Eric Dorfman

Museum Director Eric Dorfman featured on VisitRaleigh’s Tourism Talk blog

January 19, 2021

Eric Dorfman, PhD, Director and CEO of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, was recently interviewed for VisitRaleigh.com’s Tourism Talk blog. He talks about his background, why he opted for the directorship of NCMNS over the Carnegie Museum, and what the future holds for the Museum — Raleigh’s number one attraction*. Meet Eric Dorfman, Ph.D.,… Read More >


The Carolina Madtom is endemic to the Tar and Neuse river basins of North Carolina, and is threatened in the state. Photo credit: NCWRC.

Museum researcher and colleagues publish “An Annotated Atlas of the Freshwater Fishes of North Carolina”

The Carolina Madtom is endemic to the Tar and Neuse river basins of North Carolina, and is threatened in the state. Photo credit: NCWRC. In October of 2020, Gabriela Hogue, Museum Collection Manager for Ichthyology, and Bryn Tracy, retired Aquatic Biologist from NCDWR, along with Fred Rhode of NOAA, published “An Annotated Atlas of the… Read More >


Patrick Treuthardt being interviewed about his Spiral Graph galaxy project

Citizen scientists help find rare black holes

January 15, 2021

Patrick Treuthardt, Assistant Head of the Astronomy & Astrophysics Research Lab, collaborated with a group (Supercluster.com) to produce a short documentary video about his citizen science project, Spiral Graph. The goal of Spiral Graph is to measure the winding of spiral arms in galaxies, a parameter known as spiral arm pitch angle. Pitch angle has… Read More >


Roland Kays accessing a camera trap

How Far Does Wildlife Roam? Ask the ‘Internet of Animals’

From The New York Times Magazine: “An ambitious new system will track scores of species from space — shedding light, scientists hope, on the lingering mysteries of animal movement.” The Head of the Museum’s Biodiversity Lab, Roland Kays, played a key part in the system’s early development. Read the article here


American Beech leaves in winter

Nature Now! Beech Life

January 13, 2021

By Jerry Reynolds, Head of Outreach Massive root base of American Beech tree. The American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) is one of my favorite trees in the winter forest landscape. The American Beech is a magnificent tree year-round, but it really stands out from the crowd during the cold winter months. As you might guess by… Read More >