Impact

IMPACT

Like No Other

National Drug Court Resource Center Launches Interactive Map of Treatment Courts

By Jeanne Persuit Ph.D. and Caroline Cropp ’99, ’06M

Treatment courts exist to lead those with substance use and mental health disorders in the justice system into a life of recovery and stability. Since 2019, the National Drug Court Resource Center, housed in the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Social Science Applied Research Center, has provided treatment court practitioners with resources to assist with their lifesaving work.

For the first time since 2016, court counts across the U.S. and territories have been updated and are available via the NDCRC’s new interactive map. The new and improved map of treatment courts reflects the number of courts by state and county as of December 2020. Users can explore and compare data from the U.S. Census, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Survey on Drug Use and Health and Uniform Crime Report as they relate to the prevalence of treatment courts across the U.S. and territories.

Darker colors mean a higher number of courts in that state for a given search parameter

“We are in the process of collecting juvenile treatment court numbers with the assistance of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals to further build out the map,” said NDCRC co-director Christina Lanier. Lanier and co-director Kristen DeVall have led the interdisciplinary team of UNCW researchers, staff and students in creating deliverables such as the interactive map, the “Justice to Healing” podcast and a monthly newsletter.

The National Drug Court Resource Center’s mission is to equip treatment court practitioners with an array of resources relevant to the field. The center is funded by a $2.4 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance; the current cooperative agreement extends through September 2022.

The NDCRC focuses on providing treatment court professionals with the information needed to design

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and implement programs that align with best practice standards, expand and enhance court operations and collect and analyze program data. NDCRC resources are featured on the website and include operational materials organized by court type, seminal readings for treatment

court stakeholders, a calendar of professional development opportunities, a moderated discussion board for all treatment court professionals and more.

The NDCRC is a member of the Bureau of Justice Assistance Training and Technical Assistance

Collaborative. The collaborative comprises four organizations: the National Association of Drug Court Professionals, the Center for Court Innovation, the Tribal Law and Policy Institute and the National Drug Court Resource Center.

Learn more at ndcrc.org.

EXTERNAL RECOGNITION

Caitlin Ryan, associate professor of language and literacy in the Watson College of Education, received the 2020 CLA Research Award from the Children’s Literature Assembly of the National Council of Teachers of English for her work with the Reading the K-8 Rainbow Book Club project. The book club helps teachers read, discuss and teach with LGBTQ-inclusive children’s books. (Feb. 2021)

Julie-Ann Scott-Pollock, professor of communication studies and director of performance studies, was named the recipient of the Lilla A. Heston Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Interpretation and Performance Studies from the National Communication Association. (Sept. 2020)

Rachael Urbanek, associate professor and assistant chair in the Department of Environmental Sciences, received the Wildlife Society Fellows Award, which recognizes members who have made exceptional contributions to wildlife resources and the wildlife profession. Fellows act as ambassadors for the society and serve a lifetime appointment. (March 2021)

The Association of Rehabilitation Nurses announced the creation of the Barbara Lutz Stroke Rehabilitation Grant, developed to honor the 2019-20 ARN President Barbara Lutz, McNeill Distinguished Professor in the School of Nursing, and to provide funding for stroke research and educational opportunities for rehabilitation nurses. The initial research grant is expected to be awarded in 2022. (Nov. 2021)

Nina de Gramont (pen name: Marina Gessner), assistant professor of creative writing, is slated to have her 2015 novel The Distance from Me to You adapted as a feature for HBO Max. (June 2021)

Meredith Jones, assistant professor in the Department of Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle, Literacy and Special Education in the Watson College of Education, received the 2020 Early Career Research Award from the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators. (Nov. 2020)

Ryan Scott-Pollock Urbanek Lutz Gramont Jones

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IMPACT

INNOVATION & DISCOVERY

Threatened Coral Species Spawns for the First Time in Captivity in UNCW Lab

Threatened Mountainous Star Corals release pink egg-sperm bundles that float to the surface, break apart and fertilize to form coral babies that will replenish dying coral reefs.

Nicole Fogarty, assistant professor in biology and marine biology, has induced coral spawning in captivity, making it the first lab in North Carolina and one of the few labs in the world to do so. The lab researches coral reproduction and how human stressors – such as ocean warming and acidification, low oxygen levels, sedimentation, microplastics and other pollutants – can alter reproduction and the overall health of corals from babies to adults. This giant leap forward has huge implications for coral restoration. The research has been supported and permitted by Fogarty’s partners at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Florida Wildlife Commission.

“This is a giant leap forward to not only understand the mechanisms involved in the reproduction of this threatened species, but to create the next generation of corals to restore coral reefs,” Fogarty said.

Million Dollar Club

The James F. Merritt Million Dollar Club is a university honor and recognition for faculty and staff who have received $1 million or more in external research funding. The 2020 inductees were:

Catharina Alves de Souza, MARBIONC

Kristen DeVall, Sociology and Criminology

Christina Lanier, Sociology and Criminology

Sally MacKain, Psychology

Jeanne Persuit, Communication Studies

2021 Million Dollar Club inductees will be named in October. Visit uncw.edu/research for the full list.

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Big Things Come in Very Small Packages: A New Way of Looking at the Ocean

UNCW’s SeaHawk-1 CubeSat, outfitted with the HawkEye Ocean Color Imager, has completed on-orbit commissioning and has entered into a period of phased startup of operations. Ocean color satellite oceanography provides a unique window into the global ocean ecosystem, and the SeaHawk-1 CubeSat satellite has pushed the boundaries of what was previously thought to be possible with such a tiny spacecraft.

HawkEye data will enhance understanding of ocean biology and complement the larger, polar orbiting satellites currently in space. Its high-spatial resolution imagery improves scientists’ ability to monitor near-shore environments where anthropogenic stresses are often most acute and where there are considerable security and commercial interests. This project is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and led by Professor John Morrison of physics and physical oceanography. (June 2021)

WCE and CAS Collaboration Results in Coastal Eco Explorer App

Amy Taylor (Watson College of Education), Dennis Kubasko (Watson College of Education) and Lucas Layman (College of Arts and Sciences), in partnership with UNCW students and local park rangers, collaborated to create a new mobile application to teach island ecology at Carolina Beach State Park. Coastal Eco Explorer guides both novice and experienced hikers in the exploration of ecologically sensitive terrain by providing virtual educational information and resources, including videos of rangers, at each of the park’s 13 native ecosystems. This pioneering app combines biological education, outdoor exploration and mobile navigation to create a fun and engaging park experience. (March 2021)

SeaHawk-1 image of North Carolina’s Outer BanksPHOTO/ALAN HOLMES (CLOUDLAND INSTRUMENTS)

UNCW Researcher Selected to Serve on NC Black Entrepreneurship Council

Karl Ricanek, professor in computer science and director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Identity Sciences, was selected by NC IDEA to serve on the inaugural Black Entrepreneurship Council (NC BEC). Representing UNCW, greater Wilmington and southeastern North Carolina, Dr. Ricanek fills one of 25 seats on the council. (Aug. 2020)

Computer Science Professor Recognized by ACM

Elham Ebrahimi’s paper titled “How the Presence and Size of Static Peripheral Blur Affects Cybersickness in Virtual Reality” was selected to be published in a special issue of Transaction for Applied Perception Journal and awarded the best paper at the ACM Symposium for Applied Perception 2020 Conference. Dr. Ebrahimi is an assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science. (May 2021)

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IMPACT

Chemistry and Biochemistry Work Reflects Value of Biotech Partnerships

With funding from Apertor Pharmaceuticals Inc., R. Thomas Williamson, Yousry and Linda Sayed Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, will focus on discovering and developing new treatments for age-related diseases. Apertor’s world-class synthetic biology platform will synergize knowledge of natural products and analytical resources such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to generate data for structure-based drug design. This project provides an exceptional and rare opportunity for UNCW students to work directly on a project that is translatable to the public sector and to improving human health in a significant way. (June 2021)

UNCW Professor Co-leads Research on Prehistoric Humans and Climate in Portugal

Funded by the National Science Foundation since 2011, professor Mike Benedetti of the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences is co-leading an international collaborative study of prehistoric human occupation and environmental change at a cave site in central Portugal named Lapa do Picareiro. Recent discoveries at the site include the early arrival of modern humans in the area around 40,000 years ago – about 5,000 years earlier than previously known – and geological evidence for dramatic climate change around the same time frame. Benedetti co-authored publications on this research that appeared in PNAS and Geoarcheology, and the research team was also featured in the Netflix documentary series “Connected.” (Sept. 2020)

CIE Shares in Two NC IDEA Grants to Promote Entrepreneurship

The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is part of two NC IDEA grants to promote and support business startups, particularly among underrepresented groups and those focused on the Blue Economy. The CIE will collaborate with North Carolina A&T University on a semester-long program for students that focuses on marine engineering and information technology. The center will also participate in a grant-funded program with the Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington to support minority and women entrepreneurs as they work to move from the idea stage to marketing and attracting investors for their startups. (Dec. 2020)

Research Team Receives $1,162,145 in Funding

for Pathways to Impact Project

Pathways to Impact, an international research collaboration that studies the long-term impacts of peacekeeping missions on post-conflict societies, received a $1,162,145 award in 2019 from the U.K. Economic and Social Research Council, the Fell Fund and the University of Oxford and will conclude its work in October 2021. Athena Kolbe, assistant professor in the School of Social Work in the College of Health and Human Services, and her colleagues conducted field work in Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire. The project seeks to provide the United Nations, government bodies, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders engaged in peacekeeping with policy-relevant insights to improve the understanding of the potential effects of peacekeeping withdrawal.

“Ultimately, peacekeeping missions should observe the campsite rule, leaving the country in better condition than it was when they arrived,” Kolbe said. “That means a sound exit strategy is needed to ensure that the government can make sustainable changes that protect the human rights of its citizens and continue to improve human security. I hope our research can give scholars, practitioners and policy makers some clear sense of what is needed to make that happen.”

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WCE Faculty to Participate in National Autism Research Study

Amy Moody, Sharon Richter and James Stocker are part of an accelerated research team that will conduct interventions for children with autism. The project, initiated by the Special Education Research Accelerator at the University of Virginia, brings together top researchers from across the country to conduct highquality, large-scale studies to address

critical questions in the field of special education. As members of the SERA research team, the Watson College of Education faculty members will conduct science facts intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in grades 2-4. The same intervention will be conducted by researchers across the country in order to improve research efficacy. (April 2021)

Sharon Richter

James Stocker

UNCW Marine Mammal Stranding Team Played Role in Identifying Previously Undiscovered

Whale Species

Ann Pabst, professor of biology and marine biology, and Bill McLellan, director of the UNCW-based Marine Mammal Stranding Program, were called to examine the carcass of a whale that had washed up at Carolina Beach in March 2003 – one of the first responses under a grant through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s newly developed Prescott Stranding Assistance Program. More than 17 years later, from genetics samples collected by that UNCW team, the sub-adult male was confirmed to be a member of a previously undiscovered species of baleen whale that lives in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico and traverses the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. NOAA researchers published a paper identifying the tentatively named Rice’s Whale as a separate species.

“The work of Dr. Pabst, Mr. McLellan and the Marine Mammal Stranding Team provides a valuable service to the community, creates opportunities for primary discoveries such as identifying new species and generates enriching research experiences for the engaged students,” said Stuart Borrett, UNCW associate provost for research and innovation. “The team is one of the many programs that distinguish UNCW.” (Feb. 2021)

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