LehighWeek Volume 12, Issue 29

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Volume 12, Issue 29
LehighWeefc
The campus digest for innovation, news and events with SouthMountaineer
Swimmers buoyant
Women third, men fifth
in Patriot tournament
See SouthMountaineer   8
May 5,1999
Feeling the need for speed
On a weekend when Michael
Andretti and his friends were at
Nazareth Speedway for the
Bosch Grand Prix, a group of junior mechanical engineering majors held some
races of their own, turning the outside of the
front entrance of
Packard Laboratory into
a grand prix.
The day of racing was
the culmination of a
four-week project done
by 69 juniors in ME 240,
a class on manufacturing taught by John P.
Coulter, associate professor of mechanical engineering and mechanics.
"The group put forth an incredible effort during this
project, and fostered an attitude
of friendly competition throughout," Coulter said.
The idea for the project came
from Coulter and Tim
Skibitsky '99, an ME major who
took the class last year. As part
of a research project, he worked
with Coulter to develop the design and manufacturing process
used in the project. He created a
mold base cheaper and easier for
the students to use than typical
ones, which cost thousands of
dollars and weigh several hundred pounds.
agtahe leaving my legacy behind," said
Skibitsky. "The work wasn't
something I expected to be doing,
but it was incredible."
ME 240 seeks to give students
a taste of the hands-on manufacturing experience. For the
project, the students served as
product development engineers
for a fictitious company called
Polywheels.
Each group had to design,
manufacture and paint prototype Matchbox-like cars from
start to finish. The course prepares students for the Integrated
Product Development (IPD) program, a requirement for ME
majors.
"It was fun to have a project
with real applications. Besides,
how often do engineers have his
much fun?" said Nathan May
'00.
At the competition, cars were
judged for visual appeal, design
creativity and complexity. Besides the cars, the molds used to
make them were also on display.
The winners of Friday's racing, were a group including Matt
Christman, C.Alexis Bennett,
Aaron Mengel and Chris
Poremsky.
-Jeffrey Bachman
Celestial Mozart, a Brahms
reprise, and a Magic Clarinet
In September 1997, at a black-tie concert dedicating the new Zoellner Arts Center, Kurt Masur
led the New York Philharmonic in memorable renditions of Brahms' Second and Third Symphonies
and Bernstein's Overture to Candide.
Those who thought they might never hear that
concert's equal — at
least at Lehigh - had
ample cause to reconsider after Zoellner's
second gala performance Friday (April
30)
Under the direction of James Levine,
the MET Orchestra
treated 900 music
lovers to a rousing
performance of
Mozart's Clarinet
Concerto, his "Jupiter" Symphony No. 41
and — once again —
Brahms' Second.
Brought back
onstage four times by
an audience standing
on its feet and yelling
for more, Levine even
led the MET in the '.^^^^^^^^^^^^
same encore played by the Philharmonic - Brahms'
Hungarian Rhapsody in G minor.
The MET's principal clarinetist, Ricardo Morales, provided the first thrill of the evening, with
a note-perfect performance of the Mozart concerto.
Morales made notes materialize seemingly out of
nowhere and shaped phrases with a subtlety that
belied his age — 27.
Levine took the orchestra on a daring pace in
the opening and closing movements of the Jupiter. The coda, played without ritard, was stunning,
as was the point-counterpoint of the first and sec
ond violins in the faster movements.
The MET played the Brahms Second with unfailing fervor and passion, reaching a breathtaking climax at the symphony's wonderful coda, and
carrying through the Rhapsody.
As in 1997, the women wore a dazzling array
Ranking the Maestro JohnKshv
Dexter Baker '50, Eva Bornstein and Dottie Baker meet with MET conductor James Levine (second from right) before the gala concert in Zoellner.
of colorful evening gowns, and most of the men
were decked in tuxedos and black ties. The food -
- from smoked duck and caviar toa pate of lobster
and shrimp - was everything one has come to
expect from a catered event at Lehigh.
The decoration of Stabler Arena, where a dinner-dance was held after the concert, evoked a
tropical rainforest on a starry summer night —
Shakespeare's Midsummer's Night's Dream was
the theme, and it reminded many revelers of their
high-school prom.
-Kurt Pfitzer
A name for the ages
Peter and Ada Rossin
Lehigh's leaders evoked the
past and the future on Fri
day, April 30, when they
praised Peter C. Rossin '48,
and his wife, Ada, at the dedication of the College of Engineering and Applied Science in the
Rossins' name.
"Peter Rossin, you are a galvanizing force that drives us to
be an even greater Lehigh,"
Ronald J. Ulrich '66, chairman of the board of trustees, told
an audience of 200 that crowded
the lobby of Packard Laboratory.
"Peter Rossin's name will be
forever linked with the college
of engineering - most importantly, in the minds and hearts
of its people," said Harvey G.
Stenger, dean of engineering.
"The Rossin name will also
join other names who were responsible for many of our modern achievements, names such
as the past deans Stoughton,
Bewley, Faust, Karakash, Bolle,
Pense, Erdogan and Advani."
The Rossins made history
last October when they established a $25-million endowment
at Lehigh for the engineering
college. The gift is the largest
ever received by Lehigh. The engineering college is the first of
Lehigh's four colleges to be
named.
Rossin, who earned his B.S.
in metallurgy, held management
positions at several metals companies before founding Dynamet
Inc. in 1967. In 1997, the company was sold for $161 million.
"This gift," said Lehigh president Gregory C. Farrington,
"will have an enormous impact
on the whole university. It's impossible today to call yourself an
educated person without an appreciation and a knowledge of
technology. And engineering is at
the heart of Lehigh University."
The Rossins were joined at
the dedication by their daughter,
Joan Stephans; her husband, Peter N. Stephans, chairman and
CEO of Trigon Inc. of McMurray,
Pa.; and the couple's 18-year-old
daughter, Katherine, who plans
to attend Indiana University in
Bloomington next fall. The
couple's other daughter, Elizabeth, is a student at Virginia
Tech in Blacksburg, Va.
Ulrich unveiled a portrait of
the Rossins that was taken by
photographer H. Scott Heist,
who does much of the photography for Lehigh's Alumni Bulletin and recruitment publications.
Lehigh joins forces
with Sandia Labs
Lehigh and Sandia National
Laboratories have signed an
agreement to collaborate more on research,
joint proposals and personnel exchanges.
Under a memo of understanding that was
signed April 30, the national labs in Albuquerque, N.M., and
Livermore, Calif, hope
to hire more Lehigh
graduates in the future.
"Lehigh is very excited to be working more
extensively with
Sandia, which boasts
some of the finest scientific minds in the world
striving to enhance the
security, prosperity and
well-being of our nation," said
Lehigh president Gregory C.
Farrington. "What a wonderful
opportunity for our students and
faculty."
C. Paul Robinson, Sandia
president, said, "We are pleased
to join in this partnership, which
extends already successful work
between our organizations.
Lehigh has well-known
strengths in areas of interest to
us, and we are confident that
Lehigh faculty and students will
find Sandia a stimulating place
to work and learn."
Lehigh and Sandia have several current projects underway,
and approximately 15 alumni
already work at the labs.
John DuPont, research engineer in the Energy Research
Center, is one of the university's
scientists working on a Sandia
project. His lab is studying a special class of metallic materials
called superalloys that are used
in aerospace, marine, and power
generation applications.
DuPont's work involves developing models that predict the
strength of welds that join these
alloys.
Sandia is interested in exploring capabilities in Lehigh's colleges and lab officials have identified the university's ATLSS
Center, Materials Research Center, Energy Research Center,
lacocca Institute, Sherman
Fairchild Center for Solid State
Studies and Zettlemoyer Center
for Surface Studies as areas of
particular interest to them.
Sandia National Laboratories, which are under the U.S.
Department of Energy, conduct
research and development in the
science and technology of defense
systems, energy and the environment, computing and information, electronics and materials.
-Bill Johnson
See photo on page 2
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