Matt Shipman

Apr 26, 2010

Study: Celebrity Endorsements Do Not Help Political Candidates

If you’re running for office – and want to shore up support from young voters – you want Hollywood’s support, right? Wrong. Two new studies from North Carolina State University show that young voters are not swayed by celebrity endorsements of political candidates – and sometimes voters like the candidate less as a result of… 

Apr 23, 2010

Trash May Be (Energy) Treasure Trove

Earlier this month, a New York Times article highlighted the fact that European countries are burning garbage as a renewable source of energy – but that similar efforts in the United States are lagging behind. The article cites a 2009 study which “came down strongly in favor of waste-to-energy (WTE) plants over landfills as the… 

Apr 21, 2010

The Buzz On Bees

The plight of honeybees has been the focus of a lot of media attention, as bee populations around the country have plummeted due to colony collapse disorder and other factors. But Dr. David Tarpy, whose research focuses on improving bee health and productivity, is doing something about it. Tarpy, an entomology professor at NC State and… 

Apr 20, 2010

Get Smart

Agent 86 would be proud. Dr. Jay Narayan led the way in the development of “smart sensors,” integrating a sensor material called vanadium oxide with silicon chips to create sensors that can manipulate and respond to information (it has to do with something called “domain matching epitaxy”). These sensors are used in a variety of… 

Apr 20, 2010

Skeleton Crew

The renovated Park Shops building has everything NC State students need to dig into the past: new workspaces, spacious anthropology labs and plenty of skeletons - in the closet and elsewhere. Now, students can bone up on even the most minute details in pursuit of careers ranging from forensics to archaeology, with little concern of classroom overcrowding. 

Apr 20, 2010

Materials Research Advances Reliability Of Faster Smart Sensors

In military and security situations, a split second can make the difference between life and death, so North Carolina State University’s development of new “smart sensors” that allow for faster response times from military applications is important. Equally important is new research from NC State that will help ensure those sensors will operate under extreme conditions… 

Apr 19, 2010

Little Things Mean A Lot

It is widely thought that advances in the use of engineered nanoscale materials will have significant impacts on fields ranging from medicine to electronics – but how do we get there from here? We are talking about manufacturing and manipulating things so small it’s difficult to conceptualize what we’re talking about. After all, William Powell… 

Apr 13, 2010

Research Lays Guidelines For Real World Scholarship

Academia is sometimes viewed as an “ivory tower” environment with little connection to the real world, but new research from North Carolina State University should help academics striving to overcome that reputation. A new paper lays out guidelines that can be used to develop and implement partnerships between academics and local communities to foster research… 

Apr 12, 2010

Study Shows That Size Affects Structure of Hollow Nanoparticles

A new study from North Carolina State University shows that size plays a key role in determining the structure of certain hollow nanoparticles. The researchers focused on nickel nanoparticles, which have interesting magnetic and catalytic properties that may have applications in fields as diverse as energy production and nanoelectronics. 

Apr 7, 2010

NC State Research May Revolutionize Ceramics Manufacturing

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new way to shape ceramics using a modest electric field, making the process significantly more energy efficient. The process should result in significant cost savings for ceramics manufacturing over traditional manufacturing methods. 

Apr 6, 2010

Automobile Control Research Opens Door To New Safety Features

Researchers from North Carolina State University have created a computer program that allows a car to stay in its lane without human control, opening the door to the development of new automobile safety features and military applications that could save lives. 

Apr 5, 2010

New Software Design Technique Allows Programs To Run Faster

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new approach to software development that will allow common computer programs to run up to 20 percent faster and possibly incorporate new security measures. 

Mar 31, 2010

Electroactive Polymer Design Opens Door To ‘Full Screen’ Displays For The Blind

Imagine if your computer only allowed you to see one line at a time, no matter what you were doing – reading e-mail, looking at a Web site, doing research. That’s the challenge facing blind computer users today. But new research from North Carolina State University is moving us closer to the development of a… 

Mar 30, 2010

Day By Day: Why We Forget To Take Our Medicine, And What We Can Do About It

For many people, remembering to take a daily medication can be the difference between life and death. Yet, people forget all the time. Now a landmark study from North Carolina State University has found that changes in daily behavior have a significant effect on whether we remember to take our medication – and that these… 

Mar 24, 2010

NC State Hosts Premiere of ‘Spanish Voices’ Documentary

What: North Carolina State University is hosting the premiere of the documentary film “Spanish Voices,” by NC State professor and linguist Dr. Walt Wolfram, Danica Cullinan and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Neal Hutcheson. Spanish speakers from across the globe, bilingual second-generation U.S. citizens and non-Spanish speakers all weave an up-close portrait of the rapidly changing linguistic and…