Research Newsletter

Using invasive Asian carp as baby food for farm-raised yellow perch

Southern Illinois University Carbondale researchers Karolina Kwasek and Michal Wojno are trying to find better ways to hatch and successfully raise yellow perch to the juvenile stage in aquaculture. They are using research methods that combine low-tech hatchery equipment, easily copied by professional fish farmers, with creating a new feed that uses the invasive species Asian carp as a protein source.

Pioneering the use of psychology to optimize student pilots’ success

Researchers at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are examining whether sports psychology skills and techniques can help student pilots get in a good mindset and optimize their performances.

Student team finishes 2nd in the nation in Solar Cup

A team of students from Southern Illinois University Carbondale finished second in its division in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar District Cup Collegiate Design Competition. The Solar District Cup challenges multidisciplinary student teams, including engineering, urban planning, finance and other majors, to design and model distributed energy systems that maximize energy offsets and financial savings.

Preventing fraud caused by ‘sock puppet’ social media accounts

Southern Illinois University Carbondale professor Sajedul Talukder has received a $158,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to investigate ways to prevent “sock puppet” connection requests, which are false online identities and user accounts created for deceptive purposes.

Studying beavers through novel technique

Brooks Pitman, zoology graduate research assistant with Southern Illinois University Carbondale, began tracking the movements of the sleek, water-dwelling mammals in February 2021 to better understand their movements in fine detail. He hopes the work will lead to better management practices and assist with reintroduction efforts around the country.

A new, faster pathway to teaching to address shortage

Eight Southern Illinois University Carbondale education students are spending their entire senior year in rural Illinois classrooms for the inaugural year of the Saluki Teacher Residency Partnership. Funded by a grant from the Illinois State Board of Education, the program gets the aspiring educators started on their careers several months earlier.

$1.33M NSF grant to fund next-gen sustainability-focused geoscientists

A Southern Illinois University Carbondale research team is creating a scholarship program aimed at bringing a sustainability mindset together with science and engineering training to target low-income transfer students who will become the next generation of geoscientists. The team has secured a $1.33 million grant from the National Science Foundation for the project “Converging Earth Science and Sustainability Education and Experience to Prepare Next-Generation Geoscientists.”