Research

Featured research news

Graphic made up of a cluster of lines and dots, depicting the network studied

Study of nonprofit resilience emphasizes importance of broad-based ties

Three paintings by Barry Fitzgerald, side by side

Home on the range: Kansas sabbatical inspires artist

Samuel Brody

Scholar sketches a Jewish economic theology

A University of Kansas religious studies scholar has written a new chapter on Jewish economic theology for the St. Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology. Samuel Brody starts with the biblical injunction against lending money at interest and sketches historical Jewish highlights stretching from the rabbis of the Talmud to the medieval sage Maimonides to Karl Marx.

Science and Technology

Four students receive Kansas Biological Survey Student Research Awards for 2026

The Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research at KU has awarded $4,000 in funding this spring for student research to be conducted in the coming academic year. Four students will receive assistance through the research center’s 2026 Student Research Awards.

KU Ichthyology collection reaches milestone with Missouri Department of Conservation partnership

The University of Kansas Ichthyology Division at the Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum has reached a milestone of more than 45,000 cataloged lots, aided by a substantial collection from the Missouri Department of Conservation.
More Science and Technology
Helicopter on the ground with a large circular instrument laying out in front of it.

Airborne electromagnetic survey of Ogallala aquifer conditions planned in southwest Kansas

Beginning in late May and continuing until late July, residents of southwest Kansas may see a low-flying helicopter towing a large hexagonal frame. This aerial arrangement is part of a project to map groundwater conditions in the Ogallala aquifer in Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District (GMD) 3.
More Science and Technology

Health and Well-Being

Research aims to identify underlying causes for linked mental health issues

A researcher from the University of Kansas has led a large-scale study of veterans to better understand how psychological conditions such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and eating disorders are connected.

KU researchers enhance training for the Kansas health care workforce to prevent substance use disorders

Researchers in the KU School of Social Welfare have updated training materials that prepare health care providers to prevent, identify and treat substance use disorders across Kansas. SBIRT — Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment — is an evidence-based approach to talking with people about their substance use.
More Health and Well-Being
3D render illustration of a natural killer body cell in response to a coronavirus cell

Study reveals common mutation linked to autoimmune diseases may protect people from viral infections

New research from the University of Kansas shows a “risk gene” linked to higher odds of developing autoimmune diseases such as diabetes or lupus may also provide a survival advantage fighting viral infections like coronavirus.
More Health and Well-Being

Teaching, Learning and Behavior

Study finds high school journalism leading the way in financial literacy, even if business isn't part of curriculum

Journalism classes usually are not paired with business lessons. While there have been calls for increasing business knowledge in journalism, research from the University of Kansas has found that high school journalists are learning business skills even though they are not a core part of the curriculum.

New philosophical theory of personal well-being introduced in latest ‘Oxford Handbook’

In a new book chapter, Jason Raibley, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Kansas, proposes a new theory of personal well-being in which the most essential building block is having and then realizing personal values through one’s own agency.
More Teaching, Learning and Behavior
Students in a classroom taking a pen and pencil test.

New book guides teachers on using best method of assessment to balance research, realities of the classroom

"Classroom Assessment in the Real World" guides teachers in the best methods of gauging what their students have learned by balancing best practices with examples on how different approaches work, helping to select the best method for each unique classroom.
More Teaching, Learning and Behavior

Arts, Architecture and Humanities

Poetry translator serves as cross-cultural ambassador for latest project, ‘Last Stops of the Night Journey’

A University of Kansas professor says his latest translation of an Italian poetry collection, like all his work, is driven by his love of literature. Patrizio Ceccagnoli will give a reading for Milo De Angelis’ “Last Stops of the Night Journey” on April 28.

Composer elevates voices of women poets on new recording

A University of Kansas professor has released a new album, “Three Silent Things: Vocal Chamber Music by Ingrid Stölzel,” featuring the settings of female poets’ writing, including one by Kansas native aviator Amelia Earhart.
More Arts, Architecture and Humanities
Three paintings by Barry Fitzgerald, side by side

Home on the range: Kansas sabbatical inspires artist

Barry Fitzgerald is returning to Lindsborg to show paintings he made while spending a month at the nearby Red Barn Studio. It was his first artistic residency after a long and successful career as an illustrator.
More Arts, Architecture and Humanities

Business, Economics and Innovation

States that imposed total abortion bans spend millions more in nutritional food programs, research finds

Lilly Springer, doctoral candidate in economics at the University of Kansas, found that states that implemented total abortion bans by the start of 2023 experienced a 1.6% increase in the overall birth rate. They also experience 4.3% and 2.1% increase in monthly postpartum women and formula-fed infant WIC participation, respectively, leading to an additional $6.9 million in food costs.

Strategies for fixing out-of-control tipping practices revealed in new article

In a new article, Rob Waiser, assistant professor of marketing, examines how tipping — a social process once confined to hospitality — is now appearing in unexpected places and becoming more expensive. But when designed thoughtfully, it can reinforce customer centricity rather than undermine it.
More Business, Economics and Innovation
A hand arranges blocks that represent different aspects of business relationships, from ideas to profitability to manufacturing to sales.

Marketing expert develops framework providing retailers strategies for organizing around ecosystems

In a new article, Murali Mantrala, the Ned Fleming Professor of Marketing at the University of Kansas, provides a practical framework for how retailers can deploy an ecosystem-centric strategy focusing on interdependent sets that jointly create and capture customer value.
More Business, Economics and Innovation

Law, Politics and Society

Research finds efforts to end child marriage in Malawi leave out local knowledge, culture

University of Kansas researchers propose viewing the problem through an African feminist lens that would engage culture, local customs and knowledge to address an issue that has persisted despite legal reforms.

KU researcher proposes strategies for political depolarization in, outside classroom

In two recent publications, a University of Kansas communication studies researcher prescribes constructive approaches to political polarization both in the classroom and in society more broadly.
More Law, Politics and Society
Samuel Brody

Scholar sketches a Jewish economic theology

A University of Kansas religious studies scholar has written a new chapter on Jewish economic theology for the St. Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology. Samuel Brody starts with the biblical injunction against lending money at interest and sketches historical Jewish highlights stretching from the rabbis of the Talmud to the medieval sage Maimonides to Karl Marx.
More Law, Politics and Society