ECU Research

Ten standout faculty were recognized at the second annual Innovator of the Month ceremony. Selected from dozens of invention disclosures, honorees were chosen for patentability, market potential and impact.

Terrific week with the Industry for Defense and Business hosting its IB2:LOG seminar. From industry benchmarking to visits to our labs and Center for IOT, it was a level jump in the partnership. TY John Glitz and IDB President Lt. Gen Mark Faulkner (ret.).

Inaugural Innovation Interns Erin Elsberry, Jahaviyouna Cruz and Whanyi Frank-Ito developed a commercialization strategy for Step Walker inventor Dr. Phillip Burton, '81. They presented it to him as well as internship funders Sanford Bailey and Rena Pappas.

This week at ECU — active-duty military and federal civilians gather for the first Institute for Defense & Business seminar in Greenville, advancing leadership, logistics, innovation and national security. Last night it kicked off with a dinner reception.

@Nuclera let us try out their eProtein Discovery platform, which helps researchers speed up experiments on purified proteins with an input of DNA. W/ Joanna Kirkendoll, Jake Wilson, Abigael Kosgei, Drs. Riley Bessetti and Robert Hughes with Dr. Eric Swanson.

Innovation Academy hosted its latest finals at @easternahec yesterday. The competitive entrepreneur workshop and accelerator included pitches on wave energy conversion, apps for human safety, and medical therapies for dementia and pediatric CVD. And for that reason, we're _in_!

STRONG 💪 finish to Research and Creative Achievement (RCA) Week w/ awards presentation and luncheon. Congrats our highest achievers! Chancellor Philip Rogers: “R1 isn’t the finish line. It’s the foundation for continued discovery, creativity, and meaningful student experiences.”

TY En Yang of @unc_biology for delivering the Laser Technologies Application Group ("Laser TAG") keynote address, "Fish in the Matrix: How we read and write memory using brain machine interfaces and VR." No doubt future applications for boosting _human_ learning performance.

Thank you Krizay Elenitoba-Johnson for your strategic, optimistic keynote on why Nipro chose to invest in #ENC. "It's the convergence of [our company with] an R1 institution .... Eastern North Carolina is a deliberate bet. This region is becoming something."

HAPPENING AT 1p — the keynote for Centers & Institutes Day, "Built Here on Purpose." Find out why multinational medical device maker Nipro elected to build an earthquake-resistant facility right here that will employ almost 300. Black Box Theater, Main Campus Student Center.

Stop by Research and Creative Activity Week day 2 for grad student and postdoc scholar podium presentations, second floor ballrooms at the Main Campus Student Center. Here's a few from Day 1 undergraduate student poster presentations.

Nipro Medical Corp chose Greenville as the home of its first North American manufacturing facility. Hear COO Krizay Elenitoba-Johnson speak at ECU Centers & Institutes Day, Wednesday at 1 p.m. in the Black Box Theater. Future focused — innovation driven.

What if your early career break starts at Research & Creative Activity Week? 🔍✨ Beginning Monday at ECU. Celebrate curiosity, creativity and discovery across labs, studios and communities. bit.ly/47D0hSc

Driving collaboration across eastern North Carolina. 🚌 #ECU researchers and admins traveled across the region on the Purple & Gold Bus Tour, focusing on workforce success and rural health while connecting research and expertise with regional needs. 🔬

Thank you Dr. Hong Chen, Director of Search and Evaluation at @novonordisk in Cambridge, for speaking to us about how the company invests in inspiration to make transformation.

Thrilled to see coastal resilience in the spotlight on NPR's @npratc! Thx @NathanRott for spotlighting nature‑inspired shoreline solutions. Our own Dr. Rachel Gittman’s scholarship shapes the field. 🌊💡 npr.org/2026/03/17/nx-…

FREE and open to everyone. 10 a.m. tomorrow (Wed) — Dr. Hong Chen, Dir of Search and Evaluation, Novo Nordisk, at East Carolina Heart Institute’s first-floor auditorium.

Day 1 of our Industry AI Perspectives Conference is building serious momentum. We’re back tomorrow. Getting managers and future leaders ready to operationalize AI for impact. Winning the next two years of AI adoption means making the right moves now.

AI: job killer or creativity booster? 🤖 Industry AI Perspectives Conference Chair Melanie Jackson joined @HenryHinton1 this morning to preview the big questions surrounding the conference. Register now ➜ cpe.ecu.edu/ai-perspective…

Get ahead of the curve at the Industry AI Perspectives Conference, March 17–18. Meet leaders like Allan Sandoval, CIO of the NC Dept. of Commerce. “Business leaders will gain a clear, practical roadmap for scaling AI.” cpe.ecu.edu/ai-perspective…