Friday, January 24, 2014

Carolina in the News

Check out the recent media mentions of sustainability-related programs, practices, and people at UNC:

Carolina is #1 academic value among public campuses for 13th time in a row 
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine 
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranks as the number one value in American public higher education for the 13th consecutive year. UNC’s combination of stellar academics, low cost, and generous financial aid has once again bested its peers. For academic quality, UNC competes with elite private schools. Its 28% admission rate—even more selective than last year’s—means that only the most competitive applicants gain entry. Most students graduate on time, with 77% completing their degrees in four years. UNC is the only school on the list to meet 100% of financial need. Read more »

Researchers project N.C. ‘megalopolis’ by 2050 
wral.com 
North Carolina is expected to grow by at least a million people a decade for the next few decades, and researchers are beginning to get a sense of where they're all going to end up. Rebecca Tippett, with the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says it’s projected that, by 2050, there will be a megalopolis – defined as an area that includes several large cities – along the Charlotte, Triad, and Triangle corridor. Researchers at UNC believe city and county planners need to come together to best decide how they want this potential mega-region to look decades from now. Read more »

UNC researchers convert solar energy into fuel 
wunc 91.5 North Carolina Public Radio
The Energy Frontier Research Center at UNC-Chapel Hill has built a system that converts solar energy into fuel, so power can be used even after the sun sets. Instead of storing solar electricity in an expensive battery, researchers use the sun's energy to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. Chemistry Professor Tom Meyer says the method could be useful and cost-effective for power utilities someday. Read more »

Thanks to UNC News Services for finding these great stories AND compiling the summaries! You can find more UNC media coverage and stories online at http://uncnews.unc.edu.