| November, 2008 |
Vol. 2, No.14
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A Message from the Dean 
HOW TO GET ENGAGED? It may sound like advice from an online dating service, but getting engaged serves as a vital component in the success of the College of Technology and Computer Science as well as East Carolina University as a whole. While the social connotations imply engagement as the first step in what is hopefully a long, fulfilling partnership, the same can be said for academic engagement. Engagement has become a high priority focus for not only East Carolina University, but also for UNC-General Administration. ECU has become an engaged university. This elective Community Engagement Classification offered by the Carnegie Foundation offers ECU the opportunity to be recognized for our engagement with our communities. According to the Foundation, "Community Engagement describes the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity." I believe our college is poised to deliver this type of engagement and outreach, and in many cases have already begun these efforts. From senior capstone projects to our CITE program, from creating exercise tracks at Pitt County schools to assisting other campus units with technology and software problems, there is a tremendous opportunity for this college to step into the limelight and showcase our abilities and talents as well as that of our students. Many of you may want to get involved, but don't know where to start. I encourage you to spend some time in your department meetings, or with your advisory boards, or with your students to explore new opportunities. Another area of importance across ECU's campus is the efforts to increase multidisciplinary research and quest for external funding. Did you know just about every college on campus is involved with the military in some capacity? Or, perhaps exploring the use of technology, actual and virtual, to improve gaming, media, and global business? Speaking of global, there is a major effort to promote and enhance international student opportunities at East Carolina. The college has its own international committee which works with ECU's Office of International Affairs looking to bolster student and faculty international exchange, travel, growth of programs global and partnerships with European and Asian nations. The opportunities are great and your impact can be even greater. Just find ways to get engaged. Again, if you don't know how, here are a couple places to start your quest.
Lindsey Crisp (ECU Alum '94) This is the first of what will become a monthly feature in the College of Technology and Computer Science's newsletter. Our Alumni Focus will be a Q&A interview with valued alums from East Carolina University which are also involved in the College of TECS in some capacity. This month, TECS Communications Coordinator Chris Stansbury caught up with Lindsey Crisp. Lindsey is the CEO of Carver Machine Works (CMW), located in Washington, North Carolina. CMW was founded in 1976 and has grown to date to 75 employees. CS: Carver started out as a family owned company and has grown to what it is now thirty two years later. What has been the key to thirty two years of really good success?
CS: So, who you bring into the family is important. For the young people coming out of engineering programs like ECU, what are characteristics you look for before you hire them? LC: The first three things that come to mind are attitude, commitment and intellect. Attitude is so important, somebody that's got the attitude that they can get it done, can be a positive team member and work as a team. I like to look at either their personal or their professional career, if they've ever committed to do something and had the perseverance to make it happen, some level of commitment, and then also, their intelligence levels, their intellectual (accomplishments) are an important part. CS: With so much that goes into the full college experience, socially and educationally, what kind of advice do you give to students to handle time management? LC: Absolutely, with what tuition costs these days, a lot of folks work during their college years, maybe they have an internship and juggle a full class load, so being organized and being able to prioritize is so crucial to effective time management. I think that college is such a wonderful place to learn this skill because once you get into your professional career, a big part of your success or failure is the ability to prioritize, organize and be effective. CS: You graduated from East Carolina with an accounting degree and are a licensed CPA, how did you parlay that into becoming the CEO of a globally recognized machining company? LC: During my time at East Carolina I never felt that because I was getting an accounting degree I had to go into public accounting. I always felt like my accounting training was a good foundation to build my career upon. I didn't have to be pigeon-holed for what my career was going to be, so I made career decisions that I felt were going to help me grow as a person and as a business person rather than decisions on what other people felt like I needed to do next. CS: You are involved in the Rotary Club, The Beaufort County Committee of 100, The North Carolina Aerospace Alliance, and ECU Engineering Advisory Board and others civic groups, how does this impact you as a manager? LC: Well, the more you interact with other folks, the more different perspectives you can gain. I've also learned that volunteer organizations are a great way to get leadership opportunities and learn how to manage and be a leader outside of the professional world. It is always just a huge networking opportunity, and being on ECU's engineering advisory board has for a great networking opportunity for us.
LC: I was so impressed the first time I met Gene Dixon and then Paul Kauffmann, their infectious enthusiasm for the department and what they are creating, it's really hard not to get excited about it and also to have a school of engineering in eastern North Carolina is a big deal in a longer term sense for the fact that the economy in eastern North Carolina is being forced to get away from what was our traditional economy driver, and that was agriculture. To have our own source of engineering technical skills here in Eastern North Carolina, it's just a big deal for us to improve our technology and our manufacturing capabilities and grow our own. As Carver has grown, we've hired a graduate of ECU's Department of Engineering and he has hit the ground running, he did an internship with us for two years and we're in the middle of a project now that if we hadn't brought him on, and brought him along like we did, we would've really had a personnel gap. That we filled that position (with local engineering talent) is not only a big deal for Carver Machine Works, it's a big deal for any manufacturing company in eastern North Carolina. CS: When you are working with these young kids, does it kind of rejuvenate you and maybe the rest of the folks at Carver? LC: Oh yeah, it raises the bar, the questions, the things that are assumed every day. You bring a new person in the mix or someone with a new perspective or a young person in, they start asking all these fundamental questions again and you have to re-look and re-think about your business and its, you know that fresh perspective is important and then also the enthusiasm and the vigor and you know it's fun when you get right out of college and you start your career, I mean, it's an exciting time, and its infectious, people pick up on that. CS: Absolutely, what do you see for the future of ECU's engineering program, short and long term? LC: Well, I think short term the challenges are going to be their funding source, in Eastern North Carolina with the economy like it is right now. Long-term, I think the sky is the limit I would love to see East Carolina have its own College of Engineering. You think about Spirit AeroSystems coming to town, and some of the other economic developing that's going on with some of these counties in Eastern North Carolina and the need is going to be there, that need is going to drive the university's success and a College of Engineering to success. It will also drive people wanting to locate their businesses in Eastern North Carolina when they have a technically trained labor pool to draw from.
LC: For the student, I think it gives them some real project management experience. So, the group that did the capstone project for us not only had to have their own limits of time and resources but they had to work within Carver Machine Works time and resources. Most projects have to be managed, they'll have a lot of constraints as far as resources of time and money and people. That I think, for the students, is the key part. The engineering professors teach them that when you are in front and it's time to be effective, that you've got to be ready to roll and it's got to be a meeting where you come out with an understood task to keep the overall project moving forward. Without ECU having an engineering department, if that student would have gone to NC State, he probably would not have come back to Eastern North Carolina to work. By him staying at ECU and having the school here available to him he had the opportunity of working with us and us with him, and now he has the opportunity to live and have a career in Eastern North Carolina. CS: So, the ground work has been laid for more ECU engineering students working with Carver? LC: Oh absolutely, we're committed to the department and our involvement to East Carolina as a whole has been so key, one of our board members (Ernie Uhr) was the past dean of the business school here at ECU, so we have a very close relationship with East Carolina University and this Engineering Department is very dear to us. For more information about Lindsey Crisp or Carver Machine Works, please visit their website at www.cmwglobal.com. New College of Technology and Computer Science Website Launched The College of Technology and Computer Science website has been completely reconstructed and redesigned and was launched earlier this semester. The website address remains the same (www.tecs.ecu.edu), however we have addressed the need for simple functionality and access to vital information for our students, faculty and staff as well as our alumni, donors and supporters. The new tools available on the website include:
We encourage you to visit our new website at www.tecs.ecu.edu and stay connected to the College of Technology and Computer Science. Technology Systems Faculty Member Assists Pitt County Students during Mock trial By Brock Letchworth - The Daily Reflector A hands-on project designed to teach students about legal conflict played out in a Pitt County courtroom Thursday morning much like an actual trial.
Every student participated in the trial, with some playing more active roles than others. They played the parts of the plaintiff, defendant, witnesses, attorneys, bailiffs and the jury. East Carolina University Communications Professor Michael Cavanagh served as the trial judge, while a pair of local lawyers, Mary Cavanagh and Christine Russell, helped the student legal teams. Paige Ballance and Tricia Briley, teachers of the academically gifted program at E.B. Aycock, say they organized the event to help students better understand their curriculum. "They are studying conflict this year, and that includes all types such as personal, political or legal," Ballance said. "This really gives them good exposure to the way legal conflicts play out in court." "They have been very excited about this, because it is real," she said. "They love doing simulations and participating in something where they have to think on their feet. This challenges them, and that is what they need." The mock trial was the last of several the students have participated in during the last couple of weeks, but the first outside the classroom. Cavanagh said he also uses mock trials with his media law students at East Carolina, because he believes it shows them how to apply theoretical knowledge learned in class to real-world situations. It is beneficial for them to be introduced to the practice of law, he said. "Most people don't feel like the law is something that really affects them in any way, but they soon realize that, as life goes on, they will probably find themselves in court for something one day," Cavanagh said. "They need to know how the legal system operates, and this is something that takes them away from the everyday activities they have in class." The former public defender said he was impressed with the students' performances. "I was a little concerned, because I have only done this before with college students, but I was really impressed by how much they know," Cavanagh said. "I am also impressed with how much they paid attention to what was going on." Ballance said the activity promotes teamwork and critical thinking, which is in line with the goals of the academically gifted program. "You never know how many of these kids could end up being attorneys," Ballance said. "This really exposes them to it." Think-In 2008 Faculty Presentations
Computer Science Faculty Participate in Indian Diwali Event
Construction Management Guest Speaker from Tongji University, Shanghai On October 22, 2008, Professor Kewei Tang of Tongji University, Shanghai, successfully delivered his lecture to our senior construction quality management students. His topic was "Quality Management in Shanghai Pudong International Airport Expansion Project". By means of the Centra/DE facilities, the Chinese professor showed our students approximately 50 interesting pictures and slides about the three year new terminal building construction, one of the key projects in Shanghai for the World Expo 2010 Shanghai, including the organization of project, Chinese characteristics if construction quality management, construction quality management methods used in this project. After his 50 minutes lecturing, Professor Tang answered students' questions about baggage handling equipment installation, the project and China in general. Tarek Abdel-Salam (Engineering) and Tijjani Mohammed (Tech Systems)
Erol Ozan and Melinda Doty (Technology Systems)
Jason Yao and Yongbo Wan (Engineering)
Academic advisor goes green!
George Wang (Construction Management)
David Batts (Technology Systems)
Halloween 2008 - Engineering Faculty Deliver International Fun to Kids 
The Reimage Church of Winterville converted their sanctuary into a Fall Festival for the public. Of course, they were focusing on a night of fun for kids. This year their theme was "International Fun". Costumes, games, food and fun were built around 4 nations: Mexico, Nigeria, Italy, and China. Prizes for the best costumes in different age groups were awarded, as well as prizes for the "best nation" complex. Each nation had games for the kids, as well as nationally represented food and information. The Department of Engineering's Jason Yao assisted in preparing the China complex with a professional bulletin about his country. Jason and Melanie (Peterson) McLawhorn (daughter of our TEC lab supervisor Bruce Peterson) was in charge of the China complex - which consisted of multiple games and food centered on the 2008 China Olympics. Jason, his wife Jane and daughter Macie, were also enthusiastic helpers during the night's two-hour festivities. While the Mexico complex took first place, the China complex did take second!
2008 Distribution and Logistics Golf Tournament This year's IDIS golf tournament was held at Bradford Creek Golf Course in Greenville on a beautiful 75 degree November day. More than 70 golfers hit the links, including IDIS students, and alumni as well as corporate and industry partners. The Distribution and Logistics program would like to thank the following sponsors that helped make this event a success:
Announcements and Upcoming Events Upcoming Events
Announcements
Fall 2008 Semester Dates of Importance
Did you ever wonder......
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LC: Any organization is built upon its people, and I think Carver Machine Works has been successful because of the hard work and dedication of all its employees. We've been employee-owned for over ten years now, and it's that hard work and dedication that facilitates individuals within the company putting aside their own immediate interests at times to pursue the interest of the organization first.
CS: What prompted you to want to get involved with ECU's engineering program and join the advisory board?
CS: The student who worked with you as a part of a Capstone Project, Kyle Barnes, is now a full-time employee. Will you talk about the benefits students and businesses experience through a Capstone Project?
Nearly 80 students from the academically gifted program at E.B. Aycock Middle School traveled to the courthouse for a mock trial focused on a hypothetical assault claim involving a pair of golfers.
ECU partnered with NCSU and IBM VCL (Virtual Computing Lab) to provide centralized remote computer access and software applications to both faculty and students. During the fall semester, 2008, Technology Systems professors and ITCS have worked together to offer students in ICTN4200 and ICTN4800 VCL computers for resource-intensive labs. In ICTN4200, intrusion detection labs are performed using VirtualBox virtual machines inside VCL computers. In ICTN4800, students use virtualized operating systems to configure a firewall that protects a simulated internal network from a simulated external attack. VCL enables students to study anytime, anywhere. ECU will continue to add to this infrastructure.
New virtual environments have evolved to a point where academics can visualize the benefits of these more socially interactive distance media. A first step in evaluating these environments is to build out virtual classrooms meeting spaces and laboratories that improve the student's ability to collaborate and interact. The next step is to identify ways to incorporate existing classroom and lab materials with the goal of not only providing distance-based platforms for further study and analysis and accelerating the process, but also developing new virtual course offerings. See how new virtual classrooms are being built, and how students are engaging via Second Life.
The goal of this pilot project is to use technology to develop and implement a competent and manageable delivery model for courses with large enrollments and multiple sections, to meet the growing demand for online courses in primarily degree completion and online degree programs. The model utilizes Blackboard as a course management tool and Camtasia for recording PowerPoint lectures with audio and visual content. In this model, a Learning Manager is responsible for creating assignments, projects, and discussion board questions, and overseeing and interfacing weekly with Content Integrators who are each responsible for grading student interactions for one section.
Faculty members from the Department of Computer Science participated in one of the biggest festivals of Hindus, known as Deepawali or Diwali in India is celebrated with lots of enthusiasm and happiness. This festival is celebrated for five continuous days, with the third day being celebrated as the main Diwali or as 'Festival of Lights'. Fireworks are always associated with this festival. The day is celebrated with people lighting diyas, candles all around their house. Lakshmi Puja is performed in the evening to seek divine blessings of Goddess of Wealth. Diwali gifts are exchanged among all near and dear ones." For more information see 
"Two-Stage Direct Expansion Solar-Assisted Heat Pump for High Temperature Applications," Co-Authored by: Tarek Abdel-Salam, Sushil Chaturvedi, and Sai Sreedharan. It was published in the Journal of Applied Thermal Engineering.
The second one is published in the proceedings of the IAJC-IJME conference and will be published in one of the IJME journals as well, the title of the paper is: "Enhancing Students' Math and Science Education though Information Technology Skills in Robotics" by: Keith Williamson, Nehad El Sawaf, Tarek Abdel-Salam, and Tijjani Mohammed. This paper was presented at the conference and published in the proceedings of the International Journal of Modern Engineering Conference, (IAJC-IJME), November 17-19, 2008, Nashville, Tennessee.
Amy Shannon, advisor for the Computer Science Department, has a new way of helping the environment. Instead of printing out registration forms when students meet with her, she now emails them their registration with approved classes and PIN code, thereby saving on paper. Students say they like this method as they do not lose registration paper and has it easily accessible in their email.
On October 13, 2008, Batts spoke at the NC Community College Annual Conference in Raleigh. "A Work Force Development Success: Degree Completion for Your AAS Graduates." It was held at the Raleigh Convention Center. He was a session speaker to over 2500 community college people in attendance at the conference. This helps strengthen ties between ECU and the community colleges in NC, especially with Associate of Applied Science degrees that were once considered terminal degrees but with the BSIT gives pathways for these students to get a four year degree.
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