Tropospheric ozone (O3)  is a concerning pollutant, responsible for reduction in yields of major staple crops like rice, wheat, and maze. In this Journal of Environmental Sciences study, researchers from China and the United States of America found that rising O3 pollution led to national-level wheat, rice, and maize yield losses in China between 2005–2019. This trend was largely mitigated during COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, indicating the need for an effective emission control policy.

Using computer simulations, University of Wisconsin–Madison mechanical engineers have uncovered a flaw in how rovers are tested on Earth. That error leads to overly optimistic conclusions about how rovers will behave once they're deployed on extraterrestrial missions.

A new study offers the first direct evidence that deep-dwelling mesopelagic fish, which account for up to 94 percent of global fish biomass, excrete carbonate minerals at rates comparable to shallow-water species. The findings validate previous global models suggesting that marine fish are major contributors to biogenic carbonate production in the ocean.

Kinget leads the team that designed specialized silicon chips that collect data in one of the harshest and most important environments in particle physics. Their most recent paper describing this project was published July 1 in the IEEE Open Journal of the Solid-State Circuits Society.

Scientists conducted the first-ever study of an island’s soil microbiome—on Crete—all in one day—a major challenge since the Greek island is about 160-miles long and rises more than 8,000 feet above sea level.

In 2024, associate professor Todd Pierson received a three-year, $380,238 grant from the National Science Foundation through a program called Building Research Capacity in Biology (BRC-BIO). The program broadens research participation by undergraduates at Carnegie-designated R2 institutions like KSU. Pierson’s current research derives from this grant, and he said it’s a year-round commitment, from the students in the field recently to a team research class he’ll teach this fall that will involve the classroom, the lab, and the field.

Xiaowei Teng, James H. Manning Professor of Chemical Engineering, has been awarded a $395,886 grant from the National Science Foundation to study an electrochemical system that could be used to address one of the major challenges in water treatment: the buildup of insoluble mineral deposits.