NC State College of Engineering

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NC State College of Engineering

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One of the nation's leading public engineering and computer science schools

10/30/2026

Like many Americans on April 1, Elyssa Cartagena ’22 was on pins and needles awaiting the historic Artemis II launch. But Cartagena wasn’t only intrigued by NASA’s first crewed moon mission since 1972 or because fellow Wolfpacker Christina Hammock Koch ’01, ’02, ’02 MS was aboard. Cartagena played a role in the mission, too.

Cartagena is a test engineer with Boeing, maker of the launch system’s core stage, which holds flight computers and other major avionics, electronic components used in aviation, along with four RS-25 engines that help give the rocket its initial push. The 212-foot core stage operates for the first eight minutes of flight before separating and falling to the ocean.

Based at Boeing’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Cartagena is part of a team responsible for functionally checking out the core stage’s avionics and propulsion systems to ensure all work properly. Cartagena remembers those eight minutes well, mentally checking off each milestone as she watched the launch. “It was the longest eight minutes of my entire life,” she says.

The day ended with relief and delayed pride, understood only after a friend called to ask if she’d actually launched a rocket. “That’s when I realized I sent people to the moon,” says Cartagena, who is working on future Artemis missions.

10/28/2026

"Don’t be afraid to live your college experience to the fullest extent. College is all about both exploring yourself and who you are as a person so allow yourself to have those experiences that will do that. It’s okay to be nervous but it’s important to not let that fear or nervousness overshadow your ability to operate and prevent you from learning new things." — Justice Merchant, paper science and engineering and chemical engineering student

After Open House last weekend, we wanted to share some advice for prospective and future members of the Wolfpack.

10/26/2026

Several families in Western North Carolina have clean water again, nearly two years after Hurricane Helene devastated the area.

The September 2024 hurricane left thousands of people without safe drinking water in Buncombe and Mitchell counties, an area where many households rely on private wells and spring-fed systems.

Jacqueline Gibson, Twisdale Family Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering department head at NC State, co-led a 2025 research study that found unsafe levels of contamination in area households. While the research team found an issue, it had no means to solve it.

“We’ve been working in Western North Carolina since a few months after the hurricane,” Gibson said. “We found a number of homes where people were relying on private wells and springs with water that wasn’t safe to drink. There were a lot of bacteria in the water in some of the people’s homes. We also found some cases of higher levels of lead.”

Thanks to a research grant and a partnership with the nonprofit W**e to Water and Mayland Community College, Gibson and others were able to install water filters in several affected homes.

10/23/2026

As Cadillac F1 Team competes in their first ever home grand prix this weekend, you can watch alumna Grace Meyer's hard work on the track. As a materials lab technician at GM Motors Performance Power Units, she works with teams across the organization to better understand and improve the performance of the power units in the Formula 1 cars.

"The most challenging part of my work is that I didn’t come in with knowledge on how cars, especially Formula 1 race cars, work. Every day I encounter new parts, systems and manufacturing processes that I have never seen before, and I need to research or have them explained to me by more experienced team members. There is a steep learning curve, but it makes this role so rewarding. On the other hand, the constant learning is also what excites me most. I enjoy being exposed to new technologies and expanding my understanding of how Formula 1 power units and race cars are designed and built. Every day brings a new challenge, which keeps the work engaging and gives me opportunities to continue growing as an engineer and materials professional."

We'll be cheering on Grace and the whole team this weekend! 🏎️

NC State Alumni NC State Materials Science

10/21/2026

Three nuclear engineering students recently participated in the Nuclear Engineering Student Delegation, an annual program that sends students to Washington, D.C., to engage with the nation’s lawmakers on policy issues facing nuclear energy, education and research.

⚛️ Cecilia Harrison, a senior undergraduate and PULSTAR reactor operator
⚛️ Jaden Palmer, a Ph.D. student studying the use of machine learning for predicting reactor operations in Dr. Xu Wu’s research group
⚛️ Hayden Bland, a Ph.D. candidate studying molten salt thermophysical properties in Dr. Bataller’s research group, who served as chair of the delegation.

With their fellow delegates, they met with numerous congressional offices to advocate for nuclear science, education, and industry. In creating a policy statement, they worked with think tanks focused on nuclear energy policy, such as the Breakthrough Institute, ClearPath and the Nuclear Innovation Alliance. To discuss commercial challenges for fuel supply and reactor deployment, the delegation met with representatives from Uranium Energy Corp. and Blue Energy and discussed advanced nuclear applications with NC State alumnus Harsh Desai, chief commercialization officer of Zeno Power.

10/19/2026

Three-time NC State graduate and NASA astronaut Christina Koch has a new exploration project on the horizon. She’s just been named the national space agency’s acting deputy chief engineer, beginning Nov. 1.

She will lead NASA’s engineering community, supporting technical oversight, mission readiness and engineering excellence throughout the agency’s programs and projects. She will be integral in projects to bring humans back to the surface of the moon, build the Moon Base and send humans to Mars.

10/15/2026

“It was really cool to see where I used to be. These kids were excited. They wanted to learn, and they wanted to see out what NC State was all about. I felt pretty great that I was able to teach them about those things, tell them about my experiences and hopefully make them want to go to NC State themselves.” — Cameron Brewer, ISE sophomore, on his experience as a summer counselor for The Engineering Place

Each summer, the College of Engineering hosts multiple week-long summer camps for junior and senior high school students interested in engineering. These residential programs let students explore their chosen engineering field in depth. This year’s topics included infrastructure innovators, materials discovery academy, seeing through a digital world and more. Thanks to programs like these, future members of the Wolfpack find their love of engineering.

10/13/2026

Congratulations to department namesake Ross W. Lampe Jr. on receiving the Watauga Medal!

He gave a transformational gift in 2025 to support the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering. He helped the program continue adding new programs and opportunities for the 600 undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students currently enrolled at both NC State University and UNC-Chapel Hill. He now joins a group of 141 well-deserving recipients honored over the last 51 years, embodying the support of NC State’s founding Watauga Members in a unique collaboration with UNC-Chapel Hill.

10/09/2026

First-year Sutter McQuillan traveled all the way from Australia to join the Wolfpack. How did he decide on NC State? He wanted a large university with a strong engineering reputation, big athletics program and clear sense of community and support.

“I’m considering mechanical and industrial engineering and doing something in robotics or manufacturing,” he said. “I also love talking to people and building community. I want to use engineering to make a difference for people.”

10/07/2026

As Raleigh city leaders discuss how to meet increased water demands following a year-long drought, Professor Sankar Arumugam is offering a cheaper, more efficient solution.

Raleigh has faced a drought since August 2025. City council memebers are discussing building a new water reservoir, which could cost more than $300 million. Arumugam's alternate suggestion? Raise the water level at Falls Lake.

Arumugam believes asking the Corps to raise the operating water level again could provide a cheaper, sustainable solution to the city’s water demands, with minimal increase in flood risk for downstream communities. Arumugam’s group has studied this extensively by researching major reservoirs in the Southeast, and they found that a modest increase in the water level does not create substantial flood risk.

This approach, coupled with other demand management strategies such as alternate-day watering, rebates for low-flush toilets and waste-water reuse for lawn irrigation, could provide a sustainable way to manage the city’s water supply needs.

“Any infrastructure solution for water management should be investigated considering both supply augmentation and demand reduction strategies to manage the city’s growing demand, and this requires a dialogue with all the stakeholders by considering all alternatives,” Arumugam said.

Address

Campus Box 7901
Raleigh, NC
27695

Telephone

+19195153263

Website

https://www.engr.ncsu.edu/

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