3 collections related to Environmental science -- Research

The Dale E. Sayers papers document Sayers' career as a researcher and educator, from his work as an undergraduate at the University of California at Berkeley to his teaching and research career as a professor of physics at North Carolina State University. Sayers was a co-developer of the modern extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) technique, which, according to Sayers, "allows atomic structural information to be determined in complex systems." In addition to EXAFS, his research interests included x-ray absorption spectroscopy, amorphous materials, mammography technology, synchrotron radiation, and environmental science. Sayers' extensive planning work on the NC STAR Storage Ring Project (North Carolina Storage Rings for Advanced Research) is one of the main subjects documented here. Other research project files included in these papers are Joint Economic Development Initiative - Advanced Light Technologies (JEDI-ALT) and the Department of Defense's Technology Reinvestment Project (TRP). These research files also include information on Sayers involvement in projects with the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS), the Advanced Light Source (ALS), the Canadian Light Source (CLS), Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), and MEMS (Microelectromechanical Systems). Sayers was active professionally in and beyond N.C. State. He published more than 200 articles in journals such as Environmental Science and Technology, Journal of Applied Physics, Journal of Materials Research, Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, and Thin Solid Films. He was active in organizations such as International XAFS Society and the American Physical Society, was awarded a patent on his "Stable Silicide Electrical Contacts on Si" invention, presented invited talks and seminars at more than sixty national and international conferences, and served as a consultant for groups such as Mobil Research and Development. During his tenure at N.C. State, Sayers was involved in grant projects with institutions such as Exxon, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, Procter & Gamble, the United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Department of Energy, and the University of Connecticut. Included in this collection are papers from Sayers' colleague Rodney McCormick, also of the NC State Physics Department. Dale Edward Sayers began his studies at the University of California at Berkeley, where he received his bachelor's degree in physics. He continued his studies at the University of Washington, where he completed his master's and doctoral degrees in physics. Sayers was named assistant professor of physics at North Carolina State University in 1976, associate professor in 1979, and professor in 1984. He served in that capacity until his death, November 25, 2004. Less

The Ellis B. Cowling Papers contain files from 1957 to 2013 that include reports, notes, writings, research data, memos, correspondence, and newspaper clippings documenting Ellis B. Cowling's career. There are correspondence, publications, media clippings from newspapers, websites and magazines, drafts and reports from the Ad Hoc Committee at North Carolina State University and photographs all related to the move of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in 1999. There are also articles, correspondence, grant application materials, presentation materials, newsletters, newspaper clippings, and reports related to Cowling's animal waste research work, pertaining in particular to the Out-of-the-Box Thinking group. Additionally there are articles, background information, brochures, correspondence and news articles related to Cowling's involvement with the installation of Marye Anne Fox as Chancellor of North Carolina State University, the Watauga Seminar and the Faculty Senate. The largest series on the Southern Oxidants Study (SOS) contains annual meetings agendas, correspondence, presentation materials and reports related both directly to SOS and to its collaboration with other organizations. There is also extensive material about the Data Analysis Workshop conducted by SOS. In addition to these paper materials, there are also floppy disks, slides and photographs related to the Southern Oxidants Study (SOS). Finally, there are also audiovisual materials, primarily videotapes and cassette tapes. Most of the cassette tapes contain lectures Cowling gave over the course of a semester to the graduate-level PP [Plant Pathology] 650 course, although it is unclear what the course would have been titled since it no longer exists. Dr. Ellis B. Cowling was a University Distinguished Professor At-Large Emeritus of Forestry and Plant Pathology at North Carolina State University. Dr. Cowling specialized in biochemistry of wood decay, conservation of essential elements by forest trees, diseases of forest trees and deterioration of timber products, role of nitrogen in coevolution of forest trees and wood-destroying fungi, and integrated management of plant diseases. His other research interests included man-induced changes in the chemical climate and their effects on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and the role of scientists in public decision making. Dr. Cowling helped develop a nationwide system for monitoring acid deposition called the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP). His appointment as the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee of Faculty at North Carolina State University contributed to the preservation and relocation of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in North Carolina. Dr. Cowling died on September 24, 2021. Less