Press Release
University of North Carolina Asheville
The nationally known Research Triangle Park Foundation will host a special event featuring UNC Asheville undergraduates and their research projects from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6 at RTP’s headquarters near Durham. “RTP 360: Seriously Creative Research at UNC Asheville” is expected to attract about 250 Triangle leaders in business, technology and education.
Bob Geolas, president and CEO of RTP Foundation, invited UNC Asheville’s Undergraduate Research Program to make this special presentation and share examples of innovative research and scholarship. RTP is the largest research park in the U.S., and is home to more than 170 global companies. Located between UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State University and Duke University, RTP is dedicated to promoting connections between academia, business and government to foster the growth of research that leads to job creation.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to demonstrate what ‘seriously creative’ means when applied to research, scholarship, innovation and entrepreneurship,” said UNC Asheville Chancellor Anne Ponder. “So far, it’s been mostly our local businesses that have benefited from our students’ ingenuity; now, businesses in the Triangle will have a chance to hire our best and brightest students, who are solving real world problems even before they graduate.”
Speakers at the event will include Ann Goodnight, member of the UNC Board of Governors, Geolas and Chancellor Ponder. Student presenters will include:
Sophie Berry, a senior from Fuquay-Varina, N.C. double-majoring in new media and Spanish, will present the work of the “Virtual Lincoln Project” team, which is creating a lifelike 3-D animation of Abraham Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address. The project gained national media attention when project mentor, Assistant Professor Christopher Oakley used new media techniques to find Lincoln in one of the few photos from Gettysburg the day of the address.
Erin Litke, a December 2013 graduate from Hornell, N.Y. with a double major in German language and international studies, will present her research on how China’s youth are impacted by online and in-person interactions with the West.
Corey McClintock, a senior from Black Mountain, N.C. double-majoring in chemistry and literature, will use the work of chemist, writer and Holocaust survivor Primo Levi to explore the parallels between chemistry and creative writing, and the use of writing exercises to help teach chemistry at the high school level.The RTP event is one of a series in which speakers from universities, local companies and the community at-large take to the stage to speak passionately about what matters to them. The event is sponsored by the RTP Foundation and the Goodnight Educational Foundation.
Information on registering to attend the event can be found at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/rtp-360-seriously-creative-research-with-unc-asheville-tickets-10305115879.
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.