News

Professor Larry Edwards receives Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth and Environmental Sciences
Posted January 27, 2023
University of Minnesota Twin Cities Professor R. Lawrence “Larry” Edwards has been awarded the Franklin Institute’s 2023 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth and Environmental Sciences recognizing his achievements in the field.

Professor Emeritus David Kohlstedt receives Vetlesen Prize, the ‘Nobel Prize of Earth Sciences’
Posted January 25, 2023
University of Minnesota Twin Cities Professor Emeritus David Kohlstedt has been awarded the Vetlesen Prize, one of the highest honors in Earth sciences and considered to be the field’s Nobel Prize equivalent.

Chemical researchers discover catalyst to make renewable paints, coatings, and diapers
Posted January 6, 2023
A team led by University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers has invented a groundbreaking new catalyst technology that converts renewable materials like trees and corn to the key chemicals, acrylic acid, and acrylates used in paints, coatings, and superabsorbent polymers.

CSE alumnus helps MN Cup winner BKB Floral Foam bloom
Posted December 6, 2022
Chemistry Ph.D. alumnus David Goldfeld is one of the brains behind the University of Minnesota research that’s providing a sustainable solution for the $500 million floral foam market.

University-born company Niron Magnetics receives $17.5M DOE grant
Posted November 29, 2022
Niron Magnetics, a company founded by University of Minnesota Twin Cities Professor Jian-Ping Wang, received $17.5M from the U.S. Department of Energy to fund production of its sustainable magnets.

High-res maps of entire polar regions provide new clues for climate researchers
Posted October 25, 2022
A team of researchers led by the University of Minnesota Twin Cities has released four more years of high-resolution imagery data, which has been added to eight years of previous data, to create the most detailed polar region terrain maps ever created.

University of Minnesota awarded nearly $22M to lead two Energy Frontier Research Centers
Posted September 6, 2022
Two new University of Minnesota Twin Cities-led Energy Frontier Research Centers will bring together engineers and scientists from across the country to develop promising technologies for storing carbon dioxide and making catalytic chemical reactions more efficient and sustainable.

UMN receives $3 million for interdisciplinary NSF Research Traineeship program
Posted August 2, 2022
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities received a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to implement an interdisciplinary, cross-college research traineeship program that aims to better educate students on topics including sustainability, resource conservation, waste upcycling, and community impact.

Data scientists use new techniques to identify lakes and reservoirs around the world
Posted July 19, 2022
A University of Minnesota Twin Cities-led team of data scientists has published a first-of-its-kind comprehensive global dataset of the lakes and reservoirs on Earth that shows how they have changed over the last 30+ years.

Study finds that landslides can have a major impact on glacier melt and movement
Posted May 2, 2022
Using satellite imagery to study the effects of a 2019 landslide on the Amalia Glacier in Patagonia, a University of Minnesota-led research team found the landslide helped stabilize the glacier and caused it to grow by about 1,000 meters over the last three years.