PAMS Focus - November 1, 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.

PAMS Alumni & Friends Weekend a great success

The first PAMS Alumni & Friends Weekend was such a great success that the College has received numerous requests to make this an annual event. About 180 people participated in at least one of the weekend's activities.

If you missed it, visit www.pams.ncsu.edu/weekend to see a photo gallery from the weekend, and listen to podcasts of three of the classes included in the PAMS Alumni & Friends College.

More coverage will be included in the fall 2005 issue of Scope magazine.

 

University, College kick off Achieve! The Campaign for NC State

The College announced a $50 million fundraising goal at the PAMS Alumni & Friends Kick Off Luncheon. We are excited about the opportunities this campaign presents for our students, our faculty and the impacts they will make on the economy, the environment and the human condition. For more details, visit http://www.pams.ncsu.edu/development/achieve/

At the time of the announcement, the College had reached 84 percent of its goal. Across the university's other colleges and major units, PAMS was second only to Wolfpack Athletics - and only by one percentage point.

Much of the remainder of the goal is in endowment. Endowment provides permanent funding to support students, faculty and programs.

Achieve! The Campaign for NC State is an historic, $1 billion university-wide fundraising effort that will ensure our ability to transform lives for generations to come through truly innovative teaching, research, extension and public service.

NC State researcher participates in mapping of human genome

A team of international scientists including a researcher from NC State has succeeded in creating a "map" of the human genome that will help scientists find the genetic causes of common diseases like diabetes and Alzheimer's.

Dr. Bruce Weir, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Statistics and Genetics and director of NC State's Bioinformatics Research Center , is one of more than 60 scientists from around the world involved in the international effort to create a haplotype map, or "HapMap," of the human genome - a map that pinpoints genetic differences between people.

The researchers' findings appear in the Oct. 27 issue of the journal Nature. This story is currently making headlines worldwide. To read the NC State news release, visit http://www.ncsu.edu/news/press_releases/05_10/205.htm

Nanoscale discovery may lead to cheaper alternative fuel

Dr. Marco Boungiorno-Nardelli, a professor of physics at NC State, is part of a research team that discovered a nanoscale method for extracting hydrogen from water that requires only half the energy of current hydrogen production methods.

The researchers discovered that "defective" carbon nanotubes make it easier to "break" water molecules and extract hydrogen. The discovery could have big implications, namely, lower hydrogen production costs, for industries looking to hydrogen as an alternative fuel.

For more information, visit http://www.ncsu.edu/news/press_releases/05_09/188.htm