Research

English language learners in Mariella Duarte’s eighth-grade class at Whitewater Middle School in Charlotte face the steep task of learning middle school math in a language they have yet to master. For these students, the cognitive load can prove overwhelming. Anthony Fernandes, a mathematics professor at UNC Charlotte, is seeking solutions to that struggle.

An international research team led by Adam Reitzel of UNC Charlotte Biological Sciences is investigating how epigenetic regulations and microbial communities influence the adaption of coastal marine species to climate change. The team received funding in March from the Human Frontier Science Program, as one of only seven teams to receive a Young Investigators’ Grant.

What began as a biological sciences’ extra-credit assignment bloomed into a project that is helping to slow the erosion of sediment into Toby Creek by converting a barren parking lot into a diverse natural habitat.

As people worldwide cry out for safe drinking water, UNC Charlotte master’s degree student Billy Johnson has discovered a way to help, through nanoscience. Working with his UNC Charlotte faculty mentor Jordan Poler, Johnson has developed a novel nanomaterial.

Hundreds of UNC Charlotte undergraduates have participated in the Charlotte Research Scholars initiative at UNC Charlotte in a 10-week summer program. Those chosen receive a scholarship to work closely with faculty mentors conducting research and participate in professional development sessions to better prepare them for graduate school and careers.

Sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and other devastating illnesses threaten the lives of millions of people and livestock worldwide. While tsetse fly and other insect bites spread the diseases, the true culprits are trypanosomatid parasites, with their unique mitochondrial DNA structure known as kinetoplast DNA. UNC Charlotte mathematician Yuanan Diao is working with researchers across the country to unlock the secrets of the organisms’ DNA.

In a significant botanical accomplishment, UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens staff have successfully pollinated a Titan Arum, using pollen from another Titan Arum at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens. “The pollination of the Titan Arum is very significant for UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens,” said Paula Gross, UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens assistant director. “We were the first to bloom this rare plant in the Carolinas, and now we are the first in North America to have achieved pollination with fresh, or unfrozen, pollen.”

In a significant contribution to research, teaching and engagement at UNC Charlotte, faculty in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences in 2015 published 30 scholarly and creative books that represented subjects as diverse as the College itself. Most of the books are intended primarily for classroom use or as resources for further research, while several of the books are intended for general audiences.

UNC Charlotte optical scientist Michael Fiddy conducts complex research in super-resolution imaging – or optical imaging beyond the diffraction limit of light, and in metamaterial design – or the precise design of composite materials with properties not found in nature. Fiddy was the founding director of UNC Charlotte’s Center for Metamaterials.

Honeybee colonies continue to disappear because of a mysterious condition called Colony Collapse Disorder, which threatens pollination and influences the world’s food supply. As researchers seek understanding of the reasons behind the decline UNC Charlotte’s Stan Schneider and colleagues are exploring how honeybees communicate, with potential implications for honeybee health.