TECHNICIAN
tuesday september
16 2014
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Campaign seeks to increase student interest in statistics Jess Thomas Staff Writer Undergraduate Education in Statistics
PHOTO COURTESY OF ALISON MOYER
Alison Moyer, a graduate student in zoology, was part of a team from Drexel University that discovered bones from a new species of dinosaur.
Student helps discover world’s largest dinosaur Casey Oldham Staff Writer
An NC State student was part of an excavation team that uncovered dinosaur fossils from what could be the largest dinosaur ever to walk on Earth. Alison Moyer, a graduate student in Zoology, found the dinosaur on a dig she participated in as an undergraduate student at Drexel University
about nine years ago in Southern Argentina. The dinosaur is the first of its kind ever found. After years of research, a team from Drexel announced earlier this month the bones came from a new species of dinosaur called Dreadnoughtus schrani. According to Moyer, the team
DINOSAUR continued page 3
With data from a 2011 study predicting a surplus of 190,000 jobs for data scientists in the U.S. by 2022, the American Statistical Association has begun a public relations campaign intended to increase student interest in the statistics field. The campaign will outline the various career opportunities in statistics, as well as provide information about the different types of research statisticians conduct. Ron Wasserstein, executive director for the ASA, said one of the major reasons there is a lack of student interest in statistics is due to a lack of awareness about the field. “The thing is that many colleges don’t have an undergraduate program in statistics, so many students are not even aware about the field,” Wasserstein said. Additionally, Wasserstein said many students have a misperception on what a degree in statistics actually entails, and it is not traditionally a number-crunching career. “Statistics is very different than what they think it is,” Wasserstein said. “Many people think of statistics as a very boring area, but that’s not the case, as there are a large number of fields that statistics is used in.”
54,000
Fall 2005*
81,000
Fall 2010*
190,000
Job Projection Need by 2022
* National Enrollment
SOURCE: AMERICAN STATISTICAL ASSOCIATION, GRAPHIC BY MATT KUBOTA
A 2011 study predicted 190,000 jobs will be availbale in statistics-related fields by the year 2022. NC State has 144 students currently seeking statistics degrees.
Wasserstein said one the most impressive things about the field of statistics is the number of areas that a statistician is able to work in, and many of them are surprising. “What stands out is how many different fields that statisticians can work in: any area of business, any production or manufacturing, the pharmaceutical industry and surprising areas like astronomy which also use data, and where there is data, there is a need for statisticians,” Wasserstein said. Kim Kaull, account coordinator
SEE BIENVENIDOS PAGE 5
La verdad sobre Verdadismo: Soraida trae commentario social
for Stanton Communications, the public relations firm working with the ASA, said one of the goals of the campaign is to disprove the perception that statistics is an unexciting area. “A lot of students have this perception that statistics is this dry, number-crunching field, and it couldn’t be further from the truth, so we really want to break these biases and misconceptions among students who aren’t familiar with
STATISTICS continued page 3
insidetechnician
OPINION
Paula Gordon
Gigantic phones make their return
Editora de Bienvenidos
See page 4.
Más que 50 personas asistieron una charla y exposición de arte con Soraida Martínez, oradora motivacional y artista. Martínez es conocida por su estilo de arte de Verdadismo, que explora la teoría de fortalecer nuestra propia verdad y se dirige a muchas condiciones sociales que afectan a las mujeres, Latinos, y des enfrascados miembros de la sociedad Americana. “Mi esperanza es que atraves del Verdadismo, yo pueda crear un cambio social,” dijo Martínez cuando introducía su concepto artístico. Para Martínez, el arte visual es una de las mejores maneras de expresar la tolerancia y promover la justicia social, ya que es capaz de hacerlo de una forma no amenazante. Martínez ha utilizado pinturas como “What Prejudice Looks Like” para abrir sus dialogos, especialmente entre niños pequeños, quienes están más abiertos a nuevas ideas y son capazes de absorber conceptos y
SPORTS Pack learns lessons in Wake of defeat See page 8.
KRISTIN BRADFORD/TECHNICIAN
Ciara del Valle y Jacqueline Ruiz, estudiantes del último año, hablan sobre la cuadra de “What Prejudice looks like” en el exhibición. La exhibición durará hast el 26 de Sept.
romper paredes construidas por la sociedad que perpetúan estereotipos. Las experiencias de Martínez en la Améri-
ca corporativa influenciaron sus pinturas y
VERDADISMO continua página 5
SPORTS FSU, Virgina Tech control ACC rankings See page 8.
Website redesign emphasizes campus accomplishments Deirdre An Correspondent
Returning visitors to the NC State website may have noticed major changes to the site’s design. The site now features news articles and announcements from departments on the home page. The rebranding of the site and changing
of the navigation toolbar helped connect resources and information across disciplines, according to Luis Chacon, NC State’s director of web communications. “When we released this brand new website, we wanted to use a voice and tone to set direction,” Chacon said. “Important leaders can easily access locations and help differ-
ent partners focus across digital communications. This also plans to work across the board to all colleges.” The website home page now displays stories from The Abstract, a feature blog for news and research at NC State, as well as the Bulletin, a faculty newsletter. “We used to have news that were
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related, but not in a central place,” Chacon said. “We wanted to centralize all that information and showcase college information.” Over time, campus communications will to try and make the website as interdisciplinary as possible, according to Chacon. “That is what makes a great NCSU story — a unique blend of disci-
plines speaking to you about opportunities and research,” Chacon said. Brad Bohlander, the chief communications officer, said he works with all the colleges at NC State to try to create a central web function throughout campus. “The important strength of NCSU
WEBSITE continued page 2
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