News & Events

RENCI at UNC Asheville Hosts Open House on April 1

March 22, 2011

The Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) at UNC Asheville invites the public to attend a drop-in open house from 3:30-5 p.m. Friday, April 1, at the RENCI at UNC Asheville Engagement Site, located in the Grove Arcade in 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, and 3-D visualizations in action as they learn about projects such as the Urban Growth Model for the Asheville region, the Buncombe County Multi-Hazard Risk Tool, geographic information systems (GIS)-based analysis of threats to eastern forests, flooding impacts and mitigation, and geospatial climate information viewers.

RENCI at UNC Asheville staff are excited about welcoming the public to the engagement site.

“Many collaborators are now utilizing our facilities, our technologies, and our expertise,” Susan Weatherford, RENCI at UNC Asheville project manager said. “Providing our decision support tools to strengthen community engagement and supporting local economic development are the biggest reasons we are here. We look forward to sharing these resources with the public at this open house.”

For further information on the open house, please contact Nina Flagler Hall, community engagement coordinator for the RENCI at UNC Asheville Engagement Site, at 828/225-6575 or nhall@unca.edu.

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.