September 2010

Sep 30, 2010

Fossilized Giant Penguin Feathers Reveal Color, Feather Structure of Ancient Birds

A North Carolina State University researcher is part of a team that has discovered fossilized feathers from a giant penguin that lived near the Equator more than 36 million years ago. These feathery fossils reveal color patterns in an ancient extinct penguin species, and offer clues to how modern penguin feathers evolved. The penguin in… 

Sep 30, 2010

We Built This City On Lunar Regolith And Roll!

If you’re going to build a house, you need to know what type of material you’re building the foundation on. That’s been a problem for those designing structures for the moon, or even remote parts of our planet. Now researchers have developed a way to determine how the ground at remote sites will interact with… 

Sep 30, 2010

[Kitchen] Space: The Final Frontier

It's likely your grandchildren will thank Matthew Gilbride for all that extra countertop space in the year 2060. The industrial design grad student's award-winning concept may seem like something out of a Jetsons cartoon, but there's a lot of practical research behind it. 

Sep 30, 2010

Chancellor’s Budget Forum Oct. 6

Get the latest budget news at the chancellor’s forum on Wednesday, Oct. 6.  Faculty, staff and students are invited to the presentation at 10: 30 a.m. in the Talley Student Center’s Stewart Theatre. 

Sep 30, 2010

Historian Kelley Recognized

Dr. Blair L. M. Kelley, associate professor of history, is the 2010 winner of the Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Book Award from the Association of Black Women Historians. In addition, the online magazine "For Harriet" included her on its list of The Most Inspiring Black Women on Twitter. 

Sep 29, 2010

Show and Tell

You had me at convoy. Join the crowd at the legislative building on Friday afternoon when the Industrial Extension Service wraps up its statewide road trip celebrating all things made in North Carolina. 

Sep 29, 2010

NC State Works To Increase Interest In STEM Careers For Minority, Rural Students

Students who grow up in small, rural towns do not have the same exposure to high-tech jobs as their “big city” counterparts and  may not be aware of what it takes to be a rocket scientist or video-game programmer. With an increasing need for workers to fill science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers in… 

Sep 29, 2010

GDP: What’s Debt Got To Do With It?

Have you had the sneaking suspicion that a nation’s debt can be a dead weight on the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP)? You’re right! New economic research can tell you exactly how much debt a country can handle before that debt begins to hurt its economy. Good news for the U.S. and other developed nations… 

Sep 29, 2010

Research Lays Foundation For Building On The Moon – Or Anywhere Else

The key to the stability of any building is its foundation, but it is difficult to test some building sites in advance – such as those on the moon. New research from North Carolina State University is helping resolve the problem by using computer models that can utilize a small sample of soil to answer… 

Sep 28, 2010

Space: The Final Frontier

Honey, I shrunk the appliances. Your grandchildren will thank grad student Matthew Gilbride for all that extra room in the kitchen in the year 2060. 

Sep 28, 2010

Charron’s Book Wins Award

Dr. Katherine Mellen Charron, assistant professor of history, has won the Julia Cherry Spruill Prize for best monograph on Southern women’s history. The Southern Association of Women’s Historians will present the award during the annual meeting this November in Charlotte. 

Sep 28, 2010

Research: Welcome To The Real World

A new study shows that social-science research done by “ivory tower” academics does have utility in the real world, specifically in the business community. And, even more specifically, it could help catch the next corporate fraud. The accounting firms tasked with auditing corporations and identifying fraud are required to have brainstorming sessions as part of… 

Sep 28, 2010

Study Finds National Debt ‘Tipping Point’ That Slows Economic Growth

Researchers from North Carolina State University have identified a “tipping point” for national debt – the point at which national debt levels begin to have an adverse effect on economic growth. The findings could influence economic policy discussions globally, and will be distributed at the upcoming meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World… 

Sep 27, 2010

CSI Dublin

Plant pathologists are out to stop a killer that claimed a million lives in the 1840s and still poses a threat to food security. A U.S. Botanic Garden exhibit highlights Dr. Jean Ristaino's research on the Irish potato famine. 

Sep 27, 2010

Finding the Balance

An avid photographer and plant-propagation enthusiast, sophomore Amanda Wilkins spends her days with one foot planted knee-deep in foliage and soil and the other submerged in pictures and print as Editor-in-Chief of Technician, NC State's award-winning daily newspaper.