Category: Featured


  • New research instruments used to treat incurable diseases and uncover history

    Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry system Getting to the heart of a molecule in less time and with fewer resources is the essence of what a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry system is doing for the research community in Ball State’s chemistry department. Sundeep Rayat, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry, received a $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation […]

    Read More
  • Defense against Technology Threats

    We can lock our doors, install home security systems, and fend off intruders with guard dogs, but none of those measures can shield our digital world—a world containing precious information about our lives, our work, and our money. New Internet threats emerge all the time, and industries must employ the latest security measures to combat […]

    Read More
  • Measuring Health Inequality with Economics

    How can economics be used to help alleviate poverty and increase the health of and opportunities for people around the world? Economists like Erik Nesson, assistant professor of economics, devote their research to assisting others. “We’re looking at ways to get children in developing countries vaccinated. We’re asking what’s the best way to increase the education of […]

    Read More
  • Creating a New Frankenstein

    Outstanding Creative Endeavor Award Drew Vidal and Michael Elliott brought Dr. Frankenstein’s murderous monster to life, and for that, they received the 2015 Outstanding Creative Endeavor Award. Elliott and Vidal created an original, movement-based production of Frankenstein over a mere eight-week period in the fall of 2013. Vidal, assistant professor of theatre, directed and edited the show while […]

    Read More
  • A Possible Treatment When Antibiotics Don’t Work

    *Insert Videos from website* Outstanding Researcher of the Year Antibiotics certainly save lives, but long-term and widespread use of the drugs has caused some bacteria to adapt and become harder to kill. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say that 2 million people become infected with antibiotic resistant bacteria every year in the United States, […]

    Read More
  • Calories, Bias, and Autism

    Aspire Internal Grants Support Varied Faculty Research Ball State University’s junior faculty research could have great impacts on countless lives. The 2014-15 junior faculty research competition awardees are working to improve fitness technology like Fitbits, studying consumers’ trust and misperceptions of news based on their news source preferences, and helping architects and interior designers create […]

    Read More
  • Drones for Disaster Relief

    Disaster strikes. Earthquakes. Floods. Hurricanes. Explosions. Thousands of people need immediate help, but widespread destruction can mean they’re not found for weeks. How can workers assess such situations more quickly and start aid sooner? Drones. Fleets of drones. “For those scenarios, it is hard for people to get in. This kind of research is very, […]

    Read More
  • The Awesome Power of Yeast Genetics

    Cells divide and organisms grow. We learn this early in science classes. But what happens when an organism is done growing? How do the cells know when to stop dividing? What do cells do if they make a mistake? “In our cells, we have proteins that are made all the time, and sometimes those proteins […]

    Read More
  • Our Impact on Rivers and Lakes

    Melody Bernot started studying pharmaceutical and personal care product contaminants in aquatic ecosystems when a graduate student of hers expressed an interest in the subject. The two worked together to craft rational hypotheses—all of which were subsequently proven wrong. This intrigued Bernot, associate professor of biology and Ball State’s Researcher of the Year, enough that she kept […]

    Read More