Grants & Research

Tucker Terrell ’25, who graduated from App State in May with a bachelor’s degree in geology-environmental geology, far left, shows community members where a single headstone was located by App State researchers trying to determine the position of grave sites in an area formerly covered with brush behind the Fort Defiance site in Caldwell County. Photo by Bret Yager

App State researchers uncover hidden history at Fort Defiance
Jun 23, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — In a newly discovered graveyard at Fort Defiance in Caldwell County, an interdisciplinary effort led by Appalachian State Un...

UCalgary paleontologist Darla Zelenitsky and PhD candidate Jared Voris, left, helped identify the dinosaur species using fossils found in Mongolia. Photo by Riley Brandt, University of Calgary

Jared Voris '16 identifies second new dinosaur species
Jun 18, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University alumnus Jared Voris '16 is the lead author of a new Nature study identifying a new species of dinosaur. T...

Dr. Darci Gardner is an associate professor of French in the Appalachian State University Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures and the director of High Country Humanities, a collaboration between App State's College of Arts and Sciences and community partners in Watauga County.

Dr. Darci Gardner receives grant to develop course on career paths in the humanities
Jun 16, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — Dr. Darci Gardner, associate professor of French in the Appalachian State University Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures...

Zachary Russell, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Appalachian State University (center), works with student researchers Ethan Humphries and Hunter Corman in the Ion Innovations Scientific Instrumentation Development Lab in Boone. Image courtesy of Appalachian State

App State researcher develops AI-driven microscope to detect poultry parasites [faculty featured]
Jun 9, 2025

Researcher Zach Russell recently earned a grant from NCInnovation to develop his lab’s AI-driven robotic microscope....

A young girl looks through a telescope during an Evening at Dark Sky Observatory event held by App State on Aug. 11, 2024. Photo by Cory Dalton

App State awarded $367,088 National Science Foundation grant for telescope upgrades at Dark Sky Observatory
Jun 9, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — Thanks to a $367,088 grant funded by the National Science Foundation’s Major Research Instrumentation Program, Appalachian State Uni...

Dr. Brett Taubman, professor in the Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences and director of the Fermentation Sciences program at Appalachian State University

Appalachian State professor on new book about fermented foods and drinks of the South [faculty featured]
Jun 2, 2025

What do cheese, beer, a “true country ham,” and sauerkraut have in common? Fermentation. Due South’s Leoneda Inge and Jeff Tiberii chat with App...

Dr. Zachary Russell, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at App State, center, works with student researchers Ethan Humphries, a senior in physics major from Kings Mountain, and Hunter Corman ’24, an engineering physics graduate student from Morehead City, pictured in the background, in the Ion Innovations Scientific Instrumentation Development Lab in Boone to assemble 3D-printed components for rapid prototyping of microscope designs. Russell has been awarded a $2.3 million grant

App State awarded $2.3M to advance innovation in NC agriculture
Jun 2, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University researcher Dr. Zachary Russell, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy,...

Biology students presented their posters in the Atrium of the Rankin Science South Building. Photo by Kyla Willoughby

Biology Research Day showcases broad spectrum of student work
May 7, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — The 2025 Biology Research Day held May 1 in the Rankin Science Building was a golden opportunity for App State student researchers to ...

A Tibetan monk officiating an event in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Tibetan Buddhism is emerging in Vietnam as a popular form of new religiosity © 2025 Lam Khau

Dr. Stephen Christopher receives $1.6 million grant from John Templeton Foundation
Apr 29, 2025

Dr. Stephen Christopher (Adjunct Assistant Professor at Appalachian State University) is excited to be co-Lead (along with Dr. Suzanne Newco...

Top: App State senior Lex Foote, a Scholarships in STEM (S-STEM) Scholar in math from Linville, demonstrates an equation on the whiteboard. Bottom: From left to right: Dr. Rahman Tashakkori, Dr. Andrew Heckert, Dr. Mohammad Ali Javidian, Dr. Carol Babyak and Dr. Roshani Silwal. Photos by Chase Reynolds

$2 million grant funds scholarships, supports STEM education for over 50 App State students
Apr 25, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — A nearly $2 million grant awarded to Appalachian State University by the National Science Foundation (NSF) will help put educational g...