Chapel Hill, NC, August 17, 2007 – The public is invited to feed their minds—as well as their stomachs—at the Renaissance Computing Institute’s Renaissance Bistros. RENCI has scheduled two bistros, informal informational sessions to discuss RENCI focus areas, in September, which will focus on disaster research, including collaborations with the state of North Carolina on hurricane and storm surge prediction and disaster planning and mitigation. Both bistros are free and open to the public.

“North Carolina is third to Florida and Texas in the number of hurricanes that have had made landfall over the last 80 years,” said Jessica Proud, RENCI meteorologist and speaker for the Bistro sessions. “The Renaissance Bistros will discuss the basics of hurricanes, why they form, their potential dangers, and RENCI’s work to help the state deal with them effectively”

The Renaissance Bistro sessions are scheduled for:

• Noon to 1 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 12. The session will be held in room 527 of the University of North Carolina’s Health Sciences Library, 301 S. Columbia St., Chapel Hill. RSVP by Sept. 7 to jshelton@renci.org. This lunchtime session will include free refreshments and lunch on a first-come, first-served basis.

• 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 27. This session will be held in room 524 at RENCI’s Europa Center headquarters, 100 Europa Drive, Chapel Hill. RSVP by Sept. 24 to jshelton@renci.org. Refreshments will be served.

Other topics to be covered in the bistros include the National Hurricane Center’s role in warning the public of a tropical threat. Attendees will be introduced to NC-FIRST, RENCI’s new program designed to help emergency managers decipher weather data, understand weather threats and choose actions that minimize threats to lives and property caused by extreme weather.