Research and Creative Activity
Research Excellence in Harriot College
Harriot College faculty, undergraduates, and graduate students play a major part in ECU’s mission to lead the way in creating important discoveries through research. Our knowledgeable faculty researchers and enthusiastic student researchers help develop new technologies, medicines and innovative approaches to transform the local communities and the world around us! Their research often falls within the four themes that make up Harriot College – Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainability; Social Justice and Diversity; Culture and Communication; and Technology and Medicine.
Harriot College hires top-notch individuals whose research interests span disciplines both within the college and across the university. Faculty have numerous opportunities to apply for university and college awards, reassignment time, and external funding to support and advance their research.
Student researchers in Harriot College benefit from the many college faculty who choose to guide and mentor them in their research projects and goals. Throughout their studies, undergraduate and graduate students work in labs and offices, develop and direct experiments, perform data analysis, participate in internships, and more. Student researchers work with faculty in the disciplines of biology, chemistry, geological sciences, psychology, and sociology, and through ECU’s Brody School of Medicine, College of Health and Human Performance, College of Technology and Engineering, and various other academic units. Students also learn valuable research and communication skills that allow them to write and submit papers for publication, showcase their work at university research events, attend and present at professional conferences, and help secure new grants and awards for the college and university.
Learn more about the research excellence provided by the faculty and students in Harriot College!
ECU Research Dashboard
ECU’s Research, economic development and community engagement activities are having a significant impact in North Carolina. Our continued increase in research and creative activities is benefiting the people, communities and businesses of the state. ECU’s Research Dashboard allows the community and our partners to track our progress. Learn more about how our researchers are affecting the region.
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Research News
Grant Funds Innovative Research into Fertility Challenges
Research scientists from Biology and the Brody School of Medicine received nearly $2 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health to find better ways to help people dealing with infertility.
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ECU Involved in First-Ever Survey of Marine Bioinvasions from the Mid-Atlantic
Dr. April M.H. Blakeslee, associate professor of biology, and her graduate student are part of a group of scientists investigating non-native marine species in the first-ever Marine Bioinvasions Rapid Assessment Survey (RAS) of mid-Atlantic marinas.
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Disappearing Island
ECU faculty and students in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment are studying the impact of erosion on Sugarloaf Island.
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The Stories in Soot
An ECU geological sciences lab is tracing fire’s fingerprints through history.
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ECU Assists International Team on $1.5M Funded Rural, Community Research Project
Two Harriot College faculty will spend the next five years researching and implementing community-based interventions to reduce heat-related illnesses in rural Mexico.
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Aquatic Environmental Changes
Faculty and students are researching the effects of climate on marine species and changing fish populations.
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Yu "Frank" Yang Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Yang, a professor of chemistry, is passionate about his work, students, colleagues, ECU and our planet.
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Student Planning Projects Helps Town Revitalization
The town of Maysville is celebrating an $850,000 grant to revitalize its main street — an ECU class project helped make it possible.
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Chloe Scattergood is Passionate About Archaeology
Scattergood wants people to know that her field isn’t just about digging through dirt.
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Researching Hidden Shipwrecks
For more than 200 years, boats have passed over the site of a presumed shipwreck. ECU students are researching the hidden vessel.
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Recruiting Students to STEM
ECU is one of five NC universities collaborating on a $3.4 million NSF grant to recruit and support underrepresented students into STEM.
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Building Disaster Resilience
Dr. Meghan Millea, interim director of the Natural Hazards Research Center, is part of a team that has received a $16 million NSF grant to study increased intensity of hurricanes.
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ECU Researcher Brings Problem Gambling to Light
North Carolina has a high rate of problem gambling despite the lack of legalized gambling available in the state.
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Keeping Hearts Healthy
Study of radiation exposure during cancer treatment may mitigate subsequent heart disease
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Biologist to Receive 5-Year Achievement Award
The 5-Year Achievement award is one of the most prestigious at East Carolina University.
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Doctoral Programs Create Diverse Workforce
Harriot College doctoral programs and partnerships embody the university’s goal of inclusion, while also providing students with mentorship and interdisciplinary research opportunities that prepare them for their futures.
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