| July-August, 2008 |
Vol. 2, No.12
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A Message from the Dean 
Dr. David White Named Interim Dean of TECS On July 1, 2008, Dr. David White was named the Interim Dean of the College of Technology and Computer Science. Dr. White joins the College of TECS after spending more than 25 years at East Carolina's College of Health and Human Performance (HHP). He has served as the Department Chair for Health Education and Promotion for the last eight years. Additionally, Dr. White was the Associate Dean for HHP for three years prior to being named department chair. "I am tremendously honored to serve as the Interim Dean of the College of Technology and Computer Science, " said Dr. White. "I have witnessed the remarkable growth and progress of this College from a distance and I look forward to being an active member of this team. " Dr. White recognizes the importance of the UNC Tomorrow initiative on campus and believes the College of Technology and Computer Science is well on its way to accomplishing great things for ECU, the eastern region and state as a whole. " The faculty and staff are already heavily involved in community and economic development in our area," adds Dr. White. "Furthermore, our goal is to make sure each student and eventual graduate is prepared to survive in the 21st century." Dr. Glen Gilbert, Dean of the College of Health and Human Performance believes Dr. White is the perfect person for the College of TECS. "David White is a seasoned administrator that always works hard to insure his faculty has what they need to be successful and the students receive the best education possible within the resources available," said Dr. Gilbert. "He is a fine administrator and a caring man and will make an excellent interim dean." Dr. White will serve as the interim dean until a search is conducted and the position is filled permanently.
Technology Systems Faculty Member Receives National Safety Professional of Year Award from ASSE in Las Vegas
Behm, an assistant professor in Occupational Safety at ECU, received the ASSE Academic Practice Specialty's Safety Professional of the Year award. Academic Practice is one of 14 practice specialties within ASSE and the Safety Professional of the Year award represents outstanding accomplishments in service, scholarship, and education (collectively) both to the profession and to the practice specialty. "It is a tremendous honor personally and professionally to receive this award," said Behm. "It really means a great deal to me to be recognized nationally after just four years of academic service here at East Carolina." Behm also participated in a Business of Safety panel discussion that included Edwin Foulke, Jr., the Assistant Secretary of Labor with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The panelists shared their insights with conference attendees and responded to questions addressing the key issues and concerns of SH&E professionals on ways that professionals can demonstrate business value to their employers. ECU Announces Partnership with NC Department of Public Instruction Giving HS Students College Credits East Carolina University's Department of Technology Systems has joined forces with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's Career and Technical Education in a partnership that will help accelerate the preparation of students entering the fields of engineering and technology by eliminating the redundancy of instruction in the fundamental skill of understanding the safe configuration, operation, and troubleshooting of personal computer components and systems.
"There was a level of academic redundancy that we believe could be avoided," said Dr. PhilLunsford, from the ECU Department of Technology Systems. "This partnership with the Department of Public Instruction is a real win-win situation for the high schools, ECU and most of all, the students." The agreement allows for students to receive college credit at East Carolina University if they complete all of the below requirements:
"We (NCDPI) are very pleased to have formed this partnership with ECU," said David Barbour, Education Consultant for Trade and Industrial Education in the NC Department of Public Instruction. "It will definitely eliminate the instruction redundancy as well as save our students time and money required for preparation. Through this program, students can get a certification as well as university credit they can use after high school." This has the potential to affect a large number of high school students in the state. As a matter of fact, in 2006-2007, more than 8,300 high school students in NC could have been eligible for this academic credit if it was available and they met the requirements. The agreement was officially presented as a part of State Superintendent Dr. June Atkinson's report to the board at the State Board of Education Meeting on June 5, 2008. This agreement will be reviewed every two years for any necessary adjustments. Program makes efficient homes ECU's heating efficiency program assisted 122 homebuyers in eastern North Carolina last year conserve energy and save nearly $80,000 in fuel costs. The "Upgrade & Save" program, administered by Leslie Pagliari, a professor in the College of Technology and Computer Science, works with buyers of new homes in 17 counties to exchange their standard electric furnaces and air-conditioning units for energy-efficient heat pumps.
The program began in 2003 through a partnership between the State Energy Office, ECU and area manufactured home retailers. It covers the cost difference - about $700 per home - between the standard electric furnace/air conditioning unit and an energy efficient heat pump. The manufactured home retailer handles the heat pump upgrade for new home purchasers and is reimbursed by ECU TECS for each verified upgrade. Pagliari visits the new homes to train the owners on the heat pump. Last year's 122 participants were able to save on average $643 in fuel costs this past heating season, Pagliari said, provided that they operated the heat pump in accordance with the recommended settings. Owners of existing homes built in 2001 or later can be reimbursed up to $1,500 to upgrade their electric furnaces to energy efficient heat pumps. A $500 rebate is also available to home retailers who sell ENERGY STAR rated homes. Dr. John Reis Appointed Examiner for 2008 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award
As an examiner, Reis is responsible for reviewing and evaluating applications submitted for the Award. The board is composed of approximately 500 leading experts selected from industry, professional and trade organizations, education and health care organizations and government. Those selected meet the highest standards of qualification and peer recognition. All members of the board must take part in a preparation course based on the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence and the scoring and evaluation processes for the Baldrige Award. "I am honored to have been selected to serve as an Examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program," Reis said. "My role as an examiner is to help institutions achieve the highest levels of quality in how they conduct their business." East Carolina University's First Engineering Class Graduates and Gives Back to the Program East Carolina University graduated the first ever class of engineers during Commencement Saturday, May 10, 2008. The twenty-two graduating seniors represent the development and growth of a program created four years ago to address the local and regional needs of the 21st century economy.
The 2008 graduating class will be leaving campus and moving on to a variety of different educational and career opportunities. "Four of our seniors have already been accepted to some of the best Engineering Graduate Schools in the country, including Auburn and North Carolina State," said Engineering Department Chair Dr. Paul Kauffmann. "Several others will be staying close to ECU and have accepted job offers from local companies like Carver Machine Works in Washington and the Roberts Company in Winterville." As a generous act, the senior graduating class of engineers got together and decided to make a difference for future classes of the program. The seniors made a donation of $1,500 to the Engineering Foundation. The announcement was made at the College of Technology and Computer Science Recognition Ceremony on Saturday night. "This generous and forward thinking gift is the start of alumni involvement in the engineering program," said Kauffmann. "Our first graduates have demonstrated their commitment to enhancing engineering access by this donation which will focus on scholarships and financial support for future students." ECU Re-Designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence
A ceremony recognizing this major achievement was held at an awards dinner on June 4, 2008 during the annual conference of the Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education. The Colloquium was held at the University of Texas, Dallas and the awards dinner was held at the Hyatt Regency, North Dallas, TX. Dr. Erol Ozan accepted the "Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education" Re-Certification and CNSS course mapping awards that is given to ECU during the ceremony.
Dr. Qin Ding from the Department of Computer Science recently presented two papers at two conferences.
Construction Management's Dr. George Wang had two of his papers accepted by the 12th International Computing in Civil and Building Engineering & 2008 International Conference on Information Technology in Construction which will be held in October in Beijing, China.
In May, Dixon gave two presentations to the Institute of Industrial Engineers, Vancouver Canada. The first presentation entitled Technical Raconteur, was a one hour tutorial on giving effective oral presentations. The second represented an extension of the SAE reported research.
Several Department of Technology Systems faculty members had the paper accepted recently. Dr. Chengcheng Li, Mr. Lee Toderick, Dr. Tijjani Mohammed, Dr. Peng Li, and Dr. Phil Lunsford collaborated on the paper called "Blur the Boundary between the Virtual and the Real."
Crouch earned his undergraduate degree in Computer Science from ECU in 2004 and is near completion of his Master's Degree. Crouch (picture at right during his presentation) and Dr. Williams were among an elite group asked to present at this international conference, which was held in San Francisco. Steve Jobs opened the session involving the I-Phone and the fantastic new programs associated with it. The Modality pair spoke to a crowd of more than 5,000 about an application called "Netter's Anatomy." Netter's Anatomy allows medical students to advance beyond flash card learning to being able to visually pinpoint parts of the human body. Additionally, they go easily access the web to learn more about a topic. This application for the I-Phone has passed the rigorous scrutiny of top Apple execs to make it onto the stage with companies like Sega, eBay, Major League Baseball, The Associated Press, etc. "The preparation I received as a student in the Computer Science Department at ECU has proven invaluable to my career," said Crouch. "The knowledge and experience gained both in the classroom and working in the Technology Innovation Lab as a grad assistant, have equipped me with the skill set necessary to implement elegant software solutions and to continue to further my understanding of computer science concepts. The broad spectrum of topics in the computer science curriculum, coupled with the excellent instruction provided by the faculty, made my experience at ECU truly enlightening." If you would like more about James Crouch's company, Modality, please log on to their website at http://www.modalitylearning.com. Niels Kasch - Department of Computer Science - was accepted to the NAACL summer school held at Johns Hopkins University. Furthermore, he received one of their limited numbers of scholarships that pretty much pays for all his expenses. This will broaden his horizons about Computational Linguistics prior to beginning his Ph.D. study this fall at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Jacob Pennock and Mitzi Ponce are undergraduate students with the Department of Computer Science. They co-authored papers with Computer Science faculty members including Dr. Nasseh Tabrizi and Dr. Junhua Ding which were presented at conferences. A Survey of Input Sensing and Processing Techniques for Multi-Touch Systems
Identifying Factors that Improve the Predictive Quality of BMI for Health Status By: Mitzi Ponce, Junhua, Ding, and M.H.N. Tabrizi
Presented by Jacob Pennock on the July the 16th in The 2008 International Conference on Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (BIOCOMP'08)of the 2008 World Congress in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Applied Computing (WORLDCOMP'08). The article below was in the Nation's Building News Newspaper for NAHB. ECU Construction Student Part of Pilot Internship Program at NAHB
The internships were developed as an adjunct to the endowment's HELP program, which bolsters college and university residential construction management programs around the country. Through the eight-week program, the students learn about legal, legislative and regulatory issues that affect the building industry while interning at NAHB. They will also learn about building products and management best practices while interning for a week at the NAHB Research Center. The students will also intern for five weeks with a Washington, D.C.-area builder or developer. "Our goal is to encourage more outstanding students to choose the residential construction industry for their career," said David Jaffe, internship program coordinator and NAHB staff vice president of construction liabilities and legal research.
The two interns in the pilot program are Christopher DeHaan, a sophomore at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Calif. who wants to be a builder, and Donald Stanley, a junior at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C. who competed in the NAHB Student Chapter competitions at International Builders' Show in Orlando earlier this year. DeHaan said he is interested in green building and housing for the growing 50+ age group, as well as learning more about the legal background necessary for development. He said he was looking forward to seeing a "different perspective from the California construction industry" and to get "first-hand experience working with professionals in a real-world setting." Stanley said he dreams of becoming a custom home builder with an emphasis on green building. Because of his respect for the environment and by learning more about green building initiatives, he said he "will make a positive difference in my community and as a professional home builder." "When these students go home at the end of the summer they'll have a much better understanding of the role of NAHB and its state and local affiliates, and they'll have a better sense of the issues that are shaping our industry," said Robert Pflieger, NAHB senior staff vice president for public affairs. For more information on the HELP grant initiative or the National Housing Endowment, visit www.nationalhousingendowment.org. Announcements and Upcoming Events
July 2008 I am excited about my new position as Major Gifts Officer for the College of Technology and Computer Science. Having been employed by the East Carolina Educational Foundation (Pirate Club) I feel I already know many of you and am aware of the remarkable pride alumni have for this college. This is truly a transformational time in the life of East Carolina University, the region, and this college. With the University's 2nd Century Campaign underway, we can provide you an opportunity to embrace this college with your involvement and investment. I had the opportunity to spend some time on the phone with Bonnie Eshelman who has seen Technology and Computer Science grow from a department, to an accredited college, and seen the birth just four years ago of an engineering college which is in the process of applying for accreditation having just graduated its first class of engineers in May of 2008. This college os and will continue to play a significant role in the economic development and sustainment of this region. To compete and grow nationally we must substantially grow in the area of private financial support. We must provide private funding for programmatic needs, scholarships, and professorships. For example, I was surprised to learn that we were not able to offer one private scholarship to one of our 250 engineers (other than music, engineering is the only other program study that admits students as incoming freshman). We face those challenges in all of our areas of the college and must do more. This college has tremendous potential and I am looking forward to working with faculty, staff, alumni and friends in bringing interest and support to this college. If I can answer any questions please do not hesitate to contact me for assistance. In addition, if you know of an individual or company that has an interest in getting involved please feel free to forward my information and let me know. Tomorrow starts here, PC Spelling Checkers have become increasingly common and increasingly important... But are they always everything they're supposed to be?!
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Dr. Michael Behm from the East Carolina University Department of Technology Systems was honored with a national award during the Safety 2008 Conference, hosted by the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) in Las Vegas, Nevada. The conference is considered the premier professional development event for Safety, Health and Environmental professionals.
Prior to the agreement, students in North Carolina took courses like Computer Engineering Technology (CET) while in high school. However, once in college they were required to enroll in courses which taught similar instruction as those in the CET classes. 
"Most manufactured homes currently come factory-equipped with a heating system known as electric resistance heat," Pagliari said. "Although it's the least expensive system to install, it is by far the most expensive heating system to operate."
Dr. John Reis, Associate Dean for the College of Technology and Computer Science has been appointed to the 2008 Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The Award, created by public law in 1987, is the highest level of national recognition for performance excellence that a U.S. organization can receive.
The ECU engineering program is one of a kind in the state of North Carolina because it promotes learning and success through hands-on projects, collaborative teamwork and leadership. Additionally, each graduate must complete a year-long senior project with a local or regional company and present its final report to faculty, advisory board members and company executives.
The National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had jointly announced the re-designation of East Carolina University as a National Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAEIAE) for academic years 2008-2013.
Dr. Sherion Jackson had her article "Digital learners: How are they expanding the horizon of learning?" published in the International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation. The article was co-authored with Deborah Crawford, an Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Special Programs from Hawkins, Texas. The purpose of the article was to examine the components of digital learning and the impact these components bring to the relationship of learners to their learning experience. 
Dr. Tarek Abdel-Salam from the Department of Engineering established the ECU student chapter of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). Anyone interested in joining the ASHRAE student chapter for ECU should contact Dr. Abdel-Salam at (252) 328-9649.
The papers are:
Engineering's Dr. Gene Dixon gave a presentation at the Society of Automotive Engineers in Detroit Michigan. The accompanying paper was selected for the SAE Transactions publication. This was a new session track for the society and I've been invited to return next year. The paper and presentation were titled, "Followers: the Rest of the Leadership Process" and represented a report on my ongoing research in leadership processes. 
Dr. Hamid Fonooni and Dr. Michael Behm from the Department of Technology Systems' peer-reviewed article, "The Importance of Safety and Environmental Management Education in Business Schools" was published along with Veronica Haynes, a recent MSOS graduate. It was published in the spring edition of the Journal of Safety Health and Environmental Research. Behm also authored a non-peer-reviewed text review in that edition as well.
Engineering's Dr. Jason Yao presented his peer-reviewed research paper (Co-author: Yongbo Wan) "A Wavelet Method for Biometric Identification Using Wearable ECG Sensors" at the 5th International Workshop on Wearable and Implantable Body Sensor Networks (BSN 2008) held in Hong Kong.
Dr. Nasseh Tabrizi from the Department of Computer Science was a Plenary Lecturer at the Applied Computing Conference held at the Presidential Hotel in Istanbul. He spoke on the topic of "An Agent and Virtual Reality Based Online Course Delivery System." His Agent and Virtual Reality (AVR) system is designed to provide the instructor an environment to teach in the virtual setting similar to the face-to-face classroom. The instructor teaches using the uniquely designed whiteboard and PowerPoint slide presentation both integrated in the VR environment. The virtual classroom's message board allows student/instructor interaction and communication to take place. The students observe the online lecture in VR class resembling a face-to-face classroom. The students can (individually) look around, can observe the lecture, and adjust the environment to suit their personality. Moreover, the students can use the message board (integrated within the classroom) to interact with others participants in our virtual classroom.
Danny Morton and Katy Griffin of the Department of Construction Management had their book, co-authored with Jack Patterson, released on July 18, 2008. The book is called "Quality and Construction: How to Develop a Quality Management System for Your Construction Firm." The book is a step by step which shows how to consistently meet the highest expectations of customers through effective and efficient project management, construction management, contract administration, change management, productivity enhancement and organizational effectiveness.
Dr. Ronnie Smith from the Department of Computer Science participated in the 46th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics: Human Language Technologies and the 9th SIGdial Workshop on Discourse and Dialogue both in Columbus, Ohio. 
James Crouch, who is currently the lead developer for Modality, recently presented at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference with the company's CEO Dr. S. Mark Williams. 
Since the commercial releases of Apple's iPhone and the Microsoft surface a large amount of new interest has turned toward the field of multi-touch interactions. In this paper we present an overview of several multi-touch sensing and processing techniques. We explore both hardware and software advances in this field of study; as well as advances made by industry, open-source, and academic communities. Specific distinctions between multi-touch systems and other forms of input are made. Advantages of multi-touch systems, as well as some inherent problems are discussed. This paper will conclude with a short summary of our current efforts in this field and recommendations for future areas of research. 
Presented by Jacob Pennock on the July 14th in The 2008 International Conference on Computer Design (CDES'08) of the 2008 World Congress in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Applied Computing (WORLDCOMP'08).
Our research sought to identify certain body measurements that might be included in Body Mass Index (BMI) calculations to improve estimates of adiposity and related health status, especially for individuals who fall outside the normal range of body tissue ratios. We collected five anthropometric measurements from participants (n = 87) and analyzed their relationship to self-reported health condition, as scored on the RAND SF-36 health status questionnaire. Standard regression analyses revealed that for our data the relationship between health status scores and anthropometric values varied directly as the number of anthropometric values obtained. Analysis of the data collected in this experiment does not support the hypothesis that adding a single additional measurement to the BMI formula increases BMI's ability to estimate adiposity and related health status. However, analysis of the data does support the alternative hypothesis that as more measurements are collected, human shape and volume is more accurately modeled and the correlation between number of measurements and health status scores increases accordingly. 
Two students attending 
"This internship will supplement and enhance the students' classroom experience by giving them practical field experience and an understanding of NAHB's contribution to the housing industry and help them develop the skills they will need for a rewarding career in home building," he said. .gif){kind=spacer}
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