The research of Associate Professor Dr. Menelaos Poutous has recently been highlighted by The International Society for Optics and Photonics due to the valuable insights it offers surrounding the fabrication of diffraction gradings. The paper, published by Dr. Poutous and Dr. Hanshin Lee of the University of Texas at Austin in October of this year, is titled “Reactive ion plasma etched surface relief gratings for low/medium/high resolution spectroscopy in astronomy.” As SPIE explains,

“Today, astronomers seek to observe the faintest and most distant objects possible. Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs), with apertures in the order of several dozen meters, are the next generation facilities to do so. However, building larger telescopes is only one part of the equation. The other part is the capability of detecting the gathered photons in the most efficient way possible. This is where making all other optical components in astronomical instruments more efficient becomes crucial. One essential component used in modern astronomical science is the diffraction grating. Its role is to spatially spread incoming light into its constituent frequencies, similar to how a glass prism does. Thanks to a precisely engineered structure that leverages the wave-like nature of photons, diffraction gratings can separate light of different wavelengths with very high resolution. When coupled with a telescope and a spectrometer, gratings allow scientists to analyze the spectral properties of celestial bodies.

Motivated by the somewhat stagnant progress made in grating technology over the past decade, researchers Hanshin Lee of the University of Texas at Austin and Menelaos K. Poutous of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA, focused on a completely different way of fabricating diffraction gratings. In their paper, […] they report their success on manufacturing proof-of-concept high-efficiency diffraction gratings using reactive ion-plasma etching (RIPLE), a plasma-based manufacturing technology normally used for semiconductors.”

Dr. Poutous first joined the Department in 2008 as the Senior Scientist of the Microphotonics Laboratory at the Center for Optoelectronics and Optical Communications, and he co-founded the Optical Structured Surfaces Lab in 2013. His research interests include spectroscopy, diffractive micro-optical elements, and artificial optical surfaces and coatings, among other research areas, and he has published more than ninety-five papers in scientific journals and conference proceedings.

Click here to see the original news highlight of the paper on SPIE’s website

Congratulations to Michelle Pass on being named a 2022 recipient of the Excellence in Leadership award by the UNC Charlotte Alumni Association and the Black Alumni Chapter. In recognition of her accomplishments, she will be honored at an Excellence in Leadership Awards Luncheon on Friday, October 21 at the UNC Charlotte Marriott Hotel and Conference Center. Dr. Pass is the Director of Diversity Equity and Inclusion for the Department of Biological Sciences. She is a long-time senior lecturer, academic advisor, and lab coordinator.

In recognition of her accomplishments, she will be honored at an Excellence in Leadership Awards Luncheon on Friday, October 21 at the UNC Charlotte Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.

Dr. Danillo Augusto is the winner of the 2022 Early Career Investigator Award of the American Society for Histocompatibility & Immunogenics and its Science & Technology Initiatives Committee (STIC) The aim of the ASHI Early Career Investigator Award (ECIA) is to identify future research leaders who are committed to conducting impactful basic science research. This program offers ASHI members an award of up to $40,000 for research related to immunogenetics in various clinical disciplines such as transplantation, cancer, autoimmunity, infectious disease, disease association, or pharmacogenomics. Dr. Augusto will receive his award on October 25, 2022 at the ASHI Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, NV.

Congratulations to Dr. Sharon Bullock who was selected to participate in the training program of the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP). There were only 20 spots for participants in the ISEP-AHEA academy from around the U.S. Dr. Bullock will attend a training institute this Fall 2022 and then work to create a Global Network Learning course for Spring 2023. UNC Charlotte is a member of ISEP — a consortium of universities that allow for exchange of students between institutions. ISEP partnered with an organization called AHEA (American Higher Education Alliance) to create GNL/COIL opportunities between the ISEP member institutions. The ISEP-AHEA academy will first train participants on how to do a GNL/COIL course.

The Charlotte community mourns the Sept. 12 death of UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens Director Emeritus Thomas Lawrence (Larry) Mellichamp ‘70, known by many affectionately as Dr. M.

Mellichamp joined the faculty of what was then the Department of Biology (now Biological Sciences) in 1976 after completing a doctoral degree at the University of Michigan. He had earned a bachelor’s degree from UNC Charlotte in 1970, and was active in the development of the Botanical Gardens even as an undergraduate student.

An expert on native wildflowers, trees, shrubs, and carnivorous plants, Mellichamp gave hundreds of talks, taught thousands of students and community members, wrote technical and general audience articles on plants and gardening, and wrote or co-authored six books that serve novice and advanced gardeners, including perhaps the best known, “Native Plants of the Southeast.”

Among his many honors, Mellichamp, who retired in 2014 after almost four decades as director of the Botanical Gardens, was the seventh person ever to receive the prestigious Flora Caroliniana Award from the North Carolina Botanical Garden.

Other honors included the Association of Southeastern Biologists Teaching award, the Tom Dowd Award from the Cullowhee Native Plant Conference, and the International Carnivorous Society Lifetime Achievement award.

Throughout his career, he collaborated with many others to transform the Botanical Gardens into a site for active teaching and learning, and a place of beauty and respite for people on campus and in the broader community. He remained active with the Botanical Gardens following his retirement, providing expertise at the annual plant sales, teaching classes, and offering support in many other ways.

All are invited to leave a tribute on a memorial website. His obituary was lovingly written by daughter Audrey Mellichamp and longtime colleague Paula Gross. A public memorial service will take place in the Botanical Gardens the afternoon of Sunday October 30; details will be posted on the Gardens website as they are available. Memorial donations may be sent to the Foundation of the Carolinas for the Mellichamp Garden Staff Enrichment Fund, 220 North Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28202.

Charlotte researcher Rosario Porras-Aguilar, whose work includes a focus on learning how cancers spread, is one of 21 early career scientists in the United States and Canada to win funding and other support through the Scialog: Advancing BioImaging initiative. Scialog aims to accelerate the development of the next generation of imaging technologies.

Porras-Aguilar, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Optical Science, and colleague Arnold Hayer, a biologist at McGill University in Montreal, each will receive $50,000 for their interdisciplinary research project, “High-speed 4D Morphodynamic Analysis of Migrating Cells.”

They form one of the 10 teams chosen for grants through Scialog, with funding provided by Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA), the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation (FGCF), and Walder Foundation. Their team’s funding specifically comes from RCSA and FGCF.

Their project seeks to answer fundamental questions on cellular migration using the new 4D (four dimensions) quantitative microscopy techniques — which are precise and low-cost — recently invented by Porras-Aguilar’s Charlotte lab. The answers to these questions can help expand understanding of cancer proliferation and cellular evolution.

Looking For Brave Biologists

“One of the most challenging aspects of my work as a microscopist,” Porras-Aguilar said, “is finding collaborators in biology willing to use new imaging techniques. Scialog provides me with the invaluable opportunity to establish collaborations among brave biologists with common research interests.”

Porras-Aguilar’s lab is developing label-free microscopy techniques to obtain quantitative data in three and – with the recent discovery – four dimensions. The innovations harness the optical properties of smart materials to drive applications in microbiology and industry.

Hayer’s research is focused on collective movement of cells, a process with critical importance for development, repair, and disease. The research strives to identify how functional coupling between cells is achieved, through communication across adhesive cell-cell junctions.

Porras-Aguilar also was a 2021 recipient of RCSA’s $100,000 Cottrell Scholar Award, one of 25 teacher-scholars in chemistry, physics, and astronomy recognized for the quality and innovation of their research programs and their potential for academic leadership.

Scialog, which is short for “science + dialog,” offers more to the researchers than funding. Created in 2010 by RCSA, the Scialog format supports research through intensive interdisciplinary conversation and community building around a scientific theme of global importance.

A May 2022 conference in Tucson, Arizona brought together 45 early career chemists, physicists, biologists, bioengineers, and medical imaging specialists. Keynote speakers Brian Pogue, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Jenn Prescher, University of California, Irvine, set the stage for discussion with talks about their research, current tools and needed breakthroughs in imaging, and what they believe are promising areas for discovery.

Gaining Input On Future Research

“Having an environment where bioimaging is discussed among senior and early career investigators with diverse expertise gave me feedback on my research direction,” Porras-Aguilar said. “It offered the opportunity to establish long-lasting multidisciplinary collaborations, and an open perspective of where the field needs to move forward and what challenges we need to address.”

Teams of two to three fellows who had not previously collaborated competed for the seed funding. They developed new research ideas to bridge their different expertise, methods, and technologies in new ways to enable major advances in bioimaging. They wrote and pitched proposals, competing for the grants.

“Multidisciplinary collaborations create synergies that spark new ideas,” said RCSA President and CEO Daniel Linzer. “In the same way, funding organizations investing in forward-thinking projects like these can work together to expand the horizons of knowledge.”

Research Corporation for Science Advancement is a private foundation that funds basic research in the physical sciences (astronomy, chemistry, physics, and related fields) at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 to help solve some of society’s toughest challenges — from eradicating disease and improving education, to addressing the needs of our communities.

Research Corporation Technologies established the Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation in 1998 to provide financial support for scientific research and educational programs at qualified nonprofit organizations. The Walder Foundation was established by Joseph and Elizabeth Walder. Its five areas of focus are science innovation, environmental sustainability, the performing arts, migration and immigrant communities, and Jewish life.

Words: Lynn Roberson

Charlotte researcher Rosario Porras-Aguilar, whose work includes a focus on learning how cancers spread, is one of 21 early career scientists in the United States and Canada to win funding and other support through the Scialog: Advancing BioImaging initiative. Scialog aims to accelerate the development of the next generation of imaging technologies.

Porras-Aguilar, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Optical Science, and colleague Arnold Hayer, a biologist at McGill University in Montreal, each will receive $50,000 for their interdisciplinary research project, “High-speed 4D Morphodynamic Analysis of Migrating Cells.”

They form one of the 10 teams chosen for grants through Scialog, with funding provided by Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA), the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation (FGCF), and Walder Foundation. Their team’s funding specifically comes from RCSA and FGCF.

Their project seeks to answer fundamental questions on cellular migration using the new 4D (four dimensions) quantitative microscopy techniques — which are precise and low-cost — recently invented by Porras-Aguilar’s Charlotte lab. The answers to these questions can help expand understanding of cancer proliferation and cellular evolution.

Looking For Brave Biologists

“One of the most challenging aspects of my work as a microscopist,” Porras-Aguilar said, “is finding collaborators in biology willing to use new imaging techniques. Scialog provides me with the invaluable opportunity to establish collaborations among brave biologists with common research interests.”

Porras-Aguilar’s lab is developing label-free microscopy techniques to obtain quantitative data in three and – with the recent discovery – four dimensions. The innovations harness the optical properties of smart materials to drive applications in microbiology and industry.

Hayer’s research is focused on collective movement of cells, a process with critical importance for development, repair, and disease. The research strives to identify how functional coupling between cells is achieved, through communication across adhesive cell-cell junctions.

Porras-Aguilar also was a 2021 recipient of RCSA’s $100,000 Cottrell Scholar Award, one of 25 teacher-scholars in chemistry, physics, and astronomy recognized for the quality and innovation of their research programs and their potential for academic leadership.

Scialog, which is short for “science + dialog,” offers more to the researchers than funding. Created in 2010 by RCSA, the Scialog format supports research through intensive interdisciplinary conversation and community building around a scientific theme of global importance.

A May 2022 conference in Tucson, Arizona brought together 45 early career chemists, physicists, biologists, bioengineers, and medical imaging specialists. Keynote speakers Brian Pogue, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Jenn Prescher, University of California, Irvine, set the stage for discussion with talks about their research, current tools and needed breakthroughs in imaging, and what they believe are promising areas for discovery.

Gaining Input On Future Research

“Having an environment where bioimaging is discussed among senior and early career investigators with diverse expertise gave me feedback on my research direction,” Porras-Aguilar said. “It offered the opportunity to establish long-lasting multidisciplinary collaborations, and an open perspective of where the field needs to move forward and what challenges we need to address.”

Teams of two to three fellows who had not previously collaborated competed for the seed funding. They developed new research ideas to bridge their different expertise, methods, and technologies in new ways to enable major advances in bioimaging. They wrote and pitched proposals, competing for the grants.

“Multidisciplinary collaborations create synergies that spark new ideas,” said RCSA President and CEO Daniel Linzer. “In the same way, funding organizations investing in forward-thinking projects like these can work together to expand the horizons of knowledge.”

Research Corporation for Science Advancement is a private foundation that funds basic research in the physical sciences (astronomy, chemistry, physics, and related fields) at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 to help solve some of society’s toughest challenges — from eradicating disease and improving education, to addressing the needs of our communities.

Research Corporation Technologies established the Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation in 1998 to provide financial support for scientific research and educational programs at qualified nonprofit organizations. The Walder Foundation was established by Joseph and Elizabeth Walder. Its five areas of focus are science innovation, environmental sustainability, the performing arts, migration and immigrant communities, and Jewish life.

Words: Lynn Roberson

While blood clotting is important to prevent blood loss and for our immunity, coagulation also can cause health issues and even death. Currently, one in four people worldwide dies from diseases and conditions caused by blood clots. Meanwhile, anticoagulants used to reduce risks can also cause significant issues, such as uncontrolled bleeding.

Now, a new biomolecular anticoagulant platform invented by a team led by UNC Charlotte researcher Kirill Afonin holds promise as a revolutionary advancement over the blood thinners currently used during surgeries and other procedures. The team’s discoveries are reported in the journal Nano Letters, first available online on July 5.

“We envision the uses of our new anticoagulant platform would be during coronary artery bypass surgeries, kidney dialysis, and a variety of vascular, surgical and coronary interventions,” Afonin said. “We are now investigating if there are potential future applications with cancer treatments to prevent metastasis and also in addressing the needs of malaria, which can cause coagulation issues.”

The paper shares the most recent results from three years of collaboration among researchers with the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory), University of São Paulo in Brazil, The Pennsylvania State University, and Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

“All this resulted in a massive international and interdisciplinary effort to develop a completely new technology that we think may revolutionize the field and be picked up by other areas of health research,” Afonin said.

The team’s technology turns to programmable RNA-DNA anticoagulant fibers that, when injected into the bloodstream, form into modular structures that communicate with thrombin, which are the enzymes in blood plasma that cause blood to clot. The technology allows the structures to prevent blood clotting as it is needed, then be swiftly eliminated from the body by the renal system once the work is done.

The fiber structures use aptamers, short sequences of DNA or RNA designed to specifically bind and inactivate thrombin.

“Instead of having a single small molecule that deactivates thrombin,” Afonin said, “we now have a relatively large structure that has hundreds of the aptamers on its surface that can bind to thrombin and deactivate them. And because the structure becomes larger, it will circulate in the bloodstream for a significantly longer time than traditional options.”

The extended circulation in the bloodstream allows for a single injection, instead of multiple doses. The design also decreases the concentration of anticoagulants in the blood, resulting in less stress on the body’s renal and other systems, Afonin said.

This technology also introduces a novel “kill-switch” mechanism. A second injection reverses the fiber structure’s anticoagulant function, allowing the fibers to metabolize into materials that are tiny, harmless, inactive and easily excreted by the renal system.

The entire process takes place outside the cell, through extracellular communication with the thrombin. The researchers note that this is important as immunological reactions do not appear to occur, based on their extensive studies.

The team has tested and validated the platform using computer models, human blood and various animal models. “We conducted proof-of-concept studies using freshly collected human blood from donors in the U.S. and in Brazil to address a potential inter donor variability,” Afonin said.

The technology may provide a foundation for other biomedical applications that require communication via the extracellular environment in patients, he said. “Thrombin is just one potential application,” he said. “Whatever you want to deactivate extracellularly, without entering the cells, we believe you can. That potentially means that any blood protein, any cell surface receptors, maybe antibodies and toxins, are possible.”

The technique permits the design of structures of any shape desired, with the kill switch mechanism intact. “By changing the shape, we can have them go into different parts of the body, so we can change the distribution,” Afonin said. “It gets an extra layer of sophistication of what it can do.”

While the application is sophisticated, production of the structures is relatively easy. “The shelf life is amazingly good for these formulations,” Afonin said. “They’re very stable, so you can dry them, and we anticipate they will stay for years at ambient temperatures, which makes them very accessible to economically challenged areas of the world.”

While the researchers’ work so far has relevance for short-term applications, such as in surgeries, they hope to possibly extend their research into maintenance situations, such as with medications that patients with heart conditions take.

The potential for saving lives and improving health care is a motivator for the team, as is inventing something new, Afonin said.

UNC Charlotte’s Office of Research Commercialization and Development is working closely with Penn State to patent and bring this new technology to market.

Afonin, professor with the Nanoscale Science Doctoral Program in the Department of Chemistry at UNC Charlotte, is the paper’s corresponding author. Other authors are: Weina Ke of UNC Charlotte, Morgan Chandler of UNC Charlotte, Edward Cedrone of the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Renata F. Saito of the University of São Paulo, Maria Cristina Rangel of the University of São Paulo, Mara de Souza Junqueira of the University of São Paulo, Jian Wang of Penn State, Da Shi of Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Nguyen Truong, of UNC Charlotte, Melina Richardson of UNC Charlotte, Lewis A. Rolband of UNC Charlotte, Didier Dréau of UNC Charlotte, Peter Bedocs of Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Roger Chammas of UNC Charlotte, Nikolay V. Dokholyan of Penn State, and Marina A. Dobrovolskaia of Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research.

Words: Lynn Roberson, CLAS Communications Director | Images: Lynn Roberson and University Communications | Diagrams: Courtesy of Kirill Afonin

For their exceptional teaching and student engagement, Michael Walter, Alan Rauch, Tiffany Morin and Katie Kutcher have received the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences’ 2022 Excellence in Teaching Awards.

Walter, an associate professor of chemistry, and Rauch, a professor of English, each received the Integration of Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award, the first time that two faculty members were chosen for the honor. Morin, a faculty member in the Department of English, received the Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Full-Time Lecturer. Kutcher, a faculty member in the Gerontology Program, earned the Award for Outstanding Teaching by a Part-Time Faculty Member.

The award recipients were recognized at an awards ceremony and reception in the Halton Reading Room in J. Murrey Atkins Library. In addition to the award recipients, finalists who were honored were:

• Crystal Eddins, Africana Studies, and Paola Lopez-Duarte, Biological Sciences: Integration of Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award.
• Kathleen Burke, Psychological Science, and Samantha Furr, Biological Sciences: Outstanding Teaching by a Full-Time Lecturer.
• Leah Walton, History: Outstanding Teaching by a Part-Time Faculty Member.

Alan Rauch, English

Alan Rauch has taught in the Department of English since 2002. As a trained scientist with a bachelor’s degree in biology and master’s degree in zoology, and a literary scholar with master’s and doctoral degrees in literature, Rauch has built an innovative research portfolio. He has long been interested in the intersections between science and the humanities, and his research and teaching showcase the dimensions of both.

In one course, ‘Animals, Culture and Society,’ Rauch used the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens to teach about ecology, environmentalism, and zoology, to give students a fuller understanding “of not only what animals mean to humans and how humans respond to animals, but to address the ‘posthuman condition.’ ” 

One student wrote, “I first met Dr. Rauch when I took his animals class my freshman year where I grew an interest in animal toxicity and began to develop chemical questions about animal interactions. I have had the opportunity to expand on these interests with Dr. Rauch through an independent study focusing on the chemical evolution of plant-animal toxicity relationships. As a chemistry major, my study focus has been on the technical aspects of my science and has neglected my philosophically driven questions which led me to pursue science in the first place. With Dr. Rauch I am able to make these connections, which has been a unique and fulfilling experience.”  

Rauch’s teaching practice connects to his research, the development of curiosity, and rigorous interrogation. The same dynamic is present in his mentoring of students, including through the Office of Undergraduate Research Summer Research Scholars program. He also works with students on publications, such as one student’s detailed study of sloths in popular culture that will be included in Rauch’s forthcoming book, “Sloth.”

Michael Walter, Chemistry

Michael Walter joined the faculty at UNC Charlotte in 2011. Since then, he has secured over $2.5 million in external grant funding and published two dozen papers. He is the inventor of co-inventor for three patents, one of the patents is licensed to a local company. 

His research program, and his real-world teaching illustrations, are built around the study of various materials that use light interactions for energy. Students learn how powerful organic chemistry photochemical tools can be used to address scientific challenges. 

Undergraduate students are attracted to Walter’s research laboratory as early as their sophomore year as a result of their experiences in his classes. He has mentored 53 students from a variety of majors, including chemistry, biology, physics, public health, and mathematics.

His interactions with undergraduate students have resulted in over 50 research talks and posters with several invited talks, all presented by the students.

He developed an “e-molecules” activity where students research the structure of widely used organic molecules that might be used in pharmaceuticals or other materials. The course also includes a hands-on photochemistry activity, called  “Juice-from-Juice” where students build blackberry juice, dye-sensitized solar cells. The activity is a powerful example of how an organic molecule extracted from blackberry juice can be used to harness sunlight and convert it to usable electricity and power.

A new activity in his classes looks at the connections among the luminescent materials encountered in daily lives, from organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) in cell phone screens to the bioluminescence from fireflies seen on a summer night.

He has also worked with undergraduate students from the College of Arts + Architecture on an award-winning collaborative solar energy project.

Tiffany Morin, English

Tiffany Morin has been a lecturer in the Department of English since 2018, after serving as an adjunct lecturer in the department from 2008 to 2018. She has been coordinator of the English Learning Community since 2012. She earned a master’s degree from UNC Charlotte in English Literature in 2008.

The awards committee pointed to Morin’s commitment to engagement and student transformation. Morin publishes and presents talks on themes of villains and horror in children’s literature, with a particular focus on the role of vampires in this imaginary.

Her classes similarly engage students in in-depth and critical thinking about the role of evil, villains, and monsters in literature and daily life. Her classes range from first-year seminars to upper-level English courses and use a variety of innovative teaching and learning techniques, such as an Alice in Wonderland tea party and poetry reading, trips to the Charlotte Ballet and Carolina Renaissance Festival, guest lectures and class visits by authors, and robust debates about the nature of good and evil.

Morin has developed her teaching techniques through a variety of teaching experiences, seminars, and workshops. She now holds “open swim” Zoom hours to help other faculty develop online teaching skills. She advises on library engagement, and presents best practices for engaged learning in student learning communities.

Students in her courses describe “life-changing experiences” and emphasize how Morin’s classes not only teach content but also broader life skills. One student said, “I could see myself grow more and more passionate and excited about my English studies and I can honestly say I feel extremely encouraged and confident about the path I’m on. I have never felt more comfortable in a school setting before.”

Another student said, “I’ve got a lot more out of this class than I ever expected to – actual personal growth – which is crazy considering that this is an online class on monster films.”

Kate Kutcher, Gerontology

Katie Kutcher earned a master’s degree in gerontology from UNC Charlotte in 2011 and added a certificate in non-profit management from Duke University in 2016.

With her full-time employment as an aging programs coordinator with the Centralina Area Agency on Aging, she supervises and supports staff in nutrition, senior centers, transportation and evidence-based health programs. The awards committee described Kutcher as an innovative teacher focused on helping students make real-world connections.

Kutcher has taught classes at UNC Charlotte for the last five years, including courses focused on aging and dementia at the undergraduate and graduate level. In her classes, she connects content with life skills including time management and personal reflection around aging, and engages students  with community partners through service-learning opportunities. She also emphasizes her classroom as a safe space where students’ opinions and input are valued, including students in syllabus and classroom guideline creation at the start of each semester.

One student said, “I feel like Professor Kutcher really helped me and cared for my classmates (and me) and was always respectful and professional.”

A community partner described the impact of one of her engaged learning activities. “The rapid and continual development of technology, combined with the COVID pandemic, has seemed to leave seniors more and more alienated from much of the world, and this conversation program is a great way to keep them involved and feel valued,” the partner said. “I want to thank you and all of the students for this from the bottom of my heart!”

Awards Committees

Integration of Undergraduate Teaching and Research selection committee members were: committee Chair Didier Dreau, Biological Sciences Department; Kirill Afonin, Chemistry Department; and Matthew Rowney, English Department.

Selection committee members for the part-time and full-time teaching awards were committee Chair Sara Juengst, Anthropology Department; Benita Staples, Geography and Earth Sciences Department; and Sarah Wells, Chemistry Department.

Top Image: Dean Nancy Gutierrez (left to right), Alan Rauch, Katie Kutcher, Tiffany Morin, Michael Walter

Longtime UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens Director Larry Mellichamp ’70, who retired in 2014 after almost four decades directing the gardens, is the seventh person ever to receive the prestigious Flora Caroliniana Award from the North Carolina Botanical Garden.

The award recognizes enthusiasm and service to the preservation, restoration, and appreciation of the natural world. Surrounded by family, friends and colleagues, Mellichamp received the award in late April at a ceremony in the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens’ Mellichamp Native Terrace.

People perched on rock walls, folding chairs and grassy knolls, settling into the sun-dappled space named for Mellichamp and designed to help people learn to use his beloved native plants in home landscapes. Birds swooped overhead, adding their notes to the words offered by colleagues, friends and contemporaries in the botanical field.

“I had the honor and adventure of working with Larry for 18 years here at the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens, and co-authoring two books together,” said Paula Gross, retired associate director, in a moving tribute. “I’m so pleased to be standing here in a garden co-created with Larry, Ed Davis, Johnny Massengale, and the entire staff, donors, and volunteer community of the Botanical Gardens. A place nourishing to body, mind, and spirit, bearing a very special name – Mellichamp.”

An expert on native wildflowers, trees, shrubs, and carnivorous plants, particularly Sarracenia pitcher plants, Mellichamp is professor emeritus in the Department of Biology. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at UNC Charlotte in 1970 and a doctoral degree in botany from the University of Michigan before joining the University as faculty in 1976.

He has written technical and layperson articles on plants and gardening, given hundreds of talks, taught thousands of students and community members, and written or co-authored six books that serve novice and advanced gardeners, including perhaps the best known, “Native Plants of the Southeast.”

The award was presented to Mellichamp by Johnny Randall, NCBG director of conservation programs, and Alan Weakley, director of the UNC Herbarium. Previous Flora Caroliniana Award recipients are:

• Lady Bird Johnson for advocating for native plants and helping the North Carolina Botanical Garden launch its first fundraising campaign, “Celebrating Wildflowers.” (1988)
• John Terres, naturalist and author best known for his work, From Laurel Hill to Siler’s Bog: The Walking Adventures of a Naturalist. (1991)
• William Lanier Hunt to honor him as the Founder of the Botanical Garden Foundation. (1996)
• Ritchie Bell the North Carolina Botanical Garden’s first director from 1961 to 1986. (2000)
• Thomas Wright Earnhardt in recognition of his lifelong contributions to conservation. (2016)
• Charlotte Jones Roe in honor of 44 years of service, tirelessly advocating for the North Carolina Botanical Garden. (2018)

Words and images: Lynn Roberson | Top Image: Larry Mellichamp (center) with Johnny Randall, North Carolina Botanical Garden, and Alan Weakley, UNC Herbarium