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News

The Earth is 4.5 billion years old, and, during that time, it has seen some things. Life has been a part of most of that history, but what life has looked like has changed dramatically over the eons.
July 13, 2023
MSU researcher Dalton Hardisty uses ocean sediment to dive deep into ancient Earth’s coupled evolution of life and ocean chemistry. He’s currently part of an international research collaboration that recently published work in the prestigious journal Nature, sharing a new approach for studying important chemical and biochemical processes in the Earth’s prehistoric past.
This graphic shows an abstraction of vibrational ripples.
July 12, 2023
When quantum systems, like those used in quantum computers, operate in the real world, they can lose information to mechanical vibrations. New research led by MSU, however, shows that a better understanding of the coupling between the quantum system and these vibrations can be used to mitigate loss. The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, could help improve the design of quantum computers that companies such as IBM and Google are currently developing.
An image of neurons firing during brain activity. The bright white spots show which neurons are firing while the brain is making a memory. Credit: Tony Kim
July 10, 2023
Every day the brain makes and recalls new memories, but current brain imaging technology limits how much information can be gathered about this activity. Researchers at Michigan State University have built a state-of-the-art imaging system that will capture brain activity with a level of detail not possible before. Researcher Mark Reimers and his team will use a three-year $750,000 Air Force Office of Scientific Research grant to combine the imaging system with newly developed advanced image processing software. The goal is to eventually allow them to identify the specific neurons used by animals to record and recall memories.
A temporary Global Positioning System site in the Shumagin Islands, Alaska, to help measure and record plate positions.
June 22, 2023
Earthquakes are caused by the movement of the tectonic plates that make up Earth’s crust. Between 2020 and 2021, the Pacific plate and the North American plate off the coast of Alaska slipped along the Alaska-Aleutian fault, producing a series of earthquakes, including the Chignik, Alaska, earthquake on July 29, 2021, which registered an 8.2 in magnitude. MSU’s Jeffrey Freymueller is researching this earthquake to learn more about exactly where that slip occurred (and how much) to better understand how faults work and the risk of future earthquakes and tsunamis.
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the Michigan State University-Department of Energy (MSU-DOE) Plant Research Laboratory (PRL) a $12 million DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences competitive renewal grant to continue research in photosynthetic energy capture, conversion and storage.
June 15, 2023
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory (PRL) a $12 million Department of Energy  Office of Basic Energy Sciences competitive renewal grant to continue research in photosynthetic energy capture, conversion and storage. The three-year grant (2023-2026) will allow PRL scientists to continue in their mission to understand how photosynthetic organisms function and thrive in natural environments, and enable the development of new technologies that improve human lives.
Image of brain.
June 15, 2023
Michigan State University biochemist Jin He recently received a five year, $2.8 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue his investigation into the role of the ASH1L (Absent, Small, or Hometoic discs 1-Like) gene in the origins of autism spectrum disorder and, specifically, the impact of epigenetics—non-genetic processes that regulate gene expression.
MSU scientists Christoph Benning and Robert Quinn are growing new coral in the lab that will be transplanted to a reef in Hawaii.
June 14, 2023
MSU biochemist Robert Quinn has spent years studying the biochemistry of coral bleaching, a heat-induced response to stress causing it to turn white. Bleaching is damaging to reefs and is expected to increase due to climate change. While Quinn has discovered unique betaine lipids in coral that are markers of resistance to coral bleaching, very little is known about them. During a literature review of these lipids, Quinn discovered that MSU colleague, Christoph Benning, had written on the subject. This connection led to the two scientists teaming up on a $1.9 million NSF grant to study the role that betaine lipids play in coral bleaching.
Using notoriously challenging ingredients, Michigan State University chemists have created single-molecule magnets that could enable new data storage and computational technology
June 6, 2023
Recent research from a team of MSU chemists has unveiled a new class of magnetic molecule. Reporting in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers led by Selvan Demir have brought together famously challenging building blocks to push single-molecule magnets a step closer to their promising applications, which could include pushing hard drives to a whole new level and opening doors to emerging technologies such as quantum computers.
American Physiological Society distinguished lectureship logo.
June 5, 2023
Brian Gulbransen, MSU Research Foundation Professor in the Department of Physiology and MSU’s Neuroscience Program, has been selected for an American Physiology Society (APS) Distinguished Lectureship with the award of the Raj and Prem Goyal Lectureship in Pathophysiology of Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. The award, offered by APS and the Gastrointestinal & Liver Section, recognizes exemplary contributions of research in physiology in understanding the mechanism and treatment of gastrointestinal and liver diseases.
Soil organic carbon is vital for healthy soils and plays an important role in terrestrial carbon cycling.
June 3, 2023
A research team led by Michigan State University ecosystems scientist Bruno Basso has received a $1.95 million U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant to develop and disseminate educational information on soil organic carbon evaluation. The training materials will be geared toward underserved agriculture professionals in Maine, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York and Vermont.
Over the next decade, the market for growing crops indoors or in controlled environments — known as Controlled Environment Agriculture, or CEA — is predicted to increase five times over today’s market. And researchers at Michigan State University are at the forefront of this growing method of agriculture.
June 2, 2023
Yongsig Kim, a senior research associate in the Michigan State Universit-Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory, is leading MSU’s $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Sustainable Agricultural Systems program in the National Institute of Food and Agriculture explore what controlled enviornment agriculture will look like in a low-carbon world and new vegetation that leaves a low-carbon footprint. 
MSU team members join with their ACT NOW – Amazonas Action Alliance XPRIZE Rainforest semifinalist team members to scope Singapore’s Windsor Nature Park and Central Catchment Reserve as they wait assignment of their plot to identify what creatures live there.
June 1, 2023
Saving the rainforest, biodiversity, and in the process, the planet, is often framed as a high-stakes race. Now that race has a timetable, a $10 million prize, and ACTNOW Amazonas, a high-powered women-led multidisciplinary team of Michigan State University experts collaborating with innovators, indigenous rainforest protectors, and a dedicated film crew, who together are semifinalists for the XPRIZE Rainforest—a global competition aiming to enhance the world’s understanding of the rainforest ecosystems to protect it.
MSU College of Natural Science 2023 NSF Early CAREER Award recipients (L to R): Tuo Wang, Department of Chemistry; Yang Yang, Deparment of Computational Mathematics, Science and Engineering; and Nathan Whitehorn, Department of Physics and Astronomy.
May 31, 2023
Three Michigan State University researchers in the College of Natural Science – Tuo Wang, Nathan Whitehorn and Yang Yang – are recipients of National Science Foundation (NSF) Early CAREER Faculty Awards. The award is one of NSF’s most prestigious and is given to faculty members who demonstrate leadership in research and education and have a passion for integrating the two.
Established in 1780 during the American Revolution, The American Academy of Arts and Sciences was initiated by John Adams and John Hancock among other patriots. The Academy both celebrates its accomplished individual members and fosters collaborative research projects to address some of the world’s biggest challenges.
May 23, 2023
Michigan State University microbial ecologist James Tiedje joins the 2023 elite cohort of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This year, the Academy elected 269 people across the arts and sciences. With a career spanning more than 50 years, Tiedje’s research contributions and mentoring have fundamentally changed the field of microbial science.
Two members of Audubon Great Lakes hold a black tern chick in a watery marsh in St. Clair Flats State Wildlife Area. They’re placing a tag on the bird that will help provide useful conservation data.
May 17, 2023
Current conservation practices likely won’t do enough to save the black tern, a migratory bird species that nests in the northern U.S. and southern Canada, from disappearing.That’s according to new research from MSU and the National Audubon Society published in the journal Biological Conservation. But there’s also good news. The team’s report reveals new opportunities to enhance the outlook for these birds by strategically expanding conservation and land management practices. The approach can also be adapted to inform conservation practices for other species.
Prominent cancer researcher, Seun Ogunwobi, new chairperson of the MSU Department of BIochemistry and Molecular BIology and co-chair of the forthcoming Center for Cancer Health Equity Research at MSU.
May 15, 2023
Internationally renowned cancer researcher Olorunseun “Seun” Ogunwobi will join Michigan State University on Aug. 16 as chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB), which is affiliated with the College of Natural Science, the College of Human Medicine and the College of Osteopathic Medicine. He will also serve as co-director of the forthcoming Center for Cancer Health Equity Research at MSU.
Michigan State's Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Program established a Seed Grant Initiative in 2020, and faculty members receiving them agree that these small investments make a big difference in leveraging more significant research funding.
May 12, 2023
When it comes to securing key agency grant funds to support research projects, the quest to generate research data often favors those who already have enough data to prove their fundability. And that means grants to get grants can be a game changer. MSU's Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Program started a Seed Grant Initiative in 2020, and faculty members receiving them agree that these small investments make a big difference in leveraging more significant research funding.
Attendees at the 2023 MSU Awards Convocation held on May 8 at the MSU Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center.
May 10, 2023
Three College of Natural Science (NatSci) faculty members – Robert Maleczka, Angela K. Wilson and Jaideep Taggart Singh; and one graduate student – Joseph Riedy – were among 33 faculty and staff members who received 2023 awards in recognition of their outstanding contributions to education and research during an MSU Awards Convocation on May 8 at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center.
MSU integrative biologist Janette Boughman in her fish lab.
May 8, 2023
Janette Boughman, professor of integrative biology in Michigan State University’s College of Natural Science, has been selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar for international academic exchange for the 2022-23 academic year. Boughman will collaborate with leading Australian biologists at Monash University and the University of New South Wales to study how specific ecological changes alter the evolutionary processes that generate and maintain biodiversity.
MSU integrative biologist Elise Zipkin was honored with the International Recognition of Professional Excellence Prize by Inter-Research, a German-based scientific publishing organization, for her work to transform data into insights and tools to manage and protect some of the world’s most precious ecology.
May 4, 2023
MSU integrative biologist Elise Zipkin has been honored with the International Recognition of Professional Excellence Prize for her groundbreaking work transforming mountains of data into insights and tools to manage and protect some of the world’s most precious ecology. The prize honors young ecologists who have published uniquely independent, original and/or challenging research representing an important scientific breakthrough, and/or who must work under particularly difficult conditions.
Artist's representation of an X-ray binary.
May 1, 2023
How does the universe work? How did we get here? Are we alone? Fellows at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are working hard to answer these big questions. Each year, an elite group of postdoctoral researchers become part of NASA’s Hubble Fellowship Program. Kristen Dage, who received her Ph.D. at Michigan State University in astrophysics in July 2020, was selected to join the 2023 cohort. This is the first time an MSU Ph.Dd student has received this honor.
This stream in the Brooks Range of Arctic Alaska is one of many sites where Jay Zarnetske works to help understand water resources. Data and discoveries from this stream, like countless other studies around the world, are archived and made accessible to all via open-access resources supported by CUAHSI.
April 30, 2023
Jay Zarnetske, associate professor in Michigan State University’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences in the College of Natural Science, has been elected chair of the board of directors for the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI). CUAHSI is a nonprofit organization with more than 160 member institutions that facilitates the interdisciplinary advancement of water science globally
Rita Dandridge (B.S., mathematics, ’89), senior director at Willis Towers Watson (pictured here) MC’d this year’s annual awards program. Nearly 100 individuals attended the MSU College of Natural Science annual awards program on April 21 to acknowledge alumni, faculty and students for outstanding achievements and excellence. The event was held at The Graduate in downtown East Lansing, Mich., across from the MSU campus.
April 29, 2023
Nearly 100 individuals attended the Michigan State University College of Natural Science annual awards program on April 21 to acknowledge alumni, faculty and students for outstanding achievements and excellence. The event was held at the Graduate hotel in East Lansing, Mich., across from the MSU campus.
College of Natural Science Dean Phil Duxbury stands on stage in front of attendees to off the 13th Annual Classes Without Quizzes at WKAR Studio A in the Communication Arts and Sciences Building—a new venue for the event.The stage has a green and white MSU backdrop and the screen says Welcome to Classses Without Quizzes with a NatSci logo on it.
April 28, 2023
MSU’s College of Natural Science held its 13th annual Classes Without Quizzes on April 22 at WKAR Studio A in the Communication Arts and Sciences Building—a new venue for the event. More than 100 alumni, friends and guests attended the event (a hybrid of in-person and online). CWQ gives participants a chance to meet with NatSci faculty members and students, while getting an insider’s look at some of the latest research activities being undertaken on the MSU campus.
Members of the MSU Observatory Research Program wave from inside the observatory, beneath a 24-inch telescope.
April 27, 2023
In addition to MSU physics and astronomy faculty members contributions to NASA's efforts to be ready to redirect incoming space rocks or asteroids, the MSU Observatory is enabling undergraduates to generate important data for the astronomy community while gaining valuable skills and experience in an increasingly competitive field. In doing so, they’re setting themselves and future generations of Spartan students up for success.  
Damselflies live on the submerged aquatic plants that you can see growing just under the surface of the water at Pond 9 at the Lux Arbor Reserve.
April 26, 2023
Climate changes are conjuring a whirlwind ride that seems to present some creatures opportunities to thrive. Scientists scripting supercharged scenarios caution that the difference between seasonal coping and long-term adaption is vast – and tricky to predict. Michigan State University biologists are studying damselflies to understand how other species will respond to a warmer world. Their findings were recently published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Bongolo Falls along the Louetsí River (Lebamba, Gabon) creates a fast-flowing habitat where both short duration and long duration mormyrids reside, capturing food and singing electric courtship songs at night. How their sperm and eggs meet in such environments remains a mystery.
April 26, 2023
Michigan State University integrative biologist Jason Gallant and colleagues are using nearly $1 million from the National Science Foundation to understand the implications from a small African fish which evolved to have sperm with no tails but an electric-powered mating call. Greater insight into this interesting trait could ultimately shed light on human disease and shake up biology lessons on traditional gender roles.
The College of Natural Science at Michigan State University is home to 27 departments and programs in the biological, physical, and mathematical sciences. The college provides world-class educational opportunities to more than 5,500 undergraduate majors and 1,200 graduate and postdoctoral students. There are 868 faculty and academic staff associated with NatSci, and more than 63,000 living alumni worldwide. Credit: Michael D.-L. Jordan
April 21, 2023
Thirty-five (35) College of Natural Science graduating students were among a record-breaking 206 graduating students recognized by the Michigan State University Board of Trustees for achieving the highest scholastic average—a 4.0 GPA—this semester.
The Great IDEA Fellowship Program was created to foster greater inclusivity and promote IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility) efforts in STEM.
April 14, 2023
Finding time away from research and teaching can be daunting for graduate students and faculty. Which is why last fall, Amy Ralston, NatSci associate dean of graduate studies, decided to create the Great IDEA Fellowship Program to foster greater inclusivity and promote IDEA efforts in STEM. The program incentivizes mentors and grad students to spend some time away from their research to focus on inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility, or IDEA.
The Lyrid meteor shower is an annual meteor shower that is a result of debris that crosses our orbit from the long-period comet known as Comet Thatcher. It was last seen in our inner solar system in 1861, but the debris it left behind continues to cross our orbit. The Lyrids tend to occur each year in late April. Credit: vincentiu-solomon-ln5drpv_imi-unsplash
April 13, 2023
Shannon Schmoll, science education and astronomy expert and director of the Abrams Planetarium at MSU, offers insight to the upcoming Lyrid meteor shower expected between April 16 and 25 in this Ask the Expert column.
The College of Natural Science (NatSci) at Michigan State University is home to 27 departments and programs in the biological, physical and mathematical sciences.
April 10, 2023
The Global Community for Academic Advising, or NACADA, has selected two advisors in the College of Natural Science (NatSci) at Michigan State University for 2023 Region 5 Excellence in Advising Awards. Dorali Rebollo, human biology and pre-health advisor will receive the New Advisor Award and Kate Thome, human biology and pre-health advisor, will be honored with the Primary Role Advisor Award.
Twelve exceptional students and alumni from Michigan State University’s College of Natural Science were among 25 MSU recipients named 2023 fellows of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)..
April 7, 2023
Twelve exceptional students and alumni from Michigan State University’s College of Natural Science (NatSci) were among 25 MSU recipients named 2023 fellows of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).
Understanding why the piezoelectric effect occurs in ionic liquids (room temperature molten salts) will provide insight into the unusual properties of ionic liquids and point the way toward purpose-driven design of piezoelectric liquids.  which is one of the potential applications possible based on this discovery. Other applications include energy harvesting like solar or wind power that can be stored for later use and tactile sensing of pressure such as someone’s grip strength.
April 6, 2023
The piezoelectric effect was first discovered in 1880 and is used in applications ranging from spark sources for stoves and gas furnaces to accelerometers in mobile phones for orientation and in automobiles to deploy airbags. While this effect has been known for a long time in solid materials, Gary Blanchard, a professor in the Department of Chemistry in MSU’s College of Natural Science and his graduate student, Md. Iqbal Hossain, were able to see the piezoelectric effect in a liquid for the first time — a finding that opens possibilities for new applications.
Michigan State University’s renowned plant researchers are collaborating on solutions to grow more abundant, nutritious and resilient plants that will feed a growing population. Pictured L to R: G. Philip Robertson, Federica Brandizzi, Bruno Basso, Felicia Wu and Sue Rhee.
April 3, 2023
The statistics are familiar. The world’s population is expected to increase by nearly 50 percent in the next century, while the demand for agriculture crops is expected to more than double by 2050. The extreme weather anomalies caused by climate change are expected to continue and worsen in the future, which could substantially reduce agricultural production globally. Michigan State University’s renowned plant researchers are collaborating on solutions to grow more abundant, nutritious and resilient plants that will feed a growing population.
Sean Crosson and his wife and long-time collaborator, Aretha Fiebig, jointly oversee a large, highly engaging group of students, postdocs and undergrads who assist with the lab's research.
March 29, 2023
Michigan State University microbiologist Sean Crosson, a professor in the MSU Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics (MMG), with joint appointments in the College of Natural Science and the College of Veterinary Medicine, was honored as a Rudolph Hugh Endowed Chair at an investiture ceremony held March 23 at MSU's Wharton Center.
MSU Research Foundation Professor Guowei Wei was among 140 colleagues who make up the AIMBE College of Fellows class of 2023. Wei was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows “for outstanding contributions in mathematical molecular biosciences and drug discovery, and for predicting variants, infectivity, and vaccine breakthrough of SARS-CoV-2.”
March 28, 2023
The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) announced the induction of Guowei Wei, Michigan State University Foundation Research Professor, to its prestigious College of Fellows. Wei was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows “for outstanding contributions in mathematical molecular biosciences and drug discovery, and for predicting variants, infectivity, and vaccine breakthrough of SARS-CoV-2.”

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