Department Confers Degrees on 160 Graduates (5/17/2003)
On May 17th, NCSU confered degrees on 3,701 new graduates, 160 of which were computer science graduates honored with a memorable diploma ceremony at the Raleigh Civic and Convention Center. Special thanks to our alumni guest speaker, Ms. Jo Goodson, a lead executive project manager with BNX Systems and a member of our our Strategic Advisory Board. After her remarks, "Jo" was presented a special certificate in honor of her recent induction (along with her husband John Tiedeman) into the Leonidas Lafayette Polk Society. Named for North Carolina's first Commissioner of Agriculture and founder of The Progressive Farmer, the Polk Society recognizes lifetime gift support of $50,000 or more in outright gifts or irrevocable planned gifts of $75,000 or more. We would also like to thank Foundry Networks for their sponsorship of this memorable event.

Departmental Research Grants, Gifts, and Support (5/30/2003)
Cisco Systems donated $2,500 in scholarship funding in the field of Information Security / Information Assurance. Computer Service Partners has renewed its ePartners membership. In addition to their generous cash contribution, CSP has also offered to provide the department valuable web development support. As part of a larger gift to the College of Engineering, Northrop Grumman has donated $3,000 in scholarship funds to the department. The Center for Advanced Computing & Communications (CACC) has recommended funding the proposal submitted by Drs. Laurie Williams and Mladen Vouk entitled "Agile Quality Assurance: Agile Practices or Best Practices?" for $42,894 for the period July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004. Dr Peng Ning's proposal entitled "Efficient Group Key Distribution for Mobile Ad-hoc Networks" was recommended for funding by the CACC for $42,092 for the period July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004. Dr. Rada Chirkova's proposal entitled "Performance Issues in Relational Data-management Systems" was recommended for funding by the CACC for $41,469 for the period July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004.

Student Design Team Invited to the CSIDC World Finals (5/30/2003)
Congratulations to the NC State Computer Science Design Team comprised of Nathan Green, Jeremy Maness, Buck Webb, and JR Wilson for being named as one of the 10 finalists in the Fourth Annual IEEE Computer Society International Design Competition (CSIDC). The NCSU CSC team was the only finalist from a US university! The competition is intended to advance excellence in education by having student teams design and implement computer-based solutions to real-world problems. The theme of this year's CSIDC is Added Value: Turning Computers Into Systems. The NCSU CSC team submitted the project entitled "Diet Download", which uses wireless devices to scan nutrition labels on products to help individuals better manage their dietary needs. More than 170 teams participated in CSIDC 2003. The the top ten projects were selected based on reports submitted to a judging panel. The finalists have been invited to compete in the World Finals in Washington, DC, June 29 - July 1, 2003. The team's mentors are Dr. Robert Fornaro and Ms. Margaret Heil. To read more about this outstanding accomplishment, see http://www.computer.org/csidc/TopTen.htm.

New Faculty Member Announcements (5/30/2003)
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Karl Branting to the Department. He will be joining us immediately as a part-time visiting lecturer. He will also be involved in writing proposals and processing RA appointments until a replacement for Jacqui Cox is hired. Karl will share an office with James Lester in Venture I. Karl has a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin and a J. D. from Georgetown University. He received an NSF Career Development Award and has previously served in a tenured position in computer science at the University of Wyoming. The near-term goal is for Karl to move into a Research Associate Professor position in the Department. He has 14 refereed journal articles and 36 refereed conference articles. He was a Fulbright Senior Scholar during 1998-99 and a United States Supreme Court Fellow in 2000-2001 .

Faculty/Staff Promotions & Honors (5/30/2003)
Dr. Donald Bitzer was recently added to the College of Engineering "Gallery of Achievers". In October 2002, he became the first NC State faculty member ever to win an Emmy award. Bitzer co-invented the flat plasma display panel in 1964 as an educational aid to help students working in front of computers for long periods of time. Plasma screens do not flicker and are a significant advance in television technology. In an ironic twist, in 1973 the National Academy of Engineering presented Dr. Bitzer with the Vladimir K. Zworykin Award honoring the inventor of the iconoscope, the precursor of the Image Orthicon tube, a vacuum tube used in early television cameras and called “IMMY” - a name feminized to the Emmy. Carol Holloman was selected as one of two winners of the College of Engineering Awards for Excellence for 2003. The award, which recognizes outstanding dedication and service to the College, includes a plaque, a check for $250, and eight hours of compensatory time

Marvin & Mary Chaney Undergraduate Scholarship Award (5/30/2003)
Congratulations to CSC undergraduate, Adam Mitchell, for being selected as one of two recepients of the Marvin & Mary Chaney Undergraduate Scholarship Award. These awards are valued at $250 each and are provided annually to two students; one in mathematics and one in computer science. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Marvin & Mary Chaney for their continued support of our students. If you would like them an create a named scholarship endowment, please contact Ken Tate at 919-513-4292 or kmtate2@ncsu.edu.

HowStuffWorks Prepares for TV Debut (5/30/2003)
According to an article writtent recently by Christina Dyrness of the News & Observer, "Two episodes of a TV program, called "HowStuffWorks & A Movie," have been taped showing Marshall Brain, founder of HowStuffWorks, and a female host explaining how various things in the selected movie work." The entire N&O article is available at http://newsobserver.com/front/story/2525055p-2345526c.html. According to Brain, an alum (MS '89) as well as part-time visiting lecturer and assistant to the department head, the tapings were more a "proof of concept" for TBS executives. If approved, it could be 12-18 months before the finished product hits your living rooms

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