While the United States and China take up roughly the same amount of land mass, China’s population is over four times that of the U.S. — and more people means more change in vegetation growth. How do these factors connect to climate change? Conghe Song explores this relationship, pursuing a project that has led to his return to his birthplace: rural China.

How do sea turtles navigate using Earth’s magnetic fields? To shed light on this incredible ability, UNC PhD student Kayla Goforth observes the orientation of their eggs — often in the middle of the night.

Karen Sheffield is a doctoral candidate in the UNC School of Nursing. Her research focuses on developing strategies to reduce the long-term health effects of psychological trauma, anxiety, and depression on women’s health and birth outcomes.

Allison Duprey is a sophomore majoring in environmental sciences and minoring in marine sciences within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. She uses drones to study how baleen whales spend and conserve energy when deep-diving for krill.

Henry Fuchs is always looking 20 years ahead, and two decades from now the computer scientist thinks augmented-reality eyeglasses will be the norm. Fuchs and his team of students and colleagues are developing an augmented-reality program to aid in laparoscopic surgery training and, maybe one day, revolutionize minimally invasive surgery.

Tainayah Thomas is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Health Behavior within the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Her research focuses on improving health care delivery and disease prevention for African Americans, Latinos, and other ethnically diverse populations.

Most people don’t think a sprained ankle is serious, but Erik Wikstrom disagrees. The UNC exercise and sports scientist studies the mechanisms and long-term impacts of lateral ankle sprains — exploring not only how they affect local tissues, but how they change the way the brain programs movement.

When an adult loses a front tooth, dentists can replace it with an implant. What about children, who have years of development ahead of them? The answer: relocate an existing tooth to the site of the missing tooth. UNC dentists are the first in the U.S. to try this innovative procedure, called autotransplantation.

In his youth, Boyce Griffith was writing computer programs before he could drive a car. Now a UNC mathematician, he creates computational models of the human heart to improve the prediction and treatment of cardiac diseases.

Tylar Watson is a junior double-majoring in computer science and women’s and gender studies, with a minor in Chinese, within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. Her research utilizes a specialized form of 3D printing called Continuous Liquid Interface Production to optimize the materials and methods for developing thin film membranes.

Nilay Tanık Argon is a professor in the Department of Statistics and Operations Research within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. She researches stochastic systems — random mathematical processes — to better understand operational problems in the health care industry such as the allocation of scarce resources like ambulances.

In starting a community garden, the Coharie tribe reclaim their autonomy in agriculture, transforming it into a place for healing and community. UNC senior Sierra Dunne records their story, learning about the deep-rooted connections among soil, sorghum syrup, and boundless generosity in the process.