Tuesday, October 6
Scholarship Student Research Presentations – 9:00 a.m.
The invited Student Scholarship finalists will present their research, with time for Q&A, and will be moderated by Brian Kvam, Stantec, NCEC Scholarship Committee Chair. Each finalist will also share their research throughout the conference near the main stage in the Exhibit Hall, and will be available for your rapid-fire questions as you give your assessment and cast your vote for winners.
Student Scholarship Finalists:
Taiwo Bakare-Abidola, Georgia Southern University, Environmental Science – Response Surface Optimization of Malachite Green and Methyl Orange Adsorption onto Alginate Choline Chloride-Lactic Acid NADES Beads
Tyrica Flair, Bennett College, Interdisciplinary Studies concentrating in History – Regenerative Agriculture and its impacts on climate restoration
Amelia Foley, Duke University, Environmental Health Engineering – Assessing the Efficacy and Ecological Impact of Encapsulation Strategies for Microbial Bioremediation in PAH-Contaminated Environments
Norah Goldbecker, Davidson College, Biology and Environmental Science – Multi-type management to fight mesophication
Kaitlin Karaffa, North Carolina State University, Atmospheric Science – Drought Recurrence or Bust?: Examining the Compounding Effects of Tropical Cyclones and Droughts in the Carolinas
Zayd Khan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Biostatistics – From Pixels to Parts Per Billion: Improving Smartphone-Based Lead Quantification in Drinking Water
AI Powered Field Data Collection & Implementation: Live Demos – 9:00 a.m.
This live demonstration walks through how AI is changing environmental field work—from real-time, GNSS-backed data capture in the field to automated, regulatory-ready reporting back in the office. Using wetland delineation as a working example, we’ll show how structuring and standardizing field data at the point of collection is what makes it both compliance-ready today and AI-ready for tomorrow’s predictive tools. The takeaway for any environmental professional: better field data is the foundation everything else is built on—models and reports only know what your field data taught them.
Breaking Down Brownfields – 9:00 a.m.
Kick off NCEC with an interactive, hands-on tradition led by NJIT TAB—the US EPA Region 4 Technical Assistance to Brownfields provider—alongside NCEC Steering Committee member Camilla Warren, NCDEQ, and Mainspring Conservation Trust. This collaborative workshop guides local governments, non-profits, academic partners, and state agencies through every step of the brownfield redevelopment lifecycle. Get an exclusive, inside look at Mainspring’s Simpson Gas and Oil Site in downtown Franklin, NC—a recently awarded EPA Brownfield Cleanup Grant project showcasing cross-sector alignment along the Little Tennessee River. Participants will join facilitated working groups to translate these key takeaways into actionable strategies for their own community remediation, funding, and redevelopment goals.