Pégard, Nicolas

UNC Service

I joined UNC Chapel Hill in 2019 to serve a public institution that strikes the right balance between being a top tier research university and fulfilling important educational missions as state flagship. My research builds bridges between research and education. I have already participated in the MPSC-led NC Science Festival with activities in the area of "Inexpensive optics". I advise students who are developing educational display devices for the Moorehead Planetatium and Science Center, and my teaching activity invites students to take on research and entrepreneurial projects. I hope to expand my service to UNC over the next few years.

Candidate Statement

As a researcher and in my teaching activities, I rely on publications on daily basis. It bother me that universities and researchers keep spending large amounts of money on access fees to read about the research we ourselves produced, often with public money. I am even surprised that we are not yet being charged for the privilege of reviewing those articles.
In 2020, the fast growth of open-access resources, and our size as a community give us the power to demand fair pricing from major publishers. If elected, you can count on me to be your advocate. I will ensure that my colleagues and I have easy and fast access to the materials they need, and can do so in cost effective ways that reduce the burden on our research grants, and on university funds.