CSC Professor Uses Art to “Paint” Meaning Into Data Displays
Claude Monet would probably never have guessed his revolutionary style of painting would someday be used to make large, complex data sets – such as weather maps – easier to understand. But Dr. Christopher Healey, associate professor in the North Carolina State University Department of Computer Science, and Laura Tateosian, a Ph.D. student in computer science, combined Impressionist painting techniques with principles of human perception and cognitive psychology to develop a computer visualization system that makes interpretation of large, complex data sets more efficient. To read the entire article, visit http://www.ncsu.edu/news/press_releases/04_04/151.htm.

Departmental Research Grants, Gifts, and Support
Welcome new ePartner, ISG Inc., a Raleigh-based computer software development firm specializing in the creation and implementation of interactive voice response (IVR) systems and software. We welcome President, Charles Kerr, and the entire ISG team to the ePartners Program.

SAS Institute has renewed its commitment as a Super ePartner with the department, providing a $25,000 unrestricted donation in April.

Welcome new Corporate Friend, Expert Process Solutions. EPS' President and CEO, David Eshleman is a long-time supporter of the department and the Senior Design Center Program.

Dr. Frank Mueller recently received two corporate gifts which are supporting his teaching and research efforts. Microsoft has provided him 4 HP iPaqs and 2 TabletPCs with a combined value of approximately $6600. In addition, IBM has donated an embedded PowerPC development board with an estimated value of $1000.

Faculty/Staff News
Congratulations to Dr. George Rouskas for being named to the University's Academy of Outstanding Teachers! Such membership is truly a significant achievement. He joins Carol Miller, James Lester, Ed Davis, and Christopher Healey as departmental members of the Academy.

Dr. Richard Mayr has accepted our offer to join the department as an assistant professor beginning August 1st of this year. Richard received his PhD from TU-Munchen in Germany. His research area of formal methods focuses on model checking, semantic equivalences, term rewriting, theorem provers, tableau methods, and several other areas.

Congratulations to Dr. Frank Mueller on his promotion to Associate Professor with permanent tenure, to Dr. Laurie Williams on her reappointment as Assistant Professor, to Dr. Peng Ning on his reappointment as Assistant Professor, and to Dr. Rudra Dutta on his reappointment as Assistant Professor.

Best wishes to Dr. Karl Branting as he leaves NCSU for a new full-time position in the AI Lab of BAE Systems in Columbia, Maryland. Branting, who is an NSF CAREER recipient and a Supreme Court Fellow, served as a part-time visiting lecturer for the department this academic year.

Upsilon Pi Epsilon Initiates New Members
At an initiation service and dinner on March 28, faculty members Joyce Hatch and Carol Miller welcomed new members into NCSU chapter of Upsilon Pi Epsilon, the international Honor Society for the Computing Sciences. New UPE members for Fall 2003: James Burgess, Jeffrey Crist, Gregory Cymbalski, Martin Davidsson, Saurabh Dua, John Frink, Christopher Graves, Machon Gregory, Dakota Hawkins, Nathaniel Horner, Neha Jain, Damon Kohler, Luke Lenzen, Jason Maners, Matthew Marum, Colin Moore, Curtis Rawls, Lauren Shupp, Kevin Snow, and William Wooten. New UPE members for Spring 2004: Heather Castelli, Andrew Brett Cato, Zachary Darden, Brandon Guy, Benjamin Huckaby, Chad Johnson, Tyler Johnson, Clay Lehman, Nicholas Loftin, Tanya Markow, Joshua Markwordt, Stephen Oketta, Brian Philbeck, Michael Ramirez, William Roberson, Christopher Sexton, Ryan Smith, Joseph Stack, Matthew Vail, Thomas Walker, and Andrew Wieselquist. Congratulations to all the inductees!

IAESTE provides International Opportunities for Two CSC Students this Summer
Computer science juniors Lauren Wellborn and Keith Crawford are heading overseas this summer. While they expect to do quite a bit of exploring and sight-seeing, their main goal is to gain real-world experience, applying their computer science knowledge in an international setting. Wellborn is heading to Copenhagen, Denmark, where she will work with DHI Water and Environment, developing algorithms and software for water resources allocation and reservoir operation, while Crawford is headed for Lima, Peru, where he will be working with Pacific Consulting Network, doing Web application development using Java. Their international experiences are being arranged through NC State’s chapter of IAESTE, the International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience. The international network coordinates on-the-job training for students in the fields of engineering, computer science, mathematics, the natural and physical sciences, architecture and agricultural science. To read more about this outstanding program, see the feature article at http://www.csc.ncsu.edu/news/news_item.php?id=156.

Students Gain Valuable Experience Through Co-op Program
Serving in roles that range from project leads to software testing, many computer science students take advantage of NC State's Cooperative (Co-op) Education Program, which provides students the opportunity to blend their education with real-world experience. The experiences of four computer science students participating in the co-op program are profiled in a feature article at http://www.csc.ncsu.edu/news/news_item.php?id=160.

Freshman Wins First Game Developers' Club Competition
Chris Franklin, freshman in computer science, won the first Game Boy Advantage competition held by The Game Developers’ Club at NC State University. The Game Developers Club called upon professionals in the Triangle chapter of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), as well as Dr. Michael Young, assistant professor of computer science, to judge the competition. Franklin walked away with a $100 prize for his efforts. To read more about this competition, go to http://www.csc.ncsu.edu/news/news_item.php?id=159

Students Pitch In to Help "Service Raleigh" and Open House
More than 20 computer science students from the Women in Computer Science (WiCS) and the Computer Science Graduate Student Association (CSC-GSA) organizations participated in the April 3rd Service Raleigh activities, planting trees along Western Boulevard with the Trees Across Raleigh (TAR) organization. Service Raleigh was started in 1998 by the Park Scholars and NC State’s Student Government as an annual, one-day event to help foster in its participants a commitment to service and the community. Closer to home, another 25 computer science students, faculty and staff volunteered, helping with the College of Engineering's Open House that was also held that same Saturday. Between 2,000 and 3,000 prospective undergraduates attended the event. We extend our appreciation to all who volunteered to make these events successful. To read more, go to http://www.csc.ncsu.edu/news/news_item.php?id=154.

Honorary degree for Apple co-founder Wozniak
According to the April 05 issue of MacWorld, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is to receive an honorary doctor of sciences degree from North Carolina State University for "contributions to computing". The University Bulletin describes Wozniak as: "A member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He is currently the CEO of Wheels of Zeus, a company that designs wireless electronics products. He received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California-Berkeley." It adds that he received the national Medal of Technology in 1985 and the Heinz Award for Technology in 2000. The degree will be awarded on May 15. Joining Wozniak will be Eva Clayton - former congresswoman and assistant director-general and special advisor to the director-general on the World Food Summit, Harvey K. Littleton - artist, and Dr. Javier Solana - secretary general of the Council of the European Union, high representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and secretary general of the Western European Union.

Department Mourns the Death of Sophomore Student
We extend heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of computer science sophomore, Michael Thomas Paccione, who died Sunday, April 25, 2004. Only 19 years old, he is survived by his mother and step-father, Patrice and Rory Whittle of Rocky Mount; father, Michael J. Paccione of Clearwater, Florida; and sister, Debra Paccione of Arizona. A beautiful memorial service was held in Michael's honor on Friday, April 30 at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Raleigh. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that memorial contributions be made to the APO Fraternity. For those wishing to contribute in memory of Michael Thomas Paccione, please make checks payable to NC State University, and mail to Joan DeBruin, Campus Box 7501, Raleigh, NC 27695-7501.

Chancellor Fox Headed West
Marye Anne Fox, NC State's 12th chancellor, has been named chancellor of the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). Fox, chancellor since Aug. 1, 1998, will assume leadership of UCSD - one of the nation’s most highly respected public research institutions - in August. “It has been a special privilege and honor to serve as chancellor during a key period of NC State’s history,” Fox said. “I step down now, proud of what faculty, staff and students have accomplished in six years and confident that the good work of colleagues and friends will continue.” To learn more about Fox's accomplishments at NC State and the university she will soon lead, visit www.ncsu.edu/news/press_releases/04_04/142.htm. To read her letter of gratitude to the NC State community, visit http://www.ncsu.edu/news/chancellor/0412lettertoncstatecommunity.htm

Corporate Sponsorships Available
Budgetary constraints continue to challenge us, forcing us to constantly look for new and innovative ways to provide the highest quality educational experience possible to our students. The need for outside funding has never been greater and we hope that you will consider one of the numerous "named" sponsorship opportunities currently available through the department of computer science for the remainder of the academic year:

ACM/AITP Meetings - A complementary named sponsorship event is available to any ePartner for the ACM/AITP Meeting on Sept 1st and Oct 13th at 7 pm. You simply need to provide a guest speaker and a technical topic of 30-40 minutes in length. This event is also available to non-ePartners for a sponsorship of only $250.

Spring Diploma Ceremony - Over 1500 graduates, family, friends and faculty are expected to attend this beautiful ceremony on May 15th in the Meymandi Concert Hall in downtown Raleigh. Your tax-deductible contribution of $2,500 will provide you co-named sponsorship recognition at the event and help us cover the rising cost of facility rental, refreshments, entertainment, and publications.

Women in Computer Science - Your contribution of $1,000 or more will provide named sponsorship support for this strategic initiative designed to increase the attraction and retention rate of women in the computer science field.

New CSC "Systems" Colloquium - Named sponsorship is available for helping fund the launch of a new "systems" focused colloquium spearheaded by Dr Frank Mueller. A $5,000 contribution (in whole or smaller amounts for multiple sponsors) would help provide funding for speaker fees and travel for this new colloquium.

In most cases, your sponsorship contributions are fully tax-deductible and may qualify you for higher levels of recognition. For more information, please contact Ken Tate at 919-513-4292 or kmtate2@ncsu.edu.

'Naming Rights' Available for New Facility
The official groundbreaking ceremony for our new 100,000 sq. ft, $41M state-of-the-art teaching and research facility on Centennial Campus was held on October 24th, 2003. At that same time, we launched the official Naming Rights Campaign with opportunities ranging from $25,000 to over $1M. Premiere naming spaces include an expansive atrium and a series of terraces designed to host events of all sizes, as well as labs, classrooms, conference rooms, and faculty offices. More information is available at http://epartners.ncsu.edu/naming_rights.html, and more details will officially be released on this campaign in the coming months. If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Ken Tate at 919-513-4292 or kmtate2@ncsu.edu.

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