News

Jennoa Fleming, a senior environmental studies major at VCU, researches the James River rock pools, focusing on a small aquatic snail. (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

How I found my research: Jennoa Fleming studies the small wonders of the rock pools to understand our future on Earth

March 27, 2024

Fleming has been researching the rock pools of the James River since she was a high school student. ‘Ecology is where I truly belong,’ she said. ‘I can’t imagine doing anything else.’

VCU’s recognition as a Top Producing Institution for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program demonstrates a campus culture that values international engagement. (File photo)

VCU named national ‘Top-Producing Institution’ for Fulbright Scholars

Feb. 13, 2024

University earns honor for the second time with record-tying 11 Fulbrights during the 2023-24 year.

First-time fan

Dec. 13, 2023

Follow along as VCU senior Huy Nguyen crosses an item off his bucket list and attends his first Rams basketball game.

Cameron Toler, a senior biology major, encourages students interested in research to “be adventurous and have the courage to ask big questions.” (Kevin Morley, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

How I found my research: Cameron Toler’s interest in the pathobiology of human disease is fueled by his own experience

Dec. 12, 2023

Toler, a senior biology major, has found his research footing working in the lab of Huiping Zhou, Ph.D., and studying a chronic liver disease that affects 1 in 4 adults.

In 2023, students and alumni were named recipients for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, the Critical Language Scholarship, the Goldwater Scholarship, the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, the Gilman Scholarship and the Public Policy and International Affairs Program Junior Summer Institute. (File photo)

Year-end review: A look at the VCU students and alums who earned prestigious domestic and international scholarships in 2023 through the National Scholarship Office

Nov. 29, 2023

The recipients represent the university’s academic excellence and stand out for their accomplishments and potential in highly competitive international and domestic applicant pools.

A VCU-led research team is publicly releasing data from a meteorological tower at the Rice Rivers Center, making it the only open dataset for a tidal freshwater wetland on North America’s East Coast. (Photo by Megan May)

Data gathered at Rice Rivers Center provides new insight into how ecosystems respond to climate change

Nov. 16, 2023

Carbon, methane and other data collected by a “flux tower” is being made publicly available to researchers, teachers and policymakers.

Amanda Harris, Ph.D., a teaching associate professor of chemistry, meets with students in the Science Hub as part of student hours in VCU’s new STEM building on Franklin Street. (Photo by Thomas Kojcsich, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

In ‘breaking’ traditional office hours, VCU is helping students succeed

Nov. 13, 2023

The new approach – “student hours” – in VCU’s Science Hub in the new STEM building is being embraced by students and faculty alike.

The newly identified Trimeresurus uetzi is named after VCU professor Peter Uetzi, PhD., who created the Reptile Database. (Photo by May thu Chit, contributed by Tan Nguyen)

Snake species named after VCU professor

Nov. 2, 2023

The pit viper now known as Trimeresurus uetzi is named after VCU professor Peter Uetz for “his invaluable help to herpetologists.”

Two VCU professors earned prestigious Maximizing Investigators' Research Awards intended to enhance “scientific productivity and the chances for important breakthroughs.” (Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

With potential for drug development, treatment of cancer and other diseases, VCU professors’ projects earn national award

Oct. 27, 2023

Alattin Kaya and Brian Fuglestad are the first VCU faculty members to earn Maximizing Investigators’ Research Awards.

Karen Kester, Ph.D., favors hands-on, active learning. “I tell my entomology students that my goal is to change how they see the world,” she said. (Allen Jones, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

Biology professor, ‘Bug Lab’ director Karen Kester retires after 26 years

Oct. 25, 2023

In scientific knowledge and student development, the insect evolutionary ecologist has made a lasting impression as a researcher, teacher and director of the Bridges to Baccalaureate program.