News
Fri, 11/06/2026
KU teaching awards: Gerrit de Boer
The associate professor emeritus, who received a William T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence, shares how he likes to help students understand science as well as the beauty of biology.
Wed, 11/04/2026
KU team plans US network for high-quality reference genome sequencing
Investigators from the University of Kansas — where genomics are prioritized as a research focus — are making detailed plans for a national reference genome infrastructure with support from the National Science Foundation.
Tue, 11/03/2026
KU teaching award: Deborah Smith
A professor in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Smith said in her own education, experiential and outdoor learning in her field tended to resonate the most. She is the recipient of a Chancellors Club Career Teaching Award.
Mon, 11/02/2026
2026 Graduate Student Fall Fundraiser
The Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Graduate Student Organization (EEB GSO) is seeking your generous support to help our student biologists pursue opportunities for professional development and engage our local Kansas communities in scientific programming. The Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas is one of the most renowned in the nation, and the success of its students is one of the primary reasons.
Wed, 10/28/2026
Study finds Amazon rainforest now releases more carbon than it absorbs
A new study in Nature by an international team of researchers, including from the University of Kansas, shows the hotter, drier Amazon is a net source of global carbon emissions.
Fri, 10/16/2026
KU evolutionary genetics researcher wins Big 12 Faculty of the Year Award
John Kelly, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology, has been recognized as KU’s Big 12 Faculty of the Year recipient. His research helps explain why genetic diversity persists and demonstrates evolution in real time.
Thu, 10/15/2026
University honors teaching award winners
EEB professors Deb Smith and Gerrit de Boer were among the 2026 University Teaching Awards recipients honored Chancellor Douglas A. Girod during a ceremony Oct. 13 at the Jayhawk Welcome Center.
Wed, 10/07/2026
Study: ‘Classic example’ of sexual dimorphism in fossil record actually shows nuance between males and females
A new study from the University of Kansas appearing in the open-access, peer-reviewed journal PLOS One shows the differences between male and female uintatheres might not be as vast as paleontologists have long believed.
Thu, 10/01/2026
KU Symbiota leads a new project to mobilize biodiversity collections in Central America
The Symbiota division at the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum is partnering with nine institutions in Guatemala, El Salvador and Costa Rica on a new initiative to mobilize biodiversity collections in Central America.
Fri, 09/18/2026
$1.9M grant will support KU research on boosting drought tolerance in crops
A new National Science Foundation grant will bring $1.9 million to KU to test specific types of microscopic soil fungi for their potential to build drought tolerance in wheat and rice.
Fri, 09/04/2026
University announces 2026 recipients of annual teaching awards
The University of Kansas has announced 15 faculty members from the Lawrence and KU Medical Center campuses as recipients of KU’s annual teaching awards. They will be honored at a public reception Oct. 13 at the Jayhawk Welcome Center.
Tue, 09/01/2026
Developing Innovating Solutions to Kansas Lakes
The project at Tuttle Creek Lake near Manhattan marks the first time a water injection dredge has been used in a lake to remove sediment.
Mon, 08/17/2026
2026-2030 Self Graduate Fellows in Biology
Four of the 2026-2030 Self Graduate Fellows belong to the Departments of Molecular Biosciences & Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Fri, 07/10/2026
Two EEB faculty receive One KU Research Pivot Awards
James Bever and Sharon Billings, EEB distinguished professors and senior scientists, were each awarded a One KU Research Pivot Award from the Office of Research. The awards are designed to help KU researchers explore and align novel ideas with new opportunities and build internal capacity to maintain research momentum when their usual sources of external funding in a topic area have become unavailable.
Thu, 07/09/2026
#KUFieldWorks: Monitoring plant disease to protect Kansas prairies
Understanding plant disease could help protect prairies in Kansas. Ecology & evolutionary biology graduate student Yalone Woodruff and colleagues in the Bever/Schultz lab are studying disease transmission in rosinweed as part of this effort.
Thu, 07/09/2026
Dinosaurs probably dined upon a variety of fruits and seeds
Recent research appearing in the journal Science overturns a long-held idea that flowering plants didn’t evolve large fruits and seeds until after the mass extinction of dinosaurs about 66 million years ago, when Earth was smacked by a giant asteroid.
Wed, 07/08/2026
20 KU students receive Undergraduate Research Awards for summer and fall 2026
The KU Center for Undergraduate Research & Fellowships gave out $1,000 awards to 20 Jayhawks pursuing mentored research and creative projects across all disciplines.
Thu, 03/26/2026
Three KU professors in paleontology, medicinal chemistry and microbiology named AAAS fellows
Three University of Kansas professors — K. Christopher Beard, Jianming Qiu and Michael S. Wolfe — have been elected as 2025 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) fellows, a distinct honor within the scientific community.
Thu, 03/05/2026
KU awarded $2.2 million NIH research career training grant renewal
For almost 30 years, the Office for Advancing Success in Science at KU has provided opportunities for undergraduates to engage in research through grant support from the National Institutes of Health. KU has recently been awarded a $2.2 million Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) grant from the NIH that will carry on this tradition for another five years.
Mon, 02/23/2026
Kessen receives Best Poster Award at Manhattan Conference
EEB Graduate Student Cailin Kessen received Best Poster Award at the Kansas Natural Resource Conference in Manhattan, Kan. Kessen’s poster was titled, “Influence of age and body size on the thermal limits of the variegated fritillary butterfly”. Kessen is a PhD student in Dr. Kristen Baum’s lab, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), at KU.
Mon, 02/23/2026
Wiens’ receives Distinguished Service Award
Congratulations to EBB PhD student, Ben Wiens, who was awarded KU’s Graduate Student Distinguished Service Award. The Graduate Student Award for Distinguished Service was established in 1983 and is presented annually to a graduate student who has demonstrated a genuine commitment to serving the University of Kansas while maintaining a high level of academic achievement.
Fri, 12/19/2025
EEB and KBS-CER alum Camille S. Delavaux named top young plant scientist
The 2025 New Phytologist Tansley Medal for Excellence in Plant Science has been awarded to Camille S. Delavaux. The Tansley Medal is awarded annually in recognition of an outstanding contribution to research in plant science by an individual in the early stages of their career. Delavaux received her Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from the University of Kansas in 2021.
Sat, 11/22/2025
Willadsen places in Top 3 at the 2025 ESA Annual Meeting
EEB Graduate Student Peter Willadsen received second place in the SysEB, Evolution and Systematics session of the graduate poster competition at the Entomological Society of America 2025 Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon. Willadsen’s poster was titled, "Untangling the evolutionary history of the water scavenger beetle subfamily Enochrinae (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)". Willadsen is a PhD Student in Dr. Rob Moyle’s lab, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), at KU.
Thu, 10/30/2025
New study explores ‘legacy effects’ of soil microbes on plants across Kansas
Findings from the University of Kansas could offer important context for farmers who want to use beneficial microbes to improve yields. Today, microbial commercialization in agriculture represents an expanding multibillion dollar sector.
Tue, 10/28/2025
2025 Graduate Student Fall Fundraiser
The Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Graduate Student Organization (EEB GSO) is seeking your generous support to help our student biologists pursue opportunities for professional development and engage our local Kansas communities in scientific programming.
Thu, 10/09/2025
Mack is among awardees named on the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology’s (MVZ) 40under40 list!
KU EEB Assistant Professor Katya Mack receives 40 Under 40 award from the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. The list highlights 40 alumni of the MVZ who are each under 40 years of age and have made substantial contributions in their chosen career.
Wed, 09/24/2025
Study models how human behavior, lockdowns and restrictions shaped COVID’s spread
Folashade Agusto led research appearing in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One that employs computer modeling and large datasets to better understand how COVID-19 was transmitted in one community in South Africa.
Tue, 09/09/2025
Check out recent publications from the following members of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department!
Congratulations to our colleagues for their research achievements!
Tue, 09/02/2025
Study: Cellophane bees are built for chill temperatures, more so than honeybees
Scholarship from the University of Kansas shows the cellophane bee is specialized by evolution to handle the harsh shocks and cold temperatures of early spring.
Tue, 08/19/2025
Lieberman receives Outstanding Honors Teaching Award
Dr. Bruce Lieberman has been selected as the recipient of an outstanding honors teaching award for the departmental honors course Biology 101.