A&T, Shanghai University sign agreement

N.C. A&T research scientist Zhigang Xu (center) answers questions from the visiting group from Shanghai University on a tour of the NSF Engineering Research Center.

A delegation from Shanghai University of Engineering Science visited N.C. A&T today to sign a broad memorandum of understanding on collaboration in research and education.  The group was led by Vice President Xincan Tian and Sihao Chen, Director of the Scientific Research Office at the university.

While on campus, they met with research administrators and faculty members and toured labs in the Fort Interdisciplinary Research Center. The visit was organized by Dr. Jianzhong Lou, professor of chemical engineering at A&T.

Shanghai University Vice President Xincan Tian speaks through an interpreter to Provost Winser Alexander before signing the MOU.

Vice Chancellor Celestine Ntuen shows Dr. Alexander where to sign during MOU signing at NC A&T.

Registration open for EPA conference at A&T

To register, go to http://ncat.gosignmeup.com/epa/

DORED VC candidate to visit campus on Monday

The search committee for the next vice chancellor for research and economic development has scheduled one more candidate to interview for the position.  Dr. Fitzgerald B. Bramwell will be on campus next Monday, May 7.  The campus community is invited to his public presentation, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. in the Fort IRC, Room 410.

Dr. Bramwell is associate provost for academic research at Howard University.  He has served as a faculty member in chemistry and as a research administrator at the University of Kentucky, where he was vice president for research and graduate studies; Brooklyn College; and City University of New York. More information:

• Dr. Bramwell’s CV
• Dr. Bramwell’s schedule for Monday
• Bio on Howard’s website

Journalism program receives full reaccreditation

The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications has awarded full reaccreditation to A&T’s journalism department.  It had been on provisional status.

DeWayne Wickham, interim department chair, tells the Maynard Institute’s news blog: “Soon, the university will hire a new chair for the Department of Journalism & Mass Communication, and I will have time to figure out what I’m going to do next.”

A&T professor: No need to fear the ‘pink slime’

Dr. Ralph Noble, Department of Animal Science, speaks about "pink slime" in television interview.

The thought of it makes consumers nervous, and supermarket chains are fleeing from it like a mob in a horror film.  Technically, it’s called “lean finely textured beef.”  But “pink slime” is a more catchy name.

If the stuff actually were the title character in a monster movie, the heroic figure calmly standing fast as the crowd flees might be played by Dr. Ralph Noble, chairman of the Department of Animal Sciences.  He tells Greensboro’s WFMY News2 that, regardless of what you call it, the stuff is nothing to be afraid of. It’s actually a way to hold down hamburger prices.

“Rather than add to the cost, we’ve got a part of the carcass that we would normally think about discarding, we now see a way that we can reincorporate it back into that product,” Noble says.

For the complete TV report, click here.

Videos from 2012 Urban Education Institute

This is one of a series of videos recently posted to YouTube to document the recent 2012 Urban Education Institute at N.C. A&T.   The title of the conference was, “African American Males in the STEM Professions: Strategies, Practices, Exemplars.”

This video features Dr. Edward Fort, former chancellor of A&T; Dr. Solomon Bililign, professor of physics; and Dr. John Slaughter, former director of the National Science Foundation.  Additional videos are listed on this YouTube page.

Advaero’s technology from A&T gaining notice

The current issue of Composites Manufacturing magazine includes a report on Advaero Technologies’ “breakthrough” in the manufacture of a new carbon fiber capable of carrying 24,000 pounds in weight.

“Not only would this technology make composites competitive against metals, it could be an entry card for applications in new markets,” the magazine reports.

Advaero licenses its technology from N.C. A&T.  It was developed by Advaero co-founder Dr. Ajit Kelkar, A&T faculty member in the College of Engineering and chair of the Department of Nanoengineering at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering.