Featured news at KU


Our top featured stories

A human hand touching a robotic one with AI word cloud in background.
In a new paper, Nathan Meikle, a KU assistant professor of business, examines the human biases that impede assessment of AI’s potential threats to humanity. His experiments find that people are prone to underestimate AI capabilities due to exponential growth bias and that they reject the aversive implications of rapid technological progress even in cases in which they themselves predict the growth rate.

Other featured news

"Indigenizing Archeology" book cover

New book gathers insights, methods from rising generation of Indigenous archaeologists

A new book co-edited by a University of Kansas scholar, titled “Indigenizing Archaeology: Putting Theory into Practice," collects experiences and know-how of younger Indigenous archaeologists.
Icarium team members at event with oversized contest "checks."

Icorium Engineering Company earns top-5 finish at 2024 Rice Business Plan Competition

Icorium Engineering Company, a sustainable engineering startup and spin-out company from KU, recently placed fifth overall and won more than $180,000 in investments and nondilutive cash and in-kind prizes at the prestigious Rice Business Plan Competition at Rice University in Houston.
A reconstructed view of the Basilica of Aphrodisias shows Diocletian’s Edict of Maximum Prices.

Extensive project, new book reveal monument to inflation in Roman times

Philip Stinson, associate professor of classics at the University of Kansas, has detailed a 50-year project translating Emperor Diocletian’s edict of maximum prices to “curb the rampant greed of retailers.” Stinson helped provide an architectural reconstruction of the full decree, which lists the prices allowed for a comprehensive array of goods and services.
Brazilian bee image

Deforestation harms biodiversity of the Amazon’s perfume-loving orchid bees

A survey of orchid bees in the Brazilian Amazon state of Rondônia, carried out in the 1990s, is shedding new light the impact of deforestation on the scent-collecting pollinators, which some view as bellwethers of biodiversity in the neotropics.

Research



A KU legal scholar contributed to a study that found AI emitted hundreds of times less carbon than humans in the tasks of writing and illustrating. That does not mean they should replace humans, but their environmental impact and how the two can work together should be considered, researchers said.
A new study from the University of Kansas has analyzed the roles classroom interaction and parental support play in school connectedness, finding clearly communicated instruction in class and support from parents are closely linked with belonging.
The United States Supreme Court Building
In a new study, Alexander Platt analyzes the Supreme Court case of SEC v. Jarkesy and argues regardless of the high court's decision, the agency will not have its enforcement powers stripped and could patch its approach.

Kansas Communities



The KGS, based at the University of Kansas, and the Division of Water Resources of the Kansas Department of Agriculture measure water levels in about 1,400 wells every year to monitor the health of the High Plains aquifer and other aquifers in western and south-central Kansas.
KU Life Span Institute researcher Lyndsie Koon is leading three pilot projects assessing the effectiveness of HIFT to improve various health outcomes, including fall risk, metabolic health, strength, flexibility, quality of life, psychosocial health and more.
Geologic map of Lincoln County, Kansas
The Kansas Geological Survey-produced map shows the type and age of rock layers found at or near the surface in the north-central Kansas county. The map identifies deposits of rocks and other materials of economic importance for building roads and construction projects.

Economic Development



An upcoming cybersecurity conference will bring together experts in the field from industry, workforce and research to KU. FBI Director Christopher Wray will be the first keynote speaker at 8:35 a.m.
KU's Institute for Sustainable Engineering has a new name —Wonderful Institute for Sustainable Engineering-KU (WISE-KU). The naming builds on the university’s deep relationship with The Wonderful Company, a global agricultural company co-founded and led by Stewart and Lynda Resnick.
Pair of scientists working in lab; supervised smiling children working with cookie cutters; individuals sitting in creek bed taking samples on partly cloudy day; medical professionals talking to seated patient with blood pressure cuff on her arm.
Research expenditures spanning all KU campuses increased to $368.6 million in 2023, capping nearly a decade of steady expansion. Last year alone, externally funded research at KU supported the salaries of 4,372 people, and the university spent $78.9 million in 97 Kansas counties on research-related goods and services, according to a report from the Institute for Research on Innovation & Science.

Student experience and achievement



Juniors Cecilia Paranjothi of Lawrence and Kaitlyn (Kit) Savoy of Olathe are the 78th and 79th KU undergraduates to be given a Goldwater scholarship since they first were awarded in 1989. Paranjothi is majoring in chemistry, and Savory is majoring in biological sciences and minoring in chemistry and theatre.
KJHK 90.7, the student-operated radio station at the University of Kansas, received top awards, including “Best in the Nation,” at the Intercollegiate Broadcast System conference. The conference gathers aspiring broadcasters and industry professionals from high schools and universities nationwide.
Jayhawk statue with Campanile in distance
KU Debate Team members Graham Revare, junior from Shawnee, and William Soper, senior from Bucyrus, took second place in the country at the 78th National Debate Tournament, held from April 4 to 9 at Emory University in Atlanta.

Campus news



Philip Breedlove, a retired U.S. Air Force general, will travel to Lawrence to deliver the keynote address for the 2024 KU Security Conference, “The Russo-Ukrainian War and Global Human Security.” The conference will take place April 10-11.
Celebrate and explore the diverse cultures and countries that make up the University of Kansas at the International Jayhawk Festival from 3 to 5 p.m. April 17 in the Burge Union. Representing cultures from around the world, the event includes information about KU’s 150-plus study abroad programs and more.
Spencer Museum of Art as seen in the fall.
The Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas will host a public event with the Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr., cousin and childhood best friend of Emmett Till, in conjunction with the traveling exhibition “Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley: Let the World See.” The event will take place at 6 p.m. April 24 at the Spencer Museum. Seating is limited; free tickets are required.

Latest news

Media invited to Dole Institute discussion between Sens. Roger Marshall, Bernie Sanders on April 18

invited to the University of Kansas on April 18 to cover a discussion between Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. The two lawmakers will be speaking to a student audience about health care and bipartisan efforts to tackle health care challenges at 7 p.m. at the Dole...

Detail from painting of Sayyida al-Hurra on a sign at the qasbah museum in Chefchaouen, Morocco.

Researcher reclaims 16th century Moroccan woman leader from obscurity

KU author Amal El Haimeur uncovered information on Morocco's "pirate queen" for a new scholarly article titled “Sayyida al-Hurra: A Forgotten North African Queen and Military Leader,” published in the first edition of the new scholarly journal Africana Annual, based at KU’s Department of African & African-American Studies.
Capitol Federal Hall in the evening.

School of Business to recognize 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient

The School of Business will honor executive Jason “Jay” Meschke with its 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award. He will be recognized for his dedication to business excellence, community service and commitment to KU on April 18 during a private event.
A human hand touching a robotic one with AI word cloud in background.

People underestimate AI capabilities due to ‘exponential growth bias,’ study finds

In a new paper, Nathan Meikle, a KU assistant professor of business, examines the human biases that impede assessment of AI’s potential threats to humanity. His experiments find that people are prone to underestimate AI capabilities due to exponential growth bias and that they reject the aversive implications of rapid technological progress even in cases in which they themselves predict the growth rate.