The cherry harvest wrapped up months ago. But in northern Michigan, some growers are already anticipating the spring resurgence of a tiny raptor that could benefit next season’s crop. The American kestrel is the smallest falcon in the U.S. As birds of prey, kestrels deter smaller birds that like to snack on farmers’ fruit. But new …
The Ethics Institute, Center for Bioethics and Social Justice, the Center for Ethical and Socially Responsible Leadership, the Frank J. Kelley Institute of Ethics and the Legal Profession and the Office of Sustainability hosted the Sustainability and Ethics Symposium on Friday, Nov. 14, 2025. This event marks the fifth symposium hosted by the Ethics Institute …
In the 2026 Quacquarelli Symonds, or QS, World University Rankings: Sustainability, Michigan State University ranks No. 35 globally among 1,994 participating institutions and No. 6 nationally, positioning MSU within the top 2% worldwide. Now in its fourth year, the QS Sustainability Rankings assess how well universities are addressing some of the world’s most significant environmental, social …
A retired University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University has been honored for lifetime achievements by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Hassan K. Khalil was presented the 2025 ASME Rufus Oldenburger Medal — the highest honor presented by ASME in the field of automatic control — during the ASME Modeling, Estimation and Control Conference in October in …
Each year, the world produces roughly 100 million tons of flexible multilayer plastic packaging — materials that keep food fresh and pharmaceuticals safe from moisture and oxygen. Yet most of these plastics are nearly impossible to recycle due to their complex, chemically incompatible layers. Michigan State University scientists have developed a new kind of plastic …
A Michigan State University researcher has been honored with the Soil Science Research Award from the Soil Science Society of America, one of the highest honors for advancing scientific knowledge in the field. Bruno Basso, a world-renowned expert in sustainable agriculture and precision agriculture systems, received the award Nov. 10 at the SSSA’s CANVAS conference …
A newly discovered signaling pathway explains how plants delay flowering when phosphorus runs low, opening doors to nutrient-efficient crops. Phosphorus, a key ingredient in fertilizers, is running out. The world’s food systems depend on phosphorus mined from limited reserves, yet much of what is applied to fields washes away, leaving soils increasingly depleted. As phosphorus …
When highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, first appeared in U.S. dairy cattle, it shocked the scientific community. The virus, long associated with birds, had crossed a species barrier no one anticipated. In Michigan, however, the response framework was already underway. In the inner circle of that response was Kimberly Dodd, who now serves as dean …
In California’s Death Valley, where summer temperatures regularly soar above 120 degrees Fahrenheit, life seems almost impossible. Yet among the cracked earth and blinding sunlight, one native plant not only survives — it thrives. That plant, Tidestromia oblongifolia, has helped Michigan State University scientists uncover how life can flourish in extreme heat, revealing a potential …
Evolution is usually too slow to observe in a human lifetime. But in a Michigan State University lab, it plays out in days, years and now decades. Beginning in 1988, MSU Hannah Distinguished Professor Richard Lenski shepherded the rapidly growing model organism Escherichia coli, or E. coli, through 75,000 generations. Lenski and researchers in the Department of Microbiology, …
