Living Lab

Those two words conjure up a variety of meaning and images to most people, including some science fiction movie depicting a mad scientist. But for Centennial Campus, these words are the essence of this research campus.

Centennial Campus lives and breathes experimentation. For example, university researchers collaborate with corporate, governmental and institutional partners to learn what can and should be done in the real world – sometimes using the campus itself.

As a result, North Creek, which runs through the heart of Centennial Campus has been used as an outdoor field study and a showcase to demonstrate how current and future development can be done in concert with watershed protection and water quality improvements.

In addition, the Lonnie Poole Golf Course will be a research and training facility for the nationally recognized Center for Turfgrass Environmental Research and Education (CENTERE) at NC State and home to research into soil science, pathology, toxicology, wildlife management, urban forestry, and water conservation, under the direction of the College of Natural Resources and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Centennial Campus is even going to be used as a test bed for mobile wireless and remote connectivity, with some of the Lonnie Poole golf carts wired for research.

Lake Raleigh woods, in the heart of Centennial Campus, is also a rich, educational environment for experiments as students and faculty explore its diverse ecological system.

In other words, a true “living lab.”