The following Park community members and initiatives have received media attention in recent weeks:

As part of their Civic Engagement Initiatives over the past few years, Park Scholars have partnered with DKMS (formerly Delete Blood Cancer) to coordinate bone marrow donor registration drives on NC State’s campus. An impressive five donors from these drives have since been matched with recipients and completed the donation process, saving five lives. Four of the donors came together last month with donor registration drive coordinators Rizwan Dard ‘17, Sammi Fernandes ‘17, and Neelam Modi ‘18 for a press conference in the Talley Student Union. Raleigh’s News & Observer ran an op ed on the story and quoted Fernandes ‘17 heavily in a separate article. Time Warner Cable News also reported on the students’ philanthropic spirit.

Before departing for England, NC State’s first Churchill Scholar Mia de los Reyes ’16 gave a talk in the D.H. Hill Library Auditorium as part of NCSU Libraries’ “Stellar Students” series. She spoke about her time at NC State, and the path that led her to receiving this prestigious and nationally competitive award. Mia will use her Churchill award to pursue a one-year master’s degree in astronomy within Churchill College at the University of Cambridge.

Dr. Ryan Neely, III ’09, a lecturer of observational atmospheric science in the University of Leeds’ School of Earth and Environment and National Centre for Atmospheric Science, was involved in a study that revealed the healing of the Antarctic ozone hole, which received quite a bit of media attention in recent months. Listen to him discuss this promising revelation. His research, which entails investigation of aerosols, clouds, and precipitation by shooting laser beams and radio waves into the atmosphere, has taken him to all seven continents.

Dr. Vance Whitaker ‘03, an associate professor of horticultural sciences at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, recently led a research team in a study of genetic markers in strawberries that can be used to help cultivate berries that are more resistant to deadly angular leaf spot. Their findings could save strawberry growers millions of dollars per year by preventing crop loss.