We are actively participating in the development of an amorphous carbon catalyst prepared by 100% green chemistry processes which has already shown great success in the conversion of free fatty acids directly into biodiesel. This exciting development stands to change the way the industry makes this valuable liquid biofuel.
We were retained to present a keynote address and a workshop at the Commissioning, Qualification & Validation University | Computer Systems Validation & Data Integrity Compliance Congress - November 19 - 21, 2018 in Dublin, Ireland.
The keynote was on the "Impact of Human Factors on Data Integrity in the Laboratory".
The workshop taught methods to "Develop a Roadmap for Analytical Methods Validation"
Over 100 attendees from major pharmaceutical companies around the world participated in the event and praised the insights shared.
Many in the neighborhood arrived to begin the building of "Unity Park." We had visits from a master drone pilot to assist in our documentation, a visit from the South Ward Councilman, and a surprise discovery that Laura's former Professor lives next door to us!
We cleared more brush and old fence plus began digging the water retention swales this Easter weekend. A swale is a low tract of land, especially one that is moist or marshy. Artificial swales are infiltration basins designed to manage water runoff, filter pollutants, and increase rainwater infiltration. By building these early, we begin the long process of increasing the overall moisture content of the soil.
Our soil, like that of most abandoned urban lots, is pretty poor. Although we will be receiving the official soil test results back from the NC Dept of Agriculture, after a few hours of digging it was obvious that a major amount of attention needs to be spent on remediation of the soil health and nutrition. Soils are their own ecosystems and to reach the sort of soil that our "Food Forest" needs, it will require a lot of human assistance! Next up is the incorporation of mulching materials, wood chips, sand and aeration to help rebuild the soil.
If you can help in any way, please let us know.
Next
We have been retained to present a seminar and a workshop at the conference in San Diego, CA.
The seminar will be on the "Impact of Human Factors on Data Integrity in the Laboratory".
The workshop will be teaching methods to "Develop a Roadmap for Analytical Methods Validation"
We were invited to speak at the National Center for Biotech Workforce SciTech Lecture series to give a Seminar on the "Analytical and Physical Chemistry of Smoke" .
All lectures are free and open to the public. WATCH IT HERE
Oak Grove Auditorium
Forsyth Tech Main Campus
2100 Silas Creek Parkway
Winston-Salem, NC
Ms. Laura Gardea has received a grant from the Winston-Salem Arts Council to bring beauty to urban areas and asked the Institute if we could help with an urban permaculture "food forest" concept.
The Institute was granted access to a vacant lot on the South side of Winston-Salem. We have begun planning for a project to create a sustainable urban food forest for the Washington Park - Historic District - neighborhood. We envision an outdoor perennial garden/park space suitable for public lectures, small performances, teaching and relaxation. The project will include support from area universities, faith groups, neighborhood businesses and interested individuals.
Would you like to volunteer to help work on this project or sponsor it with additional donations?