From the smallest building blocks of matter to the vast reaches of the universe, researchers at the LSU College of Science are exploring fundamental questions and pursuing discoveries that shape our understanding of the world.
Across five academic departments and the Museum of Natural Science, our faculty and students advance research in the biological, chemical, physical, mathematical, and Earth sciences. By bringing together expertise across disciplines, departments, and institutions, we foster collaboration, accelerate scientific discovery, and tackle complex challenges that extend beyond traditional scientific boundaries.
NSF CAREER Awards to Date
2026 Sponsored Research Expenditures
AAAS Fellows to Date
The $148 million facility unites researchers across five disciplines, with advanced laboratories for trace metals and isotope analysis, data visualization, and interdisciplinary research. It also houses the LSU Theoretical Institute, supporting mathematics, theoretical sciences, and emerging fields such as quantum information theory.
The $148 million facility unites researchers across five disciplines, with advanced laboratories for trace metals and isotope analysis, data visualization, and interdisciplinary research. It also houses the LSU Theoretical Institute, supporting mathematics, theoretical sciences, and emerging fields such as quantum information theory.
The $148 million facility unites researchers across five disciplines, with advanced laboratories for trace metals and isotope analysis, data visualization, and interdisciplinary research. It also houses the LSU Theoretical Institute, supporting mathematics, theoretical sciences, and emerging fields such as quantum information theory.
Home to nearly 3 million specimens, the LSU Museum of Natural Science houses one of the nation's leading natural history research collections. Its holdings include the world's third-largest university-based bird collection and the world's largest collection of frozen genetic resources. Through field expeditions around the world and specimen-based research, museum scientists advance our understanding of biodiversity, evolution, and conservation, supported by $2.7 million in NSF grants.
The NSF Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detects ripples in spacetime from colliding black holes and neutron stars. With one of its two U.S. detectors in Livingston, Louisiana, LIGO connects LSU researchers to advances in detector development, data analysis, and our understanding of the universe.
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The LSU Theoretical Institute for Advanced Mathematics and Science (TIAMS) brings together researchers to explore fundamental questions across disciplines. Through collaboration, seminars, and research programs, the institute advances theoretical research and develops new approaches to complex scientific challenges, deepening our understanding of the natural world.
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The Louisiana Light Source provides LSU researchers with advanced synchrotron X-ray capabilities to study materials at the atomic scale. This university-wide core facility supports discoveries in critical minerals, semiconductors, and advanced materials, connecting cutting-edge research with real-world industrial applications.
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The Shirley C. Tucker Herbarium at LSU houses Louisiana’s largest collection of preserved plants and fungi, with more than 370,000 specimens. This research resource documents biodiversity across the Gulf South and beyond, supporting studies in plant taxonomy, evolution, ecology, and conservation.
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LSU's Department of Physics & Astronomy offers a broad network of specialized laboratories, research centers, and scientific resources. Supporting everything from gravitational-wave detection to advanced materials research, these facilities equip researchers and students with the tools to explore fundamental questions and push the boundaries of discovery.
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From molecular analysis to advanced materials characterization, LSU's Department of Chemistry provides access to specialized laboratories and state-of-the-art instrumentation. These resources support research across chemical disciplines, enabling precise measurements, innovative experiments, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
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Research in LSU's Department of Biological Sciences extends from the molecular scale to entire ecosystems. Specialized laboratories, advanced imaging and genomic technologies, and field research resources help scientists investigate living systems, understand biodiversity, and uncover the mechanisms that shape life.
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LSU’s Office of Research & Economic Development supports research centers, institutes, and core facilities across the university. Spanning microscopy, computational science, coastal research, energy, and materials characterization, these resources provide specialized expertise and technology to advance discovery, support collaboration, and address real-world challenges.
WebsiteThe NSF Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detects ripples in spacetime from colliding black holes and neutron stars. With one of its two U.S. detectors in Livingston, Louisiana, LIGO connects LSU researchers to advances in detector development, data analysis, and our understanding of the universe.
WebsiteThe LSU Theoretical Institute for Advanced Mathematics and Science (TIAMS) brings together researchers to explore fundamental questions across disciplines. Through collaboration, seminars, and research programs, the institute advances theoretical research and develops new approaches to complex scientific challenges, deepening our understanding of the natural world.
WebsiteThe Louisiana Light Source provides LSU researchers with advanced synchrotron X-ray capabilities to study materials at the atomic scale. This university-wide core facility supports discoveries in critical minerals, semiconductors, and advanced materials, connecting cutting-edge research with real-world industrial applications.
WebsiteThe Shirley C. Tucker Herbarium at LSU houses Louisiana’s largest collection of preserved plants and fungi, with more than 370,000 specimens. This research resource documents biodiversity across the Gulf South and beyond, supporting studies in plant taxonomy, evolution, ecology, and conservation.
WebsiteLSU's Department of Physics & Astronomy offers a broad network of specialized laboratories, research centers, and scientific resources. Supporting everything from gravitational-wave detection to advanced materials research, these facilities equip researchers and students with the tools to explore fundamental questions and push the boundaries of discovery.
WebsiteFrom molecular analysis to advanced materials characterization, LSU's Department of Chemistry provides access to specialized laboratories and state-of-the-art instrumentation. These resources support research across chemical disciplines, enabling precise measurements, innovative experiments, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
WebsiteResearch in LSU's Department of Biological Sciences extends from the molecular scale to entire ecosystems. Specialized laboratories, advanced imaging and genomic technologies, and field research resources help scientists investigate living systems, understand biodiversity, and uncover the mechanisms that shape life.
WebsiteLSU’s Office of Research & Economic Development supports research centers, institutes, and core facilities across the university. Spanning microscopy, computational science, coastal research, energy, and materials characterization, these resources provide specialized expertise and technology to advance discovery, support collaboration, and address real-world challenges.
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LSU physicists are helping build the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), a major international experiment designed to investigate the fundamental properties of neutrinos and why the universe contains more matter than antimatter. LSU Professor Thomas Kutter, who helped lead early ProtoDUNE efforts at CERN, and other LSU researchers are developing and testing detector components, electronics, and software for the experiment. With construction of massive underground detector structures underway in South Dakota, DUNE is moving closer to exploring some of physics' biggest unanswered questions.
Led by LSU Boyd Professor Gabriela González, a new $4 million, two-year National Science Foundation grant will support the computing infrastructure behind the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). The collaborative project will improve data analysis, accelerate alerts to astronomers, and maintain the reliable computing systems essential to detecting gravitational waves from colliding black holes, neutron stars, and other cosmic events.
An LSU-led, $1.31 million NSF-funded project will investigate how prescribed fires affect soil bacteria and fungi in longleaf pine forests across the southeastern United States. Led by biologist Gaurav Kandlikar, the five-year study will establish a regional research network to better understand how fire shapes soil microbial communities and forest ecosystems.
LSU biologist Igor Schneider is investigating the molecular signals that tell cells to regenerate rather than simply heal after injury. Supported by a $1.875 million NIH MIRA (R35), his lab will compare regeneration across axolotls, African lungfish, Senegal bichir, and lizards to identify signaling pathways shared across regenerative species. Using spatial transcriptomics, single-nucleus RNA sequencing, and CRISPR, the team aims to uncover a conserved “pro-regenerative signaling toolkit.”
LSU physicist Constantin Schrade and collaborator Mathias S. Scheurer have developed a new theory for controlling how electrons move through altermagnets, an emerging class of magnetic materials. Their work shows that changing the material’s microscopic magnetic patterns could steer electrons in different directions depending on their spin. The findings give scientists new predictions to test and could eventually help researchers control how spin-based information moves through future electronic technologies.
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.
