Matt Shipman

Jan 17, 2013

Pulitzer-Winning Civil War Historian James McPherson to Speak at NC State

What: James McPherson, Civil War historian and Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of “Battle Cry of Freedom,” will be speaking on “Lincoln’s Legacy for Our Time” as part of North Carolina State University’s History Weekend. 

Jan 15, 2013

Researchers Create Flexible, Nanoscale ‘Bed of Nails’ for Possible Drug Delivery

Researchers at North Carolina State University have come up with a technique to embed needle-like carbon nanofibers in an elastic membrane, creating a flexible “bed of nails” on the nanoscale that opens the door to development of new drug-delivery systems. 

Jan 7, 2013

Drawing on Real Life

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Jennifer Landin, a teaching assistant professor of biology at NC State who teaches a course on biological illustration. Check out why she thinks biological illustration is valuable – and some of the art created in her classroom. While other universities have biological illustration courses, as far as I… 

Dec 19, 2012

Trivial Pursuits: The Abstract’s 2012 Quiz

The Abstract staff will be taking off for a couple of weeks to prepare for 2012. In an attempt to amuse and entertain ourselves you, we’ve pulled together a quick quiz on some of the research we’ve written about over the past year. See how you do! QUESTIONS 1). Peanut butter can be healthier if… 

Dec 18, 2012

Researchers Use Liquid Metal to Create Wires That Stretch Eight Times Their Original Length

Researchers from North Carolina State University have created conductive wires that can be stretched up to eight times their original length while still functioning. The wires can be used for everything from headphones to phone chargers, and hold potential for use in electronic textiles. To make the wires, researchers start with a thin tube made… 

Dec 17, 2012

Engineers’ Neutrino Communications Named a Top 10 Physics Breakthrough

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post that first ran on the website of NC State’s College of Engineering. Research that produced the world’s first message sent using tiny neutrino particles — a project led in part by NC State engineers — has been named one of Physics World magazine’s top 10 breakthroughs for 2012. Earlier this… 

Dec 10, 2012

Innovation to Save Lives: A Student’s Story, Part II

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by NC State grad student Tate Rogers. Rogers came up with an idea to address the life-threatening challenge of human waste disposal in the developing world, and was part of a team that received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to pursue the idea further. Rogers presented… 

Dec 6, 2012

Researchers Craft Tool to Minimize Threat of Endocrine Disruptors in New Chemicals

Researchers from North Carolina State University, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and a host of other institutions have developed a safety testing system to help chemists design inherently safer chemicals and processes. 

Dec 6, 2012

Looking back at the Science of Santa’s Workshop

Two years ago, a team of researchers from NC State participated in a visiting scholars program at Santa’s Workshop-North Pole Labs (NPL). They learned a lot, and shared their findings with us in a series of posts from that frostbitten font of seasonal science. Santa’s annual moment in the spotlight is coming up fast, so we… 

Dec 4, 2012

Study: Parents Key to Preventing Alcohol, Marijuana Use by Kids

New research from North Carolina State University, Brigham Young University and the Pennsylvania State University finds that parental involvement is more important than the school environment when it comes to preventing or limiting alcohol and marijuana use by children. 

Nov 29, 2012

Zhu Named 2012 AAAS Fellow

Dr. Yuntian T. Zhu, Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at North Carolina State University, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). 

Nov 28, 2012

Researchers ID Ways to Exploit ‘Cloud Browsers’ for Large-Scale, Anonymous Computing

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of Oregon have found a way to exploit cloud-based Web browsers, using them to perform large-scale computing tasks anonymously. The finding has potential ramifications for the security of “cloud browser” services. 

Nov 27, 2012

Unintended Benefits of Interdisciplinary Efforts: Ideas From Kavli Frontiers of Science

Editor’s Note: this is a guest post by Andrew Binder, an assistant professor of communication at NC State who specializes in science communication and how citizens perceive science issues. Binder attended the Kavli Frontiers of Science symposium earlier this month, and writes about some of the conclusions he drew from the event. Institutions of higher education,… 

Nov 26, 2012

Size Matters When Reducing NiO Nanoparticles

New research finds that size plays a major role in how nanoscale nickel oxide (NiO) shells behave when being reduced to solid nickel nanoparticles. “This advances our fundamental understanding of how the structures of nanoparticles can be changed through chemical reactions, which has potential applications in nanofabrication and catalysis,” says Joe Tracy, a materials scientist… 

Nov 15, 2012

Thanksgiving: Simple Tips Can Keep Foodborne Illness at Bay

Thanksgiving is the only U.S. holiday that revolves entirely around food. We spend all day in the kitchen or dining room with loved ones, so it makes sense to pay special attention to food safety this time of year. Why should you care? The CDC estimates that 128,000 people were hospitalized in 2011 due to…