News
Miami's Public Health program publishes results and recommendations from its contact tracing partnership with Butler County
May 27, 2021
Miami’s program in Public Health, which over the past year has trained over 130 students to work as contact tracers to help manage the COVID-19 pandemic, has published results of its collaborative efforts with the Butler County Health District in the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice …
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 …
Four authors discuss mental health and addiction during Miami's annual creative writing lecture series
May 13, 2021
For the 2021 edition of the annual Marianne D. McComb Series in Creative Writing, hosted by the Department of English, the theme was centered on mental health and addiction. The month-long series was originally scheduled as a two-day conference in 2020 and was adapted to a Zoom event this spring …
CAS students tackle interdisciplinary COVID-19 research at Miami's annual Undergraduate Research Forum
May 6, 2021
The 27th Annual Undergraduate Research Forum, held on April 21 over Zoom, featured over 500 Miami student researchers giving a total of 220 presentations. With support from their faculty mentors, students presented their year-long research projects that were conducted in a variety of disciplines and approaches, such as community projects, independent studies, service-learning projects, and creative projects. Of the nearly 200 research projects led by students in the College of Arts and Science, at least 14 were focused on COVID-19 …
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 …
PsyBio Therapeutics Corp. awards Miami professors $1.5M to expedite neuropsychiatric drug development
April 27, 2021
Researchers at Miami University have been awarded a $1.5 million grant from PsyBio Therapeutics Corp. to expedite progress toward clinical trials of a portfolio of neuropsychiatric drugs. Last year, PsyBio and Miami joined forces to develop and test a new class of molecules to treat mental health challenges such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance dependency …
Panelists discuss structural factors that impact high-risk group experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic
April 22, 2021
Kathie Brinkman, an Oxford community member who serves as an advocate for her 95-year-old mother in assisted living, and Courtney Hineman, a community outreach advocate for the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities as well as the co-leader of the Speak Up Self-Advocacy Program, spoke as panelists about the COVID-19 pandemic on April 6 via Zoom …
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 …
A new study shows Asian Americans are struggling due to discrimination during the pandemic
April 15, 2021
Data collected from Asian Americans about their experiences of discrimination during the pandemic show some troubling effects, according to Miami University's Vaishali Raval. Raval and her co-researcher, Virginia Huynh of California State University—Northridge, are awaiting review from the Journal of Asian American Psychology for their study, "The psychological impact of racial discrimination towards Asian Americans amidst Covid-19, the so-called 'China' virus" …
Clinical Health Sciences and Wellness facility will enhance the collaborations that define Miami
April 7, 2021
The new Clinical Health Sciences and Wellness facility will be part of Miami University's first "corridor of excellence," said Steve Large, assistant vice president for health and wellness and a member of the planning committee for the facility. Located on Campus Avenue, its proximity to Miami's Recreational Sports Center, Phillips Hall, and the Goggin Ice Arena creates a corridor that will naturally promote cross-divisional partnerships in order to advance holistic wellness efforts for our campus and local communities, Large said …
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 …
Ohio officials to share insight on the pandemic's impact on health equity and social justice
March 11, 2021
The Center for American and World Cultures, through its Robert E. Strippel Memorial Fund, has organized an online panel series beginning on Tuesday, March 16 to discuss the disproportionate impacts of Covid-19 in underrepresented communities …
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 …
New professional communication course kickstarts student exposure to work in healthcare
February 4, 2021
Spring 2021 saw the introduction of a new pilot course constructed and taught by professor of English Heidi McKee, ENG 310B: Professional Writing for Healthcare. The course offers students a curriculum focused on practicing tasks healthcare professionals complete every day …
Miami University-based initiative receives $6 million to aid mental wellness for Ohio's K-12 students and staff
January 11, 2021
The Ohio School Wellness Initiative, a Miami University-led project to aid mental health and substance use supports for Ohio's K-12 students and staff, was selected to receive $6 million from the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund. The project is led by Cricket Meehan, director of Miami's Center for School-Based Mental Health Programs (CSBMHP) in the department of psychology …
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 …
Psychology students push forward their research despite the pandemic to present at a major national conference
October 30, 2020
Two undergraduate psychology students, who since last May have been working in professor of psychology Christopher Wolfe's Medical Decision Making lab, have been selected to present their research at the 50th annual meeting of the Society for Computation in Psychology on November 19. Three other Miami undergraduate and a graduate student are co-authors on a third presentation …
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 …
Miami's public health program engineers a new contact tracing program for Butler County to fight COVID-19
October 7, 2020
Early this summer, after the COVID-19 pandemic had already swept across the country and shut down college campuses and businesses around the world, Miami's public health program began to put together a plan to help track the virus's rampant spread throughout the local community. …
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" …