NSF highlights UC's promising stress research

The National Science Foundation's Science360 highlighted groundbreaking research by the University of Cincinnati that could lead to simple at-home tests to measure your stress level.

UC engineering professor Andrew Steckl has come up with a simple test that uses ultraviolet light to identify stress hormones.

Stress is a contributing factor for a number of health conditions, from heart disease to diabetes. Understanding what's going on in your body could help patients, especially those with chronic conditions, know when to seek medical attention.

"“I wanted something that’s simple and easy to interpret,” said Steckl, an Ohio Eminent Scholar and professor of electrical engineering in UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science.

Featured image at top: UC physics research assistant Shima Dalirirad holds up a test strip in UC professor Andrew Steckl's Nanoelectronics Laboratory. Photos/Andrew Higley/UC Creative Services

Related Stories

1

Computer science student's color blindness inspires outfit matching app

May 14, 2026

Eric Langhorne, a computer science undergraduate student at the University of Cincinnati, has developed a smartphone application that tells users whether or not their clothes are a match. Langhorne has color blindness, so this is a question he often asks himself and was a challenge he wanted to address. This project was done through the Experiential Explorations Program (EEP).