The Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative at the Harvard Graduate School of Education has announced the winners of its 2024 Zaentz Early Education Innovation Challenge. Now in its fifth year, the challenge recognizes and awards promising new ideas and strategic approaches that have the potential to transform early education. A team from App State’s Reich College of Education won an Audience Choice Award for its proposal to create a bachelor’s degree program with a concentration in child development.

Dr. Daniel Caton, professor in App State’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, speaks to WFDD about the negative effects of light pollution and the importance of preserving dark skies for educational and environmental purposes. Caton is the director of App State’s Dark Sky Observatory, a research facility equipped with multiple telescopes that is open to the public once a month.

App State alumni and country music stars Luke Combs and Eric Church ’00 hosted a Hurricane Helene relief concert at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Oct. 26. The night of music raised more than $24.5 million in support of Western North Carolina, with more than 82,000 fans in attendance at the event. Church graduated from App State in 2000 with a degree in marketing, and Combs attended the university from 2008 to 2012.

In this article from The Washington Post, experts say that in the days ahead of a race, runners should consume extra carbohydrates to improve endurance. Dr. David Nieman, professor in App State’s Department of Biology, offers advice on how runners can avoid “hitting the wall” in a marathon. Nieman is the director of App State’s Human Performance Lab at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis.

Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a team of astronomers observed a centaur that led to the discovery of new, previously unknown jets of gas, which is helping inform theories about how centaurs and planets are formed. Dr. Adam McKay, assistant professor in App State’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and co-author of the study, explains how looking at these jets over time can improve the understanding and evolution of our solar system.

App State alumnus Jesse Barber ’22 ’24, a documentary photographer and Western North Carolina native, brought a unique perspective to his photo coverage of Hurricane Helene, with an aim to capture hope amidst the devastation of his home state. Barber graduated from App State with a bachelor’s degree in documentary studies and a master’s degree in Appalachian studies.

This summer, App State students visited countries across five continents on faculty-led study abroad programs. The Appalachian shares the experiences of several students who participated in study abroad trips to countries in South America and to Spain.

App State alumnus Dylan Reed '24, who graduated last spring with a degree in construction management, speaks with App State’s student newspaper about how his intern experience with New Atlantic Contracting led to a job as an on-site project engineer. Reed was an intern for the company during the construction of App State’s Holmes Drive Parking Deck.

On Friday, Aug. 30, what is believed to be a meteor could be seen shooting across the night skies of the High Country. Several witnesses shared photos and videos of the event with WSOC-TV. Dr. Daniel Caton, a professor in App State’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, spoke with the station about the event.