Research

For the first time in five years, 2014 is poised to be a “recovery year” for the North Carolina economy, UNC Charlotte economist John Connaughton reported today in his quarterly forecast for the state.

The website Heritage Daily compiled the top 10 archaeological discoveries for 2013, and number five was the Early Roman period mansion discovered by a team co-directed by James Tabor, chair of religious studies.

Barry Rowan recently joined the University as conflict of interest manager in the Research and Economic Development Department.
In coming to UNC Charlotte, Rowan brings solid experience in a number of areas related to research compliance from the Office of Research at the University of California Santa Barbara. Before that, he spent 10 years as laboratory manager in oceanography and cancer research facilities.

Microsoft researchers have designed a smart bra that can detect stress, according to an online BBC news article. UNC Charlotte alumna Erin Carroll (Ph.D. ’13, computing and information systems) was the lead on the project during a research internship at Microsoft in summer 2012. She also completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University in 2008.

Twitter and Facebook are popular social media tools for communication, and for researchers in the College of Computing and Informatics (CCI) Charlotte Visualization Center, they are providing key insights into consumer behavior.
Eight faculty members from CCI and the Belk College of Business have been looking at social media and what information can be extracted about customer behavior or potential customer behavior, according to William Ribarsky, chair of the Department of Computer Science and director of the Charlotte Visualization Center. 

Amanda Mostafavi, a doctoral student in computer science in the College of Computing and Informatics, will defend “Personalized Indexing of Music by Emotions” at 9 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 26, in the College of Health and Human Services, Room 426. Zbigniew Ras is the dissertation advisor.

Jean-Claude Thill, the Knight Foundation Distinguished Professor of Public Policy in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, was named a 2013 Fellow of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI) at the organization’s 60th annual North American Meetings of the RSAI in Atlanta, Ga. He is the sole U.S. regional scientist to be recognized this year, along with scholars from Japan, Sweden and Italy. Worldwide, RSAI has a cadre of 70 fellows.

Clean, green, affordable and reliable – former New Jersey Governor and EPA administrator and current co-chair of the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition (CASEnergy) Christine Todd Whitman espoused the benefits of nuclear power in a talk to more than 200 students, faculty, staff and industry leaders on Thursday, Nov. 14, at UNC Charlotte’s Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC). Alumnus and North Carolina Representative Mike Hager, who serves on several legislative environmental and energy committees, also attended the forum.

Christopher Blanchette, associate dean for research in the College of Health and Human Services, has been appointed editor-in-chief of the journal Drugs in Context. This is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access journal that focuses on the practice of medicine.
As editor, Blanchette will play a role in the journal’s mission, which is to make an academic contribution to international life science and to inform and motivate improvements to the practice of medicine.

Nationally, UNC Charlotte is one of the top producers of Fulbright Scholars, according to a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
This is a significant achievement, ranking UNC Charlotte alongside other major research institutions, such as the University of California Berkeley, University of Georgia and University of Michigan. But it’s not a surprise either, said Joël Gallegos, assistant provost for international programs.