Since she was 14 years old, Liah McPherson has studied the lives of wild dolphins. This past summer, the freediving fanatic and UNC junior worked as a field assistant with The Wild Dolphin Project in the northern Bahamas — where she photographed and researched four generations of Atlantic spotted dolphins.

Senior Morgan Yapundich is an undergraduate researcher majoring in chemistry within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. Her research focuses on pharmacological experiments that will shed light on how a drug induces cellular death in cancer cells.

Robin Armstrong is a PhD candidate within the UNC Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology and a graduate research assistant in the Duronio Lab. Using fruit flies as a model, she researches how chromatin structure influences DNA replication programs.

Stephen Anderson, a critically acclaimed composer and pianist, and a professor in the Department of Music in the College of Arts & Sciences, has a knack for finding Latin rhythms wherever he goes—most recently, the Dominican Republic.

 

Vicki Mercer is an associate professor of physical therapy in the UNC School of Medicine and director of the Human Movement Science Curriculum. She is also a clinical physical therapist for the Division of Physical Therapy’s faculty practice in Hillsborough. Her research focuses on balance and motor control with patients undergoing neurological and geriatric rehabilitation.

Chemistry undergraduates are developing their own research questions and projects in a new class at UNC, thanks to the drive and dedication of organic chemistry professor Nita Eskew.

For 70 years, the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences, located in Morehead City, has provided a home for Carolina scientists — from undergraduate students to tenured professors — to study the complex marine and coastal systems of North Carolina and beyond.

Senior Jeliyah Clark is an undergraduate researcher studying environmental health sciences within the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. She is also a Chancellor’s Science Scholar, McNair Scholar, and undergraduate research assistant in the Fry lab. Her research focuses on the impacts of human exposure to environmental contaminants.

UNC earth scientists have crossed oceans and traveled to far-away continents to pursue their research, as well as studied natural systems right here in North Carolina. In celebration of Earth Science Week, check out where they’ve been and what they’ve been up to.

From the competitive ports of China, to the innovative flood gates of the Netherlands, to the shifting sands of the Outer Banks, the sea creeps farther up the coastline every single day, and the distance between the top of the water and the bottom of bridges decreases — a major issue for port economies. UNC American studies professor Rachel Willis searches for solutions to help these communities cope with the impact of sea-level rise.

Adrienne Erickcek is an assistant professor of physics and astronomy within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. As a theoretical cosmologist, she researches dark matter, dark energy, and the evolution of the universe shortly after the Big Bang.

Waru Gichane is a PhD student in the Department of Health Behavior within the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and a research assistant at the Carolina Population Center. Her research focuses on the individual, interpersonal, and institutional barriers women face in achieving optimal sexual and reproductive health.