Issue 2, Winter 2014

The

Technician bulldogs.kettering.edu/technician

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February 24, 2014

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Volume 112

Issue 2

Higher Learning Commission to Visit

By Matthew White Editor-in-chief In preparation for a visit by the Higher Learning Commission at the end of the month, Dr. McMahan held a town hall for faculty and staff to discuss the importance of the upcoming accreditation process and the work already undertaken by the self-study committee.

The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools is responsible for the process of accrediting colleges and universities in nineteen states from as far east as West Virginia and far west as Arizona. Unlike abet, which accredits the various engineering programs at the university, the hlc takes a more holistic approach.

Continued on the next page

What’s Inside

Front cover of the self-study document

Dr. El-Sayed A reflection as she leaves

Physics Lab Changes

Technology

3

Wearable gadgets of the future... today

Film Festival

5

Review from the Global Issues Film Festival

Dr. SchneiderBateman Leaving

Provost Search

10

The candidates and our endorsement

11

Student and Faculty Forum

By Chloe Hauxwell Layout Editor

By Erin Boyse Layout Editor

By Matthew White Editor-in-chief

Dr. Ludwigsen, Associate Professor of Physics, is in charge of a thorough restructuring of the Physics 1 lab curriculum. These changes started in 2004, when Ludwigsen worked on several revisions of the lab manual. These changes were inspired by Dr. Brelin-Fornari, a mechanical engineering professor and the head of the Crash Safety Center who recognized the connections between the context of crash safety and introductory physics. These ideas allowed for a National Science Foundation grant from the ccli program. This grant money funded new equipment, such as the motion detectors that are still in use now. Along with the new equipment, Dr. Ludwigsen worked on the lab manual once again, creating the manuals used now. These were developed from 2007–2010.

The most recent grant in this process is a topical grant from the Kern Entrepreneurship Educational Network (keen.) This network consists of around 20 smaller schools. The network has a number of student outcomes to promote in the universities that are a part of the network. The grant is for one year, and started last August. The new structure is planned with two main approaches. One is modeling instruction. The concept here is to allow students as a team to create a model of a given problem, as one would have to in the real world. Most engineering problems are as cut and dry as they may be in a textbook, and students need to be able to clean up the problem on their own. The second approach is cognitive apprenticeship. The approach is very hands-on, and allows students to try things

Dr. Gregory Schneider-Bateman, who has been a professor in the Liberal Studies department at Kettering since Fall 2009, will be teaching his last term this spring. He is moving to the Twin Cities area where he will take on a new role as a professor in Technical Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

He is glad to be moving back to the Twin Cities where he will be closer to friends and family, but is not eager to be leaving Kettering. He believes that students here have a unique opportunity Photo courtesy of going to school in Kettering Communications Flint because it allows them to have a bigger impact on the community. Students are able to take on leadership roles and positively impact the local economy, which would be more difficult in a larger college town. He has seen many changes in the area and is optimistic about the future of Kettering, and Flint as a whole.

Dr. Schneider-Bateman has had a positive impact on Kettering. He received a teaching award in 2012 which he values because he was nominated by his students. It means a lot to him, because many students do not take the time to nominate the professors that they appreciate. He believes that the best days in class are those where he can learn from his

Continued on page 8

Continued on page 8

On January 28, students and faculty were welcomed to a forum hosted by Academic Council and the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in the hope of fostering more discussion between the two groups. This is the second time such a forum has been held in A-section.

The topic of the hour session was cribs and their ethical implications. The topic very quickly divided the audience, with most students taking the position that cribs were ethical, and most faculty taking the opposite position. Discussions continued on this line for the entire forum, without either side making concessions.

The students in attendance argued that learning was ultimately a student's responsibility. They believed that cribs were another tool to achieve academic success and demonstrated the wide-spread availability of cribs prevented anyone from having an unfair advantage. Students also seemed to draw a line between cheating and using cribs, although it was made somewhat vague at times.

For the faculty in attendance, the vocal majority derided the crib system as unethical, while others felt that the system had merit where professors explicitly endorsed it for their classes. Dr. Jacqueline El-Sayed, a former Kettering student herself, provided some historical background on the crib system to add context to the back-and-forth. Other professors chimed in with comments about student achievement being hampered by reliance on cribs and the slippery slope from cribs to solutions manuals.

Both cetl and Academic Council hope to have another forum in upcoming terms.

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The Technician

News James Gover on Innovation

By Chaz Mancino Staff Writer

On Thursday, February 6, 2014, James Grover, an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (ieee) Life Fellow and Professor Emeritus of Kettering University, presented on innovation and research and development to the Kettering community. The presentation was put on by the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (cetl).

According to Grover, despite holding seven of the ten best-paid starting salaries, engineering wages have remained consistent compared to inflation. While that is better than falling compared to inflation, it means that engineering salaries have not improved in the past fifty years when Grover accepted his first full-time job offer. In addition, competition in the job market has and will continue to rise in the future since manufacturing jobs are becoming scarcer in the United States due to automated machines, while new competition from immigrants with engineering backgrounds has increased. This means that getting a job with a huge corporation with a good wage and job security is becoming a thing of the past.

However, Grover presented an alternative solution. Instead of going the traditional route of getting in a big corporation, Grover suggested that Kettering University students should, when done with their studies, start their own business. Although there are roadblocks, Grover said that entrepreneurs will find a way past them. If someone has an idea that they think will be able to sell, Grover encouraged them to create it. If it also creates jobs for other people, then Grover strongly encourages going after it. That way people who may have been less fortunate in finding a job will have one.

Grover did warn that not all attempts to start a business are successful. It may take more than one try and years of hard work may end up in bankruptcy, but, like all failures, a failed business is still a

learning experience and will give people the opportunity to live outside of the box, even if it is just for a few years.

Grover also touched on the topic of promoting entrepreneurship on campus. A few areas where Kettering University promotes entrepreneurship are the Kettering Entrepreneur Society (kes) and an Innovation and Entrepreneurship minor. There is also a course named Innovation and Entrepreneurship Mindset course (kett-191) that is available to freshmen, which gives freshmen a chance to have the entrepreneurial mindset right away.

While the sun may be setting on the old American Dream, a new day fast approaches with a new American dream. While the dream may change, the point is still the same: to have the ability to raise a family and live happily ever after. According to ieee Life Fellow and Kettering University Professor Emeritus James Grover, the new way to accomplish the American Dream is to become an entrepreneur with innovative ideas.

While the future is uncertain, one thing is for sure: that engineering competition may in fact lead to more innovative entrepreneurs in the world.

Photo of Dr. Gover courtesy of Kettering Communications

Technician Matthew White Kaitlin Solovey

Assistant Editor

Chloe Hauxwell

L ayout Editor

Erin Boyse

Online Editor

Bryan Boyse

Distribution Editor

HLC to Visit Continued from the front page In addition to academic programs, the university’s finances, enrollment, and institutional effectiveness will be assessed, among other criteria.

Accreditation—which Kettering has held continuously since 1962—certifies the worthiness of the school to educate students and grant degrees.

Without it, Kettering students cannot receive federal financial aid, nor will they readily move into graduate schools and employment. Faculty would also be hurt by the inability to receive federal grants and inability to draw new talent.

As part of the accreditation cycle, the institution must look introspectively and compile a self-study that outlines its areas of success and failure. Drs. Natalie Candela and Denise Stodola served as coordinators for Kettering’s self-study, culminating in a 132-page document (which can be found at kettering.edu/hlc). Full of insights on the university, the document is a way for students, faculty, and staff to reflect on the processes both today and continuing in the future.

When the reviewing committee arrives on campus February 24, they will meet with individuals and groups that they select, along with open forums for faculty, staff, and students. The faculty forum will be held in Room A on February 24 from 12:30–2:00, the staff forum in the Cribathon from 9:00–10:30 on the 25th, and the student forum in the Cribathon from 12:30–2:00 on the 26th. Food will be served at each of the open forums.

After the reviewers leave campus, they will complete a report for the Higher Learning Commission.

Kettering will have a chance to respond to the report, at which time the Higher Learning Commission will evaluate all of the information and issue a final decision on the accreditation status of the university.

Submissions Policy

The

Editor-in-chief

February 24, 2014

Staff writers Devin Aryan Ari Budiono Colleen Chavis Charles Mancino David Richelson

Faculty Advisor Dr. Christine Levecq

Photographer Joseph Stevenson

Special Thanks To Betsy Homsher

Columnist Dr. Mark Gellis

The Technician encourages any interested students to attend staff meetings. Meetings for Winter 2014 are each Monday and Thursday over the lunch hour in The Technician office, located on the 3rd floor of the Campus Center above the Sunrise Café. Student submissions are encouraged and will be published if their material is in the public interest.

Submissions or letters to the editor from faculty and administrative entities will be published if space is available. The Technician reserves the right to edit any and all submissions for brevity and clarity.

Anonymous submissions are rarely published and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Individuals wishing to publish anonymously should consult the Editor-in-chief.

The deadline for the upcoming issue of The Technician is 8th Tuesday at 6pm. Expected distribution is 9th Thursday. Send submissions to atechnician@ kettering.edu.

February 24, 2014

The Technician

Dr. Jacqueline El-Sayed

Page 3

Dr. El-Sayed Moves to Marygrove College ming in them. In this position, she has been supervising and changing the Office of the Registrar, the Library, the Academic Success Center, the Center Dr. Jacqueline El-Sayed has been tied to Ketterfor Culminating Undergraduate Experiences, the ing since before she was born. Her father is a gmi Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning, the alumnus in the class of ‘63, and Dr. El-Sayed is an alumna in the class of ‘86. Dr. El-Sayed received her doctorate from University of Missouri in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering., and has been working at Kettering for 18 years, holding a number of roles, including professor, Faculty Senate moderator, Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (cetl), and currently the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and Associate Provost. Dr. El-Sayed has recently accepted a position at Marygrove College in Detroit, and starts there April 1st of this year.

The new position is the Chief Academic Officer and Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs at Marygrove. Dr. El-Sayed will be one of three Vice Presidents of the college. Marygrove College is an private, urban Liberal Arts college. Dr. El-Sayed mentioned that as far as administration, there will be similar challenges, as both Marygrove First Year Experience and the co-op program. and Kettering are small, private, and urban instituSome of the more noticed changes have been the tions. The major difference will be that Marygrove names of many of these offices, but there have been is a liberal arts school, with majors such as teaching, drastic changes to the Cooperative & Experiential music, and dance in addition to science and math.

Education Department, the ccue, the asc, and the Dr. El-Sayed also serves on the Bloomfield Hills fye course. These areas are now better integrated School Board, and the broad bhs curriculum will with one another, and are more open to students not be similar to the curriculum and programming at interested in the “traditional” Kettering co-op and Marygrove. thesis options. The fye course is now more focused While in her current position as Associate Provost on student engagement and allows for foundational and Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs, learning, and a more seamless transition out of the Dr. El-Sayed has made a number of improvements first year at Kettering. The asc was completely reand changes to the academic offices and programBy Chloe Hauxwell Layout Editor

1986

structured, allowing for more proactive intervention, success coaching, and more tutoring options, such as si sessions, which started last winter term for many courses. The ccue office now has a number of new options, allowing for three other types of culminating experiences. The co-op office was also restructured, allowing the co-op educators more time to work with students, rather than just focusing on those with co-ops.

During the interview, Dr. El-Sayed noted that this opportunity was quite timely. She has been in the Provost’s office for three years, and she now feels ready for more responsibility. Also, Dr. ElSayed was formerly a co-chair of the Higher Learning Commission Self-Study committee. The study was recently completed, and the visit is happening very soon. Betsy Homsher took over as co-chair and will be taking care of the 6 month response period after the visit. Dr. El-Sayed will continue supporting the hlc team. With all of the recent changes in many of the academic offices maturing, as well as with Dr. Simpson’s retirement, Dr. ElSayed noted that it is a good time for change.

Dr. El-Sayed finished up with, “How proud of all our students [I am], and it has been an unforgettable experience, working with the students. It was a difficult decision, but I’m still close by.”

Photo of Dr. El-Sayed courtesy of herself.

2007

2010

Dr. El-Sayed becomes a full professor in the department of mechanical engineering

Dr. El-Sayed facilitated the 2010 strategic plan for the American Society of Engineering Education's Women in Education Division

Dr. El-Sayed, then an undergraduate student, graduates from gmi

1996

2008-9

April 1, 2014

Dr. El-Sayed joins the faculty of gmi-emi

Dr. El-Sayed becomes an American Council of Education fellow and receives mentoring in higher ed leadership.

Dr. El-Sayed begins her position at Marygrove College as Vice President of Academic Affairs

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February 24, 2014

The Technician

Automotive

A New Age in Trucks

By Chaz Mancino Automotive Editor Trucks have always been known for their brawn, power, and strength, but a new age has come for some of the United States of America’s bestselling vehicles. Available now or previewed at the 2014 North American International Auto Show (naias), new redesigned truck models are sure to be a hit for customers.

In the General Motors corner, the Chevrolet Silverado and gmc Sierra twins have received a makeover for the 2014 model year. Taking second place in overall sales for its last generation’s last model year, the Silverado looks to once again become one of America’s bestselling vehicles. New upgrades such as a step on the rear bumper to make access to the bed easier, a damped tailgate, upper tie-down hooks, and bed rails with led lighting beneath them to make seeing cargo in the bed easier are both standard and optional features on these new trucks. Engines include a base 4.3-liter v6 creating 285 horsepower and 305 pound-feet of torque, a 5.3-liter v8 creating 355 horsepower and 383 pound-feet of torque, and a 6.2-liter v8 creating 420 horsepower and 440 pound-feet of torque. The Silverado took home the 2014 North American Truck of the Year honors.

In Ford’s corner, a new f-150 is ready to bow for the 2015 model year. Hoping to continue being America’s bestselling vehicle like it has for the past 32 years and being the best selling truck for the past 37, the new 2015 Ford f-150 has a lot to live up to. Curb weight of the truck comes down as much as about 700 pounds mainly due to a new aluminum body structure. A new frame is also lighter and stronger

than before, shaving about 60 pounds from the Toyota is also not silent in the truck fight, as a truck. While not available currently, the new f-150 new Tundra bowed for the 2014 model year. New will offer four engine options: a 3.5-liter v6 engine, a bodywork is first noticed, although the redesign does not stop there. The center stack have been moved 2.5 inches closer to the driver for easier use and a standard backup camera are just a few of the new improvements to the Tundra. Powertrain options remain the same as the 2013 Tundra with a 4.0-liter v6 creating 270 horsepower and 278 pound-feet of torque, a 4.6-liter v8 creating 310 horsepower and 327 pound-feet of torque, and a 5.7-liter v8 creating 381 horsepower and 401 pound-feet of torque. The v6 is mated to a five-speed automatic transmission while the v8s are mated to six-speed automatic transmissions.

Although most people tend 5.0-liter v8 engine, and two EcoBoost turbocharged to think of trucks as purely workhorses, new trucks v6 engines, one displacing 2.7 liters and the other are ushering in a new area for the automotive world. one displacing 3.5 liters. The 2.7-liter EcoBoost will In addition to a race of having impressive towing include Auto Start-Stop technology. Tech features and payload capacities, new trucks are in a fight for that will be available include a 360-degree rear camfuel efficiency, technology, and overall practicality. era and a dynamic trailer hitch assist.

As the 2014 North American International Auto Not wanting to miss any action, the 2014 Ram Show showed, all of the major automakers have their 1500 also has come out to play with a new 3.0-lieyes sight on creating the best truck for the masses. ter EcoDiesel turbocharged diesel v6. Despite the Whether it is for the 2014 or 2015 model year, one new diesel engine creating 240 horsepower and thing is for certain: the battle for the bestselling 420 pound-feet of torque, its most impressive feat truck, and the bestselling vehicle for that matter, in is returning an Environmental Protection Agency America is raging as strong as ever. (epa) estimated 20 miles per gallon in the city and 28 miles per gallon on the highway. The new Ram was crowned Motor Trend’s 2014 Truck of the Year Photo of 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel courtesy of Mr. and is the first truck in history to take the honors Mancino. home twice in a row.

Technology

Revamping the Speedy Hedgehog

By Devin Aryan Staff Writer Sega’s iconic hero, Sonic the Hedgehog, has received much criticism in the past few years. With the more recent games playing like more traditional platformers, people have been complaining that the Blue Blur just isn’t much of a blur anymore, with the games feeling much slower than older titles in the franchise. With a new Sonic game on the horizon, Sega has decided to stop trying to give us the same old Sonic new release in the hopes our opinions will change, and will instead be revamping Sonic and pals with Sonic Boom.

Sega currently plans to have the game focus on cooperative multiplayer, a change from past install-

ments, with the game featuring speed, exploration, combat, and a new tethering feature. The most noticeable change, though, is the makeover that the characters have. Sonic now has substantially longer legs, wears boxer tape around both hands and feet, and has a brown scarf. Tails, looking like a mechanic, is wearing goggles on his head, has a utility belt, and has tape around his feet. Amy, holding her iconic hammer, is probably the least modified, with some slight clothing modifications, but Knuckles is the big shocker. Having grown to a height significantly taller than the others, Knuckles is bulkier than ever, looking like he could take on the Hulk and come out on top.

The announcement of the game was accompanied by a trailer. Featuring Bangarang by Skrillex,

it shows just what any Sonic fan would want to see from a game; speed, action, and excitement. Sega is working to make Sonic Boom more than just a video game though. A television show, a series of action figures, some remote controlled vehicles, and plushies are all on their way as well. Sega is really trying to bring the hedgehog back into the lime light.

Whether or not this revamping of Sonic will work or not is not yet clear, and may not become clear until the release of the game. One thing is for sure, though; Sega is not ready to drop their speed demon mascot, and does not seem to have any plans to do so any time soon.

February 24, 2014

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The Technician

Wearable Tech little more functionality to their Galaxy Gear with the addition of a camera and speakerphone. However, like every device that has more features than With technology advancing at a breakneck pace, the competition, there are a few downside, such as more and more people want to use it in more aspects the lackluster battery life (the Galaxy gear must be of their lives. Computers started as desktops, then laptops, then tablets, phones, and finally to a new category: Wearable tech.

Companies everywhere are following this trend of extending technology into wearable devices so that users can have 24/7 access to the information that they want and need. There are a few different categories of wearable tech: head-up, smart watches, and fitness.

Some examples of “heads-up” tech would be Google’s Glass, Oculus Rift, Vuxiz m100 smart glasses, GlassUp, and the Optivent ora. These devices display information, such as notifications, to the user’s peripheral vision. Some of these decharged every to every other night). Some compavices also have cameras, accelerometers, gyroscopes, nies took a different approach to their smart watch and even GPS units to extend smartphone capabili- to be able to differentiate themselves from the ties. However, all of these devices are not able to use crowd. Qualcomm decided to use a different display all of their capabilities alone, as technology was not for their Toq called Miracast display, which is essenprogressed to the point where batteries can be pow- tially a display that can be backlit but when in direct erful and small enough to power all of these capabil- sunlight, the display looks like paper. This means the ities. Google Glass, for example, relies on Bluetooth Toq does not have any problems with daylight visiconnection to an Android phone or ios device to bility compared to smartwatch like the Galaxy Gear be able to get the content or record large amounts that uses an amoled display. of video. These devices were never designed to be An example of a good smart watch currently is the stand-alone, but rather a convenient device to see Pebble smart watch. Basically, some of the capabilinotifications and/or applications. ties of the Pebble are interchangeable watch faces, The next category can be considered one that notifications, and applications designed for the has garnered much attention from the tech indus- watch (such as yelp and weather apps). The Pebble try: smart watches. Essentially, smart watches are is a good example of how an idea become so much designed to be an extension of the phone to a per- more when a community of developers input their son’s wrist to display useful notifications and apps own ideas into product. Smart watches were origidesigned for the device. Samsung decided to add a nally designed to display simple notification, but

By Ari Budiono Staff Writer

now they are slowly becoming stand alone devices.

That category of fitness can be argued as one of the original reasons for the development of these new smartwatches, for fitness bands are not a new thing. There have been fitness watches around for the last 5 years, but it has only been the last year or so when larger athletic companies took the technology and brought it into the connected technology market. Some great examples of these are the Nike fuel band, and the Nike+ athletic trackers. Essentially these stand alone devices to measure fitness are now connected to smartphones, computers, and even social media. lg’s Fitness band, (which was unveiled at ces 2014), for example, is a device that measured a person’s activity and reports that information to an app on either and iPhone or Android device, which can then be shared on social networks as an extra incentive to share your progress with your friends There is a common theme here in the drawbacks of these devices: battery life. Even though processors, lcd screens, and circuits have grown for efficient and decreased in size, the batteries that must power these devices are virtually same as 10 years ago. With this, many of these wearable devices that many hope to use every day and all day are either limited to a day’s worth of battery life or features are taken off of the device to conserve power. Hopefully, with the growing popularity of new lithium ion phosphate or other technologies, the batteries of these new devices will be able to last for a week without charge.

Photo of man using Google Glass courtesy of Wikipedia via Flickr user jez s.

Opinion

Engineering Heresy

By Matthew White On Thursday of fifth week, Kettering welcomed Bob Lutz, who the provost's office heralded as a "legendary" automotive executive. His experience spans many companies and, as the demonstration preceding his presentation showed, impacted most of the audience and the vehicles they have driven.

Classes were altered for the presentation, trimming five minutes off each to accommodate his talk.

His presentation on leadership was somewhat refreshing—Mr. Lutz attacked the rampant abuse of political correctness and urged everyone to question the “process” rather than treat it as some inspired scripture. His examples were very telling of the problems that arise when the status quo goes unchallenged and stability is preferred over innovation. After his presentation, he participated in a short question-and-answer session.

One of the prepared question was about balancing family and work, especially with as demanding a career as Mr. Lutz has had. His simple answer was that he was on his third wife, so balance was not a strength of his.

Rather than the remorse I was expecting, he launched into a rant about how the most important thing in life is increasing shareholder value through career advancement. He lamented that many people who "might have been" ended their own careers by putting their children first, refusing to move a world away to take a stepping-stone position. Kids, he reasons, are adaptable. His own, now in their fifties, have grown up all over the world, and Mr. Lutz thinks they are better off for the experience. Never mind that fact his own daughters complain he never spent quality time with them.

What I took from his Q&A session was that women were subordinate and disposable (just tell your wife she's moving, and if she doesn't consent, "the government will issue you a new one"), that kids are barely worth caring for or about, and that making money is the highest achievement of man. Career above else, and the company too!

To say I was embarrassed by the presentation is an understatement. We, as an institution, idolized a man who fails at the most basic of human accomplishments. As an engineer, no doubt, he succeeded,

but what good is that? Over the last few weeks, I have found myself repeating one line about Kettering: "We make great engineers, but not necessarily good people." When I first uttered it, I meant that our education is so focused on stem that we forget the "higher" in "higher education" is more than just a step up. It should represent our fullness as human beings and a higher plane of enlightened thinking.

Now as I say it, I must remember Mr. Lutz and truly mean that we idolize being an incomplete person.

I may not be 82 and an industry name with my own book and a story that spans so many different companies. In sixty years though, I will be 82. I hope that it can be said then that I loved my wife dearly, cared for my children as best as I could, and worked hard, but never hard enough to lose sight of the important things in life.

That is the kind of thing this institution should make us aspire to. It may be heresy to argue there are more important things in life than a career in engineering, but it may just be the change we need.

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The Technician

In Pictures

February 24, 2014

The past few weeks have been busy around campus. Some of the events that have been happening: (from top, clockwise) • World renowned flautist/lecturer Galen AbdurRazzaq performed in the Great Court during lunch on February 17.

• Students compete in Innovation Quest during Week 4 with the crazy creation for Seige Warfare, where the challenge was to build a catapult without using a mouetrap.

• Kettering held a broomball termament at the ice rink in Atwood Stadium that had students competing against faculty and staff on February 10. The students won, 3-2, with a sudden death shoot-out.

Photos are courtesy of Kettering Communications, except for #1 (Mr. Bryan Boyse)

February 24, 2014

Top, clockwise: • Students, faculty, and staff celebrate after the broomball tournament at Atwood.

• Bob Lutz spoke at Kettering on the topic of leadership, with stories of his experiences throughout his time working in the auto industry.

• A student performs during Open Mic Night in bjs, hosted by wkuf.

• Professor Bell talks with Joe Spielman during his presentation From 0–60 to z06: The Corvette Story

Photos are courtesy of Mr. Joseph Stevenson

The Technician

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The Technician

News

Dr. Schneider-Bateman Leaving Continued from the front page students, because they ask questions and engage in them together.

He has taught a variety of classes during his time at Kettering, including Comm 101, Technology and Culture, and Public Speaking. He brings a different aspect to the topics he teaches because he acknowledges that we, as people, struggle to communicate and desire to do it better. He does not lecture in his classes, but instead uses examples that allow students to discover on their own how they can improve. An illustration of this is where students in his Comm 101 class gave a presentation that was recorded, and they then had to transcribe their speech. This forced them to recognize what mistakes they made and what areas needed improvement.

His philosophy is that education is about more than just job preparation. An interesting perspective he has is that if students don’t like his class, then it gives him the upper hand by allowing him to surprise them by what they can learn. As a student who disliked public speaking in high school, he puts himself in the students’ place and understands where they are coming from.

Beyond teaching classes, Dr. Schneider-Bateman is also doing research and writing a book. His research is about how museums represent science to the public. It is important to understand the cultural and political background of science, because that shapes what we do with the facts that we have. He is focusing on the areas of climate change, race, gender, and evolution and the idea that science is socially constructed and affected by the current culture.

The book he is writing builds on the role of museums and how they’ve become more open in presenting controversial topics. It addresses how they approach those topics and create discussion spaces instead of just presenting facts. The current book proposal he is working on is for an academic book, but he has also had interest in writing a book aimed at the general public, which he is looking into.

Dr. Schneider-Bateman will start teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Stout in September and said that although leaving was a hard decision, moving back to the Twin Cities area feels like going home.

February 24, 2014

Physics Lab Changes Continued from the front page right away, and for the professor to act more as the coach or expert. They will ask questions to share the expert’s view on the project.

The entire structure of the Physics 1 lab is being changed. The concept is that the students are “new employees” for a consulting company. The first few weeks will be training activities, focusing on the skills needed to do a good report, such as graphs, writing out methods, and finding meaning in results. These activities will be written like an HR training manual, allowing students to be trained as though they are in a new work environment. For the last four weeks of the term, students will take on two challenges, and write technical reports for each of them. The first client will be the Crash Safety Center, so the challenges will be related to vehicle safety.

Currently, Dr. Ludwigsen is working on a video tour of the crash lab, introducing students to the facility and test environment. These videos could also be used by other universities within the KEEN network. The final changes to the curriculum are currently being written, and there will be a pilot section over spring term, with the roll out planned for this summer term.

Club Profiles Firebirds

By Chaz Mancino Interested in Top Gear and eating pizza? How about going karting or flinging a car across an autocross course? If so, then Firebird’s Club might be a club to join.

Meeting every odd Wednesday at lunch in room 1817 in the Academic Building, Firebird’s Club consists of a variety of members who all have one thing in common: the love of the automobile. A typical meeting includes discussion about plans for the club, watching an episode of the British version of Top Gear, and eating pizza.

Plans for the club usually consist of deciding on a time for going to an autocross during the summer terms and karting for the winter terms. Students drive their own vehicles in the autocross and the karting event is an endurance run that lasts for an hour or two depending on what the club decides.

Other events that occur throughout the year may include a dyno day where students take their own vehicles to a vehicle dynamometer and see what the power output of their vehicles are. Autocross and dyno days usually occur on weekends while karting occurs on a weekday.

Continuing the General Motors Institute (gmi) automotive tradition, Firebird’s Club is a club for car enthusiasts of all kinds. Whether it is to get information on new vehicles or throwing a car around an autocross, if someone has a passion for the automotive sector, then he or she belongs at a Firebird’s Club meeting or event.

The Technician

By Matthew White The Technician, as a club, is responsible for maintaining the student voice of Kettering University through its principle publication, The Technician, three times per term. In addition to campus events, the paper attempts to cater to a large variety of interests with regular columns on everything from anime to automobiles. Often-misunderstood topics are prime candidates to in-depth coverage in The Technician, as well.

After the demise of The Reflector, the Kettering University yearbook, The Technician Magazine was born to provide a more retrospective version of events from the term, as well as continuing news stories and farewells. It also hosts The Daily Bulldog, a rather snarky and satirical fake news publication. It is published at the end of the term.

Students are always encouraged to write submissions, be they opinion, review, or news, and send them to atechnician@kettering.edu. In addition, staff meetings are open to the entire student body and are held ever Monday and Thursday over the lunch hour in the 3rd floor of the campus center.

Anyone interested in any part of the news process is encouraged to attend.

On Thursday, February 27, the staff of The Technician will be in the Great Court to solicit feedback from the public at large and collect more information as part of our regular open student forum.

WKUF

By Bryan Boyse If you are a Kettering student and you love music, then you should consider joining wkuf, or Radio Club as it is more commonly known. Wkuf meets on Tuesdays at 8:15 every week in Room A on the fourth floor of the Campus Center. Wkuf is responsible for providing music at many events around campus. They also hold an open mic night once a term where students can come and perform.

As a part of the Radio Club you will be eligible to have your own radio show on Kettering’s radio station wkuf lp 94.3 fm. All you have to do is sign up for a weekly time slot, create a dj alias and show name, and agree to follow the rules. You can also listen online, find the show schedule, and more at wkuf.fm.

February 24, 2013

Sudoku

Sudoku #1 5

9 8 5 7 7 5 6 3

7

6

9 6 8 7 4 8 2 6 3 2 5 1 4 5

2 4 5 6 9 5 7 2 8

© 2013 KrazyDad.com

Fill in the blank squares so that each row, each column and each 3-by-3 block contain all of the digits 1 thru 9.

The phrase "we(I)(you) simply MUST ..." designates something that need not be done. "That goes without saying" is a red warning. "Of course" means you had best check it yourself. These small-change cliches and others like them, when read correctly, are reliable channel markers.

-- Lazarus Long

2 4

Page 9

Technician Easy Sudoku Puzzles by KrazyDad, VolumeThe 1, Book 1

Easy

Challenging Sudoku by KrazyDad, Volume 1, Book 1

Sudoku #1 2

9 2

If you use logic you can solve the puzzle without guesswork.

Need a little help? The hints page shows a logical order to solve the puzzle.

Use it to identify the next square you should solve. Or use the answers page if you really get stuck.

2

4 8

7

9

8 7 1

3 6

-- Lavater

Challenging

6 4 8 6

Sudoku #1

1 2 7

9

Super-Tough Sudoku by KrazyDad, Volume 1, Book 1

© 2013 KrazyDad.com

Fill in the blank squares so that each row, each column and each 3-by-3 block contain all of the digits 1 thru 9.

8

2

3 8 2 4 7 4 7 2 5 6 8

5

If you use logic you can solve the puzzle without guesswork.

Need a little help? The hints page shows a logical order to solve the puzzle.

Use it to identify the next square you should solve. Or use the answers page if you really get stuck.

6 2 4 7 1 3 9 5 2

1 © 2013 KrazyDad.com

George Orwell was an optimist.

ratch area

2

4 9

Super Tough

Page 10

February 24, 2014

The Technician

Global Issues Film Festival

By Natalie Eliachevsky Guest Contributor Yes and no. In the 21st century, we all know about the importance of protein.

“Eat your meat, protein is good,” everyone seems to be saying. However, contradicting this statement is the documentary Forks over Knives by Lee Fulkerson. This documentary on the eating habits of Americans, more specifically our love for meat and dairy (as encouraged by the government), states that we've been misled. It really makes you think about our own dietary standards.

Making a distinction between “good protein” and “bad protein,” it argues that the “good protein” comes from whole foods plants such as legumes, rice, vegetables, etc. and that a “whole foods plant based diet” should strictly be followed. The “bad protein” is found in meats and dairy produced by any living animal. The film argues that switching to a whole foods plant based diet reduces the risk for heart disease and diabetes. While this documentary makes important points about how Americans need to change their diet, it still leaves a number of questions unanswered, and it makes you wonder about how conclusive health studies truly are in this day and age.

More and more people nowadays have decided to become vegetarian or even vegan, but it seems unlikely that this movie will help this trend. For some it may, but judging from the conversation held afterwards, most seemed to reject the idea of changing their diet to include only whole food plants.

To them, the study did not conclusively single out changing your diet as the only factor in the demonstrated cases. Factors left to the imagination were exercise, caloric intake amount, the grade of meat being consumed, as well as the general eating habits of people. Some even posed the question, “People in Europe don't follow a strict 'whole foods plant diet,' yet they are notorious for having a healthier eating diet than Americans. Why is this?” This question was not covered in the movie.

Protein is Bad?

The documentary also included multiple graphic scenes of open-heart bypass surgery and showed possibly shocking pictures of exposed veins on the inside of a patient's leg, which seemed more to shock the viewer into believing that protein was damaging than to provide physical proof that it was damaging. It ended with multiple pictures of animals that almost resembled the aspca commercials you can find on tv nowadays. This grasp at the viewer's emotion almost discredits the movie in a way. Rather than using the time for factual studies, Fulkerson chose to pull at the heartstrings.

This approach is unfortunate because it does make another very good and more convincing point— about the waste caused by a meat-based diet. It mentions that the amount fed to cows yearly is more than enough to feed the population of the United States plus four billion people, and that if some of this food was directed to better sources, such as underprivileged people in developing countries, rather than obscenely stuffing cows so we can eat them, the whole world would be better off. Indeed, the earth itself would be better off, since raising cows causes much more environmental damage than a plant-based diet.

While making multiple excellent and convincing points including some physical evidence that this new diet may have a huge impact on people having health troubles, I feel as if many of the viewers did not share my opinion of the movie and walked away with no intention of eating a solely “whole foods plant based diet,” but would rather continue their current diet, whatever it may be. You will get what you want out of the movie; if you walk in with an open mind, it is enjoyable and rather interesting, but if you were to walk in with a closed mind, you would find many points to ignore the bigger message trying to be presented in the documentary Forks over Knives.

Another missing point was “How can the government ignore this kind of information?” Is the government shielding its eyes, or is there more evidence disproving the points made by the documentary? Is the government unduly influenced by the meat and dairy industry? Or is the evidence not conclusive enough?

Another faulty aspect is that all of the studies conducted included people either on their death bed or having a higher bmi (body-mass index). Of course if you eat healthier after a life time of eating cake and ice cream every meal, your health will improve. Fulkerson failed to use a standard in his experiment, such as a normal-weight fairly active person. How would this new diet affect the healthy and active person?

Probably less severely than it would the people who Photo of the movie poster courtesy of Monica Beach Media. were seeking medical help for their issues.

February 24, 2014

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The Technician

Provost Search Contributed by Matthew White Editor-in-chief As part of their visit to campus, each of the candidates met with students for 45 minutes. Below are some details from their curricula vitĂŚ, and the discussion they had with myself and other students. All of the photos are courtesy of the candidates' current institution.

Dr. Selcuk Guceri

Dr. Noah Manring

Dr. James Zhang

Dr. Seluck Guceri is a mechanical engineer-turneddean from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He has previously held professorial positions at Drexel, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the University of Delaware. His undergraduate degree is from the Middle East Technical University in Turkey, and his Ph.D. from North Carolina State University.

In his meeting with students, Dr. Guceri seemed at ease. A self-proclaimed "people person," Dr. Guceri said that the school had impressed him, not because of labs, programs, or architecture, but because the shared community spirit was so apparent.

Dr. Guceri asked the students who had met with him for their candid feedback on the school, both good and bad. Although students had largely positive feedback on the institution and its programs, there were concerns about the vibrancy of Kettering's non-core programs.

In response, Dr. Guceri offered the possibility of hiring adjuncts to teach one-term special interest classes in niche topics that we currently cannot teach. He also mentioned how he had a implemented a political science program on top of engineering, since engineers are ideally suited to solve the problems of tomorrow. Dr. Guceri was open to exploring possibilities like that at Kettering.

Dr. Noah Manring is also a mechanical engineer with ambitions for the job of provost. He serves as Associate Dean for Research and a professor at the University of Missouri. He has a very diverse educational background, with a bachelor's of science in mechanical engineering and a bachelor's of art in interdisciplinary humanities from Michigan State.

He received a master's of art in religion from the Reformed Theological Seminary and a master's of science in theoretical and applied mechanics from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, and his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Iowa State.

In a slightly more crowded group of students, Dr. Manring received lots of questions about his goals at Kettering and how he would handle certain situations. He expressed openness to bringing fine art classes to Kettering based on the request of students.

He also acknowledge concerns over tenured faculty members not performing to the standards of the university, but his comments were very vague.

When confronted with his lack of experience in a similar position, Dr. Manring acknowledge that although he has never been a provost, he has the requisite skills and sees this as the next logical progression for his career.

Dr. James Zhang, unlike the other candidates, began his academic career as an electrical engineer.

His bachelor's of science is from Hunan University in China, while he has a master's of art in telecommunications from Indiana University and a master's of science in electrical engineering from Purdue. His Ph.D. was also completed as Purdue.

Dr. Zhang is the dean of the Kimmel School at Western Carolina University, a position formerly held by Dr. McMahan. Prior to taking Dr. McMahan's role, Dr. Zhang was the associate dean. When asked about the apparent favoritism, Dr. Zhang noted that he took the role of dean after a unanimous faculty vote, which preempted a nationwide search.

He said his abilities stand on their own, and his previous working relationship with Dr. McMahan will give him the ability to work more efficiently. He also said that he is not afraid to disagree with Dr. McMahan when necessary.

His view of the school was largely positive, and he hopes to continue to teach electrical engineering courses if given the role of provost. When asked, as the other candidates were, of liberal studies opportunities, however, he talked instead of "soft skills" that he believed were important in business.

How good it is to see three, quality candidates for provost! Unlike the last time Kettering held a search, serious effort was exerted to find the best possible provost (luckily, no one this time proposed opening satellite campuses half-a-world away). For that, the committee should be commended.

The choice between the three candidates is, in this paper's opinion, made easier by two factors. The first is experience. Although Dr. Manring may have a wide variety of experiences, none of them compare to what Drs. Guceri and Zhang would bring to the institution. To learn on the job would be unfair to both Dr. Manring and this school; neither are pre-

Editorial

pared to take on such a task. There is not a strong tradition in the provost's office that would make the transition seamless, and without Dr. El-Sayed to buoy it, the office requires a veteran.

The second criterion that we believe eases our choice of provost is familiarity. Dr. Guceri comes from campuses that are very different from Kettering, but very similar in their core pursuits. Dr. Zhang comes from an engineering school and feels in conversation all-too-eerily like Dr. McMahan.

Although Dr. Zhang would undoubtedly offer the most efficient leadership for the office of the provost, it would most likely be the opposite of effec-

tive. With Drs. McMahan and Zhang together, change would come at a more rapid, but not necessarily welcomed, pace.

What Kettering needs above all else is an infusion of new ideas and a new spirit of excellence in academia. Dr. McMahan brought that once as president, and Dr. Simpson has served admirably as a consistent provost for him. Now however, The Technician places our confidence in Dr. Guceri. His skills, connections, passion, and ideas are what Kettering needs to be a competitive university going forward.

Page 12

Crossword

February 24, 2014

The Technician

By Colleen Chavis

The Anime Corner

By Mark Gellis Anime Columnist One series I watched recently is To Love Ru, and its sequels. If you are looking for a deep, emotionally wrenching, but ultimately fulfilling treatment of immortal human themes, this is not what you should be watching. Having said that, the To Love Ru franchise is a quasi-harmless little cluster of romantic comedy confections. They do not really do anything new or special, but they take a lot of basic anime tropes and play them to the hilt, and while they may fail at being original they sometimes succeed at being funny. Hapless nitwit—I mean, our hero, Rito Yōki, is a man without a plan. He has a crush on one of his classmates but cannot confess his love to her. The situation is not improved when a naked girl with a tail appears in his bathtub. Her name is Lala and she is an alien princess. (No, really. I wouldn't lie to you about something like this.) She is running away from home, the planet Deviluke, because she does not want to marry any of the suitors her father, the King of Deviluke, has found for her. Fortunately, thanks to Rito accidentally touching her breasts, she is now engaged to him. If Rito tries to back out of the engagement, he will be killed, because that is the way all royal alien marriage customs work. Rito must also defend Lala against her other suitors; if he fails, not only will he be killed but the Earth and everyone he cares about will be destroyed. In other words, just another day in Tokyo.

The above synopsis should give you a pretty good idea of the kind of story we have here. There is a lot

of quasi-nudity in the various To Love Ru series, although thanks to the traditional anime bath fog of modesty (or sunbeam, or low-hanging branch, or soap suds, or sometimes just a random white blurry patch the artist throws in front of a female character when he is too lazy to come up with anything else) there is nothing genuinely pornographic. The franchise is still a bit hit-or-miss, though. The humor is often rude and raw and sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. Consider yourself warned.

There are some laugh out loud moments, though.

Lala, for example, loves to invent things, but her inventions often cause more trouble than they are worth, like the teleportation gizmo that makes sure Rito will not be late for school but which (as he learns) only teleports people and not clothing.

There is also the gizmo that turns Rito into a girl for a few hours. Yes, just another day in Tokyo.

Somewhat more serious, but without being grim or gloomy is the sports anime Prince of Tennis. (This is the original series; a reboot is currently running, but I have not had a chance to see this one yet.)

Prince of Tennis does require a bit of a commitment on the part of viewers. It is a long series, nearly two hundred episodes overall, and because it deals with the rivalries between the tennis teams of several Japanese junior high schools, there are about forty moderately important supporting characters of whom one must keep track. Series like this are actually quite popular in Japan, with the sports ranging from boxing (Hajime no Ippo) to kendo (Bamboo Blade) to baseball (both Major and Cross Game).

The main plot of Prince of Tennis is pretty simple.

Synonyms: Across 1. Pale 3. Killer whale 7. Recede 8. Bug 9. Wonder 11. Growl 12. Post 15. Balloon 17. Base 18. Atmosphere 19. Vocation 21. Torrent 22. Glint 24. Icon 25. Foggy 26. Breeze 27. Charter 28. Bush Down 1. Cautious 2. Cute 4. Credit 5. Prescient 6. Plastic 10. Spin 13. Plait 14. Conspire 16. Bright 20. Investigation 21. Effervescence 22. Jumper 23. Soda

Seventh grade tennis phenomenon Ryoma Echizen has been living in America for several years, winning tennis tournaments left and right, and returns to Japan to go to junior high school. He is a bit of a loner but he joins the tennis team. He plays a lot of tennis.

In fact, everyone plays a lot of tennis. Some of the matches are spread out over two or three episodes.

And because the better players all have their own special signature moves ("Drive B!" "Boomerang Snake!" "White Whale!"), it's not just regular tennis, but secret samurai ninja tennis! Eventually, and when I say "eventually" I mean "about 160 freakin' episodes," his junior high school team works their way up to the national championships. The story also has a variety of sub-plots, such as Ryoma's rivalry with his father, a retired pro tennis player who is now a Buddhist monk but who can still clean his son's clock on the tennis court, and the fact that most of the girls Ryoma knows have crushes on him, but he is so focused on tennis that it never occurs to him to do anything about it (and mostly he just does not even notice in the first place). It is all good, clean fun, and, because we know Ryoma and his friends are going to win, but we are not exactly sure how, it is relaxing and involving at the same time.