Grants, Research, & Creative Activity News
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.
DISCOVER MORE.
Grants, Research, and Creative Activity News
May 2024 - Harriot College Grant & Contract News
See the full report and funding opportunities for May 2024
Anthropology Professor Publishes New Book
Dr. Charles R. Ewen, Professor in the Department of Anthropology, has co-authored a new book, "Becoming the Lost Colony: The History, Lore and Popular Culture of the Roanoke Colony." The book explores how the headlines claiming that the Lost Colony has been found, after each new hint or discovery, do not pass muster. The writers use historical, archaeological, and literary evidence to demonstrate.
Learn more here
Maritime Studies Graduate Student Takes Inaugural Phoenician Language Course at Oxford
Madison Elsner, a graduate student in the Maritime Studies degree program in the Department of History, was one of a lucky few applicants accepted to the take a free, online intensive course in Phoenician language offered for the first time by Oxford University. She attended the course for two hours a day, April 8-13. Last summer, Elsner participated in a three-week excavation season at Abel Beth Maacah, Israel, where she worked on Levantine Phoenician material culture and religion, to better inform her master's thesis work on Carthage, a Phoenician colony in Tunisia. Elsner receives her MA degree this spring 2024.
Read about Elsner's summer 2023 research in Israel
English Faculty's Poetry Featured in Online Web Anthology
Another poem from English professor Dr. John Hoppenthaler's latest book, "Night Wing over Metropolitan Area," has been featured on Verse Daily.
Read the poem
Kitta Serves on Scientific Advisory Board
Dr. Andrea Kitta, Professor in the Department of English, recently served on the scientific advisory board for the volume, "Vaccine Hesitancy in the Nordic Countries." Kitta's service was part of her trip to Lund, Sweden, where she also gave a lecture. She was the only U.S. participant at the event, and was thanked in the introduction of the volume.
Read the paper online
Squint Presents at Appalachian Studies Association Conference
Dr. Kirstin Squint, Associate Professor in the Department of English, presented her paper, “Gadugi and Duyvtka: Cherokee Values in Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle’s Even As We Breathe,” at the 47th annual Appalachian Studies Association conference held at Western Carolina University in March. The paper offered a reading of Cherokee epistemologies as represented in Clapsaddle’s novel, the first published by a citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
Learn more about the conferenceApril 2024 - Harriot College Grant & Contract News
See the full report and funding opportunities for April 2024
Biology Students Share Research at Conference in D.C.
Seven graduate and undergraduate students from the lab of Dr. Elizabeth Ables, Associate Professor in the Department of Biology, traveled to Washington, D.C. over spring break. In addition to seeing the Lincoln monument, they shared their latest research in developmental genetics at The Allied Genetics Conference. This unique cross-disciplinary conference sponsored by the Genetics Society of America brought together scientists worldwide to network and communicate research in genomics, neurogenetics, and developmental genetics. The conference is unique in that scientists studying various genetic models (human, mouse, fruit fly, C. elegans, zebrafish, and yeast) gather, linked by common research goals. In addition to the support provided by the Department of Biology for the trip, two of the students, senior undergraduates Gage Outlaw (B.S., Biology 2024) and Lindsay Swain (B.S. Biology/Public Health 2023) were among 12 undergraduates nationwide awarded the prestigious Victoria Finnerty Travel Award for their research achievements. Both Outlaw and Swain have conducted their Honors thesis research under the direction of Ables. Undergraduates Allison Simmons and Lovens Paul were funded by a National Science Foundation Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) grant, and graduate students Amanda Powell, Alex Warren and Lauren Jung were funded by the department and Ables’ research grant from the National Institutes of Health.
Learn more about Ables' research
Downtown Dialogues
Approximately 60 community members attended A Downtown Dialogues in the Humanities and Fine Arts panel discussion on Feb. 15 at the Greenville Museum of Art. The panelists included Dr. Aleia Monae Brown, Whichard Distinguished Professor in the Humanities and a visiting association professor in the Department of History; Dr. Marame Gueye, from the Department of English; Dr. Jarvis Hargrove, from the Department of History; and Dr. Mary Nyangweso, J. Woolard and Helen Peel Distinguished Professor in Religious Studies. The event was moderated by Dr. Richard Miller from the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. Panelists discussed “Perspectives on the African Diaspora,” background of the diaspora, the impact of the diaspora on the United States, and the use of African artifacts, such as the masks used in religious ceremonies, in influencing the creation of contemporary art. The discussion complemented the museum's three-person art exhibit “Marauders.”
Learn more about Philosophy and Religious Studies
Dr. Bonner Selected for National Review Panel
In recognition of her body of scholarly work on gender-based violence, Dr. Heidi Bonner, Chair and Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, has been selected as a member of the National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) Violence Against Women Standing Review Panel (SRP). NIJ is the research, development and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice, and they receive numerous requests to fund social and behavioral science research across the country. Bonner will serve alongside other experts in the field to identify meritorious proposals on specific types of violence and abuse, along with the associated justice system responses, procedures, policies, and challenges. This SRP will facilitate important work that, as the motto of the NIJ states, is critical for “Advancing Justice Through Science.”
Read more about the NIJ
Sociologists Publish Paper in Prestigious Journal
Dr. Susan Pearce, Professor in the Department of Sociology, and Jennifer O'Neill, teaching instructor of sociology, have published a paper in Journals of the American Sociology Association, the top teaching journal in sociology. The paper focuses on their experiences and insights from teaching an ECU Global Understandings course through a sociological lens.
Find their article hereMarch 2024 - Harriot College Grant & Contract News
See the full report and funding opportunities for March 2024
Lida Cope Interviewed by International Scholarly Journal
Dr. Lída Cope, Professor and Chair of the Department of English, was interviewed by Věra Dvořák about her academic journey and research on the historically Czech community in Texas. The interview was published in the Spring 2024 issue of Czech Language News, the journal of the International Association of Teachers of Czech, on pages 17-24.
Read the interview with Lida
English Faculty Co-Authors Article in Professional Journal
Constance Haywood, Assistant Professor in the Department of English, has co-authored an article in the spring 2024 special issue "Social Justice and Translation" (part 2) of the Technical Communication and Social Justice journal. The article takes a narrative approach and focuses primarily on the importance of supporting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) graduate scholars in relation to graduate program development, curriculum, and writing program administration.
Read the article
English Faculty's Book Earns New Honors
Stephanie West-Puckett (former ECU English faculty), Nicole "Nikki" Caswell (associate professor of English), and William "Will" Banks’s (professor of English) book, "Failing Sideways: Queer Possibilities for Writing Assessment," has received two new honors. The Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) has awarded their book an Honorable Mention in the Best Book category, as well as an honorable mention for the Advancement of Knowledge Award. All three authors will be recognized at an awards presentation of the 2024 CCCC Annual Convention in Spokane, WA, in April.
Learn about the book
Psychology Doctoral Students Present at Conference
Dr. Erik Everhart, Professor in the Department of Psychology, led his Cognitive Neuroscience Lab to attend the International Neuropsychological Society (INS) conference. While at the event, doctoral students in the department’s clinical health concentration presented their poster on “Exploration of the Relationship between Cumulative Lifetime Stress and Cognitive Function in a Sample of College Students.”
Learn more about the conference
PhD Psychology Student Selected for Fellowship
Angela J. Johnson, M.A., a doctoral candidate of Clinical Health Psychology in the Department of Psychology’s Health Psychology PhD program, has been selected as a 2024-2025 American Psychosocial Oncology Society Health Equity Scholar! The fellowship is offered to individuals committed to reducing health disparities in cancer through clinical or research practices. Johnson’s research interests focus on HPV-related cancer disparities and prevention-seeking behaviors among Black women. She is currently working on her dissertation, “Using a Black Feminist Lens to Examine Black Maternal Intention to Vaccinate their Children against Human Papillomavirus,” and her research findings may help develop culturally tailored interventions to increase HPV vaccination uptake within the Black community.
Visit the society's website
Psychology Alumna and Faculty Win Competition
Congratulations to Sarah Hayes, who earned the MA School Psychology/Specialist in School Psychology (MA/SSP) in 2022, and Dr. Jeannie Golden, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, who have received national recognition for their paper, “School Psychologists Improving Equity for Students of Color: Is Applied Behavior Analysis the Answer?” They have been invited to present their prize-winning paper in a special session for the Scholarly Contributions to DEI Paper Competition at the Association for Behavior Analysis International. Currently, Hayes is working as a full-time school psychologist for Durham County Public Schools.
Discover more about the ABAIFebruary 2024 - Harriot College Grant & Contract News
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Biology Majors Receive Funds to Present Research
Congratulations to Biology undergraduates, Lindsay Swain (B.S. Biology, B.S. Public Health December 2023) and William “Gage” Outlaw (B.S. Biology, anticipated May 2024), who received the Victoria Finnerty Award from the Genetics Society of America. The award supports travel for Swain and Outlaw to present their research at the Annual Drosophila Research Conference, held in conjunction with other model organism meetings at The Allied Genetics Conference in Washington, D.C. in March. Awarded annually, this year’s Finnerty Award recognizes 12 outstanding undergraduates in the fields of genetics and cell biology following a rigorous nationwide competition. Swain and Outlaw pursued their Biology Honors Thesis research under the direction of Dr. Elizabeth Ables, Associate Professor in the Department of Biology.
Learn more about Biology
Gueye Recognized by Africa Report
The Africa Report named Dr. Marame Gueye, Associate Professor in the Department of English, among 10 African scholars to watch in 2024. Africa Report is a Paris-based, English-language quarterly magazine focusing on African politics and economics. It is a branch of Jeune Afrique, the most widely-read Panafrican magazine. In addition, Gueye was this year’s Distinguished Lecturer at Kennesaw State University’s College of the Arts. She conducted two workshops for students in the dance department and gave a public lecture on Women and Performance in Senegal. Finally, January 4-5, Gueye conducted the orientation for the Council of American Overseas Research Centers at their Faculty Development Program in Washington, D.C. This is a pre-travel orientation for 15 faculty fellows who will spend three weeks conducting research projects in Senegal. This was Gueye's 3rd year conducting the orientation.
Read more accomplishments from English
Research of History Student Published Posthumously
Dr. Jen McKinnon, Professor in the Department of History, has co-authored a research publication with Jim Pruitt, a student who died tragically during a diving event in 2023. The article, "Site Formation Process Studies as Aircraft Site Identification: A WWII-Era Flying Boat Case Study," appears in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology. Compared to the study of shipwrecks, the investigation of submerged aircraft is relatively recent in underwater archaeology. With the passing of time and the addition of World War II sites to historical registers, the inclusion of aircraft in the Sunken Military Craft Act of 2004, and the continued expansion of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s (DPAA) mission to recover lost pilots and crew, these studies have become increasingly important to a variety of stakeholders.
Read their article
Mona Russel Co-Authors New Book
Dr. Mona Russell, Associate Professor in the Department of History, has published a new book with Dr. Lisa Pollard, from UNCW. The book, "History, Women, and Gender in the Modern Middle East," explores the modern Middle East from the 18th century to the present, and the various ways in which gender has defined the region and shaped relations in the modern era. In particular, the book captures three aspects of change simultaneously: the events that mark the “modern” Middle East, women’s encounters with the transition to modernity and gendered responses to modernity.
Learn more
Physics Paper Top 10 Downloaded in 2023
Dr. Nathan Hudson, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics, co-authored a paper that made the top 10 downloaded publications in 2023 from the journal Research and Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis! The article examines the body's process of breaking down blood clots after healing.
Read the article here
Sears Interviewed about Career
Dr. Samuel Sears, Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Cardiovascular Sciences, recently was interviewed for a segment on Heart Rhythm TV, the flagship YouTube channel of the Heart Rhythm Society. The Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) is an international nonprofit organization that represents 7,000+ medical, allied health and science professionals who specialize in cardiac rhythm disorders. Their mission is to improve the care of patients by promoting research, education and optimal health care policies and standards. During his interview, Sears discussed his 29-year career, his research on implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD), support groups for patients with ICDs, and a variety of other topics.
Watch the YouTube video here
Sociology Faculty, Student Paper Named "Article of the Year" for 2023
Dr. Kirk Miller, Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, and sociology graduate major Elizabeth Alves, co-authored a paper, "The State of Diversity in Criminal Justice Higher Education: An Analysis of Curricula in Criminal Justice Bachelor’s Degree Programs," which has been selected as article of the year for 2023 by the editors of the Journal of Criminal Justice Education. Miller and Alves were invited to an awards ceremony at the ACJS meetings, where they were given a plaque for the honor.
Read the paper
Sociology Professors Research Experiences of Black Women Sexual Assault Survivors
Dr. Kristen Myers, Chair and Professor of Sociology, and Kirk Miller, Associate Professor of Sociology, with co-authors at Northern Illinois University, have published a new paper, “Framed as (Un)Victims of Sexual Violence: An Intersectional Model,” in the journal Feminist Criminology. The study presents an intersectional analysis of beliefs about and experiences of Black women regarding sexual violence, using focus groups and survey methods with BIPOC college students. Specifically, this model explains the experiences of Black women survivors of sexual violence who simultaneously experience sexual victimization, are denied legitimate victim status, and have reason to distrust legal forms of justice. The researchers theorize the process of (un)victimization enables future sexual assault of Black women.
Read the articleJanuary 2024 - Harriot College Grant & Contract News
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Graduate Student Awarded Fellowship
Nelson Adeniji, doctoral student in the Integrated Coastal Sciences Program and advised by Dr. Meghan Millea, Professor in the Department of Economics, has received a Bill Anderson Fund fellowship based on his National Science Foundation-funded research that examines economics and equity issues of community recovery from hurricanes in Eastern North Carolina. The mission of the Bill Anderson Fund is to invest in the next generation of historically underrepresented professionals in the fields of hazard and disaster research and practice. The program focuses on training, mentoring and peer support.
Congratulations, and read more here
Professor Awarded Writer's Residency
Dr. Karen Zipf, Professor in the Department of History, has been awarded a two-week writer’s residency at the Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities. Located in Southern Pines, the center is a "place to exchange ideas, to broaden perspectives, and to discover new possibilities." The Writers-in-Residence Program is open to North Carolina-published writers and poets.
Learn about the Center and residency
Perry Receives Service Award
Dr. Megan Perry, Professor in the Department of Anthropology, has received a W.F. Albright Service Award from the American Schools of Overseas Research for her service to the American Center of Research in Amman, Jordan.
Read about the award
Anthropology Professor Serves as Visiting Scholar
Dr. Eric Bailey, Professor in the Department of Anthropology, spent a week serving as a Visiting Scholar at Augusta University this fall, lecturing to students, staff, faculty, administrators, and the general public about his career as an applied medical anthropologist. Bailey also gave presentations highlighting the courses he teaches at ECU, his published books, research projects, and the programs he coordinates for the Department of Anthropology (Medical Anthropology Minor) and for the Department of Public Health (The Ethnic and Rural Health Disparities Graduate Certificate Online program).
Showing how #HarriotCollegeWorks
Archaeology of the Bedouin
Dr. Benjamin A. Saidel, Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, has authored "The Archaeology of the Bedouin: An Assessment from the Negev, Israel," which appears in the journal Historical Archaeology. This is the first published article to present a synthesis of the archaeological remains of the Negev Bedouin (1700-1948 CE) in Israel. Contrary to stereotypes, Bedouin tribespeople can be identified through archaeological fieldwork. This research demonstrates that their economic activities and purchases are due to interactions with towns and cities.
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Feder Interviews Neurobiologist Sapolsky in Tikkun
Dr. Helena Feder, Professor in the Department of English, recently published a new interview with neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky in the journal, Tikkun. Sapolsky, whose new book "Determined" was released in October, said, “That is the meaning we can make from determinism: amazement and gratitude. You know we can’t choose to feel it, but for those of us lucky enough to feel those things, we should express it, share it, and inspire others. Maybe it will be the thing that tips the balance of who people who are or become.”
Check out more accomplishments from the Department of English
Parasites and Biological Invasions
Dr. April Blakeslee, Associate Professor in the Department of Biology, recently co-edited a scientific book, “Parasites and Biological Invasions.” Compiling information on parasite invasions for the first time, this unique book provides an in-depth resource on parasite invasions, revealing the subtleties underlying biological invasions and co-introduced diseases; the phenomenon and consequences of parasite release in invaded host communities; impacts of parasite invasion and diagnostic techniques; and case studies across a broad range of hosts and parasites in aquatic and terrestrial environments. This new book is a useful tool for incorporating parasites into invasion modeling and can serve as a resource for researchers, policy makers, environmental managers, and students interested in the myriad consequences of species invasions. The book’s cover image was captured by Carter Stancil, a PhD student in Dr. Blakeslee’s lab.
Congratulations April!
Biology Faculty, Alumni Identify Challenges of Transfer Students in Life Sciences
Several ECU biology faculty (Jean-Luc Scemama, John Stiller and Heather Vance-Chalcraft); biology alumni (Debbie Lichti; now that the University of Michigan), post-docs (Jen Teshera Levye; now at the University of Nebraska) and faculty (Kris Callis-Duehl; now at the Danforth Center); and Pitt Community College colleagues (Tammy Atchison and Tom Gould) have published a new article, "Transfer-bound community college students’ biology identity and perception of teaching." The paper, which appears in the Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education (a publication of the American Society for Microbiology), describes challenges that community college students with interests in the life sciences face as they transfer from a community college setting to continuing their education at a four year college, and it offers insight into practices that could improve the transfer experience for STEM students. This work was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, entitled “Using Multilayered Interventions to Improve Undergraduate Transfer Student Success in Biology.”
Read the articleDecember 2023 - Harriot College Grant & Contract News
See the full report and funding opportunities for December 2023November 2023 - Harriot College Grant & Contract News
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Hughes Presents at Annual Optogenetics Meeting
Dr. Robert Hughes, associate professor of chemistry, presented a recently published paper, “A single component optogenetic biosensor of applied cellular stress,” at the 2023 Optogenetics meeting held in Germany. Optogenetics is the application of light-responsive proteins to the control of biological processes. Possible medical applications of optogenetics include vision restoration, hearing restoration, and management of cardiac function. In Hughes’ research, he uses optogenetic proteins to study cell signaling pathways such as apoptosis and the cellular stress response.
Read Hughes' Paper
Feder Publishes Poetry, Interview
Dr. Helena Feder, professor of English, has an interview with Jane Hirshfield in the new issue of The Writer’s Chronicle, and two poems in the new issue of North American Review. Feder’s “What It’s Like to Be a Bat” picks up Thomas Nagel’s classic thought experiment. Her other work, “Against the Grain” also is featured.
Learn more about her Publications
Herron Published in Spenser Review
Dr. Tom Herron, professor of English, has published an article online in the latest issue of Spenser Review, a special issue titled “Not The Faerie Queene.” The article makes comparisons between Spenser’s love poetry and funerary monuments in Ireland, including one to his second wife, Elizabeth Boyle.
View more Accolades from the Department of English
Kitta Publishes Article on Vaccines and Healthcare
Dr. Andrea Kitta, professor of English, published an article in the book “Behind the Mask: Vernacular Culture in the Time of COVID” with the University Press of Colorado. Her article is titled, “Fake Grannies, Extra Doses, and the One Hundred: COVID-19 Vaccine Hunting and Accessibility” and it covers some of the ways people were vaccinated before their scheduled time, inequalities in COVID vaccine distribution (and healthcare in general), and some positive stories of how regular people created ways to help when the healthcare system failed them.
Learn more about the ArticleSquint Published in The Global South
Dr. Kirstin Squint, associate professor of English, published an article “Indigenous Removal and (Un)Recognition in the Plantationocene: Documenting Louisiana’s Rising Waters,” which appears in the journal The Global South. The article discusses the impacts of settler colonialism and climate change on two Louisiana coastal tribes, as depicted in recent documentary films.
Read the Article Abstract Here
Mosier Receives Ocean Decade Champion Award
Dr. Samantha Mosier, associate professor of political science, is a recipient of a 2023 National Science Foundation – Kaleta A. Doolin (NSF-KADF) Ocean Decade Champion award. NSF-KADF recipients “advance our ability to thrive in a changing coastal environment and to engage with and solve the problems of underserved communities in these areas.” Mosier’s research focuses on sustainable agriculture, food labeling, university-community partnerships for sustainability, and local sustainability and resilience initiatives.
Read the Official Award Press Release
History Class Summarizes the North Carolina Historical Review
Christopher Oakley, professor of history, has published an article, “A Quantitative Summary of Articles Published in the North Carolina Historical Review from 1970 to 2019,” in Volume C, Number 3 (July 2023): 251-283 of the North Carolina Historical Review. This article grew out of a class research project in Oakley’s fall 2022 Topics in North Carolina History course, where students cataloged and categorized all the articles published in the journal since its inception, and developed a description of the authors’ similarities and differences over that period.
Learn more about the Department of History
Knickerbocker Gives Conference Keynote Address
Dale Knickerbocker, professor of Spanish in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, recently gave the opening keynote address “Memoria histórica y las ‘dos Españas’ en la novela apocalíptica española en torno al cambio del milenio” at the conference Reimaginando futuros. I Congreso Internacional de ciencia ficción latinoamericana y española (2010-2020) at the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, Spain.
See more Foreign Languages and Literatures Successes!
New Poetry Published by Amber Thomas
Amber Flora Thomas, associate professor of English, has authored two new poems, “Faraway as a Sparrow” and “Eclipsed,” which were recently published in Colorado Review.
See more Accolades from English
Ekaterina Sudina's Newest Publications
Ekaterina Sudina, assistant professor of English, recently published two research articles and a book chapter. The first article, “A Primer on Measurement Invariance in L2 Anxiety Research,” appeared in the 2023 issue of the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics. The paper outlined the main stages of measurement invariance and demonstrated the importance of this advanced statistical technique for second-language anxiety questionnaires as well as other latent constructs in applied linguistics. “The Effects of Frequency, Duration, and Intensity on L2 Learning Through Duolingo: A Natural Experiment,” was co-authored with Luke Plonsky (Northern Arizona University) and appeared in the Journal of Second Language Studies. The researchers examined Duolingo learners’ self-determined exposure and in-app behavior in relation to language gains over time and provided specific recommendations for foreign language learners with respect to the frequency, duration, and intensity of app usage. Finally, the co-authored book chapter, “Advancing Meta-Analytic Methods in L2 Research,” appeared in the Current Approaches in Second Language Acquisition Research: A Practical Guide by A. Mackey and S. Gass (Eds.). This methodological piece introduced several meta-analytic techniques that appear to be either unfamiliar or under-utilized in applied linguistics research but that have the potential to lead to greater insights about the nature of second language learning, usage, and assessment.
Congratulations, Ekaterina!
Marame Gueye Showcases her Expertise
Marame Gueye, associate professor of English, was invited to participate in the first Feminist Summer Institute in West and Central Africa that was held in Dakar from August 1-3. This event convened 200 participants from West and Central Africa. In addition, on Oct. 4-5, Gueye was invited by the African Studies Program at the College of Charleston to give a public talk on, "The Fabric of Family: Identity and the Cultural Economy of Fashion." She also visited a class to talk to students about embodied rhetoric and how she uses fashion to teach writing.
Way to show how #HarriotCollegeWorks!
Our Ancient Lakes
Dr. Jeffrey McKinnon, professor of biology, has authored a new, general audience book, “Our Ancient Lakes: A Natural History,” through which he introduces readers to the fairy-tale world of golomyankas, nerpas, and other unique creatures populating the deep blue of ancient lakes, and accounts the evolutionary and ecological processes at play.
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Doctoral Student Selected as 2023 AFS Fellow
Congratulations Andrew McMains, a student in the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in Biology, Biomedicine and Chemistry (#IDPBBC), working with biology assistant professor Dr. Jim Morley, who was selected as the American Fisheries Society 2023 International Fisheries Section Fellow. AFS funded McMains' trip to England, where he presented ECU Research about fish movements around commercial oyster farms
Congratulations Andrew!
PhD Student Receives NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
Congratulations to Kelsey Coates, a student in the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in Biology, Biomedicine and Chemistry (#IDPBBC), who has received a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. She joins the microbial ecology research group led by ECU mentor and associate professor of biology Dr. Ariane Peralta. Coates is no stranger to wetland ecosystems. Growing up in the Chesapeake Bay region, and playing in the wooded areas and streams teeming with plant and animal life, she learned that she could use science to be a leading-edge, environmental steward. Her passion has not faded!
Way to go Kelsey!
Harriot College Faculty Contribute to New Book
Dr. Charles Ewen, professor of anthropology, has co-edited a new book, “Dead Man’s Chest: Exploring the Archaeology of Piracy,” through the University of Florida Press, with contributed chapters written by history faculty members Drs. Jason Raupp, Kim Kenyon and Lynn Harris. Featuring discussions of newly discovered evidence from South America, England, New England, Haiti, the Virgin Islands, the Caribbean Sea and the Indian Ocean, "Dead Man’s Chest" presents diverse approaches to better understanding piracy through archaeological investigations, landscape studies, material culture analyses, and documentary and cartographic evidence.
Learn MoreOctober 2023 - Harriot College Grant & Contract News
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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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