Innovation From Our Local Disposals | Victoria Augoustides | TEDxNCState

There is no need for waste to be wasted. With the Pig and Pines project, a research initiative out of North Carolina State University, remediated waste products from the pine and swine production are chemically transformed to an economically viable alternative for sustainable agriculture. A fervent believer in fresh perspectives and sustainable biological solutions, Victoria Augoustides has been the lead researcher on the Pig and Pines project, a research initiative based on the idea of adding value and remediating waste products of pine and swine production in North Carolina. Her work seeks to use pine bark as a tool in mitigating the odorous compounds and toxic byproducts affiliated with hog cultivation. The origin of the Pig and Pines project was a desire to connect a contribution in the agricultural bioprocessing field with her two identities: one globally-rooted in South Africa’s capital and the other tied to her hometown in the pork BBQ capital of the Southeast. Victoria has been an active member in the engineering and academic communities for the last 6 years, supporting and consulting with makers, startups, professors, fellow students, and local businesses in implementing interdisciplinary ingenuity and new angles in their problem-solving approaches. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx