college of sciences

Jan 13, 2016

Mackay Wins Prestigious Wolf Prize

Trudy Mackay receives one of the world's most prestigious awards for academic achievement, a Wolf Prize. 

Dec 11, 2015

Domain Size and Purity Key to Efficient Organic Solar Cells

As solar energy becomes more popular, the drive to create more efficient, less expensive solar cells increases. Solar energy is abundant, but the devices we use to collect that energy have an efficiency problem – currently, the most efficient polymer-based solar cells operate at a shade under 11 percent efficiency. A major reason behind this… 

Dec 10, 2015

Helminck Wins Public Service Award

Former head of NC State's Department of Mathematics Loek Helminck will receive the 2016 Distinguished Public Service Award from the American Mathematical Society. 

Dec 3, 2015

Researchers Simulate Scattering of Helium Nuclei in Stars

Alpha particles, or helium nuclei, play a key role in the synthesis of elements such as carbon and oxygen within stars. An accurate description of alpha particles and their interactions is key to understanding how nature produces elements. Since there’s no way to replicate elemental synthesis in a lab, physicists rely on mathematical calculations to… 

Dec 2, 2015

5 Questions About Neutrinos

NC State physicists Chris Gould, Albert Young and Diane Markoff, with graduate student Jason Messimore, were part of a team of nearly 100 physicists who won the 2016 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. Read more about their fascinating work in detecting and studying the elusive neutrino. 

Dec 1, 2015

Researchers Confirm Original Blood Vessels in 80 Million-Year-Old Fossil

Researchers confirm that blood vessel-like structures in an 80 million-year-old hadrosaur fossil are original blood vessels, not biofilms or other contaminants. 

Dec 1, 2015

Trap-jaw Ants Exhibit Previously Unseen Jumping Behavior

A species of trap-jaw ant has been found to exhibit a previously unseen jumping behavior, using its legs rather than its powerful jaws. The discovery makes this species, Odontomachus rixosus, the only species of ant that can jump with either its legs or its mandibles. 

Nov 23, 2015

NC State Statistician Wilson Named AAAS Fellow

Statistics professor Alyson Wilson has been elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). 

Nov 16, 2015

2015-16 Faculty Scholars Named

Chancellor Randy Woodson announces this year’s University Faculty Scholars, high-performing faculty members recognized for their significant achievements in scholarship, teaching and service. 

Oct 27, 2015

Researchers Create Better Algorithm for Simulating Particles in Fermi Sea

A new, more precise algorithm for simulating particle interactions when a single impurity is introduced into a Fermi sea shows that when these particles interact, the transition from quasiparticle to bound molecule in a polarized two-dimensional system is smooth. 

Oct 5, 2015

True Colors: Using Molecular Analysis to Clarify Dino Color Claims

Paleontologist Mary Schweitzer wants to see colleagues use of molecular analysis and other technologically advanced tools to confirm claims about dino color. 

Sep 24, 2015

The Biochemistry of Fall Foliage

Bernhard Kräutler, a professor of organic chemistry at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, explains the biochemical processes that help trees create their autumnal color displays. Don’t miss this colorful lecture. 

Sep 16, 2015

Researchers Isolate Possible Ovarian Cancer Biomarkers; Find Biomarker Loads Can Vary With Disease Stage

Researchers from North Carolina State University utilized a highly sensitive mass spectrometry analysis to identify and measure difficult-to-detect N-glycan biomarkers associated with ovarian cancers in stages I – IV. In a surprising finding, the researchers determined that the level of biomarkers associated with ovarian cancer does not simply increase or decrease over the course of… 

Aug 31, 2015

Tail as Old as Time: How Ankylosaur Tail Evolved

How did the ankylosaur get its tail club? Researchers traced the evolution of the ankylosaur’s distinctive tail, finding that the handle arrived first on the scene, and the knot at the end of the tail followed. 

Aug 21, 2015

How DNA ‘Proofreader’ Proteins Pick and Edit Their Reading Material

Researchers have discovered how two important proofreader proteins know where to look for errors during DNA replication and how they work together to signal the body’s repair mechanism.