Environmental Science and Design Research Institute
IN A FLASH: Earth Month Wrap Up
Kent State celebrated Earth Month with an exceptionally full schedule of events, not the least of which were the activities on campus surrounding the total solar eclipse!
Exploring Urban Flooding and Climate Vulnerability in the Sahel
For Yasmine Belko, the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Program offered an opportunity to explore a region with deep personal significance while developing a new perspective on climate vulnerability, urbanization, and the impacts of history on present-day communities.Supported b…
Investigating Antibiotic Resistance Through Crayfish Gut Microbiomes
For Amanda Yokley, participating in Kent State University’s Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Program provided an opportunity to expand her scientific perspective while developing skills that will support her pursuit of advanced education. Supported by the Kent State Environmenta…
Where are they now?: 2025 ESDRI Graduate Student Awardees
The Environmental Science and Design Research Institute Graduate Student Award was founded in 2025 and has funded new research inquiries for 8 graduate students to date. The ESDRI Graduate Student Award operates on a bi-annual award cycle with application periods each February and September. Kent St…
Kent State Biological Sciences Graduate Student Selected for Prestigious Postdoctoral Fellowship
David H. Smith Conservation Research FellowshipKent State University Ecology and Evolutionary Biology graduate student Prashant Ghimire has been selected for the highly competitive David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship, one of the nation’s premier postdoctoral programs supporting ear…
Looking Back, Moving Forward: Reflections from ESDRI Fellowship Graduates
The Environmental Science and Design Research Institute (ESDRI) supports students through the Undergraduate Fellowship Program. In this program students across any major with interest in environmental science, environmental design, or the like come together to form a like-minded, yet dive…
Kent State Researchers Explore Whether Bacteria Can Trap Toxic Metals in Polluted Ohio Waterways
A team of Kent State University researchers is studying whether naturally occurring bacteria in polluted streams can help remove toxic metals from the environment—work that could improve understanding of ecosystem recovery, contaminated water remediation, and even the search for life on Mars.The pro…
New Study Reveals How High-Altitude Birds Adapt to Life on the 'Roof of the World'
A new study led by Sangeet Lamichhaney, Ph.D., associate professor of Biological Sciences at Kent State University, uncovers how mountain landscapes shape the survival of high‑altitude species living in some of the most extreme environments on Earth. The research, published in Molecular Ecology, foc…
Thirty years of data reveal major declines in lady beetles and their pest-fighting power in Midwestern farmland
A new study led by researchers at Kent State University and Michigan State University finds that populations of lady beetles, important natural predators of crop pests, have declined substantially over the past three decades in a Midwestern agricultural landscape. The research, published in PNAS Nex…
Tracking Wildlife Through New Technology
For Lauren Sigrist, a senior Environmental and Conservation Biology major, with a minor in Environmental Studies, the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) supported by the Environmental Science and Design Research Institute (ESDRI) gave her the opportunity to spend a second summer e…
