PAMS Focus - Special Edition - April 27, 2005

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 pamsalumni@lists.ncsu.edu.

We need your opinion!

PAMS Focus takes on a new meaning today - we'd like your opinion as a "focus" group!

The College is planning a special weekend for alumni and friends this fall, including a series of classes participants can attend. We have prepared the following list of suggested classes.

Please let us know which of these classes would interest you. You can respond by simply sending the class numbers to pamsalumni@lists.ncsu.edu. You can list all that appeal to you. And of course, if you have any comments or suggestions of other courses, we'd love to hear from you!

Thank you in advance for your input. You'll hear more about our special weekend program as details are finalized.

1. How Google works - the surprising mathematics behind the world's most popular Internet search engine.

2. Are your investments safe? Financial mathematics provides more insight into investments, risk and market analysis.

3. What your kids should be learning in science class - insight and research from The Science House, PAMS' K-12 outreach program.

4. Nanoscience - There's so much talk about nanotechnology, but what are the real applications and how close are we to making them reality?

5. The Galapagos: Islands of Change - Learn about current research in this fascinating environment. NC State is one of only two universities with extensive research access in the Galapagos.

6. Science demonstrations you never saw in college - You'll have fun and you'll learn a lot in a way you never had a chance to before.

7. How chemistry is developing strategies to target cancer cells - Learn about a new approach to cancer treatment that may avoid the side affects of conventional treatments.

8. Environmental statistics: a new source of discovery - Through a special partnership, the EPA gives NC State statistics students unprecedented access to data the agency has no time for. Their discoveries have been significant.

9. The first atomic bomb -- Retired physics Professor Worth Seagondollar discusses his first-hand experience with the nuclear bomb project.

10. Hurricanes - Explore new methods to predict and model tropical systems and their resulting floods.

11. Global warming - fact or fiction? Learn the science behind the debate.

12. Dinosaurs in your bird feeder - Explore the mounting evidence that dinosaurs and birds are closely related.

13. Alternative energies - With gas prices going wild, what new energy options are on the horizon?

14. Clinical trials for complex diseases - Complex diseases are better understood through clinical trials that reflect their complexity; statistics research into clinical trial design may help identify more effective treatments.

15. Astronomy news - Discuss the recent discovery of planets orbiting other stars, and the edge of the known universe.

16. Tsunamis - Understand this natural disaster, and our risk in North Carolina .

17. New teaching methods - See how today's undergraduate classroom experience is very different from your own college days!

18. The Blue Moon and Einstein - Understanding the physics of this rare phenomenon.

19. The Blue Crab - This valuable N.C. seafood recourse has been seriously depleted; find out what NC State researchers are doing about it.

20. CSI: Raleigh - Discuss how statistics plays a role in forensics science and DNA tests.