It's a race with no fuel, because the cars are powered by solar energy. Saturday morning teams began their 1,700-mile race, starting at the Lewis and Clark Trail in Omaha. Fourteen solar-powered vehicles race through four states and finish in Omaha. National and international schools compete in the American Solar Challenge with two different classes and a variety of styles and techniques.

Cardiovascular exercise isn't the only exercise that's, well, cardiovascular. In fact, strength training can up your heart health, too. In one Appalachian State University study, people who performed 45 minutes of moderate-intensity resistance exercise lowered their blood pressure by 20 percent.

A study by researchers at The University of Manchester, Columbia University, the Visiting Nurse Service of New York and Appalachian State University has shown that attitudes among community nurses are important for their compliance with infection control practices. The study is published in the American Journal of Infection Control.

For the first time, campus officials from every University of North Carolina system school came together for a safety and security conference. The goal of the collaboration is to share the best practices and resources throughout the state to keep the respective campuses safe and continue to foster a healthy learning environment.

Three new students have been selected to receive the Celia Moh Scholarship for the 2018-2019 academic year, including Ryan Decker, a senior Industrial Design major at Appalachian. The Celia Moh Scholarship is considered one of the preeminent academic scholarship programs for students bound for careers in the home furnishings industry, paying full-time tuition and fees, room, board and books for its recipients.

Over the last few decades, the United States’ relationship with Iraq has been tense, to say the least. But 6,000 miles away in Boone, N.C., bridges of understanding are being built in the world of academics.

The Caldwell County Board of Education has unanimously selected Dr. Donald W. Phipps as the next superintendent for Caldwell County Schools. Dr. Phipps will take office on July 1 of this year. Phipps earned a master’s degree in school psychology and a doctorate in educational leadership from Appalachian State University.

When a school’s men’s basketball team is banned from post-season play by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the number and quality of its applicants suffers, a new working paper from researchers at Appalachian State University and Seton Hall University suggests.

A working paper released by economists at Appalachian State University and Seton Hall University found that an athletics scandal at an individual university—as measured by NCAA postseason tournament bans of men’s basketball teams—“lowers both the quantity and quality” of the students who enroll.