December 6, 1999

Computer Science Student to Compete for Rhodes Scholarship

Thomas Vitolo, a senior in Computer Science, Economics, and Applied Mathematics, has been selected by the North Carolina Rhodes Scholarship Committee of Selection as one of two students to represent the state in the Rhodes Scholarship finals, December 4-5 in Washington, D.C.

December 2, 1999

Conrad to Receive TMS Distinguished Science/Engineer Award

Dr. Hans Conrad, professor emeritus of materials science and engineering, has been selected to receive the Minerals, Metals, & Materials Society's Structural Material Division's 2000 Distinguished Science/Engineer Award. The award recognizes an individual who has made a lasting contribution to the fundamental understanding of microstructure, properties and performance of structural materials for industrial applications. The award will be presented March 14, 2000, during the 129th Annual Meeting of the Society in Nashville, Tennessee.

December 1, 1999

Singh, Vouk Invited to Publish Entry in Encyclopedia

Dr. Muninar Singh and Dr. Mladen Vouk, computer science, contributed an entry in the Encyclopedia of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, published by John Wiley and Sons.

November 22, 1999

Civil Engineering Professor to Receive 1999 Starr Award

Dr. H. Christopher Frey, associate professor of civil engineering, has been selected to receive the 1999 Chauncey Starr Award from the Society for Risk Analysis (SRA). The award honors an individual under the age of 40 who has made exceptional contributions to the field of risk analysis. The award is named after Chauncey Starr, the founding president of the Electric Power Research Institute, and a pioneer in the field of risk analysis. The Society of Risk Analysis was established in 1980, with more than 2,000 members world-wide. The award will be presented at the SRA Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 7, 1999.

November 22, 1999

Noori Named Head of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Dr. Noori

Dr. Mohammad Noori, the John Woodman Higgins professor of mechanical engineering, and head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), has been named head of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State University. Noori, who is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, is also director and founder of the Center for Loss Prevention and Structural Integrity.

His appointment, announced by Chancellor Marye Anne Fox and Dr. Nino A. Masnari, dean of the College of Engineering, was approved by the NC State University Board of Trustees and the UNC Board of Governors, effective November 1.

Noori succeeds Dr. Fred DeJarnette, who has served as department head since 1994 and was interim department head one year prior to that. DeJarnette will return to teaching and research in the department.

Noori has produced more than 100 publications just in the past ten years and holds two patents/inventions. His research interests include random vibrations, probabilistic mechanics, modeling of hysteretic systems, autoadaptive materials, health monitoring of structural systems, seismic isolation and nonlinear dynamics. Noori was invited in 1997 by a special Commission on Critical Infrastructures, appointed by President Clinton, for a Public Hearing on the subject. He has also been highly active in delegations between the US and Japan in a variety of research initiatives. His research group has been one of the thirteen teams selected by the Japanese for a five-year US-Japan Cooperative Research in Autoadaptive Structures for Hazard Mitigation. Noori has also been the recipient of a Fellowship from Japan Society for Promotion of Science.

Among the numerous accomplishments during his tenure as head of his department at WPI, the department initiated and completed a $9 million externally funded renovation and expansion project resulting in 18,000 square feet of new space and 85,000 square feet of renovated space in the Higgins Laboratories building, including 12 new laboratories and multimedia and computational facilities. His department spearheaded the establishment of the Collaboration and Project Center at the University of Puerto Rico, the largest Hispanic engineering/science school in the world. The center coordinates joint programs between the two universities, including senior design projects, research collaborations and graduate student recruitment.

Noori earned his bachelor's degree in 1977 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, his master's degree in 1980 from Oklahoma State University and his doctoral degree in 1984 from the University of Virginia, all in civil engineering. He is a member of Pi Tau Sigma, Chi-Epsilon, Sigma Xi, Sigma Mu Epsilon, as well as a member of numerous scientific committees, editorial boards and technical committees of professional societies.

November 22, 1999

Turinsky Begins Second Term as Head of Nuclear Engineering

Dr. Turinsky

Dr. Paul J. Turinsky, professor of nuclear engineering at North Carolina State University, will serve for the second time as head of the Department of Nuclear Engineering at NC State.

His appointment, announced by Dr. Nino A. Masnari, dean of the College of Engineering, was approved by the NC State University Board of Trustees, effective November 1. Turinsky succeeds Dr. Donald J. Dudziak, who has served as department head since May 1990. Dudziak will return to teaching and research in the department.

Turinsky's research interests center around nuclear core modeling with applications to nuclear fuel management optimization and space-time reactor kinetics. His teaching interests focus on computational reactor physics, as well as nuclear power plant design and accident analysis.

Turinsky joined the faculty at NC State in 1980 as head of the department of nuclear engineering and held that position until June 30, 1988, when he returned to full-time teaching duties and research in the department. He served as director of the Electric Power Research Center during 1989-90, where he is currently director of the nuclear porgram area. Since 1990, he has been faculty coordinator in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Computational Engineering and Sciences.

Prior to joining the nuclear engineering faculty at NC State in 1980, Turinsky had served in several positions from 1973 to 1979 in core development and nuclear design at Westinghouse Electric Corp. He was an assistant professor of nuclear engineering and science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute from 1971 to 1973.

Turinsky earned his bachelor's degree (with distinction) in 1966 in the chemical engineering honor's program from the University of Rhode Island, his master's in nuclear engineering from University of Michigan in 1967, his PhD in nuclear engineering from University of Michigan in 1970 and an MBA (executive program) from the University of Pittsburgh in 1979.

A member of Tau Beta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Xi, Beta Gamma Sigma and many scientific and professional societies, Turinsky has received numerous honors; among those, he was elected fellow of the American Nuclear Society in 1987 for his contributions as an outstanding teacher, researcher and administrator in the nuclear field. In 1990 he received the Glenn Murphy Award from the American Society for Engineering Education, and in 1992 the Power Engineering Educator Award of the Edison Electric Institute.

November 22, 1999

Engineering Students Win National Collegiate Inventors Competition

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

November 18, 1999

Engineering Students to Demonstrate Projects at Design Day

Students participating in the electrical and computer engineering senior design course will demonstrate their projects at the biannual Electrical and Computer Engineering Senior Design Day on Wednesday, December 1, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in NC State University's Talley Student Center.

The senior design project course requires students use their engineering design skills to address real-world problems. The projects cover a wide variety of topics, including robotics, cellular and wireless communications, network and World Wide Web applications, distance education, medical technology and aids for disabled children.

The event is free and open to the public. The media are invited and encouraged to attend. The projects are very visual and relevant to present and future technologies. For more information, contact Bart Greene, director, Electrical and Computer Engineering Design Center, (919) 515-8740.

October 31, 1999

Frey Serves as Expert Panelist

H. Christopher Frey, associate professor of civil engineering, was an invited expert panelist for an October 1999 Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Expert Panel meeting on Good Practice in Inventory Preparation: Cross-Sectoral Methodologies for Uncertainty Estimation and Inventory Quality. This meeting was held in Culham, England (near Oxford) with representatives from approximately 40 countries. Frey, who served on a panel that drafted the international guidance on how to do uncertainty analysis of greenhouse gas emission inventories, was a member of the U.S. delegation to the meeting. Along with Frey, the delegation included members from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Energy Information Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy and a consultant from Eastern Research Group.

October 28, 1999

NC State Engineering Professor Receives R.J. Reynolds Award

Dr. Davis

Dr. Robert F. Davis of Raleigh, Kobe Steel Ltd. Distinguished University Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at North Carolina State University, received the 15th R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research and Extension in a ceremony held at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 27, in 216 Mann Hall at NC State. The award presentation was followed by Davis' lecture, "Silicon Carbide, Diamond and Gallium Nitride: Sources for New Electronic Materials, New Gemstones and New Corporations."

The award, established in 1981 by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. of Winston-Salem through the N.C. State Engineering Foundation, honors an engineering faculty member who has demonstrated superiority in activities that relate to the university's three-fold mission of teaching, research and extension. The recipient is given a $25,000 prize distributed over five years.

An internationally recognized leader in semiconductor materials, Davis has made numerous contributions to the growth and characterization of thin films of wide band gap semiconductor materials and device development studies using gallium nitride, aluminum nitride and silicon carbide including etching, ion implantation and electrical contacts. Results from research conducted by Davis' students became the basis for the formation of Cree Research Inc. and the Nitronex Corporation.

A fellow of the American Ceramic Society and a member of the Materials Research Society, he has received awards for his research activities, including the Alumni Distinguished Professor Award, the Alcoa Distinguished Research Award, the Alumni Research Award, the ORNL Excellence in Publications Award, the Richard M. Fulrath Memorial Award and the BF Goodrich Collegiate Inventor of the Year Award. He has edited or co-edited six books, authored or co-authored approximately 220 chapters in proceedings or books, published more than 270 peer reviewed papers and given more than 160 invited presentations. He currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal Diamond and Related Materials.

Davis received his bachelor's degree in ceramic engineering from NC State University in 1964 and his master's degree in ceramic science and engineering from The Pennsylvania State University in 1966. He earned his Ph.D. in ceramic science and engineering from the University of California-Berkeley in 1970.

October 25, 1999

Engineers Can Earn Graduate Degree by Video

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

October 19, 1999

Industrial Engineering Student Wins Faculty Scholarship

Jean M. McCabe, a senior in industrial engineering, has received the Faculty Senior Scholarship for 1999-2000. The scholarship recipient is chosen based on "academic excellence, intellectual breadth, and depth of character" and is voted on by College of Engineering faculty. As the winner of this scholarship, McCabe will receive an award of $3,000.

McCabe participates in the Golden Key National Honor Society, Tau Beta Pi, Alpha Pi Mu, and Gamma Beta Pi. She has worked with the World Class Manufacturing Research Team and the Ergonomics Resource Center. Currently, McCabe works with the Duke University and Medical Center Ergonomics Program, performing evaluations of employee workstations and providing training to groups and individuals.

October 12, 1999

NPS Honors Zia

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

October 12, 1999

Felder, Zorowski to Receive Holladay Medals

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

October 12, 1999

Memorial Service to Honor Dr. Ric Porter

The College of Engineering will hold a memorial service for Dr. Richard (Ric) Porter, assistant dean for academic affairs, who passed away in July. The service, which will be held November 15 in Stewart Theatre, will begin at 3 p.m. with music by the Triangle Folk Singers. At 3:30, a memorial service will begin. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Office of Academic Affairs, College of Engineering, at 515-3693.

October 8, 1999

Stinson to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award

Katharine Stinson (left) receives the award from Patti Grace Smith, Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration.

Katharine Stinson, a 1941 alumna in aeronautical engineering and the first woman to receive an engineering degree from NC State, has been chosen to receive the Women in Aerospace (WIA) 1999 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Women in Aerospace is a non-profit, professional society dedicated to expanding women's opportunities for leadership and to increase their visibility in the aerospace community.

Stinson had a long and distinguished career of 32 years at the Federal Aviation Administration. She has since been active in national and regional civic activities and has been a devoted alumna of NC State. In 1971 Stinson was the first woman to receive the Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award, and in 1997 Stinson Drive was named for her on NC State's North Campus.

The award will be presented in a ceremony on Tuesday, October 19, 1999, in the Gold Room of the Rayburn House Office Building on Capital Hill, Washington, DC.

October 8, 1999

Nuclear Engineers Receive Training Excellence Award

Dr. Donald J. Dudziak, professor and department head, nuclear engineering; Dr. Charles W. Mayo, associate professor and director of the Nuclear Reactor Program; and Dr. James W. Hunt, Carolina Power and Light, have received the Training Excellence Award from the American Nuclear Society (ANS) for their partnership in delivering a B.S. Engineering Degree Program to nuclear power plant personnel. The award is presented to individuals and groups working in the field of nuclear training and education, in recognition of "outstanding, innovative, unique and cost effective contributions to the field." Dudziak, Mayo, and Hunt developed a partnership between Carolina Power and Light Co., North Carolina State University, and local community colleges. The award will be presented at the ANS Winter meeting, November 14-18, in Long Beach, California.

October 8, 1999

Mechanical and Aerospace Student Wins National Scholarship

Matthew Harrenstein, a student in mechanical and aerospace engineering, has been selected to receive the John and Elsa Gracik Scholarship from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) International. The selection was made at the Summer Annual Meeting of ASME International. Founded in 1880, ASME International has 125,000 members worldwide.

September 30, 1999

Belltower to be Lighted in Honor of Baliga

On the evening of Friday, October 1, the University will light the red lights of the Memorial Belltower in honor of Dr. Jayant "Jay" Baliga, Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering at North Carolina State University, for attaining his 100th patent.

Dr. Baliga's 100th patent was issued Sept. 7 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. It gives Dr. Baliga and NC State legal recognition for inventing an electric switch that could significantly improve the energy efficiency of household appliances, electric trains and cars, air conditioning units, and other large machines.

Chancellor Fox noted that Dr. Baliga's achievement is a tremendous honor for NC State, and is one that surely calls for lighting the Belltower.

September 28, 1999

Computer Science Master's Degree Available On-line

The College of Engineering at NC State University this fall began offering a new Master of Computer Science degree through its distance education program. The degree is designed to help working professionals in North Carolina and across the nation obtain a terminal master's degree in computer science. The courses are available through the US Mail and on the Internet.

September 21, 1999

Wolfpack Legends Team to Race in Orange County Oct. 2

The Wolfpack Legends Team will compete in the first race of the 1999 Intercollegiate Association for Racing (ICAR) fall season in Orange County October 2. The race will be held at the Orange County Raceway on Saturday beginning at noon. Media are invited to come early to meet team members and view the Legends cars. The raceway gates will open at 9 a.m., and practice will start at 10 a.m.

The Wolfpack team will compete with teams from Duke University, NC A&T State University, University of South Carolina, University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the University of Virginia in a qualifying event and three feature events. The Wolfpack team finished in third place in the 1999 ICAR spring season standings.

The teams race Legends race cars, scale models of 1930s vintage coupes equipped with a Yamaha motorcycle engine, under the auspices of ICAR, an affiliation of ABET-accredited engineering colleges. ICAR was developed to enhance engineering educational programs through student design contests and participation in auto racing as drivers and crew members. The Legends cars are supplied to each of the competing universities by 600 Racing Inc. of Charlotte. Each team will have three drivers competing in heats on Orange County's one-fifth-mile track.

Dr. Joseph David, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, is the faculty adviser for the Wolfpack Legends team, which is sponsored by Caterpillar of Clayton, Ralston-Purina, Wilder's Inc. of Raleigh and Demis Wall Covering of Highpoint. The team continues to seek support from the community to help defray the costs of racing. For more information about the team, contact David at (919) 515-5298 or visit the team's web site at www.mae.ncsu.edu/legends

September 20, 1999

Zia Honored for Helping with Lighthouse Move

Dr. Paul Zia, Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of civil engineering, was honored by the U.S. Department of the Interior for his contributions to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse move in a ceremony held Wednesday, September 15, on the NC State University campus.

Zia and Dr. Ellis Cowling, University Distinguished Professor at Large, received the Citizens Awards for Exceptional Service from the U.S. Department of the Interior. The awards were presented by Cape Hatteras National Seashore Superintendent Robert W. Reynolds.

One of the world's foremost authorities on concrete structure engineering, Zia was honored for his work determining whether the lighthouse structure would withstand the move. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

September 2, 1999

Stallmann, Brglez Present Paper

Dr. Matt Stallmann and Dr. Franc Brglez, computer science, presented "Heuristics and Experimental Design for Bigraph Crossing Number Minimization," at ALENEX '99.

September 1, 1999

Rossie Receives NSF CAREER Award

Dr. Rossie

North Carolina State University researcher, Dr. Jonathan G. Rossie Jr. of Cary, assistant professor of computer science, is the recipient of a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The award is the highest honor given by NSF to young faculty in science and engineering.

As part of the award, NSF will provide an estimated $207,000 over the next four years. Rossie will use the award to support his research project, "Safe Observable Components: Programming-Language Support for Object Interaction Protocols."

Rossie's research focuses on programming-language innovations to improve the correctness of object-oriented and component-based systems. By extending languages like Java with higher-level information about object lifetimes, the research allows program compilers to detect subtle conflicts that would commonly lead to software failures. This is especially important in component-based systems, where details about object life cycles are essential to the successful reuse of a component.

Rossie received his doctoral degree in computer science with a minor in cognitive science in 1996 and his master's degree in computer science in 1991, both from Indiana University. He earned his bachelor's degree in music from St. Lawrence University in 1987.

September 1, 1999

Helmlinger Appointed Executive Director of Industrial Extension Service

Teresa A. Helmlinger of Fuquay-Varina has been named executive director of the Industrial Extension Service (IES) at North Carolina State University.

Helmlinger replaces Tom Stephenson, who retired in April after 31 years of service to IES. The appointment was effective July 26.

A 1978 graduate of NC State, Helmlinger holds a bachelor's degree in engineering operations. She also earned a master's degree in business administration from Duke University.