Research

Perseverance in the Páramo

September 28, 2021

This summer, UNC-Chapel Hill research technicians Liz Farquhar and Tessa Davis traveled to the Andes Mountains in Ecuador for a project in the páramo, a beautiful but challenging ecosystem. While the high altitude and unpredictable weather took time to adjust to, they discovered that the resilience they gained during the pandemic aided them in all the obstacles they faced.

Taking On Discrimination

September 21, 2021

Julian Rucker wants to motivate people to address the stark racial disparities that have characterized the history of the United States. As a UNC-Chapel Hill postdoctoral researcher, he uses social psychology to unpack why structural racism exists, how people perceive it, and why we must change policies to eliminate it from our society.

Maggie Melo

September 15, 2021

Maggie Melo is an assistant professor within the UNC School of Information and Library Science. She studies how design and spatial interventions can be integrated into makerspaces and other environments to foster the inclusion of diverse user communities.

Nihar Vaidya

September 1, 2021

Nihar Vaidya is a junior double-majoring in computer science and statistics and analytics within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. He is also a Chancellor's Science Scholar. He uses computational neural networks to analyze brain patterns found in MRI data sets to predict when patients may encounter seizures caused by epilepsy.

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.

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.

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.

Pedro Sáenz

July 21, 2021

Pedro Sáenz is an assistant professor and director of the Physical Mathematics Laboratory in the Department of Mathematics within the UNC College of Arts & Sciences. He works to demonstrate that some odd behaviors displayed by electrons and other atomic-sized particles can be recreated with larger particles visible to the human eye.

Running Interference

July 13, 2021

Nearly 4 million sports- and recreation-related concussions happen each year. About 300,000 of those occur in football. For a long time, such data didn’t exist because these injuries weren’t understood or taken seriously. Decades before he became UNC’s chancellor, neuroscientist Kevin Guskiewicz strived to create the playbook for preventing and treating concussions — and changed the game forever.