Research

North Carolina will have its fourth year of slow but uninterrupted economic growth in 2013, UNC Charlotte economist John Connaughton reported in his quarterly forecast for the state.
However, Connaughton cautioned that economic uncertainty in Europe and the ongoing negotiations on tax increases and the “fiscal cliff” may have a negative impact on the state and national economies in the coming year.

Ongoing growth in research activity is a fundamental goal at UNC Charlotte, in keeping with the mission to be North Carolina’s urban research university. Though the challenge of steadily increasing funded research largely falls on the shoulders of the researchers themselves, the University recognizes that constant improvement in administrative support also may  be a critical part of getting more and larger grant funding.

Daniel Janies, Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Professor of Bioinformatics and Genomics, is an invited speaker at the “Symposium Emerging Infections, Microbial Threats to Health and the Microbiome” being hosted by the National Academy of Sciences Dec. 11-12. 

Economist John Connaughton will discuss implications of the “fiscal cliff” when he presents his quarterly forecast for the North Carolina economy at a luncheon and press conference at noon, Tuesday, Dec. 11, at UNC Charlotte Center City (320 E. 9th Street). Connaughton’s presentation will be in the second floor auditorium; box lunches will be available beginning at 11:30 a.m.              

Jing Xiao, professor of computer science in the College of Computing and Informatics, has been named an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow effective Jan. 1.

She is being recognized for contributions to robot compliant motion and haptic interaction. Xiao’s core work addresses the physical interaction between a machine and objects it manipulates, which impacts the application of robotics and haptics in autonomous assembly operations, tele-operations, virtual prototyping and virtual training of surgical operations.

Russell Kirby, Marrell Endowed Chair in Down Syndrome Research in the College of Public Health at the University of South Florida, will present “Spatial Perspectives on Public Health” from 12:30 to 2 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 5, in the College of Health and Human Services, Room 145.

Seniors from the Lee College of Engineering will present their year-long senior projects at the college’s Senior Design Exposition scheduled for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday, Dec. 7, in the food court of Halton Arena in the Barnhardt Student Activity Center.

Yujie Lin, a doctoral student in computing and information systems in the College of Computing and Informatics, will defend “Exploratory Visualization of Graphs Based on Community Structure” at 3:30 p.m., Friday, Dec. 7, in Woodward Hall, Room 338. Jing Yang is the dissertation advisor.

David Askay, a Ph.D. student in organizational science, has received one of the most prestigious national research awards presented to students doing communication studies research.
 The National Communication Association (NCA) presents the Donald P. Cushman Memorial Award for the top-ranked student-authored paper from all NCA units that competitively rank papers for programming at the NCA annual convention.

CanDiag Inc., a UNC Charlotte spinout company focused on early-stage breast cancer detection, has successfully closed on more than $500,000 in syndicated angel capital financing.
The company, founded in 2011 by Pinku Mukherjee, Irwin Belk Endowed Professor for Cancer Research at UNC Charlotte, holds an exclusive license from UNC Charlotte to a patent-pending tumor antibody with diagnostic applications for a wide variety of cancer patients.