Protecting Indigenous lands and human health

Geographer Florencia Sangermano and her global colleagues conduct research on how Indigenous lands in the Amazon region help buffer and protect humans from forest fire-related illnesses and, in many cases, animal- and insect-borne diseases.

Taking the temperature of global health

How do you measure global health? How can partnerships work toward improving health outcomes that are more equitable? Anthropologist Ellen Foley works to elevate the voices of experts from the Global South who explore those questions.

Reducing stress for sustainable bonds

Psychology Professor James Córdova envisions that, one day, couples’ “relationship checkups” with mental health professionals will be as easy to schedule as dental appointments. That could have significant effects on individuals’ mental health, he adds.

Could robots help farmers?

Farmers have acres of fields to look after, and it can be hard to spot an insect infestation before crops endure significant damage. What if a robot could help? That’s a question Computer Science Professor Gary Holness and students are tackling hands on.

The roads to treating cancer

Two professors and a doctoral candidate have combined their expertise in chemistry and computer science to conduct research that could one day lead to treatments for cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

Entering the iceless age

The Arctic of the future figures to be warmer, stormier, and greener than ever imagined, says polar scientist Karen Frey, a longtime contributor to and a lead author on the annual Arctic Report Card, established by NOAA two decades ago.

The human side of computing

Computer Science Professor John Magee is interested in learning how systems can improve people’s lives. Magee works with user interface technologies that allow people with disabilities to communicate and participate in the world.

What will we eat in 2050?

Biologist Chandra Jack studies plant microbe interactions, examining how microbes influence traits such as when a plant flowers or whether it can compete against neighboring vegetation, and applies that knowledge to sustainable agriculture.

Of dung beetle hookups and climate change

For evolutionary biologist Erin McCullough, the mating rituals of dung beetles are not only fascinating, they also can provide a window into understanding how climate change might affect biodiversity.

Food lit worth chewing on

When English Professor Elizabeth Blake opened The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book, she was captivated by more than the recipes. Published in 1954, the book is a serious literary and theoretical investigation into the power of food, the value of art, and queer life.

The whispering world of ASMR

In their research, Hugh Manon, professor of screen studies, and Shuo Niu, professor of computer science, are digging into the social media phenomenon that is ASMR, or autonomous sensory meridian response.

What men lose when performing gender

Psychology Professor Michael Addis’ research indicates masculinity is a performance a person gives to reinforce their gender in alignment with societal and cultural norms. That can be damaging to the person involved — and to others.

Of love, law, and LGBTQIA+

Psychology Professor Abbie Goldberg has spent her career researching, writing, and teaching classes about diverse families, including LGBTQIA+ parent families and adoptive-parent families, as well as the experiences of marginalized groups like transgender youth.

The language(s) of learning

As part of a first-of-its-kind longitudinal study funded by the National Science Foundation, Psychology Professor Alena Esposito seeks to answer: Which practices work best for bilingual schoolchildren?

On the frontline of mental health

Under the leadership of Nadia Ward, Clark’s Mosakowski Institute directs its intellectual resources toward creating immersive, technology-assisted approaches that effectively treat behavioral health issues among adolescents and young adults.

The Fourth is with him

As one of the world’s foremost authorities on 19th-century Austrian composer Anton Bruckner, musicologist Benjamin Korstvedt has closely studied his symphonies and life, including his often-contradictory images.

How phytoplankton helps us breathe

Biologist Nathan Ahlgren is investigating how iron nourishes and shapes the adaptation of Synechococcus, a marine phytoplankton and a key driver to the photosynthesis that generates as much as 15 percent of the oxygen we breathe.

From Othello to ‘other’

As Clark’s resident Shakespeare scholar, English Professor Justin Shaw helps his students perceive why the Bard continues to move audiences to tears, to laughter, to deeper understandings of human motivation—and also why his words still.

The mysteries of the mushroom

For years, David Hibbett, the Andrea B. and Peter D. Klein Distinguished Professor of Biology, has worked to unlock the secrets of mushrooms. Now, he and fellow biologist Javier Tabima Restrepo are working with students to research the fungal genus Lentinus.

Language learning and digital humanities

Professor Eduard Arriaga-Arango is recognized as an expert in digital humanities, studying how language, literature, culture, and technology collide and intersect. He characterizes the differences between traditional and digital humanities as “yak and hack.”

Will robot worms heal what ails you?

Physics Professor Arshad Kudrolli and Ph.D. candidate Sohum Kapadia conduct experiments detailing how California blackworms move through water-filled spaces. The research is expected to inform the development of soft robots that could navigate the complext “terrains” of the human body.

Humanities and the ‘good life’

Humanity and the humanities face disruption from seemingly unmitigable forces such as climate change and artificial intelligence. For English Professor Betsy Huang, contemporary speculative fiction offers pragmatic visions of hope and eye-opening messages of caution.

Quenching an inner thirst for knowledge

Professor Ousmane Power-Greene doesn’t believe that college-level history should be available only to those who can afford the privilege. He engages students who are eager to access his expertise, but who could not do so without a vital initiative.

Narratives of nature

Clark has a renewed focus on the environmental humanities. English Professor Stephen Levin and his colleagues are part of this field of research that took off after the founding of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment in 1992.

How are ‘climate dollars’ distributed? 

After the Inflation Reduction Act, one of the most ambitious investments in climate and energy in U.S. history was signed into law, Samuel Cooper ’24 was curious how New England would benefit compared to the rest of the country.

Where tree restoration heats the Earth

As efforts to restore tree cover accelerate to help avoid runaway climate change, a study by two Clark researchers highlights how restoring tree cover can, in some locations, heat up the Earth rather than cool it.

AI meets climate science

Working with NASA and IBM, Clark’s Center for Geospatial Analytics has produced the world’s first geospatial AI foundation model, allowing scientists to more quickly understand the impacts of climate change — and how humans might adapt.

Feeding the world by going with the grains

A Clark professor is part of an international research project to determine whether Ethiopian farmers’ age-old practice of planting and harvesting traditional grain mixtures could offer a climate-resilient solution to global food insecurity. 

Protecting the Pacific Islands

Professor Abby Frazier, lead author of a chapter in the Fifth National Climate Assessment, is exploring the physical and socioeconomic impacts on Pacific island communities hit hard by “compound climate extremes” — a combination of multiple climate hazards.

Mexico’s big thirst

Funded by a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation, a team of 11 faculty and over a dozen students are collaborating with community stakeholders and municipal and federal governments in Central Mexico to address the region’s longstanding water crisis.

The sounds of science

Geography Professor Florencia Sangermano first began attaching audio recorders to trees in Central Massachusetts to capture the sounds of birds, weather, and humans in and at the edges of forests. Now she has become globally recognized in the expanding field of ecoacoustics.