Research

Seven-acre Van Landingham Glen is one of the largest public rhododendron gardens in the Southeastern United States, and it showcases native plants from around the Carolinas, too. Prominent Charlotte stockbroker and philanthropist Ralph Van Landingham provided the financial support for the glen, which was dedicated in his honor on Sunday, April 27, 1966.

More than 50 interactive, hands-on activities and displays will be featured during the UNC Charlotte Science and Technology Expo, set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday, April 21, on the plaza near the Student Union.
This free, public event will offer something of interest for virtually every member of the family, according to expo organizers.
Examples of expo activities include:

Nineteen finalists for the Charlotte Venture Challenge (CVC) have been selected from among 95 entries, and one start-up company will receive the $25,000 grand prize as the winner of the 12th annual event on Wednesday, May 1. Category winners will share $50,000 in prize awards funded by the Hauser Family Fund.

Presenters from Singapore, Macao, Nigeria, Egypt and Poland will join a Microsoft executive at the third annual Global Research Conference set for Friday, April 26, in the Barnhardt Student Activity Center.

As the world seeks ways to reduce energy costs and speed access to alternative energy solutions, UNC Charlotte researcher Deborah Strumsky is leading a team that will use modeling to forecast optimal investments for the array of solar energy technologies that are emerging.

Yi Shen, a doctoral student in computing and information systems in the College of Computing and Informatics, will defend “Structural Learning for Large Scale Image Classification” at 11 a.m., Friday, April 12, in Woodward Hall, Room 155. Jianping Fan is the dissertation advisor.

The UNC Charlotte IDEAS Center will hold its third annual BioEnergy Symposium on Tuesday, April 9, in the Barnhardt Student Activity Center Salons.
This year, the symposium will focus on anaerobic technologies, considered a source of renewable energy as anaerobic digestion can produce a biogas. Mel Kurtz, president of quasar energy group, one of the nation’s industry leaders in creating affordable renewable energy by providing businesses with sustainable waste management strategies, will be the featured speaker during the opening session.

April is North Carolina Science Festival time, and UNC Charlotte will hold a series of public lectures entitled “Research Journeys” to educate and inform the community about a variety of science topics.
Sean Caroll from the California Insitute of Technology (Caltech) will be the featured guest lecturer for the series. He will present “The Particle at the End of the Universe” at 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 10, in EPIC, Room G256.

The J. Murrey Atkins Library will host its Undergraduate Research Conference on Friday, April 19. This conference is a University-wide showcase of research projects being completed by undergraduates from all levels and from all colleges/departments at UNC Charlotte. The deadline for undergraduates to enter the competition is Monday, April 1.

Scott Klemmer, an associate professor at Stanford University, will present “Teaching a Massive Open Online Class (MOOC) with Peer and Self Assessment” at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, March 28, in the College of Health and Human Services, Room 161.