N.C. State University has been awarded nearly $3.5 million in federal stimulus funds as part of a federally-sponsored initiative to train the nation's workers in smart grid technologies.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced N.C. State's grant Thursday as one of 54 projects nationwide. As part of the $100 million program, Charlotte-based Duke Energy was named for a $2.5 million grant to train more than 3,100 workers at the company's electric utilities in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.

The term "smart grid" refers to a computerized digital electricity delivery management system of the network that will one day replace the nation's aging electro-mechanical power grid. Smart grids will allow customers to use the Internet to make thermostat settings, control appliances, check household energy usage and recharge electric cars.

N.C. State's grant is to create a Master's program in engineering in electric power systems. This an intensive, 10-month program will be offered to new graduates as well as experienced professionals.

Finally! Proof that N.C. State is truly a basketball school.

Two engineering professors have figured out, scientifically, how to make a free throw.

Listen up, Shaq!

Professors Chau Tran and Larry Silverberg, both mechanical and aerospace engineers, recently co-authored a peer-reviewed study on the issue.

Not surprisingly, there's a lot of intricate science that led them to determine how best to shoot a free throw. And when you're at the line with the game hanging in the balance, you may not be able to, for example, aim at the back of the rim while leaving about two inches between the ball and the back of the rim, as they say is best.

Oh, and don't forget to release the shot with three hertz of back spin. Yes, that's right. Three hertz. Not two hertz, not four hertz. Five hertz gets you a brick. Two hertz gets you an airball.

Okay, I made up that last part about the brick and the airball.

If I haven't already lost you, click here to read more on this study. It was released last year, but maybe you have basketball on the brain today. I know i do.

An interesting blog item today from Joe Hice, N.C. State's top communications officer.

He swears the Technician, NCSU's student newspaper, isn't going to vaporize anytime soon because the university is 'behind' it.

And he thinks people sounding alarm bells about its fate - the paper has no leader right now and not enough workers - are overdoing it. 

A snippet from his blog post today: "Despite the lunatic fringe out there who are spreading rumors that the Technician may go away, it’s not gonna happen.  NC State is behind the newspaper and student media.  Lots of soul searching going on and no doubt, a reorganization or rearrangement may be in order, but gone.  Never."

Okay, sounds good. But "lunatic fringe" ? 

Here's the thing. The folks who brought to light the Technician's current trouble finding leadership and student volunteers don't appear to be on any "fringe." It was the paper's own editorial board, which, last week, made a plea on its pages that read in part: "The paper needs your help, regardless of age or experience. Without student support, the paper could cease publication at the end of the semester."  

Not the rantings of anyone on the periphery, but the reasoned thinking of folks squarely in the middle of the mess.

So I asked Hice what he meant when he wrote "lunatic fringe."

He got right back to me. Here's what he said:

"Eric:  It's just a euphemism for those who seem to panic at the fist sign of trouble...and one of my favorite Red Rider songs.  So it doesn't refer to anyone in particular.  Also a technique to get people into the blog."

He continued: 

"I've gotta say though, I'm very impressed with the support the paper has received from former editors, writers, artists, employees.  Goes directly to the passion people have for NC State in general and the importance of having a student newspaper on campus.  I can't imagine this place without one.  I'm sure you've seen www.savetechnician.com.  Wow!  I also posted a long message from Tim Peeler, a former editor, describing what's happening and how people can help."

So my follow-up to Hice was whether NCSU is getting formally involved in the Technician's business and offering up resources of some sort, since he said the university is "behind" the paper.

He wrote: "From conversations I've had with folks in student affairs, student media, student government, I have heard nothing but support for Technician and the importance of the student newspaper.  I'm not aware of a formal plan, but have to believe something is in the works."

Stay tuned. And thanks, Joe Hice, for your prompt responses to my questions.

As you may have heard, the Technician, N.C. State's student newspaper, is in some trouble.

It has no current leader and nowhere near enough student volunteers, two of the most critical elements for a college news operation.

If you're wondering what the deal is, a new website may help. Check it out here. It has a good summary of what's going on.

And here's our own Jay Price's story on the ongoing saga.

Ahh, technology.

If you're on the N.C. State campus now and have a smart phone - you know, one that allows you to tap into that seemingly endless world of "apps" or applications - you can now get a guided campus tour.

The university just unveiled WolfWalk, a new mapping program that features historical data, so that, as Jay Price reports today, if you have an Android or an iPhone and you're walking near Page Hall, you can instantly find information, for example, about the building's namesake, Walter Hines Page, a member of Cary's founding family, an ambassador to Great Britain and one of NCSU's founders.

To summarize: Yes. Another distraction.

Is the student newspaper at N.C. State University in peril?

An alarming editorial in The Technician says the student paper is lacking students, pretty much the core element of a campus newspaper. Working on a school paper can be one of the most rewarding experiences a journalist may ever. It may also be one of the most time-consuming and challenging.

Consider this section of the editorial:

The Student Media Board of Directors elected six new student leaders Tuesday to direct news organizations on campus next year. WKNC, Agromeck, Windhover, Wolf TV, the Nubian Message and Student Media’s business office will receive new, dynamic visionaries who will enable the free flow of information on campus in the next year and lead those organizations into a bright future.

Technician was not as lucky. The University’s 90-year-old student newspaper did not hire an editor in chief and could shut its doors in a few weeks without students’ help.
After losing its editor earlier this semester in a policy dispute, the institution has been essentially leaderless. Today’s paper was only in the stand because of what the staff would describe as a printing miracle.

Wow. 

A team of students from N.C. State and UNC-Chapel Hill is a finalist in a national urban design competition.

The team that wins the 8th annual Urban Land Institute Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition nets $50,000. The NCSU/UNC team's entry will go up against similar urban development proposals from teams from Harvard, Maryland and Penn.

The challenge: design a development site on 73.5 acres in downtown San Diego. The competition is based on a hypothetical redevelopment project city planners want to take on in San Diego.

The student teams were to act as a full-service development team and create a financial plan, a land-use plan and an urban design scheme.

Nearly 660 students on 132 teams applied to compete. The UNC/NCSU team members include Maria Papiez, Daria Khramtsova, Rebecca Myers, Jeff Pleshek, and Matt Tomasulo. The team's advisor is Robin Fran Abrams, head of NCSU's School of Architecture.

N.C. State is getting ready to spend $3 million on a new home for its leader.

The chancellor's residence will be paid for with private donations and will be built along the shore of Lake Raleigh on NCSU's Centennial Campus. It received rave reviews this week when plans were unveiled this week for campus trustees.

The 8,500-square-foot design replaces an earlier version that had climbed to more than 12,000 square feet at a cost of more than $5 million. That design stalled as university officials balked at the size and cost.

 Jay Price reports.

Author and journalist Jon Cohn will talk health care reform later this month at N.C. State university.

Cohn, a senior editor with The New Republic, will speak Monday, Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m. in room 216 of Mann Hall on campus.

His lecture is entitled: "Health Care Reform and American Values" as part of the American Values speaker series presented by the NCSU School of Public & International Affairs.

Cohn is the author of Sick: the Untold Story of America's Health Care Crisis.

He is a Senior Editor at The New Republic and has written for Washington Post, New York Times, and Newsweek.