Appalachian Today

A $367,088 National Science Foundation grant is funding major upgrades to the 32-inch telescope at App State’s Dark Sky Observatory. The upgrades will provide faculty and student researchers with an enhanced view, and a deeper understanding, of the cosmos.

Appalachian State University’s New River Light and Power (NRLP) has named the 2025 recipients of two NRLP scholarship programs that support students pursuing higher education and careers in the energy industry. The seven awardees are all Watauga High School graduates.

App State honored 20 future military leaders during a commissioning ceremony held May 8 on the Boone campus, during which the Mountaineer Battalion members and App State graduates took the Oath of Office and received the gold bars signifying their rank as second lieutenants in the U.S. Army.

App State researcher Dr. Zachary Russell and his team have received a $2.3 million NCInnovation grant to develop an AI-enhanced robotic microscope that will streamline parasite analysis in livestock and poultry — helping to strengthen NC’s billion-dollar agriculture industry.

Kristen S. Bonatz has been appointed general counsel and vice chancellor of institutional integrity at Appalachian State University, announced Chancellor Heather Norris. The appointment is effective May 27.