We posted recently about alumnus Daniel Herrington ’09, who’s racing in the Indy Lights series, which is sanctioned by the Indy Racing League (he’s No. 6 in the points race right now). Today, a press release about Drew Herring came across my desk. A junior mechanical engineering major, he’s the points leader in the USAR Pro Cup Series, a stock car series that has produced NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers such as Brian Vickers and Matt Kenseth. A transfer student from Johnston Community College, he’s trying to balance studying and racing:
“I do probably three to four hours, at least, a minimum of homework at night,” Herring explained. “It’s tough, but I get all that done during the week and then I try not to have any on the weekend, during race weekend.”
Even though Herring may not want to bring his homework to the track, the engineering concepts he’s learning are invaluable.
“I definitely feel like once I really get into the heart of it and start learning some of those things, that I can apply them to the racing and help me out,” Herring remarked.
Shack-a-thon kicked off on the Brickyard yesterday. Technician has the story, and News 14 has a short video about the fundraiser, which benefits Habitat for Humanity. The Caldwell Fellows Programs, a scholarship and leadership initiative the Alumni Association sponsors, has a shack there, and Caldwell Fellow Jeffrey Huber, a junior majoring in industrial engineering and economics, checked in after the first night:
The Brickyard. This vast expanse normally reserved for passing library patrons cramming for tomorrow’s test is a veritable village. Those of us not pre-occupied with people-watching try to squeeze in some homework. Laptop screens light the faces of most thanks to wireless, but a few just shoot the breeze. I put on some good music, lean back in a white plastic chair and try to do a little of everything while enjoying the cool night air.
Shack-a-thon is always a fun part of the year. It is one of the foremost traditions of NC State. To me it is more than anything else, a time of community, seeing old friends and making new ones. Last year a very competitive game of four-square popped up. Not-so-competitive corn-hole seems like the favorite this year. (more…)
About 25 NC State students are participating in EcoCAR: The Next Challenge, a three-year competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, General Motors and Argonne National Laboratory. The team is one of 16 from universities around the country that are working to convert a 2009 Saturn VUE into an electric, hybrid or fuel-cell vehicle. The students completed their design the first year and will now begin transforming the VUE, which they received in August. NC State magazine intern Deborah Neffa spoke with the team’s outreach leader Erik Schettig ’08 about the project.
How did the first year go?
Considering this is the first time NC State is participating in the competition, [it] went very well. We were able to keep up with other universities that have participated in the competition for many years and have bigger teams—upwards of 40 or more people. . . .
Who’s on the team?
It’s a mix of undergraduates and graduate students from all departments throughout the university. The faculty adviser also gives some kind of assignment through the mechanical and aerospace engineering department so students can participate on the team for a few months to get credit. Even people who have already graduated and are working can become involved. . . . I am an education [graduate student] and have nothing to do with the engineering aspects, but we have people from [all over campus] working together. It really helps better the product.
What’s special about your vehicle?
I’d have to say that our vehicle is closer to what the public will be seeing in EREVs (extended range electric vehicles). [It has] a B20 biodiesel engine (which runs on (more…)
This time, NC State student Joe Carnevale’s creation was legal. The N&O has the story:
So Saturday morning, he set up the truck-sized dinosaur on Hargett Street for SPARKcon, downtown Raleigh’s celebration of arts and ideas, and then reported for duty, helping the organizers set up tents and mark a grid on Fayetteville Street for chalk artists.
In short, the new Barrel Dinosaur was so legit it was practically sponsored by the Wake County District Attorney’s office.
Yesterday a group of international students from NC State got to experience a unique part of American culture — college football. Through the Office of International Affairs, they toured the Murphy Center and met with Coach Tom O’Brien and the Wolfpack players. Thanks to NC State’s Web Communications team for the video.
NC State students and faculty have made the news recently with their work. First, a Discovery Channel clip on a lunar rover developed by NC State engineering students, who modeled their design after a tumbleweed (unfortunately there’s no embed code for the clip). It’s a neat segment, and you get to see their prototype in action.
Next, a Salon.com story on a recent study by political science professor Steve Greene that found that “parenthood makes moms more liberal and dads more conservative.” men become more conservative when they become fathers but women become more liberal when they become mothers.
“Basically, women with children in the home were more liberal on social welfare attitudes, and attitudes about the Iraq War, than women without children at home,” Greene says, “which is a very different understanding of the politics of mothers than captured by the ‘Security Mom’ label popular in much media coverage. But men with kids are more conservative on social welfare issues than men without kids.” Men with kids did not differ from men without kids in their attitudes towards Iraq.
WUNC’s The State of Things featured WKNC 88.1, NC State’s student radio station, yesterday as part of its week-long series on North Carolina’s music scene. WKNC — “The Revolution” — “offers the kind of eclectic mix and local flavor that rivals anything you can find on Pandora, internet radio or even your best iPod shuffle,” The State of Things claims.
“WKNC is always playing something different, and I never get bored,” says Christine DiPietro, a junior who likes punk, folk and alternative rock.
This breadth wasn’t what Harrison Wroton ’46 had in mind during the 1943-44 school year when, in his Watauga Hall room, he started WOLF, the station that became WKNC. “I didn’t do it because somebody asked me to or because there was any demonstrated need,” he says. “It was just part of being a college student and wanting to experiment with things.”
Both from North Carolina, neither Wood nor White had much experience with river fishing coming into the championship, and this was only Wood’s second tournament with College Bass, but they did rise to the top-two from a club that has more than 40 members to represent North Carolina State.
Plenty of research, sticking to the basics and committing themselves to a spot that has proven it can win tournaments made them national champions.
“I don’t think this is going to set in for another week or two,” Wood said, “maybe once my phone stops ringing.”
It’s the second national title for members of BassPack, NC State’s student fishing team. Alex Freeman, a senior in extension education, and Chad Craven won in 2006. Though BassPack was formed in January 2005, it’s already become “one of the dominant clubs in competitive collegiate bass fishing.”
Just to get the opportunity to play in Tiger Woods’ event, against some of the best players in the world, was a thrill for me. I learned about the kind of competition these guys are on a week-to-week basis. I don’t think I had my A-game this week, especially on the weekend, but I do think I am capable of competing with these guys.
It was truly a successful week for me.
But it didn’t change my commitment of coming back to NC State for my junior year and competing again for the Wolfpack. I talked to a lot of the professional golfers out here on tour, and I got strong advice from all of them to stay in school and keep trying to win college tournaments. I feel like NC State has some of the best facilities in the country and we play a great schedule. I feel like there are several areas of my game that I can continue to improve.
WUNC’s The State of Things featured 
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