Mar 28, 2025

NC State researchers ask for community’s input in Hatteras and Ocracoke Island survey

Researchers with North Carolina State University (NCSU) are asking Hatteras and Ocracoke Islanders to assist with an ongoing study on adaptation challenges and strategies by filling out an online survey. “The study seeks to understand the relationships between residential connections and preferences for adaptation strategies that may reduce future storm-related flooding on Hatteras and Ocracoke… 

Mar 28, 2025 Indy Week

Town of Cary Partners With Invicta Water to Remove and Destroy PFAS In Drinking Water

Wilcenski says Invicta Water is also working on a project with the Collaboratory at UNC-Chapel Hill to show it can use its process to remediate ponds with extremely high levels of PFAS contamination, something that will be helpful for landowners who want to redevelop contaminated property. And the company is partnering with NC State University and… 

Mar 28, 2025 NPR

Southern Appalachia’s future — and present — involve wildfires

Consider the past six months in the mountains of southern Appalachia. Hurricane Helene brought catastrophic flooding to places like Asheville, North Carolina, but lately it’s been so windy and dry that the Carolinas are currently fighting wildfires. The North Carolina Forest Service has declared one of them the highest-priority fire in the U.S. Now, wildfires… 

Mar 28, 2025 USA Today

Wildfires keep burning across the South: When will they stop?

“There is never a singular fire cause,” Robert Scheller, a North Carolina State University forestry and environmental resources professor told USA TODAY via e-mail Thursday. “For a fire to become large enough to be a substantial threat, it requires the right combination of fuels (dried vegetation and dead leaves, needles, twigs, at the ground level),… 

Mar 27, 2025 Farm Progress

Inoculation critical for new and old peanut ground

David Jordan, North Carolina State University Extension peanut specialist, emphasized that there is no substitute for successful inoculation in new peanut ground. But the practice is a must on all ground where peanuts are planted. 

Mar 27, 2025 The Guardian

Wildfires threaten North Carolina and South Carolina areas still recovering from hurricane

Dry weather and millions of trees knocked down by Hurricane Helene last year are creating a long and active fire season in the Carolinas, according to North Carolina State University forestry and environmental resources professor Robert Scheller. Scheller predicted this busy fire season if the region saw dry weather after the hurricane. 

Mar 27, 2025 Coastal Review Online

No NC limit on 1,4-dioxane means water customers bear costs

Dr. Jeffrey Enders, a senior research scholar and research assistant professor with North Carolina State University, shared last Saturday the results of a study he conducted on PFAS in sea foam collected along the state’s southern coastal shorelines. 

Mar 27, 2025 WUNC

How authentic are the Southern accents on ‘The White Lotus?’

Max’s hit murder mystery series, The White Lotus, has returned for a third season – and North Carolinians have found their Southern drawls prominently featured – but how authentic are the actors’ portrayals of Chapel Hill and Durham accents? We consult a local sociolinguist for answers. Guest: Walt Wolfram, William C. Friday Distinguished University Professor of… 

Mar 26, 2025 WKBN

Wildfires in North and South Carolina fueled by Hurricane Helene

Dry weather and millions of trees knocked down by Hurricane Helene last year are creating a long and active fire season in the Carolinas, according to North Carolina State University forestry and environmental resources professor Robert Scheller. Scheller predicted this busy fire season if the region saw dry weather after the hurricane. “Helene just dropped… 

Mar 26, 2025 Audubon

North Carolina’s Cape Fear River Is a ‘Forever Chemical’ Hotspot—What Does That Mean for Its Birds and People?

But when it comes to addressing the problem’s full scope, the regulatory system isn’t keeping up, says North Carolina State University environmental engineer Detlef Knappe, whose research with EPA scientists discovered PFAS in Wilmington’s drinking water. The current framework treats PFAS as “innocent until proven guilty,” he says, regulating individual chemicals only after years of… 

Mar 26, 2025 The New York Times

Shell Shocked: How Small Eateries Are Dealing With Record Egg Prices

Eggs are too perishable to be stockpiled and small businesses generally don’t have extra cash for refrigerator space to keep extra eggs even for brief periods, said Rob Handfield, a professor and the director of the Supply Chain Resource Cooperative at North Carolina State University. “It’s not like you can stock up on a month’s… 

Mar 26, 2025 The Washington Post

Wildfires have always burned in the South. Here’s why they’re getting worse.

Robert Scheller, a professor of landscape ecology at North Carolina State University, said that when it comes to judging a fires’ impact, “it’s more than just the acreage burned, but also, what is the density of humans on the acreage burned.” Compared with many parts of the country, he added, the South is just “a… 

Mar 25, 2025 AZO Materials

Stable and Efficient Electron Transport Layer for CO2 Conversion

“Fundamentally, the goal of this project was to engineer a surface that would allow us to efficiently convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into methanol, which is a liquid fuel. Our hypothesis was that a class of materials called metal cones would be a valuable tool for addressing this challenge. Our work in this paper focuses on… 

Mar 25, 2025 Today Headline

Firefighters in the Carolinas battle multiple wildfires

Millions of trees knocked down by Hurricane Helene last year combined with long stretches of dry weather this spring are making for a long and active fire season in the Carolinas, North Carolina State University forestry and environmental resources professor Robert Scheller said. “Helene just dropped tons of fuel on the ground,” Scheller said. “Then… 

Mar 25, 2025 Marketplace

Workers hope to steer giant Southern EV battery plant toward unionization

Labor economist Steven Allen from North Carolina State University said 2023 was successful for the UAW. It secured lucrative contracts with Ford, GM and Stellantis. “That was, I think, a really big win, and this was at a time of still pretty high inflation, and so I think that gave the UAW a bit of…