NC State In the News

Grant to fund new NCSU master's degree

Triangle Business Journal, San Jose Business Journal, South Florida Business Journal

July 14 – North Carolina State University said Tuesday that it will share in a $1.1 million grant funding the creation of a trans-Atlantic master's degree program in forest resource management. Along with NCSU, the other schools participating in the two-year program are Michigan Technological University, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the University of Helsinki...."We hope graduates of this dual-degree program will have an international perspective on forest management that will allow for innovative solutions for global forestry issues," Bronson Bullock, an NCSU forestry associate professor, said in the written statement.

Robo-Bats May Be Next Generation of Remote Control Flyers

US News & World Report, News & Observer

July 8 – Tiny flying machines can be used for everything from indoor surveillance to exploring collapsed buildings, but simply making smaller versions of planes and helicopters doesn't work very well. Instead, researchers at North Carolina State University are mimicking nature's small flyers – and developing robotic bats that offer increased maneuverability and performance.

Can Gaming Slow Mental Decline in the Elderly?

Time

July 11 – If you or your parents are of a certain age, then you may understand the unique terror of suddenly drawing a blank — that unexpected moment when you can't remember the name of a lifelong friend or what you had for lunch that day. You wonder, anxiously, Have I stepped down the long, slow, inexorable road to losing my mind?

NCSU dean Arden named president of Association of American...

Bizjournals.com, Best Medical Articles blogs

July 14 – Dr. Warwick Arden, dean of North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine, has been named president of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges. The association represents more than 60 institutions in the U.S., Canada, England, Ireland, Australia and New Zeland. "This is a challenging time for our colleges as we seek to meet changing societal demands for veterinary expertise," Arden said. "Ours is an exceptionally diverse profession and the AAVMC is committed to training outstanding graduates who not only care for companion animals, horses, food animals and wildlife, but who support global public health by ensuring food safety and food security, investigating infectious diseases, advancing the frontiers of comparative medicine through leading biomedical research, and serving as stewards of our precious ecosystems."....

Small wind turbines aim for your backyard

Energy Current, charlotteobserver.com, The News & Observer

July 14 – It looks like an abstract sculpture or metallic lawn art, and its promoters say that installing several can turn an ordinary backyard into a wind garden....The state's midsection isn't windy enough to justify harnessing wind on a commercial scale. But for those who just want to supplement their power supply, one potential solution is the Windspire, with its comparatively low price tag and a design that works on office rooftops and in suburban open spaces. The mechanism can be seen on the N.C. State University campus, where one of three Windspires in the state converts wafting Carolina breezes into electrons. Executives with Blue Sun Renewable Energy in Washington, N.C., the turbine's mid-Atlantic distributors, say several more Windspires could be installed in the state in the coming months...Brian Miles, a wind energy extension specialist at the N.C. State's Solar Center, said that pending further tests, the Windspire is "not quite ready for prime time" but nevertheless looks promising. "The big thing going for this one, quite honestly, is they've been diligent about doing third-party verification," Miles said. "A lot of these products make outlandish claims, or even normal claims, that are totally unverified."...

States lure consumers with seafood branding

Times Democrat

July 15 – You've heard of Alaska King Crab and Maine Lobster. Why not Massachusetts Mackerel or maybe Cape Cod Cod? States are increasingly looking to hook consumers by branding their local seafood specialties, both to help reel in revenue and to give a boost to commercial fishermen struggling with declining stocks and tighter regulations....North Carolina has taken its local branding efforts down to a county level, said Barry Nash, a seafood technology and marketing specialist associated with North Carolina State University. The Carteret Catch program, named after the North Carolina county, educates residents both about the availability of local seafood and the fishermen who work to harvest the catch. "We are really trying to personalize the product to let people know that there are a lot of people who are making their living off commercial fishing," Nash said....