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I do not know much about NCSU's Computer Science program but a quick search reveals that they have multiple professors in the field of Scientific Computing: http://www.csc.ncsu.edu/research/areas.php. It would behoove you to search for a fit within the department. In regards to NCSU not having industry connections, another such search reveals: http://students.engr.ncsu.edu/careerfair/participating-companies. As someone else mentioned, SAS was created by a PhD student at NCSU.