Faculty in the College of Natural Resources are advancing innovation through cutting-edge research that addresses critical environmental and natural resources challenges.

Each month, faculty secure funding from federal and state agencies as well as nongovernmental organizations, supporting initiatives in ecological restoration, biodiversity conservation and more.

This report highlights the grants awarded in April 2026, showcasing projects that advance scientific understanding and deliver real-world solutions.

Click on the projects listed below to learn more:

• Synergistic Co-Pyrolysis of Agricultural Plastic Mulch and North Carolina Crop Residues for Enhanced Bioenergy Production
• CAREER: Harnessing the Self-assembly of Renewable Nanomaterials by Exploiting Topochemical Interactions with Solid Substrates for Controlled Design of Advanced Sustainable Materials
• Separating Autotrophic and Heterotrophic Respiration in Restored Pocosins

Synergistic Co-Pyrolysis of Agricultural Plastic Mulch and North Carolina Crop Residues for Enhanced Bioenergy Production

• PI: Hui Li
• Direct Sponsor Name: USDA – National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Awarded Amount: $59,776

Abstract: Plastic mulch films are essential to specialty crop production in North Carolina but generate several thousand tons of contaminated polyethylene waste each year that cannot be readily recycled. Due to high soil and organic contamination at removal, these films are typically landfilled or improperly burned, increasing disposal costs for growers and contributing to environmental pollution. At the same time, North Carolina produces abundant agricultural residues, including sweet potato vines, cotton stalks, tobacco stalks and corn stover, that remain largely underutilized. This project will investigate a sustainable waste-valorization pathway through the co-pyrolysis of agricultural plastic mulch and regionally important crop residues. The research will quantify synergistic effects on bio-oil, gas and char yields and evaluate product quality. The project will support the training of one graduate student in thermochemical conversion and materials characterization to generate experimental results for future scale-up. Outcomes will inform scalable waste-to-bioenergy strategies that advance the Sun Grant mission by strengthening biobased supply chains, supporting rural economies and improving agricultural sustainability in the southeastern United States.

CAREER: Harnessing the Self-assembly of Renewable Nanomaterials by Exploiting Topochemical Interactions with Solid Substrates for Controlled Design of Advanced Sustainable Materials

• PI: Nathalie Lavoine
• Direct Sponsor Name: National Science Foundation
• Awarded Amount: $167,708

Abstract: The physical and chemical factors that govern the self-assembly of nanomaterials produced from renewable matter (e.g., plants) are yet to be clearly identified. Such an understanding is crucial for designing and engineering advanced sustainable products as replacements for fossil-fuel materials. Controlled anchoring and pinning of liquid-state self-assembled structures on solid surfaces are particularly key steps for product development such as responsive coatings, templated synthesis, lab-on-a-chip, actuators, organic semiconductors and photovoltaics, but very little is known about nanoparticle assembling and anchoring onto a variety of substrates and how to control their behavior at the liquid-solid interface. The goal of my CAREER program is to develop a firm scientific foundation to harness the self-assembly of renewable nanomaterials on solid surfaces for the controlled design of advanced sustainable materials. Of particular interest are cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), plant-based nanoparticles that spontaneously self-assemble in suspensions to form chiral nematic structures at critical concentrations. These helicoidal structures achieve an arrested state which may be characterized as strong, color-generating nanostructures as a result of drying the colloidal state into a coating or a film — a process referred to as evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA). The substrates onto which the dispersions dry are hypothesized to critically influence the self-assembly of CNCs, which in turn controls the generated visible colors. My CAREER program, therefore, aims to (1) elucidate the role of mounting substrate effects on the assembly and anchoring of these CNCs and (2) investigate the influence of drying dynamics on EISA, known to primarily govern color generation. Through (3) engagement and training of undergraduate and graduate students in a novel cross-disciplinary problem-solving studio learning environment, the research aims (1) and (2) will be further expanded and integrated in activities educating and engaging the society in solving sustainability challenges through a cross-disciplinary perspective.

Separating Autotrophic and Heterotrophic Respiration in Restored Pocosins

• PI: Marcelo Ardon
• Direct Sponsor Name: The Nature Conservancy
• Awarded Amount: $30,870

Abstract: We are proposing to start with a one-year preliminary study to start to document spatial and seasonal changes in autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration in both drained and restored sections of Pocosin Lakes Wildlife Refuge.