UT research into a pink algae bloom that closed the popular swimming area at Ijams Nature Center in 2024 is providing insight into how the organisms thrive. Researchers from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who quantified high toxin levels during a 2024 pink algae bloom at Mead’s Quarry Lake have published a new study identifying […]
“I use physics to study how natural selection shapes the geometry of plants, in particular branching patterns in trees, and how communities of trees fit together.” Chuck PriceResearch Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) Using physical models based on idealized fluid distribution networks, I study how natural selection has shaped the geometry of […]
Inaugural CoLAB research gathering shines a light on UT expertise in animal behavior. The college’s Collaborative for Animal Behavior (CoLAB) hosted the Southeastern Conference for Animal Behavior (SeCAB) on September 26–27. Researchers gathered to explore the dynamic interactions between animal behavior and environmental change, and to mobilize and expand the network of behavioral biologists in […]
“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 […]
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 […]
Graduate student training program in sciences and math gets a boost from the National Science Foundation. The National Science Foundation has awarded a grant of $399,209 to Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NSM) faculty to develop and implement a holistic disciplinary training program for first-year graduate students that enhances research, teaching, and leadership skills, […]
Burghardt paper on interpreting animal behavior earns Biosemiotics Award for 2024. Professor Emeritus Gordon Burghardt received the 2024 Biosemiotics Achievement Award for his contribution to a special issue of Biosemiotics, titled “Jakob von Uexküll, heterophenomenology, and behavior systems I: Core ethology and Merleau-Ponty.” In the special issue, Umwelt Theory and Phenomenology, Burghardt’s winning paper compares […]
“I use computer models to predict the hidden underground flow of water, especially in terms of how it interacts with rivers, lakes, and the ocean.” Anner PaldorAssistant ProfessorDepartment of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences My research seeks to elucidate the dynamics of groundwater interactions with surface water bodies, and to better predict how these dynamics […]
Researchers from math and molecular biology collaborate for a new analysis method. Photo by Erik Campos An interdisciplinary team of University of Tennessee researchers recently published in Biophysical Journal on their development of a new statistical method that improves analysis in single-molecule fluorescence experiments, which are used to study important protein complexes in cells. The […]
