Cluster Conversations

NC State’s Office of University Interdisciplinary Programs (OUIP) and Office for Faculty Excellence (OFE) partner to present “Cluster Conversations,” in which members of one of NC State’s Chancellor’s Faculty Excellence Program clusters join Senior Vice Provost for University Interdisciplinary Programs Rob Dunn for an informal conversation about exciting work being done within their cluster — currently, and with an eye to the future.

These monthly events are open to all members of the NC State community, the Centennial Campus community and the general public.

All Cluster Conversations are held in Raleigh Founded, Partners I Building on NC State’s Centennial Campus from 8:45-10 a.m.

If you have questions about Cluster Conversations, please contact Dr. Jory Weintraub, Director of Science Engagement (weintraub@ncsu.edu).

Upcoming Cluster Conversations

All events will be from 8:45-10 a.m. at Raleigh Founded in Partners I Bldg. on Centennial Campus. Cluster Conversations are open to everyone, including undergraduate students.

Tuesday, Nov. 11 – Genetic Engineering and Society Cluster

In our final event of the fall semester, members of the cluster will discuss their work at the nexus of science and technology, the social sciences and humanities, examining the technical, ethical, and societal dimensions of the products and impacts of biotechnology.

Past Cluster Conversations

Thursday, Oct. 16 – Quantitative and Computational Developmental Biology Cluster

In this Cluster Conversation, members of the cluster discussed their work applying precision measurements of molecular, cellular and tissue dynamics in living embryos, along with computer simulation and modeling, to understand the development, growth and diversification of plants and animals.

Wednesday, Sept. 17 – Synthetic and Systems Biology Cluster

Members of the cluster discussed their work integrating synthetic and systems biology to solve important challenges, such as eradicating disease and addressing the globally increasing demands for food and energy in a sustainable environment.

Thursday, April 17, 2025
Carbon Electronics Cluster

Members of the Carbon Electronics Cluster discussed their work on revolutionary computing approaches, renewable power sources, advanced energy storage and novel device capabilities such as energy-efficient and low-cost memory and sensor devices, many of which can be integrated into truly self-sustaining systems such as self-powered greenhouses, integrated solar cell-algae bioreactors, or integrated, self-powered health monitors.

Tuesday, March 18, 2025 Emerging Plant Disease and Global Food Security Cluster

Members of the Emerging Plant Disease and Global Food Security Cluster discussed how they are creating new knowledge and tools to better understand and counter emerging infectious plant diseases caused by pathogens and pests, enabling a more rapid response to contain and limit potential damage by these threats.

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025
Visual Narrative Cluster

Members of the Visual Narrative Cluster discussed how they are pushing the shared frontiers of engineering and humanistic research by identifying a leading edge of development in the multimodal landscape of digital images, gaming, virtual environments and visualization.

Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025
Global Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Cluster

Members of the Global, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Cluster discussed the innovative ways they catalyze and conduct transformational research and education to serve the water, sanitation and hygiene needs of marginalized countries.

Nov. 21, 2024
Center for Geospatial Analytics

Members of the Center for Geospatial Analytics discussed the innovative ways they are pushing the boundaries of spatial data science to advance discovery and inform real-world decision-making through innovative research and education.

Oct. 17, 2024
Environmental Health Science Cluster

Jane Hoppin, Cathrine Hoyo, Jonathan Hall, Shobhan Gaddameedi, Mike Cowley, and Nadine Kotlarz of the Environmental Health Science Cluster discussed ways they are addressing the impact of environmental exposures on human health by investigating fundamental mechanisms, characterizing human exposure and exposure mitigation, and studying health impact in human populations.

lots of tiny molecules creating the silhouette of a man

Sept. 19, 2024 – Microbiomes and Complex Microbial Communities Cluster

Drs. Nathan Crook and Benjamin Callahan, and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Alexandra Imre of the Microbiomes and Complex Microbial Communities Cluster addressed topics such as using the microbiome as a place for manufacturing, and better microbiome measurements for better microbiome science.

April 16, 2024 – Bioinformatics Cluster

Drs. Fred Wright and Louis-Marie Bobay of the Bioinformatics Cluster described how burgeoning advancements in artificial intelligence are revolutionizing our understanding of complex biological systems while discussing topics such as massive ‘omics profiling at single cell resolution, evolutionary methods in medicine and trait improvement, and the roles that machine learning methods and generative AI might play as collaborative assistants in the design, execution, and even funding of genomics research.

March 7, 2024 – Digital Transformation of Education Cluster

Drs. Tiffany Barnes, Ela Castellanos-Reyes and Joey Huang of the Digital Transformation of Education Cluster explored the bridge between education and technology and answered questions on topics as diverse as the evolution of community building in online and distance education, intelligent tutoring systems, and how we are supporting teachers and instructors to leverage GenerativeAI in their jobs.

Jan. 24, 2024 – Forensic Sciences Cluster

Drs. Kelly Meiklejohn and Chau-Wai Wong, and PhD student Teresa Tiedge of the Forensic Sciences Cluster shared their thoughts on “where to from here” in forensic sciences and answered questions on topics diverse as ink and dye classification, using DNA for black bear individual matching and machine learning/AI.

Dec. 13, 2023 – Translational Predictive Biology Cluster

Drs. Sarah Shelton, Ian Williamson and Jorge Piedrahita of the Translational Predictive Biology Cluster answered questions about the future of stem cell biology, organoid biology, organ-on-chip technologies, drug delivery, organismal physiology and data analytics/machine learning.