Venditti Named TAPPI Fellow for 2012

Posted on March 2, 2012 by

Dr. Richard Venditti

Dr. Richard Venditti has been named a 2012 TAPPI Fellow by the nation’s leading association for the worldwide pulp, paper, packaging and converting industries, TAPPI. He is currently on the faculty of the Department of Forest Biomaterials in North Carolina State University’s College of Natural Resources.

According to TAPPI, Fellow is an honorary title bestowed upon a very small percentage of TAPPI’s membership. It is given to individuals who have made extraordinary technical or service contributions to the industry and/or the Association. The new Fellows will be honored at the TAPPI Fellows Luncheon on Sunday, April 22, 2012 held in conjunction with the 2012 PaperCon meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

“As an outstanding educator Dr. Venditti has made major contributions to the pulp and paper industry by training and educating many technical and engineering graduates who now work and hold key positions in our industry,” said Larry N. Montague, president and CEO of TAPPI. “In addition, he’s conducted top level research in areas such as recycling and more recently into bio-based materials and biofuels. He’s an outstanding choice for this prestigious award.”

Currently Venditti teaches Chemical Process Control, Unit Operations of Pulp and Paper, and Life Cycle Analysis at NCSU and he’s also director of the Hands-on Workshop for Pulp and Paper Basics co-sponsored by NCSU and TAPPI.

His research group’s goal at NCSU is to develop and understand systems for the effective utilization of renewable resources to produce sustainable products, including polymeric materials and biofuels.

In addition to TAPPI he is a member of the American Chemical Society and the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment. In 2001 he was awarded The Investigator of the Year Award by the AF&PA Containerboard Group Technical Division for his research in paper recycling. In 2009 he received a Fulbright Senior Specialist in Environmental Science for travel to South Africa and in 2010 was awarded the Association for the Concerns of African American Graduate Students Advocacy Award at NCSU.

Venditti received a Ph.D. degree in Chemical Engineering at Princeton University and B.S. degrees in Pulp and Paper Technology and Chemical Engineering at North Carolina State University.

About TAPPI:
TAPPI is the leading association for the worldwide pulp, paper, packaging and converting industries and publisher of Paper360° and TAPPI JOURNAL. Through information exchange, events, trusted content and networking opportunities, TAPPI helps members elevate their performance by providing solutions that lead to better, faster and more cost-effective ways of doing business. It has provided management training and networking to the industry’s leaders for more than 97 years. Visit www.tappi.org.
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Media Contacts:
Deborah Chafin, TAPPI Marketing, dchafin@tappi.org, 770-209-7216
Tilla Fearn, NCSU College of Natural Resources, tilla_fearn@ncsu.edu, 919,513-4644

Sustainability, College Athletics Don’t Always Connect

Posted on February 15, 2012 by

Large college athletics departments talk the talk when it comes to concern for the environment and environmental sustainability, but only a small percentage of these departments actually walk the walk in making their operations “greener.”

It turns out there’s a large disconnect between athletics departments and other campus departments charged with advancing environmental sustainability, says Dr. Jonathan Casper, a North Carolina State University associate professor of sports management and lead author of a paper that examined athletic department sustainability practices at almost 100 NCAA Division I schools.

Concerns about the costs of going green, mixed with a lack of communication with the rest of the university about campus sustainability initiatives, appear to vex many green efforts in athletics, Casper says.

He adds that some schools are capturing the “low-hanging fruit” – replacing incandescent light bulbs and utilizing recycling bins at stadiums, for instance – but says most haven’t included sustainable practices or long-term planning about environmental issues in athletics departments’ strategic plans.

The study, one of the first to examine sustainability in big-time college athletics, surveyed 117 so-called football bowl subdivision (FBS) schools; 97 schools responded to a number of questions on athletic department perceptions and actions on environmental sustainability. Generally, athletic department representatives responding to the survey understand that sustainability issues are important. But not many athletic departments have formal relationships with other campus groups involved in sustainability.

“Getting these groups talking to one another and partnering to make athletics more sustainable could really make a difference, as athletics departments understand the need to be greener in their building and facility operations, event management, and other areas,” Casper says. “Partnering with other campus groups already working on green initiatives may also help bring the cost down for athletics departments.”

For more information contact:
Dr. Jonathan Casper, NC State University Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management, 919/513-0771 or jmcasper@ncsu.edu
Mick Kulikowski, News Services, 919/515-8387 or mick_kulikowski@ncsu.edu

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Note: An abstract of the paper follows.

“Athletics Department Awareness and Action Regarding the Environment: A Study of NCAA Athletics Department Sustainability Practices”

Authors: Jonathan Casper, North Carolina State University; Michael Pfahl, Ohio University; Mark McSherry, ProGreenSports

Published: Jan, 27, 2012, in Journal of Sport Management

Abstract: The relationship of sport to sustainability management is relatively unknown. Despite the increasing recognition of the growing role of athletics in regard to environmental sustainability, it remains unclear what role athletics departments have with regard to environmental action and what is currently being done now. The purpose of this study is to examine American intercollegiate athletics department personnel in relation to their organization’s sustainability practices, organizational strategies, and personal perspectives at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) universities. Athletics department members (N = 97) who were most responsible for sustainability initiatives responded to a survey designed to assess awareness levels and concern for environmental issues and the strategies and practices at work in their respective athletics departments. Findings based on prioritization, planning, decision-making, and use of initiatives using frequencies and means are reported. Differences, using t-tests were also compared based on BCS or non-BCS standing. Results show that although environmental concern is high, there is disconnect between concern and action perhaps due to a lack of communication between the athletics department and the general university, cost concerns, and a lack of knowledge about sustainability initiatives. Implications related to the need for better communication between the athletics department/university and improved planning and prioritization is discussed.

CNR Dean Brown Announces Retirement

Posted on January 12, 2012 by

Dr. Robert (Bob) Brown, Dean of the College of Natural Resources at North Carolina State University, has announced his plans to retire in late summer-early fall, 2012.

Dr. Brown has been Dean at NC State since 2006. He attended the University of California at Davis, and received his B.S. from Colorado State University. After a tour in Vietnam with the Marine Corps, he attended Penn State University and received his Ph.D. in 1975. He was on the faculty of Texas A&I University in Kingsville and a Research Scientist there with the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute from 1975-87. He was head of the Wildlife and Fisheries Department at Mississippi State University from 1987-93, and then head of the Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Department at Texas A&M University from 1993-2006. While at Texas A&M, he was also Director of the Institute for Renewable Natural Resources and Coordinator of the Gulf Coast CESU.

Dr. Brown has been National President and a Fellow in The Wildlife Society, President of the National Association of University Fish and Wildlife Programs, Chair of the Board on Natural Resources of NASULGC (now ALUP), a Professional Member of the Boone & Crockett Club, Chair of the External Review Panel of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and was an Adult Leader in the Boy Scouts for 18 years. He retired as a LtCol. in the Marine Corps Reserve.

Dr. Brown and his wife, Regan, will remain in the Raleigh area after retirement. Together they recently established the Bob and Regan Brown Endowed Scholarship in Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology to provide support for incoming freshman. The first recipient will enter the program at NC State in Fall 2012.

NC State is moving forward with a national search for a new dean of the College of Natural Resources, according to Provost Warwick Arden. Blanton Godfrey, dean of the College of Textiles at NC State, will lead the CNR search.

NC State Renewable Energy Experts Serve On EPA Science Advisory Board Panel

Posted on November 7, 2011 by

Three North Carolina State University professors recently served on an Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board Panel to discuss scientific issues that have major implications for the future of renewable power and fuels.

Drs. Robert Abt, professor of forest economics and management; Morton Barlaz, professor and head of the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering; and Stephen Kelley, professor and head of the Department of Forest Biomaterials; joined 15 other researchers from 10 universities and three national laboratories on the panel.

The Biogenic Carbon Emissions Panel met in Washington, DC, Oct. 25-27 to conduct a peer review of EPA’s Accounting Framework for Biogenic Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions from Stationary Sources. The review included identifying key scientific and technical factors to be considered when constructing a framework for accounting for the impacts of utilizing biologically-based feedstocks at stationary power and fuel production sites, which include power plants, chemical plants, landfills, bioethanol plants, oil refineries and wood products manufacturing facilities.

Biogenic carbon dioxide emissions are emissions from a stationary source directly resulting from the combustion or decomposition of biologically-based materials other than fossil fuels. This panel focused on the scientific links between the biogenic emissions and the capture of carbon during the growth of the biomass, along with the associated land changes.

When the panel completes its work it will provide a comprehensive scientific overview of the different frameworks for tracking biogenic CO2 emissions through the carbon cycle.

NC State was the only university with three researchers appointed to the board, one from the College of Engineering and two from the College of Natural Resources.

Abt has 25 years of experience in modeling forest-dependent industries and markets. He developed the Sub-Regional Timber Supply (SRTS) modeling framework, which has been used by NASA and EPA to evaluate the potential impact of climate change and other environmental stressors of southern forests. Abt’s forest resource assessment research is supported by a consortium of 22 resource- dependent firms who are members of the Southern Forest Resource Assessment Consortium at NC State. Recently, his work has focused on the potential impact of bio-energy demand on the sustainability of the forest resource, traditional wood dependent industries and sequestered carbon.

Barlaz became head of the CCEE department in August 2010. He has been a faculty member at NC State since 1989 and served as the associate head of the department from 1998 to 2006. He is an internationally renowned expert in the field of solid waste management, and his research in microbial ecology and degradation processes in landfills is considered by many to be the most important work in the field today. He was the recipient of the Distinguished Individual Achievement Award from the Solid Waste Association of North America in 2004 and the Distinguished Service Award from the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors in 2003 and 2009.

Kelley became head of the Department of Forest Biomaterials in 2005. His research interests include the sustainable production of energy and materials from biomass, life cycle analysis of wood products and energy systems and the application of novel analytical tools to biomass characterization. Prior to joining NC State, he worked for 13 years at DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and six years as an industrial researcher working with renewable polymers. He currently serves on the editorial boards of three international journals and is the president of the Consortium for Research in Renewable Industrial Materials.

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For more information:
Nate DeGraff, NCSU College of Engineering 919-515-3848
Tilla Fearn, NCSU College of Natural Resources 919-513-4644

Natural Resources and Textiles Colleges Co-Host Global Health Special Event

Posted on October 24, 2011 by

Speaker: Elizabeth Scharpf, CEO, Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE)
Date: Wed., Oct. 26 at 5:00 p.m.
Location: College of Textiles, Rm. 2207 (parking available adjacent to the building)
RSVP: ncstateglobalhealth@gmail.com by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 24

NCSU Global Health Initiatives in the Office of International Affairs, along with the College of Textiles and the Department of Forest Biomaterials in the College of Natural Resources, invite you to a special event featuring Elizabeth Scharpf, a noted social entrepreneur and CEO of Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE). The topic of her presentation will be: The Period Problem: Challenges and Opportunities in the Creation of Market-Based Solutions for Low-Resource Settings

Ms. Scharpf will also address the ways in which she has worked with University students and faculty to co-develop solutions. There will be refreshments in the College of Textiles Atrium following the presentation. For more information on Elizabeth and SHE, please read below. Faculty are invited to a drop-in with Elizabeth in Withers 331 on Oct. 26 from 10:30 – 11:30 (please RSVP). Elizabeth will have limited availability to meet individually with faculty or student groups between 2 – 4 p.m., location TBD. Please contact Marian McCord at ncstateglobalhealth@gmail.com to request a meeting.

Demonstration: 1 p.m. Biltmore Hall – Pulp and Paper Labs

Researchers in the Department of Forest Biomaterials will demonstrate the processes they have been working on with SHE for more than a year.
The service project takes locally-available banana stem fiber and turns it into a surprisingly-absorbent fluff material that seems suitable for the
manufacture of hygienic devices. Two simple steps turn the coarse, twine-like stem material into a woolly mass. The simplicity of the process means that the local people can start up a cottage manufacturing facility and make their own hygiene devices. For more information on the Demonstration contact Dr. Med Byrd at med_byrd@ncsu.edu.

About SHE
Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE) is a social venture using market-based approaches to address social problems in developing countries. Its first initiative, she28, is addressing girls’ and women’s lack of access to affordable sanitary pads when they menstruate causing them to miss school and/or work–up to 50 days per year. she28 helps women start their own businesses distribute and eventually manufacture affordable, eco-friendly sanitary pads by sourcing local, inexpensive, raw materials (e.g., banana fibers), establishing manufacturing systems, and leveraging existing distribution networks. Echoing Green, one of the premier seed funders of social enterprises, named SHE one of the 20 most innovative social ventures worldwide (out of 1,500 applicants). Harvard Business School named SHE founder, Elizabeth Scharpf, its first Social Enterprise Fellow. President Clinton recognized SHE for its accomplishments at the Clinton Global Initiative. In October 2010, Elizabeth won the Curry Stone Design Prize, a $100,000 grant started by UK architect, Clifford Curry, and his wife, H. Delight Stone, and awarded annually to a designer making a global impact in the education, water, health, food, social justice, energy or peace promotion field.

About Elizabeth Scharpf
Founder and Chief Instigating Officer of SHE
Elizabeth is an entrepreneur who has spent most of her professional career starting up ventures or advising businesses on growth strategies in the health care industry. She has spent time as a strategic management consultant at Cambridge Pharma Consultancy as well as stints at the Clinton Foundation and the World Bank in Asia and East Africa, respectively. Elizabeth has an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MPA in international development from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a BA from the University of Notre Dame. Despite all the academic acronyms, she thinks her best education has come from talking with those sitting next to her on buses around the world.