CSC eNewsletter

Welcome to the online edition of CSC eNews, a monthly electronic newsletter for alumni and friends of the Department of Computer Science at NC State University.

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August 31, 2005

Dean Masnari to Step Down as CoE Dean in 2006

Dr. Nino A. Masnari, Dean of the College of Engineering at NC State University, has announced that he will step down from the position at the end of July 2006. Dean of the college since August 1996, Masnari has overseen major growth in enrollments, research funding, private financial support for scholarships and professorships, and college facilities, including the opening of three new buildings on Centennial Campus. "I have made no specific plans beyond next July, but I certainly look forward to continuing my relationship with NC State University and the College of Engineering," Masnari said. University officials have plans to immediately form a committee to oversee a national search for the next engineering dean. more

Departmental Research Grants, Gifts, and Support

Super ePartner, Tekelec, has renewed its support to the department with an award of $30,000 in support of multiple senior design center projects and named sponsorship opportunities. Tekelec also has invested significantly in the NCSU Cooperative Education Program, where they currently fund five positions and supporting 10 CoE students on a rotational basis in their Morrisville headquarters.

Thanks to Progress Energy for their generous donation to the department totaling $20,000 in support of annual scholarships, senior design center project sponsorship, and our ePartners program. This was a part of a much larger package of support provided to the university valued at more than $350,000.

We are very pleased to announce the launch of the Society for Information Management Scholarship, funded by a $5,000 donation from the North Carolina Chapter of the Society for Information Management (NC-SIM). The fund will provide two scholarships to outstanding CSC students this year, valued at $2,500 each. NC-SIM exists for and is governed by the most senior IT leadership across the state. It is an organization through which IT leaders can learn and grow professionally. Pictured are Dr. Mladen Vouk (left), interim department head, accepting the check to fund the new scholarship from Michael Cato, SIM's newly elected Philanthropy Chair.

Mentor Graphics Corporation, the technology leader in Electronic Design Automation (EDA), has awarded a gift grant of $15,000 to Dr. Franc Brglez to further his research on the xBED project. more

OPNET Technologies has, once again, provided the department with annual software licenses valued at $5.57M. This gift includes licenses for OPNET's Moduler, Wireless Moduler, UMTS, and MPLS. The software has been successfully integrated into several undergraduate, graduate, and distance education network project courses.

Congratulations to Dr. Peng Ning for having his proposal titled "Efficient and Resilient Key Management for Wireless Sensor Networks" funded for $173,165 by the Army Research Office. The award will run from May 1st of this year through April 30, 2008.

EBII Classrooms Open Amid Continuing Construction

As reported in the August 18th issue of the Technician, ground level classrooms in EBII opened on schedule to students for the beginning of fall semester classes. "It looks nice, except for all the construction still going on," Charles Woelfel, a sophomore in computer science, said as he entered the building for the first time. Classrooms that range in size from small intimate settings to large lecture halls, are universally equipped with ample power access for students' laptops and wireless Internet connectivity. In the coming weeks, making the classroom AV equipment operational and resolving Wolfline transportation challenges will be a priority. As construction continues within and around the building, staff and faculty hope to move in by the end of the year.

Ryan Schimizzi (photo by Aria Behrouzv of the Technician), a junior in electrical engineering, refers to a directional sign as he makes his way through the ongoing construction between EB I and EB II.

CAC - ABET Accreditation Completed

Dr. Richard F. Keltie, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for the College of Engineering, recently announced the Final Statements have been received from ABET and all programs (16 engineering plus computer science) received an NGR accreditation to September 30, 2011. No weaknesses were found. A special thanks is extended to Drs. Robert Fornaro and Matt Stallmann for their leadership, and all faculty and staff involved in this tremendous team effort.

SDC Team's International Win Celebrated

About 70 students, faculty, staff, relatives, friends, university administrators, and community leaders joined the NEAT Senior Design Center Team on August 25th to celebrate their historic win in the IEEE Computer Society International Design Competition (CSIDC) 2005 World Finals. NC State Provost, Dr. Larry Nielsen, was on hand to deliver words of praise for the multidisciplinary Senior Design Center project team members David Coblentz (CSC), Dakota Hawkins (CSC), Jonathan Lewis (CSC), and Ben Noffsinger (Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences), who took home the $20,000 grand prize. Dr. Nielsen, pictured at right, told the audience "We at NC State are so proud of this team's accomplishment. They weren't just #1 in the state, or #1 in the nation…they were #1 in the world!" In fact, the multidisciplinary team from NC State is the first United States team to take first place in the 6 year history of this prestigious competition. During the reception, the team gave an encore presentation of their award-winning pitch to the CSIDC judges in Washington, DC in June. The Networks for Endangered Animal Tracking project (a.k.a. NEAT), combines GPS technology with wireless sensor networks to track animal movements in the wild. Their mentors for this project were Dr. Robert Fornaro and Ms. Margaret Heil (director & associate director of the Computer Science Senior Design Center) and Dr. Richard Lancia (Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences). Congratulations to all!

Centennial Campus Pep Rally Scheduled for Sep. 7th

Students, faculty, staff and corporate employees on Centennial Campus are invited to the Centennial Campus Pep Rally on September 7th at 3:45 in the Venture Center Courtyard (between Venture I and II on Main Campus Dr.). In case of rain, the event will move inside to the 5th floor of Venture IV. The entire marching band will be on hand, as will our cheerleaders, mascots, and members of the coaching staff. Enjoy music, vendors, door prizes, free refreshments and much more.

NOTE - Student volunteers are need for the event. If interested in helping out, contact Sue Cross at sue_cross@ncsu.edu.

Port City Java Coming to EBII

Wilmington based Port City Java recently announced that it has executed an agreement with NC State's University Dining for the development and operation of three Port City Java Cafes on the NCSU campus, including one scheduled to open in EBII during the fall semester. Cafes will also open in the College of Textiles Building on Centennial Campus this fall, and within an expanded Carmichael Gymnasium in 2007.

IBM "Extreme Blue" Information Session Planned Sept 13th

Students, want to be part of one of the industry's most elite internship programs? IBM's Extreme Blue program combines great talent and cutting edge technology to drive innovation. The competition is stiff; last year in the U.S. alone, over 4,500 applicants vied for the 118 positions. IBM is now seeking talented computer science and engineering students for 2006 spring and summer opportunities. If you think you are up for the challenge, you should plan to attend IBM's Extreme Blue information session on September 13th, 7-8:30 pm in 216 Mann Hall. Refreshments will be served. For more information and to apply, visit http://www.ibm.com/extremeblue.

Jeopardy! Host Cities for $1,000, Please

Jeopardy! producers have announced plans for the Emmy award-winning quiz show to tape its 2005 Jeopardy! College Championship at the RBC Center on Oct. 1 and 2. Featuring 15 students from some of the nation's top colleges, the tournament will pay off with a grand prize of $100,000 in cash to the champion. The episodes will air nationally from Nov. 7-18 (check local listings for station and time). Locally, the series airs on ABC11 at 7 p.m.

April 28, 2006 - Save the Date!

All alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends of the department are encouraged to reserve April 28, 2006 at 3 pm in your calendar for the official dedication ceremony for EBII on Centennial Campus. This will be a very special day in the soon-to-be 40-year history of the department and we hope that you can be with us to celebrate. More details will be forthcoming in the coming months.

Career Ambassadors Program Available to Students

The University Career Center is recruiting a highly selective group of volunteers to serve as Career Ambassadors. CA's serve as peer educators and work as an extension of the Career Center staff to provide high quality service to NC State students. Responsibilities that might appeal to CSC students include: training students in the use of computers and the online ePack system, assisting with mock interview software, and providing outreach through technology based methods. For more information on qualification requirements, benefits, and the application process, visit the Career Center online.

Duke Team Seeks NCSU Member

A start-up led by Duke University students, wishes to add an additional member to their team. They are developing a revolutionary software and hardware solution for the hospitality industry. The team plans to compete in the annual Duke Start-Up Challenge, a multi-stage competition featuring a $50,000 prize to the top winning company. The team is currently seeking high-energy and entrepreneurial undergraduate and graduate students who have experience with C# and GUI development. Currently, the team consists of an engineering student, two law students, an MBA candidate, and a recent graduate who is now at Microsoft. All team members will receive substantial equity in the start-up. Interested students should send inquiries to Ian Shakil at ian.shakil@duke.edu.

CED's InfoTech 2005 Scheduled for October 12

Information Technology entrepreneurs, executives and investors are encouraged to attend the Council for Entrepreneurial Development's InfoTech 2005 to explore critical issues affecting entrepreneurial technology development. InfoTech is also a great place to see demos of North Carolina's hottest new technologies and is packed with current pertinent IT panel topics and expert speakers. This year's event will be held on October 12th at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel & Convention Center. Visit http://www.cednc.org/conferences/infotech/2005/ for program details, registration and sponsorship information. We proudly recognize the CED as one of our valued corporate friends.

CSC Faculty / Staff News

Associate Professor, Dr. Annie Antón, has been nominated by the NSF and selected to be one of about a dozen scientists that will be part of the U.S. delegation to the World Science Forum bi-annual meeting in Budapest, Hungary this November.

Dr. Laurie Williams has assumed the role of co-director of the E-Commerce Initiative, effective June 2005, along with Dr. Michael Rappa of the College of Management. Williams was recruited to NC State in 2000 as Assistant Professor of Software Engineering. Author of several books and articles, her specialties are in agile software development processes and practices, empirical software engineering, secure application development, software reliability, software testing, and pair-programming. Laurie holds an MBA from Duke University and a Ph.D. from the University of Utah.

Dr. Jon Doyle, SAS Institute Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, has accepted an invitation to be a keynote speaker at KR2006, the Tenth International Conference on Principles of Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, to be held in June 2006 in the UK. This is one of the most prestigious conferences in Artificial Intelligence.

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