Carolina made these first and for all Americans

Calcium carbide and acetylene gas

Fertilizers, adhesives, sunscreens, antiseptics, toothpaste, pharmaceuticals and the steel that built America all trace back to one discovery.

In 1893, Carolina chemistry professor Francis Venable and students John Motley Morehead III and William Rand Kenan Jr. found an economical way to produce calcium carbide and its byproduct, acetylene gas. Their breakthrough:

• Revolutionized industry and daily life
• Led to the first commercial calcium carbide plant in North Carolina — which evolved into Union Carbide, later part of Dow Chemical
• Enabled the manufacture of stronger, more precise steel, making battleships and skyscrapers possible
• Increased the production of acetylene gas, crucial for oxyacetylene welding and synthetic chemistry products such as neoprene, the first synthetic rubber

Photo credit: Steel Dynamics Long Products Group

Safety programs for teen drivers and school children

The graduated licensing system came out of Carolina’s Highway Safety Research Center after years of research to develop a science-based approach to reducing injuries and deaths that result from young driver crashes. Graduated driver licensing became North Carolina law in 1997. The system was so successful that every U.S. state adopted its own graduated licensing method. Click-it-or-Ticket programs, National Walk to School Day, International Walk to School Day and National Bike to School Day all originated with the center.

Nationwide program to protect teeth of infants and toddlers

A Medicaid program that trains and pays primary care doctors to conduct oral health screenings for toddler and young children, apply fluoride varnish and refer them to dentists originated from research by the late Dr. R. Gary Rozier, former professor in the Gillings School of Global Public Health and Dr. William Vann Jr., distinguished professor at the UNC Adams School of Dentistry.

They helped create North Carolina’s Into the Mouths of Babes program in 2000 to address the problem of infants and toddlers on Medicaid not receiving dental care, a major barrier to preventing childhood tooth decay. Many other state Medicaid programs have adopted similar policies. In 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services added topical fluoride application by primary care providers to its core quality measures for children’s healthcare.

Research alters sales of tobacco products to minors

Research by Kurt M. Ribisl, a professor at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, affects the sale of tobacco products in the U.S. Ribisl played a pivotal role in uncovering how minors gain illegal access to nicotine products — and in shaping practical strategies to stop it.

His groundbreaking studies showed that online and in-store vendors often failed to check buyers’ ages, allowing youth to easily purchase cigarettes and e-cigarettes. In one study, teens successfully ordered cigarettes online more than 90% of the time, while later research revealed that e-cigarette websites used ineffective “honor-system” age checks that minors bypassed by entering a fake birth date.

Ribisl’s work gave lawmakers, regulators and parents concrete evidence that weak enforcement — not just weak laws — fueled youth nicotine access. His findings helped drive state and federal policies requiring:

• Stricter age-verification systems for online sales
• Adult-signature delivery for shipments
• Clearer labeling for flavored products

Ribisl’s research on how flavors and social media marketing targeted minors helped shape North Carolina’s legal suit against Juul Labs.

Retailers now use electronic ID scanners, websites employ third-party verification software and shipping services require adult signatures — all practices Ribisl’s research supports. His studies also guide community enforcement programs checking whether local stores sell to minors and help parents and educators understand how youth obtain vaping products online.

Hemophilia tests and treatments

In 1953, Drs. Kenneth Brinkhous, Robert Langdell and Robert Wagner developed the partial thromboplastin time test, which identifies hemophilia by showing how long it takes blood to clot. Today, their PTT test is the standard screening tool for detecting human bleeding disorders in hospitals and clinics worldwide. In the ’50s, running just one or two tests took all day. Today, UNC Health locations complete some 450 tests daily.

Brinkhous’ experiments led to the discovery that the gene for hemophilia is located on the X chromosome, which is why it’s rare for women to be diagnosed.

In 1965, Dr. Harold R. Roberts, former Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Medicine and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brinkhous and their colleagues developed the first highly purified dried concentrate of blood clotting factor VIII. This primary therapy for hemophilia enabled patients to treat themselves at home.