CSC News
Centennial Campus Gateway Naming Honors Masnari
The College of Engineering has announced the naming of the Centennial Campus gateway in honor of former dean, Dr. Nino A. Masnari.
Located at the end of Oval Drive, the Nino A. Masnari Engineering Gateway is the main entrance to what will become the engineering building cluster on Centennial Campus. The gateway is dedicated to Masnari in recognition of “his many contributions to educational and research program development at North Carolina State University and for vision and leadership in moving the College of Engineering to Centennial Campus.”
During Masnari’s tenure as dean, the College of Engineering began its move to Centennial Campus. Currently Engineering Buildings I and II have been completed and are home to four engineering departments. Funding was also secured for Engineering Building III, which will house two more departments when completed.
Under Masnari’s leadership the College of Engineering became the third highest producer in the nation of total engineering degrees awarded, and research funding in the college nearly doubled to more than $90 million. Scholarship funding more than quadrupled, with total endowments growing to more than $51 million. The college received its largest gift from a single individual, a $10 million endowment in support of industrial engineering. As a result the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering became the first named academic department in the history of the university. In addition the college established the joint Department of Biomedical Engineering with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and added a bachelor’s degree in paper science and engineering. The college also became a leader in distance education, ranking as one of the best online degree programs in the nation and adding two-plus-two programs that serve students across the state.
Under Masnari’s direction, the quality of entering freshmen increased, national recognition of faculty and research by the National Science Foundation tripled and four new centers and institutes were created. The college also grew in the number of programs for minorities and women, and the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program was established. The first woman associate dean was appointed during Masnari’s tenure as dean.
A Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Masnari received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees all in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan. He served as professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of the Electron Physics Laboratory at the University of Michigan prior to joining the NC State faculty in 1979 as head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
— weston —
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