LehighWeek Volume 02, Issue 30

              767 FAC/ADMN
MR. PHILIP A. METZGER
UNIV LIBRARIES
1l*NDERMAN LIBRARY
BLDt5 #30     B0306
LehighWeek
vol. 2, Issue 30
Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
QUOTABLE
L L  If (Pete) Rose has failed, he has
done what all humans do. It's
time to revise the myths, not
crucify Rose. 9 9
- Baseball fiction scholar Richard Gaughran
July 12, 1989
Charles Engler observes the mechanical arm he designed and built as part of his master's thesis at Lehigh. The
arm mimics human hand movement without computer assistance.
Graduate's Robot Hand
Needs No Computer Aid
By Faith S. Rosenshein
Picking up a pencil and writing with it is a task a trained
human hand can do with ease. But Lehigh University
graduate Charles Engler knew that getting a robot hand to do
the same was nearly impossible using traditionally inefficient
robot programming.
Now a NASA engineer. Engler did not let this frustration
stop him. He has developed a robot arm. wrist and hand that
almost instantaneously mimics a human's hand movements,
making computer calculations for each minute motion
unnecessary.
His initial purpose in developing the device was for use
by amputees, but his employer also is interested in using it
for spacecraft repairs while in orbit.
Mikell P. Groover, professor of industrial engineering
and Engler's advisor, was impressed by Engler's enthusiasm
for the project. Groover told Engler that if he could make
the mechanical arm work and document it. Lehigh would
give him a master's degree.
Engler first decided he needed to know how a human
hand works, so he performed dissections on human cadavers
at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. He
attributes his success to this examination of human hand
mechanics.
"I'm probably one of the first people to make a robot
hand to anatomical proportions." notes Engler.
Hoping that his mechanical arm could be used to aid
amputees. Engler geared the unit for k>w-vottair<rhrvete	
similar to those carried by muscles. Muscles are simulated
by motors in a mechanical arm.
"It's a shame it's almost 1990 and people are walking
around with these little pinchers instead of hands. It just
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Pilot Security Program For Lower Centennial Complex To Be In Operation By Fall
By Rita T. Malone
Lehigh University Writers' Group
A pilot security program that will signal
campus police when exterior doors are
propped open will be installed in Lehigh's
Centennial II residence complex by fall.
Students residing in the halls will be issued
electronic cards rather than keys to enter the
buildings. The lower Centennial complex
houses 264 students and is staffed by 12
gryphons, a hall director and assistant, and an
area coordinator.
The pilot security program will cost an
estimated $100,000 for locks and related
hardware. Additional security staffing will
cost approximately $50,000 annually.
The electronic cards, which are similar to
bank cards, can be programmed to permit
entrance to specified buildings during certain
times of the day. In addition the system also
provides a list of the time and identification of
each person entering the building. If a card is
reported lost or stolen it can be deleted
immediately from the computer list of
authorized users which is faster and easier than
replacing all student keys for a door.
The pilot program was designed with the
guidance of a group of experts from the
University of Delaware. George Washington
University and the University of Louisville.
The intent to design such a program was
announced last year as part of an out-of-court
Physicists To Hold Shock Waves Symposium Next Week
By Kurt Pfit/.er
Lehigh University Writers' Group
Three hundred scientists from 18 countries
will gather at Lehigh next week (July 17-21)
for the 17th International Symposium on
Shock Waves and Shock Tubes.
Yong W. Kim. professor of physics and
chairman of the symposium's organizing
committee, says the symposium is the most
prestigious meeting in the field.
The organizing committee also includes
Philip A. Blythe. head of engineering mathematics: Raymond J. Emrich. professor
emeritus of physics: George E. McCluskey Jr..
professor of astronomy and mathematics:
James A. McLennan, professor of physics, and
three non-Lehigh scientists.
Symposium guests include physicists,
chemists, astronomers, aerospace scientists,
mechanicians and applied mathematicians.
Each will read a paper explaining recently
completed research. Topics include astrophysics, underwater Shockwaves, shock waves in
solid matter, shock wave-mediated detonations
and shock waves created by lasers.
The papers will be edited by Kim into a
1.100-page symposium proceedings entitled
"Current Topics in Shock Waves." The
American Institute of Physics will publish the
document and distribute it worldwide. The
Great Britain-based Institute of Physics will
distribute the document in Europe.
The symposium was first held in Boston in
Continued On Page J>
settlement with the parents of a freshman
killed by another student.
A brass plaque is also being installed by
the entry door to Stoughton House. The 28-
inch by 22-inch plaque will read. "In loving
memory of Jeanne Ann Clery. Lest we forget
the meaning of her death, that we must protect
one another, so that her life will not have been
in vain.  November 23. 1966-April 5. 1986."
"We were asked by Lehigh to identify a
pilot security program for lower Centennials."
said consultant John T. Brook, vice president
for government relations at the University of
Delaware. "We reviewed security programs
for residence halls at many other colleges and
universities before recommending a program
INSIDE:
Faculty Achievements    2,8
A Gateway To Libraries     3
Next-Quarter View Harms
Engineering Education      4
School Stock Market Game
Winners 5
Picnic Pictures 6
Job Opportunities 7
to Lehigh. The electronic card access system
is a state-of-the-art technique which will put
the pilot program at the forefront of colleges
and universities across the country."
"We are excited about the new electronic
card system and the overall plan that has been
developed for lower Centennials." added
Marsha A. Duncan. Lehigh vice president for
student affairs. "We plan to have the system
in place by the time the freshmen arrive in late
August and then will evaluate its success at the
end of the academic year."
The lower Centennial complex contains
two residence halls in each of three buildings
around a central courtyard. Entrance to each
Continued On Page 5>
Lehigh Adopts Guidelines
On Smoking In Workplace
By Suzanne S. Fisher
Lehigh has adopted a policy on smoking
that includes guidelines for supervisors and
employees on handling situations involving
smokers and non-smokers.
The policy states that smoking does pose a
risk to the health of both smokers and non-
smokers. While the policy does allow the final
decision on whether smoking will be permitted
in a given area up to the supervisor, it stresses
that the right of the nonsmoker to breath
smoke-free air prevails over smokers' desire to
smoke.
The policy, issued in early June, was
developed by a subcommittee of the Employee
Continued On Page 3>