News

When Baylor students return to campus for the start of the fall semester, many will back experiences gleaned from real-world research opportunities over the summer.  Meet three students with experiences at NASA, addressing challenges in their home community and working on a Baylor research project.

The research team’s findings, “Chronotype in college science students is associated with behavioral choices and can fluctuate across a semester,” were recently published in the journal Chronobiology International.

Recent Sociological Focus study explores connection between tattoos, religiosity and deviance

Scientists use old-fashioned art form and 3D printing to make major advance in eliminating exclusion of individuals with blindness or low vision from chemistry and other life sciences, published in Science Advances.

Jacobs will build on decades of scholarship to promote deep study of the relationship between faith and knowledge and ensure Baylor is a national leader in dialogue concerning the intersection of faith and learning in higher education.

Smartphone researchers Meredith E. David and James A. Roberts have investigated the correlation between the “flow states” – or happiness experienced by individuals – while using Instagram and TikTok and psychological well-being.

Baylor biological anthropologist Michael Muehlenbein, Ph.D., seeks to understand the medical, social and psychological factors involved in a long-term pandemic response.

In less than two months, Baylor’s research enterprise will take a significant step forward with the implementation of a new electronic research administration system. CARA will enhance Baylor’s capacity to support the University’s dramatic research growth.

Baylor cancer researchers know they are playing a very long game in the fight against disease--so they focus on mentoring students to whom they will pass the baton.

Psychology and neuroscience researcher Annie Ginty earns award from the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

Baylor researchers Rebecca Sheesley and Sascha Usenko serve as co-investigators on $890,000 Department of Energy grant gathering data around the Houston metro area to understand the relationship between pollution and specific weather events.

The Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty advances research and projects with a goal of ending hunger. Discover how partnerships with the USDA and more have scaled their efforts in Texas to feed five million children in 38 states while growing systemic approaches to counter the factors that lead to food insecurity.

Something as simple as a grass can fundamentally change the understanding of life in the prehistoric world, as demonstrated through a pair of studies funded by the National Science Foundation and published in the journal Science.

Baylor's R1 status is far more than an elite club or glossy résumé item. It positions Baylor to have a significant impact around the world. Baylor faculty explain what that means to them in Baylor Magazine.

For one Baylor researcher, a disrupted Yellowstone vacation sparked research to serve communities cut off from their livelihood by natural disaster.

The waters in and along the Houston Ship Channel teem with evidence of human activity. Surrounded by oil refineries and leading to the Port of Houston, the channel is highly polluted and inhospitable to aquatic life. Yet, the Gulf killifish thrives in that environment. Cole Matson's groundbreaking research bridges environmental and data sciences to discover how one fish "pulled a rabbit out of a hat"

Baylor School of Education professor Tonya Davis serves families with autism by building resources for their teachers. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board supports her work which provides Texas teachers with intervention training for students with developmental disabilities.

More than 75 percent of counties in Texas qualify as behavioral health shortage areas. With the help of a $1.9 million HRSA grant, Baylor social work faculty are training a new generation to meet that need with excellence.

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas recruits top cancer researchers to the state of Texas, and some of the best have come to Baylor. John Wood and Daniel Romo are advancing possible cancer drug leads at Baylor thanks in part to CPRIT funding.

Mentorship is a driving force for John Wood in research that could eventually lead to cancer drugs. Wood serves as the Robert A. Welch Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Co-Director of the Baylor Synthesis & Drug-Lead Discovery Lab. Since coming to Baylor in 2013 after serving at Yale and Colorado State, he has continued to build a nationally recognized research portfolio while focusing on the next generation of researchers who come through his laboratory.

The Luther Sweet Endowed Chair in Disabilities will receive support through the Illuminate Chair Matching Program equivalent to a $3 million chair.

NIH funds a first-of-its-kind effort, led by Bryan Shaw, to provide tools eliminating barriers that exclude students with blindness from pursuing chemistry education and experiences. Students from the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired will participate in pilot portion of the project.

Mandy Hering has applied statistical expertise to a “once in a generation effort” to improve water treatment in the U.S., and shares how data yields new paradigms of water treatment.

Kelly Johnston, assistant professor of literacy in the Baylor School of Education, researches the everyday ways people make meaning and communicate.

Highlighting a season of growth in Baylor’s research enterprise, the 2022 Baylor Research Year in Review is a collection of data and content which features the University’s research metrics, milestones, institutional investment in research and more.

Smartphones are a ubiquitous part of daily life, but there are some spaces where smartphone use may be uncertain or even unwelcome. Baylor smartphone researchers have developed a new model that is a powerful predictor of the intent to use smartphones during church services.

Talk to any Baylor faculty member, and you’ll soon discover a passion for discovery. Dig deeper, and you’ll find that their passion is built on compassion.

Baylor recruits leading supply chain scholar, researcher and author from Wheaton College and Lipscomb University to new role in Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business.

Bryan W. Brooks, Ph.D., has been elected an AAAS Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

World’s largest general scientific society honors Bryan Brooks, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science and Biomedical Studies, for meritorious contribution to the advancement of science.

Jessica Akers, Ph.D., in Baylor University’s School of Education, has received a $893,409 grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to develop an innovative treatment model for children with autism and their siblings.

From the very beginning, the dream of Baylor University as an internationally recognized, preeminent Christian research university was audacious. Learn more about Baylor's vision and path to research growth.

The NSA and Department of Homeland Security have designated Baylor as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD), addressing the critical shortage of professionals with cybersecurity skills and highlighting the importance of higher education in cyberspace defense.

Silicic volcanoes on the Moon, specifically the mysterious Gruithuisen Domes, are a lunar geologic mystery that still perplexes scientists more than half a century after they were discovered. A $260,000 NASA grant will enable Baylor's Planetary Research Group to study them further.

Following a nationwide search, Baylor announces the appointment of Daniel J. Pack, Ph.D., dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) and a 2005 Carnegie U.S. Professor of the Year, as dean of the Baylor School of Engineering and Computer Science.

Baylor's recognition as an R1 research institution is meaningful not only for the University, but for the Greater Waco community and Central Texas, bolstering a cutting-edge community through research, faculty growth, business development and more.

Synthesized in one step, this state-of-art Lewis superacid – that has applications in the production of most common plastics – is more efficient to produce, safer for the environment and could potentially save billions of dollars in manufacturing costs.

SCORE collaboration unites five universities with sports industry partners to introduce data science applications through sports and prepare the next generation of data science professionals.

Sara Perry, Ph.D., shares insights on work-life balance and remote work from latest research project in the Journal of Business and Psychology.

As a professor at Baylor’s Truett Seminary, Vickers will teach courses and conduct research in Wesleyan thought and practice and will enhance Truett’s newly formed and rapidly growing Wesley House of Studies.

Sarah Schnitker and Jo-Ann Tsang analyze the psychology of gratitude and how to practice it.

Many Baylor researchers focus their research on faith itself, leading significant projects that address faith’s impact on human flourishing, community health, individual character and more.

Baylor University is recognizing National Compliance & Ethics Week for the first time as an R1 institution in 2022, illuminating people and programs who play in important role in advancing these mission-aligned areas of focus at Baylor.

Baylor University's R1 recognition is more than an accolade. Discover what it means to Baylor students in research opportunities, facilities, faculty connections and more.

Baylor’s Office of the Vice Provost for Research, students from the School of Engineering and Computer Science deliver projects to five local schools to bring research impacts to the community, with projects available for download beyond Waco.

The Baylor Ethics Initiative is a community of scholars across campus who engage in purposeful conversation to consider trans-disciplinary ethical issues, and to elevate the role of ethics in their research and teaching.

A note from Vice Provost for Research Kevin Chambliss celebrating Baylor’s missional focus on ethics and integrity.

Ashley Barrett, Ph.D., earns $440,381 grant, the first non-STEM award presented to a Baylor faculty member by the National Science Foundation.

Interdisciplinary team led by Baylor religion professor/bioethicist Devan Stahl, Ph.D., and psychologist Sarah Schnitker, Ph.D., will equip theologians to incorporate psychological sciences into their work tackling complex problems of human flourishing.

Baylor business researcher Ashley Otto explores how exposure to multiple brands makes consumer choices easier.

Pablo Rivas, Ph.D., and Tomas Cerny, Ph.D., from Baylor’s Computer Science Department are part of a more than $300,000 grant addressing human trafficking, stolen auto part sales and more.

The Department of Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation within the Hankamer School of Business has been recognized as No. 4 in the world for research productivity by the TCU Global University Entrepreneurship Research Productivity Rankings.

Baylor University continues to seek faculty whose research, teaching and faith commitment demonstrate the highest levels of integrity and impact. Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., shares the pathway to recruiting faculty and pursuing preeminence as a Christian research university in this Q&A.

Here, Dr. Hoby Wedler visuales data using his sense of touch. Hoby was born blind and earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California Irvine. He is examining digital graphics that have been converted into tactile graphics called lithophanes.

Yulia Sullivan of Baylor's Hankamer School of Business examines the role “executive functions” play in how we navigate new information systems in MIS Quarterly.

Researchers found that smartphone users seeking meaning and purpose through their devices and social media could experience the opposite.

Baylor cancer researchers bring a special blend of dedication, ingenuity and compassion in a very long game, getting to the heart of research through a human-centered approach rooted in Baylor's mission.

From the largest global study of its kind to personal interaction in churches, schools and laboratories, Baylor’s focus on human flourishing is demonstrating that at the intersection of STEM, social sciences and compassion, real change can take place.

Baylor environmental health experts reach out to the people and places where finding answers can reshape our world, collaborating across disciplines to promote clear water, clean air and resilient communities.

Across campus, faculty in areas ranging from computer science to education to statistics utilize data science methods and collaborate with others to solve problems—and to do so within an ethical framework that makes the world better.

As they create new materials, build new products or devise ways to measure technology's impact on others, Baylor faculty are motivated by compassion-innovation grounded in the heart of Baylor research.

Baylor University is celebrating National Research Administrator Day by recognizing the team effort that supports researchers across campus and helped Baylor attain Research 1 designation – three years earlier than expected – among the nation’s top R1 universities.

The last 12 months have brought much to celebrate concerning Baylor research. These achievements are not a finish line, but rather a benchmark, as we steward this unique moment and pursue preeminence as a Christian research university.

Wright brings highly funded interdisciplinary research laboratory at the interface of the microbiome, health and environment to Baylor.

Ben Ryan has partnered with the DoD, U.N., and W.H.O., and his Public Health System Resilience Scorecard is modifiable to maximize mission readiness for medical deployments.

Top university patent holders ranked in annual report from the National Academy of Inventors and Intellectual Property Owners Association.

Linda Olafsen's interdisciplinary research utilizes ultrasound technology and malleable wires to provide medics with improved tools to locate internal injuries.

Julia Chan, Ph.D., returned to her alma mater after more than two decades at LSU and UT-Dallas and will provide leadership in Baylor’s burgeoning materials science efforts as The Tim and Sharalynn Fenn Family Endowed Chair in Materials Science.

Baylor researchers seek answers to how leopard seals, Antarctica's little-understood apex predators, survive in the extreme polar environment in first-of-its-kind study.

Julia Chan, Ph.D., professor of chemistry and biochemistry and materials science, and MagLab Research Faculty Ryan Baumbach, Ph.D., connect physics, chemistry and materials science to illustrate new methods to yield materials with quantum properties.

"Collaboration between diverse groups with different perspectives promotes scientific discovery. To enhance these partnerships and facilitate communication, innovative advances in universal design are essential," says Science Advances in an article featuring Shaw's research.

Baylor's Lab to Market Collaborative is a proven and repeatable commercialization process designed to translate research into real-world products that solve industry problems.

Ryan Sharp earns one of 28 national fellowships from the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, supporting scholarship in African American poetry and enabling the creation of new academic studies.

Transdisciplinary study in Nature Communications, featuring Baylor anthropology researcher Julie Hoggarth, suggests that prolonged drought between 1400-1450 escalated existing societal tensions and eventually led to Mayapan’s collapse and abandonment.

Baylor's R1 research efforts are enlivened by humanities faculty across campus. Discover research from art, english, theatre, religion and more.

J. Brian Jordon, Ph.D., comes to Baylor from the University of Alabama, bringing highly regarded research lab and leadership to advance the University’s materials science efforts.

Mack Grady's research probes innovative approaches to protect power grids from attack, connect communities to generate power more quickly when one loses power and to enhance renewable energy sources in Texas.

Tim and Sharalynn Fenn's generous gift establishes an endowed faculty chair position to attract, retain and support a visionary leader focused on the growth and development of Materials Science and its associated fields.

WACO, Texas (July 12, 2022) – Baylor University chemist Bryan Shaw, Ph.D., has been awarded a $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to take dramatic steps to open chemistry classes and labs to students with blindness or low vision.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded nearly $5 million to the Baylor University Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty (BCHP) to continue their innovative “Meals-to-You” (MTY) demonstration project this summer in Texas, New Mexico, Alaska, and Utah.

While pregnancy discrimination is illegal, many expectant mothers still perceive workplace discrimination. Kaylee Hackney, Ph.D., assistant professor of management, leads a study examining the impact of perceived discrimination on the health of both mother and child.

Baylor Psychology and Neuroscience faculty advance a diverse set of research perspectives in trauma, sleep, Autism, and more.

Baylor University Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., announces that Jason R. Carter, Ph.D., vice president for research, economic development and graduate education at Montana State University, has been selected as the Dean of Baylor’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences.

Housed in the Baylor Sciences Building, the Mass Spectrometry Center brings state-of-art equipment and resources to Baylor faculty and students, advancing research in numerous departments.

Success in the education industry partly hinges on successful marketing, and the global reach of the internet presents vast opportunities. Baylor researchers analyze strategic approaches to reaching different cultures.

Baylor’s Experimental High Energy Physics group among scientists with significant contributions to the successful maintenance and operation of the experiment measuring one of nature’s force-carrying particles

Nationally-recognized researcher Sara Dolan is an APA "Citizen Psychologist" who has seen firsthand the how research and scholarship can support community wellbeing. She says Baylor's R1 attainment will open new doors to serve the community.

Religious believers who embrace accountability to God (or another transcendent guide for life) experience higher levels of psychological well-being, study led by Baylor researcher Matt Bradshaw.

Baylor students participate in top-tier research on state-of-the-art equipment, like an anaerobic chamber in Dr. Leigh Greathouse's lab. Learn how a unique partnership, focused on student research opportunities, brought this resource to Baylor.

The Baylor Materials Testing and Characterization Core (MTACC) has earned ISO-17025 certification, a key validation for MTACC's services in imaging, materials characterization, fabrication and processing and more.

Baylor's pursuit of R1 recognition became official in 2019, but the roots of the the University's elite R1 attainment date back more than 20 years. See how visionary moves and a purposeful path guided Baylor to preeminence as a Christian research university.

Grant will fund longitudinal study of students at centers and institutes for Christian study, secular universities, and religiously affiliated universities.

Vice Provost for Research Kevin Chambliss explains how alignment from Baylor administration, faculty and staff advanced Baylor's R1 aspirations and rapid attainment.

Daniel Romo, The Schotts Professor of Chemistry and Co-Director of the Baylor Synthesis and Drug-Lead Discovery Laboratory at Baylor, discusses the pursuit of research excellence and discovery at a faith-based R1 university.

When Baylor earned R1 recognition at the end of 2021, the University joined an elite group of research institutions. Erica Bruce, associate professor of environmental science, explains the meaning of R1 in higher education and beyond.

Baylor University paleoclimatologist Steven Forman analyzed gypsum- and quartz-dominated dune systems for possible fine, breathable dust fluxes detrimental to human health.

Dr. Thomas M. Ward, associate professor of philosophy, has received a NEH research fellowship to prepare a scholarly translation of "De Primo Principio", a work by John Dun Scotus.

Holly Oxhandler and Clay Polson serve as co-investigators of Spiritual and Religious Competencies Project and will examine graduate education training in religious and spiritual competencies through $843,000 John Templeton Foundation Grant.

From the moment Baylor officially announced its pursuit of R1 recognition in 2019, the University has been on a purposeful path that reached an elite benchmark faster than anyone anticipated.

Baylor University is now an R1 research institution. The end of 2021 brought this exciting news, as this long-pursued goal became a reality. In this Baylor Connections, President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D., discusses these major benchmarks and their impact going forward.