NEWS
EDITORIAL
RELEASE
SPORTS
Hand to heart
Misdirection
Release takes off
'Cats sunk by Navy
Students participate in toy donation drive, see page 2
The review of the Greek Life system is looking the wrong way, see page 11
Get the scoop on Denzel Washington's latest blockbuster, Flight, see page 7
Binghamton loses early lead in Wednesday's game, see page 15
Pipe Dream Friday, November 16, 2012 | Binghamton University | www.bupipedream.com | Vol. LXXXII, Issue 19
Tiny microphone has big potential Professor Ron Miles presents invention funded by SUNY TAF Rachel Bluth Contributing Writer
The invention of a tiny microphone by Ron Miles, a professor in the mechanical engineering department, may be the key component to the next generation of hearing aids to help the hearing impaired. “What we’ve done is created these little tiny microphone diaphragms that are directional to sound, so if sound comes from certain directions they will respond, but if sound comes from other directions it won’t respond,” Miles said.
“What we’ve
done is created these little tiny microphone diaphragms that are directional to sound, so if sound comes from certain directions they will respond, but if sound comes from other directions it won’t respond,” — Ron Miles BU Professor
The diaphragm, the key part of the new microphone technology, is the tiny membrane found inside all microphones that responds to the small fluctuations in air pressure produced by sound waves. Miles’ diaphragms, however, are different than those used by traditional microphones because they are created using a special silicon microfabrication process. “We use silicon wafers; it’s basically the same fabrication process that you use to make integrated circuits and electronic
gadgets, but we’re making microphone diaphragms with that technology,” Miles said. “The diaphragms are about 1 mm wide and 3 mm long, so because we’re using that fancy fabrication technology, we can incorporate all kinds of structural details into these diaphragms and design them really accurately and fabricate them the way we want. It’s hard to make this kind of thing unless you use that type of fabrication technology.” According to Miles, life can be frustrating for hearing-aid users in noisy places, where the excessive background noise makes holding a conversation nearly impossible. “One way of helping solve that problem is to have the microphone on the hearing aids respond best to the sound coming from the person you’re trying to talk to and help get rid of the sound coming from all around you,” Miles said. “Our microphone is ideal for that.” Inspiration for this project came from studying the ways that flies not only hear, but navigate through use of their hearing capabilities. “So in these really tiny flies, they’re incredibly good at localizing sound because their ears are very directional, and doing it in a really tiny thing is difficult; we’ve been borrowing these ideas from the fly,” Miles said. Miles noted that this technology has applications beyond just improving hearing aids for the hard of hearing, including surveillance technology, voice-activated controls in cars, speech-to-text technology and even cell phones. “Some cell phones have multiple microphones, like the newest iPhone actually has three microphones, and it’s possible to utilize a directional microphone instead of having that array of microphones,” Miles said. Funding for this project came in large part from Research Foundation for SUNY’s Technology Accelerator Fund,
Tyler Constance/Staff Photographer
Lester Coghill speaks at an open forum in this Sept. 27, 2012 photo. Coghill was appointed to be the new director of Greek Life.
Greek Life director selected Lester Coghill overcomes weak interview to secure job Daniel Weintraub and James Galloway Editors Lester Coghill, the assistant director of campus activities and student engagement at University of Maine, will take over as director of Greek Life at Binghamton University on Jan. 2, despite a poor on-campus interview that nearly pushed him out of the running. Several Greek council presidents on the search committee said Coghill’s interview was the weakest of the three finalists, but Interfraternity Council President Zach Stein, a member of the search committee, said Coghill’s résumé was the strongest. “I think he’s very qualified for the job,” Stein said. “His interview didn’t go great, but on paper he’s a great candidate.”
Milton Chester, assistant dean of students and the chair of the search committee, declined to comment on Coghill’s performance in the interview or the other search committee members’ criticisms, and merely said Coghill stood out as a the correct candidate. “It was clear that he was student-centered,” Chester said. In order for Coghill to be successful, Stein said, he must earn students’ trust before making sweeping changes, something his predecessor, Sunni Solomon, failed to do. Stein criticized Solomon, the former assistant director of Greek Life, for his lack of communication with students, his stubborn resistance to working with them and his readiness to hand out quick, reactive sanctions. “No one ever wanted to go talk to [Solomon] for fear that whatever they said would
be used against them,” Stein said. “He just tried to do too much without the trust of the students.” But Coghill doesn’t expect sanctions to be a major part of his job; rather, he thinks his role will be similar to his current position at the University of Maine. “I’m going to be there in more of the advocate role and the office of student conduct is going to dealing with any problems that actually occur in terms of what sanctions might be there,” Coghill said. “[At Maine] I’m kind of here to advocate for the organization and figure out how to overcome [violations] and where they went wrong in terms of where they are supposed to be as an organization.” Stein said the efforts of April Thompson, the dean of students and Coghill’s direct
“I’m going to be there in more of the advocate role and the office of student conduct is going to dealing with any problems that actually occur in terms of what sanctions might be there” — Lester Coghill
Former director of campus activities and student engagement at the University of Maine
See Greek Page 2
See Tech Page 5
Consulting firm investigates Greek Life Team of independent assessors evaluates Greek structure to compile extensive report Staff Reports
and policy. Upon the conclusion of their investigations, they submit extensive reports including their findings and The Binghamton University Greek solutions to perceived problems. Life system is under review by a The coalition met with members national, independent consulting of Greek Life, chapter presidents, service that develops recommendations non-Greek affiliated students and to improve Greek systems as a whole. several administrators — including The Fraternity and Sorority Brian Rose, vice president for student Coalition Assessment Project is a affairs, whom the final report will be volunteer-based organization that submitted to. The assessors do not sends experts to campuses around identify specific students they meet the nation to conduct in-depth with to encourage participants to talk investigations of Greek Life structure freely.
“One of things that happens in our report is we don’t identify who we’ve met with because we want people to feel free to share their opinions and their thoughts,” said Carrie Whitter, who is heading the team of assessors. Although they will consider the past, team members said they will focus primarily on the present. “Our goal is to take a snapshot of what the community is experiencing right now and what the community is providing and then provide a pathway to the next best place,” Whitter said.
The coalition only assesses campuses that invite them. The University is paying $8,000 plus travel and lodging expenses for the team to conduct their investigation. Whitter said there is no national model for how Greek Life should look, and they shape their recommendations based on the specific campus’ needs. According to Whitter, the team will focus on five elements of Greek Life: academic success, positive interpersonal relations, structure and infrastructure, leadership development
and citizenship. The Binghamton University Greek Life Review Team, headed by Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Lloyd Howe, will review the Coalition’s findings and recommendations. April Thompson, dean of students, said she intends to integrate the suggested solutions into campus policy. The report is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Thompson said she will make the report public.