2022: New beginnings and foundational achievements

December 21, 2022 Lesa Bressanelli 3-min. read

Fireworks explode over the NC State belltower to close down Packapalooza 2022. Photo by Marc Hall

While 2022 is drawing to an end, the year brought many beginnings of exciting journeys for College of Engineering faculty members, staff members and students. Read more about some of the moments that made this year special, especially as we look ahead to celebrating our College’s 100th anniversary in 2023.

Two students at lab work table soldering electronics.

A decade and beyond of wearable device breakthroughs

The Advanced Self-Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies (ASSIST) Center graduated from its National Science Foundation (NSF) funding in 2022. The center’s leaders have developed a plan for a self-sufficient future, building on its goals of advancing fundamental science in energy harvesting and storage, low-power sensing and low-power electronics.

Aerospace engineering students work in the nearly completed hypersonic wind tunned lab.

A better engineering education

NC State is the first university in the United States to start an engineering education program offered jointly by an engineering college and an education college, and the first to ground its program in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

Artist rendering of Hunt Library and Fitts Woolard Hall. Teal sky, white clouds, black trees, gray buildings with three gray drones flying overhead.

Enabling the future of drones

NC State engineering faculty members will help drones reach their full potential with a $24 million NSF grant. Soon, drones will fly across Centennial Campus as researchers are building experimental testbeds using new fifth generation (5G) wireless communication technology.

Male and female students work in the Constructed Facilities lab on Centennial Campus. Male on left is wearing a white hardhat and a blue tshirt. Female on right is wearing a red hardhat and red shirt.

25 years of the Women in Engineering program

In 1997, NC State started the Women in Engineering (WIE) program to support women on campus. Over the last 25 years, WIE has helped create opportunities for women interested in engineering and helped improve representation.

Students work on senior design projects at the Electrical and Computer Engineering lab (ECE) lab on Centennial Campus.

Taking the lead on software supply chain security initiatives

NC State is the lead institution on a $9 million NSF grant in software supply chain security. Faculty members from several institutions are researching technical challenges within software supply security to help software professionals be prepared for malicious attacks.

Students pose for group photo with circular white placard with red text reading #packappreciationday.

Another year of #GivingPack

Alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends of the College of Engineering came together to show their support and help write the College’s next chapter on the fourth annual Day of Giving on March 23, raising $1,504,048 from 1,443 gifts. For NC State University, this year marked the most gifts ever received on a single day — 14,533 gifts totaling $23,060,336.

Summer camp students participate in competition.

K-12 engineering campers come back to campus

The Engineering Place welcomed students back for in-person camp experiences this summer after two years of virtual camps due to the pandemic. NC State Engineering offered 26 options, providing a wide variety of engineering challenges and experiences for rising kindergartners to high school seniors.

Faculty highlights

Angelitha Daniel, former director of the College’s Minority Engineering Program (MEP), was appointed the inaugural assistant dean for student, faculty and staff equity and inclusion.
Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson, former professor and chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at Indiana University, Bloomington, joined NC State as the new head of the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering.
Paul Dayton, William R. Kenan Distinguished Professor, was appointed chair of the UNC/NC State Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering this spring after serving as interim chair of the department since 2019.
Five NC State Engineering faculty members — Ashly Cabas Mijares, Albert Keung, Spyridon Pavlidis, Bradley Reaves and Wenyuan Tang — received the Faculty Early Career Development award, also known as the CAREER Award, from the NSF.
Lisa Marshall, director of outreach, retention & engagement of the Department of Nuclear Engineering, received the 2022 Social Responsibility in the Nuclear Community Award from the American Nuclear Society.

Student and alumni highlights

Minh-Thu Dinh, Goodnight Scholar and electrical engineering ’23, was presented the 2022 Leader of the Pack award in front of the homecoming crowd at Carter-Finley Stadium. Dinh was chosen out of 97 applicants and six finalists.
The founding members of the Young Alumni Advisory Board, who helped jumpstart the organization in 2018, closed out their terms this year. The organization has grown from 12 original members to 31 members, including five who were added last fall.
Abby Lampe, industrial and systems engineering ‘22, became the first American to win the world-famous Gloucester Cheese Roll race in the United Kingdom.
Hannah Fletcher, mechanical engineering and international studies ’21, was the first NC State student to be named U.S. Air Force Cadet of the Year.

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