Dr. Ellen McDaniel

NC State is fortunate to have Dr. Ellen McDaniel, manager of user services and Web coordinator for the College of Engineering, helping to develop the college’s infrastructure. McDaniel has been a member of Information Technology and Engineering Computer Services (ITECS) in the College of Engineering since 1991. Working with her colleague, J. Troy Hurteau, web programmer for ITECS , she organized and transformed the College of Engineering’s Web presence into a consistent, informative and accurate structure.

Dr. Ellen McDaniel, manager of user services and Web coordinator for the College of Engineering, helps develop the college’s computer infrastructure.

Her multifaceted job requires her to stay current on all kinds of computing systems, including both hardware and software — a major challenge in an ever-changing field. What keeps her excited about her work is a deep commitment to providing a quality computing environment for the entire university community. “To bring information technology into the academic engineering environment, we must build a strong infrastructure,” she said. “This work is always exciting, interesting and an opportunity to build something.”

This commitment began early during her years at ITECS, when she and the staff were building Eos (http://www.eos.ncsu.edu) into an efficient system. “Our computing system is exceptional,” she said. “Eos has been a far-sighted effort and has aligned us with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University in the Open Knowledge Initiative because of the similarities of our infrastructure and development.” Also hoping to encourage use of the then-new Web, McDaniel tried to make choices that would consolidate information for users and make the best use of open-source technology.

(left to right) Charles Hunt, assistant director of Information Technology and Engineering Computer Services (ITECS), Dr. Ellen McDaniel, manager of user services and Web coordinator for the college, and William G. Scott, director of technology for ITECS, examine a copy of the Guide to Eos and Unity Computing, written by McDaniel and used as an optional text by the Introduction to Computing Environments course.

Eos involves coordination of complex hardware and software systems. There are 660 machines in 20 Eos laboratories, 145 administrative machines and numerous faculty desktops connected by Eos. Keeping everything running smoothly is part of McDaniel’s challenge. “We have a rich three-platform network — Solaris/UNIX, Red Hat Linux and Windows— with access to perhaps the best suite of engineering software in the world at no further cost to students than their Eos and education and technology fees,” she explained. “Students do not have to buy anything at the bookstore. It’s all on Eos, available in the labs. We have a secure installation that shares a single, common computing infrastructure but allows the user to have a platform of choice.”

One of McDaniel’s most significant contributions has been her role in the Wolfware Web course management system project. Without her leadership, the Wolfware project would not have achieved the success it has to date. According to McDaniel, Wolfware is a Web-based, course-management system designed to improve and simplify online course development and delivery at North Carolina State University. It provides a common system of uniform course-locker creation and configuration across all courses taught at NC State, using a Web browser as the means through which instructors administer their online content and deliver it to students.

McDaniel finds her work at NC State rewarding because of the opportunities provided for creativity and building. “I enjoy being a part of computing at NC State,” she said. “We have one of the best computing infrastructures in the country.”

— rudd —

(Photos: Sheri D. Thomas)