Kou Yang lets curiosity guide him into the research lab at the Gfeller Center, where he’s uncovered his desire to become an athletic trainer.

Liah McPherson accidentally got involved in research at UNC when she tried to enroll in a graduate class as a freshman — an experience that’s led her to new colleagues and fostered her love of dolphins.

This week, UNC celebrates University Research Week — an annual campus-wide event packed with lectures, workshops, and undergraduate research stories designed to promote awareness of research opportunities at Carolina.

Every day, humans create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data. How do we protect, store, and transfer it all? A team at RENCI has spent the last decade developing the Swiss Army knife of data management, called iRODS, that does all those things — and it’s used by a variety of institutions across the globe.

Yanni Lai is a PhD student and graduate research assistant in the Department of Mathematics within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. Her research focuses on using algorithms to identify mechanical problems within the heart.

Rishma Shah is a craniofacial engineer and assistant professor in the Department of Orthodontics within the UNC School of Dentistry. Her research focuses on using a patient’s cells to engineer facial muscle for implantation.

Barbara Sostaita is a PhD student in the Department of Religious Studies within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. Her research focuses on how sanctuary is being reimagined in response to contemporary immigration issues.

As a first-year student, Elena Watts took a research-based field trip that would change her life and lead her to four years of undergraduate research at UNC. The results of her original work served as the basis for a grant that now funds other students in the geology department.

Mollie Yacano is a PhD student in the Department of Marine Sciences within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences and a graduate research assistant at the Institute of Marine Sciences. Her research focuses on how the invasive plant species Phragmites australis modifies salt marsh ecosystem services such as the removal of excess nitrogen, and how their performance compares to native salt marsh plants and mudflats.

Jared Richards recalls childhood memories walking through the halls of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. and the awe of all that surrounded him. A summer research internship made it possible for the Carolina undergrad to return and contribute to the world-renowned institution.

Anita Brown-Graham is a professor of public law and government within the UNC School of Government and director of the school's ncIMPACT initiative. Her research focuses on creating opportunities and removing barriers to work-based economic prospects, particularly for residents in distressed communities.

When Meredith Emery photographed geography researchers conducting fieldwork, she couldn’t believe what she saw — a slew of litter along streambeds and forest lines. Now she’s sharing these images through a multimedia project blending art and science in an effort to change how the public relates to and thinks about the local environment.