Research

UNC Charlotte economist John Connaughton will give his quarterly forecast for the North Carolina economy at a luncheon and press conference Tuesday, June 4, at UNC Charlotte Center City. Connaughton’s presentation begins at noon in the auditorium. Box lunches will be available beginning at 11:30 a.m.                               

In today’s virtual world, it’s easy to downplay the significance of place. Yet, when it comes to regional prosperity, geography matters. Income and job growth are not random; they spill over from one region to another. Being next to a prosperous region will make one’s own economy more vibrant.

The UNC Charlotte Model United Nations team recently ended the 2012-13 academic year as the most successful in the group’s history. The team earned 66 awards in the fall and spring, hosted training conferences for area high schools and colleges and attended six conferences.

One way to understand what motivates and deters burglars is to ask them. UNC Charlotte researcher Joseph Kuhns from the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology did just that. He led a research team that gathered survey responses from more than 400 convicted offenders that resulted in an unprecedented look into the minds of burglars, providing insight into intruders’ motivations and methods.

Matthew Johnson, a doctoral student in computer science in the College of Computing and Informatics, will defend “Exploring the Visualization of Student Behavior in Computer-based Education” at 10 a.m., Tuesday, May 21, in Woodward Hall, Room 338. Tiffany Barnes is the dissertation advisor.

Warren Cole, a professional science master’s degree student in the College of Computing and Informatics Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, has received a summer internship from the Open Science Data Cloud – Partnership for International Research and Education (OSCD-PIRE) project. He will conduct his internship at the internationally acclaimed Beijing Institute of Genomics in Shenzhen, China, considered one of the world’s premiere genome sequencing centers.

Bio-Adhesive Alliance of Greensboro topped the field of 19 finalists to win the $25,000 grand prize of the Charlotte Venture Challenge.
The company, a spinout from N.C. A&T University, has developed an innovative technology to produce liquid asphalt from pig manure.
“This technology provides a sustainable and cost-effective solution to swine manure treatment while reducing pavement construction and maintenance cost,” said company officials.

Ying Zhu, a doctoral student in computing and information systems in the College of Computing and Informatics, will defend “Social and Location-based Routing in Delay Tolerant Networks” at 2 p.m., Thursday, May 16, in Woodward Hall, Room 338. Yu Wang is the dissertation advisor.

Greg Wiggan, a faculty member in the College of Education, had the co-authored work “Following the Northern Star: Caribbean Identities and Education in North American Schools” released by Nova Publishers.

Jonathan Walz, assistant professor of anthropology at Rollins College, will speak on “Africa and the Indian Ocean: A Critical (Re)View and New Archaeological Perspective from Northeastern Tanzania” at 5 p.m., Monday, April 22, in the Denny Building, Room 200. This talk is part of the 2013 Spring Colloquium on African Civilization sponsored by the Africana Studies Department.
In an illustrated presentation, Walz will showcase historical research that is opening up insights on how Africans shaped ancient globalization in the Indian Ocean.