News & Events

RENCI at UNC Asheville Hosts Open House on October 28

October 18, 2011

The Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) at UNC Asheville will hold a drop-in open house from 3:30-5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, at the RENCI at UNC Asheville Engagement Site, located in the Grove Arcade, downtown Asheville. The event is free and open to the public.

The RENCI at UNC Asheville Engagement Site provides leading-edge technology for area decision makers and other collaborators in the areas of disaster research, mitigation and preparedness, taking advantage of Western North Carolina’s expertise in weather and climate modeling, visualization and public outreach.

Visitors will see a 16-foot visualization wall, an immersive GeoDome, geospatial climate information viewers, and 3-D visualizations in action. They will learn about projects such as the Livable Communities Initiative, the Early Warning System designed to track unexpected forest change and potential threats. Visitors can see the Urban Growth Model for the Asheville region, a web-based template system for assessing climate change impacts and management options, and the Buncombe County Multi-Hazard Risk Tool which analyzes flooding impacts and mitigation.

RENCI at UNC Asheville staff are excited about welcoming the public to the engagement site. “The RENCI at UNC Asheville Engagement Site is a resource for our collaborators, decision makers, and the public,” Susan Weatherford, RENCI at UNC Asheville project manager, said. “Coming to our engagement site during the open house and using our tools and technologies is a great way to learn about our communities, our region, and our nation.”

For more information, please contact Nina Flagler Hall, community engagement coordinator for the RENCI at UNC Asheville Engagement Site, at 828.225.6575 or nhall@unca.edu, or visit unca.renci.org.

The UNC Asheville Community Engagement Site is located in Suite 116 of the Grove Arcade, on the O’Henry Avenue side of the building, at One Page Avenue in downtown Asheville.