University Research Week Round-Up for IE
October 14, 2024
Peggy Mullin flies a drone in the Currituck Sound. Watch what she is doing in this video on mapping marshes. Photo/video credit Megan Mendenhall / UNC Research.
University Research Week returns Oct 21-25, 2024, with the theme “Back to Basics.” This year, we celebrate the power of foundational research and its real-world impact across many disciplines.
Join us as we highlight the importance of fundamental research as the bedrock of innovation, showcase how groundbreaking discoveries translate to real-world solutions, and offer workshops to equip students and researchers with best practices for diving into and excelling in research.
Stay tuned for a week packed with inspiring talks, interactive events and opportunities to engage with Carolina’s thriving research community!
University Research Week is an annual, campus-wide event sponsored by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and the Office of Undergraduate Research.
See the full list of University Research Week events – there is something for everyone!
A round-up of events hosted or co-hosted by the UNC Institute for the Environment:
CMAS Conference
Oct. 21-23
Friday Conference Center
The Community Modeling and Analysis System (CMAS) Center has served the air quality modeling and analysis community for more than two decades by providing access to open-source software that can be used to analyze air quality impacts and develop policies to protect public health.
The conference features three days of keynote speakers, presentations, poster sessions, receptions and panel discussions. This event is in-person.
Exploring Collaborative Environmental Research for Increased Impact
Oct. 22
3-4 p.m.
Carolina Square, 3rd Floor Café
Please join leadership and faculty from UNC Center for Galapagos Studies, Institute for the Environment, and Carolina Population Center for office hours (with cookies!) on Tuesday, Oct 22 from 3-4pm in Carolina Square (3rd Floor lobby)!
We encourage existing researchers, students, and staff from these areas and other environmentally focused areas across campus to join us to share more about ongoing impactful environmental work and to explore further possible connections between the centers. This is a casual event for faculty, students, and staff to drop in, have a cookie and coffee (on us!), and chat about their work to see how we can have an even greater impact locally and globally by working more collaboratively.
A Case for Climate Optimism with Zealan Hoover ’13 U.S. EPA Senior Advisor to the Administrator and Director of Implementation
Oct. 23
3-4 p.m.
CURRENT ArtSpace + Studio
Join the UNC Institute for the Environment at UNC Research Week for a keynote address by Zealan Hoover ’13, senior advisor to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Michael Regan and director of implementation. Hoover will make a case for climate optimism as a leader in environmental public policy.
For the past three years Hoover has led EPA’s implementation of more than $100 billion in programs authorized under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. Prior to that, he worked in the private sector advising organizations on a wide range of strategic and operational matters with an emphasis on decarbonization and managing climate risk. From 2013-2017 he worked at the White House first on the Domestic Policy Council and then in the Office of the Chief of Staff, supporting domestic and international climate agenda including the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Hoover graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was a Morehead-Cain Scholar.
Light refreshments will be provided. CLE credit is available for students.
The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
UNC Research & Discovery Fair
Oct. 23
11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
FPG Carolina Student Union, Great Hall
The fair will feature over 25 UNC research labs (including IE’s field sites, CARDNL, Data-Driven EnviroLab and the newly launched Institute for Risk Management and Insurance Innovation) and projects from marine biology to robotics to drones to music. UNC-Chapel Hill has a type of research that will pique your interest.
Visit the Great Hall to get an up-close look at what some of our researchers do and see how you can get involved. Join us for an afternoon of demonstrations, interactive experiments, and a look behind the scenes at how discoveries are made in the lab and beyond.