Natural Sciences & Mathematics - College of Arts and Sciences

View a list of departments in natural sciences & mathematics.

A robotized swimmer's hand sits on a table next to a mannequin head with a swim cap.

The Science of Swimming

A new collaboration between the Departments of Computer Science, Mathematics, and Exercise and Sport Science and USA Swimming seeks to tackle fundamental questions on swimmer performance and leverage those answers in time for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Ria Patel holds her laptop, which shows an MRI scan of a brain. In the background of her research space are coloring book pages created by children who are participants in her research.

UNC junior researches childhood food insecurity’s effects on structural brain development

With a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Ria Patel is analyzing data and MRI scans to explore possible anatomical changes in adolescents’ brains — and the behavioral changes that could follow.

Senior Rachel Geyer in a white lab coat is working in a lab in Murray Hall.

Student’s research to help endangered corals

Through a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Rachel Geyer is learning how corals survive environmental stress.

Alexander Smith looks at his phone as he inputs data for his research project. He is outside on UNC's campus, surrounded by green trees and bushes.

UNC senior researches cicadas’ impact on food web dynamics

Alexander Smith used his Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship to explore how the bugs’ cyclical emergence changed some animals’ feeding habits around the Triangle.

Patricia Gensel sits at a desk in front of a flat rock -- a giant fossil containing an ancient plant.

Adventures in Ancient Plants

Patricia Gensel has spent her career studying 400-million-year-old plants at Carolina and across the globe.

Kohen wears a white coat and safety goggles and works at a station in a lab at UNC.

Fun experiments in a friend’s garage fueled this Tar Heel’s passion for engineering

Recent graduate Kohen Goble balanced a major in chemistry, a minor in applied sciences and engineering and two undergraduate research assistant positions while at Carolina.

A woman holds a white VR headset up to her eyes

Virtual rehabilitation

Fear of reinjury can greatly increase an athlete’s chances of getting hurt again – but VR techniques developed by Shelby Baez can get them back in the game.