oldentomologybldg.png

News

Inert Newton balls

CREATE for STEM Scholars Receive Grant to Reimagine High School Physics

Michigan State University scholars from the CREATE for STEM Institute will use a $1.9 million grant from the Institute of Education Sciences to reimagine how energy is taught in high school physics courses.
Glasses of water on a table

MSU Works to Make Drinking Water Safer by Fighting Contaminants

MSU has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, to better understand the amount of pathogens and disinfection byproducts in drinking water distribution systems and to assess associated health risks.
Kayaks on a river seen from overhead

More trained leaders needed to solve global water Crisis

MSU is looking to address global water issues by developing a graduate training program to create a highly competent workforce with the broad technological, scientific and cultural skills needed to resolve current and future water challenges.
Plants sprouting from small planters

How Plants Respond to Environmental Threats with Proper Defense

A study from the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory (PRL) Howe lab looks at how plants respond to environmental threats in the correct way.
Wild fern leaves

Scientists Identify Win-Win Situations with Biodiversity and Farming

Michigan State University’s Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, or CSIS, identify ways for landowners in rural areas to be able to capitalize on win-win situations, whether they have fruitful land or not.
Climate Change Graphic

MSU Scientists Find Plants' Ability to Fight Climate Change is Weakening

New research indicating that plants' ability to absorb carbon dioxide may have stalled, suggesting that perhaps we shouldn't put all our climate mitigation hopes in too many plant-based strategies either, at least for the time being.
Plant in focus with a blurred background

Rhee Receives NSF Grant to Study Plant Metabolism

Seung Yon (Sue) Rhee, Director of the Plant Resilience Institute, is researching the processes underpinning plant metabolism and how the process relates to other areas of plant biology.
Rays of sunshine beaming through a wooded area

MSU-DOE Plant Research Lab Awarded $12M Grant Renewal

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory a $12M competitive renewal grant to continue research in photosynthetic energy capture, conversion and storage.
Announcements
Goodway Named Red Cedar Distinguished Professor
Internationally recognized scholar Jackie Goodway has been named a Red Cedar Distinguished Professor. Since 2022, the distinction has recognized faculty who demonstrate exemplary scholarly achievement, teaching excellence and a clear alignment with MSU’s strategic research priorities — strengthening recruitment, recognition and retention of top academic talent across campus.
Wu Selected to Co-chair National Academies Committee on Biotechnology
Felicia Wu, John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor and University Distinguished Professor in Michigan State University’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, was selected to serve as co-chair of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, or NASEM, committee on the ethical, legal, environmental, safety, security, and other appropriate societal issues related to engineering biology research and development.
Trifecta Spring 2025 Awardees Announced
The Trifecta Advisory Council has awarded two award applications for Spring 2025.
2025-26 CIRCLE Seed Grants Request for Proposals
CIRCLE (Center for Interdisciplinary Research, Collaboration, Learning, and Engagement) is excited to offer seed grants to support three projects in 2025-26. This program aims to provide an opportunity for genuine interdisciplinary collaboration among scholars and educators from different fields and areas of focus. The aim of these grants is to help develop new collaborations. We welcome proposals that focus on teaching and learning, research, or creative practice, and we welcome proposals in which team members are changing course or exploring new areas of inquiry.
2025-26 CIRCLE Graduate Fellowship Call for Applications
The Center for Interdisciplinary Research, Collaboration, Learning, and Engagement (CIRCLE) seeks applicants for its second Graduate Fellowship, 2025-26. See below for the fellowship’s description, eligibility requirements, and how to apply. The application deadline is April 4, 2025.
MSU Forges Strategic Partnership to Solve the Mystery of How Planets Are Formed
Astronomers have long grappled with the question, “How do planets form?” A new collaboration among Michigan State University, Arizona State University and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will seek to answer this question with the help of a powerful telescope and high-performance computers.