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Chatham weighs impact fee change
Operations Research /Education Lab
Tech
hiring falls behind losses
Red Hat on Centennial Campus
Wildlife
lecture, reception slated
Roger Powell, zoology
Red Hat
Now Participant in NCSU’s Center for Embedded Systems Research
Center for Embedded Systems research; Thomas M. Conte, electrical
and computer engineering
NCSU
Milking Booth gives fairgoers rare opportunity
Animal Science Club
Editorial:
Old tree treasure
Lake Raleigh Woods
Collaborative
research will help bring hope to Americans who are losing their sight
to degenerative retinal diseases
Gianluca Lazzi, electrical and computer engineering
Chatham weighs impact fee change
Oct. 19, 2004
News & Observer
By JESSICA ROCHA
© Copyright 2004
PITTSBORO -- For the first time since 1999, Chatham County is going to study whether to raise the educational impact fee paid for new homes to offset the cost of more students enrolling in public schools.
County commissioners decided Monday to create a five-member committee that would look into whether the county could and should create a sliding scale of impact fees based on the location of new residences.
If raised, the fees could help offset the taxpayers' burden of paying for a growing school system, Commissioner Bunkey Morgan said. "I think this gives some reprieve," Morgan said.
Just as impact fees were being discussed at the commissioners meeting, school board members have begun trying to figure out priorities in a bond issue likely to go to voters next year. Chatham County schools need to build three schools in the next five or six years to accommodate population growth occurring mostly in northeastern Chatham and Siler City, according to a study by N.C. State University's Operations Research /Education Lab that was completed in September.
Morgan suggested creating four districts based on elementary schools. Areas where enrollment is rising quickly and which require more construction would pay more, while areas with flat or slower growth would pay less.
So far, the suggested fees would be $4,000 for the northeastern part of the county, where growth is the fastest, followed by $2,000 in the northwestern part. In the southeast and southwest, where schools are not overcrowded, the impact fee would be reduced to $1,000. Impact fees can be used only for construction or other capital costs, not for hiring teachers or other operating costs.
Currently, new residences basically incur a fee of $1,500 per home or mobile home.
Even since its inception in 1999, the $1,500 fee has not been high enough to pay completely for school growth. A study in 1996 stated that the county could charge as much as $3,500, but commissioners decided to charge less, saying they didn't want to price out lower-income homeowners, county officials said.
"It's not too logical that someone with a mobile home would pay the same thing as someone with an $800,000 house," commissioners Chairman Tommy Emerson said.
The committee would include five people: one county commissioner, one school board member, a senior staff member from both the county and the school district, and one at-large member appointed by the committee.
Oct. 19, 2004
News & Observer
By KARIN RIVES
© Copyright 2004
Finding a technology job in the Triangle has gotten easier.
True or false?
The answer depends on your skills and even where you're looking.
Several prominent employers are rolling out the welcome mat again, suggesting a definite improvement in the market.
* Wednesday, Sony-Ericsson will hold a job fair at Research Triangle Park to find 50 people who can help the Swedish-Japanese company develop new cell phones.
* Cree, the Durham-based semiconductor company, has hired more than 65 people since June. Cree also said in August it will add 300 workers over the next five years.
* Cisco Systems has 42 openings listed for its campus at RTP, 20 of which posted just since Oct. 1. Cisco, a telecommunications equipment maker based in San Jose, Calif., said it will add 1,000 jobs this year, mostly in the United States.
* Red Hat, the Linux computer operating systems distributor, announced it will hire at least 200 more workers this year, half at its headquarters on N.C. State's Centennial Campus and the rest at an office in Massachusetts.
But all isn't rosy in the technology world.
Nortel Networks is making plans to shed 350 Triangle jobs over the next year amid increasing competition.
In August, the last month for which local statistics exist, the six-county Triangle region shed 200 computer and electronics manufacturing jobs and 300 computer systems design jobs, according to the N.C. Employment Security Commission. Those two industries are the largest in the region's technology sector, employing a total of 32,100 people.
Nationally, announced job cuts in the technology sector soared 60 percent in the third quarter, according to a report released Monday by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the Chicago outplacement firm. Computer companies accounted for 30,624 of the 54,701 jobs slated to be cut.
"Technology companies have virtually no pricing power," John Challenger, the firm's chief executive officer, said in a statement. "Even as demand increases, most manufacturers and service providers are getting less money for each unit sold. They are forced to cut costs to maintain healthy profit margins."
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also offered sobering news in the nation's latest employment report. In September, 12,000 information technology jobs were lost, the agency said, including 9,000 in the telecommunications industry.
It's a mixed picture out there, with some geographic regions and some pieces of a huge industry looking better than other, said John Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia Securities in Charlotte.
He puts more stock in the job fairs and company hiring announcements than he does in government surveys that always lag a month or two behind. Companies that recruit now feel optimistic enough about the future to bring people in early next year -- an indication that the Triangle's technology market is on a rebound, Silvia said.
Sid Mitchener at Robert Half Technology in Raleigh saw a healthy increase in orders for information technology workers through the first half of the year, but he said demand flattened in the middle of the summer. He attributes the slowdown in contract hiring to rising oil prices, concerns surrounding the presidential election, and continued overseas outsourcing.
Still, he's optimistic things will pick back up toward the end of the year when hiring managers know what their 2005 budgets look like.
"I hear a lot of IT decision makers say that even though the job forecast has not improved yet, there are positive feelings that it will," Mitchener said.
James Todd has also managed to keep his spirits high. He was among 150 employees who lost their jobs at MCI's network operations center in Cary in early June, and didn't think he'd still be unemployed in October.
Todd knew his job was on the chopping block and transferred with his family from Colorado Springs, Colo., to Holly Springs a year ago, thinking he would have an easier time landing another software development job in the Triangle.
"I'm encouraged, because there are three or four [job leads] a week that fit my specific skill set," he said. "The hard part is when you find something and respond, and your resume seems to fall into a black hole."
Wildlife lecture, reception slated
Oct. 19, 2004
Durham Herald-Sun
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
The science faculty at Durham Technical Community College will present a lecture, "Why Would a Bear Live There?" at 3 p.m. Wednesday in Room 261 of the Collins Building.
Roger Powell, zoology professor at N.C. State University, will talk about why wild animals live where they do and how dwindling natural resources affect the animals. Powell's primary field research has been on black bears, and has been used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service and state wildlife agencies.
An informal reception with light refreshments will be held prior to the talk.
Durham Technical Community College is located at 1636 Lawson St., off the Briggs Avenue exit from the Durham Freeway. For more information, call 686-3311.
Red Hat Now Participant in NCSU’s Center for Embedded Systems Research
Oct. 19, 2004
LocalTechWire
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
RALEIGH – Red Hat is the newest technology firm to become a member of the Center for Embedded Systems research at North Carolina State University.
The headquarters for the Linux software developer and service provider is located at NCSU’s Centennial Campus.
The CESR, which was established in September of 2003, is involved in research and design for embedded computer systems. Other corporate participants include Ericsson, Renesas and Qualcomm.
“Red Hat is a logical partner for the center,” said Thomas M. Conte, professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of the CESR, in a statement. “The goal of the center is to reach out to increase relationships with industry leaders to enhance the teaching and research that we conduct. This partnership will provide opportunities for our students and faculty to interact with an industry leader.”
Conte said working with Red Hat is important since Linux is becoming parts of more embedded systems.
“We are researching design,” he explained, “and you can’t do cutting-edge design research on embedded systems without partnering with industry.”
As part of the agreement, William Cohen, a systems researcher with Red Hat, will devote time each week at the center conducting research and working with students and faculty.
NCSU Milking Booth gives fairgoers rare opportunity
Oct. 19, 2004
News 14 Carolina
By Stacy Neumann
© Copyright 2004
The North Carolina State Fair brings thrilling rides and crispy food to mind. But those aren't the only things generating excitement.
Reporter Stacy Neumann was at the fair on Saturday and, in this video, shows that getting in on some old fashioned fun can mean a long line.
All proceeds from the milking booth benefited N.C. State's Animal Science Club.
Visit the News 14 Web site to see video.
Oct. 19, 2004
News & Observer
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
No one is firing up the bulldozers yet, but it is not too early for N.C. State University to act to protect an educational and ecological resource many people don't even know exists.
Lake Raleigh Woods is tucked on the south shore of Lake Raleigh on NCSU's Centennial Campus. The small 70-acre forest contains some of the city's oldest and largest trees. The university's scientists know what a valuable teaching tool they have in the forest.
The challenge facing NCSU is to find a way to protect this asset even as it proceeds with developing the rest of Centennial Campus. The master plan calls for the wooded area to be used for residential housing, much like the condominiums that already stand across the lake.
The forest's value to a university that specializes in life sciences, including forestry, is obvious. It offers a convenient outdoor classroom with what may very well be rare, old-growth trees. It could become a living laboratory for ecological research. At the very least it could offer a respite from the unrelenting development that is spreading through the Centennial Campus. The woods would not have to be turned into an easy-access urban park to be valuable to educators, students, recreational hikers, youth groups or neighbors simply looking for a place to spend a tranquil afternoon.
KU School of Education dean resigns
Oct. 18, 2004
Lawrence Journal World, KS; Kansas City Star; Kansas City infoZine, MO
By Terry Rombeck
© Copyright 2004
The Kansas University School of Education is looking for a new dean.
Angela Lumpkin, who has led the school since August 2001, announced Monday
she would resign effective Sunday.
A KU news release cited "personal reasons" for the resignation. Lumpkin, who plans to remain on the KU faculty, did not return phone calls seeking comment.
David Shulenburger, provost and executive vice chancellor, declined to say whether Lumpkin was asked to resign.
"It is unusual timing," Shulenburger said of the resignation. "I can't comment beyond what the press release said, that it was personal reasons."
Shulenburger said he expected to name an interim dean by the end of the week. He said he also would decide soon whether that interim dean would serve until the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year or for an additional year.
Lumpkin, who will be paid $132,900 this year, came to KU from the State University of West Georgia, where she was a faculty member and previously served as dean. She also taught at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina.
Her time at KU has been somewhat tumultuous. Within a year of her arrival, chairs of all four School of Education departments announced they would resign, though none said publicly that Lumpkin was the reason for the resignations.
More recently, she was under fire for announcing this spring that the school would cut its physical education program. Slightly more than a week later, Lumpkin allowed students to enter the program, but recommended to administrators that the program be cut. That review process is continuing in university governance.
Shulenburger said Lumpkin's accomplishments as dean included raising $1 million for the school's first endowed professorships.
In the news release announcing her resignation, Lumpkin cited increasing tuition as "a huge move forward for us."
"We had great support from our students for the new tuition structure and we're already seeing the results," she said. "We've awarded new merit scholarships and need-based grants and we've increased stipends for those who supervise our students in the public schools. We've also been able to improve services to students -- everything from extended hours in computer labs to funds for students presenting research papers at professional conferences."
The School of Education enrolls more than 600 undergraduate students and 1,300 graduate students.
The school's special-education department was ranked first in the nation among public universities in the 2005 edition of U.S. News and World Report's edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools." The doctoral programs ranked 25th in the nation.
Susan Twombly, a professor of teaching and leadership and Faculty Senate representative for the school, said she thought Lumpkin's emphasis on research -- and not just on teacher preparation -- had caused conflicts with some faculty members.
"She really had a good vision for the school," Twombly said. "It was a vision of promoting research. Bringing about change is hard. It's unfortunate."
Collaborative research will help bring hope to Americans who are losing their sight to degenerative retinal diseases
Oct. 18, 2004
News-Medical in Medical Research News
By staff report
© Copyright 2004
A collaborative research and development agreement signed between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Second Sight LLC will help bring hope to hundreds of thousands of Americans who are losing their sight to degenerative retinal diseases.
DOE's Argonne National Laboratory, in collaboration with four other national laboratories and two universities, is joining with Second Sight to develop an artificial retina that may restore sight to people who have been blinded by these hereditary diseases.
The new agreement was signed by Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham, Robert Greenberg of Second Sight, and the principal investigators on the research project from the research institutions involved. The signing ceremony took place at Chicago's Navy Pier. Secretary Abraham is the keynote speaker for the R&D 100 Awards ceremony to be held at Navy Pier this evening.
The research is led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and includes in addition to Argonne Sandia, Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos national laboratories, the Doheny Eye Institute at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
“Harnessing the intellectual power of five national laboratories and two other institutions presents a promising way to solve huge problems such as the need for a retinal implant for degenerative eye diseases. However, it brings with it an additional degree of complexity and a need for close communication between key researchers,” says Stephen Ban, director of Argonne's Office of Technology Transfer. “So far we have been very successful in the collaboration needed.”
The research team is developing an artificial retina that would effectively replace the destroyed rods and cones in the eye as the light receptor and optical signal converter. A tiny camera and radio-frequency transmitter on the patient's glasses capture images and transmit the information to the microchip. The image is then transmitted as electrical pulses to the retina via an array of implanted electrodes. From there, the information is processed and passed along to the brain. To date, six volunteers have received implants of a micro-electronic device that rests on the surface of the retina to p erform the function of normal photoreceptive cells.
“The Department of Energy has led the way to many scientific breakthroughs, especially when several scientific disciplines combined to make a whole greater than the sum of the parts,” Secretary Abraham said. “This project is one such example where biology, physics, and engineering have joined forces to deliver a capability that will enable blind people to see. This agreement between the DOE laboratories and the private sector will facilitate transfer of many aspects of DOE technology to a clinical device that has the potential of restoring sight to millions of blind individuals.”
“The artificial retina is very appealing to scientists because it contributes to improving the way of life for people,” said materials scientist Orlando Auciello, Argonne's principal investigator. “Having the ability to see is something too many people take for granted.”
Argonne's role in the project plays a critical part in the success of the electrode implants. Auciello and his colleague John A. Carlisle created a novel application for the patented ultrananocrystalline diamond technology developed at Argonne for the packaging of implantable electronics and as electrode material. The scientific and technological bases of ultrananocrystalline diamond films were developed by a large group of researchers in the Surface Science group in Argonne's Materials Science Division.
According to Auciello, ultrananocrystalline diamond is a material with a unique combination of properties such as the highest hardness of any diamond film demonstrated today, an extremely low friction coefficient and surface adhesion, very high electron emission, chemical inertness, extremely high conductivity when doped with nitrogen, biocompatibility, and surface functionalization. All these properties are the result of the unique microstructure of ultrananocrystalline diamond, characterized by grains that are two to five nanometers in size (a nanometer is about 10,000 times narrower than a human hair).
Artificial retina research began with Mark Humayun, then at Johns Hopkins University. Later, he teamed with Eli Greenbaum at Oak Ridge National Laboratory when he began working at the Intraocular Retinal Prosthesis Group at Doheny Retina Institute at the University of Southern California. After approaching a number of national laboratories and universities, it was arranged that each institute would work on a different aspect of the artificial retina project.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory manages the project and testing the various technologies developed at each institute. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is studying the use of electrode arrays coated in rubber. Los Alamos National Laboratory is developing optical measuring techniques for neural activity. Sandia National Laboratories is developing electrodes made of silicon, using a microfabrication technique which makes small parts of metal, plastic or ceramics, to produce microelectromechanical systems such as tiny actuators and sensors. The University of Southern California implants the electrodes and tests their effectiveness. North Carolina State University in Raleigh is leading the development of the in situ medical electronics.
The Energy Department's Office of Science plans to fund the artificial retina project at $20 million over the next three years. The department funds the project as part of its medical applications technology program. DOE and its predecessor agencies have been in the forefront of imaging sciences including clinical imaging in nuclear medicine and imaging atoms at synchrotron light sources. The National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation are also supporting the project.
Liberal Bias Against Campus Conservatives Confronted: Freedom and the American Campus
Oct. 18, 2004
Michnews.com, MI; Torontofreepress.com, Canada
By John T. Plecnik
© Copyright 2004
The John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy hosted its annual policy conference at North Carolina State University last Saturday on October 16, 2004. The topic: “Freedom and the American Campus.” All-star panels articulated the reality of liberal bias on college campuses, and debated possible solutions. Notables included David Horowitz of FrontPageMag.com, former U.S. House Historian Dr. Christina Jeffrey, and David French of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE).
During the conference, it was reported that a memo was circulating among the faculty and administration of N.C. State warning against the nefarious nature of Horowitz and the Pope Center. Consequently, no one could be found to debate Horowitz on his nationally acclaimed Academic Bill of Rights. The former leftist became famous by arguing against ‘reparations’ for slavery. More recently, Horowitz has attracted national attention from his work with state Sen. John Andrews (R-C.O.) in persuading the University of Colorado system to adopt the Academic Bill of Rights. Ever controversial, Horowitz referred to Professor Noam Chomsky of MIT as “the academic Michael Moore,” and called the American Association of University Professors, “a Stalinist organization.” He advocated breaking the Left’s “monopoly control” over academia by forcing them to accept his anti-discrimination policies and suing violators. Horowitz jokingly added that we ought to “include Christian white males in the Endangered Species Act.”
Like Horowitz, Dr. Christina Jeffrey argued that the “stewardship and oversight of the state legislature is not inconsistent with academic freedom.” She also gave a ‘shout out’ to her friend in the crowd, Rachel Lea Hunter, Republican candidate for North Carolina Supreme Court. An experienced appellate attorney, Hunter has promised to defend any college student in North Carolina who is discriminated against for airing their political views on campus. Another famous Republican woman, state Sen. Fern Shubert (R-N.C.), was also in attendance. Earlier in the year, Shubert lost a six-way gubernatorial primary for the Republican nomination.
David French moderated a panel discussion between Carol Sobel, a First Amendment attorney, and Dr. Norman Hurley of the University of North Carolina. Sobel retold the story of how she came to represent Steve Hinkle, a young Cal Poly student that was disciplined for posting a flyer on campus that advertised a conservative speaker. According to Sobel, “Steve went through a kangaroo court” at the university level. Ironically, Sobel has handled high level cases for both the ACLU and FIRE, representing everyone from Jesse Jackson to Sean Hannity. Calling herself “a member of the hard Left,” Sobel explained how a devout belief in the freedom of speech can override partisan leanings.
Hurley referred to academia’s chronic liberal bias as the “politics of scholarship.” He explained how professors are evaluated based on publication rates, and how most prestigious journals will only accept Left-leaning articles. Thus, conservative professors, effectively edited out of the top journals, appear less qualified than their liberal counterparts. Furthermore, graduate students are educated from the same liberal journals. According to Hurley, this also serves to bias the future of his profession. The UNC professor tried to emphasize the heated conflict between the liberal establishment and conservative scholars. “This is a war,” exclaimed Hurley. “[Liberals] see it as a war.” To further dramatize his point, Hurley continued, “I was actually physically assaulted at a cocktail party for my political views.”
Dr. Michael Gillespie of Duke University joined Dr. James Miller of Smith College for a discussion on liberal bias. Gillespie provided a more moderate perspective, arguing that liberal bias on campus is less dangerous than what he perceives as a “creeping paternalism.” He posited that most university restrictions on debate and free speech are imposed by our own misguided desire to “spare our children the pains of growing up.” Asserting that responsibility must be learned, not legislated, the Duke professor cautioned against the creation of a “soft America.”
Miller told the story of how Smith College denied him tenure for his conservative views. Despite publishing 6 scholarly articles and a book, the young professor also contributed to National Review Online and the Weekly Standard…mortal sins in academia. The discrimination was so blatant, however, that Smith little choice but to reverse its decision and grant tenure. One liberal colleague actually wrote a letter explaining how she voted against Miller’s tenure because she was disturbed by his views.
I asked Miller and Gillespie how society could encourage more conservatives to pursue doctorates and become professors, and what they might say to young conservatives who were considering a career in academia. Both replied that they could not recommend such a decision. Miller said wannabe conservative professors need a backup career plan. Gillespie argued that even though the odds of good employment are against you, six or so years of doctoral study are a wonderful experience anyway. By my estimation, their responses were discouraging, yet accurate.
Campus conservatives clearly have much to overcome, but in the words of yet another speaker, Dr. Jerry L. Martin, Chairman of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, “Don’t ever think we can’t win!”
John T. Plecnik is a twenty-year-old law student at Duke University and Executive Editor of The Devil’s Advocate. As Policy Advisor for the Duke Chapter, John authored the first-ever statewide platform for the North Carolina Federation of College Republicans.
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John T. Plecnik is a twenty-year-old law student at Duke University and Executive Editor of The Devil’s Advocate. As Policy Advisor for the Duke chapter, John authored the first-ever statewide platform for the North Carolina Federation of College Republicans. Nationally recognized, his work has appeared on NewsMax.com, Townhall.com, JD2B.com, SueMyrick.com, Washington Dispatch, Carolina Journal, NCRumors.com, NCGOP Newsletter, PachyDurham, Gaston Gazette, Raging Lady, ChronWatch, TheRant.us, New Sense, Abbey Crusader, IntellectualConservative.com, Young Conservatives, LibFibs, VoteRepublican.net, American Daily, Canada Free Press, Out2.com, Men’s News Daily, Opinion Editorials, Students for Academic Freedom, American Conservative Union, and countless other publications. Visit JohnPlecnik.com, home of ‘The Duke Law Conservative.’