CSE in the News — April 2026 archive
Led by out gay gymnast, Minnesota wins conference gymnastics title
Ben Letvin hails from Elkridge, Maryland, and is a civil engineering major at the University of Minnesota, competing with the Minnesota Men’s Gymnastics Club after the school’s NCAA men’s program was cut several years ago. Apr. 28: Out Sports; Apr. 29: MSN; Out Online; Apr. 30: Edge Media Network; (4 as of Apr. 30 at 9:15 a.m.)
Redesigning Metals At The Atomic Level To Boost Future Technology
“We often think of polarization as something that belongs to insulators or ferroelectrics—not metals,” said Bharat Jalan, professor and Shell Chair in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota. Apr. 27: Interesting Engineering, MSN, Bioengineer.org; Apr. 28: Eurasia Review; Technology Networks; (5 as of Apr. 29 at 8:55 a.m.)
Three University of Minnesota professors elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
College of Science and Engineering Dean Andrew Alleyne and Professor Marc Hillmyer, alongside Medical School Regents Professor Bruce Blazar, have been elected in recognition of their significant contributions to engineering, research and academic leadership. Apr. 23: Europe Says; UMN News and Events (2 as of Apr 24 at 8:20 a.m.)
Choosing between two paths
Taylor, a junior chemistry major at the University of Minnesota, has played bass in Kilroy for a year. As he jumps between both lives, he lands a position in chemistry research as a sophomore, creates long-lasting relationships with his bandmates, and helps Kilroy through the hardships of venue shutdowns. Apr 22: Medium
Pre-Big Bang Black Holes May Be the Secret to Dark Matter
“We’re not seeing new physics—we’re seeing aged objects in new contexts. If dark matter is composed of black holes formed before the Big Bang, then every galaxy we observe is embedded in a fossil graveyard of primordial spacetime.” Dr. Vuk Mandic, Associate Professor of Physics, University of Minnesota. Apr 21: USA Today
How education can shape responsible AI use amid rapid technological change
University of Minnesota computer science and engineering associate professor Dan Knights said he has recently stopped writing code himself in some settings because AI now performs much of that work. Apr 16: Noah News
What a University of Minnesota grad has done for space exploration
The successful Artemis II mission around the moon is a reminder that space exploration is built on decades of groundwork. Photojournalist Joe Van Ryn and Frankie McLister show how a University of Minnesota graduate helped pave the way for spaceflight. Apr 13: CBS News
Duck-Billed Dinosaurs’ Dental Edge: Unraveling Their Late Cretaceous Dominance
Researchers in the Makovicky lab at the University of Minnesota have unearthed compelling evidence about how duck-billed dinosaurs, known as hadrosaurids, achieved supremacy among herbivores toward the end of the Mesozoic era. Apr 12: Newsbreak
SuperCDMS Reaches Major Milestone in Search for Dark Matter
"Getting to base temperature is a major milestone in a years-long campaign to build a low-background facility capable of housing our sensitive cryogenic solid-state detectors. At these extremely low temperatures, our installed detectors can now scan a whole recent region of parameter space where the lightest dark matter particles may be lurking" stated Priscilla Cushman, a professor in the University of Minnesota School of Physics and Astronomy and the spokesperson for SuperCDMS. Apr. 7: Popular Mechanics; Apr. 9: Mirage; Apr. 10: MSN; Apr 11: Time News; Science Alert; Euro Says; Newsbreak; Monitorul de Stiri; Apr 13: Librarius (Translated from Hungarian); Apr. 12: The Brighter Side; (10 as of Apr. 15 at 9:30 a.m.)
Swan Lake residents propose extending no wake zone
A study conducted by the University of Minnesota’s St. Anthony Falls Laboratory found that wake boats created larger waves with more force behind them. Apr 7: Yahoo! News; Daily Inter Lake; Apr 16: Bigfork Eagle (3 as of Apr. 16 at 9:30 a.m.)
April showers bring May flowers, and pollutant stormwater runoff
The methods of protecting those waters are constantly developing. At the University and its St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, researchers Andy Erickson and Bill Arnold are wrapping up a three-year study that addresses a critical component: stormwater runoff. Apr 5: The Minnesota Daily
Beckelhymer Named 2026-27 AMS Congressional Fellow
Meet Daniela Beckelhymer, a rising mathematician from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities who will step onto the national stage as the 2026-2027 American Mathematical Society Congressional Fellow. Apr 2: AMS Newsroom
Students at U of M's aerospace engineering and mechanics program ecstatic of Artemis launch
The Artemis II mission also marked several historic firsts. Pilot Victor Glover was set to become the first African American to complete a lunar flyby. Mission specialist Jeremy Hansen was the first Canadian to travel beyond Earth's orbit, and mission specialist Christina Hammock Koch was set to become the first woman to fly around the moon. Apr 1: CBS News (Article); CBS News (Video); WCCO (Article); WCCO (Video); WCCO (YouTube); WCCO (YouTube); KEYC (Article); KEYC (YouTube); Kare 11 (YouTube); Kare 11 (Instagram); Apr 2: Patch.com (11 as of Apr. 7 at 9:30 a.m.)