Research and Innovation

A sign located inside Worrilow Hall, "Feed the World, Protect the Planet."

Feed the world. Protect the planet.

 

Extraordinary challenges require extraordinary solutions. For 150 years, the daring innovations of our graduates have shaped the world we know today. Now, we carry on that daring spirit, using cutting-edge technology and scientific advances to envision a better tomorrow.

Explore the exciting research we’re leading and the entrepreneurial ecosystem we’re building.

Explore Current Research

University of Delaware tick research aims to understand host specificity of Lyme disease: youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=com.synechron.udel.models.functions.SubstrAfter

UD Research Initiatives

In an age of technology and innovation, the future has never looked more exciting.

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Research News
  • Phosphorus detective

    July 16, 2026 | Written by Katie Peikes | Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson and courtesy of Deb Jaisi
    Phosphorus gives plants their daily nutritional needs. But whatever phosphorus a plant can’t consume creeps into waterways and speeds up algae growth that can kill fish and aquatic plants. Fascinated by these properties, University of Delaware professor of Environmental Biogeochemistry Deb Jaisi has dedicated his academic career to exploring phosphorus and its presence in the environment. His innovative research has unlocked new ways to pinpoint where the phosphorus causing environmental damage is coming from.
  • Early Bloomer

    March 10, 2026 | Written by Molly Schafer | Photos by Katie Young and Molly Schafer and courtesy of Joseph Romano
    Honors plant science major Joseph Romano takes full advantage of UD’s undergraduate research opportunities. Romano studies the interaction between the fungus-like pathogen Pythium and maize plants with Qi Mu, assistant professor of molecular plant breeding and genomics. Romano joined Mu's lab during his first semester at UD.
  • Protecting turfgrass from fungal foes

    February 11, 2026 | Written by Karen B. Roberts | Photos by Evan Krape and courtesy of Charanpreet Kaur/the Bais lab | Photo illustration by Jeffrey C. Chase
    University of Delaware researchers report new understandings in how microbes protect plants. In new research in the journal Plant Stress, UD Plant Biology Professor Harsh Bais on colleagues report the effect of a University of Delaware-developed beneficial bacterium on dollar spot suggests implications for the manufacturing of biological treatments for the fungal disease.
  • Showcasing research across the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the 2025 student symposium

    December 03, 2025 | Written by Katie Peikes | Photos by Katie Young
    The University of Delaware College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fall 2025 Student Research Symposium, in its ninth year, showcased 50 research projects, covering a variety of interests and topics across the college. The annual symposium brings faculty, students and staff together to celebrate the diverse research interests of the college.

Faculty expert spotlights

Behnam Abasht

Prof. Abasht investigates wooden breast, a novel muscle disorder of unknown etiology in commercial broiler chickens.
Michael Crossley

Prof. Crossley seeks to develop and refine innovative pest management strategies that benefit growers, the environment and society.