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Office of Research and Innovation
ORI Annual Report

Success Stories

Last fiscal year, we helped NC State land major grants to lead research on quantum computing, Christmas tree genetics and several other subject areas of critical importance to society in the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, we also helped multiple inventors get their ideas closer to reaching the marketplace.

Winning BiG Research Grants

NC State to Lead DOE-Backed $10M Quantum Computing Research Project

In partnership with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, NASA’s Ames Research Center, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and two other universities, NC State is researching the utility of hybrid quantum computing processors.

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New NSF-Funded Training Program Tackles AI and Plant Science Challenges

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded our university $3 million over five years to establish and carry out a national graduate student research traineeship in artificial intelligence for sustainable agriculture — called GRAD-AID for Ag, for short.

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USDA Grants Nearly $7.5M to NC State Christmas Tree Genetics Program

With funding from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, NC State is leading a project to help genetically improve our nation’s future Christmas trees — making growers less susceptible to insects and disease outbreaks.

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Celebrating NC State’s Rich History of Research

For over 120 years, NC State University has put research to work for the citizens of North Carolina and beyond. Last fiscal year, we launched a digital timeline to highlight some of the most significant people and seminal inventions to have come out of NC State over the years. An accompanying print mailer we sent to promote the digital timeline took home a Silver award at the 40th annual EduAD Awards in the Direct Mail category.

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Moving Ideas To Market

Basic Research Leads to Brand-New DEET-Free Insect Repellent

Thanks in no small part to entomology professor Michael Roe’s early-stage research, consumers now have a plant-based, DEET-free bug spray available to purchase that’s certified by the EPA to protect against mosquitoes for up to eight hours. The repellent’s active ingredient is undecanone — a naturally occurring chemical compound found in tomatoes, bananas and other fruits.

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Precision Sensors: An Innovative Future for Agriculture

At the N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative, NC State researchers are advancing sensor technology to help farmers face challenges like emerging plant diseases. One research project led by professor Qingshan Wei — dubbed WolfSens — has created a portable sensor that plugs into a smartphone and can detect disease symptoms sooner by “sniffing” out volatile organic compounds, gasses that plants naturally emit.

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Battery-Powered Bandages Could Better Treat Chronic Wounds

Professor Amay Bandodkar has developed an electric bandage — with electrodes on one side and a small, “biocompatible” battery on the other — that healed chronic wounds 30% faster than conventional bandages in tests on diabetic mice. NC State’s Office of Research Commercialization filed a patent on Bandodkar’s behalf for the electric bandage technology.

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