North Carolina State University

In addition to being a tenured professor of business strategy and market research and a member of the Academy of Outstanding Teachers & Scholars at North Carolina State University, Dr. Mitch Javidi is the president and CEO of The Catevo Group and former founder and CEO of Digiton Corporation. During the last 25 years, Mitch has served more than 350 clients and has produced more than 600 corporate reports. Additionally, he has 60+ articles and book chapters with 400+ national and international presentations to his name. He has received prominent acclaim for his strategic planning initiatives, serving as a strategist to Sam Walton and David Glass of Wal-Mart in the early 1980s. While at Wal-Mart, his primary focus was on growing the company's pharmacy stores, which increased market share by 21 percent in less than 18 months during his tenure.

Nancy Whelchel, associate membership and chapter relations chair, is the Assistant Director for Survey Research at North Carolina State University. She administers student, alumni, faculty, and staff surveys for the university, conducts focus groups on campus issues, and provides consultation services on faculty and student survey research projects. She serves as the survey expert on the NC State IRB, and chairs the University of North Carolina system's Survey Working Group. She became interested in survey research through her work at the Center for Public Interest Polling while pursuing her doctoral degree at Rutgers University.

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Mrs. Pleasant joined Craig Davis Properties in 1999 as Senior Property Manager for Venture Center at North Carolina State University?s Centennial Campus. Since 2002, Mrs. Pleasant has served as the Director of Property Management for the 2.8 million square foot Craig Davis Properties? management portfolio. As Asset Manager, Mrs. Pleasant is responsible for overseeing all maintenance and operations activities and is heavily involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, process implementation, risk management, and owner relations. Prior to joining Craig Davis Properties, Ms. Pleasant was with Spectrum Properties where she had management responsibility for the daily operations of the First Union Capital Center, a 28-story, 600,000 square foot Class A office building in downtown Raleigh. Ms. Pleasant received her BS degree from the University of Georgia and her MBA from Appalachian State University. She is a member of the Triangle Commercial Real Estate Women and holds her NC Real Estate Salesman and Brokers Licenses.

Dr. Afroz Taj is Assistant Professor in the Hindi-Urdu Language Program at North Carolina State University. Also, he is the Director of the South-East Asia Consortium. As an organizer of many cultural events, Prof. Taj is a well known figure in the Triangle Area.

Akehia Cheek is a master's student in Higher Education Administration at NCSU. Her research interests focus on educational benefits of membership in Greek-letter organizations for Black students at predominantly white institutions. She will delve into the world of mobile learning for her doctoral studies. Spending a semester as a Graduate Assistant for the Association for Black Culture Centers, Akehia helped draft a plan to incorporate technology into NC State's culture center to make the cultural and educational resources available to a wider audience. The concept of mobilizing educational resources was one of many insights that Akehia gained through working with the New Learning Project team.

Alice Y. Scales is the Assistant Department Head of the Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education and Coordinator of the Graphic Communications Program at North Carolina State University, where she has taught since 1988. She has a B.S. in Science Education, a M.Ed. in Industrial Arts Education, and an Ed. D. in Occupational Education. Dr. Scales has taught students from the Middle Grades level to adults. She taught in the Wake County Public Schools for 12 years before coming to NC State University. While teaching in Wake County. she taught a variety of subjects and was invovled in the writing of several curriculum projects. She also worked as a continuing education instructor at Wake Medical Center, training Unit Secretaries and other hospital personnel. At NC State University, she teaches introductory engineering graphics courses that include CAD, desktop publishing, and web site development. She has completed research in the area of teaching engineering graphics and CAD. She was named a Faculty of Distinction by AutoDesk, Inc. in 2000 for her web based tutorials for AutoCAD Release 14.

Amanda Blue is a Research Assistant for the Family-Centered Meetings Project. She is a student at North Carolina State University pursuing her Master's in Social Work (MSW). Amanda has interned as a case manager at the Helen Wright Center for Women, a homeless shelter for women in downtown Raleigh.

Amy is the Coordinator for the Medicinal Herbs for Commerce Project. She has been a part of the project since its inception, maintaining continuity as the project evolves. Amy has been studying medicinal herbs for over ten years and brings firsthand knowledge of the herbal industry to the program after working for Gaia Herbs in Brevard, NC for three years. She is currently seeking her B.S. in Environmental Studies from UNC Asheville with a self-designed emphasis in Ethnobotany. In her spare time, she hangs out with her cats, plays in an all-woman rock band, and reads comic books, which she one day hopes to write.

At North Carolina State University, Professor Taylor teaches courses in American politics, including Introduction to American Government, the Presidency and Congress, the Legislative Process, Public Choice and Political Institutions, and a seminar in the Ph.D. program in public administration. In 1999, he received the College of Humanities and Social Sciences' Poole Outstanding Teacher Award. He is a native of the United Kingdom.

Annie I. Anton is an Associate Professor of Software Engineering in the College of Engineering at the North Carolina State University and Director of ThePrivacyPlace.org. She received her Ph.D. in Computer Science in 1997 from the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. After one year at the University of South Florida, Dr. Anton joined the computer science department at NC State. She was awarded an NSF CAREER Award in 2000, named a CRA Digital Government Fellow in 2002, nominated and selected for the 2004-2005 IDA/DARPA Defense Science Study Group, and received the CSO (Chief Security Officer) Magazine "Woman of Influence in the Public Sector" award at the 2005 Executive Women's Forum. She is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, a senior member of the IEEE as well as a member of the ACM. Anton currently serves on several boards, including: U.S. Department of Homeland Security Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee, the NSF Computer & Information Science & Engineering Directorate Advisory Council, the Executive Board of the ACM's US Public Policy Committee (USACM), the Computing Research Association (CRA) Board of Directors, the CRA-W Board, an Intel Advisory Board, and the Georgia Tech Alumni Association Board of Trustees.

Aram Attarian, Ph.D. - Dr. Attarian is an Associate Professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina. His teaching focuses on adventure recreation, outdoor leadership, and park and recreation facility and site management. Dr. Attarian's research interests center on Leave No Trace behavior with a specialized interest on the impacts of rock climbing on the environment, outdoor leadership, and adventure programming. In addition, he has spent over 20 seasons as a Course Director and Instructor with the North Carolina Outward Bound School.

Art Morris brings over 20 years of experience in high-frequency electronics and devices. He has contributed to device technologies from traveling wave tubes to HBTs and developed products for markets from high voltage instrumentation to broadband communication systems. Prior to WiSpry, Dr. Morris was director of technology at Microcosm Technologies (now Coventor), responsible for next-generation development for RF and optical applications of MEMS. Dr. Morris was previously a development manager and acting development director at Raychem Corp. (now part of Tyco Electronics), responsible for product development for wireless, twisted pair and HFC networks. Dr. Morris is a senior member of the IEEE and is an adjunct professor at NCSU.

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Bradley Wilson is the coordinator for student media advising at North Carolina State University where he advises the daily newspaper, the radio station, a weekly newspaper, a literary magazine, an online magazine and the yearbook. He is a frequent speaker at workshops worldwide on topics ranging from the ethics of digital photography to publications design. He is the editor of the publications for the national Journalism Education Association and active in local and regional associations to improve the quality of journalism education. Among other awards, he has received the Pioneer Award from the National Scholastic Press Association and the Carl Towley Award from the Journalism Education Association, which is its highest honor.

Dr. Gilger is Consulting Director of Ophthalmic Toxicology and Pharmacology Studies at BRT. He is a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist, a Professor of Ophthalmology at North Carolina State University, and founder of Ophthalmic Consulting and Research, LLC, a company dedicated to the preclinical design and testing of ophthalmic pharmaceuticals and products for industry. Dr. Gilger has over 14 years experience in the design and completion of ophthalmic studies and has expertise in ocular toxicology, pharmacology and immunology. He has presented and published numerous ophthalmic studies, including those on ocular drug delivery devices, ocular immunology and ocular clinical trials. Dr. Gilger is on the editorial review board of the American Journal of Veterinary Research and Veterinary Ophthalmology and a scientific reviewer for Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. Preclinical ophthalmic toxicology and pharmacology studies, both GLP and non-GLP, are conducted by Dr. Gilger at Burleson Research Technologies.

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Co Author of ?Google PageRank and Beyond: The Science of Search Engine Rankings? . This is the first published book on the science of search written and is highly acclaimed within the world of Search Marketing. Dr. Meyers is Professor of Mathematics at North Carolina State University. In addition to information retrieval, his research areas include numerical analysis, linear algebra, and Markov chains. He is the author of Matrix Analysis and Applied Linear Algebra.

Carolyn Quarterman is an ESL lecturer in the Foreign Languages department of North Carolina State University. Research interests include using new media technology applications to enhance the learning of English pronunciation and communication skills and the delivery of on-line courses. Carolyn was recently awarded the 2007 Gertrude Cox Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching and Learning with Technology. She has a Masters degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Carrie is the ResNet Coordinator at North Carolina State University. As the ResNet Symposium Program Committee Chairperson, Carrie is responsible for choosing her program committee members and working with them to develop and organize the program for the annual ResNet Symposium. Early into her role, Carrie was charged with the very important decision to choose her Assistant Program Committee Chairperson(s) with the intention that the individual in this role will become the future Symposium Program Committee Chairperson. In addition to working directly with the Program Committee, Carrie is responsible for communicating to the ResNet organization members on issues pertaining to the upcoming Symposium including the call for papers and subsequent selection and interaction with presenters. Carrie also works closely with the Host Committee to develop the program schedule of events, Program booklet and fulfills any additional tasks that will contribute to the success of the Symposium. Her role at the symposium includes liaising with presenters, delegates and the host committee to ensure that presentations and other Symposium activities occur as planned. As Program Chair, Gayleen will continue to be an active member of the Steering Committee, and will provide advice and support to the next Symposium Program Committee Chairperson. In her second year on the Steering Committee, Carrie will become the Chairperson of the Senti-Merriman Scholarship.

Charity Cayton received her B.S. in Mathematics at East Carolina University where she was a Teaching Fellow for the Class of 1996 and acquired a M.A.Ed. in Mathematics Education at that institution in 2007. An expert educator for 12 years in public schools in Pitt and Guilford County, North Carolina, she is presently a full time PhD student at North Carolina State University.Lucky students!

Dr. Peacock earned a doctorate from the University of Florida. He has 30 years of experience and is an expert in the areas of turfgrass nutrition and stress physiology, fertilizer technology and soils interactions, and environmental quality. He has consulted on agronomic issues on several hundred golf courses. He has published over 225 research and popular articles in turfgrass management and given over 200 presentations at conferences, workshops, seminars, and short courses in the US, Canada, France, Hong Kong and Japan. He is a Professor of Crop Science specializing in Turfgrass Management at North Carolina State University and provides expertise on agronomic issues to Audubon Environmental.

Charles Tomasino, Ph.D. - Vice -President, Operations. Charles is a Professor Emeritus in Polymer and Textile Chemistry after 20 years at North Carolina State University. He has an additional 18 years experience in chemistry research as researcher, manager and director at Burlington Industries. Charles patents include a process for the plasma treatment of polymers. Charles K. Chiklis, Ph.D. - Vice-President, Chemical Coatings Technology. Charles has 41 years experience in polymer chemistry of which 23 years were with Polaroid as Manager and Senior Technical Manager of Polymer Science and Technology. His broad experience in coating technology includes anti-reflective and hard optical coatings for film products and lenses.

Chris Hazard is a PhD student in the Computer Science Department at North Carolina State University, with publications on engineering and analyzing coordination in large-scale multi-agent systems. Mr. Hazard has extensive experience in software engineering. He worked for Motorola Inc. for 3 years designing and developing simulation software for CDMA infrastructure. Upon starting, his responsibility quickly rose to lead developer and then to junior software architect, directing global development teams. Mr. Hazard has also had experience at Kiva Systems, a warehousing robotics startup company, performing algorithms research. He has won numerous academic and programming awards, including a best paper award in an international conference, the North Carolina State University Dean's Fellowship and Valparaiso University Board of Directors' Independent Research Award. He obtained his B.S. in Computer Science from Valparaiso University with departmental honors.

David Ball is an Associate Professor of Economics at ctice and the Litigation Clinic and a clinical professor at North Carolina State University. His research specialties include International Economics, Economic History and Price Theory.

Dr. Brown received a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1967. He has served as Assistant Professor of Biology at Dartmouth College, Associate Professor of Medical Pharmacology at the University of Maryland, Professor of Genetics at the University of Cologne (Germany), Professor of Microbiology, Director of the Cell Research Institute and Chair of the Division of Biological Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. He has served as Professor and Department Head of Molecular & Structural Biochemistry at North Carolina State University since 1997. Dr. Brown is an expert in the field of virus structure assembly and function. He has served on the editorial boards of The Journal of Virology, Virus Research, and The Journal of General Virology. He has served on numerous NIH and NSF grant review panels. He is author or co author of over 100 peer-reviewed research publications.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Diane Deresienski has been with Bowman since 1993. She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at NCSU, where she teaches veterinary students about exotic animal practice. Dr. Deresienski has always had an interest in wildlife conservation and is a founding and current board member of the Piedmont Wildlife Center in Durham.

Co-inventor of the Trana Discovery technology, Dick is a leader in the design and performance of critical experiments establishing the anti-infective technology targeting tRNA functions. He is a biochemist and expert on tRNA structure and function with more than 20 years of scientific project and laboratory management experience. Prior to working at NCSU, Dick worked in research at the University of Missouri Columbia and as a scientist for a contract research organization. He has published over thirty publications on RNA.

Donald Pagach is a Professor in the Department of Accounting at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, where he has been named a University Outstanding Teacher. He teaches financial accounting and financial strategy courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level, and is the co-author of the textbook 'Intermediate Accounting: Financial Reporting and Analysis'. Don has also written accounting resource guides on derivatives and banking topics. He received his Ph.D. from the Florida State University in 1992, and in addition to NC State University, has been a faculty member of Louisiana State University and the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

Douglas K. Pearce is the Head of the Economics Department at North Carolina State University. He earned his PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1974. His research specialty is monetary economics.

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Dr. Edward W. Erickson is Professor of Economics at North Carolina State University. Dr. Erickson is a teaching economist and researcher. He is widely published in scholarly journals such as the Bell Journal of Economics and Management Science, the Journal of Political Economy, the Southern Economic Journal, and the CATO journal. Dr. Erickson has testified before the U.S. Congress more than a dozen times. Dr. Erickson received his PhD from Vanderbilt University and earned a BA from Pennsylvania State University. He has engaged in public service activities for the Office of Technology Assessment of the US Congress, the Media Institute, the Scientists Institute for Public Information, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Petroleum Council, just to name a few. Dr. Erickson is a member of the American Economic Association and the International Association for Energy Economics. He is an advisor to the North Carolina Japan Center.

Eric N. Wiebe, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Graphic Communications Program at North Carolina State University. He earned his B.A. degree in Chemistry from Duke University in 1982, an M.A. in Industrial Design in 1987, and a Ph.D. in Psychology (Ergonomics) in 1996 at North Carolina State University. Before going to graduate school, Professor Wiebe worked as a chemist and in the A/E/C industry. His graduate work in industrial design focused on the role of computer graphics and CAD in the design process. After completing his master's, Professor Wiebe helped develop a photorealistic rendering and modeling system for architectural and design professionals and worked as a private consultant. Since coming to teach at North Carolina State, Dr. Wiebe has developed and taught a 3-D solid modeling course for eleven years. In addition, he coordinated the introduction of CAD into the introductory engineering graphics course. Professor Wiebe has also developed a course on scientific visualization, which looks at the graphic representation of technical and scientific data. Since coming to North Carolina State, he has continued to work as a consultant to industry and has been active at the university level on the integration of computing in Academics. He has authored numerous publications and instructional materials. In addition to being on the editorial review board of the Engineering Design Graphics Journal, he is a member of the American Society for Engineering Education, the American Design Drafting Association, and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

Dr. Fay Cobb Payton is an Associate Professor of Information Technology at North Carolina State University. She earned a Ph.D. in Information and Decision Systems (with a minor in Health Care Systems) from Case Western Reserve University. Prior to earning her Ph.D., Dr. Payton worked as a Systems Engineer for IBM in the Small Accounts and Finance/Insurance Practice as well as a Programmer at IBM manufacturing sites in New York and California. She also worked for Time, Inc. as a Supply Chain Logistics Project Manager in its Magazine Distribution Unit. At Ernst and Young/CAP Gemini, she worked as a Project Manager reporting directly to the National Health Care IT Practice partner.

Dr. Fred Dejarnette is a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at NCSU. His long career has included extensive involvement with NASA in aerospace engineering and education. He worked at NASA Langley Research Center from 1963-65 as an aerodynamics engineer while completing his doctoral work at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Dr. Dejarnette started his academic career in Virginia Tech's Aerospace Engineering Department (1965-70) and then joined the faculty of NCSU, where he is Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. During his tenure at NCSU, Dr. DeJarnette has served as the Departmental Graduate Administrator (1973-83), Associate Department Head (1980-83 and 1992), and Department Head (1993-99). He has served as Director of the NASA Center of Excellence in Hypersonic Aerodynamics (1989-94), Director of the NASA Mars Mission Research Center (1994-99), and Coordinator of the International Masters in Aerospace Engineering Sciences program (1997-present), and he has been Director of the NCSGC since 1993.

Guy Meilleur represents American Forests in North Carolina. He is a practicing and consulting arborist, managing trees since 1965, and an instructor of Forest Science and Tree Physiology at Duke University. He is a graduate student in Plant Pathology & Agricultural Extension Education at North Carolina State University. Guy is studying management of decay pathogens and large landscape trees (See his book review in the August issue of the Journal of Arboriculture.) He is also looking at ways to strengthen understanding of trees among Master Gardeners. He is Secretary and Chair of the Education and Webpage Committees of NCUFC, and a member of the Forest History Society.

Ira R. Weiss, Ph.D., CPA, joined North Carolina State University as the third dean of the College of Management in December 2004. Prior to joining NC State, he served as dean at Northeastern University in Boston, dean of The Madrid Business School in Spain and vice president and chief information officer of the University of Houston, and held faculty positions in accounting and information technology at New York University and the University of Houston. Dr. Weiss received his bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College and his Master of Science and Ph.D. from the University of California-Los Angeles. Since coming to NC State, he has focused much of his efforts on building corporate external relationships, branding the college for its emphasis on technology and innovation management, building new global relationships, implementing a growth plan that will increase both the size of the student body and faculty by one third, creating a College of Management campus and presence in North Carolina's Research Triangle Park, engaging in interdisciplinary research and new graduate degrees with other colleges on campus, and creating innovative executive programs. An outcome of these activities combined with the efforts of the faculty and staff have most recently led to the naming of the Jenkins Graduate School of Management within the college. This naming is part of a recently completed $30+ million dollar college capital campaign. Also since his arrival, the college's undergraduate and graduate programs have been ranked amongst the top business schools in the country, by both US News & Business Week and the undergraduate and graduate accounting programs in the college were ranked 20th in the country by the Public Accounting Report. Dr. Weiss has extensive business experience both as a practicing CPA and a consultant to Fortune 500 companies. He has lectured extensively throughout the world on topics ranging from globalization to competitive advantage through technology and breakthrough innovations.

Dr. Crisp graduated from Rice University in 1968 and received his doctorate from Yale University in 1976. Since 1972 he has taught at North Carolina State University, where he is Associate Professor and Assistant Head in the Department of History. While teaching courses in the American West and the Antebellum South at NCSU, Crisp has published several important articles in his field of particular interest, the Texas Revolution and the Texas Republic. Crisp received the H. Bailey Carroll Award from the Texas State Historical Association in 1994 for "Sam Houston's Speechwriters: The Grad Student, the Teenager, the Editors, and the Historians," which appeared in the October, 1993, issue of the Southwestern Historical Quarterly. Crisp also contributed a chapter to The Texas Military Experience (Texas A&M Univ. Press, 1995). His publications concerning the controversy surrounding the Jose Enrique de la Pena diary and the death of David Crockett at the Alamo have received widespread attention. Crisp wrote the introduction to the expanded edition (Texas A&M Univ. Press, 1997) of the de la Pena's Texas Revolution memoir, which contains a previously unpublished "missing week" of the controversial de la Pena diary. Crisp is currently at work co-editing Prof. Louis E. Brister's new translation of the extensive memoirs of Herman Ehrenberg, a young German volunteer in the Texan revolutionary army who survived the Goliad Massacre.

With more than a decade of tourism industry experience, Jason Swanson is making a career of enhancing tourism communities by providing strategic planning and implementation assistance to governments and private-sector tourism businesses. He has a unique blend of hospitality operations, tourism and consulting experience coupled with skills in project management, tourism policy development and analysis, project grant writing, public speaking, technical report writing, and marketing research. Jason's professional experience consists of hotel operations, technology consulting, market/feasibility analysis, hospitality real estate advisory services and tourism development. He has worked for clients in the restaurant, hotel, country club, tennis center, spa, convention center, retail, office, marina, golf course, destination, and government sectors in over 50 markets throughout the United States, the Caribbean, and Asia. He is also a member of Cayuga Hospitality Advisors. During graduate work at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) and the National Tour Association (NTA) recognized Jason for his achievement in the North American tourism industry. His studies at Cornell centered on tourism development and marketing with a special emphasis on tourism policy, regional tourism organizations, and social and community development in non-urban and developing economies. His research focused on tourism policy development in four continents: North America, Africa, Asia, and Antarctica. His work has established models to analyze the connection between tourism policy and tourism's economic impact. Jason has been selected to make keynote presentations and lead seminar sessions at several major tourism conferences. He has spoken or is scheduled to speak on the subjects of tourism policy analysis and tourism funding at the Georgia Governor's Conference on Tourism, the Southeast Tourism Society's Spring Meeting, STS Travel Marketing College, and the National Tour Association's Convention. He has also served as a guest lecturer at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, Duke University, and North Carolina State University, speaking to marketing and tourism students. Jason founded the Atlanta-based Tourism Development Specialists, Inc. in 2002 to meet the strategic development needs of local, state, and national tourism organizations.

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Dr. Hubisz is a professor of Physics at North Carolina State University. He specializes in Physics Education Research. He is particularly interested in ways of teaching physics to the general public and students in grades K-14.

Violinist and teacher Karen E. Moorman is a self-proclaimed late-bloomer, beginning her musical life as a singer, piano hack, and self-taught folk musician who became a serious student of the violin. Along the way, thanks to word-processing; the art of writing has become a compelling interest. Among her academic treatises are The Recitatives of the Late Beethoven String Quartets; Amy Beach: An American Composer; and Chaos Theory and Experimental Music: The Intersection of Two Avante-Gardes. She also writes for the Suzuki Association of the Americas and North Carolina Suzuki Association. With an interest toward educating young listeners, Moorman planned, coached students, and hosted Arts Now for Kids as part of the 2004 Arts Now Series directed by Dr. Rodney Waschka II at NC State University. Art criticism is her most recent mode of educating children of all ages. She holds a BA in music from UNC-CH and a MA in Liberal Studies from NCSU and currently is a lecturer at NCSU and maintains a violin studio in Durham. I believe that the concert review is an educational tool, a means of communicating and inviting the public to become an integral part of the artistic community, for without an audience, [art] music has little meaning.

Karla A. Henderson is Professor of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University. She is the author or co-author of several books including Both Gains and Gaps: Feminist Approaches to Women's Leisure (Venture, 1996) and Dimensions of Choice: A Qualitative Approach to Recreation, Park, and Leisure Research (Venture, 1991) as well as numerous articles and research publications. Professor Henderson has most recently conducted research on the physical activity patterns of African-American and American Indian women. Previous research has focused on the leisure behavior of marginalized groups such as women with disabilities. She has given numerous presentations throughout North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia. She is currently co-editor of Leisure Sciences, chairs the National Recreation and Park Association Research Task Force, and serves as a research consultant for the American Camp Association. Professor Henderson has served as President of the Society of Park and Recreation Educators, the AAHPERD Research Consortium, and the Academy of Leisure Sciences. She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Park and Recreation Administrators and was the 1993 recipient of the National Recreation and Park Association Roosevelt Award for Excellence in Research.

Kevin is a graduate student in Film Studies and English at North Carolina State University. His current research is on British cinema in the late 1960s, ideas surrounding "cult" entertainments, and the films of the American counterculture. His approach to video games is interdisciplinary, synthesizing the nascent field of "game studies" with more established disciplinary traditions. Despite a lifelong interest/appreciation in video games, Kevin approaches them in an unapologetically critical way. In addition to several upcoming publications and conference papers, Kevin is currently busy as general editor of The Modest Proposal.

Kim Duckett is the Principal Librarian for Digital Technologies and Learning at North Carolina State University. She takes a lead in the library''''s efforts to incorporate library resources, services, and instruction into teaching and learning environments and serves as the primary distance education librarian. Kim received her MSLS from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2001.

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Laura joined Cherry Huffman in 2007. She is a registered architect and has worked in Virginia, Boston and New York. Laura received her Masters of Architecture from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville and her Bachelors of Science in Design and Environmental Analysis from Cornell University. She also studied Architecture in Copenhagen, Denmark. Laura also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Architecture at North Carolina State University. Her work has received numerous awards for design excellence. Laura is studying for the LEED Accreditation exam and has a special interest in the interconnection of sustainable agriculture and sustainable architecture. She is currently working on a new Visitors Center at Horne Creek Farm in Pinnacle and the expansion and renovation of the Southwest Library in Durham, which will be LEED Silver Certified.

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Lena joined Duraleigh-Oak Park Veterinary Hospital in May 2006 as Kennel Assistant. She is currently a student at North Carolina State University, majoring in Animal Science. Lena hopes to attend Veterinary School in the future. In the spare time that she does have, she likes to play golf and show dairy cows.

Lloyd Hicks joined INFORM in 2005 as the Director of the Solid Waste Prevention program, designing and overseeing research and outreach strategies to help communities deal with solid waste. After earning his undergraduate degree in industrial design from North Carolina State University, Mr. Hicks worked as a consultant in Boston helping teams design diverse products such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a photo printer, and a deodorant stick. Pursuing an interest in teaching, he accepted a position as a professor of industrial design, where he would focus on the concept of product lifecycle thinking. The program in which he taught emphasized the control that designers have over a product's environmental impact at the design stage, asking students to consider resource and energy use and waste in the design phase. Wanting to further explore policy initiatives related to eco-design, Mr. Hicks enrolled in the International Institute for Industrial and Environmental Economics at Lund University, Sweden, where he studied preventive environmental approaches and policy instruments, including extended producer responsibility (EPR), waste prevention, and cleaner production technologies. His master's thesis focused on implementing individual producer responsibility (IPR) for the European WEEE Directive-the idea that an individual producer should reap the benefits from collecting its own return share of products at their end of life.

Dr. Davidian is a well-known biostatistician with extensive experience in the development of methods for evaluating and analyzing HIV-related data, including NIH-funded studies for the development of statistical techniques for HIV clinical trials. She is the William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Statistics at North Carolina State University, member of the editorial staff of several statistical and mathematical journals, author of several dozen peer-reviewed publications, and widely requested presenter-author at industry conferences. Dr. Davidian received her M.S. at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science, and her PhD at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Matt Johnson is a student at North Carolina State University where he is studying business management and ornamental landscaping.A He has a passion for teaching children at his church and is actively involved in a leadership position with a youth group.A He loves to fish, surf, and play baseball!

Megan Parker was a five year member of the Shocker Junior and Senior cheer teams. She is AACCA safety certified, first aid and CPR certified and credentialed by the USASF. She is an outstanding cheer and tumbling coach and will be a great asset to the Shocker program. She is currently a student at North Carolina State University. Megan has coached the Mini Lites and Youth Starlettes. She has also coached some of our tumbling classes. She is a strong coach and we are glad to have her spirit and expertise in the program again this year.

Dr. Michael L. Walden is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor and Extension Economist in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at North Carolina State University. His Ph.D. degree is from Cornell University, and he has been at N.C. State since 1978. Walden has published eight books and more than 250 articles and reports. He has served on several local and state level commissions, including the Governor's Welfare Reform Task Force, the School Capital Construction Legislative Study Commission, and the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Future of Wake County. He currently serves on the staffs to the State and Local Fiscal Modernization Study Commission and the UNC Tomorrow Commission.

Michael O'Connell has more than 20 years experience in applied statistics, informatics and software development. He has published many papers on graphical statistics, data mining and pattern recognition including applications in health services, environmental sciences, ecology, agriculture, microbiology, genomics, drug delivery, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and manufacturing. Prior to starting Waratah Corp. he worked for 8 years at Becton Dickinson in statistics and product development, most recently running programs in Communications and Information Technology. In this capacity he led the Becton Dickinson Intranet effort, managing and developing a number of global web applications for a user group of approximately 10,000 Becton Dickinson associates. Dr. O'Connell has been active in the American Statistical Association throughout the 1990's, particularly in the areas of Computational and Graphical Statistics and Health Services Research; and he is a past-president of the NC ASA Chapter. His 1993 paper with Russ Wolfinger, "Generalized Linear Mixed Models: a Pseudo-likelihood Approach" and its accompanying SAS MACRO GLIMMIX have become standard methodology for the analysis of repeated measures and random effects data with discrete responses in the biostatistics and clinical research community. His 1997 paper, also with Wolfinger, "Spatial Regression Models, Response Surfaces and Process Optimization", was named best paper by the Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics and was featured on the cover. Dr. O'Connell has developed several statistical software packages, including S+DOX, a graphical experimental design and analysis package, marketed by MathSoft; and shareware statistical software solutions for curve fitting and calibration. Michael and the Waratah team provide end-to-end software solutions for on-line data mining and statistical reporting using sophisticated statistical and graphical engines in combination with industrial-strength databases/middleware and streamlined user interfaces. Dr. O'Connell graduated with B.Sc. at University of Sydney, M.S. in Statistics from University of New South Wales and Ph.D. in Statistics from North Carolina State University. He is also currently Adjunct Professor, Department of Statistics, North Carolina State University, is on the scientific board of MathSoft and is an associate editor of the Journal of Statistical Modelling.

Michael Young is an associate professor of Computer Science at North Carolina State University. Michael received a bachelor's degree in Computer Science at the California State University in Sacramento in 1984, an MS in Computer Science with a concentration in Symbolic Computation from Stanford in 1989 and in 1998 a Ph.D. in Intelligent Systems from the University of Pittsburgh. He was awarded a national Science Foundation CAREER Award in 2000. Young was a founder and Conference Chair for the First Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment in 2005 and served as the Tutorials Chair for AIIDE-2006. Michael's current research interests are in artificial intelligence, planning algorithms, discourse generation and computational models of interactive narrative. Michael directs the Liquid Narrative research group, is the co-director of the NCSU Center for Digital Entertainment and is academic director of the North Carolina Serious Games Initiative.

M.Ia. Marov began work in Korolev's bureau in 1958, and joined the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics in 1962, where he is today the head of the Department of Planetary Physics and Aeronomy. His work has focused on the hydrodynamics of planetary atmospheres, and he has supervised missions and experiments on probes to the Moon, Mars and Venus. He developed the first thermodynamic models of the Venusian atmosphere, beginning with the analysis of Venera-4's results. On Venera-9, his nephelometry experiments provided the first structural map of the cloud layers, and the analysis of cloud-particle properties from multiangle scattering. He developed a model of the Martian atmosphere based on the first direct measurements by Mars-6 in 1973, and he analyzed the rarified gas dynamics of Halley's comet from data gathered in the Vega mission. Dr. Marov is one of the great communicators of the Soviet space program, authoring hundreds of papers and numerous books on the physics of planets. He teaches at the Moscow Physico-Technical Institute and at North Carolina State University, where he is adjunct professor. An asteroid has also been named after him.

Nancy Monteiro-Riviere, Ph.D., a Consultant, is our Consulting Director of Cutaneous Pharmacology and Toxicology Testing. She is Professor of Investigative Dermatology and Toxicology at the North Carolina State University. Her research in Cutaneous biology and toxicology are published worldwide throughout the professional medical community and government agencies.

Nathan Price has been working in Commercial Real Estate at Hartwell Realty with Brenda since the Fall of 2005. He is a licensed Provisional Broker and is currently a student at North Carolina State University working towards a degree in the Business Management school.

Dr. Patsy Collins patsy_collins@ncsu.edu is a school psychologist and clinical professor at North Carolina State University (NCSU), with a Ph.D. in School Psychology from NCSU, and directs a clinic for children with learning differences. Debra Tabb DeCamillis DeCamillis@bellsouth.net is Founder and President of Market Solutions, a Raleigh-based market research firm which specializes in custom qualitative market research. She is a Past President of PASTA and the mother of both a 10th grader at RCHS and a 2004 graduate of RCHS. She earned a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a M.Ed. from the University of Virginia. Eric Grunden egrunden@raleighcharterhs.org egrunden@raleighcharterhs.org teaches Chemistry at Raleigh Charter High School.

Paul is currently on the startup team of an international, sugar-cane based ethanol company. Prior to that, he was Senior Director of Business Development at Diversa, where his responsibilities included business and strategic oversight of programs for development of renewable transportation fuels from crop biomass; management of several 3rd party collaborations and direction of the business and policy aspects of the grants program for industrial and bio-defense platforms. Prior to Diversa, he was Senior Vice President of Operations at CellFor Corporation, a forest biotechnology company. Paul was Chief Scientist, Global Biotechnology Platform at Dow Chemical Company, and Vice-President, Product Development, at Mycogen, and agricultural biotechnology company. Paul is a founder and former Director of Farmacule (Queensland, Australia - biopharmaceuticals and crop trait development) and a founder and partner of KAS, LLC (Hawaii - fine chemicals, therapeutic proteins and alternative energy from aquatic organisms). He also serves on the North American Biotechnology Business Advisory Council for the Queensland, Australia Government and on the Board of South Carolina's Biotech Business Council. He is a member of the steering committee for California's Secure Transportation Energy Partnership (CalSTEP) and a member of the National Resource Defense Council's Environmental Entrepreneurs Cellulose-to-Fuel working group. Paul serves as Adjunct Professor of Horticulture and a member of the graduate faculty at North Carolina State University and also serves as Adjunct Professor of Genetics and Biochemistry as well as a Senior Science Fellow at Clemson University's Institute for Nutraceutical Research. Paul is a Fellow of the Weed Science Society of America. He is an inventor on over 30 issued US patents. He was recently honored as a Queensland Champion by the Queensland, Australia Government (the first American citizen to be so honored). He received his undergraduate degree from Lewis and Clark College (1976- Ecology and Secondary Education) and his Ph.D. in Botany and Plant Pathology from Colorado State University (1980) where he worked on development of cropping systems for dry-land agriculture.

Phil Davidson enters his second season with the Rams in 2007-08, bringing with him an extensive background in baseball. After being awarded the 2001 Rhode Island Gatorade Player of the Year at Toll Gate High School, Davidson went on to be a four-year starter at North Carolina State University. He graduated in December of 2006 with a B.A. in Sociology, finishing his career fourth in all-time appearances (73), ninth in innings pitched (275.2) and 10th in career strikeouts (210). Davidson was drafted by the Kansas City Royals and signed a minor league contract in May of 2005. He spent almost a year in the minor leagues, playing for the Arizona Royals (Rookie League) and the Idaho Falls Chukars (Short Season) and compiled a 7-3 record between the two clubs. On the coaching side, Davidson has worked in various camps and tutored many ballplayers in his short time since graduating from NC State. He has worked with Head Coach Jim Foster at University of Rhode Island Baseball Clinics and is looking forward to working with him full time. Davidson brings a broad knowledge of baseball and many years of playing experience to the Rams.

Ralph Dewey, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Crop Science at North Carolina State University. Dr. Dewey is an expert in the field of Plant Molecular Biology and has been extensively published in this focus area. In addition, Dr. Dewey holds several patents concerning plant genetics and plant transformations.

Richard W. Slatta is professor of history at North Carolina State University. His numerous books and articles on cowboys and the American West include Cowboy: The Illustrated History and Cowboys of the Americas.

Rob Gierka, a doctoral student, is head of publications in the information-technology division of North Carolina State University. But his real calling is as the Pet Chaplain.

Robert Beichner is Alumni Distinguished Professor of Physics at North Carolina State University where he is a member of the Physics Education Research & Development Group. He studies student difficulties with various physics topics, writes instructional computer software, develops instruments for assessing learning, and examines the role of technology in education. He is PI of the SCALE-UP (Student Centered Activities for Large Enrollment Undergraduate Programs) project and facilitates its adoption at other institutions. He is co-author of the nation's leading introductory physics textbook, used by more than 1/3 of all science, mathematics, and engineering majors.

Rodney Waschka, composer, is best known for his algorithmic compositions, intermedia pieces, as well as music for traditional ensembles. His works often include electronic computer music or other media: visuals, theater, poetry.

Dr. Uknes was a co- founder of Paradigm Genetics [now Icoria, Inc. (ICOR)] where he served as Vice-President of Business Strategy. In this role, Dr. Uknes determined the market opportunity for Paradigm's technology, designed and implemented value capture strategies and communicated this strategy to investors during and after Paradigm Genetics' IPO. Dr. Uknes served previously as the Vice President of Fungal Research where he was responsible for the design and implementation of Paradigm's fungal genomics platform. Prior to Paradigm Genetics, Inc., he managed the scientific effort aimed at understanding the mode-of-action of "plant activators" at Novartis (now Syngenta). In this capacity, Dr. Uknes was also responsible for organizing and implementing the patent strategy for this area of research that resulted in a marketed agricultural chemical. From 1994 to 1996, Dr. Uknes was the Research Director for the Seeds Disease Control projects at Ciba-Geigy Corp. The team produced numerous patent filings, contracts, licenses and publications that helped establish Ciba/Novartis as a leader in novel disease resistance approaches. Dr. Uknes was an ad-hoc member of Ciba Seeds Biotechnology Strategy Committee. Dr. Uknes is an adjunct professor at North Carolina State University and a scientific advisory board member for Biolex, a company focused on protein expression in Lemna. Dr. Uknes was the PI on NSF and DOE grants. Dr. Uknes received his Ph. D. in Plant Molecular Biology from Washington University in St. Louis with Dr. David Ho and his B.S. in Honors Biology from the University of Illinois. Dr. Uknes has authored more than 40 scholarly works, is an inventor on more than 20 patents, helped negotiate $200 million in R and D deals and has helped raise more than $70 million in public and private equity capital.

Scottie is from Camden, North Carolina. She is an undergraduate student at North Carolina State University majoring in communication public relations with a minor in business management. She plans to attend law school after she graduates from N.C. State. Before joining McCuiston Law Offices, Scottie worked as a pharmacy technician at Kerr Drug in Raleigh, NC. She has also worked as a waitress and as the copyeditor for Technician. Most of her time is devoted to being a full time student. Scottie joined McCuiston Law Offices in 2007 as an administrative assistant and currently assists with marketing projects for the firm. In her spare time, Scottie likes to go to the beach, workout, and snowboard in the winter.

Shannon E. Pratt, PhD Shannon?s degrees include a BSc in Nutritional Science (University of Guelph), MSc in Equine Nutrition and Exercise Physiology (University of Kentucky) and a PhD in Equine Nutritional Physiology (University of Guelph). Her primary interests are insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism. She grew up in Toronto and rode horses north of the city as she grew up. She worked as a groom for, and rode with Hugh Graham, competing in hunters with her horse, Jay. She still has Jay (now 27!), who lives with her in Raleigh, North Carolina where Shannon is an Assistant Professor in Animal Science at North Carolina State University.

Steve Margolis is a Professor of Economics at North Carolina State University. At NC State he teaches Managerial Economics, Industrial Organization, and Microeconomics.A Before coming to NC State he was a faculty member at the University of Western Ontario where he taught Urban Economics, Economic Analysis of Law, and Health Economics.A He hasA been a visiting faculty member at the University of Michigan Business School and the Fuqua School of Business. Professor Margolis's research is in industrial organization and the economics of law.A His best known research deals with the market processes that choose standards, networks, and technologies.A This area, which is also known as network economics, has implications for strategy and public policy regarding a number of new technologies, including computer software and telecommunications.A Professor Margolis and Stan Liebowitz of the University of Texas at Dallas are the authors of Winners, Losers and Microsoft: Competition and Antitrust in High Technology. That book deals with economic concepts that have been central to the continuing antitrust controversies in the software industry. The book attracted a great deal of attention during the Microsoft trial and has been the subject of discussions in The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Businessweek, Newsweek, The New York Times, Investorsa Business Daily and many other publications. Professor Margolis also writes and consults on the economics of intellectual property. Professor Margolis has published papers in the Journal of Law and Economics, the American Economic Review, the Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, the Journal ofA Economic Perspectives, and the Journal of Legal Studies, among others. He is listed in Whoa s Who in Economics, which lists the 1200 leading economists in the world, selected on the basis of citations to their research. At NC State he has received awards for teaching, extension, and research. He is a member of NC Statea s Academy of outstanding teachers.

Ted Bilderback is a professor and Nursery Crops Extension Specialist at North Carolina State University where he has been a member of the Horticultural Science Department since 1977. His B.S. and M.S. degrees in biology and botany were received from Emporia State University, Emporia, KS and he received his Ph.D, in Horticulture from Kansas State University in 1976. Ted's research and extension programs have focused on environmentally conscious cultural practices for growing nursery stock with emphasis on container substrates, plant and substrate nutrient levels and irrigation management. He received the American Association of Nurserymen's Extension Award in 1993, the Southern Nurserymen's Association Porter Henegar Memorial Award for Research in 1995, the Extension Education Award from the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service in 1995 for his extension education program "Environmentally Compatible Nursery Production Practices" and in 1999, Ted received one of the six Environmental Awards from the Southern Nursery Association as well at the N.C. State College of Ag and Life Sciences Outstanding Extension Service Award.

Dr. Norton earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University; Boston and Grafton, MA, and his Bachelor of Science from New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM. He did an internship in small animal medicine and surgery in Washington, DC and then moved onto Gainesville, Florida where he completed a two year residency in Zoo and Wildlife Medicine at the University of Florida. Dr. Norton became a Diplomat in the American College of Zoological Medicine in 1992. In addition to providing veterinary care for the Georgia Sea Turtle Center programs, Dr. Norton works on St. Catherines Island, Georgia, where he provides medical, surgical, and preventative health care for a wide range of captive mammals, birds, and reptiles. Dr. Norton also provides veterinary support and conducts health related research for various conservation organizations in Georgia (e.g. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, United States Fish and Wildlife Service). Between 1999 and 2007, Dr. Norton was awarded twelve research grants and participated in numerous collaborative research projects providing health assessments, anesthetic and surgical expertise. Dr. Norton is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida, North Carolina State University and the University of Georgia Colleges of Veterinary Medicine; is the author of 35 published articles and has served on many national committees. Dr. Norton is an associate editor for the Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. Dr. Norton organizes and teaches workshops that are presented to the general public, teachers, local veterinary associations, zoos, local universities, veterinary schools, scientific meetings, and conservation groups. He enjoys working with all wildlife but has a true passion for working with all types of turtles, tortoises and terrapins.

Tom directs the System x and BladeCenter Server Architecture and Technology organization, in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, where he is Vice President for Systems Technology, responsible for the architecture and technology of IBM's x86-based server line. He and his team have developed internal and external alliances to create technologies such as PCI-X, Software Rejuvenation, BladeCenter architecture, Virtualization Availability Manager, and Hosted Client solutions. Tom is IBM's executive sponsor for the PCI SIG, the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group (PICMG), the HyperTransport Consortium, Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI), Securities Technology Analysis Center (STAC) and a cofounder of the Systems Management Architecture for Server Hardware (SMASH), the RDMA Consortium, Blade.org, the InfiniBand Trade Association, and TheGreenGrid.org. In 2001, Tom was named an IBM Distinguished Engineer, an exclusive position given to technical executives who set the product and technology direction for the IBM company. In 2004, Tom was elected to the IBM Academy of Technology, an honor given for exemplary technical leadership and accomplishment. In 2006, Tom was appointed an IBM Fellow, IBM's highest technical honor. Tom blogs on blade servers and various random topics at www.bladenation.typepad.com. Tom has served on the faculty at several universities, and is an adjunct professor in the college Electrical and Computer Engineering at North Carolina State University. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, and has served on the Computer Science Accreditation Board, the National Science Foundation Center for Technology Commercialization Executive Board. Tom meets frequently with industry analysts and speaks regularly at industry conferences, customer locations, and universities on IT, computer architecture, and high technology trends and directions.

Vernon C. Matzen received his Ph.D. degree in Structural Engineering and Structural Mechanics at the University of California, Berkeley in 1976, his Master's Degree from Purdue University in 1968, and his Bachelor's Degree from the University of Colorado in 1966. From 1967 to 1970 he was in the Research and Development Group at the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics. Since 1977 he has been at North Carolina State University, where his now a Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering and the Director of the Center for Nuclear Power Plant Structures, Equipment, and Piping. His research and professional interests are in the areas of piping behavior and design, rocking and sliding of unanchored structures, and internet based control and observation of laboratory experiments. He is an Alumni Distinguished Professor of Undergraduate Education.

Victoria Gallagher (Ph.D. Northwestern University 1990) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at North Carolina State University. She teaches courses in rhetorical theory and criticism, communication ethics, gender and organizational communication and has been awarded both the NC State College of Humanities and Social Sciences Outstanding Teacher Award and the College's Outstanding Advising Award. In October of 1999, Professor Gallagher was inducted into the NC State Academy of Outstanding Teachers. Professor Gallagher has published articles in the Quarterly Journal of Speech, Rhetoric and Public Affairs, Western Journal of Communication, Southern Communication Journal, Journal of Engineering Education and Journal of College Admissions as well as in several edited collections. She has presented numerous conference papers and been an invited respondent for panels at national and regional conferences. Her co-authored paper on the dynamics of peer interactions in engineering work teams won a Best Paper Award from the American Society of Engineering Educators. Another co-authored piece, an article on the rhetoric of Martin Luther King, Jr. won the Aubrey Fisher Journal Article Award, Runner Up from the Western States Communication Association.

W. Rhett Davis received B.S. degrees in electrical and computer engineering from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, in 1994 and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1997 and 2002. He has worked briefly with Hewlett-Packard (now Agilent) in Boeblingen, Germany and Chameleon Systems in San Jose, California. Since 2002, he has been an Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at North Carolina State University. His research interests are centered on developing methodologies, CAD tools, and circuits for systems-on-chip in emerging technologies. His interests include 3D IC design and low-power and high-performance circuit design for digital signal-processing and embedded systems.

Walt Wolfram is the William C. Friday Distinguished Professor at North Carolina State University, where he also directs the North Carolina Language and Life Project. He has pioneered research on social and ethnic dialects since the 1960s, authoring or co-authoring over 15 books and 200 articles on social and ethnic dialects of American English. His current research involves historically and culturally isolated communities in Eastern North Carolina and in the Bahamas. Professor Wolfram is also vitally concerned with the application of sociolinguistic information to social and educational problems and the dissemination of knowledge about dialects to the public. In this connection, he has been involved in the production of several TV documentaries on dialect diversity and the development of dialect awareness curricula for the schools. Walt Wolfram is President of the Linguistic Society of America and Past-President of the American Dialect Society.

Dr. DeLuca is an Associate Professor of Technology Education at North Carolina State University. He has been a technology education teacher at the middle school, high school, undergraduate, and graduate levels for over 27 years, and has extensive teaching, research, and curriculum development experience. His research includes the study of thinking processes, teaching methods, and activities that improve technological problem-solving performance. He has expertise in developing technology education curriculum that integrates technology, mathematics and science standards. Dr. DeLuca has a B.A. in Industrial Arts Education from the California University of Pennsylvania, and an M.A. and Ed.D. in Technology Education from West Virginia University.

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Arthur M. Pappas has served as a member of our board of directors since June 1995. Mr. Pappas is Chief Executive Officer of A. M. Pappas & Associates, LLC, a firm which manages life science venture capital funds. Prior to founding the firm in 1994, Mr. Pappas held senior level positions at several multinational pharmaceutical companies. He was an executive member of the board of directors of Glaxo Holdings plc, now GlaxoSmithKline, for which he was responsible for international operations including research, development and manufacturing. Mr. Pappas has held various senior executive positions with Abbott Laboratories International, Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals and the Dow Chemical Company, in the United States and internationally. Mr. Pappas is a director of privately held Genstruct, Inc., BrainCells, Inc., CoLucid Pharmaceuticals and Lead Therapeutics, Inc. and is Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. Mr. Pappas received a B.S. in biology from Ohio State University and an M.B.A. in finance from Xavier University.

Christy L. Shaffer, Ph.D. has served as our Chief Executive Officer and as a director since January 1999, as our President since June 2005, and as a member of our Development Committee since March 2009. Dr. Shaffer joined us in 1995 as the first full-time employee and held several senior positions prior to being appointed our Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Shaffer has over 20 years of experience in drug development within the pharmaceutical industry. She previously served in a variety of positions in the clinical research division of Burroughs Wellcome Co. including International Project Leader for cardiopulmonary programs. She served as the Associate Director of pulmonary research in the department of pulmonary/critical care medicine at Burroughs Wellcome immediately prior to joining Inspire. Dr. Shaffer coordinated several IND submissions and one NDA submission at Burroughs Wellcome. Dr. Shaffer received a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Tennessee and completed two years of postdoctoral training in cardiovascular research in the Biochemistry Department at the Chicago Medical School before her one-year postdoctoral appointment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Jim is a graduate of the North Carolina State University Turfgrass Program and spent 25 years as a Golf Course Superintendent in the Durham and Greensboro areas. He currently directs the day to day operations of Southern Lawns and continually looks for new and innovative ways to help our customers. Jim is a past president and member of the Board of Directors of the Turfgrass Council of North Carolina. He has also chaired the Certification Committee that administers the study course and examinations developed by TCNC and North Carolina State University for Certified Turfgrass Professionals, the states only certification program for Turfgrass Professionals. Jim has also just recently completed a term on the Advisory Board of the Center for Turfgrass Environmental Research and Education at North Carolina State University. When Jim is not working or serving on committees or boards he and his wife Cheryl like to spend time in Southport, Ocracoke, and Hatteras getting sun and fishing.

Nicole began her career in public relations and marketing with a boutique public relations firm in Arizona, CJ Heileman & Associates, serving both local and national clients. In her role, she was responsible for developing the media plan and its execution. She wrote and directed several commercial and served as Associate Director of a weekly television program a Spectacular Homes of Southern Arizonaa nd philanthropic associations in the Charlotte community. Nicole holds a MBA and a Masters of Arts in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix. Nicole blends her unique experience in business, education and marketing with her personal brand for excellence, service, and community to fulfill her clienta s needs. She is the mother of two children, Brooklyn and Cameron.