Research


Featured research news

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



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.
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.
Photo of musk ox in Greenland.
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.

Health and Well-Being



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.
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.
Campanile with clouds in background.
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.

Teaching, Learning and Behavior



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.
“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.
Campanile with clouds in background.
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.

Arts, Architecture and Humanities



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.
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.
Glenn Adams and Luciano Tosta, travel grant awardees
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.

Business, Economics and Innovation



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, 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.
Reflections of skyscrapers in the windows of an office are superimposed on silhouettes of employees in a corporate boardroom.
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.

Law, Politics and Society



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.
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.
Reflections of skyscrapers in the windows of an office are superimposed on silhouettes of employees in a corporate boardroom.
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.