Research & Creative Activity

Research collaboration uses high-tech scanning technology to reveal a bad-luck day for an ancient undersea predator. Header Image: Paeloart by Miles Mayhall The oceans of the Cretaceous of North America teemed with life. Gigantic fish and enormous marine reptiles hunted the Western Interior Sea. A unique new fossil reported today demonstrates rare evidence of direct…

“I study human remains to reconstruct identity, life history, and circumstances of death.“ Yangseung JeongAssistant ProfessorDepartment of Anthropology My research aims to improve the accuracy of forensic anthropological analyses by developing population-specific standards for biological profile reconstruction and integrating 3D technologies.  In particular, my recent work focuses on developing methods to sort commingled skeletal remains…

Assistant Professor Gabe Schwartzman is leading interdisciplinary research into how data centers are driving energy demands, and the economic, environmental, and societal implications for communities in the South. With data centers driving increased demand for electricity, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is part of a collaborative interdisciplinary research project into their planning and impact on…

Within only a few decades of higher temperatures, microbial systems change in ways that disrupt carbon and nutrient cycles.  Long-term ecosystem warming changes not only plants but the fungi in the soil below, according to a new study including researchers from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  “Hidden mycorrhizal fungi below ground are much more vulnerable…

“I study some of the most energetic explosions in the universe—those caused by stars collapsing at the ends of their lives, and those resulting from the violent collisions of neutron stars. I focus on how neutrinos drive these explosions and determine how they enrich the universe with many types of elements.” Sherwood RichersAssistant ProfessorDepartment of…

The Center for Social Theory creates a crossroads for interdisciplinary research in social and cultural theory. The Center for Social Theory launched in 2025 to support research and teaching faculty and graduate students working in the areas of social and cultural theory. Professor Harry F. Dahms, Department of Sociology, directs the center as it builds…

“I use mathematics to understand how things change and grow, like how tumors expand, how ice melts, or how diseases spread. My work helps predict what might happen in these systems so scientists and doctors can make better decisions.” Xinyue (Evelyn) ZhaoAssistant ProfessorDepartment of Mathematics I study partial differential equations, especially free boundary problems, motivated…