Recent LSU News
LSU News chronicles the university's outstanding academic accomplishments, innovative research, and world-changing partnerships and achievements. Find more stories of high-performing students, faculty, staff, researchers, and alumni at our university blog.
![Four University Laboratory School Athletes to Sign with Colleges](/_resources_fierce/img/lsu-memorial-tower-morning.jpg)
Four University Laboratory School Athletes to Sign with Colleges
Four University Laboratory School athletes will sign with colleges Tuesday, April 18, at 12:45 p.m. in the school's Pennington McKernan Gymnasium.
![Secret Service MOU story](https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/images/usss-insignia-lsu.jpg)
LSU and U.S. Secret Service Partner to Address Cyber Challenges for Louisiana, Nation
Cross-campus opportunities forge partnership to support national security, protect Louisiana's citizens and transform Tigers into the next generation of agents.
![LSU Delta Mouth Literary Festival](https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/images/deltamouthflyerpainted.jpg)
LSU's Delta Mouth Literary Festival Returns After 3-Year Hiatus
On April 21-23, Delta Mouth Literary Festival, a free, three-day event, will bring nationally acclaimed authors to Baton Rouge. Since 2009, the annual Delta Mouth Literary Festival, founded and run by graduate students in LSU's MFA Creative Writing Program, has been a flagship event for the literary arts here in Baton Rouge; however, due to the pandemic, the festival has been on a break since 2019.
![Can Shoplifting Cause Problems in Employee Retention? LSU Researcher Provides Insight for Practitioners](https://www.lsu.edu/business/images/news-images/2023-news-images/cbd_kris_lindsey_hall.jpg)
Can Shoplifting Cause Problems in Employee Retention? LSU Researcher Provides Insight for Practitioners
Recent disruptions, labor shortages, and fiscal pressures have imposed and highlighted changes in the roles and responsibilities of frontline employees (FLEs) in retail service environments. Being yelled at, accused, threatened, or having their presence ignored while customers shoplift are just some examples of customers’ deviant behaviors (CDB) that FLEs are expected to endure on a regular basis without extra compensation. As a result, frustrated FLEs now find themselves saying “not my circus, not my monkeys,” which has a tremendous impact on organizations and retailing services.
![Micromobility Research Project Brings E-scooters to LSU's Flagship Campus](/_resources_fierce/img/lsu-memorial-tower-morning.jpg)
Micromobility Research Project Brings E-scooters to LSU's Flagship Campus
LSU is partnering with Spin, a San Francisco-based company working with over 70 North American cities and campuses on micromobility solutions, to provide electric scooter transportation for students, faculty, staff and visitors on the Baton Rouge campus. The initiative is part of an LSU micromobility research project on transportation sustainability and efficiency.
![LSU Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute Announces J. Terrell Brown Venture Challenge Finalists](/_resources_fierce/img/lsu-memorial-tower-morning.jpg)
LSU Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute Announces J. Terrell Brown Venture Challenge Finalists
Three LSU student businesses have been selected to present in a live pitch competition for a share of $35,000 in the 12th annual J Terrell Brown Venture Challenge to be held on April 19 at the LSU Business Education Complex.
![WFL Dental](https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/mediaimages/2023/03/wfl_0323_dental_joiner.jpg)
Building a Pipeline for Dental Care
With $520K in state support, LSU is expanding the LSU Health New Orleans dental hygiene program to LSU Alexandria to address acute workforce needs in central Louisiana.
![Robert Twilley Named Vice President for Research and Economic Development](https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/images/roberttwilleylsu.jpg)
Robert Twilley Named Vice President for Research and Economic Development
Dr. Twilley has been serving as the Interim Vice President since October 2022, and he brings a wealth of experience from his time working both in our research office and as the Vice President for Research at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, as well as a decade as Director of Sea Grant working around Louisiana.
![Order of Thor medal](https://www.lsu.edu/blog/images/2023/cyber_baggili_thormedal.png)
Military Cyber Professionals Association to Award LSU Professor Order of Thor Medal
LSU cybersecurity professor Ibrahim “Abe” Baggili is among an elite group of individuals selected by the Military Cyber Professionals Association to receive the prestigious Order of Thor medal this year.
![LSU ME Professor Designs Non-Metal Battery To Replace Lithium Battery](https://www.lsu.edu/eng/images/NewsArticles/lithium_web.jpg)
LSU Mechanical Engineering Professor Designs Non-Metal Battery To Replace Lithium Battery
As the demand for electric vehicles, cell phones, and computers continues to grow, so does the demand for lithium used in lithium-ion batteries. While this soft, alkali metal known as “white gold” is abundant in certain countries, the mining process and safety issues are of concern to researchers. One such researcher is LSU Mechanical Engineering Associate Professor Ying Wang, who is using a Board of Regents grant to design a non-metal rechargeable battery that could one day replace lithium batteries on Earth and in space.
![Matt Lee](https://lsu.edu/mediacenter/mediaimages/2023/04/lee-matt-lsu6354.jpg)
LSU Names Matt Lee Vice President for Agriculture and Dean of the College of Agriculture
LSU has named Matt Lee as Vice President for Agriculture and Dean of the College of Agriculture. Lee has been serving as the Interim Vice President and Dean since August 2022.
![WFL Energy](https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/mediaimages/2023/03/wfl_0323_energy_rig.jpg)
Enabling Energy Development through Demonstration
Last year’s catalytic $5 million investment by the state in carbon capture and hydrogen technology research and development at LSU was at the forefront of a cascade of commitments all aimed to elevate the ongoing energy transition for Louisiana and the nation.
![Laura Choate](https://www.lsu.edu/chse/education/images/choate.jpg)
Laura Choate Named Director of the Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education
The LSU College of Human Sciences & Education named Laura Hensley Choate, currently the interim director of the LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education, as the next director of the school. Choate will begin this role on April 1.
![LSU Giving Day 2023 is March 29, Aims for 5,000 Donors by Midnight](https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/images/2023givingday.jpg)
LSU Giving Day 2023 is March 29, Aims for 5,000 Donors by Midnight
5th Annual Virtual Event is Co-hosted by Seven LSU Campuses
![Can Your Thoughts on Body Fat Predict/Impact Your Work Performance? LSU Researcher Explains](/_resources_fierce/img/lsu-memorial-tower-morning.jpg)
Can Your Thoughts on Body Fat Predict/Impact Your Work Performance? LSU Researcher Explains
In his recent article, “Do These Jeans Make Me Feel Fat? Exploring Subjective Fatness, its Workplace Outcomes, and Rethinking the Role of Subjectivity in the Stigmatization Process,” published by Personnel Psychology, Rucks Department of Management Assistant Professor Michael Johnson and co-authors draw on stigma theory, and integrate it with medical research, to explore the workplace implications of subjective fatness, or how big one feels.