Research & Innovation

Emerson Foriest is a Fulbright semifinalist. If she wins, she’ll research the English Romantic movement in the same region where it happened.

ETSU professor earned a national award for peer review, recognizing her role in strengthening research across the field of education.

ETSU students have earned the 2026 Goldwater Scholarship, one of the nation’s most prestigious honors.

On a recent trip, ETSU Lecturer Steven Efremov was struck with inspiration – and it could land him a highly prestigious award.

ETSU is one of three universities nationwide selected to develop senior nutrition programs.

ETSU has named a new director of commercialization to expand research translation into startups, technologies and industry partnerships.

New exhibits at ETSU’s Archives of Appalachia feature powerful photography documenting the human and environmental costs of coal mining.

ETSU researchers are tracking an unusually warm weather pattern across Appalachia as drought conditions persist in parts of Tennessee.

ETSU alumnus Franklin Acosta is a Fulbright semifinalist seeking to preserve klezmer music through a new teaching document for clarinetists.

Seven of eight ETSU Fulbright applicants advanced to semifinalist status, marking first-ever institutional milestones across disciplines and destinations.

When entomology supplies became scarce, ETSU students and faculty designed and built custom tools, turning a classroom challenge into hands-on learning. 

New ETSU research shows how preschool STEM education builds transferable skills, social-emotional learning and a sense of belonging. 

ETSU historians are reshaping how Appalachia is understood, from the Civil War to industrialization, through award-winning, nationally recognized scholarship.

ETSU anthropologist Dr. Lindsey Cochran earned a national award for community-engaged archaeology, using modeling to protect coastal heritage at risk.

More than half of Tennessee is now in a drought, according to ETSU’s Climate Office.

Sidney Booher’s undergraduate research project started as a summer internship – but it wasn’t long until it became a central part of her ETSU journey.

ETSU’s 3MT competition spotlighted research from a rare young rhino fossil at the Gray Fossil Site to national health disparities, showcasing graduate scholars.

ETSU’s first-ever iGEM team presented innovative research in Paris, tackling global hidden hunger and establishing ETSU as a rising leader in synthetic biology.

The ETSU Center for Rural Health and Research is collaborating with the State to launch a new website that maps factors shaping quality of life in Tennessee.

ETSU senior Kyah Powers has been named a Rhodes Scholarship finalist, marking the university’s third consecutive year with a Rhodes finalist. 

ETSU students are representing the university at the international iGEM competition in Paris with an innovative project.

Researchers at East Tennessee State University’s Quillen College of Medicine have received more than $4.9 million in NIH funding in recent months.

Zoo Knoxville honors ETSU’s Dr. Steven Wallace, naming a red panda cub after the Gray Fossil Site paleontologist. 

ETSU’s Dr. Aaron Polichnowski received the 2025 Distinguished Faculty Award in Research for his work in the field of hypertension and chronic kidney disease.

ETSU’s Dr. Tianhu Sun received the prestigious FFAR New Innovator Award for research boosting vitamin content in seeds naturally.

ETSU and regional biotechnology industry in Appalachia leading the way for talent development and pathways to innovation in the national biotechnology sector.

ETSU’s Gray Fossil Site team discovered 5-million-year-old deer fossils – among the earliest deer family records in America.

Dr. Ashana Puri of ETSU recently earned the 2025 Innovation and Teaching Excellence Award from AACP.

Dr. Aruna Kilaru of ETSU was recently named a Fellow of the American Society of Plant Biologists (APB).

ETSU wins a 2025 CASE Circle of Excellence Award for “Bucs on Parade,” a video celebrating the Marching Bucs’ Macy’s debut and true ETSU spirit.