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North Carolina State University experts can shed light on the origins and risks posed to the general population by the “swine” influenza A virus H1N1, which is responsible for more than 100 deaths in Mexico and has now spread to the United States.

These experts are involved in research in numerous areas of population health and public health, including risk assessment and food safety, animal biosecurity risk management, foreign animal diseases, microbial resistance in pathogens, zoonotic disease, and international trade. They serve as consultants to the State of North Carolina and federal regulatory agencies concerning agricultural bioterrorism and foreign animal diseases.

Dr. Peter Cowen, associate professor of epidemiology and environmental health, 919/513-6321 or peter_cowen@ncsu.edu, serves as the moderator for ProMED Mail, a global reporting system for outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases in humans, animals and plants. He can discuss the global distribution and epidemiology of emerging diseases, as well as why calling this virus “swine flu” is a misnomer.

Dr. Jay Levine, professor of epidemiology and environmental health, 919/513-6397 or jay_levine@ncsu.edu, works on enhancing biosurveillance analytic capabilities for outbreaks like this one in support of public health and homeland security.

Dr. Barrett Slenning, associate professor of epidemiology and ruminant production medicine, 919/513-6324 or barrett_slenning@ncsu.edu, is the college director of agrosecurity and biopreparedness. Slenning studies agricultural disaster preparedness/response, biosecurity, epidemiology, economics and bioterrorism. He can discuss these and general issues.

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As a fledgling science fiction author in the early 1980s, John Kessel got a boost when he won the prestigious Nebula Award for science fiction and fantasy writing. Twenty-six years and eight nominations later, the North Carolina State University English professor has done it again - taking home one of the most highly esteemed awards a science fiction author can receive.

Kessel won the Nebula Award for Best Novelette for “Pride and Prometheus,” a tale involving characters from Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” and Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein.” “It’s a story about the difficulty of finding the proper mate,” Kessel says, “and how initial impressions are not always the most trustworthy.” The award was presented April 25 at a celebratory banquet in Los Angeles.

Previous winners of the Nebula Award for Best Novelette include such luminaries as Isaac Asimov, Ursula K. LeGuin, Poul Anderson, Roger Zelazny and Fritz Leiber - so Kessel is in good company. The Best Novelette category covers works that are between 7,500 and 17,500 words in length.

“I have achieved overnight success,” Kessel says. “I believe I now hold the record, 26 years, for the length of time between winning my first Nebula and my second.” He won his first Nebula for the novella “Another Orphan,” in 1982.

The Nebula Awards are given to the best science fiction and fantasy novel, novella, novelette and short story, as voted on by active members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc.

Kessel has also found success as a mentor to aspiring writers at NC State, where he teaches American literature and fiction writing. One of his students, Josh Eure, won this year’s highly coveted Dell Magazines Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing (formerly the Isaac Asimov Award).

“Pride and Prometheus” has also been nominated for a Hugo Award, which is an equally prominent prize awarded by science fiction readers. The story appears in Kessel’s 2008 story collection, “The Baum Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories.”

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Researchers have developed a new statistical model that simulates human mobility patterns, mimicking the way people move over the course of a day, a month or longer. The model, developed by scientists at North Carolina State University and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), is the first to represent the regular movement patterns of humans using statistical data. The model has a host of potential uses, ranging from land use planning to public health studies of disease outbreak.

The researchers gave global positioning system (GPS) devices to approximately 100 volunteers at five locations in the U.S. and South Korea and tracked the participants’ movements over time, according to study co-author Dr. Injong Rhee, a professor of computer science at NC State. By plotting the points where the study participants stopped, and their movement trajectories, researchers were able to determine patterns of mobility behavior.

For example, Rhee says, the researchers found that people tend to perform multiple activities in clusters that are in close proximity to each other - such as going to a bank, a dry-cleaner and a pharmacy that are all located on the same street. Furthermore, the researchers found that the study participants tend to more frequently visit locations that are popular among other people.

These behaviors illustrated statistical patterns. For example, Rhee explains, people will try to make the most efficient use of their time and effort by clustering activities together that are in geographical proximity to each other. This behavior creates patterns in which people make many short “jumps” within the clustered areas while making a few long jumps among the clustered areas. These patterns are best explained by statistical processes called self-similar points of visits and power-law distribution of jumping distances.

The researchers were then able to emulate these fundamental statistical properties of human mobility into a model that could be used to represent the regular daily movement of humans, Rhee says. The model is called the Self-similar Least Action Walk (SLAW), which could have a wide array of practical applications.

For example, Rhee says, “a realistic human mobility model could be used by civil engineers to plan roads, by public health officials to study virus outbreak spread, or by telecommunication companies for planning where to locate cell-phone towers. Any situation where you would want to be able to predict where people will go.”

The research, “SLAW: A Mobility Model for Human Walks,” was presented April 20 at the 28th IEEE Conference on Computer Communications in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The research team that developed the model includes Rhee, NC State Ph.D. candidate Seongik Hong, NC State post-doctoral research associate Seong Joon Kim, and KAIST researchers Kyunghan Lee and Song Chong. The National Science Foundation funded the research.

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Note to editors: The presentation abstract follows.

“SLAW: A Mobility Model for Human Walks”

Authors: Seongik Hong, Seong Joon Kim and Injong Rhee, North Carolina State University; Kyunghan Lee and Song Chong, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Presented: April 20, 2009, at the 28th IEEE Conference on Computer Communications in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract: Simulating human mobility is important in mobile networks because many mobile devices are either attached to or controlled by humans and it is very hard to deploy real mobile networks whose size is controllably scalable for performance evaluation. Lately various measurement studies of human walk traces have discovered several significant statistical patterns of human mobility. Namely these include truncated power-law distributions of flights, pause-times and inter-contact times, fractal way-points, and heterogeneously defined areas of individual mobility. Unfortunately, none of the existing mobility models effectively captures all of these features. This paper presents a new mobility model called SLAW (Self-similar Least Action Walk) that can produce synthetic walk traces containing all these features. This is by far the first such model. Our performance study using SLAW generated traces indicates that SLAW is effective in representing social contexts present among people sharing common interests or those in a single community such as university campus, companies and theme parks. The social contexts are typically common gathering places where most people visit during their daily lives such as student unions, dormitory, street malls and restaurants. SLAW expresses the mobility patterns involving these contexts by fractal waypoints and heavy-tail flights on top of them. We verify via DTN (delay-tolerant network) routing performance evaluation using SLAW that these patterns bring out the unique performance features of various mobile network routing protocols.

North Carolina State University’s Entrepreneurship Initiative is holding the first annual eGames entrepreneurship Olympiad on Friday, April 24, from noon to 5:30 p.m. at the College of Textiles on NC State’s Centennial Campus. Continue Reading »

As part of the School Connectivity Initiative (SCI), led by North Carolina State University’s Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, all 115 North Carolina school districts are now linked with high-speed access to online content and services through the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN).

NCREN is a high-speed broadband network that connects all public and most private colleges and universities, as well as select community colleges in the state, via a highly reliable infrastructure that provides an excellent platform for teaching, learning and innovation. With the addition of all K-12 school districts within the state, NCREN serves as the education backbone linking students and teachers across North Carolina’s K-20 education community to each other and to instructional content and resources.

“This education backbone provides a solid foundation for transformational programs and services that will deliver instructional content in a smarter way for the 21st century,” says Phil Emer, director of technology at the Friday Institute and SCI director.

SCI was recommended by the Business Education Technology Alliance, chaired by then Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, and was created in coordination with partners from the e-NC Authority, N.C. Department of Public Instruction, N.C. Information and Technology Services and MCNC. The Friday Institute provided project management including planning, design, deployment and policy input.

To make statewide connectivity affordable, SCI established an e-rate service center that supports local school districts in navigating the federal bureaucracy surrounding the federal e-rate discount program. The program refunds up to 90 percent of fees associated with connecting K-12 schools to the Internet and other services.

SCI also created a network engineering service center to support districts at the local level by assisting with troubleshooting, network set-up and optimization. The center provides experts to all school districts as needed, complementing the district technical staff and helping to ensure consistent high quality network access across all districts.

“It is clear that access to opportunity is really about access to educational content – and connectivity is instrumental in making that happen,” Emer says. “SCI is the first step towards the 21st century classroom, and developing a North Carolina workforce poised to meet the challenges of a global economy.

“There is great content already available through programs such as Learn and Earn Online and the NC Virtual Public School,” Emer continues. “Now that all public school systems in the state are able to access this great educational content, it will begin the transformation that is necessary to bridge where our schools are to where they need to be – in the 21st century.”

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North Carolina State University is holding its 7th annual NanoDays, a statewide event designed to open the world of nanoscale science and nanotechnology to citizens, teachers and K-12 students, on Friday, April 24, on NC State’s Centennial Campus. Participants will experience hands-on nano activities – such as making “nano” ice cream, trying products such as nano sunscreen and nano stain-free clothes, touring laboratories, and meeting with scientists and engineers currently conducting nanoscience and nanotechnology research.

NanoDays partners include NC State Nano Initiative, NC Science Olympiad, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC Museum of Life and Sciences, Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, and the Nanotechnology Informal Science Education Network. Last year’s event drew more than 1,500 students; this year attendance is expected to double.

Media is invited to cover the event. Nanodays will begin with demonstrations in the atrium of Engineering Building I followed by nanotechnology lab tours being held across Centennial Campus. Parking is available in the Partners Way Parking Deck.

Note to Media: Onsite media support will be available. Please contact Kylie Cafiero at 703/400-0173 to coordinate interviews.

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Thinking your memory will get worse as you get older may actually be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Researchers at North Carolina State University have found that senior citizens who think older people should perform poorly on tests of memory actually score much worse than seniors who do not buy in to negative stereotypes about aging and memory loss. Continue Reading »

Researchers at North Carolina State University have used a mathematical model that allows them to get a clearer picture of the galaxy’s youngest supernova remnant by correcting for the distortions caused by cosmic dust. Their new data provides evidence that this remnant is from a type Ia supernova - the explosion of a white dwarf star - and raises questions about the ways in which magnetic fields affect the generation of the remnant’s cosmic ray particles.

NC State physicists Dr. Stephen Reynolds and Dr. Kazimierz Borkowski, with colleagues from Cambridge University and NASA, re-examined their original X-ray images of supernova remnant G1.9+0.3 in an attempt to glean more information about the remnant’s origins, rate of expansion, and any cosmic particles that may have resulted from the explosion. Scientists know that supernovae create cosmic rays - fast-moving subatomic particles that play a role in the formation of stars - but they aren’t sure how this occurs or what other functions the particles may serve.

“We knew the dust was a problem - it’s why we never saw the original supernova light in Victorian times,” Reynolds says. “Our high-powered orbiting telescopes use X-rays to take pictures of these objects, and the dust scatters these X-rays, so in order to get data that might be helpful to us, we first had to correct for the dust distortion.”

A mathematical model allowed the scientists to deduce how many X-rays from each part of the remnant were scattered from another part. After this correction, they found that the “bright” and “dim” sides of the remnant had more and fewer of the highest-energy X-rays, respectively. Reynolds says that this pattern is best explained by a type Ia supernova, and that the difference in brightness corresponds to the level of synchrotronic X-rays present. Synchrotronic X-rays (like those produced by terrestrial synchrotron particle accelerators) are produced by high-energy cosmic particles, making this remnant one of the best examples of a cosmic ray accelerator that scientists have.

In addition, the location of the bright and dim sides point to the presence of a magnetic field that is affecting the remnant’s acceleration process, and the distribution of cosmic rays.

The results were published in the April 20 edition of Astrophysical Journal Letters.

“We use supernovae as flashbulbs across the universe ( a means to make assumptions about how the universe works,” Reynolds says. “Shockwaves from the explosions and the fast-moving cosmic particles that come from them play roles in galaxy formation. If we can figure out how these particles are energized, and how magnetic fields affect them, we’ll be able to answer all sorts of questions about our universe.”

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North Carolina State University experts can shed light on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement April 17 that carbon dioxide and five other “greenhouse gases” are contributing to global climate change and therefore pose a threat to human health and welfare. While utilities, factory farms and other industry sectors are key contributors to overall greenhouse emissions, EPA specifically focused on cars and trucks as a source of greenhouse gases, saying, “motor vehicle engines contribute … to the threat of climate change.” Experts view EPA’s announcement as a first step toward regulations that will attempt to address emissions from automobiles and their related health and ecological concerns.

NC State has greenhouse gas emissions experts who can offer insight into the risks posed by greenhouse gases and the role motor vehicles play in emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Their understanding of the issues will help outline the questions EPA will face as it moves forward with its regulatory development process.

Dr. Christopher Frey, professor of civil engineering, 919/515-1155 or frey@ncsu.edu, is an expert on transportation and air quality issues who has studied greenhouse gas emissions for more than a decade. Frey is an internationally recognized expert on air quality and health risks, and also sits on EPA’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee.

Dr. Nagui Rouphail, professor of civil engineering, 919/515-1154 or rouphail@eos.ncsu.edu, is an expert on transportation systems and their interaction with mobile sources of air pollution and related greenhouse gas emissions. Rouphail’s research focuses on how vehicle and traffic operations affect emissions of greenhouse gases. Rouphail is also the director of the Institute for Transportation Research and Education.

Dr. Viney P. Aneja, professor of air quality and environmental technology, 919/515-7808 or viney_aneja@ncsu.edu, is an expert on air quality and environmental policy issues. Aneja’s research focuses on issues related to air quality, including emissions, transport and the
fate of pollutants in the atmosphere. Aneja also serves on the EPA Science Advisory Board’s Environmental Engineering Committee. “Emissions from utilities and an array of other sources, including concentrated animal feeding operations, are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, so they are facing new regulatory challenges as well,” Aneja says.

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North Carolina State University will formally dedicate its new mathematics and statistics building at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 1.

Self-guided tours of the facility will be held from 3:30 until 4:15, when the official ceremony will begin. The building is located at 2311 Stinson Drive, at the former site of Riddick Stadium on NC State’s campus.

The 119,000 square foot building will house state-of-the-art classrooms, computer labs, tutorial centers and meeting and study space for students and faculty from NC State’s mathematics and statistics departments. A partnership with Cisco will improve digital communications for students by providing access to live and on-demand video content from anywhere on campus.

Construction of the $32 million building was made possible by the Higher Education Bond Referendum passed by North Carolinians in 2000, as well as by gifts from private donors, including SAS, the Cary-based software company.

“NC State’s mathematical and statistical science programs rank among the best in the nation,” said Dr. Daniel Solomon, dean of the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. “We now have a state-of-the-art facility that is worthy of the stature of our students and faculty.”

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