Faculty and Staff Notes

Lavelle Named Associate Dean

Dr. Jerome Lavelle has been appointed associate dean for undergraduate academic affairs in the College of Engineering. He had been serving in the position on an interim basis since 2008. In addition to leading the college’s Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, Lavelle will be responsible for proposals and strategic work to improve pathways to engineering for students across the University of North Carolina system and the state community college system.

Lavelle joined the college nine years ago as assistant dean of academic affairs. He has played a significant role in developing programs such as the First-Year Engineering Program, the Engineering Transition Program, the Ben Franklin Scholars Program and the college’s ABET accreditation process. He received the 2007-08, American Council on Education Fellowship Award that provided him the opportunity to intern in an educational leadership role with the UNC General Administration.

His prior experience includes seven years on the faculty of the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering at Kansas State University. He is a past member of the technical staff of AT&T Bell Laboratories and former intern at the NASA Kennedy Space Center. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in industrial and systems engineering from Ohio University and a doctorate in industrial and systems engineering from NC State.

Computer Scientist Voted IEEE Fellow

Dr. Harry Perros, professor in the Department of Computer Science, has been elected as a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics (IEEE) for his contributions to performance evaluation modeling of computer networks.

Perros serves as  an Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor and program coordinator of the Master of Science degree in computer networks. He has done groundbreaking work in Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and optical networks. A member of the department since 1982, he becomes the fifth faculty member honored as a fellow. Drs. Donald Bitzer, Wushow “Bill” Show, Mladen Vouk and Munindar Singh were selected in 1982, 1987, 2001 and 2008, respectively.

Perros has authored three textbooks, along with the 2002 e-book Computer Simulation Techniques – The Definitive Introduction, available for free downloading. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Athens University in Greece, a master’s in operational research with computing from Leeds University in England and a doctorate in operations research from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

Meet Chancellor-elect Randy Woodson and his wife, Susan, on Wednesday, Feb. 17.

Chancellor Celebration

Join the celebration as NC State welcomes Chancellor-elect W. Randolph "Randy" Woodson and his wife, Susan, to the NC State family during an event at Reynolds Coliseum on Wednesday, Feb. 17, at 4:30 p.m.

Refreshments and an opportunity to meet the new chancellor will follow the event's program.

Clark to Chair Retirement Commission

Dr. Robert Clark, an economics professor in the College of Management, will chair the a 13-member Future of Retirement Study Commission appointed by State Treasurer Janet Cowell.

The 13-member commission will evaluate retirement benefits and make recommendations for state and local government employees hired in the future. Members are government employees and retirees, human resource experts and private sector leaders.

Clark, an expert on retirement and pension issues, specializes in aging and labor economics and pension and retirement policies. A former research director of the TIAA-CREF Institute, he serves as a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development and member of the Pension Research Council.

Memorial Service for Professor Mark Sosower

The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures will hold a memorial service for Professor Mark Sosower at 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 12, in the Caldwell Hall lounge. Donations to a memorial fund may be made through the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Development Office, Campus Box 7011. Checks may be made payable to the NC State Foundation (list "Sosower Memorial" on the check memo line), or credit card donations may be made to Kathy Whaley, associate director of Advancement Services, 513-1478.

In Memoriam: Eduardo Catalano

Eduardo Catalano, one of the giants of modern architecture, died last week at his home in Massachusetts. He was 92.

Eduardo Catalano at the College of Design in the mid-1950s. Photo courtesy of "School Design: The Kamphoefner Years" by Roger H. Clark, FAIA.

Catalano was recruited to head the architecture department in the College of Design following the death of acting department head Matthew Nowicki in 1951. Catalano served on the faculty for five years and helped place the small college at the forefront of modern design, working alongside such renowned modernists as George Matsumoto, James Fitzgibbon and Milton Small.

In reflecting about his first days on campus for a college retrospective, Catalano wrote, "The class needed a shock and the creation of a standard from the start. There was the need to set a new mood from the first day."

By the time he left, to join the faculty at MIT in 1956, Catalano had come to appreciate NC State for its "atmosphere of excellence."

"No one had the intellectual pretense of people from large cities, only ears to listen and willing hearts and hands to do hard work," he said.

Catalano is best known for his "Raleigh House," a hyperbolic paraboloid structure that was named the house of the decade by House and Home magazine in 1956. It was razed in 2001. He also designed the U.S. embassies in Buenos Aires and Pretoria, South Africa, the Guilford County Courthouse in Greensboro and the Juilliard School of Music at Lincoln Center in New York. His steel sculpture, Floralis Generica, was installed at United Nations Square in Buenos Aires in 2002.

In 2004, Catalano gave a donation to NC State to underwrite the construction of an outdoor pavilion on the Court of North Carolina in the style of his Raleigh House, but the project was never implemented.

He received an honorary doctorate from NC State in 2007. Read more on the College of Design site.

Rizkalla Honored for Research

Dr. Sami Rizkalla, distinguished professor of civil engineering and construction, will receive the Concrete Research Council Arthur J. Boase Award on March 21 in Chicago.

The American Concrete Institution (ACI) Foundation selected Rizkalla for “significant research contributions and international leadership in advancing the knowledge and application of fiber reinforced polymer reinforcements for concrete structures.”

Rizkalla, director of the Constructed Facilities Laboratory, has focused on innovative use of FRP materials for rehabilitation, strengthening and repair of bridges and structures, as well as new construction. His current research includes the use of optic fiber sensor techniques for structural health monitoring. A faculty member since 2000, Rizkalla received his master's and doctoral degrees from NC State. He has been an ACI member since 1972 and ACI fellow since 1993.

Master of Global Innovation Program Recognized

NC State’s Master of Global Innovation Management program received an honorable mention in the Institute of International Education’s Andrew Heiskell Awards. The program was recognized in the International Exchange Partnerships category.

Building on successful student and faculty exchange programs, NC State’s Jenkins Graduate School of Management and Université Paul Cézanne’s IAE Graduate School of Management  launched the master’s program in fall 2008. Students earn a degree from each school and take part in an internship in the United States, Europe, China or other approved settings.

Supply Chain Program Nationally Ranked

NC State’s supply chain management curriculum was ranked in the top 20 nationally.

The ranking, part of the study, “An Update on the State of Supply Chain Education,” was led by Stanley E. Fawcett, the Donald L. Staheli Professor of Business Management at Brigham Young University and published in the September 2009 edition of Supply Chain Management Review.

NC State’s program in the College of Management was ranked 14th by academics, 20th by practitioners and 18th overall.

New C-Store on North Campus

University Dining recently opened a new C-Store in Kamphoefner Hall. It offers fresh grab-and-go and heat-and-eat items as well as an array of beverages and snacks. Students, faculty and staff can take advantage of cafe seating inside, but manager Denise Fields expects to add outdoor seating in the adjacent courtyard in the spring.

The hours are 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; closed weekends. This is the eighth C-Store on campus and the second food-service operation to be added to North Campus this academic year.

Engineering Faculty Members Honored

Ten engineering faculty members were recognized during the 2009 Innovation Showcase and Awards Ceremony hosted by the NC State Office of Technology Transfer and the Council for Entrepreneurial Development.

Researchers recognized for patents issued during 2009 were Dr. Orlin Velev, Dr. Ruben Carbonell and Dr. George Roberts of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Dr. Melur Ramasubramanian of the Department of Mechanicaland Aerospace Engineering.

Faculty were honored for their roles with four start-up companies:

• Dr. Doug Barlage of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Dr. Mark Johnson of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, GaNDevices;
• Dr. Alex Huang of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Genesis Semiconductor Inc.;
• Carbonell and Dr. Patrick Gurgel of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Ligamar;
• Dr. Peter Fedkiw and Dr. Saad Khan of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Dr. Xiangwu Zhang of the Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science, Tec-Cel Inc.