Research

The University’s Energy Production and Infrastructure Center is a partner on a $620,000 federal grant to develop a molecule inverter that mounts on solar panels.
EPIC will work with clean-energy startup SineWatts, according to an article in the Charlotte Business Journal.
SineWatts will open an office in Charlotte. It is likely to be a tenant UNC Charlotte Portal Building when the facility opens in early 2014.

The Department of Africana Studies in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences will hold its 12th annual Africana Studies Symposium in April 2014. It will examine the “widening gaps of national and global inequality through the lens of moral economy.”

Ayman Hajja, a Ph.D. student in computing and information systems in the College of Computing and Informatics, will defend “Object-driven and Temporal Action Rules Mining” at 11 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 7, in the College of Health and Human Services, Room 426. Zbigniew Ras is the dissertation advisor.

Three dance and theatre professors from London’s Kingston University will visit UNC Charlotte to collaborate on a planned student theatrical production. They will be working with Maryrica Lottman, associate professor of Spanish.
The proposed production will combine a 45-minute, English-language version of Cervantes’ “The Sultan’s Queen” with a 45-minute version of Shakespeare’s “Pericles, Prince of Tyre.”

Rachel Plotnick, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies, has received the IEEE Life Members’ Prize in Electrical History – a top national honor.

Andrea Nickel, a doctoral student in the College of Computing and Informatics, will defend “Designing Better Exergames: Application of Flow Concepts and the FITT Principle to Full Body Exertion Games and Flexible Challenge Systems” at 1:45 p.m., Monday, Oct. 28, in Woodward Hall, Room 338. Tiffany Barnes is the dissertation advisor.

Khaldoon Dhou, a doctoral student in the College of Computing and Informatics, will defend “Toward Better Understanding of Users’ Perception in Tag Clouds: Size Judgment and Comparison” at 11 a.m., Monday, Nov. 4, in the Student Union, Room 340C. Mirsad Hadzikadic is the dissertation advisor.

On Saturday, Nov. 16, undergraduate students from across North Carolina will come to UNC Charlotte to present research at a statewide symposium.
The joint State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium and N.C. Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Annual Research Conference is open to any undergraduate student currently enrolled at a community college or four-year institution in the state.

A vision for a new central park in Reid Park Neighborhood on Charlotte’s west side is moving closer to reality. It is based on work by UNC Charlotte’s Dylan McKnight, who is pursuing master’s degrees in urban design and community planning.
The Reid Park Neighborhood Association, in partnership with Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department, will seek community feedback on the vision from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 17, at Reid Park Academy, 4108 West Tyvola Road.

UrbanEden, UNC Charlotte’s entry for the 2013 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, won the People’s Choice Award at the contest finals in California.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, UrbanEden “has a variety of sustainability features, such as thermal mass, passive solar and radiant energy, as well as unique technologies that demonstrated true innovation, including radiant geopolymer concrete walls, movable photovoltaic shading and a nighttime radiation emitter.