Congratulations to Undraa Agvaanluvsan, College nominee for the NC State University 2003 Nancy G. Pollock Thesis and Dissertation Award.

Undraa's thesis was titled "Level Density Analysis of Nuclear Resonances" (adviser Gary Mitchell). Traffic flow patterns, brain scans and the spectra of quantum systems all display similar patterns that are explained by chaos theory. Her thesis addressed the extent to which incompleteness in these patterns could be detected, and provided a practical method for estimating the fraction of missed events in the patterns. As College winner, she will be recognized at the October 2nd Graduate Fellowship Dinner.

In brief, much of the old Riddick Stadium stands will be demolished, a chiller plant will be built, and chilled water lines will be installed though extensive digging on numerous roadways, including Stinson Drive and Yarbrough Drive, both of which are around the Cox/Dabney/Harrelson area.

There is a web site at Transportation that describes the project and it has a web link to Facilities that describes the project in detail. The address is: www2.acs.ncsu.edu/trans/construction/chillerplant.html

Please look at these sites to better understand the scope, size, and impact of this project. The punch line is, campus has not experienced a project of this scope and magnitude. Construction activities will affect the entire campus, especially North Campus. Road closures, one-lane traffic, detours, flag men, and large construction equipment will significantly impact campus travel during this project. While there is a tentative timeline for this project, i.e., from now until March 2005, the areas around Cox / Dabney / Harrelson appear to be most directly impacted in the phases planned for the October 2003 - April 2004 period. However, construction at the east end of North campus will have a trickle down impact on parking around the buildings most common to PAMS. Thus, the changes and impacts will begin in the not too distant future.

Sign up for the staff parking listserve!

To stay abreast of the developments, please sign-up for the staff parking listserv at: www2.acs.ncsu.edu/trans/emplyeprkng/staffparking.html

First Annual Conference of the Interstate Network of Science Programs Integrating Research and Education (INSPIRE).

October 16 thru 18, 2003, marks the launch of the first annual conference of the Interstate Network of Science Programs Integrating Research and Education (INSPIRE) on the USM Hattiesburg campus. This regional conference offers opportunities for the best and brightest undergraduate students in polymers, materials science, and biomaterials science to:

• present their research
• share their learning experiences with other students and faculty members
• compete for cash awards for outstanding presentations and poster sessions.**

** Student presenters are not restricted to those getting degrees in the three topic areas (polymers, materials, biomaterials).

The conference organizers are pleased to report that more funding has been secured which will provide support for additional students. For that reason, the abstract submission deadline has been extended to Sept. 12, 2003.

To recap some of the features of this conference:

• no registration fees
• full room and board for qualified
  participants
• travel stipends for qualified participants
• great opportunities for networking for both students and faculty.

Additional conference information is available at: www.pslc.ws/inspire .

2003 - 2004 Faculty Committee assignments will be distributed in faculty mailboxes in the next few days.