October 2025

“I study tiny particles in the air—like pollen and wildfire smoke—that are invisible to the eye but have a big influence on clouds, climate, and public health.” Ziying (Nancy) LeiAssistant ProfessorDepartment of Chemistry My research focuses on advancing our understanding of the physical and chemical properties of atmospheric aerosol particles and how their transformations influence…

Combining curiosity about ferns with the high-tech imaging available at UT, Professor Jacob S. Suissa is adding new insight into evolution. Research by Assistant Professor Jacob S. Suissa at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is revealing complexity in how ferns have evolved.  Instead of the vascular structure inside fern stems changing as a direct adaptation…

“I study policing, culture, housing insecurity, race, gender, and sexuality.” Vivian SwayneTeaching Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Sociology I am particularly interested in how various forms of communication, from the visual arts to social media, reinforce and challenge the dominant social order. Damaging misinformation and myths about marginalized groups circulate as factual, and my work interrogates the…

The rodent that caused a sidewalk impression known as the “Chicago Rat Hole” likely was a squirrel, according to a UT animal researcher and his colleagues. An imprint of a rodent in concrete is more than a meme to an animal researcher from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and his collaborators. By investigating photos of…