NC State Feature Stories

Recent Faculty and Staff Stories — Page 12

On the Record

This is the first in an occasional series of conversations with Dr. Randy Woodson, who was named NC State chancellor on Friday, Jan. 8. Woodson comes to NC State from Purdue University, where he served as executive vice president for academic affairs and provost.

A Day to Remember

Friday, Jan. 8, was a whirlwind of a day for NC State chancellor-elect Randy Woodson,  one that began with his nomination and acceptance as the 14th chancellor in university history, setting off a sequence of meetings, introductions and celebrations both on and off campus.

Inspired to Give Back

Despite having toiled through a year filled with economic turmoil and uncertainty, NC State employees enter 2010 having pledged more than half a million dollars to the State Employees Combined Campaign, which supports charities and non-profit organizations across North Carolina. NC State led the state's large universities in employee participation and saw an increase of more than 100 faculty and staff members contributing to this year's campaign.

The Science of Santa

Santa skeptics have long considered St. Nick’s ability to deliver toys to the world’s good girls and boys in the course of one night a scientific impossibility. But new research shows that Santa is able to make his appointed rounds through the pioneering use of cutting-edge science and technology, explains NC State professor Dr. Larry Silverberg.

A Year of Big Ideas

In 2009, our faculty and staff strove to advance research, education and service in a time of limited resources. But despite the challenges, it was most certainly a productive year on campus, where our community of more than 31,000 students and nearly 8,000 faculty and staff continued to fulfill the promise of this institution through groundbreaking discoveries, lifesaving research and pioneering innovations. As we move forward to 2010, join us in reliving some of NC State’s best ideas and advances from 2009.

Research on the Half Shell

NC State researchers and partners will lend a hand with a project to revitalize oyster beds along the Pamlico Sound and create jobs in an industry that has suffered during the recent economic downturn.

A Library In Your Pocket

When it comes to information about NCSU Libraries, yeah, we’ve got an app for that. The NCSU Libraries Mobile Web site provides students and faculty with the most complete of library services currently available for mobile devices. Using any mobile device with Web access, NC State students and faculty can access a range of library information – from book and article searches, computer availability to the length of the line at the café and Webcam views of construction at the new Hunt Library on Centennial Campus.

N.C.’s Top Professor

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].

Nothing But Net

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.

Voice of the Pack

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.

About NC State Feature Stories

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