Recent LSU News
LSU News chronicles the university's outstanding academic accomplishments, innovative research, and world-changing partnerships and achievements. Find more stories of high-performing students, faculty, staff, researchers, and alumni at our university blog.
![James Olson](https://www.lsu.edu/research-magazine/2022-23/images/mag-olson-james.jpg)
Q&A with LSU Stephenson Security Programs Institute Director James Olson
James Olson, the new executive director of the LSU Stephenson Security Programs Institute, served in the U.S. Navy for 25 years as a nuclear submarine officer, flight meteorologist, geospatial and satellite resources collection manager, and science and technology program manager.
![Prasanta Subudhi](https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/mediaimages/2023/02/agcenter_subudhi.jpg)
LSU AgCenter Awarded $10M USDA Grant for Louisiana Rice Industry Sustainability
An LSU AgCenter scientist has been awarded a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture to improve sustainability and profitability of rice farming through research innovations that advance climate-resilient crops.
![LSU ME Professor Menon Receives NSF CAREER Award](https://www.lsu.edu/eng/images/NewsArticles/shyamcareer3web.jpg)
LSU ME Professor Menon Receives NSF CAREER Award
LSU Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Shyam Menon was recently awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER Award for his work on understanding how solid particles in gas flows interact with material surfaces. A better understanding of this interaction could impact safety and standards for components commonly used in aerospace and power generation.
![Fatima Rivas in lab with student](https://www.lsu.edu/research-magazine/2022-23/images/lsu9239-fatima-students-crop.jpg)
The Life of Science: Fatima Rivas Believes She Was Born a Chemist
Fatima Rivas is a natural products chemist. She studies the ethno-pharmacological properties of compounds derived from nature. She developed her interest in chemistry at a young age, and now, as an LSU assistant professor, she shares her passion with her students.
![LSU Health New Orleans burn surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Carter with Ukrainian and New Orleans colleagues](https://www.lsu.edu/working-for-louisiana/images/wfl_1122_burn_surgeons.jpg)
LSU Health New Orleans Leads Education to Treat Burn and Blast Injuries
Burn surgeons at LSU Health New Orleans are helping first responders in military war zones and civilian life learn how to treat burn and blast injuries with $4.6 million in support from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command.
![Poet Laureate Mona Lisa Saloy](https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/mediaimages/2023/02/mona-lisa-saloy.jpeg)
LSU's Delta Mouth Reading Series Presents Two Celebrated Louisiana Authors
LSU Creative Writing's Delta Mouth Reading Series will bring to campus two acclaimed authors with deep roots in Louisiana - Mona Lisa Saloy, the current Poet Laureate of Louisiana, and the novelist and poet Olivia Clare Friedman on Feb. 10
![Service Employee Work Performance Can Create Stronger Customer Relationships](/_resources_fierce/img/lsu-memorial-tower-morning.jpg)
Service Employee Work Performance Can Create Stronger Customer Relationships
A new interdisciplinary study led by an LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business researcher uses meta-analysis to bridge employee and customer engagement through service employee work performance.
![LSU PETE Professor Proposes Plan for Orphan Oil Wells](https://www.lsu.edu/eng/images/NewsArticles/perttdrraoweb.jpg)
LSU PETE Professor Proposes Plan for Orphan Oil Wells
Oil drilling has had its fair share of controversy as of late, leaving engineers trying to determine how to keep fossil fuels in play while considering environmentally-friendly solutions. LSU Craft & Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering Professor Dandina Rao has a plan that will not only create less carbon dioxide during oil production but will also make use of the millions of orphan wells that are scattered throughout the United States.
![LIDAR of a Mangrove Trunk](https://www.lsu.edu/cce/images/mangrove_lidar.jpg)
Letting Nature Lead the Fight - US Army Corps of Engineers Reinvests in LSU to Protect Military Infrastructure Using Nature-Based Designs
LSU researchers and the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center are using the Louisiana coastline as a living laboratory as they team up to develop a set of engineering and design strategies to protect the Army's infrastructure and people.
![LSU Science Cafe full house](https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/mediaimages/2023/01/ored_sciencecafe_fullhouse.jpg)
LSU Science Café Celebrates 10 Years
The free, monthly public talk featuring LSU professors and their research has brought hundreds of community members together.
![LSU Awards Tom W. Dutton Scholarship to 10 Students](/_resources_fierce/img/lsu-memorial-tower-morning.jpg)
LSU Awards Tom W. Dutton Scholarship to 10 Students
LSU Campus Life awarded the 2022 Tom W. Dutton Scholarship to 10 female students who were nominated for their participation and leadership in campus and community service activities.
![Jennifer Rood and Tiffany Stewart](https://www.lsu.edu/working-for-louisiana/images/wfl_1122_pennington_rood_stewart.jpg)
LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Improves Military Performance and Resilience
For over three decades, LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center has been the leading provider of nutrition science for the U.S. Department of Defense. Now, through a new federal award of $3.6 million, researchers Tiffany Stewart and Jennifer Rood will launch four additional projects to improve the health, performance and resilience of the American solider and Louisiana guardsmen and cadets.
![Dr. Hollis O'Neal](https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/mediaimages/2023/01/faculty_oneal_hollis.jpg)
LSU Health Sciences Physician Lead Investigator on Groundbreaking Sepsis Test
Sepsis is the No. 1 cause of death in hospitals and Louisiana leads the country with the highest rate of sepsis mortality, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hollis O’Neal, MD, Critical Care Physician at LSU Health Sciences Center and Medical Director of Research at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, was the national principal investigator that led to the creation of an FDA-cleared test for sepsis.
![LSU Baton Rouge campus](https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/mediaimages/2023/01/lsu0043-campus-aerial_web.jpg)
LSU Announces Largest-ever Investment in Seed Funding for Faculty Research
The Provost's Fund for Innovation in Research makes a bold $1.1M investment in big, emerging ideas.