FROM THE DEAN
Louis A. Martin-Vega
The many challenges that NC State has faced over the past few months have tested our university and college perhaps more than ever before. However, I am pleased to report that under the steady hand of our new chancellor, Dr. James Woodward, we continue to enjoy great success and are excited about the future. We remain committed to our core mission of discovery, learning and innovation, all in service to the economic development of North Carolina and our nation’s competitiveness.
This fall our college welcomed 1,391 new freshmen, making our total enrollment more than 8,000 of the best and brightest engineering and computer science students in the nation. Thanks to the efforts of our outstanding faculty and staff we have seen a substantial increase in the number of research awards and are estimating a record $130 million in total research expenditures for 2008–09. We have hired 14 new faculty members, including three new department heads, one of whom is our first female department head, Dr. Nancy Allbritton. This represents an important milestone for our college.
The following pages detail many more examples of our success. You will meet Dr. Kara Peters, whose work helped bring Spirit AeroSystems to North Carolina, and Fred Gant, an alumnus who is helping NC State researchers bring a promising new drug to market. You can read about how “wrinkles” will save fuel and reduce down-time for ships and how students developed a better way to test for tuberculosis. We also celebrate the 25th anniversary of the NC State Centennial Campus and explore how the College influences the economy across the state.
We are grateful for your continued support and look forward to the opportunities the coming year holds for our college—your college—to improve lives, educate students, conduct research and reach out to North Carolinians. I sincerely hope that you enjoy this redesigned NC State Engineering magazine, and I look forward to a continued dialogue with you on our shared future.
Louis A. Martin-Vega
Dean