Tom Crist and James Kiper awarded Miami University's Benjamin Harrison Medallion

May 13, 2021

Tom Crist, professor and chair of biology, and James Kiper, professor of computer science and software engineering, have been honored with the 2021 Benjamin Harrison Medallion. Named for America's 23rd president who graduated from Miami in 1852, the medallion is Miami University's most prestigious career faculty honor and recognizes "contribution to the education of the nation" …

"One of the greatest shows on this planet": a Q-and-A with biologist Yoshi Tomoyasu about Brood X cicadas

May 12, 2021

Trillions of cicadas are likely just days away from emerging in Ohio and throughout the Northeast, and Miami University's Yoshi Tomoyasu, associate professor of biology, offered his thoughts on the insects, their evolution and lifecycle, and why humans should embrace their emergence …

Hannon Armstrong Foundation selects Miami for inaugural Climate Solutions Scholarship

May 5, 2021

Rising juniors and seniors at Miami University with a demonstrated interest in sustainability have the opportunity to earn a scholarship that covers tuition, room and board thanks to the Hannon Armstrong Foundation Climate Solutions Scholarship. Made possible through an initial $200,000 grant, the new needs-based scholarships will serve a cohort of up to 5 undergraduate students interested in pursuing careers related to climate action and sustainability …

Students showcase their geological research at Miami's first geoscience symposium

May 5, 2021

The Department of Geology and Environmental Earth Science (GLG) organized their first annual Geosciences Student Research Symposium (GSRS) this spring. Held April 14 via Zoom, the symposium featured 17 research presentations from undergraduate and graduate students …

Tammy Kernodle and David Berg named University Distinguished Professors

April 28, 2021

Tammy Kernodle, professor of musicology, and David Berg, professor of biology and professor of biological sciences, have been awarded the title of University Distinguished Professor by Miami University's board of trustees, effective July 1. Established by the trustees in 1981 to attract and retain eminent professors, the title includes an annual stipend for conducting research and other professional activities. University Distinguished Professors have national and international stature with demonstrated recognition and projected high level of scholarly productivity in the future. They must be a teacher of demonstrated excellence and a contributor to the life and mission of Miami University …

Students learn about building their own sustainable microhabitat with Nature in Your Yard

April 16, 2021

On April 1, Nature in Your Yard, an online event sponsored by the Western Program and the Western Center for Social Impact and Innovation, offered students a discussion on how providing habitat for wildlife in our home landscapes can help us live in balance with nature …

Valuing Water MiniConference educates the public on importance of clean water

March 31, 2021

On March 19, the Western Center for Social Impact and Innovation sponsored and organized the four-session half-day Valuing Water MiniConference: An Environmental and Sociocultural Exploration of Water. A service project on March 20 also took place at Four Mile Creek Restoration with Three Valley Conservation Trust …

Jumping genes: a Q-and-A with geneticist Meixia Zhao

February 10, 2021

Geneticist and computational biologist, Meixia Zhao studies transposable elements — also known as "jumping genes" — using maize as a model system. She joined Miami University in fall 2018 as assistant professor of biology …

Miami University geology research has far reach, local implications

November 6, 2020

For most faculty, getting their research published in peer-reviewed journals is career gold. It's safe to say in 2020 alone, Miami University Regionals Associate Professor of Geology Dr. Mark Krekeler has the golden touch. Working alongside his students and colleagues from Miami University's Oxford campus, Krekeler had 8 papers published or accepted into noted environmental journals in 2020 …

Stats+Stories podcast honored with national award for mathematics communications

October 28, 2020

Miami University's John Bailer, Richard Campbell and Rosemary Pennington have been honored with the 2021 Joint Policy Board for Mathematics (JPBM) Communications Award for their "engaging, entertaining and enlightening" Stats + Stories podcast. The annual award is designed to reward and encourage communicators who, on a sustained basis, bring mathematical ideas and information to non-mathematical audiences …

Miami is a Top 100 Sierra Club Cool School and a Princeton Review Green College

October 22, 2020

Miami University ranked 71st among the Sierra Club's "Coolest Schools" 2020 for the greenest colleges. Miami is the top Ohio public university on the list of 312 schools ranked based on food, energy, waste, research, transportation and curriculum. Miami is also again listed in The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2021 Edition, one of 416 schools selected for being environmentally responsible …

The 2020 Hefner Lecture presents "How Your Observations Can Lead to Amazing Discoveries" with ecologists from the online nature app iNaturalist

October 16, 2020

Miami's Hefner Museum of Natural History will hold its 46th Annual Hefner Lecture online on Wednesday, October 21 at 6:30 pm. It will feature ecologists Michael P. Moore and Carrie Seltzer, who will address the topic, "From Evolving Dragonflies to Invading Lanternflies: How Your Observations Can Lead to Amazing Discoveries" …

Miami fire scientist: "Zombie fires" one of new features driving Arctic fires

October 6, 2020

"Zombie fires" and burning of fire-resistant vegetation are new features driving Arctic fires—with strong consequences for the global climate—warn international fire scientists in a commentary published last week in Nature Geoscience. Fire scientist Jessica McCarty, assistant professor of geography at Miami University, and her team found that "Arctic fires are burning earlier and farther north, in landscapes previously thought to be fire resistant" …

Miami commits to carbon neutrality and climate resilience: Virtual PCLC signing ceremony

September 15, 2020

Join Miami University President Greg Crawford as he signs the Second Nature's Presidents' Climate Leadership Commitments (PCLC) Climate Commitment in a virtual ceremony at noon Tuesday, September 22. Second Nature president Tim Carter, members of Miami's new Climate Action Task Force executive steering committee, the office of sustainability, and Oxford Mayor Mike Smith will give brief remarks during the ceremony …

Carolyn S. Craig joins CAS as director of diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging

September 8, 2020

The College of Arts and Science is excited to welcome Carolyn S. Craig to the dean's staff as their new director of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. Craig has worked at Miami University since 2015 and is credentialed as both a certified diversity professional (CDP) and an advanced certified cultural intelligence professional (ACCQP) …

Miami Career Center set to host virtual career and internship fair

September 4, 2020

On September 9-11, Miami's Center for Career Exploration & Success (CCES) will be hosting three days of virtual career fairs for students to attend. Each fair, hosted on Handshake, will take place from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm …

Instituting a healthier perspective on food: Miami's community supported agriculture program swings into fall

September 2, 2020

Food options in Oxford, Ohio aren't just limited to Bagel and Deli, campus dining halls, or Mac & Joe's. The Institute for Food, founded in 2015, engages the Miami University community around issues of food, health, and sustainable agriculture …

Search for the "wings" of a crustacean sheds light on origins of insect wings

August 26, 2020

Genes from a tiny shrimp-like crustacean could help in the search for the origin of insect wings, a new study finds. To be clear, there is no evidence that any crustaceans ever evolved to fly, according to evolutionary biologist Yoshi Tomoyasu, associate professor of biology at Miami University and senior author of the study recently published in Nature Ecology and Evolution …

Miami's Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation honored with STEM award

August 17, 2020

Miami University's Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) has been named a recipient of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine's 2020 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award. The Inspiring Programs in STEM Award honors colleges and universities that encourage and assist students from underrepresented groups to enter the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) …

Miami chemists' breakthrough technique enables design at the interface of chemistry and biology

July 20, 2020

A technique developed by Miami University associate professors of chemistry and biochemistry Dominik Konkolewicz and Rick Page may help enable more rapid and efficient development of new materials for use in pharmaceuticals, biofuels, and other applications. Konkolewicz and Page's technique uses nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology to illuminate how proteins and synthetic polymers interact in chemical substances known as bioconjugates …

Miamians help local landowner in the fight against emerald ash borer

June 25, 2020

Miamians are helping with a program that hopes to greatly reduce the number of emerald ash borer beetles, which have killed hundreds of millions of ash trees in North America since its detection in 2002. The biological control program involves releasing Asian wasps — parasitoids — on ash trees …

Miami receives 5th Beckman Institutional Award for undergraduate research

June 3, 2020

Camaryn Bennett and Hope Kirby are 2020-2021 Beckman Scholars. Miami University is one of 12 institutions nationwide to receive the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation's 2020 -2023 Beckman Scholars Program Institutional Award. The award supports undergraduate research and faculty mentoring for select students in chemistry, biochemistry and the biological sciences …

First online Undergraduate Research Forum feedback: "Fantastic"

May 28, 2020

Miami University's annual Undergraduate Research Forum (URF) was held April 29, in an online event format for the first time in its 26 years. The traditional poster sessions and oral presentations were hosted on Webex, allowing for attendees join in remotely from across the country. Students appreciated the effort to transform the forum to an online event, according to feedback collected by Joyce Fernandes, director of undergraduate research and professor of biology …