Research

When people consider biodiversity, they often think of far-flung Amazon rainforests or vibrant coral reefs in tropical seas. While biodiversity ranks high on the global scale, it also is vital to the health of humans and the environment at the local level, something that UNC Charlotte doctoral student Angelique Hjarding is addressing through her research and creation of the Butterfly Highway project.

Chair of the Africana Studies Department Akin Ogundiran has been named a National Humanities Center Fellow for the upcoming academic year. He will join 36 other distinguished scholars from 32 institutions across the United States and eight foreign countries working on a wide array of projects as part of this competitive, prestigious fellowship program.

Four UNC Charlotte Lee College of Engineering students recently won a 3D printing design competition sponsored by the U.S. Army Research Office. They were part of a team that also included one other college student and an active duty Army representative

A nationally recognized program to house Charlotte’s chronically homeless continues to help people and save money as it enters its fourth year, according to a UNC Charlotte report.

The 85-unit apartment complex at Moore Place provides housing for individuals who have extensive histories of homelessness and at least one disabling condition.

Engineer Bruce LaMattina has joined the Charlotte Research Institute as director of research. Prior to the University, he was director of federal research relations development at Rutgers University.

LaMattina earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at North Carolina State University, and he completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering at the University of Delaware. 

Chris Vermillion, an assistant professor in the William States Lee College of Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science, has won a $500,000 National Science Foundation CAREER award to further his research in creating low-cost methodologies that optimize the combined physical system and controller for high-altitude wind energy systems.

In the genetic disorder cystic fibrosis (CF), the most severe symptoms are recurring episodes of lung inflammation and bacterial infection (known as “exacerbations”) that happen from one to three times a year and cause ever-increasing amounts of lung damage through the course of a CF patient’s life. While it is well understood that CF lung problems are ultimately due to bacterial infections encouraged by a CF patient’s abnormally thick mucus, medical science has been unable to define specific causes that trigger the periodic flare-ups.

UNC Charlotte has received a $2.1 million grant from the UNC General Administration to support research in data science and business analytics (Big Data). The funding, to be distributed across three years, is part of a continuing $3 million appropriation from the General Assembly in 2014 to support areas of “game-changing research” identified in the Board of Governor’s strategic plan for the University system.

The Charlotte Venture Challenge, the Southeast’s premiere business innovation competition, will take place in partnership with the Southeast Venture Conference, which returns to Charlotte Tuesday, March 31, through Thursday, April 2.

Influenza has a long history of being one of the most deadly diseases to afflict humanity, but what exactly makes it so dangerous?