PAMS Focus - July 2008

PAMS Focus is the bi-monthly electronic newsletter for alumni and friends of the NC State University College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (PAMS). If you have any suggestions or comments, please share them with us by e-mailing pams_info@ncsu.edu.

Welcome to PAMS Focus!

This month's PAMS Focus is our first issue using a new e-mail management software package. This change is intended to provide our readers with more dynamic and engaging content while providing the College with a more efficient and effective way of managing our electronic communications. The change also has allowed us to expand our mailing list to include several thousand new friends and alumni! We hope you will enjoy receiving this bimonthly publication. Please e-mail us at pams_info@ncsu.edu to give us your comments or suggestions.

We expect it will take us a couple of issues to work out the bugs, so also please don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any trouble viewing components, clicking links, etc. Should you choose not to receive this newsletter, please click the unsubscribe link at the bottom, or contact us at the e-mail address above.

 

Pantula elected president of the American Statistical Association

NC State statistician Sastry Pantula has been elected as the 105th president of the American Statistical Association (ASA). Pantula, who is the head of the NC State Department of Statistics and director of the Institute of Statistics, will serve as ASA president beginning Jan. 1, 2010. The ASA is a scientific and educational society founded in 1839, with 18,000 members serving in academia, government and industry. The 2008 election featured the highest voter turnout in ASA history.

To learn more about ASA or the election results, please visit www.amstat.org/pressroom/index.cfm?fuseaction=sastry105thpresident.

 

Reminder: Save the date for Scope Academy 2008

The College is putting the finishing touches on the event schedule for Scope Academy 2008. This year’s event, scheduled for Oct. 10-11, will feature

• "Chaotic Elections: A Mathematician Looks at Voting" presented by UC-Irvine’s Dr. Donald Saari
• Seminars led by PAMS' world-class faculty on topics such as the science of tornadoes, the physics of sports, diving for science, and many more
• Reunion brunch for alumni and friends of the Department of Mathematics
• The College's annual "Realizing Possibilities" celebration

And more! More information will be mailed and posted to the PAMS Web site shortly. Please save the date now for this exciting event!

 

PAMS boasts half of NC State's 2008 Fulbrights

A professor and a graduate student from the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences were among the four NC State personnel chosen to participate in the Fulbright Scholar program to study and teach abroad during the 2008-09 academic year.

Prof. Ronald V. Fodor received an award to travel to Hungary for the spring semester of 2009 to teach graduate geology courses at Eotvos Lorand Technical University in Budapest. Yiyi Wong, who will receive her master’s degree in marine science in August, will be traveling to the Institute for Estuarine and Coastal Studies in Shanghai to continue her research on the global carbon cycle and focus on the interaction between the atmospheric and ocean interfaces.

For more on NC State's 2008 Fulbright recipients, please visit http://news.ncsu.edu/news/2008/05/wmsfulbrightsmay.php.

Office of Development and College Relations announces new name, new team member

The PAMS Office of Development and College Relations has changed its name to the PAMS Office of College Advancement to better reflect the breadth of services it provides to the College. In addition to increasing private financial support, PAMS advancement staff also are involved - both at the College level and in partnership with individual departments - in building relationships with corporate and foundation partners, improving alumni relations, and developing print and electronic communications for a variety of audiences.

The newest member of this team is Debbi Fox-Davis. Debbi joined the office July 14 as director of development. She is responsible for building strong relationships with PAMS supporters and identifying opportunities to match College priorities with potential private resources. A graduate of George Mason University (BA) and Monterrey Institute of International Studies (MBA), Debbi has 14 years' experience in fund raising and nonprofit organizations. Her most recent role was as assistant director of development at Habitat for Humanity of Wake County. Debbi is quickly learning about the history and mission of the College, and she's looking forward to getting out to meet our invaluable friends and alumni. Please feel free to contact her at debbi_fox-davis@ncsu.edu.