Powerful partnerships, practical solutions: NC State developing national reputation for taking on global challenges.

• Position: NC STATE UNIVERSITY

North Carolina State University is emerging as the research enterprise of choice for government agencies, businesses and nonprofits who need a partner to take on global challenges.

In the last year alone, federal agencies have awarded more than $150 million in grants to NC State to work on some of the most pressing problems of our time: energy inefficiency, data overload, nuclear proliferation, climate change and more. And NC State, in turn, is tapping its deep network of business and nonprofit partners to find practical, innovative solutions.

Why NC State? Because its world-leading faculty and high performing students are well-versed in the interdisciplinary approaches that a changing world demands. Because, with more than 60 government, industry and nonprofit partners on NC States Centennial Campus, it pioneered the modern research campus, and no university in the country knows how to build powerful, solution-driven partnerships better. Because NC State research yields real results: more than 800 U.S. patents, more than 400 consumer products and more than 100 startup and spinoff companies.

NC State Power

In January, President Barack Obama announced that NC State would lead PowerAmerica, a federally funded hub for manufacturing innovation. With $70 million from the U.S. Department of Energy --the largest grant in university history--matched by funds from 18 partners and the state of North Carolina, the new institute will drive the manufacturing and use of wide bandgap semiconductors.

WBG semiconductors operate at higher temperatures than the silicon-based systems that drive most electronic devices today. WBG technology could halve the size of the average automobile's cooling system, cut costs in data centers and reduce energy loss in the nation's power grid, according to the Department of Energy.

The rise of WBG semiconductors also has the potential to launch a powerful new manufacturing sector --one led by the United States. "At the end of the day, this is really about developing technology that allows energy to move more quickly and more affordably with less loss of energy in the process," says NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson.

The new institute will build on the work of the FREEDM Systems Center, an NC State-led National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center that focuses on building a smarter electrical grid.

Human Health

In the effort to curb chronic disease, reliable information about the patient's body and environment is...