Extraordinary Purpose

Thanks to your support, NC State’s faculty continues to be a powerful force for good — on campus, across North Carolina and around the globe.

NC State unites the world’s best faculty and researchers with government and industry partners to think and do the extraordinary. Our Pack creates dynamic new approaches to teaching and learning, fuels industries and breakthroughs, and guides our students to impactful post-graduate lives. We work to create a big, bold future for our campus, state, nation and world — and your support makes it all possible!

NC State generates remarkable return on investment, contributing $6.5 billion to North Carolina’s economy every year — an impact equivalent to more than 91,000 new jobs. With the help of private support, we are reaching new levels in sponsored research funding, tech transfer, entrepreneurship and interdisciplinary partnerships. Behind every statistic: talented individuals who engage, educate, mentor and inspire the next generation.

With your support, we can strengthen NC State’s doctoral programs and attract, retain and support the top faculty members who are the heart of any great university. Those investments are key to delivering solutions that make the world a better place — and to producing leaders poised to make extraordinary discoveries of their own.

Here are some of the many ways our faculty members are using private support to create economic, societal and intellectual prosperity for all.

Think & Do

Professor Sunkyu Park with a bottle of "paper sludge"

Progress at the Pump

Professor Sunkyu Park is working to turn waste from the pulp and paper industry into the biofuel of the future.

Learn how private support is helping

All Systems Go

NC State’s Think and Do mantra resonates deeply with A. Doug Allison Distinguished Professor Julie Swann, and right now, her expertise is in high demand.

A Different Kind of Summer School

Two distinguished professors are offering CVM students a rare chance at introductory research experience.

DPs makes a difference

Amy Grunden Named Assistant Director of NCARS

The William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Microbiology has officially been named assistant director for the life sciences for the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service.

Help support her work

Hidden Potential

Forests are perhaps the United States’ greatest renewable resource. They also hold significant untapped potential, as distinguished professor Hasan Jameel is proving.

DPs makes a difference

His Disease, His Mission

Undeterred by a devastating diagnosis, NC State scientist Michael Bereman took the battle to ALS.

Read about his research

Statistician Named Goodnight Distinguished Professor

The College of Sciences has named Eric Laber of the Department of Statistics as a Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Statistics.

Learn about Laber’s work

“The Plant Science Initiative is a great place to do this research that will shape what we want North Carolina agriculture to look like in the future.”

— Fred Gould, William Neal Reynolds University Distinguished Professor

Reaping the rewards of interdisciplinary research

“Brian [Reich]’s contributions to his field and our university have been substantial, and we are excited to see what he will do next.”

— Chris McGahan, Dean of the College of Sciences, on Reich being named the Gertrude M. Cox Distinguished Professor

Learn more about this honor

Genzer Receives R.J. Reynolds Award

Dr. Jan Genzer is a S. Frank and Doris Culberson Distinguished Professor in NC State’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

Learn about his many academic endeavors

Innovate & Integrate

Connecting Your World With Your Health

For researchers in the Center for Human Health and the Environment, science is a community effort.

Help that community

A Chemical Chain Reaction

With the help of several distinguished professors, Kaylie Kirkwood learned to put her hands-on research experience to work in academia.

Learn how funding furthers our mission

Wolf icons on the Talley Student Union elevator glass wall.

New Chair Unites Two Colleges on the International Stage

Dr. James “Jim” W. Owens is advancing cross-college collaboration at NC State in a big way via a very generous gift.

Follow Owens’ example

Professors Bruce Keene, left, and Clarke Atkins

The Heart of the Matter

College of Veterinary Medicine professors Bruce Keene and Clarke Atkins have found their careers linked by location, specialty and philanthropy.

Private support helps them succeed

Irwin Morris Named William T. Kretzer Distinguished Professor

Morris is the executive director of NC State’s School of Public and International Affairs. His professorship honors the late William T. Kretzer of CHASS.

Help further his research

“His appointment as Goodnight Distinguished Professor of Geospatial Analytics not only elevates the Center, it is a recognition of his extraordinary work and commitment to advancing the field of geospatial analytics.”

— Interim Dean Myron Floyd on Dr. Ross K. Meentemeyer’s appointment as the Goodnight Distinguished Professor of Geospatial Analytics

Learn about Meentemeyer’s work and how you can support it

Extraordinary Purpose

NC State students, faculty and alumni come together with the town's residents and elected officials to install plants at Town Hall as part of the Coastal Dynamics Design Lab's Planting Day in Princeville

Teamwork that Addresses Flooding Challenges

An interdisciplinary research and design team is helping communities recover and plan for the future through a holistic approach.

Learn more

Meet Akram Khater

This distinguished professor spearheads a massive effort to preserve the history and culture of Lebanese Americans.

Be the change

CNR Students at Hill Forest Control Burn

A Safer Defense

Researchers at NC State’s Textile Protection and Comfort Center are working to build a better shelter for firefighters.

Help fight fire with funding

NC State Spin-off TreeCo To Breed a Better Forest

A company founded by two NC State researchers is setting out to revolutionize the forestry industry.

Private support is needed

Hiller A. Spires Named Executive Director of Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, Associate Dean

Spires was the founding director of the Friday Institute and later served as interim executive director.

Help her help the institute

“The platelets are effectively giving the drug a piggyback ride directly to the site of the heart attack, delivering a higher concentration where it is needed.”

— Ke Cheng, Randall B. Terry Jr. Distinguished Professor in Regenerative Medicine

Learn how you can further this research

Inspiring Tomorrow’s Statistics Leaders

Len Stefanski uses his distinguished professorship to send students to the annual Women in Statistics and Data Science conference.

DPs make a difference

Bold Breakthroughs

Supporting Crop DNA Replication Research

Professors in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology have received a $3.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to further their important research.

Help is still needed

‘Mapping’ the Sweetpotato Genome

This innovative agricultural research is critical for the lives and livelihoods of families in North Carolina as well as Sub-Saharan Africa.

Philanthropy can help

Lightweight Membrane Reduces In-Flight Aircraft Noise

NC State researchers have helped develop membranes that can significantly reduce aircraft noise when inserted into the honeycomb structures used in aircraft design.

Private funding helps us think and do

Plant Aid: Detecting Plant Diseases Faster

Researchers are combining small sensors with big data to detect diseases plaguing tomato fields.

Philanthropy makes it possible

To Mend Our Best Friend

NC State’s Canine Spinal Cord Injury Program is helping improve the outcome of incomplete and complete spinal cord injuries in dogs.

Learn how you can help

Researchers Demonstrate Fundamentally New Approach to Ultrasound Imaging

The new approach is substantially simpler than existing techniques and could significantly drive down technology costs.

Private support made it possible

“Our program is the link between what happens at NC State in translational medicine … and the clinical application at UNC and Duke.”

— Jorge Piedrahita, Comparative Medicine Institute co-director and distinguished professor

Learn how you can help CMI think and do

Learning & Leading

two young farmers checking on their hemp crops

Ag, Agribusiness Generate a Sixth of N.C. Income, Jobs

North Carolina’s agriculture and agribusiness industry remains a powerhouse in large part because of the work done here at NC State.

Private support plays a major role

New Fellowship Endowment to benefit NC State Grad Students

Todd and DelMarie Wehner created the Wehner Horticulture Fellowship Endowment to assist those interested in horticulture studies.

Be part of their legacy

A Life-Changing Leader

Tom Miller, the McPherson Family Distinguished Professor of Engineering Entrepreneurship, uses his funding to personally introduce NC State students to Silicon Valley.

DPs makes a difference

Gookin Named FluoroScience Distinguished Professor in Veterinary Scholars Research Education

Gookin’s work is devoted to clinical service and teaching with an appreciation of the value of laboratory research.

Learn more about her and her DP

“The idea is that these microcleaning particles would grab the microplastics, collapse in on themselves and then float to the surface — where you could pick them up.”

— Orlin Velev, NC State distinguished professor

Philanthropy is making it possible

NC State Receives $2.5M Grant for AI/Oceanography Research

Goodnight Innovation Distinguished Professor Ruoying He was among a group of scientists recently awarded this generous National Science Foundation grant.

Learn how it’s being used

Making a Difference

From left: H. Sebastian Heese; Jon C. Carr, Ph.D.; Stacy Wood; Paul F. Williams

Making an Impact Through Endowments and Fellowships

Four faculty members share how essential endowments and fellowships are to the Poole College of Management.

Hear their stories

Constructing More than Buildings

Min Liu educates students and leads conversations about construction project management with support from her Edward I. Weisiger Distinguished Scholar endowed faculty position.

Help her help others

The Business of Partnership

NC State is the perfect fit for Dr. Jon Carr, Jenkins Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Poole College of Management.

There’s no “I” in “team”

Lasting Legacy

Honoring a Life of Connections

The Cecil C. Bozarth III Scholarship Endowment is proof of Bozarth’s enduring impact on the Poole College of Management.

Learn how his legacy lives on

Becky Boston: A Distinguished 30-Year CALS Career

A William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor, Boston has now entered the ranks of professor emerita.

Here’s her story

State of the Art

Same Powerful Words, New Powerful Ways

NC State is helping share Martin Luther King Jr.’s timeless words via a timely method.

Hear MLK in an innovative way

Expert Insights

Meeting the Demand for Supply Chain Expertise

Robert Handfield’s endowed position allows him to explore today’s supply chain challenges and find meaningful solutions.

See philanthropy at work