Research

Featured research news

Artist's rendering of solar arrays placed over a water canal in California.

KU environmental law expert part of research team working to place solar arrays over thousands of miles of California canals

A photo of people protesting, waving flags and holding signs in Algeria in 2019.

Study: Social media doesn’t always bring people together, even when they have shared goals for democracy

Collage featuring photo of Howard Thurman and newspaper headline 'Martin Luther King Stabbed'

Podcast dramatizes spiritual bridge between Gandhi, MLK

Darren Canady, University of Kansas professor of English, wrote the six-part, three-hour audio drama that is part of the multimedia “Day of Days” project helmed by executive producer Michael Epstein.

Science and Technology

Four KU professors in chemistry and engineering named AAAS fellows

“These four researchers have demonstrated excellence in their fields and have done so in a way that reflects well on our entire university. As one of the nation’s leading research institutions, KU strives to make discoveries that change the world — and these four scholars are helping us fulfill that mission every day," said Chancellor Douglas A. Girod.

KU environmental law expert part of research team working to place solar arrays over thousands of miles of California canals

Robin Kundis Craig of KU Law is part of the California Solar Canal Initiative, which is working to place solar arrays over thousands of miles of water canals in California. The project aims to produce clean energy, reduce water loss and land waste, all while creating local jobs and reducing pollution.
More Science and Technology
Eaton Hall on the KU Lawrence campus with shrubs in foreground featuring small purple blooms.

KU professor of engineering wins NSF CAREER Award for research into high-performance computing

Hongyang Sun, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, is the recipient of an NSF Early Career Development award for his efforts to strengthen high-performance computing systems by allowing them to do more work as they continue to expand.
More Science and Technology

Health and Well-Being

Autism Across the Life Span conference returns to KU Edwards Campus on March 14

The Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training (KCART) will offer a one-day conference that brings together members of the autism community with researchers, clinicians, educators and students at the KU Edwards Campus on March 14.

Jayhawk Athletic Performance Lab teams up with KU Football to elevate pro day training

The Jayhawk Athletic Performance Laboratory (JAPL), a sport performance-based research center housed under the Achievement & Assessment Institute, is collaborating with the KU Football team to help players better prepare for the NFL Combine and Big 12 Pro Day through technology and data analysis.
More Health and Well-Being
Photo collage of Walter Dodds, Hans Coetzee, Dave Tell, and Hartmut Jaeschke

KU, Kansas State faculty receive Higuchi-KU Endowment research achievement awards

Four faculty members at two Kansas universities were named recipients of the Higuchi-KU Endowment Research Achievement Awards, the state higher education system’s most prestigious recognition for scholarly excellence.
More Health and Well-Being

Teaching, Learning and Behavior

Study finds universities rarely keep contact with retirees, but benefits exist for schools, former employees when they do

KU researchers conducted a study in which they surveyed American institutions of higher education to find out whether they keep in touch with retirees. The vast majority do not, but a case study of KU, which does keep contact, found multiple potential benefits for both retirees and potential service and goodwill for the university.

KU faculty awarded AAI Arts & Humanities Grant to expand art-based aging project

The Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) at the University of Kansas has awarded the 2024 AAI Art & Humanities Grant to Sarah Jen, associate professor in the School of Social Welfare, and Liz Langdon, a lecturer in the Department of Visual Art, for their project, “Untold Stories of Aging in Action — Revealed and Traveled.” The project’s aim is to create and document the influence of an art-based intervention among communities of older adults and intergenerational audiences.
More Teaching, Learning and Behavior
A silhouette of a human head with an old-fashioned key in place of the top part of the cranium.

Evolution of distinctively human cognition explored in new book

In a new book, Armin Schulz, professor of philosophy at the University of Kansas, explores what makes human cognition unique, suggesting its evolution is built on a feedback loop of innate representations, forms of cultural learning and technology.
More Teaching, Learning and Behavior

Arts, Architecture and Humanities

Podcast dramatizes spiritual bridge between Gandhi, MLK

Darren Canady, University of Kansas professor of English, wrote the six-part, three-hour audio drama that is part of the multimedia “Day of Days” project helmed by executive producer Michael Epstein.

Role-playing game RiverBank a new twist on author Kij Johnson's concept

Kij Johnson, associate professor of English, has turned a book inspired by "Wind in the Willows" into a new ‘Cottagecore’ role-playing game
More Arts, Architecture and Humanities
Wooden model of a house with image of map on its roof, words on its side

Multimedia art project pays tribute to vanished Topeka neighborhood

The “Reclaiming Home: Remembering the Topeka Bottoms” project, led by a University of Kansas professor, includes oral history, art and documentary film components. Events connected to the project begin April 4.
More Arts, Architecture and Humanities

Business, Economics and Innovation

Not all financial analysts impeded by sleep disruptions, study finds

In a new study focusing on financial markets, William Bazley, assistant professor of finance at the University of Kansas, finds that sleep disruptions following spring daylight saving time clock shifts may negatively affect the forecast quality of the professional analysts — but it depends on their level of experience.

Health effects of trauma linked to performance at work

In a new paper, Elizabeth Embry, assistant professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Kansas, offers a theory linking health effects of trauma to performance outcomes at work, suggesting how managerial awareness of trauma manifestations is a necessary step toward workplaces becoming supportive or healing.
More Business, Economics and Innovation
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.
More Business, Economics and Innovation

Law, Politics and Society

LandBack Leadership Summit will bring tribal leaders and scholars to university

Tribal leaders and scholars will collaborate on campus at the LandBack Leadership Summit to discuss leadership skills and strategies related to land reclamation and land stewardship initiatives.

Subset of Taylor Swift fans who question her sexual identity are focus of new study

In a new study, Brian Donovan, professor of sociology at the University of Kansas, focuses on a thriving subset of Taylor Swift fans called “Gaylors,” who embrace subversive readings of Swift’s songs and seek to compile evidence she is secretly queer. His study explores how those interpretations cultivate joy, shape personal identity and build community.
More Law, Politics and Society
Heeyoun Shin presenting research at 2024 symposium.

Institute for Policy & Social Research Doctoral Research Fellows will share work at Spring Symposium

The Institute for Policy & Social Research at the University of Kansas will host a public reception to showcase the research efforts of the 2024-2025 IPSR Doctoral Research Fellows. The event will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on April 4.
More Law, Politics and Society