From the language of diplomacy to the history of environmental conservation and the fight against disease, Mississippi State’s 2025 Humanities Summer Scholars have been exploring what it means to be human across cultures and centuries. Their research will be shared Wednesday [Oct. 22] during presentations hosted by the Institute for the Humanities, part of MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Mississippi State biologist Matthew W. Brown, the university’s Donald L. Hall Professor of Biology, is part of an international research team whose groundbreaking discovery is featured today [Nov. 19] in Nature—one of the world’s most prestigious scientific journals. The published research unearths a new organism and phylum, reshaping the tree of life.

Mississippi State forensic anthropologist Jesse R. Goliath is the 2026 recipient of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Community Connections Mosaic Award, a national honor recognizing those who advance advocacy and positive change in the forensic sciences.