Appalachian Today | Dec 20, 2023

On this episode of Appalachian Today, University Communications’ Dave Blanks provides a quick rundown of some of the latest news stories available at today.appstate.edu. 

 

 

Transcript

Recently released numbers concerning App State’s economic impact. According to a study conducted by labor analytics firm, Lightcast, in fiscal year 2021–22, the university generated an estimated $573 million in added income for  Watauga, Ashe, Avery, Caldwell and Wilkes counties. Statewide, the estimated economic impact of App State was $2.2 billion.

Some interesting takeaways from the study-

For every dollar invested by App State students they will gain $5.80 in higher lifetime earnings. 

Also for each dollar $1 public funding that taxpayers invest in App State in 2021–22, over the course of students’ working lives, North Carolina taxpayers will gain $3.20 in increased tax revenue and public sector savings from reduced demand for government-funded social services.

App State Chancellor Sheri Everts said the statistics demonstrated the power of higher education to change lives. 

 

Following 12 years of care and anticipation, Appalachian State University’s rare corpse flower,  graced observers with a long-awaited bloom on Friday, Nov. 24.

Officially classified as titan arum,the corpse flower’s bloom was its first since arriving at the Department of Biology Greenhouse in 2011.

The public was invited to view the flower lovingly referred to as Mongo by the greenhouse staff, firsthand or via livestream and shared updates on social media during the weeks leading up to the bloom.

It was estimated that approximately 3,000 people visited the corpse flower at the greenhouse, and at times, the waiting line extended all the way around the greenhouse and past the adjacent compost shed.

Most corpse flowers require seven to 10 years to produce their first blooms. Once it reaches maturity, it has an unpredictable blooming cycle, typically blooming once every few years. The average bloom lasts only two to three days, with the peak growth and odor occurring at night into early morning.

The Department of Biology Greenhouse located on Dale Street beside the state farm parking lot. has more than 1,400 species of plants from around the world, and Mongo is just one of more than 100 species in the facility’s collection that are considered threatened in their natural habitats. Mongo will be moved to the new Conservatory for Biodiversity Education and Research at App State’s Innovation District upon the facility’s completion, which is slated for 2025.

 

This fall, the National Science Foundation awarded three faculty at Appalachian State University a three-year, $531,000 grant to support aerosol research at App State’s Appalachian Atmospheric Interdisciplinary Research facility and Applied Fluids Laboratory.

The project is funded by NSF’s Major Research Instrumentation Program and supports the development of an Aerosol Chemical Speciation System (ACSS) at AppalAIR.

According to associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences and principal investigator, Dr. Robert Swarthout, “Having an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor at the AppalAIR site will improve the world-class data set that App State already produce and it will allow us to figure out how the chemicals that make up aerosols are changing as our country changes the way we use