Surveying the Smalls
Local biologists team up to study how wetland mitigation affects small mammals.
North Carolina
Mucking in the Marshes
Josh Himmelstein is getting knee-deep in marshes to understand the effects of sea-level rise.
The Sediment Scientist
Anne Smiley maps coastal habitats and nitrogen levels to assess water quality and coastal ecosystem health, protecting communities hit by major storms.
Putting Skill to Work
Nichola Lowe spotted the gaps in the U.S. workforce long before the pandemic shined a light on them. She’s spent the last 15 years studying how employees develop and use skills at work, and how employers encourage development of those skills. Most recently, she’s written a book on the topic and is using lessons from the pandemic to drive her current research.
In Hot Water
Warming ocean waters are one of many climate change consequences, and scientists have observed fish migrating to stay within their preferred temperature range. Janet Nye, a UNC-Chapel Hill marine scientist, wants to understand how a warmer environment will affect these animals to help fisheries better prepare for the future.
Empowering Youth for a Resilient Future
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.
Leave It to Beavers
As urban regions in the Southeast continue to grow and develop, harmful pollutants enter nearby waterways more frequently. UNC researchers think one of the best solutions to prevent this may be investments in the habitats of the furry neighbors already in our backyards: beavers.
Paving New Paths to Choline
UNC Nutrition Research Institute assistant professor Isis Trujillo studies choline, an essential nutrient that is critical for brain development in the womb. A former postdoctoral researcher, she now runs her own lab and is exploring choline’s impact on gene expression to uncover how maternal nutrition influences fetal brain growth.
Taking the Economy’s Temperature
Millions of people are unemployed, many industries are struggling, and some businesses will never open again. Will we recover? UNC economists and financial analysts remain cautiously optimistic.
Building Resilience for Storm-Battered N.C.
The record-breaking 2020 Atlantic hurricane season included 30 storms, and while North Carolina managed to dodge the 12 hurricanes that made landfall, that won’t always be the case in the future. A team of interdisciplinary researchers at UNC is combining their expertise in areas like human health, ecology, and urban planning to create a long-term holistic plan helping vulnerable communities prepare for the next generation of extreme weather events.