Faculty Research News

Sara Bouchard’s piece, “En Masse,” was performed in Corvallis, Oregon, this January by a small university choir. (Contributed photo)

VCUarts professor gives voice to a single atom’s journey

March 13, 2026

Sara Bouchard’s choral work, inspired by lab data from Rice Rivers Center leader Chris Gough, traces the earth’s carbon cycle and invites the audience to sing along.

Leah Spangler, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the College of Engineering, and her team are advancing a synthetic protein that is engineered to selectively bind rare earth elements while ignoring more common metals found in mining and industrial waste streams. (Photo by Christopher Kendall, Kelley & Co.)

Rare earth elements, joint pain and addiction treatment are highlighted in VCU faculty research receiving new awards

March 5, 2026

Five projects are selected in the Commercialization Fund’s latest round of funding that helps bring campus innovation to the marketplace.

Xuewei Wang, an associate professor of chemistry, created a portable, at-home calcium monitoring device for people living with hypoparathyroidism, or hypopara. (Christopher Kendall, Kelley & Co.)

At-home calcium testing device could have wide-ranging impact in health care

March 3, 2026

The invention from VCU chemistry professor Xuewei Wang is being evaluated for the marketplace, and the applications could extend to multiple biomarkers.

A team of VCU researchers is working with school divisions in a project supported by a nearly $1.5 million grant from the Virginia Department of Education. (Getty Images)

VCU researchers partnering with public schools on math education

March 2, 2026

The team includes faculty from the School of Education and the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics.

VCU math expert Allison Moore specializes in knot theory, which explores the properties of closed curves in three-dimensional spaces. (Getty Images)

VCU expert Allison Moore unknots the complexity of one of civilization’s oldest ideas

Feb. 18, 2026

The mathematics associate professor specializes in knot theory, an advanced math concept that appears in everything from topology to religion.

Religion and spirituality power annual lecture series from new VCU hub

Feb. 16, 2026

The Center for the Study of Global Religions and Spiritualities encourages a broader understanding of world culture.

Nostalgic pastimes – like looking at old photographs – can increase gratitude and overall well-being, according to new VCU research. (Getty Images)

If you want to feel gratitude in your life, embrace nostalgia, VCU research finds

Feb. 4, 2026

Wistful memories – from a reunion, a song or even a daydream – strengthen a sense of social connection, which drives thankfulness.

Cristina Stanciu, director of the Humanities Research Center at VCU, is a leader in Indigenous and multiethnic literary studies. (File photo)

Cristina Stanciu’s visiting professorship in France deepens VCU’s global humanities reach

Jan. 28, 2026

The director of the Humanities Research Center will spend a month at Université Bordeaux Montaigne.

VCU historian Brooke N. Newman’s new book reveals the untold truth behind the British royal family’s centuries-long involvement and investment in slavery. (Contributed photos)

Slavery was ‘foundational’ to the British monarchy, VCU author Brooke Newman reveals

Jan. 27, 2026

In her new book, ‘The Crown’s Silence,’ the history professor uses thousands of archival records to detail the royal ties to the transatlantic slave trade.

VCU researcher Matthew C.T. Hartman and his team are fighting cancer at the molecular level as part of their work in chemical biology. (Contributed photo)

VCU researcher using $2M in new grants to explore cancer chemical biology

Jan. 22, 2026

The lab of Matthew Hartman is working toward molecules that could help drugs target disease-linked proteins.