CSC eNewsletter

February 28, 2005

Department Mourns Loss of Previous Department Head - Dr. Don Martin

We are deeply saddened to report of the passing of Dr. Donald C. Martin, former CSC Department Head, and Professor of Computer Science Emeritus on February 11, 2005 at Rex Hospital. Dr. Martin was 75 years of age. He served as Department Head from 1974 until 1986, providing critical leadership during the formative years of the department. Without question, he was instrumental for laying the foundations of the department we know today. He received his BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Carolina (USC) in 1951. He was a US Navy officer from 1951-1954. He continued to serve in the Naval Reserves and retired a Commander. He received his MS in Chemical Engineering in 1960 (also from USC). He joined NC State in 1960, where he received his PhD in 1965. For over 40 years, Don Martin was a leader and a visionary in applying computing technology to instruction. He will be greatly missed.

Departmental Research Grants, Gifts, and Support

Corporate partner, John Deere, has renewed its $25,000 commitment as a Super ePartner to the department.

IBM recently provided the department equipment valued at over $166,000, through a Shared University Research (SUR) grant. The BladeCenter, Opteron servers, and desktop units will be used to support academic research within the department, and in particular a project titled "Next-generation Computing in Research and Education".

Congratulations to Dr. Peng Ning, assistant professor of computer science, who recently received a Faculty Early Career Development (Career) Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), effective July 1, 2005, through June 30, 2010. The NSF will provide $400,000 in funding over the next five years to support Ning's research project entitled, "Career: Towards Trustworthy and Resilient Sensor Networks." NSF Career Awards are one of the highest honors given to young university faculty in science and engineering. The department is now home to 13 NSF Early Career Award winners. more

WiCS Looking to Make a Difference

The Women in Computer Science (WiCS) student organization kicked off the spring semester on February 17th with its first meeting of the semester. WiCS is a network of students, faculty, alumni, and industry working together to address the underrepresentation of women in the Computer Science field. Women account for only 14% of NCSU's undergraduate and graduate students in computer science. After peaking at 18.9% in the spring of 2001, the retention rate among females in the computer science field nationally has been trending downward. More

Research Focus - Protecting our Computer Networks and Data

The research being conducted separately by Dr's Doug Reeves and Annie Antón was recently profiled in the Winter 2005 issue of NC State's RESULTS research magazine. The issue was dedicated to research underway across the NC State campus supporting homeland security. Reeves and other members of the Cyber Defense Lab (CDL) are working on projects funded by the likes of the Defense Department and the CIA to upgrade the security of the nation's computer systems. Reeves, for example, is developing a method to monitor the timing of computer traffic to track hackers, who often bounce through a series of computer networks and use fake identifications to elude detection. Antón is the founder of The Privacy Place, where researchers from several universities work to align the actions and online privacy policies of corporations and agencies. In two National Science Foundation-funded projects, Antón is examining the security of Americans' medical and financial information by studying the privacy protections offered by insurers and major banks. She is also part of the Transnational Digital Government Project, which hopes to codify how information is shared across national law enforcement agencies. More

(photo by Roger Winstead - RESULTS Winter 2005)

New NSPE Scholarship Opportunities

The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) recently announced several terrific scholarship opportunities for engineering students! See the department's Scholarships and Financial Aid page for details.

Pavilion Planned for Court of North Carolina

Eduardo Catalano, famed architect, former chairman of the School of Architecture and one of the College of Design's first faculty members, gave $1.5 million to the university to build an open-air pavilion based on the hyperbolic paraboloid roof he developed in 1954. The pavilion would be at the east end of the Court of North Carolina. Two public meetings have been held to discuss the proposed location. The Board of Trustees will consider the pavilion plans when it meets in April. see design

"Road to Red Hat" Events

ePartner, Red Hat, has asked us to inform all CSC students of the following events which have been scheduled to highlight career opportunities within their growing company headquartered on Centennial Campus. For more information, consult Red Hat Career Events.

The final "Road to Red Hat" sessions have been planned for March 21 and April 18. Each session will begin at 5:30 pm promptly at the Red Hat headquarters, and will feature Pizza, guest speakers, and company representatives who will answer your questions about internships, coop positions, and new grad hiring plans. In addition, Red Hat will give away an open enrollment RHCE-track class seat to a lucky attendee.

Career Advice Available to NCSU Alumni

Learn about available career services, meet other NC State alumni and pick up tips for your job search at an event designed to introduce you to alumni career services. The University Career Center will hold the session in 2100 Pullen Hall on Tuesday, March 1, from 5:45 p.m. to 7 p.m. The session is free, but registration is required. Contact Sue Simonds at (919) 515-2396 or sue_simonds@ncsu.edu for more information. Also, if you have a career question for NC State magazine's "Ask Sue" column, e-mail it to career_column@ncsu.edu.

New Job Opportunities for CSC Students

Several new intern, coop, part-time and full-timer opportunities have been added to the Computer Science Career Services page in the last few weeks. In fact, over 30 opportunities are now posted on the site, with some companies looking for students to fill immediate needs. Please check the site regularly as postings are updated frequently. site link

A Date to Remember - April 20th

Chancellor James L. Oblinger's installation will be Wednesday, April 20. Details will be announced soon. Watch for more information at www.chancellor.ncsu.edu.

Faculty / Staff News

Dr. David Thuente, director of graduate programs, will be the featured "Educator Profile" in an OPNET Technologies ad tentatively targeted for the back-cover of the April issue of IEEE Communications.

Dr. Michael Young was quoted in story entitled "The dude behind Snood"; News and Observer; Sunday, January 30, 2005.

Congratulations to department accounting specialist, Melissa (Missy) Seate, who recently accepted the position of CSC Contracts Manager.

Linda Honeycutt, departmental executive assistant and director for personnel actions, has been selected as one of the recipients of the January 2005 Pride of the Wolfpack Awards. Congratulations Linda. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to Computer Science and the College

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