October 14, 1997

NC State Dedicates Engineering Graduate Research Center

University officials, friends, faculty and students at North Carolina State University gathered on Centennial Campus today to celebrate the grand opening of the newest complex of buildings on the campus, the Engineering Graduate Research Center (EGRC).

Dr. Nino A. Masnari, dean of the College of Engineering, presided over the dedication ceremony. The keynote address was delivered by NC State alumnus, James H. Goodnight, president and CEO of SAS Institute Inc. of Cary.

Guests were invited to tour the new facilities following the ceremony and luncheon. The tours featured a wide range of state-of-the-art technology, from the enormous equipment used in the Constructed Facilities Laboratory to the microscopic machines being developed in laboratories and clean rooms. Visitors were given demonstrations of an electronic nose, tumor sensors, X-ray mammography imaging, interactive educational software, wireless communications and working micromachines.

"The EGRC is the newest addition to this innovative campus," said Masnari. "It is a complex designed to facilitate the research efforts of students and faculty and to bring together industry, government and university resources in a unique multidisciplinary environment."

The first state-funded engineering building at NC State in 30 years, the EGRC comprises a main laboratory building and the Constructed Facilities Laboratory. A planned third building will house corporate research partners.

Valued at $50 million, the current complex offers 130,000 square feet of space for education and research. The new facilities include the nation's largest equipment for testing full-scale structures, state-of-the-art laboratories and cleanrooms, a video classroom/conference room and an auditorium with two-way video capabilities. Once fully occupied, 60 percent of the research conducted in the College of Engineering will be located on the Centennial Campus.

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More than 500 people showed up for the EGRC Grand Opening ceremony on Tuesday, October 14, on the EGRC plaza. The brickwork art is entitled "Liquid Order."

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Dean Nino A. Masnari, who presided over the ceremony, welcomed everyone to the event.

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Keith R. Harrod, Chairman, brought greetings from the NC State University Board of Trustees.

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Larry K. Monteith, Chancellor, recalled the history of the EGRC and thanked the pioneers and key players for their vision and support, starting with initial concept of the EGRC in 1980.

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James H. Goodnight, President and CEO, SAS Institute Inc., and an NC State alumnus, delivered the keynote address.

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Chancellor Monteith and Dean Masnari cut the ribbon, officially opening the EGRC.

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Before touring the EGRC, guests enjoyed a luncheon buffet and jazz.

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The Analytical Instrumentation Facility has been able to expand its instrumentation resources and facilities in its move to the EGRC. AIF offers state-of-the-art materials characterization services to researchers in academe and industry. Comprising more than ten major analytical instruments and a staff of highly trained experts, the AIF functions as a teaching resource for students as well as a technical resource for researchers and industry. AIF also conducts research and development projects to improve materials characterization methods. AIF Director Phillip Russell is shown at right, lower photo.

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Other research conducted by the professors and students in electrical and computer engineering (Dr. Michael Steer is on the right) include high-speed electronic switches and computer and electronic systems of the future.

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In the Biomedical Microsensors Laboratory, Dr. Troy Nagle and his students are working on a variety of sensors that may improve diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Recently, Dr. Nagle was featured in the news for an "electronic nose" he developed to help measure swine production odors in and near farms. Other sensor research being conducted in the laboratory includes designing a sensor that will monitor a patient's tumor growth or reduction. The sensors would provide doctors a less intrusive method to monitor patients.

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Graduate students, alongside with Dr. Paul Franzon, director of the Microelectronics Systems Laboratory, work with MEMS -- microelectromechanical systems -- to design high-end computing systems. Micromachines and other advanced systems technology will aid in the development of antimissile missiles, super fast information transfer, and high power systems that will increase the life of communications satellites and provide lifesaving collision avoidance radar for automobiles.

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Visitors to the EGRC Grand Opening took a tour of the control room for Video Communications Services. The EGRC will help expand services to students and industry through improved facilities for distance education delivery. In the fall semester 1996, the College of Engineering pioneered the use of MBONE and Internet conferencing technology for distance education course delivery in North Carolina. As a result, distance education is offered on-line with live video and real-time interaction between professors and students. The first on-line class was offered at UNC-Asheville, and the distance learning program continues to expand. The "2+2" and "2+3" engineering programs will expand to offer classes via the Internet to sites at UNC-Asheville, UNC-Wilmington, and Lenoir Community College. The program allows students to take the first two years of degree courses at another institution and transfer into the engineering degree program at NC State during their junior year.

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In the internationally renowned Power Semiconductor Research Center, Dr. Jayant Baliga (pictured here), professor of electrical engineering and director of the center, and his team of graduate students hold more than 30 patents for new developments in power semiconductors. In fact, any time you turn on your computer, take a flash photograph, flip on a light switch, dry your clothes, or use air conditioning, you have probably used Dr. Baliga's semiconductor inventions. His group is currently working on projects that will reduce energy use in computers and decrease the weight of automobiles by reducing the wiring for electrical systems. The center's industrial members include most of the top semiconductor companies in the world.

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Dr. Wentai Liu's work with artificial retina chips is an example of the high caliber of research conducted by faculty in the Center for Advanced Computing and Communication (CACC). Dr. Liu created an artificial retina microchip that may one day restore sight to some of the 10 million people afflicted with retinal diseases.

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Without the Constructed Facilities Laboratory, Dr. Neven Krstulovic-Opara could not have completed the final tests of the High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete (HPFRC) system he developed. To test his super-strong concrete, Dr. Krstulovic-Opara must use super-strong machinery -- previously unavailable in the civil engineering laboratories. The new machinery in the CFL is the largest in the nation, and this equipment has allowed him to successfully use his advanced concrete composite to strengthen concrete structures against earthquakes in laboratory models. His HPFRC system can be retrofitted to existing structures to provide strength and durability or used as a leave-in-place form and frame for new concrete structures, possibly revolutionizing the way concrete structures are built. Currently he is working with a team of NC State researchers to develop new structural systems that would best employ the advanced features of HPFRCs -- high strength, durability, low cost, and easy construction.

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