PAMS Focus  -  September 2007

PAMS Focus is a periodic e-mail newsletter about activities, achievements and other news from the NC State College of Physical & Mathematical Sciences (PAMS). If you have any suggestions or comments, please share them with us by e-mailing pams_info@ncsu.edu.

Reminder:  Early registration deadine is Sept. 28!

The 2007 PAMS Alumni & Friends Weekend presents “Scope Academy,” a weekend of adventure and learning, Oct. 12-13. For registration and complete information, see www.pams.ncsu.edu/weekend.

The weekend begins with a Physics Department Barbecue on Friday evening, Oct. 12.  Then at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13, Riddick Hall will be rededicated as the Physics Department’s new home. Following this ceremony, guests may explore cutting-edge science in the building’s new, state-of-the-art laboratories.

Scope Academy begins at 1:30 p.m. in Fox Laboratory, and features an afternoon of special classes on some of today’s most intriguing science topics, presented by PAMS faculty.  Topics include tsunamis, new discoveries in astronomy, North Carolina’s challenges with energy and water resources, and more.

The Scope Lecture will be presented at 6:30 p.m. at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh.  The speaker is Daniel G. Nocera of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a leading figure in alternative energy research.  His topic is, “Powering the Planet: The Challenge for Science in the 21st Century.”  The lecture will be followed by a reception featuring music, heavy hors d’ouerves, and a silent auction benefiting PAMS scholarship programs.

The Scope Lecture and reception costs $50 person, and includes the Scope Academy afternoon classes. Registration for the afternoon classes alone is $10 per person. The Physics Department Barbecue is $20 per person. There is no charge for the Riddick rededication and tours.

Register now at www.pams.ncsu.edu/weekend.

 

Fishing for seafood safety

If you have been avoiding shellfish since a brutal attack of gastroenteritis after eating oysters on the halfshell, you may be assuming you are allergic to the tasty delicacies. More likely, you experienced an attack of Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a bacterial infection that is the leading cause of seafood gastroenteritis in the U.S. Alternatively, it may have been its cousin, Vibrio vulnificus, which causes severe septicemia, has a hospitalization rate of 91 percent, and is responsible for 95 percent of U.S. seafood deaths. Christian Melander, assistant professor of chemistry, and his colleagues are leading a project taking a systems biology approach to stopping Vibrio infections by integrating genomics, structural biology, computational studies, and drug design strategies. To learn more, visit:  http://news.ncsu.edu/features/2007/09/vibrio-seafood.ph..

 

New Online Service Offers Lawn Irrigation Help During Drought

The State Climate Office has partnered with the Department of Crop Science to launch The Turf Irrigation Management System (TIMS), an Internet based resource that will help lawn owners irrigate efficiently. The TIMS Web site guides lawn owners through a process that helps determine when and how long to water their lawns, based on soil and turf type and recent weather data.