N.C. A&T Researchers Advance Coastal Resilience, Sustainable Energy Innovation

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (April 16, 2026) – Undergraduate students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University are advancing solutions to coastal resilience and sustainable energy through NASA and U.S. Department of Energy-funded research projects.

With a combined budget of more than $2 million, these projects seek to equip communities with data-driven tools to address sea level rise and transform harmful greenhouse gases into valuable chemical products.

Through a collaboration with Morgan State University, the NASA-funded project is developing a geospatial risk assessment tool that uses Earth observation data to help communities along the East Coast identify infrastructure vulnerabilities and strengthen flood mitigation strategies. Leila Hashemi Beni, Ph.D., an associate professor in the College of Science and Technology (CoST), leads the North Carolina A&T team.

For this project, A&T student research assistants Skyla Cherisca, Loren Faison, Mazeon Jones and Barfuo Boakye-Boaten are contributing by bringing economic perspectives to the research, using geospatial computational tools to assess the financial impacts of flooded croplands in Eastern North Carolina and inform data-driven solutions for community decision-making.

At the same time, the U.S. Department of Energy-funded initiative, in partnership with the University of Wyoming, is pioneering a plasma-catalytic process to convert methane containing carbon dioxide into high-value chemicals, while also evaluating the technology’s potential economic impact and workforce opportunities across Eastern North Carolina. This two-year research project is led by Aleksandrs Prokofjevs, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry in CoST.

Economics students Sidnee Moore and Xaavi Vericain are using higher-level quantitative tools to develop interactive dashboards that will help community planners and other constituents identify new energy manufacturing opportunities to stimulate the coastal North Carolina economy.

With both projects, these undergraduate economics students are being introduced to advanced graduate-level research methods and opportunities, positioning them to excel in future academic research, policy analysis, and data-driven decision-making endeavors.

“Students learn to work in interdisciplinary teams, solving these problems by looking at multiple perspectives,” said Lyubov Kurkalova, Ph.D., professor of economics in A&T’s Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics and co-principal investigator for both research projects. “I’ve seen that such exposure has been very effective for students in broadening the horizons and helping them figure out what they want to do professionally.”

Kurkalova, who brings a background in agricultural economics and natural resource economics to these projects, believes interdisciplinary work is valuable and critical in cultivating well-rounded scholars and professionals.

By combining cutting-edge geospatial analysis with economic insights, these A&T students are helping communities anticipate and respond to environmental and economic challenges. Their work not only advances scientific understanding and sustainable technology but also empowers local decision-makers with strategies, demonstrating the university’s commitment to innovation, resilience and public service.