May 31, 2000

2000 College of Engineering Senior Award for Scholarly Achievement

Luke Zettlemoyer

Luke Zettlemoyer is a senior in computer science and applied mathematics whose academic honors are numerous. They include the Computing Research Association (CRA) "Outstanding Undergraduate Award 2000" for most outstanding male undergraduate researcher; USA Today's All-USA Academic Team; Department of Computer Science Faculty Senior Scholar; Park Scholar; the Bitzer Creativity Award; Computer Science Honors Program; Mathematics Honors Program; Undergraduate Mathematics Fellowship; University Scholars Program; the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship; and the DOD Graduate Research Fellowship.

Additionally, he is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Pi Mu Epsilon, and Upsilon Pi Epsilon; and has been on the Dean's list every semester.

Luke served as Research Intern for Mitsubishi Electric Research Lab (MERL), Cambridge, Massachusetts; Research Assistant for the NC State IntelliMedia Initiative, where he developed "CPU City," a real-time 3D intelligent tutoring environment inhabited by a lifelike pedagogical agent; and Research Assistant in the IMG Lab at NC State, where he developed "VisMap," an image processing and event management system for integrating interface agents with conventional applications, and where he worked in collaboration with researchers at the MIT Media Laboratory;

He has co-authored 10 peer-reviewed research papers, an accomplishment that is arguably unparalleled for an undergraduate. (There are faculty who have not even made this accomplishment in their first four years!)

Luke's numerous university and community activities have included: member of the Senior Class Council; 1999 Student Body Elections board member; the university task force on copyright and ownership; and organizer and participant in "Service Raleigh" community service day.

In all his "free time," he serves as Graduate Teaching Assistant and a MAPLE consultant in the Math Department; and as a Development Intern at Ganymede Software.

Luke has been described by one of his professors as one of the most accomplished student scholars he has ever known. Luke is patient, polite, popular, and articulate, and with all these attributes, it is no wonder that his professors and fellow students expect him to someday become an international leader in computer science.

We are pleased to offer Luke Zettlemoyer the College of Engineering Senior Award for Scholarly Achievement.

2000 College of Engineering Senior Award for Humanities

Benjamin Lee

Benjamin Lee, a Computer Engineering major, came to NC State with a strong academic background from the NC School of Science and Mathematics and subsequently has added quite a few academic honors to his credit, including a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships Honorable Mention, Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi induction, Rhodes Scholar Semifinalist, and State Employees' Association of North Carolina Scholarship. He is also a Park Scholar with a perfect 4.0 GPA.

Ben has devoted much of his time to research and participated in the National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. His current work in on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).

Ben has been an active participant in University and community activities, having served as an Engineering tutor, Commencement Marshal, member of the Student Wolfpack Club, volunteer for "Service Raleigh," a volunteer for the 1999 Special Olympics World Games -- including assisting a visiting journalist from Slovakia -- and currently serving as an officer on the Senior Council. He has also been a volunteer with "Samaritan's Purse" and the World Medical Mission.

In his spare time he has been active in tennis as NCSU Club Team President for three years, captain of the Intramural Team, and serving as National Junior League Coach. He has a great interest in music and has been working towards a Music Minor in Performance. He has participated in piano competitions for 8 years, given piano recitals in the NCSU Music Department for three years, and recently gave his Senior Piano Recital, where he performed the works of Haydn, Rachmaninoff, and Gershwin, from memory.

As if that weren't well-rounded enough for an Engineering student, Ben is also prepared to complete a master's in English following his graduation in Computer Engineering. After obtaining his MA in English, he hopes to obtain a PhD in Electrical Engineering.

Ben has been described by his professors as "one of the most outstanding individuals" they have ever encountered, "equally accomplished in both the arts and sciences," and an individual of "unparalleled creativity," who also serves as a role model to other students. Ben views his love of music and the arts as vital to his identity and to the enrichment of his character. With this wide range of talents, achievements, and goals, it is easy to see why Ben is such an excellent choice as recipient of the College of Engineering Senior Award for Humanities for the year 2000.

2000 College of Engineering Senior Award for Leadership

Carrie Farley

Carrie Farley, who is pursuing a double major in Computer Science and Business Management with a minor in French, is a Park Scholar, a University Scholar, and a member of Phi Eta Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi, Upsilon Phi Epsilon, and Gamma Beta Phi. She has been an intern at Platinum Technology Inc., an intern at Data General, and recipient of Park's Artistic and Research Grant as well as the University Scholar's Summer Enrichment Grant. She is on the Dean's List.

An enthusiastic participant in University and College activities, Carrie has demonstrated her strong leadership capabilities while serving on the Student Senate where she chairs the University Affairs Committee - the Senate's most influential committee. She has also served on the Transportation, Housing, and Public Safety Committee as Chair, successfully updating the Public Safety publications for students, improving recycling accessibility for students, and arranging for the parking permit distribution policy to be published for the first time ever for students.

Carrie is an extraordinary athlete and one of the best soccer players in Women's Club Soccer; she has served as soccer club Treasurer. She was the ACM representative on the Engineers' Council; participated in the "Service Raleigh" community project as site liaison; was "Back Home Ambassador" in 1998; and served as a host in the 1996 "Spend-a-Day-in-Engineering" program. She is a member of the Society of Women Engineers and served as Engineers' Council representative to the American Computing Machinists.

She further demonstrated her leadership as the Park Scholars Gala Planning Chair for 1999-2000 and Park New York Trip Committee Chair. She currently holds the position of Golden Key Vice President.

Carrie spent a semester abroad at the National Institute of Applied Science, Lyon, France, and was a research assistant at Universite de la Reunion. (Although the scholarly or leadership attributes of this next item are questionable, it is difficult to resist mentioning that she also served as a bartender at "The Rubber Duck" while she was in Nottingham, England!)

Carrie's outside interests include painting, charcoals, photography, and playing piano and clarinet.

Carrie's professors note that she is always the first to volunteer as group leader of class projects, but her leadership skills extend to all aspects of her life. It is her goal to pursue a career in the field of international finance and investment. If her leadership as a student is any indication of her future successes, Carrie is sure to accelerate rapidly to the top of her profession. Without a doubt, her leadership has enriched NC State's campus and the lives of those around her.

And for these reasons, we are pleased to have Carrie Farley as recipient of the College of Engineering Senior Award for Leadership.

2000 College of Engineering Senior Award for Citizenship and Service

Thomas Vitolo

Thomas Vitolo has many remarkable attributes, but one of the most remarkable is that, come May, he will have earned three undergraduate degrees in less than three years - a BS in Economics in 1998, Computer Science in 1999, and Applied Mathematics next month. (Well, we'll see about that.) He is the first Park Scholar to graduate from NC State - having reached senior standing by the end of his first year. He is a Rhodes Scholar National Finalist, a University Scholar, and a Mitchell Scholar. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Pi Mu Epsilon, Omicron Delta Epsilon, and Upsilon Pi Epsilon. He was Economics Department Senior of the Year for 1998 and is the recipient of Honeycutt's Silver Bullet Award.

Tom is the creator and co-chair of the very first "Service Raleigh" community project that we hear so much about. He recruited many students to devote their time and talent to helping the community, pairing 700 volunteers with service organizations - and all while in the middle of a full academic semester.

He has been involved in Habitat for Humanity, Food Bank of North Carolina, YWCA "Week Against Violence," the Red Cross as both donor and volunteer, and "Feed Raleigh" as the leader of the Can Drive as well as a donor. He coaches home-schooled 7th and 8th graders for the problem-solving competition "Mathcounts" and serves as a Chavis Heights tutor for the SAT's. He recently started a program that enables disadvantaged students to visit national parks, major league ballparks, and science museums.

He was a board member, then Co-President, and later President of the Student Wolfpack Club, as well as Vice President of the NC State Economics Society. He has been a member of the NC State Handball Club since 1998 and was an instructor for the RHA Golf Tournament.

He has traveled to Egypt, Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, in pursuit of coursework. He has also taken advanced math courses at Boston University and University of California-Berkeley.

He served an internship with Procter and Gamble's IT department and has completed numerous projects as an independent programmer and found time to serve as Teaching Assistant for CSC 210, including personal tutoring.

He has been described as extremely focused, concerned for others, having a character of the highest order, and a person of incredible perseverance. His involvement has enriched both the campus and the community, and he has made significant contributions to the well being of his fellow students and fellow citizens, thereby making Thomas Vitolo the perfect recipient for the College of Engineering Senior Award for Citizenship and Service.

2000 College of Engineering Senior Award for Leadership

Shannon Ward

Shannon Ward, a senior in Biological and Agricultural Engineering with a Biomedical Concentration, is another of our "over-achievers" with us here this evening. One of the top students in the Biological Engineering program, she received honors credit for BAE 235 by developing a student-initiated honors program for the course.

She currently serves as a Product Development Engineering Assistant for MedAcoustics, Inc., while maintaining superlative academic standards, including a 4.0 in her major. At MedAcoustics, she flowcharted quality system activities to ensure ISO 9000 and QSR compliance, worked with electrical schematics to fabricate and modify analog computer boards, designed and built a variety of electrical test and assembly fixtures, participated in the manufacture and test of piezoelectric film sensors used in cardiac acoustic data acquisition, developed re-work procedures that increased yields by 50 percent, and assisted in training associates in manufacturing processes.

She is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Society of Women Engineers Outstanding Woman Engineer, the Clarence M. Smith, Jr. Engineering Academic Scholarship, the James F. Bagwell Scholarship, and the Dillards Denim-for-Her Community Service Scholarship.

She has served as a Teaching Assistant for the CALS Honors Program, Secretary of Alpha Epsilon Honor Society, Senior Class Secretary, and is a member of IEEE/EMBS.

As Chief of Staff of the NCSU Student Government Association, she helped organize "Service Raleigh." She initiated the Web-based Student's Advocate Program, organized the first school-wide Homecoming celebration in cooperation with NCSU administration and the Alumni Association, and not only selected the student representatives for the University Standing Committees, but made certain that those representatives understood the importance of their roles.

In addition to all of these activities, she served for two years as a Resident Advisor for Sullivan Residence Hall, earning three-fourths of her college expenses on her own.

Shannon is described as a bright, caring person of impeccable character, with an excellent engineering mind. She has the characteristics of a true leader - someone with a has a strong willingness to serve and whose motivation is to benefit others. Her caring is evident in numerous ways, such as in her work with the Tammy Lynn Center, and in her Rehabilitation Engineering Senior Design Project, in which her designs assisted paraplegic individuals. We are pleased to have Shannon Ward as recipient of the College of Engineering Senior Award for Leadership for the year 2000.

2000 College of Engineering Dean's Achievement Award

Jean ("Jeannie") M. McCabe

Jean ("Jeannie") McCabe is a senior in Industrial Engineering - Furniture Manufacturing Option who has numerous accomplishments and honors to her credit.

The number-one ranking IE student in her class, Jeannie received the Todd B. Meisenheimer Scholarship, United Technologies Minority / Female Engineering Scholarship, the NCSU Woman's Club / Carol Caldwell Scholarship, Arthur J. Meier Scholarship, Andrew Blaine Johnston Scholarship, Richard J. and Marie M. Reynolds Scholarship, the Woodworking Machinery Industry Association Scholarship, and the NCSU College of Engineering Faculty Senior Scholar Award. She is a member of a number of honor societies, including Phi Kappa Phi, Golden Key, Tau Beta Pi, Alpha Pi Mu, Beta Beta Beta Biology Honor Society, and Gamma Beta Phi.

Jeannie has participated in activities of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, the "Women in the Home Industries Today" organization, and as Secretary of Alpha Pi Mu. She served for five years as an adult volunteer in the Cub Scouts of America and was Team Leader of the Spring 2000 IIE Simulation Competition. She has participated in numerous activities of technical societies, IIE, APM, and the Furniture Club.

She has served as a Team Administrator and as an Engineering Consultant for the World Class Manufacturing Research Team. She was an Ergonomics Consultant for the Ergonomics Resource Center and for Duke University Medical Center. She also served as a Teaching Assistant in Industrial Engineering.

Jeannie, who is described as an enthusiastic, friendly, and an amazing individual, became involved in IE departmental activities almost immediately upon arrival to NC State. She assumed the position of assistant to a faculty member in charge of a large extension activity and soon surpassed administrative-level tasks, instead becoming a key participant in team activities and doing some of the engineering work herself.

In her "free" time, she manages to travel, read, and go skydiving, and - perhaps most admirably - spend time with her sons. Single-handedly raising a family is challenge enough, but doing so while participating in as many activities as Jean has, plus carrying a full class schedule, plus working 15 to 20 hours per week, while maintaining a perfect 4.00 GPA, is an astounding achievement that marks her as a truly exceptional individual, most certainly worthy of a Dean's Achievement Award.

2000 College of Engineering Dean's Achievement Award

Kai Wang

Chemical Engineering senior Kai Wang has received a number of honors while at NC State, including the AIChE Donald F. and Mildred Topp Othmer National Scholarship, the Harold B. Williamson Memorial Scholarship, an NCSU Undergraduate Scholarship from the NSF Engineering Research Center for Advanced Electronic Materials Processing, the James O. Wright Scholarship, the NCSU Academic Enhancement Scholarship, as well as scholarships from Eastman Chemical and United Technologies. He also received the AIChE Donald F. Othmer Sophomore Academic Excellence Award, and he has been on the Dean's List every semester.

He worked as an intern at GE Plastics in both Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and Burkville, Alabama, during the past two summers. He has worked on research projects in the College of Textiles on polymer inclusion compounds and in the Chemical Engineering Department on electronic materials.

He served as President of Omega Chi Epsilon's Beta Omicron chapter, during which time he organized the chapter activities and introduced into the chapter a high school outreach program, an Outstanding TA Award program, and ChE class tutorial sessions. He served as Newsletter Editor, then Recording Secretary, and later Corresponding Secretary for the AIChE student chapter. While he was Editor of the newsletter - which he initiated and published monthly - it won the 1998 AIChE Marx Isaacs Award for Outstanding Student Chapter Newsletter.

He helped compile the problem solution manual for the third edition of the textbook, Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes, compiled lecture notes and assignments on statistical process control for CHE 460/560, updated the departmental website, and tutored CH 101 students at the Undergraduate Tutorial Center.

He is a member of a number of honor societies: Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Tau Beta Pi, Phi Theta Kappa, and Omega Chi Epsilon National Chemical Honor Society.

Kai is described by his professors as motivated, positive, diligent, and creative.

But perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Kai's achievements is the highly commendable fact that he surpassed such great hurdles - coming to the US with limited English skills, financing virtually all of his education himself through scholarships, internships, and part-time work, yet quickly establishing himself as a leader among his fellow students and reaching high scholastic levels of achievement, and all with a positive outlook on life. For these reasons, we are proud to have Kai Wang receive the College of Engineering Dean's Achievement Award.

May 30, 2000

NC State Computer Scientist Receives NSF Career Award

Dr. Antón

North Carolina State University researcher, Dr. Ana (Annie) I. Antón, Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) Assistant Professor in Software Engineering, Department of Computer Science, is the recipient of an Faculty Early Career Development (Career) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), effective June 1, 2000. The award is the highest honor given by the NSF to young university faculty in science and engineering.

As part of the award, NSF will provide $220,000 in funding over the next four years. Antón will use the award to support her research project entitled "Towards Estimating Requirements Coverage: Managing Scenarios and Goals in Requirements Evolution," which addresses important issues in the discovery, elaboration and management of system use scenarios for the specification of software requirements.

Antón's objective is to produce a framework, along with web-based tool support, to enable the evaluation of requirements activities and processes during scenario management and evolution as well as requirements coverage estimation. The web-based tool will serve as an experimental research engine, collecting data on requirements engineering activities in a series of projects for real clients in various domains, sites and project teams.

The project also contains educational components. "Students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as industrial participants, will use the software produced through this research. A library of projects in various domains will lead to new materials such as techniques, methods and cases for software engineering education," Antón said.

Prior to joining the NC State faculty in 1998, Antón received her doctoral degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

May 25, 2000

Narayan Receives MRS Honorary Membership

Dr. Jagdish Narayan, Distinguished Research Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, is the recipient of the Materials Research Society (MRS) of India's 2000 Honorary Membership Award, the highest honor bestowed by the society. Narayan was honored for his lifetime achievements in advanced materials and processing of novel materials with unique properties. Currently, Narayan is the director of the NSF Center for Advanced Materials and Smart Structures.

May 22, 2000

Engineering Foundation Names Officers and Board Members

The NC State Engineering Foundation has elected seven new members to its board of directors.

Joining the board of directors for a four-year term are Alan H. Clark of Greensboro, vice president of operations, XPEDX; Joseph S. Colson Jr. of Cary, president, Colson Consulting Inc.; David G. Jones of Charlotte, vice president of special projects, J.A. Jones; Henry V. Liles Jr. of Raleigh, associate vice president of NC operations, HNTB North Carolina; Deborah B. Pannell of Colonial Heights, Va., HS&E director, Allied Signal; Robert G. Wright of Raleigh, president, Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc.

Steve J. Browning of Charlotte, president, Browning-Smith Associates, P.A., was elected to the board to fill a seat after the death of Ann C. Kraynik. Browning will serve on the board for three years.

Continuing members of the board are E. Steve Arthur Jr. of High Point, president, Thompson-Arthur Paving Division, APAC-Carolina Inc.; Jeffrey A. Buffo of Canton, Ga., manufacturing manager, Evenflo Company Inc.; James M. Davis Jr. of West End (Davis will serve as president of the board again this year); Frederick N. Day IV of Raleigh, senior vice president, Energy Delivery, Carolina Power and Light; E.O. Ferrell III of Charlotte, senior vice president, Electric Distribution, Duke Energy Corp.; Glenn E. Futrell of Manteo, managing partner, Pirate's Cove; A. Fred Gant of Raleigh; Paul B. Goodson of Raleigh, executive director, Professional Engineers of North Carolina; Harry C. Grimmer of Matthews, president, Harry Grimmer and Co. Inc.; Berry G. Jenkins Jr. of Raleigh, director, Highway Heavy Division of Carolinas AGC Inc.; James R. Jones of Raleigh, president, DM Holding Company; Michael D. Killian of Columbus, Ohio, vice president and general manager, Foundry Products Division, Ashland Chemical Co.; Gayle Seawell Lanier of Raleigh, director, Next Generation Networks Program, Nortel Networks; John T. McCarter of Schenectady, N.Y., president and CEO, General Electric Company-Latin America; Larry D. Nixon of Raleigh, secretary-treasurer, Bass, Nixon and Kennedy Inc.; Larry K. Petty of Gastonia, president, Petty Machine Co.; Robert C. Rhodes of Greensboro, managing partner, Rhodes and Mason; Norman G. Samet of Greensboro, chairman of the board and CEO, Samet Corp.; C. Ed Scott of Winston-Salem; Roger M. Scovil of Atlanta, Ga., chairman of the executive committee, World Trade Center Atlanta; Paschal W. Swann of Winston-Salem; Dr. Robert E. Troxler, director, Troxler Electronic Laboratories Inc.; Craig M. Wardlaw of Charlotte, executive vice president, BankAmerica Corporate Center; Edwin L. Welch of Winston-Salem, president, I.L. Long Construction Co. Inc.; and Carl D. Wills of Greensboro.

Founded in 1944, the NC State Engineering Foundation, Inc. is the fund-raising arm of the NC State University College of Engineering. The foundation raises and manages funds to support scholarships and teaching, research and outreach activities in the college. Members of the foundation's board of directors are volunteers.

May 16, 2000

NCSU Seniors Barnes and Lawrence Honored with National Graduate Fellowships

Bobby Barnes, who receives his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering this month, has been announced as a winner of the National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship. He plans to attend Stanford in the fall.

Amanda Lawrence, who entered NC State University as a Park Scholar and who graduates this month in materials science and engineering, was selected as the 2000 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program (NDSEG) winner. The panel reviewed 1,750 fellowship applications, and winners are posted at: http://www.asee.org/ndseg/html/winners2000.htm.

Within this program, the Department of Defense awards 150 graduate fellowships of up to $20,000 per year plus tuition. The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) is responsible for promotion, the application process, and payment of all stipends and tuition expenses.

May 15, 2000

Engineering Faculty Receive Extension Awards

Eight NC State faculty and staff members have been selected for induction into the Academy of Outstanding Faculty Engaged in Extension. Two of the awardees are from the College of Engineering: Dr. Joseph R. Davis, Industrial Extension Service, and Dr. Joseph Hummer, associate professor of civil engineering. Additionally, Davis was chosen to receive the Alumni Outstanding Service Award.

May 12, 2000

Skaggs Receives International Award

Click here to read about it --From NC State News Services

May 8, 2000

Dean Emeritus Fadum Named Fellow of Professional Engineers of North Carolina

Engineering deans emeriti: Dr. Ralph E. Fadum (left), dean of engineering from 1962 to 1978, with NCSU chancellor emeritus Dr. Larry K. Monteith, dean of engineering from 1978 to 1989.

Dr. Ralph E. Fadum, dean emeritus of NC State University's College of Engineering, has been named Fellow of the Professional Engineers of North Carolina (PENC). In a ceremony April 26 attended by family, friends and colleagues, PENC President Henry V. Liles and PENC Executive Director Paul B. Goodson presented Fadum with a medallion. As a PENC Fellow, Fadum is nominated to become a Fellow of the National Society of Professional Engineers.

Fadum, an authority in the field of geotechnical engineering, earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois in civil engineering and his master's and doctoral degrees from Harvard. He taught at Harvard and Purdue before coming to NC State in 1949. Fadum served as the dean of engineering from 1962 to 1978.

Fadum has received many awards and honors including Election to the National Academy of Engineering, the Department of the Army's Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, Outstanding Civil Engineer of North Carolina and the Award of Merit from the NC State University Alumni Association. Throughout his career, Fadum has been an advocate of programs that opened the profession to women and minorities.

Fadum has had a considerable impact in the national goals of engineering education and the engineering profession, as well as on his students and colleagues. Several of the other PENC Fellows mentioned Fadum as an inspiration and a positive influence in their academic careers and their lives.

May 5, 2000

College of Engineering Holds Fourth Annual Endowed Scholarship Dinner

Over 200 scholarship donors and recipients gathered at the Brownstone Hotel for the Fourth Annual Endowed Scholarship Dinner held by the NC State University College of Engineering April 14. The annual event pairs student scholars with the people who have provided their scholarships for a meet-and-greet reception and dinner.

"This is a very popular event for both the students and the donors," says Ben Hughes, director of the NC State Engineering Foundation. "It gives the donors a chance to meet the beneficiaries of their gifts, and the students enjoy having an opportunity to thank the people who are helping them achieve their goals."

Each year the College of Engineering offers over 115 named scholarships from endowments to new and returning students. This past December, the Campaign for NC State Students ended with the College of Engineering surpassing its goal of $13.4 million by raising $21.8 million for endowed scholarships. The NC State Engineering Foundation administers the majority of the endowed scholarship funds for the College of Engineering.

April 26, 2000

Engineering Student Vitolo Wins National Scholarship

Click here to read about it --From NC State News Services

April 19, 2000

Chokani to Receive Provost's Award

Dr. Ndaona Chokani, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, will be the recipient of the Provost's African-American Professional Development Award for 2000.

April 14, 2000

NC State's College of Engineering Names Outstanding Alumni

The North Carolina State University College of Engineering has named Hugh M. Duncan of Charlotte, Michael D. Killian of Columbus, Ohio, and John T. McCarter of Sao Paulo, Brazil, as Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award winners for the year 2000.

The awards were announced by Nino A. Masnari, dean of the College of Engineering, at a banquet April 13 at the Capital City Club in Raleigh, as part of the annual Alumni Weekend activities. The awards honor alumni whose accomplishments further their fields and reflect favorably on the university.

Hugh M. Duncan

Duncan, a native of Shelby, NC, earned his bachelor's degree in industrial engineering in 1955. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1946 to 1948. His successful career involved a wide range of engineering work - from product design and fabrication to manufacturing and technical sales - for Industrial Piping, Inc., Pneumafil Corporation, Luwa Corporation and his own company - Southern Precision Spring Co., Inc. (SPS Co., Inc.), which he purchased in 1964 and changed from a financially troubled organization to a profitable one the very first year. Over the next 30 years, his many innovations in quality control, cost accounting and in the computerization of manufacturing operations made SPS Co., Inc. one of the most successful companies of its kind. Before his retirement as president in 1994, he was an active member of the Spring Manufacturers Institute and served on its national board of directors.

In 1997 Duncan established an endowed professorship in mechanical engineering in honor of his father, Dean F. Duncan (BSME '23). The generous gift represents the first time in the College's history that a professorship has been endowed by a single individual. Duncan has also endowed a merit scholarship for students in industrial engineering, further demonstrating his dedication to his alma mater.

Duncan and his company have been long-time supporters of Junior Achievement and United Way. He is a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church. He is a former member of Rotary International and a sponsor of the Boy Scouts of America.

Michael D. Killian

Killian is vice president and general manager of Ashland Specialty Chemical Company's Foundry Products Division, with responsibility for the company's worldwide foundry products operations. A native of Waynesville, NC, he earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from NC State University in 1968 and a master's degree in business administration from Tulane University in 1974.

He joined Ashland Chemical Company in 1974 and then transferred to Ashland Inc. in 1976. There he served in various corporate planning roles, including executive assistant to senior corporate management. In 1981 he was promoted to administrative vice president of Ashland Inc.'s APAC division. He returned to Ashland Chemical in 1983 where he served in management positions in the Business Development and Planning & Analysis departments. In 1989 Killian was appointed vice president and general manager of the Petrochemical Division and was named vice president and general manager of the Foundry Products Division in 1996. In 1999 when Ashland Chemical split its operations into two companies, Ashland Specialty Chemical Company and Ashland Distribution Company, Killian continued in his position with Ashland Specialty Chemical Company.

A generous donor to the College, Killian is a member of several University associations, is on the board of directors of the NC State Engineering Foundation, and is a key member of Chemical Engineering's alumni industrial advisory board. He was instrumental in the establishment and success of a five-year fundraising campaign to renovate Riddick Laboratories. He also is a member of the American Foundrymen's Society and the Institute of British Foundrymen.

John T. McCarter

McCarter, a native of Philadelphia, PA, is president and CEO of GE Latin America of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Coming to NC State from his adopted home of Hickory, NC, he received his bachelor's degree in nuclear engineering in 1973.

McCarter began his lifelong career with General Electric as technical director of installation for the nuclear steam supply system at Carolina Power & Light's Brunswick Nuclear Plant. After serving in a series of developmental marketing positions in the power generation industry, he was a sales engineer for GE's Power Generation Business, first in Atlanta, then in Charlotte.

Later he rose through several positions for GE's Power Systems in Schenectady, NY, ultimately serving as general manager of customer service and later GM of North America sales to electric utilities and power generators. After taking over the Latin America operations for GE's Power business, he became president and CEO of GE Latin America.

He has received numerous GE management awards. Additional recognition includes service on the boards of charitable organizations such as the Center for the Disabled and United Cerebral Palsy. He is on the boards of the Association of American Chambers of Commerce of Latin America (Washington), Council of the Americas (New York) and the American Chamber of Commerce (Sao Paulo).

In 1997 he endowed the Mr. and Mrs. John T. McCarter Sr. Scholarship. The merit scholarship, named for his parents, is awarded to students enrolled in engineering. A loyal supporter of the College, McCarter currently serves on the board of the NC State Engineering Foundation and is GE's executive liaison to the University.

April 11, 2000

College of Engineering Announces Awards for Excellence Winners

Dean Nino Masnari announced the winners of the 2000 Awards for Excellence for the College of Engineering March 29 at an afternoon ceremony and reception honoring the nominees. Edna Deas from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Shirley P. Whitaker from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering are the SPA employee award recipients. Kay P. Leager of the Office of Academic Affairs received the EPA employee award.

In addition to the award recipients, other nominees included Nancy Evans, IMSE Institute; Carol Hubbard, Mars Mission Research Center; Linda H. White, industrial engineering; and Dianne W. Yarbrough, Office of Academic Affairs.

March 26, 2000

Engineering Open House to be Held April 8, 2000

Click here to read about it

For more information contact Kay Leager at (919) 515-9669.

March 24, 2000

Frey Invited to Serve on EPA Panel

Dr. H. Christopher Frey, associate professor of civil engineering, was invited to serve on a FIFRA Science Advisory Panel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. FIFRA - Federal Insecticide, Fungacide, and Rodenticide Act. He served on the Science Advisory Panel to review proposed methods for quantifying variability in pesticide residues in produce. The Panel meetings are official Federal public hearings. The meeting was held March 1-2, 2000 in Crystal City, VA.

March 21, 2000

Undergraduate Research Symposium to be Held April 27, 2000

Click here to read about it

March 16, 2000

Franzon, Students Chosen as Winners in SRC Copper Design Challenge

Dr. Paul Franzon, professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State University, and a team of students have been chosen as one of five winning teams in Phase One of the SRC Copper Design Challenge. The Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC) along with co-sponsors Novellus Systems Inc., UMC and SpeedFam-IPEC, awarded a prize of $20,000 to each winning team. Design team leader John Damiano and fellow team members Bruce Duewer, Alan Glaser, Toby Schaffer and John Wilson will now continue on to compete in Phase Two of the competition with their project entitled "A High-Speed & High-Capacity Single-Chip Copper Crossbar."

The contest's objective is to create novel circuit designs that will help accelerate the adoption of new semiconductor copper technology by engaging the creative interest of university faculty and students.

In Phase One, 44 teams submitted design proposals that were evaluated by a panel of judges. In Phase Two, which will be conducted during the spring 2000 semester, the 15 teams chosen from Phase One will enter their designs for silicon fabrication at United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC). Once tested and evaluated, contestants will submit results comparing their data with that of simulation data to the judges. An overall winner will be announced at SEMICON West 2000. The winners will be invited to present their designs at TECHCON 2000 in Phoenix, Arizona, where cash prizes will be awarded to the top three teams. The prize money will support integrated circuit design education programs at the universities as well as allowing a reward for the participating students. Another NC State College of Engineering team was also chosen as one of 15 out of 43 university teams to compete in Phase Two. NC State is the only university to have two teams chosen to participate in Phase Two.

March 7, 2000

Computer Science Student Zettlemoyer Honored by USA Today

Read the story in the Technician Online

February 28, 2000

Ford Motor Company Engineering Information Internship

Click here to read about it

February 7, 2000

Kelly Named Director of Biotechnology Program

Click here to read about it --From the Bulletin Online

February 7, 2000

Alexander to Receive Golden Torch Award

Dr. Alexander

Dr. Winser Alexander, professor of electrical and computer engineering, has been selected to receive the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) 2000 Dr. Janice A. Lumpkin Educator of the Year Award. Alexander's "extensive experience and outstanding achievements" led to his selection.

The Golden Torch Awards Ceremony is the premier award and recognition program for African American engineers, scientists and technologists.

The Third Annual Golden Torch Awards Ceremony will be held on March 24, 2000, in Charlotte, NC, at the Charlotte Convention Center.

January 19, 2000

ASM GOLD MEDAL Awarded to Narayan

[Excerpted from ASM-International, November 2, 1999]

From left to right: 1999 ASM-I President Dr. Hans H. Portisch and Professor Narayan

Jagdish (Jay) Narayan, Distinguished Research Professor of Materials Science at NC State University, is the recipient of 1999 ASM GOLD MEDAL. The ASM-International has bestowed its highest honor upon Professor Narayan for his seminal contributions in the area of laser processing, defects and interfaces, structure-property correlations and modeling of novel and advanced materials. He was honored on November 2, 1999 during the ASM-International's annual meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Professor Narayan joined the NC State faculty in 1984 after working as a Senior Scientist and Group Leader for 12 years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He presently holds the title of Distinguished Research Professor of Materials Science and Director of NSF Center for Advanced Materials and Smart Structures at NC State University. He received his master's degree in 1970 and doctoral degree in 1971 from the University of California, Berkeley, and his bachelor's degree with highest honors and distinction from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India, all in materials science and engineering. He has published over 700 papers, edited 8 books and holds 15 patents. Professor Narayan served on the MRS Council 1984-87, and co-chaired the 1984 MRS fall meeting. He is MRS member and fellow of APS, AAAS, TMS, and ASM-International.

January 12, 2000

Hewlett-Packard to Support Electrical and Computer Engineering Program

Dr. Conte

Dr. Thomas Conte, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, is one of four researchers nationwide selected to receive support from a $2 million grant from Hewlett-Packard Company. The grant, consisting of cash and equipment, will support teaching initiatives in the area of Explicitly Parallel Instruction-set Computing (EPIC) at NC State and three other universities, California State University, Los Angeles; the Georgia Institute of Technology; and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. EPIC, a new way to express programs to a computer that simplifies their circuitry and increases computer performance, is the foundation of next-generation computer architecture developed jointly by Hewlett-Packard and Intel.

Hewlett-Packard has established the HP EPIC Architectures Initiative in Computer Science, sponsored by the company's University Grants Program, to support education and training in EPIC-related concepts. Conte will use his portion of the grant, totaling more than $300,000 over the next two years, to support development of course modules and textbook writing.

Conte has been involved with the development of EPIC technology since 1994. More information about the research is available at http://www.tinker.ncsu.edu.

January 11, 2000

McAllister Gives Keynote Address

Dr. David McAllister, professor of computer science, gave the keynote address at the First International Workshop on Spatial Media/Sixth International Workshop on Human Interface Technology. The conference was held at the University of Aizu, Aizu-Wakamatsu, Japan, October 27-29, 1999. The title of Dr. McAllister's talk was "Image Processing of Stereo Pairs."

January 10, 2000

Kolbas Named IEEE Fellow

Dr. Kolbas

Dr. Robert M. Kolbas, head of the department of electrical and computer engineering at North Carolina State University, was elected Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE), effective January 1, 2000, "for contributions to understanding and development of quantum well heterostructure lasers and light emitters." Fewer than 1 in 1,000 members of IEEE will receive this honor in the year 2000.

January 10, 2000

Computer Science Undergraduate Wins CRA Award

Luke Zettlemoyer, a senior in computer science and applied mathematics, has been selected to receive the Computing Research Association (CRA) Outstanding Undergraduate Award 2000 for most outstanding male undergraduate researcher. This year the award is sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric Research Lab. A $1,000 cash prize will be awarded at a future research conference.

Zettlemoyer's research focuses on intelligent user interfaces. He has worked as a researcher in the IMG Lab at NC State, on the NC State IntelliMedia Initiative, at the Mitsubishi Electric Research Lab, and in collaboration with researchers at the MIT Media Laboratory. Zettlemoyer is the Department of Computer Science Faculty Senior Scholar and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Pi Mu Epsilon, and Upsilon Pi Epsilon. He has been a teaching assistant and active in campus leadership.

The runner-up for the award was from Brown University and honorable mentions came from Carnegie-Mellon, Illinois and MIT. In 1996, Jennifer Nolan, an undergraduate in computer science at NC State, received the CRA award for the most outstanding female undergraduate researcher in the country.

January 10, 2000

Zikry Appointed as Editor of Journal

Dr. Mohammed A. Zikry, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, has been appointed as regional editor of Mechanics of Materials, an international journal about mechanics of materials and solid mechanics.

January 1, 2000

Fang Named Interim Director of Operations Research