Featured Stories
University of Michigan: Home Counseling Visits Increase HIV Testing for Couples, Viral Suppression for Mothers in Kenya
ANN ARBOR, Michigan, July 2 (TNSjou) -- The University of Michigan issued the following news:
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Home counseling visits increase HIV testing for couples, viral suppression for mothers in Kenya
A home-based counseling program for pregnant women and their male partners increased couples HIV testing and helped mothers living with HIV achieve viral suppression, new research shows.
The study, co-led by the University of Michigan and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, found that home counseling visits more than quadrupled joint HIV testing rates compared with standard clinic-based care.
... Show Full Article
ANN ARBOR, Michigan, July 2 (TNSjou) -- The University of Michigan issued the following news:
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Home counseling visits increase HIV testing for couples, viral suppression for mothers in Kenya
A home-based counseling program for pregnant women and their male partners increased couples HIV testing and helped mothers living with HIV achieve viral suppression, new research shows.
The study, co-led by the University of Michigan and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, found that home counseling visits more than quadrupled joint HIV testing rates compared with standard clinic-based care.By 12 months postpartum, 56% of couples receiving home visits had tested together, while only 13.6% of those who received routine services at a health facility tested jointly for HIV.
The research, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, is published in The Lancet HIV. The randomized controlled trial followed 800 couples in Kenya and evaluated approaches to increase couples HIV testing and counseling, as well as improve maternal and child health.
"Couples testing for HIV together and strengthening relationship skills can open the door to men and women collaborating to achieve optimal family health during pregnancy, postpartum and beyond," said study co-author Lynae Darbes, U-M professor of nursing. "It is also important to involve male partners in pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum care--which has been shown to be challenging."
Mother-to-child HIV transmission remains a major concern in high-prevalence settings, but early diagnosis and sustained antiretroviral therapy can greatly reduce that risk, Darbes said.
Yet, male partner engagement and couples testing often remain low because of barriers such as work-related travel, stigma, clinic settings that may not feel welcoming to men, and concerns that disclosure without adequate support could increase conflict or intimate partner violence.
"Having men involved is important, given their role in the family and in decision-making in many contexts," Darbes said. "Our results suggest that a couples-based approach can improve maternal and family health outcomes, including viral suppression for women living with HIV."
One of the study's most significant findings was improved viral suppression--an outcome closely tied to infant health--among mothers living with HIV in the home-visit group compared with those receiving standard care.
"When someone is virally suppressed, it drastically reduces the chances of transmitting HIV to a partner or fetus, and predicts better health outcomes for the person living with HIV," said study co-author Janet Turan, professor emerita at the UAB School of Public Health.
Other key findings include:
* Providing pairs of HIV self-test kits to pregnant women to use with their partners also significantly increased joint testing, with 50% of couples testing together.
* Home-based counseling was delivered by trained lay health counselors, making it a culturally sensitive and potentially low-cost approach that could be adapted more broadly.
* The home-visit approach identified more new male HIV infections and more serodifferent couples--couples in which one partner is living with HIV and the other is not--than the self-test kit approach, suggesting that home visits may provide added opportunities for diagnosis, counseling and linkage to care.
Study: Effectiveness of interventions to promote couple HIV testing and family health during pregnancy and postpartum in Kenya (DOI: 10.1016/S2352-3018(26)00104-9)
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Original text here: https://news.umich.edu/home-counseling-visits-increase-hiv-testing-for-couples-viral-suppression-for-mothers-in-kenya/
Olufunke Grace Bankole Wins the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award for 'The Edge of Water'
RICHMOND, Virginia, July 2 -- Virginia Commonwealth University issued the following news:
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Olufunke Grace Bankole wins the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award for 'The Edge of Water'
She will receive the prize, which is now in its 25th year, during a public event at VCU on Nov. 12.
By Brian McNeill
Olufunke Grace Bankole has won the 2026 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, which honors an outstanding debut novel published during the preceding calendar year. Her winning book, "The Edge of Water," published by Tin House, is an emotionally resonant story of three generations of Nigerian women,
... Show Full Article
RICHMOND, Virginia, July 2 -- Virginia Commonwealth University issued the following news:
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Olufunke Grace Bankole wins the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award for 'The Edge of Water'
She will receive the prize, which is now in its 25th year, during a public event at VCU on Nov. 12.
By Brian McNeill
Olufunke Grace Bankole has won the 2026 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, which honors an outstanding debut novel published during the preceding calendar year. Her winning book, "The Edge of Water," published by Tin House, is an emotionally resonant story of three generations of Nigerian women,and it explores family ties, religion, diaspora and prophecy.
Bankole will receive the award during a public event at VCU on Nov. 12. The event will involve a reading, a moderated discussion and a Q&A. Details of the event and additional materials will be made available at firstnovelist.vcu.edu/event/.
Bankole was one of three finalists for the prize, now in its 25th year. The other finalists were Karissa Chen for "Homeseeking" (G.P. Putnam's Sons) and Ethan Rutherford for "North Sun, or, the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther" (Deep Vellum).
According to the publisher's official synopsis of "The Edge of Water":
Set between Nigeria and New Orleans, "The Edge of Water" tells the story of a young woman who dreams of life in America, as the collision of traditional prophecy and individual longing tests the bonds of a family during a devastating storm.
In Ibadan, Nigeria, a mother receives a divination that foretells danger for her daughter in America. In spite of this warning, she allows her to forge her own path, and Amina arrives in New Orleans filled with hope. But just as Amina begins to find her way, a hurricane threatens to destroy the city, upending everything she'd dreamed of and the lives of all she holds dear. Years later, her daughter is left with questions about the mother she barely knew, and the family she has yet to discover in Nigeria.
Exploring the love of a determined mother and dreaming daughter who do not say enough to each other until it is too late; the detangling of Yoruba Christianity, traditional religion and folklore; and the tellings of three generations of daring women - through times of longing, promise and romance, as well as heartbreak - Olufunke Grace Bankole's "The Edge of Water" is a luminous debut novel about a young woman brave enough to leave all she knows behind, and the way her fate transforms a family destined to stay together.
"The Edge of Water" is the winner of the Westport Prize for Literature as well as the Ploughshares John C. Zacharis First Book Award.
In the magazine Electric Literature, Mariah Rigg writes: "Exploring the narrative powers of choice and betrayal, the complexity of identity and belonging, and the many revisions that take place across a family and a life, 'The Edge of Water' asks the question of how much we owe our loved ones, how much we owe ourselves, how much we control our destiny and when it's OK to let ourselves off the hook."
Bankole, a Nigerian American writer, is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a recipient of a Soros Justice Advocacy Fellowship. Her work has appeared in various literary journals, including Ploughshares, Glimmer Train Stories, AGNI, Michigan Quarterly Review, New Letters, The Antioch Review and Stand magazine.
Bankole won first place in the Glimmer Train Short-Story Award for New Writers, and she was the Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Scholar in Fiction at the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. Her honors include an Oregon Literary Fellowship in Fiction, a Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation grant, a residency-fellowship from the Anderson Center at Tower View and a Pushcart Special Mention for her writing. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
The VCU Cabell First Novelist Award celebrates the VCU MFA in Creative Writing program's yearlong novel workshop - the first in the nation and one of the few still in existence. The winning author receives a $5,000 prize and participates in an event, traditionally in person, with two additional panelists, most often the agent and editor of the winning book. The event, open to all, focuses on the creation, publication and promotion of the author's first novel.
The VCU Cabell First Novelist Award is presented on behalf of VCU's MFA in Creative Writing program. Sponsors include the James Branch Cabell Library Associates, VCU Libraries, the Friends of VCU Libraries, the VCU Department of English and the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences.
Over 200 novels were submitted for this year's prize. A universitywide panel of readers, in addition to members of the Richmond community, reduced the submissions to a top 20 long list. From there, the list was considered by the MFA in Creative Writing students, who further narrowed the submissions from a top 10 short list to three finalists. The final round of judging included the MFA students and the VCU Cabell First Novelist Committee, with the previous year's winner, Anne de Marcken, acting as a tie-breaking vote if needed.
In addition to Bankole, previous winners of the award have included: Anne de Marcken for "It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over," Alice Winn for "In Memoriam," Tess Gunty for "The Rabbit Hutch," Dawnie Walton for "The Final Revival of Opal & Nev," Raven Leilani for "Luster," John Englehardt for "Bloomland," Ling Ma for "Severance," Hernan Diaz for "In the Distance" and Jade Chang for "The Wangs vs. the World." A full list of winners can be found at firstnovelist.vcu.edu/winners/.
The 2026 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award is soon to announce a call for submissions for debut novels published in 2026, with a final submission deadline of Dec. 30, 2026. For more information, visit firstnovelist.vcu.edu/.
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Original text here: https://news.vcu.edu/article/olufunke-grace-bankole-wins-the-vcu-cabell-first-novelist-award-for-the-edge-of-water
New research will enable early detection of Alzheimer's-related brain changes
BIRMINGHAM, England, July 2 -- The University of Nottingham issued the following news release:
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New research will enable early detection of Alzheimer's-related brain changes
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A Nottingham scientist has secured funding to bring a new technology to fruition that will identify early brain changes of Alzheimer's disease, leading to earlier targeted treatments and prevent treatment progression.
Professor Stamatios Sotiropoulos from the University of Nottingham's School of Medicine has secured a 2026 Proof of Concept Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). This is one of the 182 Proof
... Show Full Article
BIRMINGHAM, England, July 2 -- The University of Nottingham issued the following news release:
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New research will enable early detection of Alzheimer's-related brain changes
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A Nottingham scientist has secured funding to bring a new technology to fruition that will identify early brain changes of Alzheimer's disease, leading to earlier targeted treatments and prevent treatment progression.
Professor Stamatios Sotiropoulos from the University of Nottingham's School of Medicine has secured a 2026 Proof of Concept Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). This is one of the 182 Proofof Concept Grants across all disciplines in Europe and will give scientists the chance to explore the commercial or societal potential of their research fundings.
The new projects will delve into a diverse range of topics and will explore how frontier research can be translated into practical applications.
Neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), pose a major global health and economic challenge, with over 10 million new cases annually and costs exceeding $1.3 trillion. As the first AD modifying therapies emerge, their effectiveness depends on identifying the right patients at the appropriate stage.
However, current diagnostic and clinical trial-support tools, such as PET scans and lumbar punctures, are costly, poorly scalable and have safety risks. This impairs patient stratification and trial efficiency, and delays diagnosis until significant neuronal loss has occurred, limiting treatment impact.
The team at Nottingham are developing a quantitative toolkit to enable early detection of AD-related brain changes, before irreversible clinical symptoms develop, allowing timely interventions that prevent disease progression.
Their platform transforms routine, widely accessible Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans into personalised, population-referenced markers of brain health, building on over a decade of research in advanced brain MRI analytics.
Using AI-driven normative models, their approach supports better patient stratification, including selection of individuals likely to respond to therapy, so improving clinical trial outcomes, and enabling early diagnosis.
Professor of Computational Neuroimaging, Stamatios Sotiropoulos, said: "I am glad for this ERC Proof of Concept grant, which will allow us to explore commercialisation opportunities for our quantitative neuroimaging technologies, developed throughout the years with the support of the ERC."
"In this project, we will explore efficacy of MRI for quantitatively characterising whole-brain changes caused by early neurodegenerative disease. We will leverage the power of modern AI architectures to learn from population-level MRI scans what are the typical ranges for healthy brain features. We will then apply these normative ranges to detect early pathology-induced abnormalities in scans of patients. The aim is to do so at early phases of mild cognitive decline and before irreversible symptoms develop, allowing timely interventions for dementia. We are fortunate to have clinical partners from the NUH NHS trust and pharmaceutical industry partners, who will feedback in validations and translations," said Professor of Computational Neuroimaging, Stamatios Sotiropoulos.
Dr Shaun Warrington, Senior Research Fellow in the School of Medicine and Co-Investigator, said: "It's fantastic to see this ERC Proof of Concept grant funded. It is a great opportunity to move advanced MRI methods closer to clinical and trial use, enabling detection of meaningful brain changes early enough for intervention to make the greatest difference."
Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, said: "Many of today's innovations begin with a researcher asking a fundamental question. These 182 projects show that curiosity-driven science and real-world impact go hand in hand. With Proof of Concept funding, ERC researchers can test how their discoveries could become new treatments, technologies, services or solutions that benefit people across Europe."
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Story credits
More information is available from Professor Stamatios Sotiropoulos in the School of Medicine at Stamatios.Sotiropoulos@nottingham.ac.uk or
Charlotte Wall - Media Relations Manager - Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Email: charlotte.wall@nottingham.ac.uk
Phone: 0115 748 4417
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Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 97 in the world and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 - the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 - and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the third most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2025 report by High Fliers Research. Alongside Nottingham Trent University, we lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, a pioneering collaboration between the city's two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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Original text here: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/erc-proof-of-concept-grant-win
Mizzou Uncovers Breakthrough Clue to Help Soybeans Fight a Billion-dollar Pest
COLUMBIA, Missouri, July 2 (TNSjou) -- The University of Missouri issued the following news release:
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Mizzou uncovers breakthrough clue to help soybeans fight a billion-dollar pest
Mizzou researchers study plant resistance to the worms that cause $1 billion in annual losses to U.S. soybean industry.
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Beneath the surface of soybean fields, an invisible threat is costing farmers billions. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri are uncovering how nature itself may hold the key to fighting back.
The soybean cyst nematode -- a microscopic worm that attacks plant roots and siphons
... Show Full Article
COLUMBIA, Missouri, July 2 (TNSjou) -- The University of Missouri issued the following news release:
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Mizzou uncovers breakthrough clue to help soybeans fight a billion-dollar pest
Mizzou researchers study plant resistance to the worms that cause $1 billion in annual losses to U.S. soybean industry.
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Beneath the surface of soybean fields, an invisible threat is costing farmers billions. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri are uncovering how nature itself may hold the key to fighting back.
The soybean cyst nematode -- a microscopic worm that attacks plant roots and siphonsoff nutrients -- devastates soybean yield worldwide, leaving crops stunted, weakened and prematurely yellow.
A new study led by Mizzou researchers reveals how a naturally occurring mutation impacts a soybean plant's ability to fend off the nematode, offering a potential target for developing more pest-resistant soybeans.
Scientists first identified the mutation -- located in a soybean enzyme called SHMT8 -- more than a decade ago. The Mizzou team has been able to visualize the makeup of the enzyme at an unprecedented level of detail thanks to the university's high-powered electron microscopes.
In the recent study, Lesa Beamer, a professor of biochemistry in the School of Medicine and College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, and Vindya Samarakoon, a doctoral student in the College of Arts and Science, discovered that the mutated version of this enzyme has a structure made up of just two protein pieces rather than its typical four-piece structure.
That change alters the functions of the enzyme, which plays a role in the folate metabolism that plant cells need to grow. Researchers have a theory about why the SHMT8 mutation actually helps the plant by making it more resistant to the nematode.
"Perhaps if the plant is only producing less folate in the roots due to this mutation, the nematode can't get enough nutrients to grow and reproduce," Beamer said.
While there are many versions of the SHMT enzyme throughout soybean plants, scientists only looked at ones specifically located in the roots where the nematodes feed.
As long as the other versions of the SHMT enzyme are operating normally, the plant likely still produces enough folate to remain healthy.
"Since plants need folate to grow, our challenge is to perhaps figure out a way to reduce folate metabolism enough to hurt the nematode but not so much that the soybean itself suffers or decreases in yield," Beamer said. "While the research in its early stages, if our efforts were to one day lead to breeding new mutant plants that ultimately help soybean farmers out in the field, that would be a dream come true."
"Oligomeric defects in soybean serine hydroxymethyltransferase 8: tetramer destabilization by A149T and other variants associated with soybean cyst nematode resistance" was published in The Federation of European Biochemical Societies Journal.
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Original text here: https://showme.missouri.edu/2026/mizzou-uncovers-breakthrough-clue-to-help-soybeans-fight-a-billion-dollar-pest/
Fast Food, Fries and Science: Inside U-M's Lab Studying Cravings
ANN ARBOR, Michigan, July 2 -- The University of Michigan issued the following news:
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Fast food, fries and science: Inside U-M's lab studying cravings
The experiment starts before anyone takes a bite. There's no drive-thru. No cashier calling the next order. No glowing sign announcing the restaurant is open.
But there is something instantly familiar: the smell of French fries.
Inside a tucked-away laboratory in East Hall at the University of Michigan, researchers recreated a fast-food restaurant--not to serve lunch, but to answer a question millions of people wrestle with every day: Why
... Show Full Article
ANN ARBOR, Michigan, July 2 -- The University of Michigan issued the following news:
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Fast food, fries and science: Inside U-M's lab studying cravings
The experiment starts before anyone takes a bite. There's no drive-thru. No cashier calling the next order. No glowing sign announcing the restaurant is open.
But there is something instantly familiar: the smell of French fries.
Inside a tucked-away laboratory in East Hall at the University of Michigan, researchers recreated a fast-food restaurant--not to serve lunch, but to answer a question millions of people wrestle with every day: Whydo people make different food choices in tempting environments than they intended?
U-M psychology professor Ashley Gearhardt said the answer may have less to do with willpower and more to do with the environments designed to shape behavior.
Years earlier, as a graduate student at Yale studying alcohol addiction, Gearhardt worked inside a simulated bar built to understand how surroundings influence decisions.
The experience sparked an idea that stayed with her: If researchers could recreate a bar to study drinking, could they build a restaurant to study eating? That question became one of the university's most unexpected research spaces.
To make the environment feel authentic, Gearhardt visited restaurants across Ann Arbor and paid attention to details most customers rarely notice--lighting, seating, menu placement, colors and, above all, scent.
One pattern stood out. People often smell fried food before they ever see the menu. Today, that insight lives inside the lab. Menu boards line the walls. Tables mirror restaurant seating. A working kitchen prepares cheeseburgers, fries, cookies and milkshakes alongside healthier options like salads and grilled chicken. Students wear restaurant uniforms.
The goal is simple: make the experience feel real.
The space is home to the Food and Addiction Science and Treatment (FAST) Lab, where Gearhardt and her team investigate whether highly ultraprocessed foods trigger brain and behavioral responses that resemble addiction-like patterns in some individuals.
Using tools ranging from brain imaging and behavioral studies to this simulated restaurant, researchers explore how everyday cues--from commercials and product placement to smell itself--can intensify cravings and shape decisions.
"We can bring people into this really tempting environment to understand--in a real-world way--how it may trigger behaviors, biology and psychology that keep people stuck in unhealthy patterns of food intake," Gearhardt said.
Ultraprocessed foods are often built from industrially formulated ingredients uncommon in home kitchens--including high-fructose corn syrup, modified starches, emulsifiers and processed fats--and now make up a substantial portion of calories consumed in many diets.
One early finding revealed just how powerful the environment can be. Participants randomly assigned to the restaurant setting reported stronger cravings, worked harder to obtain food rewards and consumed hundreds more calories than participants in a neutral room.
But they didn't enjoy the food more. The environment increased wanting--not liking. That distinction may help explain why resisting certain foods can feel far more complicated than simply exercising self-control.
"We now know our brains are competing with a multitrillion-dollar industry investing enormous resources into making products as irresistible as possible," Gearhardt said. "And they've done a pretty good job. But we're the ones paying the cost with our health."
For students working in the FAST Lab, the experience extends beyond collecting data. Sharon Santosh, a senior studying mathematics and biopsychology, cognition and neuroscience, joined the lab after developing an interest in how food quality influences health.
Her time in the lab reshaped how she thinks about food--not only personally, but systemically.
"Learning more about the technologies and tactics used in the food industry completely changed the way I think about eating," she said. "I pay more attention to food quality and how food makes me feel physically and mentally."
The experience also helped her develop research skills and something less measurable: learning how to balance scientific rigor with helping participants feel comfortable and supported.
For Ian Kuentz, a senior psychology major, the lab connected directly to his long-standing interest in addiction and reward.
"Food addiction is one of the most exciting areas in reward research because it brings together so many fields--from neuroscience to food science," Kuentz said. "I didn't realize how quickly the science evolves or how much new research is constantly shaping what we know."
Working in the FAST Lab changed his own habits, too.
"You start to notice how much the environment influences your choices," he said. "I've become more intentional about what I eat and how I build my own food environment."
Today, researchers continue exploring whether diets centered on minimally processed foods can reduce cravings over time and improve long-term health.
For Gearhardt, the goal isn't to recreate fast food.
It's to recreate reality--and better understand why resisting temptation may be far more complicated than simply saying no.
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Original text here: https://news.umich.edu/fast-food-fries-and-science-inside-u-ms-lab-studying-cravings/
David Hahn Named 8th President of Boise State University
BOISE, Idaho, July 2 -- Boise State University issued the following news:
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David Hahn named 8th President of Boise State University
During a special meeting Wednesday, July 1, the Idaho State Board of Education unanimously appointed Dr. David W. Hahn as the eighth president of Boise State University.
Hahn's appointment follows a national presidential search and the completion of the 10-business-day period required under Idaho law after he was named the sole finalist on June 16. Hahn's appointment is effective July 1. He will perform his duties as he prepares to move to Idaho and will
... Show Full Article
BOISE, Idaho, July 2 -- Boise State University issued the following news:
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David Hahn named 8th President of Boise State University
During a special meeting Wednesday, July 1, the Idaho State Board of Education unanimously appointed Dr. David W. Hahn as the eighth president of Boise State University.
Hahn's appointment follows a national presidential search and the completion of the 10-business-day period required under Idaho law after he was named the sole finalist on June 16. Hahn's appointment is effective July 1. He will perform his duties as he prepares to move to Idaho and willbegin serving on campus no later than Aug. 10, in accordance with the terms of his contract.
"This vote reflects the confidence of the full Board in the process we undertook and in the leader we have selected," President of the Idaho State Board of Education Kurt Liebich said. "Today's vote is the culmination of a rigorous process, and I have every confidence that Boise State and the state of Idaho are well served by this appointment. Dr. Hahn is the right person to lead Boise State into its next chapter."
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Original text here: https://www.boisestate.edu/news/2026/07/01/david-hahn-named-8th-president-of-boise-state-university/
Dartmouth Research Partnership Focuses on Global Energy Transition
HANOVER, New Hampshire, July 2 -- Dartmouth College issued the following news:
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New Dartmouth Research Partnership Focuses on Global Energy Transition
A newly signed memorandum of understanding between Dartmouth and Germany's TU Bergakademie Freiberg formalizes a complementary partnership to tackle the energy transition from every angle.
Dartmouth and the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology (TUBAF) in Germany signed a memorandum of understanding June 26 that formalizes a research and education partnership focused on the global energy transition, sustainable raw materials, environmental
... Show Full Article
HANOVER, New Hampshire, July 2 -- Dartmouth College issued the following news:
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New Dartmouth Research Partnership Focuses on Global Energy Transition
A newly signed memorandum of understanding between Dartmouth and Germany's TU Bergakademie Freiberg formalizes a complementary partnership to tackle the energy transition from every angle.
Dartmouth and the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology (TUBAF) in Germany signed a memorandum of understanding June 26 that formalizes a research and education partnership focused on the global energy transition, sustainable raw materials, environmentalsystems, and the health and safety of energy-sector workers, in addition to advances in artificial intelligence and computational modeling.
The agreement builds on more than two years of faculty-level engagement between the two institutions by establishing a framework for joint research, scholarly exchange, and the collaborative pursuit of funding opportunities in the United States, Germany, and the European Union.
The partnership is spearheaded by The Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society at Dartmouth, beginning with a virtual workshop that has resulted in several visits by delegations from Dartmouth and TUBAF to each campus, as well as active research collaborations and a fund to support graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.
Most recently, members of TUBAF's leadership, including Rector Jutta Emes, visited Hanover in March to sign a letter of intent with Dartmouth Provost Santiago Schnell and meet with more than 40 Dartmouth faculty members, administrators, and researchers.
Founded only four years before Dartmouth, TUBAF is the world's oldest university of mining sciences and one of Germany's most research intensive, with more than 80 percent of its 4,000 students pursuing STEM fields. With roughly 100 faculty members attracting 72 million euros ($82.2 million) in annual research support, TUBAF ranks among Germany's top ten universities in extramural funding per professor--an exceptional ratio for an institution of its size.
"Strong research partnerships are built on complementary strengths and shared intellectual ambition. What draws Dartmouth to TUBAF is precisely that combination," Schnell says.
"When we met in Freiberg, I couldn't help noting that our two institutions are siblings separated by the big pond--founded within years of each other, shaped by very different paths, and now finding that our strengths fit together across AI, climate science, materials, and the energy transition. I look forward to seeing what our faculty and students build together," Schnell says.
"We are very pleased to have Provost Santiago Schnell and the delegation from Dartmouth visit us at Freiberg," says Emes, TUBAF's rector. "Dartmouth and TUBAF already have various research collaborations in the fields of materials science, geosciences, and mine rescue medicine. I am convinced that researchers and students at both universities, as well as society, will benefit from the closer collaboration."
The institutions identified core areas of research alignment: energy transition and raw materials; materials science and advanced manufacturing; AI, data science, and computational modeling; and energy policy and markets. Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering and Tuck School of Business are among the identified initial collaborators, with the expectation that collaborations will expand across Dartmouth's School of Arts and Sciences over time.
"What makes this partnership compelling is how naturally the two institutions complement one another," says Geoffrey G. Parker, faculty director for the Irving Institute, who worked to build the partnership.
"Together, we span the full energy transition value chain--from resources and materials to technology, markets, and policy," says Parker, who, while at TUBAF for the MOU signing, gave a guest lecture related to his work on AI-assisted programming and "tech debt," which is the buildup of bad AI-generated code that makes large systems harder and more expensive to maintain and fix.
Yan Li, an assistant professor of engineering who visited TUBAF for the signing, is among the Dartmouth faculty planning a collaborative research project under the new partnership, with her focus being on sustainable energy materials.
"Dartmouth's AI-driven approach to designing advanced energy materials pairs perfectly with TUBAF's strengths in manufacturing, testing, and analysis," Li says. "Together, we can speed up the development of next-generation materials for energy and engineering while fostering meaningful collaborations and exchange opportunities among students, faculty, and researchers at both institutions."
Sarah Crockett, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine, currently works with TUBAF through a seed grant from Irving to improve onsite medical care for energy-sector workers, for whom access is often limited by remote and austere work environments.
"By leveraging TUBAF's expertise in mining systems with Dartmouth Health's strengths in providing high-quality care in low-resource settings, we aim to more clearly define the spectrum of medical events occurring in these environments," says Crockett, who also is a physician and director of the Wilderness and Austere Medicine Fellowship at Dartmouth Health. "This way we can ensure that workers at the forefront of developing clean energy are supported by modern, data-driven approaches to workplace safety and emergency response."
Near-term priorities include establishing a joint steering group, piloting seed-funded research collaborations, and supporting exchange programs for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. The partnership is designed to grow incrementally, with longer-term goals that include joint doctoral training programs, research grants, and participation in EU-funded research consortia.
"This relationship was built deliberately and carefully, starting with a virtual workshop that drew more than 20 faculty from both institutions and growing through sustained engagement on both sides of the Atlantic," says Irving Institute Research Director Angelika Hofmann.
"The MOU is an important milestone, but the more meaningful story is the research already happening. Formalizing this partnership opens real doors, among them European funding opportunities and exchanges of students and scholars," she says.
The TUBAF partnership reflects Dartmouth's broader strategy of building targeted international collaborations anchored in shared research ambition, and joins a growing portfolio of partnerships spanning Europe, Asia, and the Arctic.
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Original text here: https://irving.dartmouth.edu/news/2026/06/new-dartmouth-research-partnership-focuses-global-energy-transition
