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Sharks of North Carolina
The UNC Institute of Marine Sciences has studied sharks in North Carolina waters since 1971, making it the longest-running shark research program in the nation. 
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Welcome
A message from the Vice Chancellor
As my time as vice chancellor draws to a close, I want to take the opportunity to thank you again for an incredible six years. We've broken into the top-10 ranks of all U.S. research universities, and we've seen sustained growth in both research funding and expenditures. NSF CAREER winners are at an all-time high, and the centers and institutes continue to receive recognition for their efforts. Three have celebrated their 50th anniversaries this past year: the Carolina Population Center, the FPG Child Development Institute, and the Highway Safety Research Center. There is so much of which to be proud.
All of these successes are made possible by world-class research, talented faculty and staff, and devoted research administrators. Research excels at this university because of Carolina's unique collaborative culture and partnerships that develop here. We work together to solve problems, whether to make the world a better place through our research and scholarship, or to figure out how to make things work within PeopleSoft! Over the past six years, there have been many improvements in our operations, and we have continued to build the research division through excellent hires. I have great respect fo the people who are here, and look forward to continuing to work with many of you in the future.
I also appreciate the time each office, center, and institute has devoted to the transition process. You've gone a long way in welcoming our next vice chancellor, Terry Magnuson, and ensuring that he is well-versed in our operations. I can tell you from experience, the organization will be better for it. As a researcher, I look forward to seeing what develops under Terry's leadership. He knows, as I want all of you to know, that if I can help in any way, please ask.
It has truly been my honor.
With all best wishes,
Barbara Entwisle
Vice Chancellor for Research
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News & Updates
From around UNC Research
Tonya Watkins named director for financial services
Tonya Watkins assumed the role of UNC Research's director for financial services on June 1. She began her career in research administration at UNC as a student research assistant and, after graduating in 2002 with a B.A. in Psychology, accrued 14 years of progressive responsibility working in the School of Medicine, Cecil G. Sheps Center, and Injury Prevention Research Center. She will lead the planning of shared financial and research administration services for the research division as a whole, and oversee the provision of these services to OVCR administrative offices, centers, and institutes. Watkins will also represent UNC Research on campus finance committees, and serve as the lead financial officer for the division. |
OFA's Kelly Dockham named interim director of public affairs
Kelly Dockham, senior coordinator of federal affairs within the Office of Federal Affairs, has agreed to step in as UNC-Chapel Hill's interim director of public affairs through the duration of the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) short session. Jennifer Willis, who joined the School of Government as assistant dean for development earlier this year, will continue to monitor the NCGA short session and advise Dockham. The department hopes to have a new director of public affairs in place by Fall 2016. |
Funding opportunities with the TraCS Pilot Program
The North Carolina Translational & Clinical Sciences Institute (TraCS) provides a variety of funding opportunities to facilitate the transfer of research findings to clinical practice through its pilot program. The institute has recently extended its deadline to June 21 for its TraCS $5,000 to $50,000 grants; Drugs, Devices, and Diagnostics Development (4D) Grants; Improving Human Health Awards; and the $5,000 to $50,000 Science of Translational Science (SOTS) awards. |
RENCI's South Big Data Regional Innovation Hub links students with tech startups
The Renaissance Computing Institute's (RENCI) South Big Data Regional Innovation Hub (South BD Hub) will host graduate students from six universities in the southern U.S. this summer as part of its Southern Startup Internship Program in Data Science (DataStart). Participating host companies will receive $15,000 to pay a full-time summer intern, who will address a wide range of data-related business problems.
The South BD Hub is one of four Big Data Hubs funded by the National Science Foundation. It is supported by a grant from the Computing Community Consortium, which enables innovative, high-impact research in the national computing community. |
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Inside Our Centers & Institutes
Five questions with the Coastal Resilience Center
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The Coastal Resilience Center (CRC) seeks to address the unique hazards coastal communities face. This includes developing prediction methods and models that can give people in these communities enough warning in the event of a coastal storm. Since hurricane season began June 1, we connected with Communications Coordinator Josh Kastrinsky, who answered a few questions about what the center has done and where it is going.
Tell me a little about the history of the CRC.
Our UNC department name is the Center for the Study of Natural Hazards Resilience. Beginning in 2015, the Coastal Resilience Center is a five-year project funded by the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Science & Technology Directorate. Our staff and several researchers were part of a previous center, the Coastal Hazards Center (CHC), which was also funded by DHS from 2008 to 2015. Much of our work is an expansion of what the CHC did.
What fields do your faculty specialize in?
We have researchers based in 12 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, including several in North Carolina. Our 22 projects focus on four main themes: coastal infrastructure resilience (the impacts to physical elements of coastal regions); building resilient communities (social science and city and regional planning impacts of disasters); disaster dynamics (storm modeling); and education and workforce development (academic and training programs for future practitioners and researchers).
How has the CRC benefited the state of North Carolina?
We have multiple projects with PIs or co-PIs in North Carolina, but much of our work can impact the state and can apply to other coastal states. Our North Carolina-based projects include: a scaled-down version of our ADCIRC modeling software; a certificate course in "Natural Hazards Resilience" available to students at several Triangle universities; and a video and training guide, "The Role of States in Disaster Recovery," which focuses on North Carolina recovery efforts from Hurricane Floyd as a lesson for other state governments.
What is your biggest current research project?
Many of our projects focus on improving ADCIRC, a storm surge and wave-modeling software developed at UNC by Rick Luettich, our center's principal investigator. Several researchers are working to add new inputs to the model and provide a scaled-down version that requires much less computing power to provide predictions.
What does the CRC have planned for the future?
We are in the first year of our projects, but our researchers hope to build on projects that improve the ability of communities to protect life and property in coastal regions.
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June 21 - August 24
Summer Nourishment Tours
Take a summer tour of the UNC Nutrition Research Institute (NRI) in Kannapolis, home to one of the only whole-room calorimeters in the U.S., a metabolic assessment lab, and a body composition lab. Sponsored by NRI.
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June 16
Sustainability & Recycling
Cindy Shea and Kristin Blank-White from the UNC Office of Sustainability, along with UNC Recycling Coordinator Amy Preble, will present on sustainability and recycling efforts at Carolina. Sponsored by Cecil G. Sheps Center.
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June 20 - 24
Data Matters Short Course Series
A week-long series of one- and two-day courses aimed at professionals in business, research, and government. Sponsored by RENCI, The Odum Institute, and The National Consortium for Data Science.
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June 20 & 22
Mental Health First Aid
A public education program that introduces participants to the risk factors and warning signs of mental health and addiction problems. Sponsored by Gillings School of Global Public Health & School of Social Work.
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| 13 |
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cancers pose less risk to people who exercise reguarly, according to a new study from the Gillings School of Global Public Health. |
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| 14 |
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percent decrease in overall vehicle crash rates among 16- and 17-year-olds who have a later school start time. |
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| $5,000 |
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raised in a crowdfunding campaign has a one-in-five chance of drawing more financing from outside sources. |
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