NC State Natural Resources College to Commemorate the Centennial of the Extinction of the Passenger Pigeon

2014 Marks the Centennial of the Extinction of the Passenger Pigeon

passenger pigeon - extinctOn September 1, 1914, Martha died. Her death, at the Cincinnati Zoological Gardens, marked the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon – a species made extinct due to the actions of humans.

The College of Natural Resources invites you to join us at one of these events marking this significant moment in environmental history.

“In Memory of Martha” Sculpture Build
Help remember the Passenger Pigeon by folding origami pigeons to symbolically recreate the flocks of 100 years ago.  The origami birds will be assembled into a sculpture.
More @ foldtheflock.org

WHEN: September 2, 2014 / 11:00 – 2:00 pm
WHERE: The Brickyard, NC State Main Campus

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“Wildlife Trafficking: A Growing Global Threat to Threatened and Endangered Species” Lecture
SPEAKER: Susan Lieberman, Vice President – International Policy
Wildlife Conservation Society

Dr. Susan LiebermanWHEN: September 9, 2014 / 7:00 -8:00 pm
WHERE: Nelson Auditorium, NC State Main Campus

Dr. Susan Lieberman has worked in international biodiversity conservation, at the intersection between science and policy, for more than 25 years, and has extensive experience working on international wildlife trade. She is a member of the U.S. Presidential Advisory Council on Wildlife Trafficking, former director of the Species Programme of the WWF-International, and Chief of the Division of Scientific Authority of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

She has worked on the conservation of species of tigers, African and Asian elephants, African and Asian rhinos, giant pandas, African and Asian great apes, whales, marine turtles, and polar bears and conducted postdoctoral research on tortoises in Mexico and on prosimians.

Lieberman completed her Ph.D. at the University of Southern California where her research focused on tropical ecology, and amphibians and reptiles in Costa Rica.

 

These events are part of the NC State College of Natural Resources’ 85th Anniversary Celebration

NC State University to Host “Progress in Paper Physics Seminar 2014”

Progress in Paper 2014 Raleigh NCBy Guest Blogger, Dr. Joel Pawlak; Asst. Professor, Dept. of Forest Biomaterials

From September 8-11, 2014, the international paper physics community is coming to Raleigh and NC State University for its annual meeting. This is a group of scientists dedicated to understanding the behavior of paper from a physical standpoint.

Over the years, NC State has had a number of professors involved in this community. Perhaps some of you alumni remember taking a class from Dr. Olf, Dr. Kocurek, Dr. Ram, Dr. Rojas, or even me, Dr. Pawlak? These faculty members have all taken part in the paper physics community over the years.

This year’s meeting is part of annual gathering of this paper physics community that rotates around the world. These meetings date back to the 1960’s when the concept of describing the properties of paper from a fundamental standpoint was first explored.

Early work described the tensile strength of paper, formation of paper, bonding in paper, and the strength of single papermaking fibers. Over the years, the science has continued to advance and involves a diverse set scientific principles that describe the water resistance of paper, barrier properties of paper, and the compression strength of paper. Advanced mathematical modeling of paper, state of the art imaging and x-ray tomography are all now staples of the scientific approaches used by the community.

This year, the conference will be hosted by NC State and sponsored by Domtar and MWV.

This will be the first time NC State will host the conference and provides us an opportunity to showcase the strength of paper science and engineering program at NC State. The focus of the conference has evolved to include emerging areas of paper industry including novel products and materials from forest products.

The conference has been timed to coincide with the annual NC State Pulp and Paper Foundation meeting. If you are planning to come to Raleigh this fall for the foundation meeting, consider extending your time and taking part in the paper physics conference earlier in the week.

I look forward to seeing in Raleigh this fall and I hope that you will come to both the paper physics conference and the annual foundation meeting!

View the preliminary technical program and register for the conference>>

NC State University Paper Science & Engineering Program to Celebrate 60 Years of Success

NC State Paper Science & Engineering 60th AnniversaryThe Paper Science & Engineering(PSE) program in the College of Natural Resources at North Carolina State University will celebrate a tradition of success with a 60th Anniversary Celebration in September 2014. Alumni, industry partners, donors, faculty, staff, and students are invited to join us.

Three days of activities are planned for September 10-12 including: an Open House at Biltmore, Robertson and Pulp and Paper Labs, a Celebration Banquet, a Paper Industry Career Fair, a Golf Tournament, a Corn Hole Tournament, Lunch at Lonnie Poole Golf Course, “Insider” Tours of campus, and the NC State Pulp & Paper Foundation Annual Meeting!

One of the oldest and most respected paper science and engineering programs in the world, NC State has been building industry leaders and supporting a robust, innovative and sustainable industry since the creation of the Pulp and Paper program and the Pulp and Paper Foundation.

Students of the program are highly valued by companies as summer interns and semester co-ops. Nearly 100% of students graduate with multiple job offers with starting salaries among the highest at NC State University.

PSE graduates make significant contributions to the paper industry, other chemical process industries, and many other professional arenas. Our alumni include vice-presidents, mill managers, technical managers, research directors, consultants, sales personnel, business owners, professors, teachers, lawyers, doctors, and clergymen.

With a long history of outstanding student care and thorough engineering education, the PSE program has much of which to be proud.

A fine testament to NC State’s land grant mission, PSE’s research and technical service programs support the state’s Forest Products industry – an industry that contributes almost 30 billion dollars annually to North Carolina’s economy.

The program’s faculty has been recognized with numerous honors including six TAPPI Fellows, the highest honor awarded by the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry, more than any other institution.

This coming year, PSE expects to have 170 undergraduates and 40 graduate students.

For details of the NC State Paper Science & Engineering 60th Anniversary Celebration
visit: http://go.ncsu.edu/pse60th

Contact: Jennifer Piercy, (919) 515-7709   jennifer_piercy@ncsu.edu

Noted Quantitative Population Ecologist to Deliver Global Environmental Change Lecture at NC State

Dr. Barry BrookDr. Barry Brook, the Australian Research Council Future Fellow III, Sir Hubert Wilkins Chair of Climate Change, and Director of Climate Science for The Environment Institute at the University of Adelaide in South Australia will deliver the inaugural Global Environmental Change Lecture at NC State University -“Power to save nature? The role of nuclear energy and ‘techno-fixes’ in conserving climate and ecosystems.” 

The lecture will be held at the David Clark Labs on the NC State campus on April 8, 2014 from 4-5pm. (parking in the Dan Allen deck) and is open to the public.

 

Fossil fuels have supplied most of society’s energy demand for over two centuries. Yet, with the mounting problems of climate change, pollution, security and dwindling supplies, we now face the need for a near-total transformation of the world’s energy systems.

The talk will provide a critical overview of the challenges in—and potential solutions for—completely ‘decarbonzing’ our energy supplies, while also meeting the growing need for increased prosperity in the developing world.

It will be argued that of the options available, it is next-generation nuclear power and related technologies, based on modular systems with full fuel recycling and inherent safety, that offer the best chance of curing our fossil-fuel addiction.

Solving the ‘energy problem’ will not just help in mitigating climate change. It will also avoid destructive use of natural and agricultural landscapes for biofuels and diffuse energy generation, and allow societies to reduce their ‘footprint’ by sparing land and resources for biodiversity conservation

About Dr. Brook:

An innovative quantitative population ecologist, began his career studying how genetic variability affects the persistence of small populations.  Since then his efforts have proliferated in many directions, with novel applications of simulation and statistical modeling to understand synergistic impacts on the biosphere.   Read his blog>>

The NC State Global Environmental Change Lecture Series is organized by NC State College of Natural Resources professor L. Scott Mills and co-sponsored by the Southeast Climate Science Center.

Learn more about the NC State Global Change Forum>>

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Dr. Brooks will also deliver  the weekly Forestry & Environmental Resources Seminar on April 7, 2014 from 3:30-4:30pm in Room 434 of Daniels Hall at NC State.
The topic is “Tipping Points and Metamodels: Forecasting and Abating Aggregate Human Impacts on Biodiversity”

NC State teams selected for this week’s ACC Startup Madness

Startup Madness

Charles Grant Culbertson, Jr., a doctoral candidate in the Department of Forest Biomaterials in the NC State College of Natural Resources is part Thermaflow Solutions, one of two NC State teams representing the university at this Wednesday’s ACC Startup Madness competition.

The competition will be held at NC State’s James B. Hunt Library on Wednesday, March 19, 2014. Runoff competitions will be held throughout the day, narrowing the contestants down to the ‘Elite Eight’ who will compete in the final round beginning at 6:30 p.m. The Hunt Library is located at 1070 Partners Way on NC State’s Centennial Campus in Raleigh.

Representing NC State at the undergraduate level is Pennies 4 Progress, represented by co-founder Ryan O’Donnell, senior in the Poole College of Management.

NC State’s graduate team is ThermaFlow Solutions, a startup that leverages NC State technology to provide the latest in particle and cell analysis. The multidisciplinary team aims to disrupt industries from scientific research to heavy equipment manufacturers.

The startup team members are graduate students in the HiTEC program, part of the interdisciplinary technology entrepreneurship and commercialization concentration in Poole College’s Jenkins MGA program. Team members are:

Charles Grant Culbertson, Jr., doctoral candidate, Forest Biomaterials, December 2016, College of Natural Resources

Tristan Jung Hun Kim, Jenkins MBA candidate, May 2015,
Poole College of Management

Judd Melvin, Master of Microbial Biotechnology candidate, May 2015,
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Mukta Nag, Master of Microbial Biotechnology candidate, May 2014,
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Joseph M. Thomas, MS, Jenkins MBA candidate, May 2014,
Poole College of Management

The NC State teams will be competing against teams from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, the University of Maryland, Syracuse University, Florida State University, Georgia Tech, University of Miami, Wake Forest University, and Clemson University. Each of the universities was allowed to bring one team for each of the two divisions.

The competition schedule on March 19 begins with the first round at 10 a.m. The final ‘Elite Eight’ round begins at 5:30 pm. and winners will be announced at 6:45 p.m.

Students and the general public are invited to stop by throughout the day to view the team presentations. There is no charge for general admission but tickets are required. Register at the Startup Madness website. VIP tickets cost $50 and provide access to invitation-only reception on March 18, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at HQ Raleigh, and reserved seating at the competition on March 19. Proceeds from VIP tickets help support the entrepreneurs.

Teams from the other schools will be arriving on March 18 and gathering for a reception at HQ Raleigh at 5:30 p.m. A Leadership Roundtable has been scheduled for 4 p.m., providing the teams’ advisors an opportunity to network and share best practices.

Prizes
Following are the prizes that the winning teams will receive.
FIRST PLACE $500 Cash Flight to Silicon Valley Meeting with Kleiner Perkins 1 Free MotoX from Republic Wireless
SECOND PLACE $250 Cash Marketing Consulting from Method Savvy 1 Free MotoX from Republic Wireless
THIRD PLACE $150 Cash Venture Consulting from Bull City Ventures
FOURTH PLACE $100 Cash Venture Consulting from Idea Fund Partners

ACC Startup Madness has partnered with HQ Raleigh and Poole College to present this event. This is the second year that Poole College has been an ACC Startup Madness sponsor.

Related story:  ACC Startup Madness returns to NC State