a smart approach to fighting diseases - nc state …...spirit aero systems, slated to move to the...

FROM THE DEAN

In BriefFeatures

> A Smart Approach to FightingDiseases

Concrete SolutionsPipelines to InnovationShooting for the Moon

Student SpotlightClub Sub

Alumni in the SpotlightFirst in his (online) class

Research UpdateEngineering a medical

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NC State EngineeringFoundation Inc.

From the DirectorGiving back in trying times

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Staying close and giving backFoundation Footnotes

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COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

NC STATE

A Smart Approach toFighting DiseasesNC State engineers have invented a new type ofinhaler that can target drugs where they areneeded, and nowhere else.

Research on the smart inhaler involves mixing drugs in microchannels to obtain acontrolled concentration in the smallest device possible. Inhalers have a drugreservoir from which carefully sized particles evolve. They are then delivered towarda pre-determined target in the respiratory system.

Two NC State engineers have developed a new inhaler systemthat could improve treatments for a host of diseases bytargeting drugs onto diseased tissue without affecting healthyareas of the throat and lungs.

The computer-controlled “smart inhaler” could be abreakthrough for patients suffering from lung cancer, asthma,diabetes and other ailments. The prototype device, developed

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by Dr. Clement Kleinstreuer, a professor in the Department ofMechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and Dr. StefanSeelecke, an associate professor in the same department,implements a technology that for the first time tightly controlswhere inhaled drugs end up in the respiratory system.

The device could eventually result in significant advantagesfor patients because it focuses drug-aerosol delivery to aspecific site in the lungs, minimizes side effects andsignificantly reduces wasted medicine. It could also signal abreakthrough in drug delivery for diseases that are oftentreated with pills and injections.

“When undergoing chemotherapy for a lung tumor, a patient istreated with a very aggressive drug that attacks healthy tissueas well as cancerous tissue,” Seelecke said. “You need somedevice that makes sure the inhaled medication goes where youwant it to go, and that’s what we hope this device will help usdo in the future.”

The smart inhaler works through the use of a nozzle that canbe adjusted to change where the drug-aerosol stream goes inthe respiratory system. A pressure actuator and valve insidethe inhaler modifies a patient’s breathing pattern so that thereleased medicine goes where it is needed, and nowhere else.

“When a patient comes in for treatment, we can take a CT scanso you know what the exact geometry of their lungs is,”Seelecke said. “Then we’ll be able to determine patient-specifically where you need to adjust the nozzle to releasefrom.”

Kleinstreuer came up with the idea for the system whileconducting research for U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency officials who asked him to predict how inhaled toxicparticles would deposit in the lungs. He took the research astep further by examining therapeutic materials instead oftoxic ones and developed simulations that could determine theexact drug-aerosol release position, particle characteristics andinhalation flow rate to deliver the medicine to a specific site orregion in the lungs.

Kleinstreuer and Seelecke used that research to develop theinhaler and conducted laboratory tests on the device with thehelp of Dr. William Roberts, professor of mechanical andaerospace engineering at NC State. Using a model of twistingglass tubes to mimic the airways from the mouth to the upperbranches of the lung and a laser to track the path of theparticles, Roberts confirmed the findings of Kleinstreuer’scomputer simulations by showing that the air particle streamfrom the nozzle could travel through the bent and branchingairways in the lungs to a specific point.

Earlier inhalers could at best distinguish whether diseasedtissue was in the upper or lower region of the lung. With thosedevices, about 80 percent of the drug was deposited in healthy


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areas that did not require treatment, wasting medicine andpotentially causing harmful side effects for the patient.

The researchers, with the help of pulmonary specialists at theSchool of Medicine at the University of North Carolina atChapel Hill, hope to begin testing the inhaler with patients inabout two years.

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> FROM THE DEAN

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A Smart Approach to FightingDiseases





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NC STATE

Louis A. Martin-Vega

From the Dean of Engineering

Greetings and welcome to our first editionof NC State Engineering magazine online.As many of you are aware, the state and theuniversity are facing significant budgetchallenges as a result of the currenteconomic situation. Developing an onlinealternative to our printed magazine is one ofmany ways the College of Engineering iscreatively addressing the downturn in theeconomy. I very much appreciate the greatjob of our communications group in theCollege for developing this attractive onlinealternative and we hope that you will enjoy

it as much or more as our previous printed versions.

Even with the economic storm clouds that were brewing, I am pleasedto share with you that 2008-09 proved to be one of the college’s mostsuccessful years. We not only welcomed a record number of first yearstudents in 2008 but it was also the strongest first year class in ourhistory. With an average GPA of 4.34 and 55 percent of those admittedin the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class, this is trulyan outstanding group of young men and women who have entered ourCollege. This influx of undergraduate students combined with continuedgrowth in our graduate and distance education programs has grown ourCollege to 8,304 students, again a record number for total enrollment inthe College.

Our faculty has also continued to grow and with the 14 new facultymembers we welcomed this year, we have now added 40 new faculty toour College in the last two years. This faculty growth has also spurredan increase in our external contracts and grants as well as our researchexpenditures which have increased from $104 million in 2007-08 to arecord $121 million in 2008-09. While there have been manycontributions to this growth in research activity, a major contributor hasbeen a five-year $18.5 million grant from the National ScienceFoundation to establish the FREEDM Center, an NSF EngineeringResearch Center for Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery andManagement Systems at NC State. We are very proud of this singularaccomplishment and confident that it is but one indication of the abilityof our outstanding faculty to successfully compete at the very highestlevels of federal funding opportunities.

The articles in this issue illustrate the variety of ways our collegeimpacts the world – from finding better ways to deliver medicines to


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building environmentally and structurally sound structures to nurturingthe entrepreneurs of the future. You will read about a professor whotravels the world improving engineering education and a group ofstudents developing a rover that may some day travel to the moon. Andarticles on our alumni show how alumni support creates even greateropportunities for achievement among our students and faculty.

The bottom line is that even with the economic challenges that wecurrently face, we continue to be enthusiastic about the future ofresearch and innovation in the U.S. and welcome our role andresponsibility in moving our state and country forward.

The stimulus package recently signed by the President providessignificant opportunities for our faculty to obtain research contracts andgrants from major government funding units such as the NationalScience Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Department ofDefense, NIST and others. With current research projects in bridgesafety, renewable energy, the environment and information technology,the College of Engineering is well-poised to expand our research in thepriority funding areas identified in the stimulus package. Our facultyand administration have already begun the process of applying for thesefunds and we look forward to sharing more of these results as theydevelop in the future.

At a more local level, we continue to be very proud of the significantrole that our College plays in the economic development of our state.During this last year the College has partnered with the NC Departmentof Commerce to attract a variety of industries to the state, includingSpirit Aero Systems, slated to move to the Global Transpark in Kinston.This move will bring more than 1,000 new high-tech jobs to the state.Another effort has assisted with the move of Fidelity Investments toRTP, which cited proximity to a reliable source of skilled computerscience graduates as key to their selection of North Carolina. Other keycompanies that rely on graduates of the College of Engineering includeIBM, SAS, Cisco, Red Hat, Progress Energy and Duke Energy.Historically, North Carolina’s investments in higher education havesupported economic growth within the state. Now, as the economyweakens, investing in the College of Engineering—a known producer ofa high-tech workforce and a catalyst for new companies and newjobs—is essential for the state’s continued economic success and forlong-term prosperity.

The College continues its move to NC State’s Centennial Campus as theconstruction of Engineering Building III, the future home of thedepartments of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical and AerospaceEngineering, nears completion. We have also requested funding fordesign and construction of Engineering Buildings IV and V, the futurehomes of our departments of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Civil,Construction, and Environmental Engineering, and NuclearEngineering. These buildings would complete the move of the Collegeto Centennial Campus and clearly enhance our ability to meet the state’sneeds for a highly educated, technical workforce and for attracting thebest jobs and industries to North Carolina.

As you can see, our college is ready to meet the challenges of the future,


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and I invite you to be a part of our success. I hope you enjoy thisinaugural edition of the NC State Engineering magazine online.

Louis A. Martin-VegaDean


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FROM THE DEAN

> In BriefFeatures






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NC STATE

Dr. Louis A. Martin-Vega, dean of the College of Engineering, has helped cement theCollege’s national and international reputation as an elite public engineering school.

Dean Martin-Vega NamedOutstanding Engineer in NC

Dr. Louis A. Martin-Vega, dean of the College of Engineeringat NC State, was named the Outstanding Engineer in NorthCarolina for 2008 by the North Carolina Society of Engineers.

Martin-Vega accepted the award Jan. 31 at a banquet inResearch Triangle Park. Society President Lynn Eury praisedMartin-Vega for his “outstanding executive leadership” in aletter announcing the award.

Since arriving at NC State in 2006, Martin-Vega has helpedcement the College’s national and international reputation asan elite public engineering school. Under his leadership, theCollege has attracted more research funding, risen in nationalrankings and continued to build a diverse and talented group offaculty and students.

The North Carolina Society of Engineers, founded in 1918, isa non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian organization thathelps promote the social, economic and technical interests ofthe engineering profession throughout the state.


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Thousands Attend NC StateEngineering Career FairThousands of engineering students and hundreds of employersconverged on NC State in early February for one of thenation’s largest career fairs for engineering students.

The Engineering Career Fair at NC State brought engineeringstudents together with top employers looking to makeconnections and fill jobs and internships. This year’s fair, heldFeb. 4-5 at the McKimmon Center on the NC State campus,drew a record 4,530 attendees and coverage from the RaleighNews & Observer and several local television stations. Morethan 240 companies registered for the event.

The career fair has enjoyed steady growth since its inception in1998. Originally held as a one-day, once-a-year event thatattracted about 60 companies and 1,500 students, the fair hasgrown into a two-day, twice-a-year event. The fair often drawsstudents from as far away as New York and Texas and hasproven popular with job-seeking alumni and other visitors.


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FROM THE DEAN

> In BriefFeatures






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Faculty Spotlight





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NC STATE

(Page 2 of 2)

New concentration to helpengineers improve healthcare systemA new graduate concentration will help NC State engineersimprove the nation’s growing health care system.

The concentration in health systems engineering was amongthe new initiatives the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrialand Systems Engineering set out to install after Fitts, a 1961graduate of the department, made his landmark $10 milliongift in 2005. Students should be able to start taking courses inthe concentration this fall.

Dr. Stephen Roberts, a professor in the department who directsNC State’s Laboratory for Healthcare Systems Engineering,said the concentration’s curriculum and research will likelyfocus on health delivery systems, particularly in the field ofdisease management. Two new faculty members have beenhired to build the program, and the department has receivedseveral grants, including a $1.6 million award from the Centersfor Disease Control and Prevention that will fund systemsengineering research to improve the North Carolina HealthAlert Network.

“Health care delivery was once considered to be outsideengineering practice, but we hope to change that,” Robertssaid. “Engineers have no clear role in delivering health careright now, but we believe they must be a part of thedeliberations about health care delivery, so that decision andpolicy makers are better informed.”

College develops mission,visionThe College has developed new mission and vision statementsto shape its activities in the 21st century. The statements weredeveloped by a committee of College leaders with input from


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faculty and staff.

The vision statement sees the College becoming “the leadingpublic college of engineering in the nation and one of thepreeminent colleges of engineering in the world.” The Collegewill achieve this goal through research, education, economicdevelopment, partnerships and building on its own reputation,among other activities.

The mission statement says the College “leads discovery,learning and innovation by creating and disseminatingknowledge, empowering significant advances in technology,and driving economic development for the welfare of the state,the nation and the world.”

The mission is guided by core values and guiding principlesthat include providing equal educational opportunities for all,insisting on ethical behavior, focusing on students in allactivities and valuing leadership, discovery and an openexchange of ideas.


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FROM THE DEAN

In BriefFeatures


> Concrete SolutionsPipelines to InnovationShooting for the Moon




breakthrough


Faculty Spotlight





WAYS TO GIVE


NC STATE

Concrete SolutionsResearchers at NC State’s Constructed FacilitiesLaboratory are finding better ways to build that big,ubiquitous structure: the parking garage.

Dr. Sami Rizkalla directs the Constructed Facilities Laboratory, where engineers canperform full-scale tests on bridge and building structures.

People are always looking for ways to make something lessexpensive, longer lasting or more environmentally friendly –and a team of engineers at NC State is figuring out how to doall of those things at once for some of the largest, mostcommon buildings found anywhere: parking garages.

These advances are important, because parking garages seemto be everywhere. Whenever a new shopping center, office orapartment building is built, you can bet a new garage is beingbuilt too. And now those buildings can be made for less moneyand will last longer.

For example, the researchers have figured out a way to use 30percent less steel in the manufacture of the concrete beams, or


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spandrels, used in the construction of parking garages. Steel isincorporated into the spandrels for reinforcement purposes, butthe new design curtails the use of steel without sacrificingsafety.

Dr. Sami Rizkalla, one of the leaders of the research team, saysthe new spandrel design, “simplifies construction for precastconcrete producers.” In addition to using less steel, the newdesign cuts labor and manufacturing time in half, significantlydecreasing costs.

The researchers not only come up with new designs, but testthem in NC State’s Constructed Facilities Laboratory (CFL), applying enormous forces on experimental structures to see ifthe designs can function in the real world. Greg Lucier, theCFL manager and a doctoral student at NC State, says tests atthe lab show that the new design guidelines include asignificant margin for safety. For example, Lucier says thespandrels could handle two to three times the maximumweight they would be expected to bear.

At the same time, Rizkalla says, his research team is alsostudying ways to remove steel entirely from precast concretestructures by replacing it with advanced composite materials.Using composites, such as carbon fiber, in place of traditionalsteel can give parking structures a much longer service life.Lucier explains that the steel reinforcement can actuallybecome the most vulnerable part of a concrete beam over timeas it is exposed to water and begins to rust. Thus, designs thatrely on advanced composite materials in place of steel couldlast longer because composites are not susceptible tocorrosion.

The success of the research program is drawing interest fromthe concrete industry, with individual companies coming toNC State to get input on how to improve their products andmanufacturing processes. Some are even looking tocollaborate on research and development projects.

The researchers presented an overview of their new designsthat minimize the use of steel at the spring convention of theAmerican Concrete Institute in San Antonio.


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FROM THE DEAN

In BriefFeatures


Concrete Solutions> Pipelines to Innovation

Shooting for the Moon




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Faculty Spotlight





WAYS TO GIVE


NC STATE

Dr. Tom Miller (right) and students with the Engineering Entrepreneurs Program visit atechnology company during the group's annual trip to Silicon Valley.

Pipelines to InnovationTom Miller is building entrepreneurs at NC State.

How do you grow entrepreneurship at NC State?

To Dr. Tom Miller, the man tasked with doing just that, it’s allabout creating pipelines.

Miller, the brainchild behind NC State’s successfulEngineering Entrepreneurs Program and the executive directorof the new NC State Entrepreneurship Initiative, believesnurturing the entrepreneurial spirit in the business creators oftomorrow starts with outreach to students in middle school andhigh school today. Miller, the McPherson FamilyDistinguished Professor in Engineering Entrepreneurship, hasbeen on the faculty of the Department of Electrical andComputer Engineering since 1982 and is vice provost forDistance Education and Learning Technology Applications atNC State. He is also an associate dean in the College ofEngineering.

Nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit means getting thesepre-college students interested in attending college andmajoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics


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disciplines, he said. Once these types of students enroll at NCState, Miller’s vision is to provide introductory classes inentrepreneurship, maybe even one that satisfies a generaleducation requirement. Then, in Miller’s vision, the pipelinewould feed students into an entrepreneurship program similarto those that already exist in the colleges of Engineering andManagement.

In the Engineering Entrepreneurship Program, for example,multidisciplinary teams of undergraduates run their ownvirtual companies launching a new product or business. Led byseniors fulfilling their capstone design project requirements,the teams function like start-up companies, divvying up taskslike design, testing, market research, manufacturing and sales.

“Innovation happens at the intersection of disciplines,” Millersaid. “Multidisciplinary collaboration is the key, because youget minds together that think differently. That leads toinnovation.

“Programs like the Engineering Entrepreneurship Program andthe College of Management’s Entrepreneurship EducationInitiative provide the foundation for a successfuluniversity-wide entrepreneurship program; now we need tobuild bridges to other colleges and disciplines.”

Further down the pipeline, graduate students in business ortechnology disciplines can work with NC State’s TechnologyEntrepreneurship Commercialization program (in the Collegeof Management) to learn more about what is needed to turnideas into businesses. From there, recently minted NC Statealumni could take their ideas into the university’s technologyincubator, where ideas hatch into start-up companies. Theincubator has hosted more than two dozen start-up clients.

But that doesn’t complete the pipeline, Miller said. Manysuccessful NC State entrepreneurs give something back to theuniversity by providing his or her expertise and savvy to thenext generation of entrepreneurs through internship or co-opofferings, or by returning to NC State as a speaker in theuniversity’s Entrepreneurship Lecture Series.

The Nov. 3 Entrepreneur Lecture Series starred Joseph ForbesJr., president and chief operating officer of Cleartricity, acompany formed to leverage wireless and wire-line telecominfrastructure towards reducing peak power in the utilitypower grid. An NC State alumnus with a degree in electricalengineering, Forbes holds three patents and was named to theTriangle Business Journal’s list of “40 under 40” area businessexecutives.

Miller and Chancellor James Oblinger laid out NC State’s newEntrepreneurship Initiative during the Entrepreneur LectureSeries event. Miller will spend most of his foreseeable careerat NC State providing the leadership to bring out theentrepreneur in NC State students and do the other things


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necessary to complete the pipeline.

“You can’t teach a person to be an entrepreneur, but you canimpact his or her chances for success,” he said.


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FROM THE DEAN

In BriefFeatures


Concrete SolutionsPipelines to Innovation

> Shooting for the Moon




breakthrough


Faculty Spotlight





WAYS TO GIVE


NC STATE

Shooting for the moonNC State engineers are building a rover that couldone day run on the moon.

The moon rover built at NC State would explore an area near the moon’s “Ocean ofStorms.” Astronauts with the Apollo 12 mission took this image of the area in 1969.(Photo: courtesy of NASA and the National Space Science Data Center)

NC State engineering students and faculty are playing animportant role in a not-so-academic project: building a roverthat could actually travel on the surface of the moon.

The group is part of a larger team working to produce amission to the moon as part of the Google Lunar X Prizecompetition, which offers $30 million in prize money toencourage development of privately-funded space exploration.Team STELLAR, as the team is known, is one of 16 teamsfrom around the world vying for the award.

“How many students get to build a rover that might travel on


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the moon one day?” said Dr. Andre Mazzoleni, an associateprofessor of mechanical engineering working on the project.“It’s been a wonderful opportunity for these students to be partof something that could revolutionize space travel.”

The prize represents an important step in the development ofprivately funded space exploration, an industry commonlyreferred to as “New Space.” If one of the teams successfullylands a vehicle on the moon, it would be the first privatelyfunded mission to do so.

Mazzoleni and Dr. William Edmonson, professor of electricaland computer engineering, and five graduate students are partof the group’s rover team, which is creating designs for thevehicle that would explore the lunar service. Team STELLARleaders, meanwhile, are working to raise money to support theproject.

Then there’s the prize money. The first team to land a rover onthe moon, travel 500 meters over the lunar service and sendimages and data back to Earth — all by the end of 2012 —receives $20 million. The second team will receive $5 million,and another $5 million in bonus prizes are also available.

The competition is modeled after the $25,000 that wasawarded to Charles Lindberg in 1927 for making the firsttransatlantic flight.

“The prize intends to one day make space as accessible asoverseas flight is today,” said Brandon Nichols, a graduatestudent in aerospace engineering and rover team member.

Team STELLAR was formed in October 2007 as a partnershipbetween the Department of Mechanical and AerospaceEngineering and several other local organizations, includingInsight Technologies and the Advanced Vehicle ResearchCenter. Since then, Mazzoleni, Edmonson and their studentshave been completing the design for the six-wheeled EarthDemonstrator Vehicle, essentially a prototype rover that willbe tested on Earth. After this initial testing phase, the team willbuild a rover with different materials specifically designed forthe stresses of the lunar environment.

The team has already selected a proposed landing zone nearthe moon’s Ocean of Storms, which has been the site ofseveral significant lunar landings. Among them: the 1969Apollo 12 mission that was the second manned journey to themoon. The team chose the landing spot so it could take photosof hardware left behind by previous lunar missions. Gatheringthose photos would gain the team some of the bonus prizemoney.

But before any launch can take place, much testing remains. Inaddition to building the Earth Demonstrator Vehicle, the teamhas also been working with software programs that allow theteam to test the rover in a virtual lunar environment, giving


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them important insight on how the rover will perform on themoon.

The team estimates that the final rover, which will be knownas the “Stellar Eagle,” will weigh around 20 kilograms, or 44pounds, which has been trimmed down substantially fromearlier, heavier designs the team considered. The team said itwas important that the vehicle be as light as possible, as eachextra pound would increase the cost of getting it to the moon.

All the design, planning and fundraising represent amonumental effort to land a prize awarded to one teamcompeting against many. But NC State team members say thecompetition is developing an entrepreneurial spirit that couldsignal a new era in space exploration.

“Space is similar to the West during the gold rush,” Nicholssaid. “You’re probably not going to see an increase inexploration and development until people realize that there isan opportunity to make money there.”


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FROM THE DEAN

In BriefFeatures



Student Spotlight> Club Sub



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NC STATE

Club SubA student club builds underwater robots — and theresumes of its members.

DA diver tends to Seawolf II during an international underwater vehicle competitionin San Diego, Calif. NC State’s Underwater Robotics Club tests its robots againstdozens of teams each summer. (Photo: courtesy of the Underwater Robotics Club)

Members of one NC State engineering student group spend alot of time at the pool.

They’re not working on their tans. They’re testing theirunderwater robot.

Every summer since 2005, the NC State Underwater RoboticsClub has entered a robot submarine in an internationalunderwater vehicle competition in San Diego, Calif. Theevent, put on by the Association for Unmanned SystemsInternational (AUVSI), requires each robot to navigate anunderwater obstacle course that tests the robot’s vision,


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acoustics and positioning systems.

Club members work all year to get their robot ready for thecompetition, but the experience stays with them pastgraduation. The club alumni list is peppered with students whohave gone on to well-known companies and top-notchgraduate programs.

“The club is a great resume builder,” said president BrooksStephenson, a junior in electrical engineering. “We’ve hadformer club members go on to get great jobs at places likeLockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.”

Still, club members have a competitive streak. Members hopeto score a top-five finish at this year’s competition, which pitsNC State’s robots against those from dozens of universities allover the world. To do that, the club is building a new vehiclethat’s lighter and more efficient than its predecessor, which isbeing retired after three years of service.

The club is primarily affiliated with the Department ofElectrical and Computer Engineering, but it also drawsmechanical engineering, nuclear engineering and computerscience students. Every Monday and Wednesday night, thegroup gets together in Burlington Labs to hash out ideas, workon design and construction and, eventually, test the robot incampus pools.

“I think people are interested in joining the club because itgives real-life experience and really helps to solidify the thingsyou may have learned in the classroom,” Stephenson said. “Italso gives you the chance to learn things that you may see inyour classes later on, so you’ll already be familiar with them.”

The club began in 2004 when a small group of friends teamedup with Vortex HC, LLC, a Morrisville-based roboticscompany, to build a competition vehicle for the followingyear’s AUVSI event. Their first design, called Seawolf I,suffered some electronic problems and didn’t make the finalround, but in practice rounds it turned heads with its acrobaticflips and barrel rolls. It was featured in the magazines Robot,Make and Servo.

The next year, the club began to work on a second vehicle thatimproved upon Seawolf I. The group gave Seawolf II (video)simpler controls, a triangular chassis, separate power andelectronics tubes, a Windows operating system andstreamlined acoustic navigations. Seawolf II served as thecompetition vehicle for three years; its best showing at AUVSIwas a ninth-place finish in 2006.

Seawolf III, which will debut this summer, is underconstruction now and will employ a highly efficient maincomputer augmented by a series of microcontrollers. Thisupgrade makes the new vehicle much lighter than itspredecessor and addresses past issues with battery life and


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overheating.

The team hopes to have the new vehicle ready by the end ofspring to allow time to test it before the mid-summercompetition, which requires robots to navigate under, over andthrough obstacles and use acoustic navigation to find audiobeacons in the water. Each robot has 15 minutes to finish thecourse and is judged on its performance.

For these students, the benefits of club membership areobvious. They make friends, build a dazzling robot and addheft to their resumes. But there’s another perk.

“We also get to spend a week out in California during thesummer,” Stephenson said, “so that’s lots of fun.”


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FROM THE DEAN

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Alumni in the Spotlight> First in his (online) class


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Faculty Spotlight





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NC STATE

John Hannah, a radiological engineer at GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, says the EngineeringOnline master's program “certainly helped me.” (Photo: courtesy of John Hannah)

First in his (online) classThe first graduate of NC State’s Engineering Onlineprogram in nuclear engineering is looking ahead.

John Hannah wanted to get a master’s degree in nuclearengineering, but he just couldn’t find the right program.

So NC State found him.

This spring, Hannah will become the first person to graduatefrom NC State’s Engineering Online program with a master’sdegree in nuclear engineering. Taking the online classes, whichare identical to on-campus courses in terms of content,requirements and academic rigor, meant that he did not have togive up his day job at GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) inWilmington, N.C.

NC State started offering the program after Hannah inquiredabout it during an information session. Hannah is alreadybenefiting from the technical know-how he’s gleaned from theclasses, and soon he’ll get to add a key line to his resume.

“It’s nice that it’s available now to other people,” Hannah said.“It’s certainly helped me.”


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The recent addition of the nuclear engineering degree meansthe College now offers 10 master’s degrees online. Thedegrees have been popular with employed students becausethey can access recorded class lectures any time from anycomputer that has a high-speed Internet connection. Courseassignments, lecture notes and handouts are also madeavailable on the Internet.

“You have the same opportunities that you have on campus,but you get the work experience at the same time,” Hannahsaid.

The Engineering Online program is a great value, too.GetEducated.com recently recognized the program as its No. 1Best Buy for online engineering degrees nationwide.

Hannah, 25, learned about NC State’s program a few years agoafter he started thinking about returning to school for amaster’s degree. There were not any big engineering schoolsnear Wilmington, where he was working at GEH as part of theEdison Engineering Development Program, so he startedlooking at online degrees.

Around that time, Dr. Linda Krute, director of the EngineeringOnline program, held an information session for Hannah andothers in the Edison program in Wilmington. NC State did notoffer a distance-education master’s degree in nuclearengineering at that time, but when Hannah and others askedabout adding it, Krute liked the idea. She then approached NCState’s Department of Nuclear Engineering, which stronglyendorsed the development of an online master of nuclearengineering program for the GEH employees in Wilmington.(Now, others can also participate in this degree program fromany site or location.)

A few months later, Krute called Hannah to tell him that NCState would start offering nuclear engineering classes online.

Hannah enrolled in fall 2007 and already is seeing the results.On several occasions, he said, he’s applied what he’s learnedin class at his current job as a radiological engineer at GEH.

He also has enjoyed the online format, which makes it simpleto view lectures and course materials. While online, he caneasily communicate with the professors and other students.

“Even though you can’t raise your hand, you do get thatinteraction,” he said.

Hannah views his degree as a building block for the rest of hisengineering career. He is thankful that when he asked forsomething, Engineering Online at NC State responded.

“It’s nice that they were able to recognize that students couldbenefit from something like this,” he said.


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FROM THE DEAN

In BriefFeatures





Research Update> Engineering a medical

breakthrough


Faculty Spotlight





WAYS TO GIVE


NC STATE

Engineering a medicalbreakthroughNC State researchers have developed a newnanomaterial that could lead to advanced newmedical implants.

Dr. Roger Narayan, right, and graduate student Shaun Gittard look into an ultra highvacuum chamber, which is used to modify the surface of nanoporous membranes.

A team of researchers led by Dr. Roger Narayan, associateprofessor in the joint NC State-UNC Department ofBiomedical Engineering, has made a breakthrough that couldlead to new dialysis devices and a host of other revolutionarymedical implants.

The researchers have found that the unique properties of a newmaterial can be used to create new devices that can beimplanted into the human body – including blood glucosesensors for diabetics and artificial hemo-dialysis membranesthat can scrub impurities from the blood.


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Researchers have long sought to develop medical devices thatcould be implanted into patients for a variety of purposes, suchas monitoring glucose levels in diabetic patients.

“The idea is that you have an entirely implantable device thatperforms blood-glucose sensing and delivers insulin over along period of time — several months or even years,” Narayansaid. “And this has kind of been the holy grail for treatment ofdiabetes with synthetic materials.”

However, existing materials present significant problems. Forexample, devices need to be made of a material that preventsthe body’s proteins from building up on sensors and preventingthem from working properly. And any implanted device alsoneeds to avoid provoking an inflammatory response from thebody that would result in the body’s walling off the device orrejecting it completely.

Narayan’s research found that nanoporous ceramic membranesmay be used to resolve these issues. The membranes, he said,could be used to “create an interface between human tissuesand medical devices that is free of protein buildup.”

The new research, published in a special issue of BiomedicalMaterials, is the first in-depth study of the biological andphysical properties of the membranes. The study suggests thatthe human body will not reject the nanoporous ceramicmembrane.

Narayan added that this could be a major advance for thedevelopment of kidney dialysis membranes and other medicaldevices whose development has been stalled by poorcompatibility with human tissues. Narayan was also the leadresearcher on the team that first developed these newmaterials.

“There is a moral imperative to rehabilitate those whotraditionally have had low quality of life due to organ failure,disease, and trauma,” Narayan said. “This research has thepotential to help millions of people suffering from chronicmedical conditions.”

Narayan’s co-authors on the paper include NC State materialsscience and engineering doctoral students Ravi Aggarwal andWei Wei; NC State postdoctoral research associate Dr.Chunming Jin; Dr. Nancy Monteiro-Riviere, professor ofinvestigative dermatology and toxicology at NC State’sCollege of Veterinary Medicine and the Center for ChemicalToxicology Research and Pharmacokinetics; and ReneCrombez and Dr. Weidian Shen of Eastern MichiganUniversity.


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FROM THE DEAN

In BriefFeatures






breakthrough

Outreach Update> Traveling Man

Faculty Spotlight





WAYS TO GIVE


NC STATE

Dr. Richard Felder and his wife, Dr. Rebecca Brent, have given professional-developmentworkshops to engineering and science faculty all over the world. The locations are plottedon this map.

Traveling ManThrough his innovative teaching workshops,Richard Felder is improving engineering educationaround the world.

Dr. Richard Felder didn’t look tired. But he should have.

He was back in his Centennial Campus office a day aftercompleting a 28-hour journey that hop-scotched from Bangkokto Tokyo to New York to Raleigh. Felder and his wife, Dr.Rebecca Brent, had been leading one of their engineeringeducation sessions in Thailand, part of an international“workshopping” schedule that keeps them on the road about85 days per year.

“It leaves us a little bit of time to come back and do ourlaundry between trips,” he said with a grin.

Felder, a venerable figure in chemical engineering whoco-authored one of the field’s seminal textbooks, has spentmore than two decades improving the way colleges anduniversities teach engineering and science. His efforts toencourage professors to understand different learning styles


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and engage students in class — a teaching model called“active learning” — have influenced thousands of instructorsaround the world.

“College teaching is the only skilled profession that no onetrains you for,” said Felder, the Hoechst Celanese ProfessorEmeritus of Chemical Engineering at NC State. “You’re notgiven five seconds on how do you do this before they throwyou in front of the students in the class.”

Felder and Brent’s whirlwind workshop schedule has takenthem to six continents and all but a handful of U.S. states.Participants everywhere tend to rate them highly — 80 percentgive the sessions a rating of “Excellent” — and no matterwhere the workshops are held, the instructors find the sameenthusiasm and curiosity from groups of very different people.

“There are cultural differences, sure, but in general it’s thesame stuff everywhere,” Felder said. “We’re getting the samequestions, the same interest, the same problems that they’reraising.”

Felder didn’t set out to be a pioneer in engineering education.When he began teaching at NC State in 1969, he was teachingthe same way he was taught, and the same way his peers wereteaching their students. He filled his classes with long, detailedlectures that provided plenty of fodder for good note-takers.He received high marks from students and won a teachingaward his first year.

His success extended to the publishing world with the releaseof “Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes,” a chemicalengineering textbook he co-wrote with fellow professorRonald Rousseau. The book was a hit with chemicalengineering faculty, he said, and it has since been translatedinto several different languages and been used as theintroductory chemical engineering text by roughly 90 percentof American universities. (The book was named to the list of“Groundbreaking Chemical Engineering Books” by theAmerican Institute of Chemical Engineers in 2008.)

But even with all that success, Felder had a nagging feelingthat he was letting his students down in class. He was solvingthe problems his students should have been solving, so thestudents weren’t really learning. He turned to the educationliterature for answers.

“We actually know a whole lot about learning and what makesit happen,” he said. “And it wasn’t what I was doing and itwasn’t what my colleagues were doing.”



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FROM THE DEAN

In BriefFeatures






breakthrough

Outreach Update> Traveling Man

Faculty Spotlight





WAYS TO GIVE


NC STATE

Felder is also the co-author of “Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes,” one ofchemical engineering's seminal textbooks.

Traveling Man(Page 2 of 2)

What he found changed the way he taught. Instead of holdingforth with long lectures, he broke his classes into shortsnippets in which students solved problems in groups. Somestudents understood the information right away. Others took alittle longer, but they eventually found the answer themselves— rather than Felder finding it for them.

“You remember about 10 times more of what you say and dothan what you see and hear,” he said.

Felder began sharing his methods at professional societyconferences and in education journal articles and soon beganto get some attention. In 1986, he held a workshop for NCState engineering faculty that incorporated what he'd learned.The workshop was so well-received that he was asked to giveit again the following year. Soon, faculty at other universitiesbegan to take notice of his articles, and before long he wasgetting invitations to conduct workshops at campuses aroundthe country.

A significant turning point came in 1990 when he marriedBrent, who had been an education professor at East CarolinaUniversity, and they started doing their workshops together.


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She brought to the sessions a deep knowledge of pedagogy,and he had the technical background to translate thatknowledge into examples that engineers and scientists couldrelate to.

In 1991, Felder helped start the National Effective TeachingInstitute, a three-day workshop held just prior to the annualmeeting of the American Society for Engineering Education.The high-profile event has drawn nearly 1,000 participantsover the years, and demand for Felder and Brent's services hasgrown as a result of those sessions.

The domestic interest in the workshops has stayed steady overthe years, but international requests have “gone through theroof” over the last five years, Felder said. Now the coupleschedule international workshops one or two years in advance.

Despite all the travel, the rewards are huge. In May 2008, forexample, Felder and Brent gave a workshop for 100engineering faculty in India. The faculty came from the secondtier of Indian engineering schools, many of which struggle toput out the high-quality engineers needed to support afast-growing country with 1.1 billion people. After Felder andBrent returned home, they started hearing from facultymembers who were trying their methods with great success.Some of those faculty are passing those methods along to theirpeers.

“We're seeing more of a tangible effect from our Indiaworkshop than from anything else we've ever done,” he said.

Felder acknowledges that he has pursued an unconventionalacademic career path, and he continues to be grateful to theNC State administrators who encouraged him to take it yearsago.

“Most department heads and deans would have told me tostick to my research and forget about this education stuff,” hesaid. “But people like my first department head, Jim Ferrell,and former deans Larry Monteith and Nino Masnariencouraged and supported me. Those guys deserve a lot of thecredit for whatever Rebecca and I have contributed toimproving engineering education.”


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FROM THE DEAN

In BriefFeatures






breakthrough


> Faculty Spotlight





WAYS TO GIVE


NC STATE

Dr. Denton

Denton receives NSFCareer AwardDr. Brian Denton, assistant professor in theEdward P. Fitts Department of Industrialand Systems Engineering at NC State, hasreceived a Faculty Early CareerDevelopment Award from the NationalScience Foundation (NSF), effective Jan. 1,2009. The award, known as the NSF CareerAward, is one of the highest honors givenby NSF to young faculty in science andengineering.

NSF will provide $400,000 in funding over a five-year period to supportDenton’s research project entitled, “Optimization of Screening andTreatment Delivery Systems for Chronic Diseases.”

The project involves the development of new operations researchmodels and methods to advance the science of health care delivery forlife-threatening chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes andcardiovascular disease. The goal is to advance the understanding ofchronic care delivery, which could improve the quality of life for anincreasingly large proportion of the U.S. population. The results of theresearch have the potential of improving the efficiency and effectivenessof national screening and treatment policies.

Denton received his Ph.D. in management science from McMasterUniversity in 2001 and joined the College of Engineering faculty inAugust 2007.

Gubbins receives R.J.Reynolds awardDr. Keith E. Gubbins, the W.H. ClarkDistinguished University Professor in theDepartment of Chemical and BiomolecularEngineering at North Carolina StateUniversity, is the 24th recipient of the R.J.Reynolds Tobacco Company Award forExcellence in Teaching, Research andExtension.


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Dr. GubbinsThe Nov. 5 awards presentation on

Centennial Campus was followed by Gubbins’ lecture, “MolecularModeling of Matter: Impact and Prospects in Engineering.”

The R. J. Reynolds award was established in 1981 by the College ofEngineering to honor members of the engineering faculty who excel inseveral areas of activity that relate to the University’s three-fold missionof teaching, research and extension. The annual award is supported bythe R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company through the North CarolinaEngineering Foundation Inc. Winners receive a $25,000 prizedistributed over five years.

Gubbins received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1958 and hisPh.D. in chemical engineering in 1962, both from the University ofLondon. He joined the faculty at NC State in 1998.

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FROM THE DEAN

In BriefFeatures






breakthrough


> Faculty Spotlight





WAYS TO GIVE


NC STATE

Dr. Antón

Dr. Williams

Antón and Williamsarticles among “MostCited”Papers written by Dr. Annie Antón,professor of computer science at NC State,and Dr. Laurie Williams, associate professorin the same department, were selected byIEEE Software as two of the magazine’s 35“Most Cited Articles.”

The magazine, published by the Institute ofElectrical and Electronics EngineersComputer Society, created the compact listof recommended reading as part of its 25thanniversary celebration.

Antón’s paper, “Inquiry-BasedRequirements Analysis,” co-authored byColin Potts and Kenji Takahashi, originallyappeared in the magazine in 1994. Williams’ paper, “Strengthening the Casefor Pair Programming,” co-authored byRobert R. Kessler, Ward Cunningham, andRon Jeffries, appeared in the July/August

2000 issue.

Antón received her Ph.D. in computer science from the GeorgiaInstitute of Technology in 1997 and joined NC State faculty in 1998.Williams received her doctoral degree in computer science from theUniversity of Utah in 2000 and joined the NC State faculty later thatyear.

Rust named new head of TECSDr. Jon P. Rust is the new head of the Department of TextileEngineering, Chemistry and Science (TECS) at North Carolina StateUniversity.

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Dr. Rust

Rust, a professor of textile engineering,served as associate head of the departmentfor the previous eight years, during whichhe worked to create strong ties between theuniversity and industry through his multi-disciplinary student internship program. Hehas led process improvement projects forseveral different companies and directed thework of more than 100 undergraduate andgraduate students on those projects.

In addition to his work with privateindustry, Rust also maintains a research

program in fiber measurement and yarn formation and characterization.His research interests include short staple yarn manufacturing, and hiscurrent and upcoming projects include development of novel ginningtechnology and further development of novel fiber instrumentation formeasuring several important cotton fiber properties.

Rust received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1982and his master’s degree in fiber science in 1985, both from ClemsonUniversity. His doctoral research at NC State was in yarn formationmechanisms; he graduated in 1990.



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FROM THE DEAN

In BriefFeatures






breakthrough


Faculty Spotlight

NC State EngineeringFoundation Inc.> From the Director

Giving back in trying timesEntrepreneurial spirit

Building the baseStaying close and giving back

Foundation Footnotes

WAYS TO GIVE


NC STATE

Ben Hughes

From the Executive Director

Dear Alumni and Friends,

This letter comes to you at a time offinancial turmoil and lingering economicuncertainty. The current economic situationseems unprecedented to many of us, and itcontinues to have an impact on the way weconduct business here at the NC StateEngineering Foundation (NCSEF) andthroughout the College. This environment,however, must in no way diminish ourdetermination and drive to raise the privatesupport essential to achieving the bold

vision that Dean Louis Martin-Vega has laid out for the College — tobecome the top public college of engineering in the nation. In fact, theeconomy places a premium on our development efforts.

The state of North Carolina’s historically strong commitment to highereducation has positioned the College well. To assure the highest level ofreturn for taxpayers, we need to advance our private fundraising efforts.It is the generosity of alumni, and the strategic investments thatcorporations and foundations make in the College, that can take us toanother level. Private gifts leverage taxpayer support and provide thecompetitive advantage in our College’s drive to achieve the Dean’sstrategic goals.

When we compare ourselves with those engineering schools that havealready attained the highest levels of recognition for their ownexcellence, we see a common denominator. They all share a history ofhigh levels of private financial support, generated by a culture amongtheir alumni to give back in collective effort to transform the alma

The NC State Engineering Foundation, Inc. (NCSEF) works withalumni, friends, corporations and foundations to secure supportthat is vital for the continued improvement of the College ofEngineering. Gifts support scholarships, fellowships,professorships, academic programs, faculty research, and otherinitiatives that are not typically supported through stateappropriations.

Board of DirectorsFoundation home page


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mater. Although philanthropy is newer to the NC State culture, we dohave the advantage of a very strong sense of pride, loyalty andcommitment among our engineering alumni. Those are the essentialingredients in nurturing a culture of giving back.

One very positive sign of our progress is the current pace ofcontributions to the Dean’s Circle. Despite the economy, we are actuallyahead of last fiscal year’s mark at this time. We are extremelyappreciative of our alumni and friends who have responded sogenerously to this call in this time of great need. Dean’s Circle dollarsare used to provide vital scholarship support for prospective students. Inthe current climate, our immediate top priority is to find a way tocontinue to extend opportunity to students.

Giving to the endowment remains the preferred long-term philanthropicstrategy of our donors and will have the greatest impact on ourinstitutional strength. Our nation’s economic history shows that marketdownturns are transitory — and that times like these prove to beparticularly good ones for making long-term investments. Our NCSEFBoard of Directors continues to exercise strong fiduciary stewardshipthrough our investment strategy, which will optimize our ability tobounce back.

Please know that we are deeply grateful to all of our alumni whocontinue to step up in support of the College, our people and ourprograms in these challenging times. We remain very optimistic aboutthe future of NC State Engineering, especially given the generous levelof support our alumni and friends continue to contribute to the Collegeto the best of their abilities during this difficult economy.

Ben HughesExecutive Director, Development and College Relations


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FROM THE DEAN

In BriefFeatures






breakthrough


Faculty Spotlight

NC State EngineeringFoundation Inc.> From the Director

Giving back in trying timesBuilding the base

Entrepreneurial spiritStaying close and giving back

Foundation Footnotes

WAYS TO GIVE


NC STATE

NC State Engineering Foundation Inc.Board of Directors • 2008–2009Larry A. Bowman, IE ’73Consultant, Self-Employed

William N. Bullock, EO ’74Executive Vice President, Environmental Air Systems Inc.

Jimmy D. Clark, CE ’74President, Guy M. Turner Inc.

Otis A. Crowder, CE ’70President, Crowder Construction Co.

Christopher M. Crump, CSC ’78Owner/Consultant, Technology Management Consulting

S. Frank Culberson, CHE ’60Chairman/Director, Rimkus Consulting Group Inc.

Frederick N. Day IVRetired, Progress Energy Carolinas

William H. Dean, EE ’88President/CEO, MC Dean, Inc.

E.O. Ferrell III, EE ’66President and CEO, Grand Bahama Power Company

Edward P. Fitts, IE ’61CEO, Lake Ridge Vineyards

Brian D. Garrett, ME ’72President/CEO, CommScope

Jeffrey R. Garwood, CHE ’84President/CEO, GE

Donnie L. Goins, EE ’85COO/President, Tavve Software Company

Carlos D. Guitierrez CHE ’60President, United Resource Recovery Corp.

James A. Hackney III, ME ’61, IE '62Retired, Hackney Group

Ross W. Lampe Jr., IE ’77


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President, SMD Software Inc.

Gayle S. Lanier, IE ’82VP, Corporate Services, Progress Energy

Robin E. Manning, EE ’78Executive VP, Power Systems OpsTVA

Lee T. Mazzocchi, CE ’90VP, Distribution, Progress Energy

John T. McCarter Jr., NE ’73Retired, GE

Thomas R. McPherson Jr., EE ’76, ’77CEO, Retired, Cognio

Robert E. Meares, EE ’74Senior Retail Services Specialist, IBM

J. Stuart Phoenix, ESM ’76Managing Director, FMI Corporation

James M. Robinson Jr., CE ’74, ’76Senior Vice President, King Engineering Associates Inc.

C. Edward Scott III, AE ’65Retired, R.J. Reynolds

Timothy E. Scronce, IE ’87President and CEO, TelWorx Communications Inc.

Willy E. Stewart, CE ’81, ’84President/CEO, Stewart Engineering, Inc.

Robert E. Troxler, EE ’83Director of Advanced Technologies, Troxler ElectronicLaboratories Inc.

C. Richard Vaughn, NE ’61Chairman and CEO, John S. Clark Co., Inc.

S. Edward White, EO ’78Chairman and CEO, Field2Base Inc.President, NCSEF Board of Directors

Scott Wingo, CPE ’92President and CEO, Channel Advisor Corp.

H. E. “Tony” Withers III, CE ’75, DES ’77CEO, Withers & Ravenel Inc.


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FROM THE DEAN

In BriefFeatures






breakthrough


Faculty Spotlight


From the Director> Giving back in trying times



WAYS TO GIVE


NC STATE

Gifts from generous donors help the College recruit top students and faculty and funddynamic engineering education programs for pre-college students.

Giving back in trying timesSupport from alumni and other private donors cankeep the College growing during the economicdownturn.

With businesses closing, unemployment rising and corporateearnings suffering, it’s no surprise that people might thinktwice before giving away their hard-earned money.

But it’s during times like these when the College needs supportfrom private donors more than ever. The College generallyreceives only about 35 percent of its budget from the state ofNorth Carolina, and with questions about that allotmentlingering as the recession continues, private donors are beingcounted on to keep the College growing.

“Supporting the College is always important, but it's especiallyvital during difficult economic times,” said Ed White, a 1978graduate in engineering operations who chairs the NC StateEngineering Foundation Board of Directors. “Dollars go muchfurther during times like these, and supporters have the chanceto make a huge impact on the talented students and facultywho help make NC State one of the nation's best engineeringschools.”


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Many contributors choose to make donations through deferredgifts, generally defined as contributions that cannot be used bythe College until a later date. Deferred gifts can be structuredin many ways and can help donors build charitablecontributions into financial plans.

“The College understands that many donors want to integratecharitable contributions into their overall financial planningobjectives,” White said. “By making a deferred gift, donorscan maximize the benefits to themselves and to the College.”

Some examples of deferred giving methods:

Bequests are gifts made through a will. They come inseveral forms, but all involve donating assets to theCollege following a donor’s death.

When a donor places a gift into a charitable remainderannuity trust, the trust pay a fixed amount of income tothe donor or a beneficiary. After the donor dies, theremainder is sent to the College.

Charitable remainder unitrusts work much the sameway, except the trust provides variable income based onthe market value of the trust’s assets.

Charitable gift annuities provide the donor with apartial tax deduction on the gift as well as a lifetimestream of annual income for the donor or a beneficiary.The College keeps the gift after the donor’s death.

Of course, many donors continue to give now, even as theeconomy continues to struggle. S. Frank Culberson, a 1960graduate in chemical engineering, said he would becontributing additional funds to support endowed scholarshipsthat have lost value during the downturn. Culberson’s manygifts to the College include funds for the S. Frank and DorisCulberson Academic Enhancement Fund.

“My goal is to help students get an education,” said Culberson,who is director and chairman of Rimkus Consulting Group.“Throughout my career, I’ve seen the many benefits of gettingan education that better qualifies an individual for professionaladvancement.”

Young alumni can give back, too, even though they may nothave the financial resources of longtime supporters. TylerSchweitzer, a recent nuclear engineering graduate who nowworks for GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, noted that giving just asmall amount annually can help a top student get a degree.

“If a large group of alumni can contribute at least $10–$20once a year or twice a year, it will go a long way with theCollege,” Schweitzer said.

Supporters can also give back by volunteering their time. SethHudson, a 1999 mechanical engineering and chemistry


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graduate who now works as an attorney in Charlotte, organizesa quarterly lunch for NC State alumni in the area. He alsogives back financially.

“It definitely makes me feel like I contributed to something,”Hudson said. “I received more from NC State than I could everhope to give back.”

To learn more about ways to give, please contact MartinBaucom at the NC State Engineering Foundation at (919)513-3950 or [email protected].


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FROM THE DEAN

In BriefFeatures






breakthrough


Faculty Spotlight



> Building the baseEntrepreneurial spirit


WAYS TO GIVE


NC STATE

The Advanced Transportation Energy Center at NC State, which is developing technologyfor plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, is one of many programs that corporate partners havesupported.

Building the baseGenerous corporate support helped the Collegestrengthen important programs in energy andinformation technology.

Corporate partners gave the College’s energy and informationtechnology efforts huge boosts in 2008, providing support forenergy initiatives, professorships and scholarships, outreachefforts and hi-tech equipment.

The gifts from Duke Energy, Progress Energy, IBM, Cisco andother partners further the College’s goal of becoming the toppublic engineering school in the country. The investments helpthe College attract top faculty and students and supportbreakthrough technology initiatives such as the AdvancedTransportation Energy Center (ATEC) and the VirtualComputing Laboratory (VCL).

“These investments in energy and information technology helpus continue to educate the future engineering workforce inareas of critical importance to the economic development ofNorth Carolina and the competitiveness of our nation,” saidDr. Louis A. Martin-Vega, dean of the College of Engineering.


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“Such generous gifts boost the capacity of our faculty andgraduate students to conduct groundbreaking research thatwill create the kinds of innovation that drive progress.”

The contributions came from a number of longstandingpartners who have shaped the College in many ways.

Duke Energy’s support included $1.25 million to establishprofessorships in nuclear engineering and in the burgeoningpower program in electrical and computer engineering; anendowment to support K-12 outreach efforts around energy;and funds to renovate two engineering conference rooms. TheCharlotte-based electric power company has also made afive-year $1.25 million commitment to ATEC and a gift of$160,000 in support of scholarships and academicprogramming.

Progress Energy also provided $1.25 million to ATEC, whichis developing technologies to bring more plug-in hybrid andelectric vehicles to American roads. The energy company,which is based in Raleigh, also made a contribution in 2008that included new funding for scholarships and facultyfellowships in the College’s electric power program, as well ascontinuing support for the nuclear engineering program. In2006, the company made a $1.2 million gift that includedfunds for professorships in the departments of nuclear andelectrical and computer engineering, plus an endowment forunrestricted support for the College.

“We at Progress Energy value our close partnership with theCollege of Engineering at NC State University,” said LeeMazzocchi, chief procurement officer at Progress Energy and a1990 NC State civil engineering graduate. “We employ a largenumber of engineering graduates from NC State, so the schoolis an important part of our workforce development strategy.Much of the current research by faculty in the power programwill have a direct impact on the evolving future of the utilityindustry.”

Another longstanding contributor is IBM, the globaltechnology company that donated equipment valued at $1.2million in 2007 to the VCL, a groundbreaking initiative that isworking to bring cloud computing to universities, communitycolleges and K-12 schools across the state. In 2008, IBM made$399,000 in donations that included awards to support researchinitiatives of our computer science and electrical and computerengineering faculty.

“The research being done by NC State professors is worldclass and addresses the real-world challenges faced by industry— which in fact represent some of the most theoreticallydifficult research problems that exist,” said Andy Rindos, headof the RTP Center for Advanced Studies at IBM. “And as weknow, these are the same problems that impact the quality ofour everyday lives. These awards are therefore proof of theesteem with which IBM regards the NC State faculty.”


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Cisco’s donation of a TelePresence videoconferencing systemto NC State, a gift valued at $650,000, was part of a largerinitiative by the company to link researchers with theircounterparts at other universities. The global networkingcompany also provided more than $128,000 in research awardsin 2008.

“We can’t thank our corporate partners enough for the recentsupport they’ve provided,” said Ben Hughes, executivedirector of the NC State Engineering Foundation. “TheCollege is fortunate to enjoy these longstanding relationshipswith companies who continue to provide career opportunitiesfor our students, and so recognize the top-notch quality of NCState engineering education and research.”


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FROM THE DEAN

In BriefFeatures






breakthrough


Faculty Spotlight



Building the base> Entrepreneurial spirit


WAYS TO GIVE


NC STATE

Tom McPherson, who holds two engineering degrees from NC State, was named aDistinguished Engineering Alumnus in 2004.

Entrepreneurial spiritAlumnus Tom McPherson talks about startingcompanies and giving back to his alma mater.

Tom McPherson, an NC State engineering alumnus, likes tostart things. He’s been a key player for five technologystartups, many of which were bought by larger companies.

McPherson is also starting things at NC State. Because of hisgenerous professorship endowment, the UNC Board ofGovernors has named Dr. Tom Miller as the first recipient ofthe McPherson Family Distinguished Professorship inEngineering Entrepreneurship. Miller directs theEntrepreneurship Initiative and the Engineering EntrepreneursProgram at NC State.

We caught up with McPherson to ask him about his career, hisrelationship with NC State, and the importance of giving back.

You were trained as an electrical engineer at NC State.How did you get involved in entrepreneurship?

When I left State in 1977, engineering jobs were hot, and I feltthat NC State gave me a great start. A company called Digital


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Communications Corporation was aggressive and made anoffer on the spot. It appealed to me because it was smaller, andit was a great place to work. After about five years, I learnedthat a fellow NC State grad was starting a company in PaloAlto, Calif., and that’s what started this big adventure inentrepreneurship. The first startup didn’t make it. The nextone, Network Equipment Technologies, went public and is stilllisted on the New York Stock Exchange today.

Tell us about Rapid City Communications, one of yourgreatest entrepreneurial successes.

Rapid City Communications focused on Gigabit Ethernettechnology, and when it started in 1996 some decisions neededto be made about the features of the products. This was a casewhere some of the technical judgments you have to makeabout the technology business come from being in the trenchesas an engineer. We put a routing feature on the products andthe company became successful. Investors had put in $6million — and the company sold to Bay Networks for $155million after just 14 months. Then Nortel purchased BayNetworks.

Talk about your relationship with Tom Miller and theEngineering Entrepreneurs Program, and why you createdthis professorship.

I met Tom Miller around 2001, and we started talking aboutwhat he was trying to do. He was telling students that there’sanother career path besides working for a large, successfulcompany, and that message really appealed to me. His programobviously helps students become great leaders, but I think italso makes students better followers because they are betterpositioned to develop startups within companies. The studentsunderstand the team nature of doing business and arecomfortable with both financial people and engineers.Business schools traditionally do this sort of thing, but hisprogram focuses a little more on the engineers’ perspective.That’s important because many successful Silicon Valleystartups, for example, are run by engineers. I’m a firm believerthat Tom’s program is distinct, and I thought the professorshipwould be a good way for me to give back.

Why is funding for professorships so important?

Most people don’t realize that public universities draw fundingfrom three sources: the tax base, tuition and the private side.For NC State to become the number one public engineeringuniversity, it’s going to take a significant amount of privateinvolvement. The difference between NC State and our rivaluniversities will probably come down to that.

You’ve enjoyed recent success as CEO of Cognio Inc.,which was bought by Cisco Systems. What’s next?

That’s a good question and I really don’t know the answer to


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it. You can label me ‘pseudo-retired’ (laughs). Right now I’mplaying golf and looking for the next gig.

Thomas R. McPherson Jr. holds bachelor’s and master’sdegrees in electrical engineering from NC State. He serves onthe Board of Directors for the NC State EngineeringFoundation and the Advisory Board for the EngineeringEntrepreneurs Program. The College of Engineering namedMcPherson a Distinguished Engineering Alumnus in 2004.


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FROM THE DEAN

In BriefFeatures






breakthrough


Faculty Spotlight




> Staying close and giving backFoundation Footnotes

WAYS TO GIVE


NC STATE

Engineering alumnus Steven Craig, a shift supervisor at Progress Energy, is among theyoungest members of the Dean's Circle. (Photo: courtesy of Steven Craig)

Staying close and givingbackThrough his membership in the Dean’s Circle,Steven Craig is among the young alumni helpingthe College prosper.

Steven Craig has been involved with the College ofEngineering, one way or another, since he was in high school.He’s been a research assistant, undergraduate student, graduatestudent and volunteer.

He recently added another title: Dean’s Circle donor.

Craig, 29, is among the youngest members of the Dean’sCircle, a fast-growing cadre of dedicated supporters who makeup the College’s leadership giving society. Members contributeat least $1,000 to the College each year, support that providesscholarships to help NC State recruit top students.

In a tough economy, that support is even more important to theCollege.

“Students might not realize it,” Craig said, “but they’re relying


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on people like the Dean’s Circle donors to help the College ofEngineering get through this.”

Dean’s Circle giving has been increasing. In 2007-08, thenumber of members grew from 112 to 149, an increase of 33percent. College officials expect a similar increase in 2008-09as potential supporters learn more about the College’stop-flight research and education programs and its growinginternational reputation.

“It’s a competitive environment out there for engineeringtalent, so having attractive scholarship packages availablemakes it more likely that NC State will land the top students,”said David Mainella, associate executive director ofdevelopment and alumni relations for the College. “Becominga Dean’s Circle member is one of the best investments asupporter can make.”

NC State has been part of Craig’s life for more than 15 years.As a high school student growing up in Cary, he knew hewanted to study engineering but was wary of attending collegeso close to home. But when a high school advisor helped himland a job in NC State’s Department of Electrical andComputer Engineering, he took it.

The work wasn’t thrilling — he conducted tests on siliconwafers and other microelectronic devices that NC State wasdeveloping.

“It was mundane routine work that the Ph.D.s doing theirdissertations didn’t have to do,” he said, laughing. “They hadme to do it.”

But, he said, conducting research at such a young age helpedhim prepare for his college engineering courses.

“When you go in as a freshman knowing what the end productwill be, it’s a lot easier to do the coursework,” he said.

While in college, he took an internship with Carolina Power &Light (which became Progress Energy) in downtown Raleigh.The job quickly blossomed into a position that sometimesrequired 30 hours of work per week, so when he had theopportunity in December 2000 to graduate early and take afull-time job with the company, he took it. He was eventuallypromoted and transferred to Wilmington, where he moved upthrough the ranks.

Then, in 2007, Craig attended a “Meet the Dean” eventfeaturing Dr. Louis A. Martin-Vega, the new dean ofengineering at NC State. Craig hadn’t been involved muchwith NC State since his graduation in 2000, but just getting theinvitation signaled renewed interest by the school. He wasimpressed with Martin-Vega’s presentation and his vision forNC State becoming the top public engineering college in thenation.


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“There was something different about how Dr. Martin-Vegacame across, and what his mission was and what his focuswas,” Craig said.

So, later that year, Craig became a Dean’s Circle member. He’salso giving back by making presentations to students andhelping out the E-Council, the college’s student leadershipgroup.

“There are a lot of ways to give,” Craig said. “If your financesaren’t going to allow you to give at a certain level today, thenget in front of these students. You start to remember whatbrought you to NC State in the first place.”

Craig has since returned to Raleigh and now works as a shiftsupervisor for Progress Energy. His involvement with NCState reached a new level in January when he started takingclasses toward a master’s degree in renewable energy.

The degree is being developed as part of NC State’s newFREEDM Systems Center, a National Science FoundationEngineering Research Center working on ways to turn thenation’s power grid into an “Internet for Energy.”

Craig says the center is another way that NC State is buildingexcitement around its engineering programs. That excitementis generating many opportunities for top students andresearchers, he said, but those opportunities come with a price.

Through his membership in the Dean’s Circle, he said, “I canhelp a couple students pay for a semester.”


Copyright © 2009


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FROM THE DEAN

In BriefFeatures






breakthrough


Faculty Spotlight




Staying close and giving back> Foundation Footnotes

WAYS TO GIVE


NC STATE

C. Richard Vaughn

Engineering alumnusamong Watauga MedalistsC. Richard Vaughn, an NC Stateengineering alumnus, has been honoredwith the prestigious Watauga Medal for hisdistinguished service to the university.

The 1961 graduate in nuclear engineering,who has twice served on NC State’s Boardof Trustees, has been a member of theAlumni Association for 25 years and is amember of the W.J. Peele Lifetime Giving

Society, which honors donors who have given $1 million or more to NCState. In 2004 he pledged $5 million to the Wolfpack Club to fundscholarships and renovations to the football stadium. The WolfpackTowers were renamed the C. Richard Vaughn Towers in recognition ofhis generosity.

Vaughn has also given more than $100,000 to NC State academic funds.He created the C. Richard Vaughn Scholarship Endowment to supportan undergraduate scholarship in the College of Engineering. And hefunded the renovation of a nuclear engineering laboratory that wasnamed for one of his former professors, Dr. Raymond L. Murray.

Vaughn, of Mount Airy, N.C., is chairman and CEO of the John S. ClarkCompany, chairman of the North Carolina Granite Corporation andchairman of Riverside Building Supply, Inc. He recently joined the NCState Engineering Foundation Board of Directors.

Established in 1975, The Watauga Medal honors individuals who havemade significant contributions to the advancement of the university.

Roberts named firstAllison professorThanks to a gift from an alumnus in honorof his uncle, Dr. Stephen D. Roberts hasbeen selected as the first A. Doug AllisonDistinguished Professor in Industrial andSystems Engineering.

Roberts directs NC State’s Laboratory forHealthcare Systems Engineering and is


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Dr. Stephen D. Roberts program director and Fellow with the CecilG. Sheps Center for Health Services

Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He hasbeen a professor of industrial engineering at NC State since 1990 andserved as department head from 1990 to 1999.

The endowed professorship was established by Edward P. Fitts to honorAllison, Fitts’ uncle who passed away last year. Fitts credits Allison, a1941 graduate of the College of Textiles at NC State, with inspiring himto pursue a degree in industrial engineering. Fitts graduated from NCState in 1961 and went on to become chairman and CEO of the globalpackaging company Dopaco.

Fitts’ $10 million gift in 2005 to endow the industrial and systemsengineering department remains the largest gift ever received by theCollege of Engineering from an individual donor and the largestendowed gift to academics in NC State University’s history. Thedepartment was renamed the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrialand Systems Engineering in honor of his dedication to the College.

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FROM THE DEAN

In BriefFeatures






breakthrough


Faculty Spotlight




Staying close and giving back> Foundation Footnotes

WAYS TO GIVE


NC STATE

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Brooks endowment creates student-athletescholarshipNC State engineering alumnus Robert Lee Brooks has established ascholarship endowment for student-athletes majoring in engineering.

Recipients of funds from the Robert Lee Brooks Scholar/AthleteEndowment will be athletes in revenue producing sports: football,baseball and men’s and women’s basketball. Brooks made two giftstotaling $100,000 to establish the scholarship.

Brooks, who graduated from NC State in 1969 with a bachelor’s degreein engineering operations, is executive vice president at LS PowerDevelopment, LLC, a privately held company with offices in severalstates that develops, acquires and manages power generation andtransmission infrastructure throughout the U.S. He previously heldvarious engineering and management positions of increasingresponsibility in the operations, project management, sales andmarketing functions within the power generation business unit ofWestinghouse Electric Corporation.

Brooks’ brother and daughter are also graduates of the College. He haspreviously endowed two football scholarships through the WolfpackClub.

Boeing donation supports student activities,scholarshipsThe Boeing Company has donated $45,000 to the College ofEngineering at NC State to support summer enrichment activities, anaerospace engineering design program and scholarships for engineeringstudents.

Boeing, the world's largest aircraft manufacturer, has made numerousgifts to the College over the years in support of scholarships, summerprograms and student organizations.

The gift will be allocated among several programs, including anaerospace engineering summer camp, the Minority EngineeringPrograms’ summer transition program, the aerospace engineering seniordesign program and merit scholarships.


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Alumni appreciationThe College thanks all of the alumni who participated in various eventsand activities over the past several months.

Your help with E-Week, following up with recently accepted studentsand other efforts help build momentum around the NC State engineeringcommunity.

Again, many thanks for all you do for the College.



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