Research
Research in CHESS
CHESS embraces research as a major activity at all levels, including undergraduate research experiences, graduate work, and faculty scholarship. In keeping with this focus, the college’s research activities are diverse, connected to the world and its concerns, and contribute significantly to UNC Charlotte’s status as a top-tier research university.
Our award-winning faculty create a collaborative culture with researchers from across the UNC Charlotte campus and around the world to discover new ways of thinking and to deliver solutions in areas of greatest need. Students benefit from taking classes and conducting research with innovative, dynamic faculty members who mentor and challenge students to stretch themselves. Students gain the confidence to take risks and learn to act compassionately by working alongside their professors and fellow students in the classroom, in research settings, and in the broader community.
Interdisciplinary Research Highlights in CHESS
Students and faculty in CHESS learn from and examine the physical world around us, traveling for field research to dig into the past while using advanced technologies to build models for the future.
Watch a video about the Charlotte Heat Mappers.
Researchers in CHESS explore the things that make us human and define the impacts of emerging technologies on society.
Watch a video about the Center for Humane AI Studies.
From classrooms to labs, text to artifacts, and qualitative to big data, CHESS analyzes language, society, policy, cultures and populations to learn from and inform communities.
Read more about CHESS research into the cost of elections and the impact on voting after Helene.
CHESS Research News
Helen Davies spent summer 2026 conducting interdisciplinary research in her UNC Charlotte lab and libraries, archives and classrooms across Europe….
As clocks turn back and daylight saving time ends this weekend, many people look forward to gaining an extra hour…
Fifteen years ago, a set of radiocarbon dates from an archaeological site in Ecuador left UNC Charlotte archaeologist Dennis Ogburn…
Ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm election, Martha Kropf, professor of political science and public administration and the 2026-29 Bonnie…
As a competitive rower growing up in Poland, Martyna Wasilewska learned discipline, resilience and the value of pushing beyond her…
As chimney swift populations decline, conservationists in Charlotte are working to protect the older brick chimneys that have become important…
A TEDx talk by UNC Charlotte’s Alyssa McGonagle is gaining national attention after being selected as a TEDx Editor’s Pick. …
E.E. Hussey, assistant professor of English, celebrated her 2026 spring session in the artist‑in‑residence program at Goodyear Arts with a…