Research

Featured research news

Kristin Bowman-James, Donna Ginther and Bala Subramaniam

Three KU professors of chemistry, economics and engineering named AAAS fellows

The United States Supreme Court Building

SEC could patch enforcement mechanism, regardless of Supreme Court ruling, analysis shows

Chinese flag with vaccine needles sitting on top of it.

US-China vaccines collaboration leads to partisan distrust, study finds

In a new study, John James Kennedy, a professor of political science at the University of Kansas, examines the influence of international collaboration and vaccine developments.

Science and Technology

Study: AI writing, illustration emits hundreds of times less carbon than humans

A KU legal scholar contributed to a study that found AI emitted hundreds of times less carbon than humans in the tasks of writing and illustrating. That does not mean they should replace humans, but their environmental impact and how the two can work together should be considered, researchers said.

Groundwater measurement results mixed in western, south-central Kansas

The KGS, based at the University of Kansas, and the Division of Water Resources of the Kansas Department of Agriculture measure water levels in about 1,400 wells every year to monitor the health of the High Plains aquifer and other aquifers in western and south-central Kansas.
Individual carrying cooler through shallow pond of water in wetlands surrounded by leafy green trees.

KU Engineering professor wins NSF CAREER Award for research into wetlands’ water-quality benefits

Amy Hansen has won a five-year, $577,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for her work to understand the role of vegetation in nitrogen exchange and removal in riparian wetlands.

Health and Well-Being

KU research center to host global audience for premier developmental disabilities research conference

The KU Life Span Institute will welcome hundreds of scientists, students and practitioners for a conference focused on research in the field of intellectual and developmental disability from April 17 to 19 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Study shows narrative conversion messages boost attitudes about COVID vaccinations among unvaccinated adults

Messages in which a hesitant person detailed their decision about getting vaccinated also reduced resistance to inoculation, KU research shows. The findings could guide future public health communications.
Facebook screen image

Political anger seems to override inhibitions online, study finds

The desire to express political anger seems so strong that it overrides the instinct, found in older research, to control one’s anger in public, according to a new paper co-written by a University of Kansas professor of communication studies.

Teaching, Learning and Behavior

Jayhawks recognized for research at 2024 Capitol Graduate Research Summit

Annie Chuning, Kara Hageman, Natalie Lind and Luke Parker were each honored for their exceptional research and presentations at an event that assembles the top graduate student researchers in the state of Kansas. Their work delved into topics including the effects of food insecurity on rural Kansans' health and solutions to orthopedic joint infections.

Journalism professor explores how helping students embrace data offers new approach to writing instruction

A KU professor who teaches data storytelling is author of a chapter in the new book “Better Practices: Exploring the Teaching of Writing in Online and Hybrid Spaces” on how reflection and embracing the idea that data is all around us can be a new approach to teaching writing.
Fraser Hall

KU professor of anthropology receives prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship to work on 2nd book

Jennifer Raff, KU associate professor of anthropology, was recently awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for her work on the history of human populations through sequencing the genomes of contemporary peoples and their ancestors.

Arts, Architecture and Humanities

Extensive project, new book reveal monument to inflation in Roman times

Philip Stinson, associate professor of classics at the University of Kansas, has detailed a 50-year project translating Emperor Diocletian’s edict of maximum prices to “curb the rampant greed of retailers.” Stinson helped provide an architectural reconstruction of the full decree, which lists the prices allowed for a comprehensive array of goods and services.

Disciples pay tribute to pioneer of human-centered architecture

Amos Rapoport's architectural legacy is not a building or buildings, but, rather, a theory of environment-behavior studies, according to authors of a new book about the renowned scholar.
Detail from painting of Sayyida al-Hurra on a sign at the Kasbah museum in Chefchaouen, Morocco.

Researcher reclaims 16th century Moroccan woman leader from obscurity

KU author Amal El Haimeur uncovered information on Morocco's "pirate queen" for a new scholarly article titled “Sayyida al-Hurra: A Forgotten North African Queen and Military Leader,” published in the first edition of the new scholarly journal Africana Annual, based at KU’s Department of African & African-American Studies.

Business, Economics and Innovation

KU School of Business accounting faculty again earn top spot in BYU rankings

For the fifth year in a row, accounting faculty at the University of Kansas School of Business earned a No. 1 global ranking for their audit archival research contributions over the past six and 12 years, according to Brigham Young University’s 2023 rankings.

Geopolitical tensions provide multinational corporations with diplomatic leverage, but ‘frenemy’ strategy can backfire

A KU School of Business professor’s new research, titled “My Best Frenemy: A History-to-theory Approach to MNCs’ Corporate Diplomatic Activities,” appears in the Journal of International Business Studies.
A human hand touching a robotic one with AI word cloud in background.

People underestimate AI capabilities due to ‘exponential growth bias,’ study finds

In a new paper, Nathan Meikle, a KU assistant professor of business, examines the human biases that impede assessment of AI’s potential threats to humanity. His experiments find that people are prone to underestimate AI capabilities due to exponential growth bias and that they reject the aversive implications of rapid technological progress even in cases in which they themselves predict the growth rate.

Law, Politics and Society

SEC could patch enforcement mechanism, regardless of Supreme Court ruling, analysis shows

In a new study, Alexander Platt analyzes the Supreme Court case of SEC v. Jarkesy and argues regardless of the high court's decision, the agency will not have its enforcement powers stripped and could patch its approach.

KU centers to host conference: When Global East Meets Global South

Members of the KU community and the public are invited to an interdisciplinary East-Asian and Latin America conference March 29 that will bring together scholars from a variety of fields to explore the historical and contemporary links between the regions.
A photo illustration of a thermometer hitting high temperatures against the backdrop of a city.

Marginalized communities develop 'disaster subculture' when living through extreme climate events, study finds

An ethnographic study of one of the most marginalized communities in Seoul, South Korea, found residents have developed a mindset that every day is a disaster when dealing with extreme heat and climate events.