Michigan State University has been working to advance the common good in uncommon ways for more than 150 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU focuses its vast resources on creating solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges, while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

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Visit http://go.msu.edu/2N5. Who will think about tomorrow today? Anticipating challenges, accelerating solutions? Who will make our planet smarter, safer, healthier, better for all? With the drive to work harder and a passion for working together? Who will? Spartans Will. Michigan State University.

Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

Michigan State University: Who Will Think About Tomorrow?

MSU men’s head basketball coach Tom Izzo has been mentoring Spartans and building champions for more than two decades. The 2016 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee never stops setting the bar higher—for himself and his team.
 
Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

Always looking for a higher goal

Karl Gude is a visual storyteller and director of the Media Sandbox, a creative community and media curriculum in MSU’s College of Communication Arts and Sciences that tackles complex problems and expands experiences for students and faculty beyond the classroom. 
 
Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

Channeling my internal Spartan

Spartan researchers work together to tackle some of the world’s toughest problems to find solutions that make life better. Karim Maredia, entomology professor in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, is dedicated to improving agriculture and food security in places like Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
 
Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

Dedicated to global solutions

What drew K. C. Van Fleet to MSU was his ability to build a close-knit community of Spartans. In the process, he found his professional passion and is now a graduate student and research assistant in MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine.
 
Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

Finding meaning as a Spartan

As a Hannah Distinguished Professor in photosynthesis and bioenergetics in MSU’s College of Natural Science, David Kramer values working in an environment that allows him to challenge the status quo to advance scientific discovery.
 
Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

Disrupting the status quo

Lisa Cook is an associate professor of economics in MSU’s College of Social Science and James Madison College. What sets Cook and fellow Spartans apart is approaching challenges with empathy and a solution-oriented attitude.
 
Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

Our empathy drives engagement

In her work to address the health impacts of agriculture worldwide, Felicia Wu values the common spirit that drives Spartans to push the boundaries of discovery. Wu is a John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
 
Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

United by a common spirit

Mona Hanna-Attisha, one of Time magazine’s 2016 Most Influential People, has worked tirelessly to bring attention to the Flint water crisis and to advocate for children and families in the city. She is the director of the Michigan State University and Hurley Children’s Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative and assistant professor in MSU’s College of Human Medicine.
 
Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

Never give up

Collaboration with professors and classmates is essential for Peter Burroughs as he brings new worlds to life through video game design. The media and information senior in MSU’s College of Communication Arts and Sciences and Honors College develops educational gaming experiences while taking inspiration from his teammates.
 
Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

Partnering with purpose

Roberta Dankyi is passionate about making health care accessible to underserved women and children in Africa. The MSU College of Nursing and Honors College junior from Ghana is a force for good, founding the Bridge to Health Initiative, a foundation that seeks to educate the average Ghanaian citizen by equipping them with basic health information.

Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

My superpower: Spartans Will

Nelson Sepúlveda is an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering in MSU’s College of Engineering. MSU empowers him to turn big ideas into powerful realities, like creating a new way to harvest energy from human motion.
 
Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for more than 160 years. One of the top research universities in the world, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery and forges enduring partnerships to solve the most pressing global challenges while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 200 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

We can accomplish any goal

msu-researchers-develop-woodbased-material-that-improves-safety-and-life-of-lithiumion-batteries

MSU researchers develop wood-based material that improves safety and life of lithium-ion batteries

For consumers worried about the risks associated with using lithium-ion batteries — which are used in everything from phones to laptops to electric vehicles — Michigan State University has discovered that a natural material found in wood can improve battery safety while also improving the battery’s life.

Chengcheng Fang, assistant professor in the College of Engineering, and Mojgan Nejad, an associate professor in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, collaborated to engineer lignin, a natural ingredient of wood that provides support and rigidity, into a thin film separator that can be used inside lithium-ion batteries to prevent short circuits that can cause a fire. 

“We wanted to build a better battery,” said Fang. “But we also wanted it to be safe, efficient and sustainable.”  Inside a battery, the positively charged cathode and negatively charged anode electrodes help the flow of electricity. To keep these electrodes apart, a commercial separator is typically made from polyethylene and polypropylene plastic materials, which can shrink at temperatures near 100 degrees Celsius. Without the protection of the separator, the cathode and anode sides of the battery have the potential to touch, causing an accidental short circuit and possible fire or explosion.

In contrast, the lignin-based separators developed remained stable and didn’t become smaller in size up to temperatures of 300 degrees Celsius.

Fang and her team tested varying thicknesses of lignin and found that films measuring 25 micrometers, which is thinner than one quarter of a human hair, were the most effective at keeping the inside of the battery stable and keeping the anode and cathode from connecting.

Using the lignin film inside the battery had another benefit: the increased stability inside the battery also resulted in an improved cycle life, or how many times the battery can be charged and used. 

“We were surprised to see that the lignin film also improved the battery’s cycle life,” said Fang. “We increased the battery’s cycle life by 60%.” 

  
A third advantage of this research is an environmentally friendly one. The team was able to manufacture the lignin separators using a low-cost dry processing method. This meant that the team was able to produce large quantities of the lignin film, on demand, while avoiding the use of harmful solvents commonly used in traditional separator manufacturing, which can be harmful to the environment. In this case, the researchers were able to use lignin and other materials that provided a 100% raw material conversion to create a film without creating any waste or pollution.

“Lignin, particularly lignosulfonate, is naturally abundant and it doesn’t need any further treatment to function in batteries,” said Fang. “This work demonstrates a new design pathway to improve both the safety and manufacturability of battery materials.”

 
This research was published in Advanced Materials, and the technology is patent pending through the MSU Innovation Center.


new-study-reveals-how-corals-teach-their-offspring-to-beat-the-heat

New study reveals how corals teach their offspring to beat the heat

Assistant Professor of Biochemistry

Why this matters: Warming ocean temperatures are causing a phenomenon called coral bleaching, putting corals at a greater risk of starvation, disease and death. This study shows that rice coral, an important reef-building species, passes on thermal resistance to their offspring and avoids coral bleaching. Understanding this is important to building healthier coral reefs and protecting their future.  Coral reefs are habitats for nearly a quarter of all marine life, protect coasts from erosion and support the livelihoods of millions. Protecting coral reefs is crucial to preserving the future of our oceans.  Plunge into the shallows off the Florida Keys, Hawaiʻi or the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and you are likely to meet a startling sight.

Where there were once acres of dazzling coral — an underwater world of dayglo greens, brassy yellows and midnight blues — is now a ghostly landscape, with many reefs seemingly drained of their pigment.

Caused by stressful conditions like warming ocean temperatures, coral bleaching is a leading threat to some of our planet’s most diverse and vital ecosystems.

Now, a team of researchers has found that some corals survive warming ocean temperatures by passing heat-resisting abilities on to their offspring.

The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, are the result of a collaboration between Michigan State University, Duke University and the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, or HIMB, at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. This work, funded by the National Science Foundation and a Michigan State University Climate Change Research grant, is crucial in the race to better conserve and restore threatened reefs across the globe.

Coral reefs are habitats for nearly a quarter of all marine life, protecting coastlines from storms and erosion and supporting the livelihoods of millions of people around the world. Though still alive, bleached corals are at a much higher risk of disease, starvation and eventual mortality. 

In their latest study, the team explored how resistance to thermal stress is passed down from parent to offspring in an important reef-building species known as rice coral. These findings are helping researchers breed stronger, heat-tolerant generations to better face environmental stress. 

 “The Coral Resilience Lab in Hawaiʻi has developed amazing methods to breed and rear corals during natural summer spawning,” said Spartan biochemist and study co-author Rob Quinn, whose lab takes samples of these corals and generates massive datasets on their biochemistry with instruments at MSU.

“This is a true scientific collaboration that can support coral breeding and reproduction to cultivate more resilient corals for the warming oceans of the future.”  A colorful crowd  The kaleidoscopic of shades we associate with healthy coral is the product of a bustling exchange of resources between a coral animal and its algae partners. 

When all is well, you might think of this relationship as that of tenants living in a home and paying a bit of rent.

In exchange for cozy, sheltered spaces found within the coral tissue as well as nutrients, algae use photosynthesis to produce sugars. These sugars can provide up to 95% of the energy that coral needs to grow and form the sprawling, breathtaking reefs we know.

In tropical waters often lacking nutrients, disruptions in this exchange — like those that occur during bleaching events — can be disastrous. 

When looking at a specimen of coral that’s suffered bleaching, you’re glimpsing a coral that’s “kicked out” its algae, leaving behind a pale skeleton.

 “Corals are like the trees in an old growth forest; they build the ecosystems we know as reefs on the energetic foundation between the animal and algae,” explained Crawford Drury, an assistant researcher at the Coral Resilience Lab at HIMB and co-author of the study  In the waters of Kāneʻohe Bay, the Coral Resilience Lab is spearheading research to best understand this coral reef ecology and the molecular mechanisms driving thermal stress.

The lab is likewise pioneering the breeding of thermally resistant coral for experiments and the restoration of reefs, a highly specialized process few labs in the world can achieve. 

So, while you’d usually be hard pressed to find fresh coral for study in East Lansing, MSU’s partnership with the Coral Resilience Lab has led to a globe-spanning collaboration that closes the gap between field and laboratory.

“HIMB and MSU have developed a really amazing partnership. I’m just happy they’ve let me be a part of it. I can’t wait to see what comes out of it next,” said Ty Roach, a visiting faculty at Duke University and lead author of the new study.

Heat-resistant hand-me-downs  In the wild, rice coral takes on a dizzying array of shapes, from jutting, spiky protrusions to flat, tiered terraces — all identifiable by the tiny grain-like projections that lend the species its name.

When samples arrive at MSU, Quinn applies an analytical approach known as metabolomics to understand the complex biochemistry of the organisms. 

Like a snapshot of life in motion, metabolomics allows researchers to get an idea of what’s occurring within a cell or tissue sample at a precise moment in time.

Leveraging advanced instrumentation found in MSU’s Mass Spectrometry and Metabolomics Core, the team searched for biochemical signatures associated with bleaching resistance in their samples.

This included analyzing coral sperm, eggs, embryos and larvae, as well as their algal “collaborators.”

Through their analyses, the researchers discovered that both coral and algae pass along the biochemical signature of thermal tolerance, and that this tolerance was successfully maintained from parent coral into the next generation.  

Given rice coral’s method of reproduction and the numerous stages of the coral life cycle, this was an impressive feat. 

 “Corals usually spawn based on the lunar cycle; for our experiment, this means late nights around the summer new moons and months of work rearing coral larvae and juveniles,” said Drury.  This summer, Quinn group graduate student Sarah VanDiepenbos had the chance to join Coral Resilience Lab researchers to witness one such nighttime coral spawning and breeding event. 

“It was such a serene, beautiful experience. The timing is impeccable, as the process only lasts 20 to 30 minutes total,” VanDiepenbos explained.

“The coral bundles slowly float upward, trying to find another gamete to combine with once they get to the surface. This release is gradual, so they can have a maximum chance of finding spawn from a different coral,” she added.

 Tougher genes for warmer seas  While many species of corals uptake symbionts from the surrounding seawater, rice coral provide their eggs with algae, handing this relationship down from parent to child.

“To have this algae’s thermal tolerance remain through an entire generation and all the stages of coral development, that’s surprising, and promising for the future of coral reefs,” Quinn said, who’s also an associate professor in MSU’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Especially compelling was the fact that the earliest stages of the coral lifecycle, like embryos and larva, showed chemical signatures linked to whether parent organisms were thermally tolerant or not.

This means that not only do offspring receive heat-resistant genes, but also beneficial molecules to give them a head start against heat stress. 

“Some of the most interesting findings from this work is that coral lipid biochemistry is maintained through all stages of development during reproduction,” Quinn said.  “Importantly, these lipids come from both the host coral and its algal symbiont, indicating there is crosstalk between them to prepare the next generation to resist bleaching,” he added. 

In showing how inherited thermal resistance originates from both coral and algae, this research provides deeper insight into the finely tuned, symbiotic microcosm found in corals across the world’s oceans.

Most exciting for the team is how these findings are contributing to the science behind the restoration of reefs and the breeding of stronger, more heat-tolerant coral generations.  

“Our metabolomics research at MSU could support reef restoration efforts at places like the Kāneʻohe Bay by identifying corals that are resistant to bleaching,” Quinn said.  To connect with the researchers, click on the profile icon below. 
​


msu-team-develops-scalable-climate-solutions-for-agricultural-carbon-markets

MSU team develops scalable climate solutions for agricultural carbon markets

John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor

  Why this matters: Builds trust in carbon markets. This science-based baseline system dramatically improves accuracy, helping ensure carbon credits are credible and truly reflect climate benefits. Enables real climate impact by accounting for both soil carbon and nitrous oxide emissions, the approach delivers a full, net climate assessment. Scales across millions of acres. Tested on 46 million hectares in 12 Midwest states, this approach is ready for large-scale adoption, helping farmers transition to regenerative practices with confidence and clarity.  New research from Michigan State University, led by agricultural systems scientist Bruno Basso, addresses a major problem in agricultural carbon markets: how to set an accurate starting point, or “baseline,” for measuring climate benefits. Most current systems use fixed baselines that don’t account for the soil carbon changes and emissions that would occur if business-as-usual practices were maintained on fields. Such inaccuracies can distort carbon credit calculations and undermine market trust.

“The choice of baseline can dramatically influence carbon credit generation; if the model is inaccurate, too many or too few credits may be issued, calling market legitimacy into question,” said Basso, a John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences and the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station at MSU. “Our dynamic baseline approach provides flexible scenarios that capture the comparative climate impacts of soil organic carbon, or SOC, sequestration and nitrous oxide emissions from business-as-usual practices and the new regenerative system.”

The research, published in the journal Scientific Reports, covers 46 million hectares of cropland across the U.S. Midwest, provides carbon market stakeholders with a scalable, scientifically robust crediting framework. It offers both the investment-grade credibility and operational simplicity needed to expand regenerative agriculture.

Regenerative agriculture and carbon markets Regenerative agriculture includes practices like cover cropping, reduced or no tillage, diversified rotations, adaptive grazing and agroforestry. These methods restore soil health, enhance biodiversity, increase system resilience and help mitigate climate change by building SOC and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Carbon markets offer a promising financial mechanism to accelerate regenerative transitions. By compensating farmers for verified climate benefits, they can act as either offset markets (for external buyers) or inset markets (within agricultural supply chains). However, the integrity of these markets hinges on reliable, science-based measurement, reporting and verification systems that integrate modeling, field data and remote sensing.

A breakthrough multi-model ensemble approach To overcome limitations in traditional modeling, the MSU scientists and colleagues from different institutions in the U.S. and Europe deployed a multi-model ensemble, or MME, framework, using eight validated crop and biogeochemical models across 40,000 locations in 934 counties spanning 12 Midwestern states. The MME avoids model selection bias, lowering uncertainty in soil carbon predictions from 99% (with single models) to just 36% (with the MME).

“This is a game changer for carbon markets,” said Basso. “It delivers a level of accuracy and scalability — from individual fields to entire regions — that current systems lack.”   The MME platform also enables the creation of precalculated, practice-based dynamic baselines, reducing the burden of data collection and easing participation for producers.

Improved mitigation assessments Unlike many approaches that consider only SOC, the MSU lead team’s study evaluates both SOC sequestration and nitrous oxide emissions to determine net climate impact.

“This comprehensive assessment ensures that carbon credits represent true climate mitigation,” said Tommaso Tadiello, postdoctoral fellow in MSU’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and co-author of the study.

“A practice that increases soil carbon may improve soil health,” added Basso, “but it may not deliver actual climate benefits if it simultaneously increases nitrous oxide emissions. Our method provides a full accounting of the net climate effect.”  The research team found that the combination of no-till and cover cropping delivered an average net mitigation of 1.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent per hectare annually, potentially abating 16.4 teragrams of carbon dioxide-equivalent across the study area.

This research was supported by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, U.S. Department of Energy’s Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research, Builders Initiative, The Soil Inventory Project, Generation IM Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, Morgan Stanley Sustainable Solutions Collaborative and MSU AgBioResearch.
 


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