TECHNICIAN
tuesday january
20 2015
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
IN BRIEF Nonprofits institute names new director
Woman reports sexual assault at off-campus fraternity
At approximately 12:30 a.m. on Monday, a female student reported being sexually assaulted at an off-campus Delta Sigma Phi fraternity party by an unknown white male. The party was located at 1526 Tryon Road. The woman reported that the incident occurred Sunday at only approximately 1 a.m. The suspect was described as having brown hair. The female reported that she did not know the suspect, and there were no weapons used, displayed or implied during the incident. Any person with information regarding this or any other crime is urged to contact the University Police by calling 919515-3000. SOURCE: Wolf Alert
Gavin Stone Staff Writer
Chosen for his reputation in the field of nonprofit research based on his award-winning work related to the people’s motivations for getting involved in public service, Richard Clerkin was named the new executive director of NC State’s Institute for Nonprofit Research, Education and Engagement named at the beginning of the year. INPREE connects students to the nonprofit
community through the nonprofits minor program, the relatively new Social Entrepreneurship Initiative and the Community of Nonprofit Scholars . For the past year, Clerkin has been the interim director of the institute, and he has been working with the institute since joining NC State’s Department of Political Science and Public Administration in 2005. “In the interim, [Clerkin] did a fantastic job of continuing the operations of the institute plus reaching out to our stakeholders and the
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Tom Ross forced to step down
In memory of King, people march through downtown Raleigh In reverence of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and his holiday, more than a thousand people marched in downtown Raleigh. With regard to the recent racial tensions in the U.S. , marchers yielded signs bearing the slogan “Think, Act, Serve,” as well as information about the late reverend. The marchers, members of the “40 Days of Peace” movement, aimed to draw attention to King’s peaceful tactics. The event brought about discussion amongst marchers concerning police brutality, racial profiling and how King would view today’s society. Marchers hoped that conversations of King’s ideals would help spread positive ideas to today’s generation. SOURCE: News & Observer
Hopscotch Music Festival under new management
Hopscotch, one of downtown Raleigh’s biggest annual events, will be under new management, though visitors of the music festival likely won’t witness many changes in its 2015 iteration. Hopscotch, making a profit for two of its five years running, has, in the past, featured alternative bands such as Mastodon, Spoon, and St. Vincent. Negotiations between Travis Janovich, originator and proprietor of Etix, and Greg Lowenhagen, co-founder of Hopscotch, are nearing finalization. Though Lowenhagen will not maintain monetary possession after the sale, he will remain the director of the festival. SOURCE: News & Observer
insidetechnician
ARCHIVE/TECHNICIAN
Tom Ross, president of the UNC System, which manages the public universities in North Carolina speaks in the Walnut Room in Talley Student Center April 2, 2013. Ross will step down as system president at the end of the year.
Staff Report
BANU GANESHAN/TECHNICIAN
Timothy McCoy, a member of the Durham Fire Department talks about smoke detectors to volunteers on Saturday, January 17. This event was organized by the American Red Cross Society and volunteers spread awareness about fire safety to residents in downtown Raleigh.
Red Cross Club aims to prevent house fires Marcus Blyden Correspondent
The Red Cross Club at NC State, working with the American Red Cross, visited several neighborhoods in Wake County Saturday to educate people about fire safety and to test and install fire alarms for residents living in homes particularly prone to house fires. Over the course of the event, volunteers visited more than 300 homes in Wake County and installed about 200 alarms in homes with a high risk of catching fire. Red Cross Club President Apita Waters said the event is important for the Red Cross because of the sheer number of lives that were lost during the past year due to house fires. Seven people die and 36
people are injured from home fires in the United States every day, according to the American Red Cross. “One of the best things we can do is install fire alarms in people’s homes and check the batteries in them,” Waters said. Each year, the American Red Cross holds a home fire preparedness event during Marin Luther King Jr. weekend where volunteers make an effort to encourage people to be better prepared for disasters. Lu Esposito, the regional communications officer for the American Red Cross, said this year marked the launch of the American Red Cross’s fiveyear fire prevention campaign. The campaign’s goal is to visit communities demonstrated as being prone to fires
in the past and ensure working fire alarms are installed in the homes, according to Esposito. “We know which zip codes are more likely to suffer fatalities from fire, so we targeted those zip codes to go out and make sure people have working fire alarms,” Esposito said. Attendees consisted of the members of the American Red Cross, first emergency responders from around Wake County, Raleigh-area businesses, faith-based organizations, civic groups and public volunteers. About 120 people participated in the event to install 500 smoke alarms. “We were shooting for as many people as possible so we could reach as much territory as possible,” Esposito said. The American Red Cross’s statistics showed nearly 100
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UNC System President Tom Ross has been forced to vacate his position by the UNC System Board of Governors, but will serve in the role for one more year, The News & Observer reported Friday. Ross and the Board made a joint statement after a two-hour closed session Friday morning. “The Board believes President Ross has served with distinction, that his performance has been exemplary, and that he has devoted his full energy, intellect and passion to fulfilling the duties and responsibilities of his office,” the statement said. “This decision has nothing to do with President Ross’s performance or ability to continue in the office. The Board respects President Ross and greatly appreciates his service to the University and to the State of North Carolina.” Board Chairman John Fennebresque of Charlotte told reporters after the meeting that Ross’ age had nothing to do with the board’s decision and refuted any notion that Ross’ departure was political. However, Fennebresque did not give other reasons, saying only that it was the board’s opinion that it was the right time to begin to transition to another leader. Not everyone welcomed the announced change, including Attorney General Roy Cooper. “I’m deeply concerned that the forcing out of President Ross is another blow to higher education in North Carolina at a time when we need universities to lead in innovation and critical thinking,” Cooper, a Democrat, said in a statement. “He has led the University system through difficult times, striving to give students the skills they need for tomorrow’s jobs.” During his tenure, Ross led the system through systematic budget cuts, the athletic scandal that has placed UNC-Chapel Hill in the national spotlight and now wrestling with a Republican-led Board of Governors which has expressed increased skepticism about university funding in North Carolina.
Ultrasound research could lead to new cancer treatments Marcus Blyden Correspondent
FEATURES ‘American Sniper’ blends fact and mythology See page 6.
SPORTS Wolfpack staves off Seminoles See page 8.
NC State researchers have developed a new technique that would allow ultrasounds to penetrate bone or metal, which could have implications for medical professionals hoping to use ultrasounds for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes such as treating brain tumors or monitoring blood flow to the brain. Tarry Shen, a Ph.D. student and the lead author of a paper on this project, and Yun Jing, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and senior author of the paper, have designed the
technique that uses metamaterials with aluminum membranes to cancel out the distortion caused by the bones, allowing the ultrasound to see past bones as if they don’t exist. Ultrasounds emit high frequency acoustic waves that bounce off objects and return the wave to the ultrasound equipment. The equipment, in turn, creates an image from the translated waves. However, bone and metal have characteristics that block ultrasound waves. These materials are called aberrating layers, and the technique developed by NC State’s researches takes these layers into account and works to offset them. “Think of this design as a -1 and
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CAIDE WOOTEN/TECHNICIAN
Tarry Shen, a Ph.D. student studying mechanical engineering, and professor Yun Jing have designed new complimentary metamaterials that can be used to offset the acoustic distortion that usually occurs when attempting to ultrasound through solid materials such as bone.