Faculty and Staff Notes

Two Students Diagnosed with H1N1 Influenza

Two NC State students diagnosed with the novel H1N1 influenza virus last week are recuperating at home off campus. The cases appear to be unrelated, Health Services officials said.

The university notified those enrolled in classes with the students to monitor themselves for flu symptoms, which may include fever over 100 degrees, respiratory symptoms, such as cough and sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, and diarrhea or vomiting. An e-mail alert was also sent late Friday to the campus community, including employees of the university.

Influenza is spread person to person (when an infected person coughs or sneezes sending contaminated droplets through the air that can be deposited in the mouth or nose of people as far as 6 feet away) or from contaminated objects to a person (when something is touched that has been contaminated with the virus, and then hands are brought to the mouth, nose, or eyes). The virus can survive for minutes to hours on surfaces. Incubation period from contact with the virus to symptoms is usually within 7 days.

Visit the NC State home page (http://www.ncsu.edu) for information and updates about influenza activity.

Dr. Len Stefanski is co-author of two textbooks on measurement error.

Stefanski Named Drexel Professor

Dr. Leonard (Len) Stefanski has been named Drexel Professor of Statistics at NC State.

Stefanski is known internationally for his work in measurement error models. His method of simulation extrapolation (SIMEX) is widely used, and he is one of the authors of Measurement Error in Nonlinear Models, published in 1995. A second edition, titled Measurement Error in Nonlinear Models: A Modern Perspective, was released in 2005. He is a fellow of the American Statistical Association and editor of the Journal of the American Statistical Association, Theory and Methods Section.

Stefanski, who joined NC State 1986, is associate department head. He served as co-director of the graduate program and is a key member of the department’s National Science Foundation Vertical Integration of Research and Education (VIGRE) program, a national model for educating statisticians and future problem solvers.

The Drexel Professorship was created in 1968 by a corporate gift from Drexel Enterprises. The company is now part of Drexel Heritage Furniture, headquartered in Thomasville.

Musicologist Shares Sounds of Suriname

Musicologist Jonathan Kramer has traveled the world in search of endangered poems, songs, music, and languages.

He recently joined Frank Stasio on WUNC's “The State of Things" to share what he found in Suriname, the tiny South American country filled with such unique musical traditions as plantation slave spirituals and songbird smuggling. He also addresses the country's endangered traditions and how its government plans to use music to develop cultural tourism.

Radio Interview:
http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/Sot052609b.mp3/view?searchterm=Jonathan%20Kramer

Lamm Joins Confucius Institute Council

Anna Lamm, coordinator in the Office of International Affairs, and Xiaoying Wang, professor from Nanjing Normal University (NNU) in China, will serve on the Confucius Institute council. Their appointments were announced during a council meeting at NNU in May. Leaders developed a work plan for the year and discussed ways of expanding collaboration and exchange between the two universities.

The Confucius Institute sponsors programs in Chinese language and culture in a  partnership between NC State, NNU and the Office of Chinese Language Council International under the Chinese Ministry of Education.

Dr. Steve Amendum's reading research was recognized.

Amendum Wins Research Award

Dr. Steve Amendum, assistant professor of literacy education at NC State, won the 2009 Promising Researcher Award from the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Standing Committee on Research. Amendum analyzed three types of Reading Excellence Act (REA) initiatives for his article titled “Federally Funded Reading Intervention and Reading Growth: Which Features Matter in High Poverty Schools?”

His work examines relationships between REA initiative practices, school effectiveness, and two-year growth in reading performance by kindergarten through second-grade students. The study identified specific features of school effectiveness (degree of structure and degree of support) related to students’ growth as readers.

Amendum, who teaches courses on literacy research and methods in the elementary education undergraduate and master’s programs, was invited to present his research at the 2009 NCTE Annual Convention in Philadelphia.

NC State Women in Engineering Honored

NC State’s Women in Engineering Program won a 2009 award from the Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN).

WEPAN honors individuals, programs and corporations for extraordinary service, significant achievement, model programs and contributions that support the success of girls and women in engineering. NC State’s Women in Engineering Program provides opportunities for women engineers that include peer mentoring, e-mail mentoring, K-12 outreach teams, tutoring programs, seminars and workshops, and a unique living and learning community for women scientists and engineers.

Dr. Laura Bottomley, program director, will accept the award at WEPAN’s annual conference this month.

Dr. H. Christopher Frey, left, will serve on the National Academy of Sciences Board of Environmental Studies and Toxicology.

Frey Named to National Environmental Board

Dr. H. Christopher Frey, professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering, has been selected by the National Academy of Sciences to serve a three-year term on the Board of Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST).

BEST focuses on environmental pollution problems affecting human health, human impacts on the environment, and assessment and management of related risks to human health and the environment.

The board provides independent expert assistance to problems involving air and water pollution, solid and hazardous waste, toxicology, epidemiology, risk assessment, applied ecology, natural resources and environmental engineering, economics, law and policy.

Frey is a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee and also serves on a National Research Council committee that will help establish a precedent for regulation of the use of tetrachloroethylene, a potentially harmful chemical used in dry cleaning and industrial processes.

Brenda Bryan Sutton, aka the "Produce Lady," has advice on getting the most from your farmers market picks.

Produce Lady Serves Up Advice

Don’t let that succulent produce from the farmers market turn to mush in your refrigerator. For ideas on preparing and preserving fresh fruits and vegetables, consult the “Produce Lady,” also known as Brenda Bryan Sutton, the new Cooperative Extension director in Rockingham County.

Sutton’s online videos as the Produce Lady are a resource from the program for value-added and alternative agriculture at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis.

Produce Lady Recipes and Videos:

• http://www.youtube.com/user/TheProduceLady

Attend Retirement Event for Barbara Rowe

Mark your calendars and attend an event honoring Barbara Rowe, a staff member in the business office in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, on the occasion of her retirement. The event will be held from 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 24, in the lobby of Mann Hall.