"Kekas Named Interim Director of Centennial Campus"
Dennis Kekas, currently executive director of the Networking Technology Institute (NTI) of NC State University, has been named interim director of the university’s Centennial Campus Partnership Office. For more information, click here.

Departmental Research Grants, Gifts, and Support
GlaxoSmithKline recently provided $44,044 in funding to support a graduate student and industrial trainee to engage in consulting, collaboration, research, and training related solutions with GSK.

EMC recently made a substantial commitment to education in the Raleigh area, contributing $25,000 to the NCSU department of computer science, and providing more than 30 laptop computers and $10,000 to Apex High School. To read EMC’s official press release, click here.

Dr. Khaled Harfoush, assistant professor of computer science, has received a Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). His proposal entitled "New Directions in Managing Structured Peer-to-Peer Systems" will be funded for five years beginning March 15, 2004. The award, valued at $408,894, is one of the highest honors given by NSF to young university faculty in science and engineering. Dr. Harfoush becomes the department’s 12th NSF Career Award Winner! To read more, go to http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/news/awards/harfoush.html

Dr. Ting Yu’s proposal titled "A Formal Framework for the Design and Analysis of Online Privacy Policies" has been funded for $8,000 as part of the University's Faculty Research and Professional Development Program. The period of project will run through next February.

This spring, our Senior Design Center is coordinating the work of 18 student project teams. We would like to thank our project sponsors this semester which include: Red Hat (sponsoring 4 project teams), Network Appliance (sponsoring 3 project teams), EMC, John Deere, Foundry Networks, Progress Energy, Fujitsu, Duke Energy, Tavve Software, Integrated Industrial Information, ISG, NCSU Engineering Information, and the NC Zoological Society.

Faculty/Staff News
Please join us in welcoming Jennifer Anderson to the department, who joined us on February 16 as faculty secretary for the Venture faculty. She will also process RA appointments and serve as backup to our research facilitator. She has a BS degree in accounting and a BA in dance education, both from UNC-Charlotte. Prior to joining us, she served as Registrar for the Community School of the Arts in Charlotte. She has also worked at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. in addition to other positions in Florida and NC. Jennifer interacts well with external constituencies, so we expect she will be a terrific asset in assisting with conferences or similar activities.

Congratulations to lab manager Ben Tilley and his wife Sarah, on the birth of their first child...a son, Henry Owen Tilley, on February 11th.

Anna Rzewnicki, associate director of external relations, has been selected as one of the College of Engineering’s “Pride of the Wolfpack” award winners in February.

CSC Senior Honored at Brotherhood Dinner
Machon B. Gregory, a senior from Greensboro, NC majoring in computer science, was one of six outstanding African-American students recognized at the 21st annual University-Community Brotherhood Dinner held Friday, December 12, at the McKimmon Center. Hosted by Chancellor Marye Anne Fox, the Brotherhood Dinner was established in 1982 to recognize African Americans who have made significant contributions as scholars and humanitarians. Gregory was recognized for his high academic achievements and extensive campus and community service. In addition to being on the Dean’s List every semester he’s been at NC State, Gregory is a volunteer computer science tutor and serves as a peer mentor for the minority student affairs department and the College of Engineering. He is a three-year member of the National Society of Black Engineers. Gregory said he will most likely pursue a Ph.D. in computer science upon graduation from NC State. Five other students representing NC State, St. Augustine’s College and Shaw University were honored during the dinner. This year’s primary honoree was Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole, president of Bennett College in Greensboro and the first African-American woman to serve as president at Spelman College in Atlanta. To read more about this event, the entire press release is available at http://www.ncsu.edu/news/press_releases/03_12/352.htm.

Students Win International Challenge for Eclipse (ICE) Contest
Congratulations to two computer science undergraduates, Martin Davidsson and Ryan Sturmerfrom, who were named student winners of the International Challenge for Eclipse (ICE) contest (http://www.scs.carleton.ca/~deugo/ice/) for the Eclipse plug-in they developed as the semester project in their CSC 326, Software Engineering class. The tool, code named G-Unit, collects easy-to-measure internal metrics to provide an empirical estimate of reliability and to provide feedback to developers on the thoroughness of their testing effort relative to prior successful comparable projects. Martin and Ryan competed with students around the globe, including graduate students. For their tremendous achievement, they both won an IBM Thinkpad and a selection of IBM software. Dr. Laurie Williams was also named the top winner in the teacher category for the ICE competition. Congratulations to Dr. Williams, and these outstanding students.

Inaugural "Leadership in Technology" Course a Success
Based on the input of our Strategic Advisory Board, the department of computer science launched a new course last fall entitled "Leadership in Technology". Developed and facilitated by Ken Tate, the course was designed to expose CSC students to highly successful technology leaders, while introducing them to the essential leadership skills required to be successful in their own careers in technology. Students were also introduced to a proven methodology for effectively managing change, and given writing assignments focused on developing sound business communications skills. And the results were beyond all expectations, as the new course received the highest student evaluations of any course across the entire computer science curriculum! The course, which received a rating of 4.86 (on a 5 point scale) on overall effectiveness, will be delivered again next fall. Thanks to all the executives and business leaders who helped make this new course launch such a success including: Suzanne Gordon, Bill Weiss, Steve Worth, Ken Hibbard, Hayes Davis, Jennifer Shevach, Jo Goodson, John Sutton and Keith Collins.

NCSU Computer Science Colloquia Series
Our readers are invited and encouraged to take advantage of the NCSU Computer Science Colloquia Series, a special forum for visiting researchers from academia and industry as well as for NCSU faculty. The research topics introduced by the speakers span all areas of computer science. We also co-host the talks in the complementary Triangle Computer Science Distinguished Lecturer Series. The seminars are open and free to the public and are always listed on our ePartners event page at http://epartners.ncsu.edu/events.html. However, access to a more thorough list of speakers, topics, and abstracts, as well as PowerPoint and RealVideo archives are located at http://www.csc.ncsu.edu/research/colloquia/index.html. If you would like to be on the distribution list to receive special notices and schedule reminders about this series, please contact Ken Tate at kmtate2@ncsu.edu.

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 April 21st 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 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.

A New Front Door
Thousands of prospective students, alumni, faculty recruits and others visit our campus each year. Starting in 2005, they'll enter it through an impressive new "front door" - the E. Carroll Joyner Visitor Center and Administrative Services Building. Located on Western Boulevard, the 25,000-square-foot facility will feature interactive exhibits and a satellite Admissions Office to introduce visitors to NC State's colleges, campus life and the outstanding career opportunities awaiting our graduates. The center has received generous support, including a $1 million naming gift from alumnus E. Carroll Joyner, a $500,000 pledge from Harris Teeter and the Dixon Foundation, and a $250,000 pledge from Wachovia Foundation. Construction is slated to begin later this year. To see architectural drawings and learn more, go online to www.ncsu.edu/visitorcenter/

George Worsley Announces Retirement
George Worsley, vice chancellor for finance and business at NC State for more than 28 years, will retire on July 31 after 41 total years of service to the university. As the institution's chief financial officer, he oversees a budget of nearly $1 billion - making sure the money is there to support NC State's teaching, research and extension activities. Among his many accomplishments in office, he negotiated the agreement for NC State's role in the development of the RBC Center, home to Wolfpack men's basketball, and he was a key adviser in the 15-year development of Centennial Campus. The NC State Alumni Association recognized Worsley in 2003 with an Honorary Alumnus Award, citing his faithful service to the university. To read more about his distinguished career, go to www.ncsu.edu/news/press_releases/04_02/038.htm.

'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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