Research

Featured research news

An image of lead-lead collisions at the Large Hadron Collider at 5.02TeV per nucleon pair in the center of mass, recorded by the ALICE detector in Run2 in the year 2018.

52 KU-affiliated scientists recognized for Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

A photo illustration of a thermometer and sun indicating extreme heat.

Study highlights role of social workers in addressing marginalized communities bearing brunt of climate disasters

Director Nicole Hodges Persley , standing at right, gestures as she speaks with actor Ash Bowen seated in chair.

Professor mentors as she shepherds 'Family Sideshow' through world premiere at KC Melting Pot Theatre

Nicole Hodges Persley has a sense of fulfillment on many levels as she works on her last play as artistic director of the Kansas City Melting Pot Theatre. She is directing a cast of four in the world premiere of Brysen Boyd’s tragicomic drama, “Family Sideshow,” opening May 1.

Science and Technology

Galaxies at ‘cosmic noon’: Research gives deep dive into universe’s wild growth spurt

A new University of Kansas survey of distant galaxies using the James Webb Space Telescope reveals never-before-seen star formation and black hole growth at “cosmic noon,” a mysterious epoch 2-3 billion years after the Big Bang when galaxies like the Milky Way underwent an intense growth spurt.

52 KU-affiliated scientists recognized for Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

Fifty-two physicists affiliated with the University of Kansas — both currently and formerly — are on the teams that recently were awarded the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for their papers analyzing data from CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. The prize recognizes outstanding research papers published between 2015-2024.
More Science and Technology
Photo of musk ox in Greenland.

Study of ‘spatial synchrony’ using long-term data exposes ecological trends and could boost conservation, farming

New research from the University of Kansas in Ecology Letters reveals study of spatial synchrony over a long enough timescale leads to better testing of ideas, improved statistical results and new conceptual realms for understanding ecology, conserving species and farming more profitably.
More Science and Technology

Health and Well-Being

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.

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.
More Health and Well-Being
Campanile with clouds in background.

Hybrid research symposium planned for Undergraduate Research Week

The Center for Undergraduate Research at the University of Kansas is hosting online and in-person research presentations through April 25 to celebrate Undergraduate Research Week, featuring the work of more than 150 Jayhawks.
More Health and Well-Being

Teaching, Learning and Behavior

Study shows addressing working memory can help students with math difficulty improve word problem-solving skills

A study led by the University of Kansas addressed whether using interventions designed to improve working memory can help students solve math word problems. The study found that in working with more than 200 students with and without math difficulties, working memory plays a key role in word problemsolving and that interventions designed to improve it helped both students with and without math difficulties.

New book ‘Psychology of Liberty’ examines freedom as allowing humans to be what they were intended to be

“The Psychology of Liberty: Reclaiming Everyday Freedom” by Barbara Kerr of the University of Kansas combines the study of anthropology, economics, history, creativity, family studies, evolutionary studies and education to suggest a new concept of freedom: Allowing people to be free to create, play and spend time with their families, as humans did for nearly 200,000 years.
More Teaching, Learning and Behavior
Campanile with clouds in background.

Hybrid research symposium planned for Undergraduate Research Week

The Center for Undergraduate Research at the University of Kansas is hosting online and in-person research presentations through April 25 to celebrate Undergraduate Research Week, featuring the work of more than 150 Jayhawks.
More Teaching, Learning and Behavior

Arts, Architecture and Humanities

Professor mentors as she shepherds 'Family Sideshow' through world premiere at KC Melting Pot Theatre

Nicole Hodges Persley has a sense of fulfillment on many levels as she works on her last play as artistic director of the Kansas City Melting Pot Theatre. She is directing a cast of four in the world premiere of Brysen Boyd’s tragicomic drama, “Family Sideshow,” opening May 1.

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
Glenn Adams and Luciano Tosta, travel grant awardees

KUIA awards 34 grants for research and collaboration abroad

Thirty-four scholars from KU will embark on global adventure through travel grants from KU International Affairs. Their projects will take them to 23 countries and range from forging global ties to unraveling mysteries of culture, health and history.
More Arts, Architecture and Humanities

Business, Economics and Innovation

KU ranks 37th among US public universities granted utility patents in 2024

The University of Kansas ranked 37th among public institutions in the Top 100 U.S. Universities Granted Utility Patents in 2024, a list published by the National Academy of Inventors. The list showcases universities that play a pivotal role in advancing the innovation ecosystem and driving economic growth in the United States. KU ranked 59th among all universities.

The Care Board, KU-led site to gather information on care work's role in the economy, now live

The Care Board, a project that gathers information on care work, which often goes unnpaid, done every day in the American economy is now live. The site can help journalists, policymakers, communities, nonprofits and the public better understand the influence care work has on the American economy.
More Business, Economics and Innovation
Reflections of skyscrapers in the windows of an office are superimposed on silhouettes of employees in a corporate boardroom.

Partisan politics proved most significant factor for speed of corporate shutdowns during pandemic, study shows

In a new study, Shradha Bindal, assistant professor of finance at the University of Kansas, investigates the speed with which U.S. firms shut down their headquarters because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It finds that the political orientation of the firms and their CEOs proved the most significant factor.
More Business, Economics and Innovation

Law, Politics and Society

Limits of nation’s belief in manifest destiny explored in new ‘Borderlands’ book

In a new book, Andrew Isenberg, Hall Distinguished Professor of American History at the University of Kansas, offers a reconsidered history of manifest destiny that breaks from traditional narratives of U.S. territorial expansion.

Study highlights role of social workers in addressing marginalized communities bearing brunt of climate disasters

A KU researcher calculated carbon footprints of residents of one of the poorest neighborhoods in Seoul, South Korea. Joonmo Kang found that, despite contributing much less to climate change than other residents, they bore the brunt of the effects. This highlights the vital role of social workers in helping address climate injustice and advocating for equitable solutions, according to researcher.
More Law, Politics and Society
Reflections of skyscrapers in the windows of an office are superimposed on silhouettes of employees in a corporate boardroom.

Partisan politics proved most significant factor for speed of corporate shutdowns during pandemic, study shows

In a new study, Shradha Bindal, assistant professor of finance at the University of Kansas, investigates the speed with which U.S. firms shut down their headquarters because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It finds that the political orientation of the firms and their CEOs proved the most significant factor.
More Law, Politics and Society