If you spent any time on social media this summer, you probably heard that United States government agencies confirmed the existence of video footage of UFOs taken by military aircraft. The videos reignited speculation about the presence of alien life visiting Earth.
Our new video series, I am Seeking, highlights what our faculty are seeking with their research. From finding new ways to treat addiction, to looking for signs of alien life in rocks on earth, or searching for new ways to diagnose cancer, our faculty are innovators and explorers seeking answers and solutions to a myriad of questions.
What does human trafficking look like? Most of us have seen stories of captivity play out on big or small screen with familiar casts of villains and victims. Compelling drama, perhaps, but the reality is far more complicated, and closer to home, than we might like to imagine. Make no mistake, says KU researcher Hannah Britton: it’s happening in the Heartland, and often in plain sight.
The opportunities and applications that can stem from subjects like Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing seem to be endless in a world where technology grows at a rapid pace. KU's Avary Kolasinski has utilized her love for these subjects to produce meaningful research and to program theoretical results. The applications of this research affect a variety of fields including but not limited to physics and computer science.
Water is all around us, and there's a lot of it. More than 2.7 million miles of streams and rivers exist in the U.S. alone, in fact. We're surrounded by H20 in America, and yet there are still large gaps in our understanding of the state and trends of the water cycle, which can have seriously devastating ramifications. James Coll wants to fill that data void, and his research in KU Geography's Ph.D. program centers on ways that drone technology can help scholars measure and categorize that cycle.
When most of us imagine a “lab,” familiar images and associations come to mind: sterile spaces equipped with white coats and Petri dishes, beakers, glass test tubes and granulated cylinders galore. Spaces where life-changing discoveries are made, no doubt — but Katie Rhine and her dedicated team of fellow scholars had something else in mind.
Our new video series, I am Seeking, highlights what our faculty are seeking with their research. From elevating African-American playwrights, to looking for signs of alien life in rocks on earth, or finding new ways to treat addiction, our faculty are innovators and explorers seeking answers and solutions to a myriad of questions. Learn how Foundation Distinguished Professor of chemistry Steven A. Soper’s research is benefiting Kansas and the world as he and his team seek to develop new tools to diagnose cancer.
What’s the foundation of a city? For urban planner Ward Lyles, the spaces we inhabit are defined as much by an approach to life, and the people we encounter, as they are by the systems and physical structures that make up a sound infrastructure. The way he sees it, the true bedrock of a strong community lies in a simple, yet immensely powerful, guiding principle: compassion.
What is the formula that catalyzes bright sparks to win fountains of scholarships and discoveries that make our world a better place to live? Hard work, for sure. But the fundamental element is people. It's all about having a supportive friendship group to help you laugh and to collaborate with when confronting challenging questions. Also, it's about professors, those people who go above and beyond to give you opportunities to do hands-on research. How do we know this? Because we've met Emily Boyd, Joseph Loomis, Cara Davis, and Zachary Wood, four KU chemistry majors who scooped up countless prestigious awards last year.
Valentine’s Day is here, love is in the air. Pick-up a glossy magazine, flick a few pages and very quickly, you will find a celebrity sharing their relationship advice with you. Turn on the television, and dating shows like “The Bachelor” will show you the trials and tribulations of finding love in the modern world. Should celebrities and reality TV be shaping our ideas about something as important as love? Researchers across the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at KU also have a lot to say about love and relationships. So this Valentine’s Day, we've put together a relationship advice column based on recent research. Unlike “The Bachelor,” our researchers propose complex and multi-faceted understandings of love that avoid clichés and a single path to a successful relationship.* *Warning: this advice does not come with relationship success guaranteed.