Uma Shankar and Alexis Zubrow know all too well that what you breathe can be hazardous to your health. The two are research associates at the Institute for the Environment at UNC Chapel Hill who study atmospheric pollutants such as particulate matter and ozone and how technology tools can be used to help decision makers understand their properties and make informed decisions related to human health and environmental quality. With help from RENCI, they are now able to “see” microscopic pollutant particles (particulate matter, or PM) and examine how PM populations are distributed in size and how their physical characteristics change over time. Read more
IHSS funding to help RENCI evaluate, improve biometric recognition systems used by Department of Homeland Security
Concept image of possible future biometric identification system.
CHAPEL HILL, NC, May 18, 2010—RENCI experts in informatics and computational performance will work with Cambridge Intelligent Systems (CIS), a Raleigh-based technology company that specializes in intelligent image analysis technologies, to improve biometric systems used to track and identify suspected terrorists as they enter and leave the U.S. Read more
Symposium brings global computational wind engineering community to Chapel Hill
CHAPEL HILL, May 19, 2010–The Fifth International Symposium on Computational Wind Engineering ( CWE2010) will bring more than 300 experts from over 30 countries to Chapel Hill to discuss computational wind engineering issues that impact homeland security, sustainable energy, building design, large bridge design, urban design, mitigation of severe storms, and a host of other issues. Read more
RENCI to host computational science summer courses
Note: Enrollement for the Many-core Processors course is now closed.
CHAPEL HILL, NC—Graduate students, post-docs and faculty and industry professionals can participate in summer programs offered by the Virtual School of Computational Science and Engineering (VSCSE) free of charge at RENCI (the Renaissance Computing Institute), 100 Europa Dr., Chapel Hill. Read more
Evidence-based medicine
Your medical history—and the histories of patients with similar conditions—can help you.
That’s the foundation of a RENCI project to build an easy-to-use data analysis and visual dashboard to help doctors quickly determine the best treatment options for their patients. Read more
Launch Pad participants rise to the challenge
It didn’t take long for Blinkcoupons.com, one of the new ventures that are part of RENCI’s 2010 Carolina Launch Pad program, to get noticed. Read more
RENCI chief scientist wins DHS award
Rick Luettich’s ADCIRC model showing storm surge on the North Carolina coast.
Rick Luettich, RENCI chief scientist for coastal studies and director of the Center of Excellence for Natural Disasters, Coastal Infrastructure and Emergency Management at UNC Chapel Hill received the 2010 Science and Technology Impact Award from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Tagged ADCIRC, DHS, Rick Luettich, storm surge
RENCI and Duke demonstrate network futures at GEC7 conference
A screen shot of GENI’s Collaborative Interactive Infrastructure (GCii) using Open Cobalt interface
Research teams from across the U.S. convened at Duke University March 16 – 18 for the Seventh GENI Engineering Conference (GEC7), organized by the GENI Project Office (GPO) and hosted by Duke and RENCI. Ilya Baldin, RENCI’s director of network research and infrastructure, and Jeff Chase, a professor of computer science at Duke, co-chaired the conference.
Tagged BEN, GCii, GENI, GENI Engineering Conference (GEC7), Open Cobalt, OpenFlow, ORCA
New decision support tool to help Asheville with downtown redevelopment
3D model looking south down Asheville’s Haywood Street with the Basilica of St. Lawrence (green domed roof) in the foreground.
As the city of Asheville considers how to redevelop sites in its busy and historic downtown, researchers at RENCI at UNC Asheville are assisting them with a tool that models design alternatives in an interactive, three-dimensional environment.
Tagged RENCI at UNC Asheville, The Elumenati
Home-grown: a recipe for economic and physical health?
No store-bought tomatoes can compare with sweet, juicy, still-warm-from-the-sun heirloom varieties found at midsummer farmers’ markets.
Foodie pleasures aside, can consuming locally grown fruits and vegetables and locally raised meat lead to better health and help to combat obesity? Does buying food grown neaby help the local economy by keeping family farms viable as North Carolina transitions away tobacco farming? Does ‘buy local’ equate with ‘go green’ because fewer fossil fuels and pesticides are needed to move food from the fields to the dinner table? Read more
