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Home > About NC State > Chancellor > Speeches and Writings > Environmental Partnership SummitEnvironmental Partnership Summit
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
NC Biotech Center
8:45a-9:30a
Before I begin, let me take this opportunity to thank the Environmental Protection Agency for bringing us all together. Certainly, the organizations that are represented at this summit all hold partnerships as a core value.
At NC State, we not only value partnerships, but we are creating them almost every day. Today I'll share an overview on two fronts: our partnership model and some of our environmental partnership successes.
One goal of partnerships is to achieve more than individual organizations can achieve on their own---to find and engage those who share a common vision and purpose in order to reach that shared goal together. With partners, that goal can be reached more quickly and efficiently, and we're stronger when we get there. Synergies have served us well.
NC State's Centennial Campus is a national and international model of university, industry and government partnership. The mission of Centennial Campus is to provide a forum for academic, federal and private sectors to collaborate, resulting in innovative solutions to global problems.
We have seen the value of sharing resources, and we've built a community where partnership and collaboration are fostered. In our College of Textiles, on Centennial Campus, is our Nonwovens Cooperative Research Center. This textile laboratory is the largest industry-university-state cooperative research center in the nation. And we're very proud of that partnership with industry.
We use the partnership model to move academic discovery to the marketplace. As a research-extensive, land grant university, we are dedicated to improving the quality of life for our state, our country and our world. When our researchers develop innovative technologies, or medical diagnostics or improved food crops, we look to form partnerships that will help get those developments into the public arena.
Our Office of Technology Transfer formed 81 of these industry/university partnerships last year. That number comes from official agreements between the university and industry partners stating that we will work together to make innovative technologies available to the public. A recent example of this partnership model is currently at the grocery store. If you've noticed that your grocer is stocking crisper, fresher apples lately, well, that's an example of an NC State partnership. We have a partnership agreement with Rohm and Hass to commercialize the "stay-fresh" technology that was developed in our biochemistry department.
In another partnership example, NC State and Erimos Pharmaceuticals, a company located on Centennial Campus, recently filed a joint provisional patent for use of a developmental Erimos product to reduce the often-fatal complications of multiple flu strains, including avian flu. These are the types of partnerships that allow our university to provide relevant solutions to real-world problems.
Our faculty and researchers are a critical component in building these types of collaborative efforts, and we are fortunate to have the caliber of faculty and researchers that we do. Now, let me talk more specifically about NC State's environmental partnerships.
As environmental consciousness expands, we, as a university, are obligated to take steps to protect the quality of our natural resources. Communities throughout our region, state and nation currently face a number of critical issues related to the use and protection of natural resources. We are demonstrating our commitment to improving our communities and our environment through environmental education and research partnerships, and services.
As examples, I would cite our Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, which includes approximately 40 faculty, 100 graduate students and 150 undergraduates involved in basic and applied studies of Earth Systems. The North Carolina State Climate Office, located on Centennial Campus, is actively involved in all aspects of climate research, education and extension services and serves as a Research Center for the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.
In addition, we are addressing environmental forensics, chemical speciation and endocrine toxicology within our Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology. Our Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering offers research concentrations in air pollution control, environmental systems analysis, and risk assessment and modeling.
Through our Center for Marine Sciences and Technology located in Morehead City, we are providing scientific expertise that brings benefits and provides solutions to our coastal communities and, in fact, our country and the world. As a founding member of the Marine Science and Education Partnership of Carteret County, the Center for Marine Sciences and Technology is creating opportunities for cooperation and collaboration by partnering with Carteret Community College and other marine science organizations and agencies in the county.
A partnership between several colleges at NC State and Duke University, UNC-CH, USDA and EPA, as well as the NC Department of Natural Resources, has resulted in developing and examining new technologies for successful management of animal waste, including air quality. In fact, there was a very successful first International Workshop on Agricultural Air Quality held in Washington, D.C. earlier this year led by NC State.
With a continued need for research and assessment of ozone effects on crops and forests to determine severity of impact, economic costs and future effects, NC State is involved in a National Research Initiative with EPA, the USDA and universities around the globe to study ozone effects.
In addition to our environmental education, research and partnerships, NC State is also providing environmental services to our region. NC State's Industrial Extension Service, the first of its kind in the US, was established in 1955 to help North Carolina industries grow and prosper.
IES offers Air Quality assistance to manufacturers with on-site programs and publicly offered classes. On-Site programs include assistance with developing air quality permits, emission testing and Indoor Air Quality surveys. The service also offers a variety of air quality classes and Air Pollution Training materials to the general public. We will continue to move forward with strategic environmental partnerships that will further innovation, produce relevant results and protect human health and our environment.
Well, let me close by saying that the kinds of partnerships and relationships I have just mentioned have served us well. Partnerships allow NC State to be recognized as national leader in academics and research as well as extension, engagement and economic development. We believe this is an approach that is in everyone's best interest.