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Dr. Zachary Russell, assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at App State, center, works with student researchers Ethan Humphries, a senior 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 fro

Tracking parasites in farm animals is tricky. AI microscope developed in NC may help. [faculty featured]
Jul 2, 2025

Artificial intelligence is being integrated into phones, search engines, and recently, microscopes. At Appalachian State University, researchers were awarded a $2.3 million NCInnovation grant to bring their AI microscope to market and someday save North Carolina farmers time and money.

Faculty & Staff, Grants & Research
App State environmental science majors Kyia Wing, a senior from Suwanee, Georgia, left, and Kaden Cusack ’25, an App State alumnus from Cary, take a close look at the new boulder donated to the university’s rock garden by Albemarle Corp. Cusak graduated from App State in May, earning his bachelor’s degree in environmental science. Photo by Chase Reynolds
Water tracks, shown by the darker curvilinear parallel bands of green vegetation, transmit water downslope into the Upper Kuparuk River on the North Slope of Alaska in July 2019. Credit: Qifan Yang

Water Tracks: The Veins of Thawing Landscapes [faculty co-authored]
Jun 27, 2025

In the Arctic, one of the primary paths for water to flow is along water tracks, stream-like features that fill with and route water when the soil above permafrost thaws in the summer.

Faculty & Staff, 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
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.

Alumni, College News, Grants & Research
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.
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.

Faculty & Staff, Grants & Research
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
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.

Faculty & Staff, Grants & Research
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.

Faculty & Staff, Grants & Research, University News