Solving Local and Global Challenges, Together

Introducing our newest gathering space for students, faculty and staff: The Floating Grove. ✨

What started out as a vision for a bus shelter has evolved into a campus pavilion that now serves as a hub for sustainability, student engagement and innovative design.

Nearly two years ago, Dr. Frederik Laleicke, an associate professor and Extension specialist in the Department of Forest Biomaterials, pitched the idea of building a bus shelter made of cross-laminated timber. Dr. Rico Ruffino, an assistant professor of the practice in the Department of Forest Biomaterials, who has extensive experience in industrial and product design, agreed to help.

🔗: Read the full story in the link in our bio.

📸: The Floating Grove, located between Biltmore Hall and Jordan Hall, stands as the campus’s first mass timber structure. Dr. Ruffino and students in his Sustainable Design Lab have been working on cross-laminated timber stool bases to be installed at The Floating Grove.

Earlier this week, students in the James Buzzard Leadership Development Program met with Kevin Howell, @ncstate`s newest Chancellor, and #NCStateCNR`s Dean Myron Floyd. 🐺🐾

During this unique evening, Howell and Floyd talked about their leadership experiences and shared important advice on success in growing as a leader.

The ribbon has been cut! 🎉 Yesterday afternoon, #NCStateCNR and @NCStateDesign celebrated the unveiling of The Floating Grove, @NCState’s first mass timber structure on campus.

During the celebration, remarks were given by students and college leaders, including our very own Dean Myron Floyd and the College of Design’s Dean Mark Hoversten. This new installation, situated between Biltmore and Jordan halls, was born from the seed of an idea in the college and brought to life through the work of design students. The structure was built using sustainable materials like cross-laminated timber, also known as CLT. CLT is an engineered wood product that offers significant structural and environmental benefits compared to traditional building materials.

“The Floating Grove embodies our university’s commitment to a more collaborative, sustainable and resilient future. It’s a place where people can gather and hopefully be reminded of how deeply our natural and built environments are intertwined.” —Dean Myron Floyd

Yesterday, we hosted the 2025 Frederick and Joan Barkalow Distinguished Conservationist Lecture. This year’s lecture featured Dr. Whit Gibbons, a professor emeritus of ecology at the University of Georgia and the former head of the environmental outreach and education program at Savannah River Ecology Laboratory.

Open to the public, this annual lecture features the work of a conservationist selected by fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology (@ncstatefer) students.

Over the fall break, students in the Buzzard Fellows program took a trip to Washington, D.C. 🏙️

The D.C. networking trip is an intensive leadership experience where students meet with professionals in government and industry to learn about leadership, policy and career paths. During their trip, students visited the British Embassy, the National Academy of Sciences, George Washington University and the National Alliance of Forest Owners.

More memories from this year’s Open House. ❤️🤍 @applyncstate