Patrick Kelly both acquires observations and builds instruments to address the nature of dark matter, dark energy, and cosmic explosions. A preponderance of the universe’s matter and energy is dark -- it does not emit or interact with light – and Dr. Kelly uses supernova explosions and gravitational lensing of individual stars across the universe to probe its composition. Recent detections of ripples in spacetime also reveal merging neutron stars. He is constructing two powerful sets of telescopes to find and understand these cataclysmic events.

Despite incredible progress and economic growth over the past fifty years, many parts of the world are still persistently poor. These disparities create a moral imperative to raise living standards in the developing world and tackle the numerous other challenges facing poor countries. Dr. Kerwin answers that call by using randomized experiments and the tools of economics to discover and test solutions to the interlocking set of social and economic problems that keep people poor.

Immanuel Kant, paramount Enlightenment philosopher and keen theorist of science in the wake of the Scientific Revolution, (in)famously tweaked chemistry, psychology, anthropology, and biology as natural sciences, only “improperly so-called.” Bennett McNulty’s research project examines the reasoning behind Kant’s relegation of these disciplines to the rank of “improper” science to grasp better their state of development in the 18th century, Kant’s criticism of them, as well as our contemporary understanding of science.

As the human population expands, so does its demand for protein. Livestock farmers must meet this demand, but their land and water are shrinking rapidly, meaning they must produce more with less. Dr. Noyes confronts this challenge through scientific discovery of the livestock microbiome. She seeks to understand how this invisible universe can be optimized to grow healthier, more efficient animals to feed the planet sustainably, sufficiently and safely.

Meeting society’s energy and environmental challenges requires resilient new materials that possess the right combination of mechanical and functional properties, and the capability to survive high temperatures and stresses without melting, fracturing, or deteriorating. Dr. Poerschke’s group synthesizes new materials, measures their properties, and tests them in extreme environments. By coupling these experiments with analytical and computational models to understand why materials fail, we accelerate the discovery of durable new metal alloys, ceramics, and composites.

Inflammation is part of the immune response that protects us from infections. However, increasing evidence has revealed that inflammation is a promoter of metabolic disease. Dr. Revelo and his team study the role of the immune system and inflammation in the development of obesity, fatty liver disease, and heart failure. As obesity-related disease is a worldwide epidemic, the research led by Dr. Revelo can lead to advances in its prevention and treatment using immunotherapy.

Multifunctional yarns and fabrics are crucial to revolutionizing medical devices, rehabilitation equipment, and wearable technologies that provide life-saving and life-enhancing interventions. However, little is understood about the effect of material processing, yarn manufacturing, textile design, and system integration on multifunctional textile performance.

Kate Adamala works on building synthetic cells. Such organisms, engineered from non-living components, give us the ability to control every element of a cell and to study behaviors and properties of life with unprecedented precision. Synthetic cells are used for both basic research and practical applications, to study the origins and evolution of life, to make drugs and novel biomaterials, to understand properties of normal cells and to study mechanisms of disease.

Dr. Ruby Nancy infuses her values into her service, leadership, teaching and research at the University of Minnesota Duluth—supporting justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the classroom and beyond. Her committee work, leadership, and teaching in the Labovitz School and her efforts with UMD-wide organizations all center DEI concerns: anti-racist pedagogy, teaching for accessibility, economic equity, and community building. Her research brings Black feminism and queer feminist rhetorical practices into the field of business.

Lee’s outreach and advocacy for students, staff, postdocs, and faculty who hold marginalized identities has consistently grown since arriving at the UMN, with recognition of their work at the local, national, and international levels. Their focus on continuing education on topics related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion emphasizes their own development and growth as well as that within the communities of current and aspiring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) professionals and instructors.