Research & Creative Activity

Lessons to Learn from Fascinating Ferns

Jacob Suissa is known for his enthusiastic approach to teaching about botany, both in the classroom as a professor of evolutionary biology at UT and through the non-profit “Let’s Botanize” social-media platform. He has now channeled that green-world energy into a new book about the complex history of one of the planet’s most enduring plants.…
Drone Adds Detail to Crater Study

Researchers from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have shown that when they use cameras mounted on a drone, they can develop a digital model of a crater faster and with more detail than previously possible. Their study, “A Drone-Based Thermophysical Investigation of Barringer Meteorite Crater Ejecta,” was published in the February 2025 issue of the…
Annual Awards Recognize Excellence in Arts & Sciences

Faculty Honored at the Annual College of Arts and Sciences Convocation The College of Arts and Sciences hosted its annual awards ceremony on Monday, March 31, 2025, at the UT Conference Center in downtown Knoxville. The annual ceremony honors faculty members in all areas of the college’s mission, selected by their colleagues as representatives of…
Symposium Features Undergraduate Research

The Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium (ASUReS) provides a venue for undergraduate students across all disciplines in the college to showcase their research and creative achievements in individual or group projects or their contributions to class capstone projects. ASUReS, pronounced “azures,” offers an opportunity for research Vols to gain experience in delivering professional presentations…
Microbial Manners on the High Seas

Sargasso Sea plankton and other marine microbes take turns sharing nutrients. A new study co-authored by Steven Wilhelm, Kenneth and Blaire Mossman Professor in microbiology; Joshua Weitz, mathematical modeling professor at the University of Maryland; and team found that microbes in the Sargasso Sea divide nutrients throughout their communities over time, supporting coexistence and efficient…
Choice Overload

Does it get overwhelming? UT faculty team investigates how animals react to overwhelming options. Humans can have a lot to consider when working out the best choices for their needs: buying a car, choosing a home, or just shopping for groceries. An overwhelming number of options can give a person pause. Animals experience this same…
Monteith Lab tracks immune response

Assistant Professor Andrew Monteith’s lab in the Department of Microbiology is documenting how key immune cells detect infection and how that fails to happen in people with lupus. Research Associate Ashley Wise led a study focused on neutrophils, the most abundant type of immune cell, and how their mitochondria function as sensory organelles to detect…
Huang Named Fellow of Mineralogical Society

A Vol researcher who studies the geochemistry of rocks and meteorites to understand the deep interior of Earth and the early history of our solar system has been named a Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America (MSA). Shichun Huang, the Gerald D. Sisk Associate Professor in the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences,…
Factions Unite in Ukraine

Data-driven research by UT faculty shows the dramatic shift in Ukrainian attitudes after invasion. A new study published by an interdisciplinary team of Tennessee researchers sheds light onto the dynamics of national unity experienced by Ukrainians following the 2022 Russian invasion. While a nation would be expected to rally against an aggressive foreign army crossing…
Mikucki Digs Deep for Space-Bound Microbiology

The smallest Earth-bound organisms can inspire technology that will someday reach far across the solar system in the search for extraterrestrial life. UT Microbiology Professor Jill Mikucki studies how microbial life forms interact with their environments—and helps fellow scientists and engineers test the tools to detect the microbial impact throughout entire ecosystems. Mikucki’s field work…