RENCI at UNC Asheville presented with Friends of the River Award

RENCI at UNC Asheville Director Jim Fox (right) receives the Friends of the River Award from Bob Davy of the Land-of-Sky Regional Council at the group’s annual dinner.

ASHEVILLE, NC—RENCI at UNC Asheville received the Friends of the River Award by the Land-of-Sky Regional Council at the 33rd annual Friends of the River Dinner held Sept. 29.

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East Carolina celebrates science at regional festival

RENCI at ECU Director Tom Allen, far right, helps a youngster view a hurricane track on a laptop computer as his dad looks on.

RENCI at East Carolina University was one of the organizations that planned and participated in the Eastern North Carolina Science Festival, held Friday, Sept. 24, at the East Carolina Heart Institute in Greenville.

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Mathematicians to tackle climate change issues through new NSF-funded virtual organization

Chris Jones, lead investigator of the Mathematics and Climate Change Network

CHAPEL HILL, NC, Sept. 23, 2010—A new project funded by the National Science Foundation links researchers at leading U.S. universities to study the mathematical problems related to climate change research.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill leads the Mathematics and Climate Change Network, with the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) providing logistical support and cyber tools to support the creation of a virtual organization spanning the U.S. The NSF will provide $1 million a year for five years to support the network. Read more

RENCI's UNC Charlotte partners team up to win NSF land use grant

The four organizations that comprise RENCI at UNC Charlotte have been awarded $300,000 from the National Science Foundation to study how land owners’ decision processes affect forest persistence. Read more

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RENCI issues call for NC State visualization projects

RENCI at North Carolina State University seeks NC State faculty members and researchers to participate in the center’s inaugural Program in Applied Scientific and Information Visualization.

Two researchers or research team will be selected for the one-year program and will have the opportunity to work directly with RENCI experts and use advanced visualization technologies and tools to enhance their research. Each awardee will receive a stipend to support their work of $10,000 to $12,000. Read more

Molecules to Materials

RALEIGH, NC – Take some long, skinny molecules that are bunched together like a bowl of spaghetti. Now, try spinning them into a yarn that can conduct electricity. Or perhaps weave them, along with carbon nanotubes, into a next-generation bullet-proof vest.

Sound challenging? It is—but it’s just the kind of challenge Melissa Pasquinelli likes. Read more

Image analysis project aims to classify characteristics of skin cancers

CHAPEL HILL, NC–Melanoma—the most serious form of skin cancer—varies in size, shape and severity, and although pathologists and researchers often intuitively differentiate between types of melanomas, the variations have never been formally quantified and documented. Read more

An eye on Earl

Chapel Hill, NC—As Hurricane Earl strengthened and headed toward North Carolina’s coast, RENCI researchers tracked it’s every move with a Weather Research Forecast (WRF) model that plotted the storm’s course on a grid, with each point in the grid representing a 3-kilometer-by-3-kilometer box. Read more

Hurricane Katrina five years later: A humanities focused observance

Hurricane Katrina aftermath at sunrise. Photo by Donn Young.

Title: Hurricane Katrina Fiver Years Later: A Humanities Focused Observance

Description: To observe the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina – this country’s largest natural and human-caused disaster – UNC’s Center for the Study of the American South, Center for the Study of Natural Hazards and Disasters, in partnership with the Center for Poverty, Work and Opportunity, School of Government and School of Law are coming together to explore the human impact of the storm through workshops, storytelling, photography, singing and songwriting. A series of free events from Wednesday, September 8th through Friday, September 10th will offer attendees an opportunity to understand how the storm impacted people and communities and how lives are being rebuilt and renewed. The full schedule of events is below:

Event Poster (pdf)

Start Date: 2010-09-08
End Date: 2010-09-10

Study shows nearly 570 percent increase in western NC development since 1976

Charlotte,  N.C. – From 1976 to 2006, land development in the North Carolina mountains increased 568 percent, from 34,348 acres to 229,422 acres, and is expected to increase another 63 percent by 2030 (an additional 145,374 acres), according to a study just released by researchers at the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) at UNC Charlotte. Read more

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