Research

Ten years ago, just days after Hurricane Katrina barreled through New Orleans leaving in its wake chaos and devastation, researchers Cherie Maestas, now of UNC Charlotte, and Lonna Atkeson, of University of New Mexico, were preparing a national public opinion survey to understand the American public’s reaction to the intensely emotional news coverage of the storm.

Undiagnosed sleep disorders may be sabotaging students’ academic success, a study by UNC Charlotte psychology professor Jane Gaultney suggests.

As the new director for UNC Charlotte’s Center for the Study of the New South, Ashli Quesinberry Stokes will draw upon her research expertise and knowledge, along with her leadership and community engagement experiences, to lead the Center in its work.

In the wake of the shooting of nine black worshipers at historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, faculty from UNC Charlotte’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences are providing context and resources at the regional, national and global levels.

UNC Charlotte student scholars are researching diverse topics ranging from lightning strike patterns in the Southeast U.S. to the connection between Maya Angelou’s poetry and contemporary hip-hop to the impact of UNC Charlotte’s student-run food pantry.

A trendy method of using marijuana may put young users at greater risk for burns than the more customary way of using marijuana, a UNC Charlotte professor suggests.

When people consider biodiversity, they often think of far-flung Amazon rainforests or vibrant coral reefs in tropical seas. While biodiversity ranks high on the global scale, it is also vital to the health of humans and the environment at the local level, something that UNC Charlotte doctoral student Angelique Hjarding is addressing through her research and creation of the Butterfly Highway project.

UNC Charlotte researcher Akin Ogundiran has been named a Fellow at the National Humanities Center for the upcoming academic year, in one of the most competitive fellowship programs in the world. He will join 36 other distinguished scholars from 32 institutions across the United States and eight foreign countries working on a wide array of projects.

Graduate students in Karen L. Cox’s heritage tourism class traveled to Charleston in March to experience how tourism companies and historic sites portray the city’s heritage, gaining deeper insight into life in Charleston during the colonial era and beyond.

Vivian Lord opened her mail one winter day 16 years ago, and found a letter from an inmate describing his unsuccessful attempt to force police officers to shoot and kill him. What Lord learned from him, and what she has uncovered in her subsequent years of pioneering research, has contributed significantly to the understanding of the phenomenon called Suicide by Cop.