Featured news at KU


Our top featured stories

KGS seismic techniques and equipment look for signs of instability in rocks under highway in southeast Kansas.
A hazard detection program begun nearly 40 will enter a new era of artificial intelligence, neural networks, and machine learning, supported in part by a $15 million grant from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.

Other featured news

Man addressing crowd with mountains in background

Author emphasizes social dimension of international development

According to a KU anthropologist, good intentions are not enough to make community-based international development work. It needs a facilitator who can literally translate but also figuratively bridge the gap in power dynamics between the two sides of the equation.
Head and shoulders portrait of author

Relationships with robots drive plot of novel ‘Luminous’

What if you had a robot for a sibling? That concept is the inspiration for a University of Kansas professor's debut science fiction novel, "Luminous," now out from Simon & Schuster.
Colorful straight lines transform into a shapeless mess, representing order into chaos.

Groundbreaking contributions to effects of chaos and bifurcation in economics chronicled in new book

In a new book, William Barnett, the Oswald Distinguished Professor of Macroeconomics at the University of Kansas, provides a unified presentation of his contributions to the literature on chaos, economic bifurcation and nonlinear dynamics. The span of the book’s research begins in 1988 with Barnett’s initial finding of chaos in economic data.
Photo of edge device to be used by students.

Program will train high schoolers to write code and develop microelectronics for artificial intelligence

Researchers at the University of Kansas, along with the University of Florida and the University of North Texas, will partner with regional high schools to engage about 500 students and 25 teachers in real-world projects to build interest in artificial intelligence technology as a career path.

Research



The annual awards recognize outstanding unclassified academic staff, unclassified professional staff and postdoctoral fellows whose research significantly influenced their fields and expanded intellectual or societal insights.
In a new book, William Barnett, the Oswald Distinguished Professor of Macroeconomics at the University of Kansas, provides a unified presentation of his contributions to the literature on chaos, economic bifurcation and nonlinear dynamics. The span of the book’s research begins in 1988 with Barnett’s initial finding of chaos in economic data.
A photo of people protesting, waving flags and holding signs in Algeria in 2019.
A study of feminist protesters who took part in the 2019 Algerian “Hirak“ protests found they experienced dismissal and violence from people on social media, even when they shared goals of reforming their government. The findings indicate the power of social media to unite people around a common cause can be limited when all are not viewed as equals.

Kansas Communities



Researchers at the University of Kansas, along with the University of Florida and the University of North Texas, will partner with regional high schools to engage about 500 students and 25 teachers in real-world projects to build interest in artificial intelligence technology as a career path.
The University of Kansas School of Music has planned an outreach tour featuring the KU Wind Ensemble under the direction of Matt Smith. The band will embark on a two-day tour across central and western Kansas, performing five concerts for students and the public.
Sunflower with solar flare
Kristi Northcutt will direct the center that provides professional education and leadership development programs and events for public service professionals across Kansas and beyond.

Economic Development



With $5 million in support from U.S. Department of Energy, the University of Kansas and Avium, a startup firm founded by researchers from KU’s School of Engineering, aim to make clean hydrogen more affordable.
The woods can be a place of adventure and beauty, a peaceful escape for a walk. But among the leaves and grass, the threat of ticks can turn a hike into a health-altering encounter with Lyme disease. A recent $3 million Small Business Innovation Research award will fund the research and development of a vaccine to stop Lyme disease in its tracks.
Collage of images showing a researcher in a biomedical sciences laboratory, researchers in an engineering lab space, and K-12 students in a classroom. Kansas prairie grasses create a background for the images.
Research and development expenditures spanning all University of Kansas campuses increased to $546.1 million in fiscal year 2024, surpassing the half-billion-dollar mark for the first time in university history. The reverberations of that growth extend far beyond KU to benefit people throughout the Sunflower State and beyond.

Student experience and achievement



Undergraduate researchers from the University of Kansas Lawrence and Medical Center campuses will present their research projects Feb. 26 as part of Kansas Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol.
More than 8,900 undergraduate students at the University of Kansas earned honor roll distinction for the fall 2024 semester.
Ethan Harris and Jacob Wilkus
The University of Kansas debate team of Ethan Harris and Jacob Wilkus, both alumni of Free State High School in Lawrence, have qualified for the National Debate Tournament set for April 4-7 in Spokane, Washington.

Campus news



Stephen T. Johnson, lecturer in the School of Architecture and Design, carries on his family’s artistic legacy in a new “three-generation” show opening Feb. 28 at the Cider Gallery in Lawrence.
Opening Feb. 18 at the Spencer Museum of Art, “Bold Women” explores how women have pushed the boundaries of art and spurred social and cultural change across generations and geographies. The exhibition showcases more than 75 works of art by nearly 50 artists in a variety of mediums including photography, video, installations, textiles, paintings and sculpture.
A mountainous region of the exhibit with rocky outcrops and preserved goats, deer, a moose and beaver
KU alumni Tom and Jan Hardy have provided a $2 million gift to the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum to fuel preservation efforts for the historic exhibit at the heart of the museum, the Panorama. The 132-year-old exhibit showcases a variety of preserved animal specimens in their habitats, with North American mammals at its center.

Latest news

Image of the exterior of Capitol Federal Hall on the Lawrence campus.

KU to welcome School of Business dean candidates to Lawrence campus

Four candidates striving to become the next dean of KU’s School of Business will soon visit the Lawrence campus and share their outlook for the future of the school.
KGS seismic techniques and equipment look for signs of instability in rocks under highway in southeast Kansas.

From abandoned coal mines to war zones, Kansas Geological Survey technology reveals underground threats

A hazard detection program begun nearly 40 will enter a new era of artificial intelligence, neural networks, and machine learning, supported in part by a $15 million grant from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center.
Sunflower with solar flare

KU Public Management Center announces new director

Kristi Northcutt will direct the center that provides professional education and leadership development programs and events for public service professionals across Kansas and beyond.
Man addressing crowd with mountains in background

Author emphasizes social dimension of international development

According to a KU anthropologist, good intentions are not enough to make community-based international development work. It needs a facilitator who can literally translate but also figuratively bridge the gap in power dynamics between the two sides of the equation.