ECU Startup Receives Phase II Funding
An ECU-backed startup company has received a Phase II Small Business Technology Transfer grant from the National Institutes of Health. RFPi, a Greenville medical device company, was awarded $1.49 million for continued development of technology that allows surgeons to observe blood flow during surgical procedures. The innovation is the first commercially available imaging technology that shows real-time blood flow in vascular structures and critical tissues during surgeries without the use of injections, dyes, radiation, direct patient contact or surgical interruption.
Vice Chancellor Launches Economic Growth Collaboratory
ECU is in the process of launching a number of public-private partnerships in areas spanning advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity and value-added agriculture. Recently, a diverse group of manufacturers, agriculture producers and processors, ECU experts, and government agencies came together to chart a path to fuel economic growth through agriculture as part of the university's new Economic Growth Collaboratory.
The collaboratory has pinpointed four major areas of focus including: food and crop emerging opportunities to address new foods, crops and biobased products; agricultural byproducts to address the potential to create new revenue from crops, processing or animals; supply chain and logistics to address transportation, freight and other sourcing challenges; and agricultural business improvement to address business planning, workforce training, entrepreneurship and financial opportunities. Contact Keith Wheeler to learn more about the collaboratory.
ECU Increasing Big Data Capabilities
Big data is becoming big business at ECU. The topic was discussed at the 2019 Big Data at Eastern North Carolina Symposium, as data researchers from across the state visited campus to discuss the future of the field. ECU researchers are striving to use big data in meaningful ways to provide the region better health care and more effective medical treatment outcomes, among other goals. The university is developing its capabilities by partnering with analytics leader SAS Software which will provide researchers with its data analytics software, teaching materials and on-site training.
ECU Kicks Off Biomaterials Research Cluster
Researchers are putting a focus on biomaterials with the launch of ECU's newest research cluster. Earlier this year, the university announced its biomaterials research cluster as part of its annual Research and Creative Achievement Week. The event brought together faculty and students across disciplines to discuss their work in the field and explore opportunities to create new technologies and businesses. In addition to support provided by cluster co-directors, 2,400 square feet of lab space dedicated to biomaterials research will be provided to researchers on the fourth floor of the School of Dental Medicine over the next five years.
Millennial Campus Update: New Life Sciences and Biotechnology Building
University officials broke ground on the university’s latest construction project in July, a $90 million Life Sciences and Biotechnology Building funded through the Connect NC Bond Referendum. The 141,500-square-foot facility, being built on one of the ECU millennial campus sites, will feature four stories with wet bench and computational laboratory spaces for researchers across a variety of academic disciplines. Programming in the building will include bioprocessing, bioimaging and optical physics, genetics and computational biology, environmental engineering and environmental biology, and plant biology. The building is expected to open in August 2021.
Applied Learning For Workforce Development
ECU has heard your need for a more prepared workforce in eastern North Carolina. That's why the university is establishing programs and providing opportunities for students to close the skill gap between what your industry needs and what they learn in the classroom. ECU sees a strong correlation of companies offering jobs to our students who have interned with them. Our industry team would be happy to explore internship and capstone project opportunities with you that offer innovative solutions to support your daily business operations. Here's a look at how we're readying ECU's great asset – our students – to be your next great employee.
Student Entrepreneurship on the RISE
This summer, ECU’s first cohort of RISE29 interns made their impact felt in Beaufort, Hyde, Martin and Pitt counties. Twenty two students participated in the university’s economic development program funded in part by a $1 million grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation. Students were involved with projects that saw them create a succession plan for a business in Martin County, develop possibilities for rural broadband in Hyde County, and establish a new business plan for a formerly defunct childcare center in the Outer Banks, to name a few.
With the start of the fall semester, 43 students will have enrolled in the RISE29 program, working on internship and consulting projects at 26 locations. In total, the program has amassed 8,485 hours of fieldwork in less than a year. To learn more about the program, contact Assistant Vice Chancellor for Economic and Community Engagement Sharon Paynter. Check out what else our students are doing to create and support eastern North Carolina’s economy.
STEM Research Grant Developing Future Workforce Pipeline
ECU's College of Engineering and Technology secured a $4 million grant from the National Science Foundation Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Program (S-STEM) that will go a long way in developing the region's future engineering workforce pipeline.
The grant provides scholarships to 80 students, including a cohort of 40 students beginning in the fall semester of 2020 and a second cohort of 40 students in the fall of 2021. Half of each cohort will begin as freshmen at ECU, while the other half will be distributed among three community college partners.
Students Show Off Industry Skills at Research Showcase
Research showcase opportunities are growing on campus, giving students an opportunity to develop industry skills. Undergraduate researchers had an opportunity to show off their technical writing capabilities, presentation techniques, and interpersonal communication expertise this summer at ECU's inaugural Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium. Nearly 40 students shared their work, providing students an event to present their current research interests while offering a new platform to test their pitches to audiences.
Paired with the university's Research and Creative Achievement Week, which included nearly 400 oral and poster presentations, ECU students now have more opportunities than ever to share their work with their peers and the community at large. The university will host its popular Capture 180 Challenge and 3-Minute Thesis presentations on Nov. 6. The public is invited to attend.
Cyber Defense Team Competes in Regional Competition
ECU’s Department of Technology Systems Cyber Defense Team competed in the first round of the 2019 Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition, placing ninth out of 32 teams. The team was invited to the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition in Maryland in a support-team role.
The Department of Technology Systems is home to ECU’s NSA/DHS National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance/Cyber Defense. The department offers undergraduate and graduate programs with a focus on information security, using ECU's dynamic faculty, state-of-art laboratories, and partnerships with business and industry to prepare graduates with technical and professional skills needed to design, deploy, manage, and apply security techniques. Learn more about how ECU can provide you with student support for your cyber security needs by contacting National Security and Industry Initiatives Executive Director Keith Wheeler.
ECU's Industry Team
Have questions about what ECU can do for your business? Need interns or workforce development assistance? Reach out to our industry team to find out how our university resources can be used to advance your business's needs.
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