PAMS Researchers Are Laying the Foundation for Green Energy 8 Seeking Real Health Answers in a “Virtual Rat” 8 9 Into the Fold for a Clearer Picture of Parkinson’S

Summer 2012 scopea look inside the college of physical and Mathematical Sciences Green Energy Researchers across the college are seeking better ways to use both traditional and renewable resources

In this issue Toward Convergence Science 2 Green Energy 4 Virtual Rat 8 Into the Fold 9 scope

PAMS Foundation PAMS Alumni & Friends Scope is published by the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. Board of Directors Advisory Board The college is made up of inter nationally recognized departments: Officers Officers Cathy Sigal, Chair Benton Satterfield, President Chemistry Leigh Wilkinson, Vice Chair Nancy Ridenhour, Vice President Marine, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Anita Stallings, President Larry James, Secretary Mathematics Michelle Duggins, Secretary Robert Hill, Assistant Secretary Physics Kathy Hart, Treasurer Statistics Charles Leffler, Assistant Treasurer General Members Molecular & Structural Biochemistry Stephen Ashley General Members Damon Butler Dean Susan Atkinson Kim Deaner Daniel Solomon Tom Blinten Todd Fuller John Brocklebank Bob Jackson Managing Editor Charles Case Maggie LaPlante Anita Stallings Sheila Chickene Sherice Nivens Maureen Droessler Glenn Osmond Editor David Duncklee Er Ralston Steve Townsend Jonathan Earnhart Jean Richardson Kathy Harris Pam Pittman Robinson Contributing Writers Lawrence Ives Aimee Tattersall D’Lyn Ford Roger Liddle Joselyn Todd Ernie Hood Rob Lindberg Mike Trexler Bill Krueger Roy Martin Chip Wentz Star-Lena Quintana Ed Mathers Angela Spivey Alan Menius Randy Miller Design David Montgomery Zubigraphics Connie Moreadith Michael Peirson On the cover: Mitch Perry Elon Ison’s work with green catalysts Stephen Smeach is one of several PAMS research Cecil Smith projects that is helping to shape Phil Summa the future of energy production. Michael Thompson Photo by Roger Winstead. Bill Trent Barton White 13,500 copies of this public Ji Zhang document were printed at a cost Miriam Zietlow of $7,200.00 or $.53 per copy.

Emeritus Richard Cook scope in this issue… Summer 2012

dean’s message 2 Toward Convergence Science: The next incarnation of PAMS

4 College news 3 NC State announces creation of the College of Sciences 10 The forecast is bright for Logan Dawson’s future 12 On the road with CMAST 18 Blondin chosen as new head of Physics

Research highlights 4 Back to Basics: PAMS researchers are laying the foundation for green energy 8 Seeking real health answers in a “virtual rat” 8 9 Into the fold for a clearer picture of Parkinson’s

honors 14 Montgomery, Gardner and Butler honored at annual PAMS Awards Dinner 16 Reynolds receives award for excellence in teaching 16 Wang keeps PAMS’ CAREER Award streak going strong 17 Notables

10 alumni and development news 18 How to make a gift 20 Young alumni show their Wolfpack pride in ways big and small

Just for fun 13 PAMS physicists help bring back the Bell Tower’s musical tradition 19 A celebration 125 years in the making

13 Toward Convergence Science: The next incarnation of PAMS “Convergence is a new paradigm that can yield critical advances in a broad array of sectors, from health care to energy, food, climate, and water.”

—The Third Revolution: The Convergence of the Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Engineering

As you may have heard—or may already have gleaned from the headline on the next page—Chancellor Woodson Sciences recently informed the Board of Trustees of his intention to create a College of H all M arc by P hoto Sciences at NC State University effective July 1, 2013. This new college will include the physical and chemical sciences, the mathematical and statistical sciences, the earth-system sciences, and the biological sciences. The quote above from a 2011 white paper out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology gives just one of a myriad of societal and scholarly justifications for making this shift to a more comprehensive and “convergent” College of Sciences. Advances in medicine and biotechnology, as well as in other domains such as energy and environmen- ing discoveries that impact the human tal sustainability (an in-depth discussion condition. of some current PAMS projects in this Even with the long list of reasons area begins on page 4), depend on a why the time is right for us to make this rethinking of our traditional organizational transformational and historic shift in the structures and how we prepare the next structure of our academic sciences, such generation of scientists and engineers. decisions are never easy to make or Just as PAMS was created from execute within an institution of NC State’s the ground up in 1960 to better feed size and scope. I applaud Chancellor the disciplines that drove NC State’s Woodson and Provost Arden for their bold unprecedented growth in the post-World leadership and strong vision. War II era, the College of Sciences I look forward to taking this journey will be an entirely new assemblage of with you in the months and years to expertise from across the university. come. As always, we seek and appreciate This new entity is being designed to your input along the way. build synergies—in research, teaching, mentoring, outreach, administration, infrastructure and more—that will make Sincerely, the university a destination for the best and brightest scientific talent for decades to come and will provide that talent with

an environment to make groundbreak- Daniel L. Solomon, Dean C ommunications of U ni v ersity C ourtesy

2 ■ Summer 2012 | scope While many of the details will be community, Chancellor Woodson said: worked out in the coming months, the “This strategic move brings NC State NC State chancellor has made the primary directives in line with national best practices, align- quite clear. PAMS will be transitioned to a ing related science departments in one broader, more comprehensive College of college and allowing enhanced interdisci- Announces Sciences. This college will include faculty plinary educational opportunities, improved and academic programs in the physical research collaboration and more efficient and chemical sciences, the mathematical support operations. Some of the most cr eation of and statistical sciences, the earth-system pressing scientific issues of today lie at the sciences, and the biological sciences. intersection of the mathematical, compu- the The new College of Sciences will offi- tational, physical and biological sciences. cially debut July 1, 2013. Provost Arden has Bringing these disciplines together under a asked PAMS Dean Dan Solomon to serve single organizational umbrella is a trans College as the new college’s inaugural dean, and formative change that better positions Dean Solomon has accepted. NC State to advance these issues through of multidisciplinary research, teaching and Looking Back: The Academic Science service.” Program Task Force Sciences This decision has its genesis in the Looking Forward: Next Steps Strategic Realignment Plan commissioned While this transition will provide incred- by the chancellor in January 2011. Led ible new opportunities for NC State stu- by Provost Arden and Vice Chancellor for dents and faculty, it is not one that can be In the midst of NC State’s Finance and Business Charles Leffler, the achieved overnight. To make the transition purpose of this initiative was to position a successful one requires careful coordi 125th anniversary celebration, NC State for greater strength, effective- nation of people and resources. Chancellor Randy Woodson ness and efficiency. These moves will be coordinated by a One of the chief recommendations College of Sciences Steering Committee. made a bold decision that will of this plan was to undertake a compre- To be chaired by the provost, co-chaired by hensive assessment of the university’s Senior Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives better prepare the university academic sciences. While this assessment Duane Larick, and comprising the deans to meet the challenges of the was no small feat at a STEM institution of of NC State’s six science and engineering NC State’s size and scope, the Academic colleges, this committee is charged with next 125 years. Upon the Sciences Task Force—made up of faculty determining the most appropriate admin- representing all 10 colleges, the Graduate istrative structure for the new college and recommendation of Provost School and the Division of Undergraduate determining a process for identifying which Warwick Arden, the chan Academic Programs—spent the next 12 faculty and academic programs will move months determining the best ways to en- to the new college. cellor announced to the hance the natural synergies among the sci- One of the earliest actions of the ence programs at NC State and to promote College of Sciences Steering Committee Board of Trustees at their interdisciplinary collaboration and research will be to determine the composition of April meeting that he had while reducing administrative overhead. implementation teams that will focus on After receiving campus-wide input on topics such as academic programs and authorized the creation the task force’s final report, Provost Arden personnel; budget and finance; student recommended to the chancellor the course support services; space, infrastructure and of a comprehensive of action that included the establishment shared resources; and development and College of Sciences. of a strong, comprehensive College of alumni relations. Sciences. While it will be a challenging year of In announcing his acceptance of transition, the future is very bright for STEM this recommendation to the campus disciplines at NC State.

Chancellor Woodson’s announcement of the establishment of the College of Sciences: go.ncsu.edu/cos_announcement

Check back here throughout the year for updates on the transition process: go.ncsu.edu/cos_updates

■ ion For Mor e I n f or mat scope | Summersummer 2012 3 How Green Is My Catalyst? Back to Assistant professor of chemistry Elon Ison and his research group work on making greener catalysts, those spunky compounds that facilitate chemical reactions. Developing greener catalytic basics: reactions can help to conserve precious chemical and natural resources while reducing the generation of waste and PAMS researchers environmentally hazardous byproducts. It all boils down to truly understanding the chemical processes involved. are laying the foundation “What we do is basic, fundamental chemistry,” Ison says. “We ask ourselves how does a catalyst work? The answers for green energy we get will help us rationally design new catalysts.” The need for clean, renewable options continues to grow along The search for these answers has been with the ever-increasing U.S. and global demand for energy. deemed important enough to earn Ison and his team a five-year, $530,000 grant via a While fossil fuels will continue to be a part of the mix for the prestigious National Science Foundation foreseeable future, “green energy,” in its many forms, will be vital Early Career Development Award, more commonly known as a CAREER Award. to maintaining our economies and lifestyles for generations to In the long term, this work could lead come. However, the viability of green energy as a panacea will to the development of chemical methods that reduce the generation of waste and only be as strong as the progress made in the basic science at its environmentally hazardous materials and foundation. Each in his own way, four PAMS researchers are could potentially lead to the more efficient utilization of our chemical and natural making major contributions to the knowledge base necessary to resources—resources such as oil, coal, build the bridge to future energy technologies. natural gas or biomass—as sources of energy.

Elon Ison

4 ■ Summersummer 2012 | scope Walter Weare Winstead Roge r by P hotos

Another project in Ison’s lab barriers explores the idea of converting methane, sunlight into associated with the primary component of abundant natu- those catalysts in order to do large-scale use of solar ral gas, into methanol, which can be used the chemistry.” power or biofuels. With solar-to-fuel, there as a replacement for gasoline. While the Right now, Weare and his group are would be no need for massive batteries to vision may be grand, it is ultimately the trying to find a way to control absorbing store the energy nor would its production quest for knowledge that drives Ison and the light and transferring the energy in consume large amounts of plant feed- his colleagues forward. “We continue to the form of electrons into the catalyst, to stocks, land areas and/or water. learn, because the basis of our chemistry create a liquid fuel—such as methanol— “With this type of technology,” says is fundamental,” he says. “We will always from carbon dioxide. Weare, “the water you need is limited develop new applications, but at the end Progress is encouraging, Weare only to the water necessary to make oxy- of the day, we think we can use the ap- reports. “So far we’ve been able to make gen, and that’s not very much. Potentially proach of asking and answering questions the molecules we’re interested in, and it doesn’t even need to be clean water; it on the molecular level to solve many we are starting to learn how to tune the could just be waste water. You could do catalytic problems.” energy levels of the excited state, or the it on a rooftop, you could potentially do it state after it absorbs the light from the in a road, you could do it in places where sun.” you can’t grow plants.” Fill ‘Er Up with Sunshine The work is still very basic, and the That flexibility opens up some remark- How would our world change if we had molecules being produced are unlikely able possibilities, according to Weare. the ability to convert sunlight into carbon- to actually end up in a device, but under- “If the technology becomes developed neutral liquid fuels ready to put into to- standing the process in a systematic way enough where it’s just a module that you day’s pipelines and gas tanks? The answer will drive the science forward. “Right put on your roof, that’s very attractive will be found in a process called artificial now, people kind of throw stuff together, from the standpoint of solving issues both photosynthesis, and Walter Weare, an as- and if it works, great, if it doesn’t work, in the developed world and the developing sistant professor of chemistry, is working then they don’t necessarily learn a whole world, because then you create the op- on it. lot,” Weare explains. “Hopefully by doing portunity to have individualized power and To make solar-to-fuel a reality, you need these very basic studies, we’ll be able to individualized fuel. Someone in the middle several vital components, Weare says. learn the design rules in order to do this of nowhere who doesn’t have access to “You have to have a catalyst to create more efficiently.” electricity or an electric grid could make the fuel, you have to have something While solar-to-fuel doesn’t yet “exist” their own fuel and very quickly enhance that absorbs the sunlight, and you have in reality, the concept is enthralling. It their quality of life.” to be able to transfer the energy of the theoretically bypasses some of the major

scope | Summer 2012 ■ 5 Beyond Shake-‘n-Bake are working on new-and-improved pro- some processing facilities at NC State, cessing methods for the production of but much of their work takes place at With costs decreasing and efficiencies organic photovoltaics. They also conduct the Advanced Light Source (ALS), a rising, the marketplace viability of solar-to- considerable research on how to optimize synchrotron radiation facility located at the electricity technologies has grown dramati- the composition of the cells themselves Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory cally in recent years. But there is still a and have developed the detection meth- in California and operated by the great deal of room for innovation, and the ods needed to characterize the materials U.S. Department of Energy. There, the development of so-called organic solar and the results of the manufacturing team uses soft X-rays, via a scanning cells is one of the most promising areas. processes. That basic knowledge will transmission microscope designed by These photovoltaic cells are made of be crucial to gain rational control over how Ade, to determine the composition, polymers and other organic materials, as best to mix the layers of organic mater morphology and structure of polymeric opposed to today’s silicon. They can be ials used in the cells to maximize energy and electronic materials at the sub-micron processed very inexpensively, via a simple conversion. scale, thus contributing to understanding roll-to-roll printing process similar to print- “The process of controlling the their performance characteristics. ing a newspaper. materials themselves has still not evolved In organic solar cells, two materials are combined, and the interface of their domains is where the energy conversion takes place—one layer is the donor, the other is the acceptor, and electrons pass from the former to the latter. “People knew we needed two different types of materials, and we knew from measurements that the domain size had to be on the order of 10 nanometers,” Ade explains. “They conjured up an idealized structure of the best device, with a pure donor and a pure acceptor phase. It turns out, though, based on our work, that that picture needs to be revised. It looks as if, rather than having two domains of a certain composition, there may even be three or more domains.” The materials actually mix to a certain degree, and that level of miscibility—or measurement of homogeneity—is one of the most important elements in determining efficiency. “So the picture is much more complicated, and that might explain why it’s so difficult to control,” says Ade. “Once we understand the picture better, we would know better which aspect of the manufacturing we need to control, which would give more consistent results W instead oger and improve device yield.” Harald Ade Ade and his team also work on organic

R by P hotos LEDs, which have begun to appear in many places in the commercial market- The challenge lies in increasing the ef- to the point where we really understand place. He says we’re only at the beginning ficiency with which these cells can convert how to do it,” says Ade, a professor and of these organic electronic devices. “If sunlight to usable electrical power. This is graduate program director in the Depart- you look at your basic microelectronics another burgeoning field of energy-related ment of Physics. “Right now, it is mostly that started in the 1950s, we’ve been research where the basic science— done by Edisonian trial and error: ‘shake working on them for a long time. The understanding and optimizing the process and bake’ and see what you get.” organics are 40 years later, so we’re at the at the molecular level—is where the With the advances being made by very early stages in terms of really under- action is. Ade and his all-star team of collaborators, standing and optimizing and engineering That’s where PAMS physicist Harald that heuristic approach is likely to soon the devices, and I would anticipate many, Ade comes into play. Ade and his team become a thing of the past. The team has many years of continued improvement.”

6 ■ Summer 2012 | scope The Answer, My Friend… As Basu explains, “The U.S. Great have wind direction that is fluctuating Plains have very good wind resources, quite often, the turbines will have a hard Today, wind energy accounts for less mostly caused by one particular atmo- time facing the prevalent wind direction.” than 2 percent of U.S. electricity con- spheric phenomenon called low-level jets. His group is trying to come up with a new sumption, but President Obama has pro- My CAREER Award supports research modeling framework to better character- posed increasing that figure to 20 percent to develop better modeling and better ize this inflow of turbulence that leads to by 2030. To approach that ambitious goal, forecasting of these low-level jets, which sudden loads on the turbines. there will need to be major improvements will allow us to have better accuracy in They are also participating in a large in the technologies used to harness the understanding the wind resource.” That U.S. Department of Energy grant wind’s power to feed energy demand. increased understanding will allow more focused on forecasting wind. His group It should come as no surprise that NC precise placement of wind farms, particu- is collecting considerable wind data at State is at the forefront of basic research larly as available sites become scarcer. heights up to 500 meters using a ground- in this arena as well. Sukanta Basu, an Trained as a civil engineer, Basu is col- based remote sensing instrument called associate professor of marine, earth and laborating on another NSF-funded project SODAR, or Sonic Detection and Ranging. atmospheric sciences, specializes in an with structural engineers at the University Ultimately, improved wind forecasting will

Sukanta Basu

area called boundary layer meteorology, of Texas at Austin. This team is seeking optimize utilization and efficiency of wind which focuses on weather patterns in to improve the design of wind turbines to power resources. the layer of the atmosphere very close to both increase their efficiency and extend “All of these problems we are studying the ground. He spends more than half of their useful life, which is currently about are going to remain very, very relevant his research time on wind energy-related 20 years. for the next 10 years,” Basu says. “The questions, and the answers will go a long For Basu’s contribution, it’s all about problem is that wind energy is very much way toward moving the field forward. the turbulence experienced by the dependent on our understanding of atmo- Like Ison, Basu is also a recent recip turbines. “Turbines are designed for a spheric turbulence, and turbulence is one ient of an NSF CAREER Award, with a certain type of flow conditions, but if you of the most unresolved mysteries in the five-year, $505,000 grant funding research have enhanced turbulence, you will see scientific arena. So I’m not worried that I to enhance modeling of wind resources. sub-optimal production,” he says. “If you won’t have anything to work on!”

scope | Summer 2012 ■ 7 “We want to design a computational Seeking model that can be combined with many Real experimental studies in order to bridge Into the gap between what we predict will happen and what does happen,” she says. Health Answers “One main thing—and the most difficult thing, when it comes to our role—is that it’s easy to generate generic features, the but it’s not so easy to make them patient in a “Virtual Rat” specific.” The VPR project will allow for long- There are a lot of health dangers in hail from around the world, including the term interaction between mathematical fold the world, but nothing kills more people United Kingdom, Norway, New Zealand, modelers and experimental scientists that each year than cardiovascular diseases. Washington, California, Wisconsin and steadily moves the depth of knowledge According to the World Health Organi- right here at NC State. from a broad understanding of basic zation, this group of ailments involving According to Olufsen, an associate physiological and genomic data down to the heart and/or blood vessels killed an professor of mathematics, research on the very complex relationships between estimated 17.3 million people worldwide cardiovascular and physiological diseases multiple genes and disparate environ in 2008 alone. uses a variety of animals, including the mental factors. With a challenge this big and deadly, rat, in order to fulfill the goal of translating That enhanced knowledge base ulti- researchers like NC State’s Mette Olufsen animal models into human models. Rats mately could help physicians predict and are always looking for new ways to better have long been used as a stand-in for diagnose cardiovascular diseases earlier understand cardiovascular health. One of humans, in part due to the high percent- and more successfully. It could even make their newest tools is a rat—a virtual one, age of genes that are shared between the it possible for drugs to be developed to anyway. two—about 90 percent. treat patients at the The Virtual Physiological Rat (VPR) Olufsen and her NC State team individual level. project is made possible by a five-year, will be focusing on developing mathe $13 million grant from National Institutes matical models that will help make of Health’s National Institute of General the virtual rat behave as closely as Medical Sciences. Much of the work will possible to a real one and will allow for be done at the Medical College of Wis- the simultaneous adjustment and obser- consin, but collaborators on the project vation of multiple individual factors. ownsend T te v e S by P hoto

Mette Olufsen

8 ■ Summersummer 2012 | scope Into the B ecky K irkland by P hoto fold for a

From left to right: Frisco Rose, Clearer Jerry Bernholc and Miroslav Hodak Picture of Parkinson’s The intricate folding of proteins can contain plaques, which are abnormal lab experiments using real cells approxi- determine the difference between dis- clumps of protein, mostly a protein called mately where copper first attaches to the ease and health. NC State physicists use alpha-synuclein. It’s not known exactly protein. “But the information from lab ex- quantum mechanical modeling to paint a what causes these plaques to form. So NC periments was imprecise,” Bernholc says. precise picture of how it happens. State professors Miroslav Hodak and Jerry “We figured out on the basis of quantum Sometimes our bodies go haywire, Bernholc and Ph.D. candidate Frisco Rose mechanical calculations exactly where the and even scientists can’t tell us why. simulated by computer the most likely sce- copper goes.” Given that precise location, Parkinson’s disease, for instance, causes narios. They modeled what happens when the researchers could use molecular mod- tremors, trouble walking and other severe this protein encounters copper; high levels eling to determine how the protein folds. problems for at least half a million people of the metal are found in the cerebrospinal Their simulation showed a detailed, in the U.S., and the causes aren’t com- fluid of people with Parkinson’s, and lab likely scenario for how copper attaches to pletely understood. But physicists with studies of cells have shown that copper the protein involved in Parkinson’s plaques NC State’s Center for High Performance is the most efficient metal at speeding up and exactly how the protein folds to form Simulation (CHiPS) are learning more the protein clumping. them. The study was published June 14, about diseases like Parkinson’s by using “We wanted to find out if copper is 2011, in Scientific Reports. The work computers to model intricate events capable of causing changes that are seen in provides clues for other researchers to happening inside our bodies, such as Parkinson’s disease, and if we could prove use as they look for treatments. The NC protein folding. it by using our simulation,” says Hodak, a State team will expand on their work by While DNA provides the body’s operat- research assistant professor of physics. exploring the promise of a particular drug ing instructions, proteins carry out those Hodak and Bernholc, Drexel Professor as a potential Parkinson’s treatment. “We instructions. But before a protein can do of Physics and director of CHiPS, used a have a target drug we want to look at to its work, it must fold from a simple coil new method they created that combines find out if it removes the copper from a into a 3-D structure. Many researchers two types of modeling to achieve greater misfolded protein and makes it fold back in the country study proteins and their accuracy while keeping the calculation into the original structure,” Hodak says. activities. But because the NC State manageable. The method uses molecular researchers use quantum mechanics to mechanical modeling, which divides ob- This article originally appeared in the model protein activities on a subatomic jects into atoms, and quantum mechanical Winter 2011 issue of NC State magazine, level, they can track events more precisely modeling, which further divides atoms which is a benefit of membership in the than even some laboratory studies. into nuclei and electrons. North Carolina State University Alumni The brains of people with Parkinson’s Other researchers had shown with Association.

scope | Summer 2012 ■ 9 The forecast is

bright for Logan Dawson’s future

Your heart is racing and your muscles Easy, laid-back summers? are tensing. You peek outside one more No thanks. time and see that the thunderstorm is still Dawson has made sure to take full pounding. Lightning has struck a tele- advantage of his summer time away phone pole and split it down the center. from classes. The summer after his You close your eyes tightly and you wait freshman year, he spent time working for the worst of it to pass. as a student volunteer doing research at Fear is a feeling well known to anyone the National Weather Service Forecast who has experienced a severe storm Office in Alabama, alongside an NC State up close. What is uncommon is Logan alumnus. The following two summers Dawson, who opened his eyes after he spent interning at the National Center a deadly tornado hit his hometown of for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Birmingham, Alabama, and turned his fear Colorado, and at the National Severe into a passion and a quest for knowledge. Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma, Dawson, who graduated this spring respectively. with a double major in meteorology and Dawson’s undergraduate research has marine science, vividly remembers the been vital to his academic experience as day that set his academic path in motion. an undergraduate and, more recently, an “On April 8, 1998, when I was seven years appealing element to his graduate school old, there was an F5 tornado that hit the applications. He will begin his gradu- county, and 30 people were killed,” he ate studies this fall in the atmospheric recalls. “After seeing the damage from the sciences program at Purdue University. tornado, I decided that I wanted to be a Ultimately, he plans to work in a national meteorologist. From that point on, I wanted to understand the weather and predict when storms were going to happen.” Dawson’s path to NC State was put in motion by his exceptional accomplish- ments in high school, which resulted in an offer of a Park Scholarship. At first a little hesitant to study so far from home, it was during Park Scholars finalist weekend that Dawson fell in love with the campus, the atmosphere and, of course, the meteor ology program. The final selling point was the vast array of opportunities for hands-on learning, leadership development and campus and community involvement that often defines the NC State student experience.

10 ■ Summer 2012 | scope v in M oore M el by awson D of L ogan P hotos

research lab studying ways to improve with: the annual Krispy Kreme Challenge, 2011 challenge, working with a group of severe weather forecasting. which he first heard about when visiting student and campus leaders to strength- Gary Lackmann, an associate professor NC State during finalist weekend for the en the race and encourage its spread of marine, earth and atmospheric sci- Park Scholarship. across the nation. More than 7,500 run- ences, and also Dawson’s advisor and Park The Krispy Kreme Challenge began ners were registered, and $122,000 was Scholarship mentor, has been impressed rather modestly in 2004 when a couple of raised in 2011. with how well-rounded Dawson is—a trait undergraduate students at NC State dared Dawson is also involved with the Lackmann believes will serve him well. each other to run from the Memorial Bell Society of African American Physical “Logan is really smart and not only Tower to the Krispy Kreme donut shop and Mathematical Scientists, the PAMS good with science, but good with people,” two miles away, eat a dozen donuts each, Student Ambassador Program and the Lackmann says. “It’s that community- and run back to the Bell Tower. The chal- American Meteorological Society Student minded mentality that will continue to lenge has gained so much notoriety and Chapter. Through these organizations, he move him higher.” positive feedback in the years since, that served as a mentor to younger students it has grown into an event that is not only pursuing degrees in meteorology, as- Leaving his NC State legacy universally celebrated across campus, sisted in recruitment by speaking to high As a person who is driven by being able but widely known as one of the more school students, and volunteered at the to help others, Dawson quickly became unique college traditions in the country. Raleigh Girls Club. engaged in activities throughout the cam- The race evolved from a simple dare to a As serious as he is about his academic pus. One activity he has been involved large charity event that benefits the North and community service pursuits, Dawson with since freshman year is also one that Carolina Children’s Hospital. may be even more serious when it comes he is most proud to have been associated Dawson served as a co-chair of the to his support of NC State athletics. A member of the Student Wolfpack Club, Dawson was a regular at NC State sport- ing events, and not just big-time events like football and basketball. Whether it was volleyball games, tennis matches or swim meets, he always seemed to find B ecky K irkland by P hoto the time to cheer on his Wolfpack. While he made the most of his NC State experience, Dawson’s primary passion is still the same one that brought him here: the quest to better understand and predict deadly storms like the one that swept through his hometown back in 1998. “I still see it as my primary goal to study the weather to better understand it so we can improve our predictions and keep people out of harm’s way,” he says.

scope | Summer 2012 ■ 11 important fisheries, support undergradu- On the ate and graduate student training, and provide educational outreach to help keep North Carolina waters, and hooks, full for generations to come. with Before plates can be produced, the NC road Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) must receive 300 paid applications. The cost of a plate is $30 ($60 for personalized plates), CMAST in addition to any regular license fees. Part of the proceeds goes to DMV with the re- maining going to a special fund earmarked From the underwater “superhighway” that transports oyster for CMAST research and programs. To preorder a specialty plate contact larvae across the Pamlico Sound to the more traditional CMAST at 252-222-6302 for an application highways we humans travel on dry land, the folks at or visit the CMAST website: www.cmast. ncsu.edu. NC State’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology Located on the Carteret Community College campus in Morehead City, NC, (CMAST) are always up for a road trip. CMAST is within short walking distance of the UNC Institute of Marine Science and for high school students and their the NC Division of Marine Fisheries head- Larval superhighway: teachers,” he said. quarters, and is within five miles of the NC State receives nearly Duke University Marine Laboratory, the $1.3 million to study Support sustainable fisheries Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research, the NC Maritime Museum and larvae dispersal right on your bumper the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. The Department of Marine, Earth CMAST also recently announced the and Atmospheric Sciences (MEAS) has development of a specialty license plate received a $1.24 million research grant that provides the opportunity to raise from the National Science Foundation to funds to support student research in study the dispersal of oyster larvae in the sustainable fisheries in North Carolina. Pamlico Sound. In July 2011, the NC General Assembly The official title of the grant is approved legislation authorizing the sale “Collaborative Research: Interacting of sustainable fisheries license plates. Effects of Local Demography and Larval Public support of the CMAST Sustain- Connectivity on Estuarine Metapopulation able Fisheries License Plate Program will Dynamics.” The project, which includes allow continued research and conser partners from UNC-Chapel Hill and the vation of recreational and commercially University of Maryland, will be led by David Eggleston, professor of MEAS and CMAST Director David Eggleston (center) director of CMAST. and MEAS graduate students “This project will produce new tools,

W instead oger taking measurements in as well as test and refine others for the Pamlico Sound. studying larval connectivity in marine

systems,” Eggleston said. “It also R by P hoto will provide decision-support tools for improving the efficacy of marine reserves for management and restoration of marine species and ecosystems.” Eggleston noted that the grant also will help train future generations of marine scientists. “There is an extensive education and outreach component in the form of training undergraduate and graduate students, mentoring post-docs, and providing hands-on research opportu nities

12 ■ Summer 2012 | scope PAMS physicists Help There are still no bells in the Memorial Bell Tower, but music has returned to the Bring campus landmark. The music comes from a carillon, which enables songs played on Back a keyboard in the basement of Holladay Hall to create the sounds of bells that are then amplified through speakers inside the the Bell Tower. The carillon had been Bell Tower’s broken since 1989, but university officials worked with the carillon’s manufacturer last fall to make it functional again. Musical “It was amazing,” says Thomas H. Stafford Jr., vice chancellor for student affairs, who was on hand on an October afternoon when NC State’s alma mater Tradition was played on the carillon and broadcast through the Bell Tower. “It’s been over 20 years. Just to hear it again almost gave me goose bumps.” The alma mater was performed by Chris Gould, PAMS associate dean for administration and a professor of physics. Gould, an accomplished pianist, learned W instead oger about the broken carillon when he was talking with Stafford about tours that Stafford gives of the Bell Tower. Gould and others in the Department of Physics unsuccessfully tried to get the carillon working again. But workers at the university’s Physical Plant got involved, and after R by ; exterior photo ownsend consulting with representatives of the T te v e carillon’s manufacturer, had success. “It’s amazing that it works this well,” says Gould. “If you look inside, it’s a mechanical marvel.”

S by I nterior P hotos Stafford says students and others used to play four to six songs on the carillon Clockwise from top: Memorial Bell Tower, Vice Chancellor every afternoon. Handwritten logbooks Tom Stafford reminds Nancy Ridenhour (B.S. ‘76 Statistics) from 1970–1989 show that religious how to play a tune on the carillon, old log books songs were played regularly, but that from the 1970s, PAMS physicists examine students also played songs that were the carillon. popular at the time. Stafford hopes that music will soon be played at a certain time each day, as well as on special occasions. “It has stirred up quite a bit of excitement,” Stafford says, “especially among people who remember the music we used to play.”

A version of this article originally appeared in the Winter 2011 issue of NC State magazine, which is a benefit of membership in the North Carolina State University Alumni Association.

scope | Summer 2012 ■ 13 Montgomery, Gardner and Butler honored at annual PAMS Awards Dinner

in adapting these basic processes into The College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences new applications and products. continued its tradition of celebrating the achievements of its The results continue to be impressive, and he has been recognized for them alumni and friends at the annual PAMS Awards Dinner, held within BD, nationally and even internationally. His work has led to 15 U.S. patents last December at the Cardinal Club in downtown Raleigh. and 5 European patents. In 2001, he The three 2011 honorees all boast impressive professional received BD’s Wesley J. Howe Award for Process Development Excellence for his resumes and unparalleled service to NC State and PAMS. work in the creation of a process required for the functioning of a bacterial identi- David Montgomery positions, both on campus and—for two fication and antibiotic susceptibility test summers—at the Los Alamos National panel. In 2010, he received the company’s Distinguished Alumnus Award Laboratory. Wesley J. Howe Award for Lifetime David Montgomery (B.S. ’68, Ph.D. ’82 As Montgomery, himself, recently Achievement for his entire body of work. Physics) was selected as the college’s recalled of this experience, “One of the He is one of seven recipients of the 2011 Distinguished Alumnus. Estab- most fortunate occurrences in my life was award out of some 28,000 BD employees lished in 1990, the PAMS Distinguished having these two gentlemen as mentors.” around the world. Alumni Award recognizes alumni whose When his four-year military delay exceptional achievements in business, expired, Montgomery left campus for Martha Gardner education, research or public service have the Ordnance Corps’ Aberdeen Proving brought honor and distinction to PAMS Ground in Maryland to satisfy his active- Medal of Achievement and NC State. duty requirement. He then served as Martha Gardner (Ph.D. ’97 Statistics) was A North Carolina native, Montgomery an instructor for the U.S. Army Reserve selected as the recipient of the college’s comes from a “true red” Wolfpack family. School and the North Carolina National 2011 Medal of Achievement. Established Upon graduating from High Point Central Guard in the area of wheel and track in 2005, this award recognizes early- to High School in 1964, he followed in the vehicle mechanics, reaching the rank of mid-career alumni of the College of Physi- footsteps of his older brother and father captain before retirement. cal and Mathematical Sciences who have by enrolling at NC State. He continues to By the time he earned his Ph.D. from excelled through their chosen professions serve his alma mater to this day through NC State in 1983, Montgomery had or public service, and proven themselves ongoing service on the PAMS Foundation already been working for four years as a destined to make a significant impact in Board of Directors as well as financial con- plasma physicist at Becton Dickinson and science, government, education, business tributions to the college, the Department Company in Research Triangle Park. His or industry. of Physics and The Science House. early work at what is now known as BD A native of Montgomery, Alabama, Upon receiving his bachelor’s degree used low-temperature, ionized gas pro- Gardner received her B.S. in applied from NC State in 1968, Montgomery cesses to physically and chemically alter mathematics and classical languages from was honored as a Distinguished Military the surfaces of disposable polystyrene the University of Alabama. By her own Graduate of the Army ROTC program tissue culture products—products such recollection, Gardner wasn’t enamored of and was commissioned with the rank of as petri dishes—so that cells would prop- mathematics at first. In fact, she thought second lieutenant in the Ordnance Corps erly attach and colonize on the surfaces. she was on her way to becoming a Latin of the United States Army. He received Montgomery designed and built a professor when an advisor told her that the an active duty delay to begin his graduate laboratory of custom apparatus directed reason she didn’t like math was that she studies, where he had the opportunity toward the research and development of hadn’t taken the “right kind” of math yet. to study under two legendary physicists, commercially viable processes that could At that advisor’s encouragement, Gard- Willard Bennett and Wesley Doggett. mimic the glass surfaces on which tissue ner enrolled in her first statistics classes in Under the direction of Bennett and, culture had traditionally been done and the last semester of her senior year. She later, Doggett, Montgomery learned also to develop and analyze new surface would go on to earn an M.S. in statistics the ins and outs of plasma physics. chemistries that allowed the culturing from Alabama, then came to NC State to He also provided outstanding service of cells that previously required protein- study under Professor J.C. Lu. Her experi- to PAMS and the university in various based substrates. Much of his work over ences with Dr. Lu and his collaborators in teaching assistantships and research the subsequent three decades has been the College of Engineering interested her

14 ■ Summersummer 2012 | scope Upon his graduation from NC State in 1996, Butler joined the U.S. Air Force.

H all y M arc He spent six years as a space and mis- sile operator with top secret security

B P hoto clearance in Air Force Space Command, eventually rising to the rank of captain. He continued his formal education during his military service, earning a master’s degree in aeronautical science from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. After his separation from the Air Force, Butler went on to earn an M.B.A. from Duke Univer- sity’s Fuqua School of Business in 2004. Butler then moved to New York City to join New York Life, where he has since ris- en to corporate vice president, with current responsibilities in optimizing productivity, analyzing competitor underwriting guide- lines, designing workflow enhancements and evaluating performance metrics. In addition to his professional accom- plishments, Butler has had a profound impact on PAMS and its students. In many ways, that service began while he was Award recipients Martha Gardner, David Montgomery and Damon Butler still an undergraduate major serving as a math tutor to his fellow students. Today, he serves his fellow former students as in a career in industry and prepared her to She was promoted to principal scientist in well as the college as a member of the col- work across different disciplines. 2007 and chief scientist in 2011. lege’s Alumni and Friends Advisory Board. Upon graduation from NC State, Gardner is a certified GE Design for While he has been extremely gener- Gardner joined the Applied Statistics Lab Six Sigma Black Belt, GE Quality Leader, ous with his time, money and talents, at General Electric Global Research. She and MATRIZ Level 3 TRIZ Practitioner. Butler’s greatest contribution to PAMS spent the early part of her career focused She is also a past-chair of the Quality has been as a leader in the ongoing ef- on the development and application of and Productivity Section of the American forts to increase participation in science, novel and efficient approaches to experi- Statistical Association and serves on the technology, engineering and mathematics mental design and analysis for physical editorial boards of Significance, Quality (STEM) opportunities among underserved and computer experiments. Engineering and The Journal of Statistics and underrepresented populations. He Later, she turned her attention to aircraft Education. regularly returns to campus at his own engines, serving as project leader of the Throughout her career, Gardner has expense—and often on short notice—to probabilistic design research effort for GE’s maintained ties with PAMS and been a serve as a motivational speaker and role aviation and energy businesses. Probabilis- strong supporter of the Department of model for future STEM leaders. tic methods she and her team developed Statistics, most recently as a leader in He has engaged elementary and at that time were implemented in in-house the drive to endow the R.A. Fisher middle school students through Imhotep design tools and have since been adopted Distinguished Professorship. Academy and Kyran Anderson Academy. by hundreds of GE engineers. He has addressed prospective and current Since 2004, Gardner has served Damon Butler PAMS students through the Multicultural as global quality leader for GE Global Affairs Visitation Day, freshman diversity Research. She leads GE’s Design for Zenith Medal for Service classes and last fall’s Department of Six Sigma and Reliability Councils, and Damon Butler (B.S. ’96, Applied Math- Mathematics graduation ceremony. she is currently focused on integrating ematics) was selected as the recipient Butler also recently established the TRIZ decision making into research and of the college’s 2011 Zenith Medal for Butler Summer Academy. Modeled after technology development at the company. Service. Established in 2005, this award Imhotep and Kyran Anderson academies, Gardner has been recognized for her recognizes alumni or friends of PAMS for two successful PAMS programs, the success throughout her 13 years at GE. distinguished contributions or advocacy Butler Summer Academy will enhance In 2002, she received GE Research’s Hull that significantly advance our ability to the STEM knowledge and leadership and Award for early career research. In 2004, make powerful impacts on science, the etiquette skills of rising 6th graders from the MIT Technology Review listed her as economy, the environment and the quality underserved populations in and around one of their “Top 100” young innovators. of human life. Wake County.

scope | Summersummer 2012 ■ 15 “demonstrated excellent or exceptional teaching ability over a sustained period of Reynolds time.” Reynolds is the fifth PAMS faculty member to receive the award. Previous receives winners include Forrest C. “Buzz” Hentz (Chemistry, 1994–1995), Richard R. Patty (Physics, 1998–1999), William H. Swal- low (Statistics, 2006–2007) and Robert J. award Beichner (Physics, 2009–2010). for In addition to being a world-renowned astrophysicist, Reynolds is also an accomplished violinist. As an undergradu- excellence ate student at Harvard, he served as concertmaster and assistant conduc- in tor of the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra. In graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley, he performed H all y M arc teaching with the Oakland Symphony and other

B P hoto Bay Area professional orchestras. An endowed scholarship recently was es- Stephen P. Reynolds, Alumni Distin- The Board of Governors Award for tablished in Reynolds’ honor to support guished Undergraduate Professor of Phys- Excellence in Teaching is the most presti- an outstanding undergraduate student ics in the College of Physical and Math- gious award given to faculty for teaching who is pursuing a minor in music with a ematical Sciences, has been honored with excellence and was created in 1994 to stringed instrument. an Award for Excellence in Teaching from underscore the importance of teaching Reynolds received a bachelor’s degree the University of North Carolina Board of and encourage, recognize and reward in physics from Harvard in 1971, and M.S. Governors. One educator from each UNC outstanding teaching. Nominees for the and Ph.D. degrees in physics from the system campus wins the award, which award must be tenured professors who University of California, Berkeley in 1973 comes with a prize of $7,500 and a bronze have spent at least seven years at the and 1980, respectively. He is a Fellow of medallion. nominating institutions and who have the American Physical Society. Wang keeps PAMS’ CAREER Award streak going strong Huixia “Judy” Wang, assistant profes- seek to develop new theories and meth- sor of statistics, has received an Early odologies to better model and predict Career Development Award, more com- events that may be extremely rare, yet monly known as a CAREER Award, from have significant consequences. Unexpect- the National Science Foundation (NSF). edly heavy rainfall, large portfolio loss, and

The award is one of the highest honors dangerously low birth weight are just a B ecky K irkland by P hoto given by NSF to early-career university few examples of the types of events that faculty in science and engineering, and is could be addressed. intended to advance the development of A native of Henan Province, China, their research and careers. This is the 18th Wang earned her B.S. and M.S. in statis- CAREER Award received by a PAMS fac- tics from Shanghai’s prestigious Fudan ulty member—and the fourth received by University before coming to the United a member of the statistics faculty—since States in 2002 to conduct her doctoral 2004. Each of the college’s academic work at the University of Illinois at Urbana- departments has received at least two Champaign. After earning her Ph.D. in awards during that time. 2006, Wang joined the faculty of the NC Wang’s five-year, $400,000 grant will State University Department of Statistics, fund research related to her proposal, where her research has focused on bioin- titled “A new and pragmatic framework formatics, quantile regression, measure- for modeling and predicting conditional ment error, missing data, longitudinal data quantiles in data-sparse regions.” Through analysis, survival data analysis, empirical this work, Wang and her collaborators will likelihood and extremes. Huixia “Judy” Wang

16 ■ Summer 2012 | scope Todd Fuller NOTABLES Harald Ade (Physics), Jerry Bernholc Todd Fuller (B.S. ‘96 Applied Math- (Physics) and Sastry Pantula (Statistics) ematics) is a member of the 2012 class were elected as Fellows of the Ameri- of the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s can Association for the Advancement Basketball Tournament Legends. A na- of Science, an international organization tive of Charlotte, Fuller was a dominant “dedicated to advancing science around inside presence for the Wolfpack, earning the world by serving as an educator, All-ACC honors three times and leading leader, spokesperson and professional the conference in scoring his senior year organization.” before a five-year career in the National Edmond Bowden (Chemistry) was Basketball Association. named the 2011 “Alumni Star” by the Chueng Ji (Physics) was named a College of Humanities and Sciences Fellow of the American Physical Society at Virginia Commonwealth University. “for his remarkable and pioneering con- Bowden earned his Ph.D. in chemistry tributions in QCD (quantum chromody- from VCU in 1982 before joining the namics) applying light-front dynamics to NC State faculty. fundamental aspects of hadron physics, Charles Case (B.S. ‘73 Physics) was including spectroscopy, wave functions named a North Carolina Super Lawyer and form factors.” for 2012. Case is a partner in the firm Tim Kelley (Mathematics) has been of Hunton & Williams and heads up the named chair of the board of trustees of firm’s environmental group in Raleigh. He the Society for Industrial and Applied also serves on the board of directors of Mathematics, an international organi the PAMS Foundation. It is the seventh zation of more than 13,000 applied consecutive year that he has appeared and computational mathematicians, on this annual listing of the state’s top computer scientists, numerical analysts, attorneys. engineers, statisticians, mathematics Richard Deans (Chemistry undergrad- educators and students. uate student) was one of four NC State Nicholas Lowman (Applied Math- students to receive a 2012 Goldwater ematics graduate student), Molly Matty Scholarship. This merit-based scholarship (Chemistry undergraduate student) Wang keeps PAMS’ CAREER Award streak going strong is awarded to about 300 college sopho- and Alison Moyer (Marine, Earth and mores and juniors nationwide. Atmospheric Sciences graduate student) received National Science Foundation

M edia R elations tate graduate research fellowships. These oelle

NC S prestigious fellowships support outstand-

R aul ing students in STEM disciplines, providing three years of support with an annual anchez stipend of $30,000, a cost-of-education

of P C ourtesy allowance, and international research and professional development opportunities.

A lex S by P hoto Paul Roelle (M.S. ’96, Ph.D. ’01 Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sci- ences) has been promoted to the rank of colonel by the U.S. Air Force. Roelle is the deputy chief of integration, plans and requirements for Headquarters Air Force Weather.

Molly Matty Paul Roelle

scope | Summer 2012 ■ 17 An internationally renowned astrophysi- Blondin cist, Blondin has been computing the cos-

mos for over 20 years, using everything H all y M arc from a laptop to supercomputers. He

chosen began his experience in high-performance B P hoto as computing with the opening of the Na- tional Center for Supercomputing Applica- new head tions, and continues to take advantage of the largest machines currently available, of including Ranger at the Texas Advanced Computing Center, with 63,000 processor physics cores, and Jaguar at the National Center for Computational Sciences, with 224,000 John Blondin has been selected to processor cores. His research includes serve as head of the Department of interacting binary stars, accretion disks Physics, effective January 1. He suc- around black holes, supernova remnants, ceeded Michael Paesler, who returned and the origin of supernova explosions. to the faculty after six years of service as He co-authored the hydrodynamics code department head. VH-1, which is widely used in the astro- Blondin earned a B.A. in physics from physics community. the University of Wisconsin in 1982. John Blondin has been honored John Blondin He then proceeded to the University of throughout his career for excellence in Chicago for graduate studies, earning his research and teaching. He received the his two sons, both of whom are M.S. in 1984 and his Ph.D. in 1987 under Sigma Xi Faculty Research Award in NC State mathematics majors. the direction of Arieh Konigl. He com- 1995, Cottrell Scholar Award in 1996 and Physics has a rich history at NC State, pleted postdoctoral research positions National Science Foundation Early Career dating back to the earliest days of the uni- at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Development Award in 1997, and he was versity. In 2009, two now emeritus faculty the University of Virginia and UNC-Chapel elected a Fellow of the American Physi- members, Jasper Memory and Raymond Hill before joining the NC State physics cal Society in 2009. Blondin also received Fornes, completed a comprehensive faculty as an assistant professor in 1993. NC State University’s Alumni Outstanding history of the department, titled History He was promoted to associate professor Teacher Award in 2000 and the Alumni of the NC State University in 1997 and full professor in 2002. Before Distinguished Undergraduate Professor Department of Physics: being appointed head, Blondin had served Award in 2010. A Success Story. You can as the department’s director of under- In his very limited free time, check it out at www.phys- graduate programs since 2007. Blondin enjoys playing ice hockey with ics.ncsu.edu/history. How to make a gift

You may remember how difficult it edu/give or mail a check To explore other options was to manage the expense of higher to the PAMS Founda- If you have questions about gift education. You may want to help today’s tion, Campus Box 8201, planning, we can help you identify tax students achieve their dreams. Raleigh, NC, 27695. Make benefits, choose between permanent en- The PAMS Foundation provides many checks payable to PAMS dowment versus one-time support, and ways to support students, faculty and pro- Foundation and write the name of the explore estate planning or life-income grams of the college. Whether you want fund on the “notes” or “for” line. options. to contribute to an existing scholarship, If your employer provides matches There are many ways to match your support a departmental enhancement for charitable donations, please send a interests with specific college needs, fund, make a memorial gift or consider completed matching gift form with your and several possibilities for making support in other areas, our staff is avail- contribution. your vision a reality. Whether using able to help you explore the options. There are many funds cash, appreciated stock, real estate or a not mentioned in this bequest, we can help you find the best To support existing funds issue of Scope. For a full way to make the most of your gift. To contribute to a scholarship, fellow- list of funds, visit go.ncsu. Contact us at 919-515-3462 or by ship or other fund, fill out our secure, edu/pams_funds or e-mail at [email protected]. online gift form at www.pams.ncsu. contact our office.

18 ■ Summer 2012 | scope A celebration 125 For a celebration worthy of NC State’s 125th birthday, we need more than just years one party. In fact, we’re going to take a whole year to celebrate and invite all our in the closest friends, starting with faculty, staff, students and alumni. The celebration theme, Tradition and Transformation, sets making the stage to take a proud look at our past and imagine the many discoveries ahead. It all started on March 5, with the traditional Founder’s Day Dinner, followed by the transformation of the university’s Website, ncsu.edu, on March 7, NC State’s official birthday. The first week of March also marked the unveiling of the 125th logos, which include stylized renderings of the Memorial Bell Tower. But that’s just the beginning. A blue- ribbon planning committee, co-chaired by Dean Dan Solomon, has put together a series of signature events. Undoubt- edly, the highlight so far was a raucous, campus-wide birthday party held April 2 at Reynolds Coliseum. More than 4,500 C ommunications of U ni v ersity C ourtesy P hotos students, faculty, staff and supporters came out to enjoy music, food and give- aways and to share their Wolfpack pride. Beyond the campus-wide activities, entities from across the university—from the 12 colleges to dozens of student organizations—are also taking part by giving their programming this year a special 125th twist. “What I like about the 125th is that it’s an opportunity for us to celebrate our connection and passion for NC State,” says Nevin Kessler, vice chancellor for university advancement and the other co-chair of the 125th planning committee. “We can set our goals a little higher, reach a little further than we have in the past, and have some fun doing it.” You can keep up with the latest 125th news at 125.ncsu.edu.

scope | Summersummer 2012 ■ 19 Young alumni show their Wolfpack pride in ways big and small Kristen Hall loves NC State, PAMS and NC State’s world-class research opportu- the Department of Marine, Earth and At- nities and the smaller communities the mospheric Sciences (MEAS). As a gradu- university and PAMS offer. She worked in ate student at the University of North the laboratory and in the field alongside Carolina Wilmington who just earned her MEAS graduate students and faculty, B.S. in geology from NC State in 2010, quickly developing a sense of what it Hall is not in a position to make a large means to do real research. She was also a

donation to her alma mater. That doesn’t part of the WISE (Women in Science and H all of K risten courtesy photos

Kristen Hall on graduation Every gift counts day and hard at work as a UNC Wilmington While universities across the country, graduate student including NC State, tend to publicize the larger, sometimes million dollar gifts, smaller gifts have a tendency to go unannounced. However, they are very much noticed—and very much appreciated. Last year, gifts of $100 or less to NC State added up to just over $1.1 million, with over $40,000 going to PAMS. These gifts impact the university’s reputation as well as its bottom line. Alumni giving—at any level—is a key factor in college and university rankings, including the annual rankings in U.S. News and World Report. Parents and students often compare rankings when making enrollment decisions. According to Ann Horner, executive make her any less committed to giving Engineering) living-learning village director of the NC State Annual Fund, back and supporting current students. and was the president of the PAMS alumni gifts are more important than She also knows that her contribution, Student Council. ever. “My goal for Annual Giving at combined with others, goes a long way A native of Wilmington, NC, Hall is NC State is to help alumni get into the toward making a transformative impact using her experiences at NC State to habit of giving back to us,” she says. on the department, college and university study shoreline erosion and accretion “The best thing about annual giving she loves so much. of Masonboro Island. Her research is is that anyone can participate. All it “I decided to make a gift to PAMS directed at how hurricanes, beach renour- takes is that first gift in the amount because of the great experiences I had as ishment, and the implementation of the best for that person at that time.” Learn more at a geology major,” Hall says. “While I was jetties have affected the island. She also To make a gift of any amount to at NC State, I had so many opportunities works at the tutoring center on campus PAMS, please contact www.pams.ncsu.edu at my fingertips, and I hope my small gift focusing on geology, physics, chemistry, the Office of Col- will go a long way in continuing to make environmental sciences, oceanography lege Advancement at those opportunities possible.” and marine biology and teaches classes 919-515-3462 or give During her time as an undergraduate every semester in UNCW’s Department online at www.pams. student, Hall took full advantage of both of Geography and Geology. ncsu.edu/give.

20 ■ Summer 2012 | scope Dr. Margaret D. “Canopy Meg“ Lowman is director of the Partners in Nature Research Center at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and research Transforming professor in the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at NC State University. Science

How do we address some of the world’s greatest challenges and unlock the mysteries of the universe? We start by preparing the next generation of scientists with the skills, the confidence and the sense of responsibility to be effective communicators of science and informers of public policy. The College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at NC State is proud Learn more at to be a leading partner with the Nature Research Center in inspiring future www.pams.ncsu.edu generations to be great scientists and great science champions.

Transform. NC State University. Nonprofit Org US Postage PAID Campus Box 8201 Raleigh, NC Raleigh, North Carolina 27695–8201 Permit #2353

Encourage Excellence Your contribution to the PAMS Fund for Excellence provides direct Would you like to be a support for Dean’s Circle Scholarships. These scholarships help the college member of the Dean’s Circle? recruit the best and brightest students from across North Carolina and Donor recognition levels beyond—students who will be the next generation of science leaders. begin with your gift of $1,000 or more. Giving is easy. You can either contact our office directly or give online at www.pams.ncsu.edu/give. The online gift form will allow you to designate your gift to the Fund for Excellence or the departmental fund of your choice.