drive to make a real-world impact in their community, and some help from UNC-Chapel Hill researchers, three local high school students created Pantry Patrol, a user-friendly application designed to help food pantries better combat hunger.

Divide and Conquer

August 19, 2021

Jason Mihalik and Johna Register-Mihalik — both exercise and sport science professors — have spent the past 17 years beautifully navigating the personal-professional divide at UNC-Chapel Hill. Not only did they meet and get married at Carolina, but they’ve since gained tenure and now oversee innovative and complementary research programs within the field of sports-related concussion.

Paige Ouimet

August 18, 2021

Paige Ouimet is a professor of finance in the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Through the lens of societal challenges like income inequality, gender diversity, and the opioid epidemic, she studies how businesses impact society and how society impacts businesses.

It Runs in the Family

August 17, 2021

What do you get when a research psychologist marries a clinical psychologist? Two Carolina chemists. UNC-Chapel Hill psychologists Eric and Jen Youngstrom both joined the faculty in 2006. Through their research and global travels, their daughters Diane and Kay have developed a love of science, immense school spirit, and a deep desire to help the world.

Empowering Youth for a Resilient Future

August 11, 2021

As climate change continues to impact daily life, researchers at the UNC Institute for the Environment want to discover the best way to teach the next generation to build a more equitable, resilient society. To do this, they are studying how young people learn about the environment and enact change in their communities.

Ganga Bey

August 4, 2021

Ganga Bey is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Epidemiology within the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and a fellow in the Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity. She studies how people’s beliefs about identity, worth, and ability affect their stress, aging, and susceptibility to disease.

Stopping Harm Before It Starts

July 22, 2021

Researchers at the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center began studying the long-term effects of injury and violence well before they were recognized as public health problems. For 30 years, they have addressed vital societal issues including domestic abuse, car crashes, traumatic brain injury, home and workplace safety, and opioid overdose — and have worked closely with practitioners to change policies and save lives.

Cynthia Fraga Rizo

July 7, 2021

Cynthia Fraga Rizo is an associate professor within the UNC School of Social Work. She researches intimate partner violence, sexual abuse, and human trafficking to prevent such acts and provide survivors with effective services and interventions.

Christina Rudosky

June 10, 2021

Christina Rudosky is a teaching assistant professor of French in the Department of Romance Studies within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. She studies surrealism and why objects were coveted, collected, and brought to life through writing and art during this 20th-century avant-garde movement.

Keeping Rip Currents in Check

June 8, 2021

As a UNC graduate student, Greg Dusek’s dissertation was the development of a rip current prediction model for the North Carolina coastline. That was back in 2006. Since then, Dusek and his colleagues have continued to develop that project into what is now part of the most comprehensive and widespread rip current model in the U.S.