College of Science Media Center  

Two LSU-led research teams have been selected for the U.S. Department of Energy's Genesis Mission, a national initiative using artificial intelligence to accelerate scientific discovery. Partnering with Oak Ridge and Brookhaven national laboratories, LSU researchers will develop AI tools to advance nuclear physics and improve particle accelerator performance, including at Louisiana Light Source, strengthening U.S. research infrastructure, energy innovation, and national security.

LSU physicists have developed the first room-temperature quantum material capable of distinguishing and transporting different quantum states of light. Published in Nature, the breakthrough establishes a blueprint for engineering future quantum materials that could advance quantum computing, secure communications, sensing technologies, and renewable energy.

A newly released image from ESA's Euclid mission provides the most detailed visible-light view of the Milky Way's center ever captured. LSU researchers Matthew Penny and Himanshu Verma are helping use the data to support NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, improving astronomers' ability to detect, confirm, and measure the masses of exoplanets through gravitational microlensing.

Researchers from Louisiana State University contributed to a NASA-led discovery of gamma rays from a rare superluminous supernova detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The finding provides some of the strongest evidence yet that highly magnetized neutron stars, known as magnetars, can power some of the brightest stellar explosions in the universe and opens a new window into studying how these extreme cosmic events evolve.

LSU researcher Laura Lagomarsino will study how tropical flowers evolve with support from a Fulbright U.S. Scholar award. Focusing on wild coffee plants in Colombia, her research explores how shifts in pollinators and environmental conditions drive repeated transitions from small, white flowers to bright, showy blooms across multiple species.

Pramod Achar, Shirley Blue Barton Professor of Mathematics at LSU, has been selected as an invited speaker at the 2026 International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM). His work in geometric representation theory connects algebra and geometry to address long-standing challenges in mathematics, contributing to major advances in the field and reinforcing LSU’s growing reputation for impactful mathematical research.

LSU researchers have created a cross-species single-cell atlas of plant roots, offering a new look at how plants respond and adapt to salt stress. By analyzing more than 200,000 individual root cells across five species, the team found that different cell types play distinct roles in stress response and that salt-tolerant plants have evolved multiple strategies for surviving saline environments. Published in Nature Communications, the study provides new insights into plant resilience that could help guide future efforts to develop crops better suited for increasingly stressful growing conditions.

LSU physicist Justin Wilson and collaborators have developed a new framework for controlling quantum chaos, adapting techniques originally designed for classical chaotic systems. The team showed that small, occasional corrections can stabilize unstable quantum states despite the constant fluctuations imposed by the uncertainty principle. Their work also revealed a sharp transition between controllable and uncontrollable behavior, uncovering universal rules that could help scientists protect and manipulate quantum information in future technologies.

LSU researchers have developed a new method for synthesizing complex inorganic materials at significantly lower temperatures using ionic liquids as a reaction medium. By reducing the need for extreme heat, the approach lowers energy demands while enabling greater precision in how atoms assemble into structured clusters. The study identifies new bismuth-based cluster forms and integrates experimental and computational analysis to better understand and predict their formation. This work establishes a new pathway for designing advanced materials with potential applications in energy, catalysis, and next-generation technologies.

Louisiana’s coastline faces well-documented threats from sea-level rise, subsidence, and land loss. A 2024 study warned that up to 75% of wetlands could drown by 2070. New research from LSU-affiliated scientists adds nuance, showing that wetland loss varies by location. While some areas are deteriorating due to erosion, others can still build elevation when sediment is available. The findings highlight the need for site-specific restoration strategies, from marsh creation to sediment diversions, tailored to local conditions and processes shaping each landscape.

LSU chemist Dr. Fatima Rivas is investigating an oxidized cholesterol molecule that may offer a new strategy for targeting colorectal cancer. Inspired by natural compounds found in mushrooms, the molecule acts like a molecular “Trojan horse,” entering cancer cells through cholesterol pathways and disrupting critical cellular processes. In laboratory studies, the compound slowed tumor cell growth and triggered programmed cell death while showing selectivity for cancer cells over healthy tissue. Supported by pilot funding from the Louisiana Cancer Research Center, the early-stage research aims to uncover how the molecule works and whether it could lead to new therapeutic approaches.

Metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes are increasingly linked to shifts in the gut microbiome, but scientists still don't fully understand how combinations of microbes influence the body's endocrine system. Supported by a five-year NIH R35 award, LSU biological scientist Fan Zhang studies how defined microbial communities work together to regulate insulin signaling along the gut-brain axis. Using the microscopic worm C. elegans as a controlled model, his lab identifies microbial metabolites that activate endocrine pathways, aiming to clarify how microbiome composition and hormone signaling interact to shape metabolic health.

As NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope prepares for launch Aug. 30, LSU scientists are ready to turn years of preparation into discovery. LSU astronomer Matthew Penny helped shape Roman’s science goals and a major survey that will search for new worlds near the center of the Milky Way. With four LSU-led projects receiving about $900,000 in funding, researchers will use Roman to study planets, stars, black holes and neutron stars—while connecting the mission to LSU’s astronomical legacy and training the next generation of researchers.

LSU herpetologist Chris Austin and collaborators have identified a new snake species from New Guinea, Lielaphis slashi, named for Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash. Austin first encountered the nonvenomous groundsnake during a 2006 expedition, but it took nearly two decades of genetic and physical analysis to confirm it as a species new to science. The discovery adds to Austin’s more than three decades of fieldwork documenting New Guinea’s biodiversity and his career total of 53 newly described species.

Scientists have found the strongest evidence yet for vacuum birefringence, a key prediction of quantum electrodynamics (QED), using NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) to study the magnetar 1E 1547.0−5408. The research, published in Nature, shows that the magnetar's powerful magnetic field changes how light travels through the vacuum of space. The discovery demonstrates how extreme cosmic environments can serve as natural laboratories for testing the fundamental laws of physics.