The winners of the 2012 Faculty Awards are:

Alumni Association Distinguished Undergraduate Professors

• D. Barry Croom | Department of Agricultural and Extension Education | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• Jeffrey A. Joines | Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science | College of Textiles
• John R. Meyer | Department of Entomology | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• Craig M. Newmark | Department of Economics | College of Management
• Maria Oliver-Hoyo | Department of Chemistry | College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
• John K. Townsend | Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering | College of Engineering

Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Professors

• Y. Richard Kim | Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering | College of Engineering
• Hiller A. Spires | Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Counselor Education | College of Education

Alumni Association Outstanding Research Awards

• Edward Bealmear Breitschwerdt | Department of Clinical Sciences | College of Veterinary Medicine
• Jon-Paul Maria| Department of Material Science Engineering | College of Engineering
• Ann Helen Ross| Department of Sociology and Anthropology | College Humanities and Social Sciences

Alumni Association Outstanding Extension and Outreach Awards

• Jay F. Levine | Department of Population Health and Pathobiology | College of Veterinary Medicine
• Donald E. Thrall | Department of Molecular Biomedical Science| College of Veterinary Medicine
• Grady L. Miller |Department of Crop Science | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Alumni Association Outstanding Teacher Awards

• Jennifer L. Campbell | Department of Biology | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• Martha L. Crowley | Department of Sociology and Anthropology | College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Jessica T. DeCuir-Gunby | Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Counselor Education | College of Education
• Michael D. Dickey | Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering | College of Engineering
• Scott M. Ferguson | Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering | College of Engineering
• David W.W. Jones | Department of Agricultural and Extension Education | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• Shevaun Neupert | Department of Psychology | College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Jesse Wilmoth '04

Jesse Wilmoth, a 2004 graduate of the College of Design can help. Wilmoth works as an architect intern in downtown Columbus, which he describes as a “big, temperate version of Raleigh.” We caught up with Wilmoth by email this week to give you his insider’s look at the Wolfpack’s basketball home for the weekend.

Are you able to keep up with Wolfpack athletics while living in Columbus? It’s hard to keep up with the Pack because Columbus is crawling with Buckeye fans, but we catch the nationally televised games. It’s been easier this year, because so many good ACC basketball games have been televised.

What is there for NC State fans to do while they’re in Columbus? Make sure to check out OSU’s campus; it’s one of the largest in the nation. The “Shoe” is an impressive monument to OSU’s football tradition, and Urban Meyer’s new stomping ground. Fun fact: If you feel right at home, it’s because OSU is a land-grant university, uses lots of brick and even has the same signage design that NCSU uses for their buildings on campus. Great walking/running paths downtown lead all along the rivers, and plenty of nearby parks will give you a chance to enjoy the outdoors. It gets a little chilly at night this time of year — bring a coat!

Anything else? While most of Arnold Schwarzenegger would not be described as soft,he does have a soft spot in his heart for Columbus: See if you can track down the larger-than-life bronze statue of him. (Hint: Try Veterans Memorial). Check out the Short North for arts and shopping. German Village has great character and is the first community to gain Historic Registry status in the nation. Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens has great Dale Chihuly works and is a nice break from the city. And take the kids to COSI, they’ll love it.

Any recommendations for food and drink? If you’re looking for mid-high end, Rigsby’s Kitchen in the Short North is very close to the arena. Don’t miss Jeni’s Ice Cream, also walkable from the arena and the best ice cream I’ve ever had. Bailey’s for beer pre-game. Check out the Elevator Brewery and Draught Haus for good food and reasonable prices downtown. Barrio’s next door for tapas. And the Short North Market is nearby and one of the great food moments in Columbus. Thurman Cafe and Schmidt’s are both famous, and have been on TV recently for their great German and American fare. Finally, if you’ve got a car, check out High Street in Clintonville for some good atmosphere reminiscent of NCSU’s college bars and pubs.

So,what’s your prediction for the Pack? The Pack is on a roll, and played brilliantly in the ACC Tournament, even with the loss. They statistically outmatch San Diego State in nearly every way and, let’s be honest, competition in the ACC’ss been pretty solid this year. Then it’s just Georgetown, Kansas and UNC standing between them and the Final Four … Piece of cake, right?!

Obama focused his remarks on the significance of the museum, the first national museum solely dedicated to African-American history and culture, and of its location on the National Mall.

“[I]t was on this ground long ago that lives were once traded, where hundreds of thousands once marched for jobs and freedom,” Obama said. “It was here that the pillars of our democracy were built, often by black hands. And it is on this spot…that generations will remember the sometimes difficult, often inspirational, but always central role that African-Americans have played in the life of our country.”

Photo by Peter Hutson.

The project is  the latest in a long line of cultural museums that Freelon and his firm, The Freelon Group, have helped design.

We caught up with the award-winning architect to talk about the significance of the NMAAHC’s groundbreaking.

What were you feeling as you were there at the groundbreaking ceremony? It was an emotional moment and a proud moment. Turning the earth there on site brought a sense of reality to the project that was palpable. I was honored to just be a part of the process.

When you’re at a ceremony like this for one of your buildings, do you still get those kind of ‘pinch-me-I’m-dreaming’ moments? Sure. It’s always a thrill  to see a concept and an idea take physical form. It’s always new and exciting.

For you, what does it mean to have a hand in the first national museum solely dedicated to African-American history and culture? It’s humbling. It’s a high honor. I feel it’s something I’m well prepared for and something I prepared for my whole career. I feel our team is the right team at the right time. There were a series of steps, so when we talk about how we feel, it’s a process. The groundbreaking is one step. That starts one chapter.

When you hear President Obama echo the ghosts of black veterans of the Civil War, Harriet Tubman or the Tuskegee Airmen, does that put more pressure on you to make sure you get this right? Pressure isn’t the right word. It’s a sense of responsibility to tell the truth and make our ancestors proud.

The president talked about how, at moments like these, he thinks about his daughters. When you think about your own children and grandchildren, what do you want them to appreciate about this museum? I think of my family, my wife and my children, and then there are grandchildren and other extended family. And then there’s the African-American family. Those concentric circles go out and include a lot of people. It’s a proud moment. We’re part of the story now. The development of the building on this site is part of history. …That legacy will be there for folks to see long after we’re gone.

What are you most excited about seeing in the museum as a visitor? I would have to say the music component of the gallery. That’s so ingrained in my family. I know all the offerings are going to be magnificent.

The trip, arranged by the Alumni Association, will include visits to the Coastal Studies Institute in Manteo, the PCS Phosphate mining facility in Aurora and the North Carolina Estuarium in Washington.

The trip will culminate in an Alumni Oyster Roast at the home of Lalla and Forest Sidbury in Beaufort County. The local alumni network had the greatest percentage increase in members among Alumni Association networks last year.

Woodson will spend his time today exploring Dare County, starting with a luncheon meeting with local Chamber of Commerce members at Pamlico Jack’s restaurant in Nags Head. The day will end with an alumni reception at Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head.

Bob Woody, a 1967 NC State grad, is owner of the White Doe Inn in Manteo where Woodson will stay tonight. Woody spent time on Wednesday decorating the inn with NC State banners and memorabilia. “We’re pretty much dyed-in-the-wool NC State fans here at the Inn,” Woody says.

Woody says it is important for the chancellor at NC State to be familiar with what’s going on throughout the state, but said that people in Dare County are particularly proud about some of the ways NC State has helped the economy there. Some of the more familiar connections are in well-known industries such as commercial fishing, but Woody says many don’t realize that the College of Design has helped develop long-range plans for the town of Manteo.

“Tourism is a big economic driver down here, so I’m sure that the folks who are going to show him around are going to be make sure he becomes familiar with how we approach the tourism economy,” Woody says.

On Friday, Woodson will visit Beaufort County. Lentz Stowe, a 1983 NC State grad and director of the Small Business Center at Beaufort County Community College, says it means a lot to a small county to get a visit from the chancellor of the state’s largest university.

“From an economic development standpoint, that excites folks,” Stowe says. “Being from a rural setting like this, we need all the help we can get.”

Photo by Peter Hutson.

President Barack Obama will deliver remarks tomorrow at the groundbreaking ceremony for the latest Smithsonian project, one that is being designed by a team led by  architect Phil Freelon ‘75.

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture will be the first national museum solely dedicated to chronicling and celebrating African-American history and culture. It’s a $500-million project that is set to be completed in 2015.

Construction starts this winter on the site, which is one of the last building sites on the National Mall, between the Washington Monument and the National Museum of American History. The NMAAHC will also be the first green building on the National Mall.

We profiled Freelon in our Autumn 2011 issue. He leads the 32-consultant team of Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup on the Smithsonian project. He talked extensively about the NMAAHC’s design and its influence.

The building will extend upward into the sky, looking like a three-tiered crown. The concept originates in Yoruban art and architecture, and the angles of the corona match the 17-and-a-half degree angle on the capstone of the Washington Monument.

And although he believes the project is his pinnacle, Freelon said he still has much more to do. “I’m in here not to get to a certain destination, but to make sure the journey and the path is a meaningful one and that at the end of the day, we’ve made a positive impact,” he said.

His firm, The Freelon Group, which is based in Durham, N.C., is also working on the new Gregg Museum of Art & Design, slated to open in 2014 in the chancellor’s residence on Hillsborough Street.

Freelon said in the article that such projects fall in line with his professional philosophy. “We have a standard that says the building should contribute positively to the community in which it’s built,” he said. “In our measure libraries, museums and educational buildings do that. And prisons and strip shopping centers don’t.”

An exhibit celebrating Freelon’s designs opened earlier this month at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass. It will be open until April.

Robbins has organized the Finish the [Bell] Tower, a grassroots movement aimed at raising money for the structure’s completion. His efforts continue those of the 2010 senior class, who also raised money for the purchase of a bell to go in the Bell Tower. And on Tuesday at D.H. Hill Library students were treated to a preview of the fruits of those groups’ labor. Three bells that will go in the tower arrived in the west wing of the library.

Those three bells mean that there are only two more needed for the first set of five to go in. After that goal has been met, Robbins has other plans. Purchasing fifty more bells, adding the carillon and even constructing a staircase in the Bell Tower are all on his list of things to do. Robbins says he is currently working with a designer from the library on a display for a “big reveal” of all the plans at NC State’s Founder’s Day celebration on March 7, 2012. He says that the ambitious goal helps him impart a piece of NC State’s history about alumni who were able to give during harsh economic times, a lesson, he says, that is applicable today.

The group hopes to capture the attention of individual donors to secure the last two bells. Then the donations will go toward the other plans. For Robbins, securing those funds means adding life to NC State’s most famous landmark. “It’s not supposed to be a dead, stoic memorial,” he says. “It’s supposed to be alive.”

When Craig died in 2009, he left behind scores of photographs,  paintings, multi-media collages, sculptures and drawings. Now those works are on display until Feb. 6 at the Mars Gallery at Duke University Medical Center.

The exhibit, “The Art of Frank Lee Craig,” features his art, which was inspired by abandoned industrial sites. His wife, Margaret Kentgens-Craig, an adjunct associate professor in NC State’s College of Design, says the works are modern and explore the connection between color, light and composition.

“There is a strong tendency in most of the work toward the abstract,” she says. “Usually the composition is being worked out by additional painting or drawing, which pulls the image together.”

Kentgens-Craig says her husband’s love of art was not apparent when they first met in Raleigh in 1980. She was a teacher in Germany and had come to the U.S. as part of an exchange program. The two started dating immediately but had a commuter relationship for five years while she was back in Germany. But it was that distance that brought out Craig’s creativity.

“I started to learn about his artistic side when he sent me his first letters, which were his artwork,” she says. “He did these small collages. He sent me two or three multi-media pieces. I took them to a gallery in Germany, and they asked if they could buy it.”

Craig with his guitar in college.

Craig’s endeavors didn’t stop at art. He also spent his last years pursuing his music. When he was a student at NC State, he had bought a Martin guitar and would retreat to his room for entire weekends to practice. The practice paid off and he formed a band, Spot, which played around Raleigh at Berkeley’s and Kings.

In 2008, he started recording songs for a CD. The project was completed posthumously. In December 2011, his album, The Distance Is So Near, was released. (Click to see a story WRAL did on the release.) The album is available at Quail Ridge Books & Music and Schoolkids Records.

Art and music were centerpieces of Craig’s life. His wife remembers the affinity he felt for music, especially to the blues and classic rock he had been exposed to growing up in the South. “We played Trivial Pursuit. He would always go to ‘Music,’ and it was the end of my game,” she says. “You have questions that trip you up, and I couldn’t trip him.”

“Their light, ignited by their NC State education and fueled by their own successes, reflects upon their alma mater, enhancing NC State’s reputation around the world,” Chancellor Randy Woodson said during the “Evening of Stars” at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary. “They unequivocally add value to an NC State degree.

“These are alumni who have made impacts around the globe; through television broadcasts and comprehensive websites, on Main Street and Wall Street; through rhyme and reason; in factories, laboratories, classrooms and boardrooms.”

The honorees at the 8th Annual NC State Evening of Stars were:

COLLEGE DISTINGUISHED AWARD RECIPIENTS

S. Elizabeth George ‘81 MS, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: As director of the Cooperative Threat Reduction Directorate for the U.S. Department of Defense, George is recognized as one of the nation’s leading authorities on chemical and biological warfare.

H. Connor Kennett Jr. ‘54, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Kennett was the longtime director of the poultry division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture before he retired in 1988. He was the first North Carolinian inducted into the National Poultry Hall of Fame.

David W. Evans ‘84, College of Design: Evans is an award-winning creative director, photographer and filmmaker who has worked for clients such as the National Geographic Society, Discovery Channel, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Nations Foundation.

Carl E. Harris ‘98 EDD, College of Education: A former superintendent of Durham (N.C.) Public Schools, Harris was named in 2010 as deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. He also served as superintendent of the Franklin County (N.C.) Public School System.

Marshall D. Brain ‘89 MS, College of Engineering: Brain founded HowStuffWorks.com, an award-winning website that offers easy-to-understand explanations of how the world around us functions. Discovery Communications purchased the site for $250 million in 2007.

William H. “Bill” Dean ‘88, College of Engineering: Dean is president and CEO of M.C. Dean Inc., a company founded in 1949 by his grandfather. The company is the nation’s premier electrical design-build and systems integration firm, with 3,300 employees and clients that include Fortune I000 corporations, universities, high-tech companies and government agencies.

Robert R. Womack ‘59, College of Engineering: After working as a partner at McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, Womack went on to serve as chairman, chief executive officer or president of four New York Stock Exchange companies.

Nora H. Shepard ‘05 MFA, College of Humanities and Social Sciences: Shepard is an award-winning poet who teaches creative writing and poetry at NC State. A longtime advocate of the arts, Shepard was the founding president of Arts Together, Raleigh’s only nonprofit multi-arts school.

Jon W. Bartley ‘69, Poole College of Management: Bartley is a professor of accounting at NC State who served as associate dean of the college from the time it was founded in 1993 until 1998, when he became dean. He served as dean until 2004, when he returned to the faculty.

Ed Leigh McMillan II ‘62, College of Natural Resources: McMillan is the managing trustee of the D.W. McMillan Trust and the D.W. McMillan Foundation, managing 40,000 acres of timber in Alabama and Florida, as well as the mineral rights and drilling sites for newly discovered oil reserves associated with the property.

David B. Montgomery, ‘68, ‘81 PhD, College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences: Montgomery worked for 30 years as a plasma physicist at Becton, Dickinson and Company (now known as BD), developing new technology that resulted in 15 U.S. and five European patents.

F. Dale Hayes ‘78, College of Textiles: Hayes is vice president of global public relations for UPS, and was responsible for developing the company’s award-winning, memorable slogan about what “brown can do for you,” and redesigned its iconic brand mark to give UPS one of the most recognizable brands in the world.

Dr. David E. Anderson ‘88 BS, ‘90 DVM, College of Veterinary Medicine: Anderson is a professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University, where he is head of agriculture practices in the Department of Clinical Sciences. He is the founding director of the International Camelid Institute at The Ohio State University and the International Academy of Farm Animal Surgeons.

WOLFPACK CLUB AWARD

E.J. Poindexter ‘58, Ronnie Shavlick Award: Poindexter worked for more than 40 years for Barnhill Contracting Co., where he eventually became the company’s first vice president. Poindexter has been devoted to NC State athletics for more than 55 years, never taking a vacation that didn’t revolve around an NC State sporting event.

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AWARDS

Dennis G. Howard ‘67, Meritorious Service Award: Howard served for 14 years on the Alumni Association Board of Directors, serving on every board committee and providing leadership as the board’s president during a critical year of transition for the Alumni Association and its Caldwell Fellows program.

David S. Jolley ‘70 and Celia G. Jolley ‘83 MS, Meritorious Service Award: David, vice president of commercial lending at C&F Bank in Williamsburg, Va., was a founding member of the NC State Board of Visitors and has served on the NC State University Foundation and its endowment board. David and Celia, a retired educator, are members of the C.W. Dabney Lifetime Giving Society and the R.S. Pullen Society.

Ada B. Dalla Pozza, Award of Merit: As a NC State extension agent, faculty member, mentor and volunteer for more than 70 years, Ms. Ada (as she is known) provided leadership to improve the quality of life for families and helped create leadership institutes for rural women, many of whom became elected officials.

Daniel C. Gunter III ‘00, Outstanding Young Alumnus: Gunter, an associate attorney with DLA Piper, serves on the Alumni Association’s Young Alumni Council and is a member of the association’s board of directors as a representative of the Council on Athletics.

At 50, Widman had worked for years at his commercial photography business, but he was not excited about going digital. “I wanted to do something that I was passionate about and I was ready for a change,” Widman says.

That change came in starting Widman Custom Electrics.

The first guitar Widman produced, a copy of a Fender Telecaster, turned out well. “There is nothing like a little success to fan the flames,” he says.

Widman has  now produced 20 instruments, keeping only his Telecaster remake for himself. He describes the building process as unique for each instrument. “That is what a custom instrument is all about,” he says. “When a client orders an instrument, it is made to their specifications. The neck fits their hand, they choose the colors and the woods.”

Widman has also produced several electric banjos. The first banjo, an anniversary present to his wife, served as a prototype.

Widman enjoys the freedom and creativity involved with creating a new instrument. That includes inventing new parts, which allows for a lot of fun in the design process.

Widman’s guitars come in four different models from a variety of woods. One of his most interesting instruments came from an abandoned piano, parts of which he initially intended to use designing a coffee table.

“I wanted to salvage the sounding board,” he says. “It has made a very special guitar.”

– Jeannene Lang

But while we enjoyed talking with them about the very serious work they’re doing, we couldn’t resist asking them for their thoughts about the plethora of crime shows  on television these days:

Wes Watson, professor of entomology: I used to watch CSI for entertainment. I really enjoy finding flaws in the biology. I remember one time they incorrectly ID’d a type of beetle on remains. (Watson uses the life cycle of the blow fly to estimate the time of death.)

Ann Ross, professor of anthropology: Bones? Can’t stand it. Too unrealistic. Law & Order, love it, all of them. I love those shows. You get the police work and the prosecution side in the courtroom, and it’s a nice marrying of the two. CSI—they always work in the dark. It bothers me. Turn some lights on, people! (Ross has developed computer software to help investigators determine the ethnic origin of skeletal remains.)

Billy Oliver, archeologist and teaching associate: Some are better than others. My wife loves Dexter. I watch CSI and Castle and things that involve a twist. CSI: New York is a little out there. (Oliver helps teach classes on how to excavate bodies and document evidence; he has been called on to help investigate numerous crimes.)

Tim Buie ’88 ’98 MS, assistant professor of industrial design: I hate some of the stuff. They’ll have a video from an ATM and they’ll enhance it. Suddenly it’s super high-res and you can read the guy’s driver’s license from 300 feet [something that couldn’t happen in real life]. (Buie and a colleague from the College of Engineering are developing a system to help investigators virtually recreate crime scenes in 3-D.)

– Sylvia Adcock