College Welcome
Since 2001, the Engineering First Year program has hosted an annual College of Engineering Welcome event that features our Dean of the College of Engineering and a keynote speaker.
22nd Annual College of Engineering Welcome Event
Thursday, August 25, 2022 | 4:30 p.m.
Keynote Speaker
Chris Olinger (BSCS ’89) D-WISE, AN INSTEM COMPANY
Chris Olinger is CTO / founder at d-wise, an Instem Company.
Olinger spent the first chapter of his professional career in the 1980s and the 1990s at SAS in Cary, N.C. His creativity, intellect and superior skills served his teammates, SAS and customers of SAS in many ways.
In the late 1990s, he left SAS to join the team at iBiomatics, a wholly owned subsidiary of SAS that led the way in cloud-based warehousing and analytics for the life sciences industry. The iBio platform, P21, was one of the first analytic solutions that enabled life sciences companies to warehouse, analyze and report on clinical data in the cloud. The P21 solution was a precursor of what would become the current SAS drug development platform, the Life Sciences Analytic Framework (LSAF).
In the early 2000s, he decided to write a new chapter and start a software consulting business. He took his top-notch skills and understanding of SAS technology internals into the field to help clients directly with their business challenges. Olinger co-founded d-wise in 2003, and with the support of a strong SAS partnership, launched an expert consultancy aimed at helping life sciences and healthcare companies leverage analytic technology to achieve their business goals. Over the last 16 years, d-wise has grown to more than 100 employees located in more than four countries, with more than 200 unique clients, including more than 30 of the top 50 global pharmaceutical companies. Olinger has served in the roles of an expert consultant, software architect and president, and currently serves as the chief technology officer. His company currently employs more than 60 consultants who deliver services across more than 30 concurrent projects at any given time, helping clients evaluate software, design solutions, implement, host and support.
Olinger is also an avid Wolfpacker, guitar enthusiast, cyclist and lover of technology. He is a proud basketball and football season ticket holder, and has served on the NC State Computer Science Strategic Advisory Board. He and his wife established the Anne-Marie and Chris Olinger Entrepreneur Scholarship Endowment, the largest fully funded scholarship endowment in the history of NC State’s Department of Computer Science.
Past Keynote Speakers*
![]() | 2021 Bhavana Bartholf (IMSEI) Chief Digital and Transformation Officer, Microsoft Solutions Worldwide 2021 Video Podcast |
![]() | 2020 Edward P. Fitts (BSIE ‘61) |
![]() | 2019 Tim Humphrey (BSEE ’96) IBM |
![]() | 2018 Quint Barefoot (BSCHE ’85) Entrepreneur |
![]() | 2017 Dr. Christine Mann Darden Retired member of The Senior Executive Service NASA Langley Research Center |
![]() | 2016 Congressman Chris Collins (BSME ’72) New York’s 27th Congressional District in the House of Representatives |
![]() | 2015 Jason Rhode (MSEE ’93 Ph.D. ’95 ) President and CEO Cirrus Logic |
![]() | 2014 Suzanne Beckstoffer (BSCE ‘82) Director of Process and Tools Newport News Shipbuilding |
![]() | 2013 Mark A. Norcross (BSFMM ‘76) Founder and Consultant Mark David, Inc. |
![]() | 2012 Dr. B. Jayant Baliga Distinguished University Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering |
![]() | 2011 Jake Hooks (MSE ’78) President, Automotive North America, Eaton Corporation |
![]() | 2010 Mark Wyatt (CSC ’80) VP, Smart Grid & Energy Systems Duke Energy |
![]() | 2009 Tom McPherson (EE ’76, ’77) Managing Member Cluny Aviation LLC |
![]() | 2008 Steve Angel (CE ’77) Chairman, President & CEO Praxair |
![]() | 2007 Lee Mazzocchi (CE ’90) Vice President Progress Energy |
![]() | 2006 Scot Wingo (ECE ’92) President and CEO ChannelAdvisor Corporation |
![]() | 2005 Gayle Lanier (IE ’82) Vice President |
![]() | 2004 Tim E. Scronce (IE ’87) President Blue Rhino |
![]() | 2003 Ross Lampe, Jr. (IE ’77) President SMD Software, Inc. |
![]() | 2002 Barbara H. Mulkey (CE ’77) CEO Mulkey Engineers & Consultants |
![]() | 2001 Marshall Brain (CSC ’89) Founder HowStuffWorks |
Questions?
Call Brian D. Koehler at 919.515.3263