NC State physics professor Robert Beichner has long been regarded as an expert not only in his field, but also as a teacher and a mentor with an uncanny ability to influence the lives and careers of his students and colleagues alike. His contributions to science education, from co-authoring a top-selling physics textbook to literally changing how our students are educated in the classroom, reach far beyond the boundaries of our own campus. Earlier today, Beichner was recognized for his efforts, and named North Carolina Professor of the Year by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education [CASE].
Pay attention, Shaq: Two NC State engineers have figured out the best way to shoot a free throw - a frequently underappreciated skill that gets more important as the game clock winds down. For the rest of us, it's an opportunity to learn how to leave the bricks on the Brickyard and delve into the physics of a successful free throw.
Ed Funkhouser is regarded by his colleagues as one of the Department of Communication's top faculty members - a veteran educator with decades of experience he shares with his students. But when it's time for Wolfpack football and women's basketball games, Funkhouser moves out of the classroom and behind the microphone to communicate with fans on a whole other level.
Rocket attacks. Kidnapping threats. Suicide bombers. Life was not easy for Dr. John Muth during his recent tour of duty as a U.S. Navy reservist in Iraq. For 12 months, the electrical and computer engineering professor negotiated Iraq’s violence and sticky politics as he led a team of 30 civilians, military personnel and translators providing advice and support to the nation’s Ministry of the Interior. His efforts did not go unnoticed. Earlier this spring, Muth received a Bronze Star for his service, which included performing more than 100 missions in dangerous situations, installing a system of human rights inspections at pretrial detention centers and setting up the ministry’s court system.
Physicist Bob Beichner is no stranger to mixing things up in the lab or in the classroom. His innovative teaching methods have been fine tuned over the past decade into a system called SCALE UP – Student Centered Activities for Large Enrollment Undergraduate Programs – and adopted in one form or another at more than 50 universities across the United States, including Clemson, the University of Alabama and MIT. Beichner’s philosophy is that students learn better through hands-on activities – a philosophy that's been borne out by research and in practice.
Legacy Lunch welcomes new students who are making NC State a family tradition. Attendees enjoy a break on move-in day with a barbecue lunch, music by NC State’s Marching Band, the Power Sound of the South and participate in a special "pinning" ceremony with their relatives.
Over the next several months, constituents from the NC State community will undertake one of the most important jobs in the life of a university – the search for a new chancellor. Earlier this week, we took to the streets to speak with a number of NC State students, faculty, staff and alumni in hopes of finding out which qualifications and characteristics they feel are most important for our future chancellor to possess.
During the record-setting 2007-08 drought in North Carolina, when the governor called water conservation everyone’s patriotic duty, a brown lawn was a badge of honor instead of a neighborhood blight. But even before the drought began, NC State researchers were studying ways to use less water in outdoor irrigation, which could make green yards honorable during future dry spells.
Amid corporate restructuring plans, car czars and a waning economy, the struggling automotive industry is tasked with providing more efficient and economical options for car buyers. While foreign markets have been quick to move into hybrid and electric vehicle space, the United States has been slower to adapt. That's where NC State comes in.
Last fall, as the country skidded into a deep economic recession, Rebecca Swanson read a panicky e-mail from an NC State alumnus. "He was a middle manager and in a heartbeat he had been laid off," Swanson said. "He had no job, no skills that were in demand, and two kids to support. So he turned to his school for help."