The
Technician bulldogs.kettering.edu/technician
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August 15, 2012
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Volume 109
Edition 2
Kettering to Receive $15.5 Million Donation Mott Foundation Gift to be Largest in Kettering History By Robert Hayes Editor-in-Chief On August 13, students, faculty, staff, and community members met on the lawn in front of the Campus Center for a special announcement. The reason behind the announcement was kept a secret until the speakers took the stage—the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation announced a donation of $15.5 million to Kettering, to be disbursed over three years.
Neal Hegarty, Vice President of Programs for the Mott Foundation, announces the donation. Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications
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What’s Inside
EAU Update KU–101 Tavakoli Nicknames, stepsstats, up to and other fun facts lead program
Relay for Life Plans Underway
Sobey Get Involved Lecture
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Ozzie A list Zehner of clubs discussed and the ethics organizations of solar cells 8 6
Greek AroundtoFlint Me
ArtFraternies Walk andand Flint’s Olympic sororities, gold from medalist A–Ω
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Entertainment Where am I? Puzzles, Mapsmurder for every mystery, building satire, onand campus more
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Summer Co-op An Interview with Fair Arrives Tom Ayers
By Chloe Hauxwell Staff Writer
By Anna Czekaj Staff Writer
By Matthew White Assistant Editor
The American Cancer Society’s premiere fundraising event, Relay for Life, is coming to A-section. B-section has hosted it in the past, but because the event was moved to September 7 and 8 this year, it will now be available to A-section students. It is a 16-hour event, beginning at 6 pm Friday evening and ending at 10 am on Saturday morning. As of press time, the 66 participants distributed across 13 teams have already raised a cumulative $3,465. This year’s theme is superheroes, so each team can pick a superhero as their theme. There will be many different events throughout the day, including plenty of free food, a superhero costume contest, and a giant pillow fight. There will also be a volleyball tournament, ultimate Frisbee, and other fun games and activities throughout the night. Additionally, the Kettering Relay for Life will also feature the traditional three Relay for Life events: the Survivors Lap in dedication of the victories achieved over cancer, the Luminaria Ceremony in memory of those who have fallen to cancer, and the Fight Back ceremony in a commitment to take up the fight against cancer. For those who have not yet joined a team and would like to, registration is available at http:// www.relayforlife.org/ketteringumi. Those who wish to donate to the cause or register as a survivor can also do so there. Remember, the point of the event is to raise money for cancer research, but it will also be a lot of fun for the whole campus.
The job fair came to town the afternoon of August 2. Students dressed to the nines milled about the 5th floor, shaking hands, smiling, and talking, waiting for the co-op managers to open the doors; the International Room was filled with over 60 companies’ representatives, searching for the best and brightest co-op students that Kettering can offer. Between the hours of 12:30 and 3:00pm, students were free to wander about, visit with representatives, and gather information about various companies that drew their interest. While speaking, many students ended up with large amounts of logo-covered water bottles, ear buds, and bags, helping the students to remember each company. The companies present spanned the whole range, representing almost every major on campus and a variety of industries. There were health care, computers, and of course automobile and automobile supplier companies. During this free roam period, select students were invited to have interviews with companies. Many of these interviews took place on campus from 3:30 to 6:00pm. Some companies were there to simply collect résumés and call back at a later date, much to the chagrin of the students; many of these companies were distributing to specific departments or locations, letting each one handle the hiring of their own co-op students. Other companies were not actually present, but had folders asking for résumés of the requested majors. When surveyed, many freshmen received interviews, whether on campus or at a later date. Overall, the career fair was a success for students and employees alike.
With an office perched in the fifth floor of the Campus Center and sequestered away in a small hallway, it is unlikely that students have much of an idea who the Vice President for Administration and Finance is, let alone his responsibilities. The job is broad in scope: it covers everything relating to accounting, finances, human Tom Ayers, Kettering’s Vice President for Administration & Finance. resources, Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications business operations, facilities, and even shipping and receiving. Clearly, everyone who visits, works, or studies on campus is directly impacted by the actions of the Vice President for Administration and Finance. In addition to these very important facets of campus life, the Vice President also sits as the Treasurer to the Board of Trustees. Starting this term, Tom Ayers assumed the role as Vice President for Administration and Finance. Like Dr. McMahan, his bachelor’s degree is in the sciences (physics), rather than in business. Continued on page 3
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The Technician
News
August 15, 2012
Continued from the front page
a “first Community Center” which This donation, the largest single gift ever received will allow high school students particiby Kettering, adds to $29.6 million in grants donat- pating in first Robotics to work on ed by the Mott Foundation to Kettering since 1983. their robots at Kettering year-round. These funds will enable Kettering to accelerate the The center is expected to be built in implementation of President Robert McMahan’s the long abandoned gymnasium on the strategic vision of growing the university while en- first floor of the Academic Building. hancing our reputation as a leader in science, engi- Further enhancements to Kettering’s neering, mathematics, and management higher edu- admissions programs are already undercation. To this end, the donation will enable several way, thanks to the $2,006,000 grant renotable changes to Kettering, including enhanced ceived earlier this year, the first installadmissions and alumni outreach programs, new aca- ment in the Mott Foundation’s pledge. Most notable among the enhancedemic programs, and several major upgrades to KetThe Kettering community gathered for the announcement ments to Kettering’s facilities will come tering’s campus. on the lawn of the Campus Center. with the announced rePhoto courtesy of Kettering Communications placement to Elie’s Corner Grocery, commonly referred to by Ket- tory space in the Academic Building. Another major announcement revealed Kettertering students as the “Stop ‘n’ Rob,” a less than flattering reflection on the ing’s desire to add a new biology degree to our exdilapidated state of the store. The new panding portfolio of math, science, engineering, building will be open to the community and business degrees. President McMahan emphaand will feature new dining options, sized Kettering’s role in shaping future leaders in the and most importantly, a Flint Police science, technology, engineering, and math fields mini station. The added police presence with the announcement of the program. This donation from the Mott Foundation, comwill augment Campus Safety patrols of Kettering’s campus, and should stabi- bined with earlier donations, including the foundalize of the surrounding neighborhood tion’s work in enabling Kettering’s entry into the as well, creating a safer atmosphere for us Ignite program to bring enhanced broadband Faculty, trustees, alumni, and special guests at the announcement ceremony. Kettering students. Other improve- internet to Kettering, will serve as the catalyst for Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications ments to Kettering facilities will come important changes to the university and will enable The largest commitment related to admissions in the form of upgraded laboratory facilities in the the school to continue its leadership in higher eduand recruitment came with the announcement of Mott Center, as well as the creation of new labora- cation into its next century.
The
Technician Robert Hayes
Editor-in-chief
Matthew White
Assistant Editor
Kaitlin Solovey
L ayout Editor
Rebeccah MacKinnon Online Editor
Tyler Van Eck
Copy Editor
Alan Xia
Distribution Editor
Above: Artist’s rendering of the new eatery and police mini station. Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications
Staff writers Devin Aryan Erin Boyse Anna Czekaj Chloe Hauxwell Andrea Hays Dominic Jandrain Charles Mancino John Oliver Christian Pavkovich Tylor Schramski Marian Swagler
Photographers Matthew Holland Joseph Stevenson Advisors Betsy Homsher Christine Levecq
Submissions Policy The Technician encourages all interested students to attend staff meetings held every Tuesday and Friday over the lunch hour in The Technician office (3-141 cc). Submissions or letters to the editor are welcome and will be published if space is available. The Technician reserves the right to edit submissions. Please send any submissions to atechnician@ kettering.edu.
August 15, 2012
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The Technician
Interview
An Interview with Tom Ayers Continued from the front page In an interview with The Technician, his enthusiasm and excitement about the future of the University was pervasive. Spending seventeen years at his last post at Huntington University, Mr. Ayers remarked that he does not like to jump from job to job. Kettering, however, presented him with an opportunity he had to take. The blending experiences of “new faces and old hands” on the President’s Cabinet allow for an effective and high-functioning team that can move the University forward. For as important and overarching as his role is, Mr. Ayers retains a refreshing bit of humility. He says that his true goal is enablement: allowing others to do their jobs as effectively as possible. “Support has to be the mission of the University for students.” It would be his hope that all of the services under his umbrella become so consistently good that students, faculty, and staff no longer actively think about them. His example is dining: the dining experience should be pleasant enough and appetizing so that there are no complaints but not so overdone that it becomes the focal point of a day. Mr. Ayers loves working on projects and looking at logistical problems like puzzles. He likes to help others think
through their own problems. His dedication to the University and its mission There has been discussion about the future of will certainly be appreciated as more details of the campus dining options for years. This term, both Strategic Visioning Plan are released. Towards the the Sunrise and Sunset rooms underwent overhauls. end of his interview with The Technician, Mr. AyIn addition, Mr. Ayers confirmed that Eli’s Corner ers iterated that our purpose is to prepare for those Grocery will be closing in the near future. In its who follow. His personality, penchant for problemplace, he offers an early-morning-to-mid-afternoon solving, and perspective will be a vital asset to the establishment serving not only the campus but also President’s Cabinet as the University moves towards outside groups. Plans for Bj’s Lounge might include its centennial. a late-night (possibly even postmidnight) offering, but Mr. Ayers holds no delusions about students’ dining habits. He knows that even if the University provided the exact same milkshakes, identical in every way to Mega or Westside Diner, the allure would not be there. He respects that, but recognizes that students may still need a late-night snack; staying on campus might be the safest and most convenient way to provide that service. Mr. Ayers Dr. Bahram Roughani (left) and Neil Sheridan (Right) would also work on the aesthetics of welcome Tom Ayers to campus. the space, which he finds to be lackPhoto courtesy of Kettering Communications ing.
Faculty Profiles Dr. Matthew O’Toole Hometown: Muskegon Graduate School: Michigan State University How long have you been at Kettering: 2 years Favorite class to teach: Caculus II First/current/favorite car: Oldsmobile Cutlass Sierra/Toyota Corolla/ Pontiac Trans-Am Biggest accomplishment: Finishing my Ph.D
Prof. Art DeMonte Hometown: Ann Arbor How long have you been at Kettering: 4 years Favorite class to teach: Introduction to Business First/current/favorite car: 1964 Chevy Impala Super Sport/Toyota Camry/Lincoln MKS Biggest accomplishment: Completing a halfIronman Triathlon Favorite Music to listen to: Adele, Knife Party,
Favorite Music to listen to: Steely Dan Favorite restaurant in Flint: Blackstone Favorite food: Mexican Pet peeve with students: Can’t do their algebra Favorite book: Fahrenheit 451 Favorite color(s): Green What kind of phone do you have: Samsung First calculator: ti-81 Favorite movie: Die Hard & The Shawshank Redemption I don’t leave home without my: Speedway Cup How do you stay sane: Keep in touch with friends Favorite sport to play: Baseball Favorite sport to watch: Baseball What do you do on your non-teaching term: Work on my research
Favorite beverage: Diet Pepsi Coffee or tea: Diet Pepsi Companies worked for before Kettering: Came straight here from grad school First job: Subway Sandwich Artist Opinion on Ernie’s food: It’s pretty good; I go about twice a week Favorite TV show: Breaking Bad Team Edward or Team Jacob: Team Edward What do you do for research: Neuroscience: modeling the growth of axons What was your dissertation on: The growth and transport of materials in axons
Coldplay Favorite restaurant: Star of India Favorite food: Anything that doesn’t have mold Lunch spot: Basement of the AB next to the Boiler Room Pet peeve with students: Texting in class Favorite book: Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand Favorite color(s): Red, White, and Blue What kind of phone do you have: Blackberry First calculator: Programmable Texas Instruments Funniest memory from college: The professor tried to sit on a desk and it broke Nicknames: Art, his daughters call him Pops Favorite movie: The Godfather: Part I I don’t leave home without my: Contact Lenses How do you stay sane: Compete in Triathlons Ideal vacation: Anywhere with a Beach
Favorite sport to play: Baseball Favorite sport to watch: Olympic Women’s Swimming What do you do on your non-teaching term: Went to Germany as a guest lecturer at a Kettering-partnered university, but usually works with entrepreneurs Favorite beverage: Iced Tea Coffee or tea: Coffee Companies worked for before Kettering: Dow Chemical in the it Department, at a Racetrack testing horses for drugs First job: Worked at Pathmark (Grocery Store) in the Dairy Department and as a Cashier Opinion on Ernie’s food: Not typically a favorite, will eat it if necessary Favorite TV show: Jay Leno
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The Technician
Tavakoli Steps up to Lead EAU By Tylor Schramski Staff Writer Recently, there have been many changes to Kettering University’s faculty roster. One of these changes has been to put a new faculty member as Director of Entrepreneurship Across the University (eau) following the d e p a r t ur e of Professor Doug Melton. The man to step up to the plate Dr. Masoud Tavakoli was Dr. Photo courtesy of Kettering Massoud S. Tavakoli. Dr. Tavakoli has been with the eau since its inception. He was highly involved in entrepreneurship pilot programs at the university and was also an early player in the extracurricular Kettering Entrepreneurship Society (kes). Due to personal research, Dr. Tavakoli was forced to withdraw slightly from the eau initiative for a time, but before Professor Melton left, the two talked over making Tavakoli the Director, and the Provost agreed to it. Professor Melton moved on to become the program manager for keen, a network organization that promotes entrepreneurial thoughts in all educational organizations. As Director of the program, Dr. Tavakoli is responsible for almost anything and everything to do with entrepreneurship on campus. His main goals, however, are the same as the goals of eau itself: to
promote and instill entrepreneurial ideas and mannerisms into the staff, faculty, and, most importantly, the students. This shoulders him with the responsibilities of both developing new ways and programs to accomplish this task, and also analyzing and evaluating the effectiveness of current programs. His current objective, he says, is “…programs that are sustainable; things that are internalized and able to be continued without extra funding…” The figurehead of these sustainable ideas is currently an innovation course for freshmen to take, teaching them how to look at products and problems creatively. The next step is a reworking of senior year to make it more flexible to allow for more opportunity-seeking. Dr. Tavakoli says he wants to introduce the idea of an “Entrepreneurial Thesis,” which is a thesis that allows students to start their own business or create their own invention, and then write a thesis on it. These programs would promote the mindset Dr. Tavakoli is looking for, and would be internalized fairly quickly. As for the current programs running in Kettering, Dr. Tavakoli believes that they are working quite well. “It’s still relatively early for most of the programs we have instituted here at Kettering, so it’s hard to get a good feel for how well they will do in the long run, but so far there is a lot of evidence that the mindset of innovation and entrepreneurship is pervading the University.” He also says he wants to clear the air of the “fat-cat ceo” entrepreneur stereotype. “We aren’t strictly all about business. Sure, that’s part of it, but what entrepreneurship really is is idea development and laser-focusing your ideas into one big idea.” Dr. Tavakoli also said that Entrepreneurship applies to any and all disciplines, and is useful in any employed situation. One of the most important programs eau has running is the Kettering Entrepreneurship Society.
This extracurricular society is dedicated to giving students interested in the eau initiative a launching point for their “big idea”. Whether a student wants to invent the next big product, create the perfect business model, or just become a 3rd-degree blackbelt with gold stars in thermodynamics, kes can help them out. Basically, kes is an idea workshop. Students go to meetings with or without their big ideas in various levels of completion. They talk to their peers, bounce ideas off of each other, and help out where they can. But any old study group can do this. The real advantage is in the networking that kes offers members. kes has an extensive network of mentors and professionals in almost all disciplines. And if students are interested in a particular area, they can meet with a mentor specific to their subject to help them along. This mentor can tell them what has been done already, what has yet to be accomplished in the field, and even offer some ideas of their own. If students get to know their mentors well enough, they will even get access to labs to test their ideas that they normally wouldn’t be able to go near. To top it all off, kes can even get them seed funding for their projects. Suppose all they need a little cash to purchase some basic building materials for a prototype or to get a web domain; kes can get them that start-up money so that they can get their brainchild off the ground. With Dr. Tavakoli diving headfirst into kes and pulling out all the stops, new sustainability ideas being developed all the time, and a very promising freshman kes group, entrepreneurship may just have its day here at Kettering. Only time will tell if it actually takes root and succeeds, but until then, Dr. Tavakoli encourages all students to attend kes at least once, just to see what it’s about. Who knows? Innovation and opportunity may just be right up their alley.
Think Greek By Tylor Schramski Staff Writer According to a nationwide study of fraternity and sorority members, by belonging to a fraternity a student’s chances of graduating are increased by up to 10 percent. As incoming freshman start college, going Greek is always a big topic that comes up. Whether or not joining a fraternity or sorority is right for them, if it will benefit them, and what they hope to gain from going Greek; all these questions run through these new-comers’ heads as they consider going Greek. And if they decide that going Greek is right for them, it’s the question of which fraternity or sorority is right for them. There seem to be a few key factors that determine where they decide to go. Things like the people in each fraternity and if there are similar interests, housing and living situations, meeting everyone from a specific fraternity or sorority, and just getting to know the people. It seems as though the fraternity and sorority recruiters are doing their jobs well this term at Kettering. In order to obtain a good idea of how students were responding to Greek life on campus, a survey was taken of roughly 50 freshmen on whether or not they were considering going Greek, and if they were, which house they were considering.
Of the students interviewed, only 14 said that they were staying independent, while 28 said they were for sure going Greek and the remaining 8 are sitting squarely on the fence. When asked which fraternities they wanted to pledge to, they responded with a good mix. The first place position was tied between Delta Tau Delta and fiji, each with 6 students declaring their intent to pledge. Five students said they planned to join Phi Delta Theta, 4 said Delta Chi all the way, 3 students are Beta bound, and two students each for Sigma Nu and Sigma Chi. Don’t let this article discourage the unmentioned fraternities, however. There is still plenty of time to change minds, and this was only a small sample of the student population to begin with. Either way, Greek life is taking hold quite well with this incoming class. Right: Students participate in Alpha Phi’s Alphatraz. Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications
Students decorate Delta Tau Delta member Joe Stevenson’s car with chalk at the Greek Week Barbecue. Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications
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The Technician
Exciting Plans for KSG By John Oliver Staff Writer The summer semester is a busy time for most clubs, and Kettering’s Student Government, ksg, is no exception. They have been working hard on a variety of different projects to make the school a better place for both students and faculty. To start the term off, ksg’s Student Senate started recruiting new members by having a ksg day with ksg trivia and ksg members on hand to answer questions about Senate; the only requirement to get food was to take an application. This has gotten many new students interested in getting involved in ksg, which has been a problem in the past. Student Senate is also focusing on many upcoming events that need to be planned. The Safety Committee is working on putting together a presentation informing students on how to pick safe housing. This would be a follow-up from their presentation “The Talk” with Jim Benford last semester, which gave helpful advice to students about campus safety and other safety matters regarding Kettering. There will also be a Constitution Day on September 17 to commemorate the signing of the constitution and inform students about the importance of the document. Operations Council is planning a presidential debate for the ksg presidential nominees. They hope that students will be better informed to make their decisions when the time comes to vote as well as get an idea of who the candidates are and what changes
RHA Update
they want to make for the University. They have also set up Wings Night at Buffalo Wild Wings for 6th week Wednesday and the annual Late Night Breakfast to be held on Reading Day (11th week Wednesday), events that students look forward to every term. Academic Council is currently looking into the co-op system and seeing if providing a set of guidelines to employers could better the co-op experience for all students. They are also trying to see if professors could offer midterm evaluations for the course, so they could have feedback to make the class better before the term is over. Finance Council is busy getting ready to plan the budgets for next term amidst ongoing budget cuts and trying to use the money that they do have as effectively as possible. Finance Council is also working on developing a more concrete policy for the Connie John Funds that have gone largely unused in years past because of lack of overall policy. The Connie John Fund is open to all students to request from to assist them in planning and paying for large, all-campus events such as concerts as well as requests for items like outdoor tennis courts and basketball courts. Be sure to look out for more information regarding how to request consideration for this funding in the near future. Kettering’s Student Government has been working hard to make student life here even better. To ensure that ksg keeps up the great work, student participation in the election that will be held all 8th week on Blackboard will be of great importance.
Crim Preparation
By Chloe Hauxwell Staff Writer
By Christian Pavkovich Staff Writer
The rha, or Residence Hall Association, has now had three meetings. So far, they have hosted viewing parties for the Olympics, including a barbecue for the closing ceremonies last Sunday. They are also hosting a movie night later in the term. Last week, they also started planning a block party so the entire hall can get to know each other better. Each floor will have different activities and the party will be 8th week Wednesday, so Thompson Hall residents should talk to their resident advisors to start planning. Some hall improvements currently in the works include fixing the laundry card reader, getting a new pool table, a ping-pong ball dispenser, and more. Rha President Jade Carson noted, “rha is what the freshmen make of it. The events change based on what they want to do.” Whatever the Unit Representatives come up with at meetings is what the association runs. Hunter Casbeer, Vice President, also stated, “Any Thompson Hall resident who has an idea, don’t hesitate to come to an rha meeting to explain it.” If rha likes the idea and thinks it is feasible, they will set up a committee and try to make it a reality. Students living in the dorms can also go to their Unit Representative with any issues or ideas. That is a big part of their job, so students can feel free to talk to them with any ideas or improvements they want rha to pursue. The meetings are held every Sunday at 8pm in the ksg Room, located on the 3rd floor of the cc. All Thompson Hall residents are welcome to meetings.
The Crim Festival of Races is quickly approaching and at a record-setting pace. This August 25 marks the 36th annual running of the Festival, ranked nationally as the 4th largest race of its kind. Runners all around the area will get a chance to test their mettle against some of the greatest runners from around the world. For Kettering students, the draw is obvious. Those who signed up by the August 6th deadline are able to run in the race for free. People are often seen running around campus, preparing themselves for the race. Described as a “10-mile party” by race director Patricia Ball, there are water stands, bands playing, and crowds of cheering fans all along the course. One Kettering student, Cody Grant, hopes to finish the race in less than 70 minutes, preparing for the big day by “running close to 10 miles most days.” He laments that Kettering has “no real routes” for long-distances, having to run “the same 2 miles over and over again with no partner.” When asked what he plans on wearing, Grant said, “mostly naked except for a thin line of running shorts.” So when the big day rolls around in its brand new Nikes, many students will be preparing to run or to support their fellow students as they strive for victory. There are 6 races going on at Crim, ranging from a Teddy Bear trot to the 10-mile run. The 10-mile starts at 8am in downtown Flint.
Spotlight on Flint Flint Crepe Company By Dominic Jandrain Staff Writer A wonderful addition to Flint’s small selection of independent restaurants, the Flint Crepe Company is a dapper little restaurant in downtown Flint. The Saginaw St. location, distinguished by the fixie adorning its overhang, opened in November of last year. Mouthwatering food and a cool, casual atmosphere make the Flint Crepe Company a great place for a delicious meal or just a quick snack. The restaurant has a friendly, laid-back vibe to it, with order-at-the-counter service and a variety of both indoor and outdoor seating options. The flat cap-clad staff are very friendly, making food to order on the crêpe grills right at the front counter. The menu changes with the seasonal availability of locally-produced ingredients and includes both gluten-free and vegetarian options. A sizable list of their local food suppliers is prominently displayed on a chalkboard near the entrance. The decor is perfect for the restaurant’s vibe, fare, and location. A mix of modern style and antique accents is established with clean, plain concrete flooring, chalkboard menus, and white walls with occasional framed photographs and various furnishings evocative of the farms of yesteryear. The lighting ties it all together with the implementation of plain vintage light bulbs above the counter and strands of lights spanning from wall to wall. The crêpes are available with a wide variety of fillings. Sweeter options include Nutella, berries, and cheesecake sauce, to name a few. Heartier crêpes are also available, such as their popular Reuben crêpe, the Applewood (a Mediterranean-style crêpe), and egg and cheese breakfast crêpes. Prices are quite reasonable, between four and nine dollars for a crêpe, depending on the filling. The coffee is a bit pricy, but whose isn’t? The crêpes are indeed delicious, I was quite impressed by the weekly special, the Caprese crêpe, which was filled with fresh basil, tomatoes, bacon, mozzarella, and lightly topped with a balsamic vinaigrette sauce. The presentation was also nice; the crêpe was cut into sections and stacked tastefully on a white plate, garnished with fresh basil leaves and sauce drizzled in an elegant zig-zag. The meal was well worth the quick trip downtown, and I highly recommend the Flint Crepe Company as a unique, delicious dining option against Flint’s usual fare. Address: 555 Saginaw Street Flint, MI 48502
A crêpe topped with cinnamon, sugar, cream cheese, and Nutella. Photo courtesy of Flint Crepe Company
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August 15, 2012
The Technician
Around Campus
Ozzie Zehner ‘97 Delivers Sobey Lecture By Liam Graham Guest Contributor Better cars and faster phones are just a few staples of a continually-growing American paradigm: in order for Americans to be satisfied, there is a continuous and frequent demand to replace material possessions with a better successor. It’s no secret that energy is needed to support the material possessions that Americans covet. It’s also no secret that fossil fuels, which have reliably powered various forms of transportation and buildings for nearly a century, are quickly depleting. To compensate, Americans have been looking for cleaner alternate sources so they can continue to support this constant rise in demand; they believe that in order to quench their high demand, they need to explore alternate energy sources for more efficient energy less harmful to the environment. But what if more energy is actually causing the problem rather than solving it?
Ozzie Zehner poses with Al Sobey. Photo Courtesy of Kettering Communications
Last Thursday, Ozzie Zehner, a graduate of Kettering and author of Green Illusions: The Dirty Secrets of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism, gave the inaugural Sobey lecture entitled “Ethics of a Solar Cell.” One of the takeaways from his lecture was the argument that Americans will be happier using less energy despite its unrelenting demand. As an example of the above, he presented a graphic of the total energy usage in the United States during 1940 and the present day, represented as buckets with holes in them: the holes symbolized all the wasted energy. As the bucket size expanded over time, so too did the holes and their number. The U.S. energy crisis was put thus: from what source can Americans find enough energy to offset the amount being leaked? Hydroelectric power was once a innovative, viable source of energy, accounting for nearly a third of America’s total energy production; it has since dropped off from the large scale in favor of the current-generation paramour: solar energy. But are solar cells truly the answer to
America’s energy woes? Zehner spoke of one of his experiences as an architect, when he was hired to add solar panels onto a house in Washington, D.C. In order to successfully add the panels, he would need to remove an old oak that stood near the house. The tree was a great source of natural insulation from the harsh heat of summertime D.C.; because it was positioned on the southwestern side, its leaves could shade the house during a summer sunset, while at the same time allowing light to pass through its leafless branches during winter. Although this natural insulation was more cost-effective, the homeowner was adamant about installing the solar panels and Zehner would eventually be fired for advising against it. He went on to discuss how modern buildings that use solar panels to harness the sun’s energy could be designed much more efficiently; rather than using passive solar techniques, architects will instead thoughtlessly equip buildings with many solar panels, despite the fact that some of them will never face the sun or that the system overall is implemented in an environment with little incident light due to cloud cover or other factors. In this sense, Zehner claims they are not building energy-efficient buildings, but are instead “building temples to the energy source itself.” The argument most Americans have for using solar energy is quite a common one: it’s both plentiful and clean, to say nothing of the PR credit it provides. But while solar energy is inarguably plentiful, there is a misconception that it is clean. In the process of converting solar energy into electrical energy, solar cells release a number of harmful greenhouse gases like sulfur hexafluoride which, according to Zehner, are potentially more harmful and far worse than the carbon dioxide released from fossil fuels. This was not to say that solar cells should be avoided like an environmental plague, however; America’s energy woes arise from the thoughtless use of solar cells with the mindset of its conventional brand as the clean, efficient energy source of the future. Currently, energy from solar cells accounts for less than a tenth of a percent of the United States’ total energy produced: a mere droplet in the massive energy bucket. Zehner then argued that Americans should focus on altering their lifestyles for the sake of energy preservation and would be happier in doing so. They should build living spaces that can reduce the need for automobiles as transportation throughout; they should encourage pedestrian and bike routes, and develop solid, efficient, and desirable public transportation systems. Many other countries, mostly in the European Union, have implemented these systems with a marked degree of success. Simple lighting tricks, as with the sunlight filtered through the old oak leaves, could be used as a far more costeffective and environmentally-friendly solution for lighting and temperature control in the extreme seasons than what the current sense of conventional “alternative energy” technology could provide. Simply put, it would be far more beneficial to Americans to use natural systems to achieve energy efficiency, rather than rely solely on alternative energy sources. After his lecture, Zehner spoke about how to con-
Ozzie Zehner lectures in the Cribathon. Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications
vince people that they would actually be happier using less energy. He described the idea of congruency, a Dutch political philosophy stating that developing policies should always benefit the policy’s stakeholders. Essentially, if there is some incentive to benefit the people involved with the policy, it has a chance to work. The question that now needs to be asked is not what we need to do; rather, how can the American people be convinced that less energy will lead to a happier lifestyle? How can they break the paradigm of the ever-increasing demand for energy? If these questions go unanswered, then America will be doomed to use expensive, more hazardous alternatives to fossil fuels when a more energy-efficient and happier lifestyle is within our reach.
Dr. Eugene Hynes and Dr. Karen Wilkinson examine Zehner’s book. Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications
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Driverless Cars and the Mobility Internet Automotive Revolution or the Death Toll of Driving? By Charles Mancino Staff Writer When regarding the future of the automobile, many people have questions. Some ask what automobiles will run on in the future, some ask about flying cars, and some just ask who let the dogs out. Most of these questions were answered on Thursday, July 26, 2012 when Dr. Lawrence Burns ’75 spoke about “Driverless Cars and the Mobility Internet” in the Cribathon, a presentation sponsored by the Student Alumni Council. Dr. Burns is a former corporate vice president for General Motors’ Research and Development department. Because of his position, he has ventured into the world of the future of the automobile. This includes what automobiles will run on, what they will look like, and how they will communicate with each other. Dr. Burns first stated that the automobile has, up to this point in time, proven that Darwinism in consumer goods is just a theory, unlike other products such as the cell phone. The automobile has retained its basic shape ever since Carl Benz patented for his first automobile in 1886. Ideas to change the automobile have become reality—the steering wheel, windshield, doors, and power equipment, just to name a few—but the essentials of the automobile have not changed up to this point in time. To address what future automobiles will run on, Dr. Burns showed a chart of all the different fuel options that are available now. The chart included fossil fuels, electric motors, alternative fuels, geothermal energy, solar energy, and hydrogen energy, among others. On another chart, Dr. Burns confirmed which fuel source was the gold medalist: hydrogen. Hydrogen was the most fuel-efficient fuel source out of the group, which explains why General Motors has built an army of newer vehicles powered by the Equinox fuel cells.
Dr. Burns also said that there were over a billion tween Doctor Who’s phone booth and a Segway. vehicles in the world. Take every vehicle and line According to Dr. Burns, these vehicles will be small them up bumper-to-bumper and it could circle the enough to fit into one’s closet, will seat only two world many times. That is a lot of space that is used. people, and will greatly reduce the cost of ownerThen consider how often those vehicles are driven. ship. By making the same vehicle for different purIn other words, most people are paying for expensive poses, carmakers would be able to produce cheaper, pieces of fiberglass and metal just to have it sit and lighter, and more general-use vehicles, which would look pretty in their driveways. But what if there was translate into cost savings for the customer. a way to lower the cost of a vehicle, the cost of ownTo further reduce cost-savings, Dr. Burns also exership of a vehicle, and to get rid of what Dr. Burns plained that private companies could rent out these considers the most distracting thing to do inside of a vehicles. This would cause vehicles to go public and vehicle-driving? That is what many companies have reduce the number of people who own vehicles. worked on. However, according to Dr. Burns, a vehicle would be In order to eliminate the human error in driving, ready to use within seconds and all one would need many companies have tried to build autonomous to do is to use a smartphone to call for one. Then the cars. The two most famous examples are the “The customer would only need to pay for the rent and Boss”—a Chevrolet Tahoe that was made by Gener- other charges that the company would have to use al Motors that won the Defense Department-spon- the vehicles. That not only translates into cost savsored contest for self-driving cars in 2007—and ings for the customer but also that vehicles would be Google’s self-driving Toyota Prius. These unpiloted used more often, greatly opening up parking spaces vehicles are smart enough to avoid accidents and and driveways that could be used for cookouts. therefore would not only save many lives but would Just like the meteor strike that caused the dinoalso weigh less compared to their drivable counter- saurs to become extinct, autonomous vehicles are parts since little to no safety equipment would be re- slowly taking over the world of internal combustion quired for them because of the “mobility internet.” engine, gasoline sucking, drivable vehicles. The fuThe mobility internet means that all of the ve- ture of the automobile is still mostly unknown, but hicles of the future would be connected with each one thing will be true: the automobile is about to other and would know where another vehicle was evolve into something that Carl Benz never thought and where a human, building, or Fido is. The mo- it would be. bility internet would therefore stop accidents from happening. The mobility internet would also allow for vehicles to follow each other if more room is needed, causing the family vehicle to resemble The Magic School Bus, perfect for a family vacation. These autonomous vehicles will also be small enough to make a Smart ForTwo seem like the Titanic and Dr. Larry Burns ‘75 talks with students after his presentation. will resemble a mix bePhoto courtesy of Kettering Communications
Distinguished Faculty Speaker Series By Chloe Hauxwell Staff Writer As part of the distinguished faculty speaker series, Dr. Rabago-Smith presented “Research at the Frontier of Chemistry and Biology.” The lecture included cutting-edge processes being developed in the biochemistry field. One such topic is prostheses. The industry standard right now is a core of steel surrounded by a polymer. This combination inhibits the regrowth of the bone, however. The current research suggests a biodegradable magnesium alloy may be the answer. The existing bone grows around the magnesium and then to where the alloy is degrading. Another topic discussed was the interaction between pharmaceuticals and the proteins in the human body. This research has led to the cytochrome-
complex. This complex is in the mitochondria, and helps to produce proteins, including the proteins to block cell growth. These proteins are being researched heavily as possible cancer cures. If the right medication is created, one could make the mitochondria make an abundance of the cancer-killing proteins, halting cancer growth before it even starts. Overall, the presentation was a success. Those in attendance seemed very interested. The distinguished faculty speaker series continues 9th Thursday with Dr. Jeffrey Hargrove from Mechanical Engineering presenting “Current Understandings and Research in Treating Chronic Central Pain”
Dr. Rabago-Smith presents Kettering innovations in chemistry and biology. Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications
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August 15, 2012
The Technician
In Pictures
Student Alumni Council hosts Darren Heartwell ‘00, Clark Bailo ‘81, and Benjamin Coon ‘00. Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications
Students at the co-op fair talk to Tesla Motors. Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications
Students look over materials before entering the co-op fair. Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications
August 15, 2012
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The Technician
Freshman Andrea Hays talks with a prospective employer. Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications
Students gather for a picture in the pool at Dog Days of Summer. Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications
Noah Gagnon shows off a Maker Bot at Dog Days of Summer. Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications
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By Kaitlin Solovey Layout Editor
KSG Update
The Budget Debacle
On the Thursday of zero week, Finance Council Treasurer Scott Builta showed up to get the budget allocation for the year. Deborah Stewart in Student Life gave him a number she got from Kettering’s Finance Office. The budget was lower than hoped for, so Finance Council slashed food budgets for clubs to make up the difference, assuming it was just a lower-than-usual budget, caused by the change from student activities fees to fixed-rate tuition. But fixed-rate tuition is not to blame for clubs’ significantly lowered food budgets. That blame actually goes to the number that Deborah Stewart gave Scott
By Kaitlin Solovey Layout Editor
August 15, 2012
The Technician
Builta: it was the wrong number, at least $5,000 less than the actual budget allocation for student activities. But that is not the worst of it. Throughout The Technician’s investigation, every administrator that was contacted gave a different story. They simply did not know anything was wrong. The budget was going to be lower anyway, so it made perfect sense that serious changes had to be made. But the numbers still didn’t add up to the degree of $1,500. Finally, Scott Builta reported that the number he got from Deborah Stewart for the year’s budget allocation was around $344,400, which is $5,600 less than the $350,000 Betsy Homsher reported as the student activities allocation for the
year. So what does all this mean? Technically, the student activities budget has access to the $350,000 total (which is divided among all four terms), but not all of it is being used. It is like having up to $100 to fund an event, but only needing to use half of it while the other half would go unused. Scott Builta told The Technician that any funds not used this term would be used in the winter, but that does not help students now. Clubs are still hurting for food money now, and some events will not happen because they could not be budgeted for. In short, the money is there, but no one is using it right now; that is why clubs can’t feed all of their members.
KSG Hosts Election Kick Off
This past Monday, ksg held their Election Kick Off event in the pool at lunch. There was food, music, and a lot of students there. As students approached the tables with the food, they were handed an application to Student Senate. During the lunch time rush, food came off the grills at an increasingly slow rate. There were hotdogs, hamburgers, and even cookies. There was lemonade and water to drink. Applications were handed out for Student Senate and current Student Senate members were available to help students with their applications. Grilling was done by a number of campus fraternities. They supported ksg by providing their grilling expertise. Students were encouraged to fill out their applications and return them to Debbie Stewart by 5th week Wednesday. Voting for ksg will occur 8th Monday, with results posted 9th week.
Two members of Lambda Chi Alpha flip burgers. Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications
Elizabeth McLean and Emily Thompson handing out applications. Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications Two members of Delta Chi work the grill. Photos courtesy of Kettering Communications.
August 15, 2012
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The Technician
Around Flint
An Art Walk to Remember By Tylor Schramski Staff Writer This past Friday, the artists of Flint took to the streets in a celebration of individuality and showing their stripes, whatever various colors they may be. And even though the rain tried to wash out their work, they simply kept calm and carried on indoors. Spread out among some of the little shops in downtown Flint, various styles of art got themselves all dressed up and put on display for the world to see. And boy, did they get an audience; every corner of each little store was occupied by a curious face or interested eye. No emotional painting went un-appreciated, no cute craft was left un-adored, and every artist seemed to enjoy having their worked gawked and stared and ogled at. One of the more crowded spots was a little tavern by the name of Churchill’s Food and Spirits. Many an artist could be found packed into this little bar, but three stood out in particular. Paul Everett is an oil painter with a strong tendency towards vibrancy. All of his works are bright and lively, showcasing the rainbow facets of nature, and even tossing in a political statement here or there. Most of his work seemed to be inspired by graffiti artists, as his pieces displayed many features that mimic spray-paint artwork. Chiefly, he used the oil paints to imitate dusting, which is lightly passing the can over the canvas to create a kind of colored misty look, and puddling, which is what happens when you continuously spray a spot until the paint starts to drip down. These touches lent a distinctly urban appeal to his work, which attracted him a lot of attention. The centerpiece of his display was a 2’ by 4’ epic painting of 4 macaws perched on a branch. Every feather was more vivacious than the next, and they looked as if they were about to fly off the canvas. The reds, greens, yellows, and blues blended perfectly to give form to the tropical birds and the brick wall they perched in front of. If nothing else, these feathered beauties certainly caught more than their fair share of attention.
The next artist turning heads at Churchill’s was as the actual physical thickness of the acrylic paints) Jay Rowland. His paintings are more along the fres- really made the roses, forget-me-nots, lilies, and tuco side of town, and feature some deeply creepy yet lips pop off of the canvas. deeply interesting scenes. Exactly opposing Everett’s high-saturation infatuation, Rowland prefers muted, subtler colors. Sweeping strokes and wide brush movements also abound in his pieces, many looking like a scene from a foggy nightmare. One in particular was an image of a doorway in a brick wall. The windows were dark, alluding to the mystery that lay on the other side of this small but imposing door. The rain is also coming down heavily in the memory, as shown by the faint gray-blue brush-strokes An artist at work during July’s Art Walk. swirling about the left side of the canvas. Whether it Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications frightened them or intrigued them, people couldn’t help but notice this piece by Jay Rowland. Also popular was the Lunch Studio. This small lunch spot was dominated by an exhibit called “Art from the Heart,” a crafts display with everything from bows to bunny rabbits and headbands to fingerless gloves. They were all hand-made and all positively precious. Beema’s Snack Shop and Deli also housed a few more pieces of eye candy, with Ariel Sammone displaying some nature photograph’s creatively altered by Photoshop and Jay Rowland showing more of his trademark muted nightmares. In short, Flint is in no need of creative talent. The Visitors check out a local crafts stand at July’s Art Walk. artists mentioned above in particular, but certainly Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications all others at the Flint Art Walk, proved that this The final star of the bar was a young woman by weekend with their amazing displays. This event was the name of Ariel Sammone. Her pieces were gener- perfect for anybody who wanted to see the more ally bipolar; either dark scenes of humanoid figures colorful side of Flint for a change. in various poses or flowers. The humanoid paintings displayed figures lounging about without a care in the world, displaying their vague and fuzzy physiques. Though painted in dark colors, they still seemed to exude life. The flowers, on the other hand, positively overflowed with natural beauty and greenery. Painted in a combination of watercolor backgrounds done over with acrylics, it was like looking at an actual flower, only shinier. The interesting contrast of the softer watercolor backgrounds Art on display at July’s Art Walk. combined with the intensity of the acrylics (as well Photo courtesy of Kettering Communications
Claressa Shields, Flint Native, Wins Gold By Kaitlin Solovey Layout Editor On August 9, Claressa Shields, a native of Flint, won the Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing in London. Shields was born and raised in Flint, attending Flint Northwestern High School, where she is currently a student. She is, after all, only 17 years old. This was the first year that there was a women’s boxing competition in the Olympics, and Claressa won. She is currently undefeated in all her matches. One of Claressa’s classmates had this to say to mlive.com: “It really tells me that even though you have a negative community or come from a negative situation that you can go to the Olympics and win a gold medal.” And that’s a good lesson to learn from Claressa. Her father, Bo Shields, was himself an underground boxer, and he was in prison from the time
she was 2 until she was 9. Originally, he would not let her even try boxing, but by the time she turned 11, he finally caved in and allowed her to join him at the gym. And now, she has already won an Olympic gold medal before even legally entering adulthood. Claressa is sure to become an example and role model for many Flint residents. She grew up in Flint in an average household and won a gold medal in the Olympics before she turned 18. That’s more than enough proof that success stories like Claressa can happen anywhere, even in Flint.
Fans cheer Claressa on at Blackstone’’s on Thursady, August 9. Photo Courtesy of The Flint Journal.
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The Technician
Automotive & Technology
August 15, 2012
Saab’s Struggle
The Rise and Fall of Sweden’s Strangest Automaker By Robert Hayes Editor-in-Chief Earlier this month, Spyker Cars, owner of the assets of the failed automaker Saab, filed suit against General Motors, claiming damages in excess of $3 billion related to gm’s refusal to allow the sale of Saab to a consortium of Chinese investors late last year. Faced with mounting debt and falling sales, Spyker attempted to sell the Swedish company multiple times in 2011 but was stopped every time by gm, who retained ownership of much of the intellectual property in Saab vehicles. That last ditch attempt to put Saab back on its feet was a dismal failure, and ended with Saab filing for bankruptcy protection in December of 2011, closing 64 years of history at the Trollhättan firm. Faced with dwindling fighter plane orders at the close of World War ii, Swedish aircraft maker Svenska Aeroplan ab (saab) needed to find a new way of making money, and decided to enter the automobile business. Saab’s first car, the Model 92, hit the road in 1949, and started the company down the path of making quirky cars for people who wanted to stand out. Powered by a 25 horsepower two-stroke inline two cylinder engine, the aerodynamic 92 was far from perfect, with the two-stroke engine leading to oil starvation issues during engine braking, and the sleek teardrop shaped body prevented the inclusion of a trunk.
1978 Saab 99 Turbo. Photo Courtesy of Saab Museum
model ever, with almost one million 900s produced when the last 900 rolled off the line in 1998. Faced with rising development costs, Saab partnered with Italian automaker Fiat to produce the ill-received 1985 Saab 9000 on a platform shared with Fiat, Lancia, and Alfa Romeo models. Disagreements between the partners led to the Swedes practically redesigning the entire model to enhance occupant safety, long a Saab concern. Forced to try to stem years of perpetual losses, Saab ab entered into an agreement to sell Saab Automobile to General Motors in 1989. Saab’s new American owners tried to drill fiscal sense into Saab, combining platforms and launching new Saab models based on platforms from Adam Opel ag, gm’s German subsidiary. While successful at first (Saab turned a profit in 1995), further product planning decisions at General Motors meant that Saab’s individuality was soon lost. Between the Subaru Impreza-derived Saab 9-2x and the badge engineered Saab 9-7x suv, Saab vehicles quickly lost their individuality in exchange for lower production costs.
When the global financial crisis hit General Motors in 2009, Saab found itself in jeopardy. Desperate to shed any loss-making divisions and raise desperately needed cash, gm agreed to sell Saab to the Dutch supercar manufacturer Spyker Cars nv in 2010. Spyker’s attempts to revive Saab through the launch of the 2011 Saab 9-5 flagship sedan fell short, as the car never lived up to sales expectations. The Saab 9-4x crossover, assembled by General Motors in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, similarly failed to catch on. gm pulled the plug on 9-4x assembly amid concerns Saab would fail to pay for the vehicles, ending the model’s incredibly short 573 unit run. After months of mounting losses, Saab filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2011. While all attempts to save Saab through restruc-
2011 Saab 9-4x crossover. Photo courtesy of Saab
turing the company have failed, Spyker remains dedicated to restarting production. Even though all attempts by Spyker to sell a stake in Saab to Chinese investors so far have been have been blocked by General Motors, new hope has arrived in the form of a newly formed company. National Electric Vehicle Sweden ab has been created by two investment firms to develop battery electric vehicles on the platform intended for the next generation Saab 9-3, completely independent of General Motors technology. Whether this effort ever restarts vehicle production in Trollhättan remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain, Saab’s history has been just as unique as the cars they produced.
The Chevrolet-derived Saab 9-7x. Photo courtesy of Saab
1949 Saab Model 92. Photo Courtesy of Saab Museum
Saab’s breakout hit did not come until years later with the Saab 99. Launched in 1968, the 99 brought growing sales to Saab, but the real success came with the image-boosting 1978 Saab 99 Turbo, one of the first mainstream cars to adopt forced injection technology. Available with such performance-boosting technology as water injection, the 99 Turbo gave Saab a high performance car that was fuel efficient, and provided the company a promising first step into the 1980s. Saab rode the wave of their success in the late 1970s well, launching the replacement for the 99, the Saab 900. The 900 would become Saab’s best-selling
Swedish advertisement for the car intended to be Saab’s savior, the 2010 Saab 95 Photo courtesy of Saab.
August 15, 2012
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The Technician
The Cold Month By Devin Aryan Staff Writer July is usually a slow month in the video game market. With no major gifting holidays, sales tend to be down, and releases, compared to other times of the year, are generally few. July 2012 is no exception, with the fewest releases for the year. Starting things off, July 3 was the release of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy for the 3ds, a rhythm game featuring a variety of characters and the entire musical score taken from across the main series (i-xii). The game is split into stages; each stage features field, battle, and event music segments. The game has received generally positive reviews, though it has been noted that fans of the Final Fantasy series will enjoy the game more. July 4 was the worldwide release of the game Spelunky for the Xbox Live Arcade. Being a port of the Windows freeware version of the game released in 2008, the Xbox version offers nothing new. Despite this, Spelunky has received mostly positive reviews thus far. Let the games begin! July 10 saw the first of many sports releases for the upcoming seasons with ncaa Football ‘13. Being exactly what one would expect from a game with this name, it is very straightforward. Including the two new ncaa rules for the 2012-2013 season, only minor gameplay changes were made. The game has received mostly positive reviews, though it should be noted that ign criticized the game for being too similar to ncaa Football ‘12. Quantum Conundrum, released June 21 for Windows, July 10 for PlayStation Network, and July 11 for Xbox Live Arcade, is a first-person puzzle-platformer hybrid. Designed by Kim Swift, formerly the lead designer on the critically-acclaimed Portal, Quantum Conundrum is often considered the spiritual successor to Portal. The gameplay involves the player changing between four different dimensions, each affecting the objects in the room differently,
to solve each puzzle. The Fluffy dimension causes object to weigh 10 times less, the Heavy dimension causes objects to weigh 10 times more, the Slow dimension causes time to move 10 times slower, and the Reverse Gravity dimension, well, reverses gravity. The humor for the game, unlike in Portal, is much more hidden, such as the names of the stage referencing pop culture, as well as the titles of all the books that litter the house. Some such titles are “Time-Lord of the Rings” (The Lord of the Rings and Doctor Who), Jurassic Quark (Jurassic Park), “The (0,0,0) of the Species (The Origin of the Species), and “To Kilowatt a Mockingbird” (To Kill a Mockingbird). The game received positive reviews, with many reviewers saying something along the lines of “missing Quantum Conundrum is a mistake no one should make.” July 10 also saw the release of Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure for the 3ds. Taking place in Paris, the game is centered on Ralph, an art thief who steals forgeries and replaces them with the originals who finds himself in a mystery involving Napoleon Bonaparte and a mysterious girl named Maria. Receiving favorable reviews, the game was praised for its score, but criticized for its shortness. July 18 was the release of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater hd for the Xbox Live Arcade, a rerelease featuring classic levels from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2. The game features seven levels
selected from the two original games, and also only includes the tricks available in those games to try and keep the gameplay the same. Some of the music is also from the original games, and a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 dlc has been announced. The game has received heavily mixed reviews, from 4.5/10 to 9/10. The PlayStation Network and Microsoft Windows will be seeing a release in the future. Kingdom Hearts, a series known for having entries on a multitude of consoles, and more recently consisting of filler, side-story games, has released another installment. Kingdom Hearts 3d: Dream Drop Distance was released for the 3ds on July 31. Unlike the recent string of filler plots, D r e a m Drop Distance is a c o nti nua tion of the story left off from the epilogue of Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, with Sora and Riku taking the Mark of Mastery exam to become Keyblade Masters. It was also stated that the gameplay and plot of Dream Drop Distance are meant to give a glimpse of what Kingdom Hearts iii, an upcoming game, will be like. Receiving positive reviews from American as well as Japanese reviewers, fans of the series who have been keeping up with the games, as well as those who have been holding out for story continuation, need to get this game. July 2012 was not chock-full of games, but it did end with a bang. As far as Julys go, July 2012 did fairly well. The best part about July, though, is that it precedes August, and with games like Darksiders ii, Guild Wars 2, and Madden ‘13 coming out soon, August is sure to be a great success.
Science Fiction Turned Reality By Devin Aryan Staff Writer Fans of the popular sci-fi television series Star Trek surely remember well the Holographic Environment Simulator, or holodeck, the iconic virtual reality room. First seen in the episode “The Practical Joker” of Star Trek: The Animated Series, but under the name “Recreation Room,” the holodeck became a staple in Star Trek technologies. A team based at the University of Southern California, however, feels that the holodeck should no longer be science fiction, and thus began work on a virtual reality project implementing body tracking, binaural audio systems, and other forms of haptic feedback. From this, Project Holodeck—a dream of making an affordable virtual reality play space and bringing a Star Trek fantasy to reality—was born. Reality has its limitations, though, and Project Holodeck is not without special peripheral devices. Using the Oculus Rift headset for visuals, PlayStation Move for head tracking, and the Razer Hydra to monitor body movements, the holodeck room is almost functionless except for the fans that are
plugged into the system to simulate wind, and even though this is not true holodeck technology, it is still a remarkable simulation. A concept video showcasing the capabilities of Project Holodeck is currently circling the internet. Using the video game Skies of Arcadia, the video is meant to show how Project Holodeck would function while running a program. Unfortunately, the video uses a cutscene from the game in which the players have absolutely no control, so the concept video fails to give a true representation of exactly how Project Holodeck would work in terms of player interactivity. The team is currently developing a game to fully showcase the project’s functionality called Wild Skies, in which players will fly an airship as well as partake in some sword-wielding, gun-slinging action. Project Holodeck has plans to be taken on the road and showcased at various technological venues in the near future, including Maker Faire. Should the project become successful enough, holodeck rooms might become a commonplace in the future.
usc students demonstrating their holodeck technology. Photo courtesy of Project Holodeck
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August 15, 2012
The Technician
Alumni Voice
Opinion: Life After Kettering An Exposition on Postfratum* Depression By Trent Sutherland ‘10 Alumnus Contributor The real world, the forever work term, work ever after; no matter how hard we try, we all end our time as undergraduates, one way or another. Some graduate, some drop out, some delay the transition with graduate school or elongated tenures, but the transition is inevitable. Kettering prepared me well for the working world, for interacting with co-workers, for managing problems and triaging issues. However, I do not recall a single class on dealing with the nonwork aspects of post-collegiate life. I don’t think that is a bad thing, however, but I will get back to that. Kettering, as most who read this already know, is a college with a co-op component. Drawing prospective students in with the lure of making money while in college, of gaining real world experience as well as a degree, of likely securing a job after graduation. All of these are true. I had my first interview with Ford Motor Company at the Kettering Co-op fair in August of 2006 and as I write this, the Ford chartered plane upon which I sit astride is hurtling back to Michigan from Hermosillo, Mexico. I spent each of my co-op work terms in a different functional group at Ford: Climate Control, engine calibration, vehicle durability, wind tunnel testing, hydrogen fuel cell development, eventually completing my thesis on new ways to detect low refrigerant charge in air conditioning systems. Without the Kettering coop experience, I would not have gotten to meet so many caring, compassionate, capable, and occasionally cantankerous co-workers. Yay, alliteration! But, none of those experiences would have been possible
without Kettering. The classes, to a small extent, and the extracurricular activities, to a massive extent, help me on a daily basis while working at Ford. Upon graduation, and after a three-month hiatus during which I drove around the continental U.S., I started a pretty standard desk job at Ford, designing AC system components for the 2015 Ford Edge. I moved into an apartment close to work, found a roommate, and settled into a routine. Wake up, breakfast, shower, work for 8-9 hours, play some racquetball, read a book, screw around on Facebook, etc. The weekends became the refuge of my sanity, the time to see friends or go on lengthy adventures. Finding a routine one enjoys is key to the post-collegiate transition. My experiences since January of this year, however, have been some of the dualistic of my life. Days, and often weeks straight, of 14-hour days at work,
View of Hermosillo from a mountaintop. Photo courtesy of Trent Sutherland
punctuated by a day or two here and there of exploring the Mexican countryside and mountains. Ford is currently launching the 2013 Fusion and I am the sole responsible Climate Control engineer in Mexico. Any issue with part assembly, supplier quality, system functionality, weird noises, damaged components, and did I mention weird noises, are all my responsibility. As there are many different parts, and many different variants within that specific subset of parts, this job can get rather trying at times. My per-
Trent exploring the mountains outside Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Photo courtesy of Trent Sutherland
“Take that, cactus!” Relieving frustration after work. Photo courtesy of Trent Sutherland
sonal record is being at the plant (and awake!) for 31 hours straight before my boss “politely requested” that I leave and drove me back to my apartment. But, the opportunity to have a hand in shaping a product that will be reproduced millions of times, and driven by millions of people, is quite unparalleled, as are some of the natural beauties I have come across in my time in Mexico. Being on launch has allowed me the chance to climb several mountains in and around Hermosillo, nearly fall off of not one but two different cliff faces whilst trying to climb down them, get attacked by a flock of carnivorous birds, and see Carlsbad Caverns National Park. My time in Mexico has been lucrative, stressful, sleepdepriving, and invigorating at times, and my co-op experiences through Kettering are largely to thank. Maybe it’s seeing the sunrise from a seat on Ford’s chartered plane, maybe it’s seeing the wealth disparity blatantly obvious on the streets of Hermosillo, maybe it’s being swept up in the single-minded intensity of a production plant atmosphere, or maybe it’s all the Neil deGrasse Tyson I’ve been reading in my “spare time”, but my time in Mexico has also given me perspective. Our lives are what we make of them. The decisions that we make every day define who we are and what course our lives take. It is not just our right but our responsibility to decide on and stand by our values and our priorities. And that’s where my point from the first paragraph of this slightly readable soliloquy comes in. Co-op doesn’t really prepare you, or at least it didn’t prepare me, for the other part of the forever work term: what to do with oneself when not at work. Co-op work terms were survived until reunion with friends at Kettering. There is not such reunion in the “real” world. Opportunities must be taken, and this is horrifyingly clichéd but, to live life to the fullest, to visit friends, to make new ones, to have new and different experiences, to learn new things and see new sights. Happiness will not just happen upon you one day; it must be doggedly pursued. Life may be long and occasionally tinged with disappointment, but it is what you make of it. * Note: Credit for the phrase “postfratum depression” goes to my Fraternity brother, and fellow Kettering Alumnus, Eric Bumbalough. It refers to the adjustment period between leaving friends/Fraternity brothers at college and making new friends in the “real” world.
August 15, 2012
The Technician
Entertainment
Explanation of Kettering’s Reorganization By John Oliver Staff Writer To the acclaim of faculty and the joy of students, the position of Vice President of Interdisciplinary Conceptual Focus has been filled. This is replacing the Office of Transitional Reengineering Focus that has been disbanded, rebanded, quadbanded and finally sold off to Michigan Tech. While this may seem confusing, the President wants to assure students that reorganization may seem confusing at first, but in the end, we will all be much more confused and everything will then seem normal again. If we look at the reorganization in a scientific light, we know that from Newton’s first law, an object in motion stays in motion until acted on by an outside force. This can be applied to positions as well, since objects (faculty and staff ) occupy those positions. A position shifted will continue to shift until it collides with a different position, at which point a third position will be created. This obviously will continue until only one super-position is left. This is known as a black hole position. A black hole position is when one person does the work of roughly fifty. For an example, see Deborah Stewart in the Student Life office. To avoid the creation of black hole positions, Kettering is trying to keep all positions in motion, which will either help avoid collisions or make them
much worse. To implement this system, Kettering has created a hamster wheel of science to help select new positions and remove existing positions. The way the hamster wheel of science works is that two hamsters are placed in two different cages with one wheel each. One hamster is in charge of deciding which positions are kept; the other is in charge of which positions are dissolved. The individual hamster wheels of science have a new position on each of the rungs. Once the hamster stops running, the position on the highest rung is created or removed depending on which hamster is on the wheel. While it may seem disheartening that our school is having hamsters make many important decisions, it is important to remember that this tactic has been around since before recorded history, which is why there is no record for it ever existing, so don’t ask questions and just go with it. Kettering is also thinking about implementing this system for grading. The idea would be very similar, but with guinea pigs instead of hamsters and a track instead a wheel. It has been rumored that several professors have already started using this strategy. For those interested in helping out with the process, there is a spot open as the secretary for the Department of Position Change and Hamster Effectiveness, but unfortunately, the head and all the other positions in that department have been removed, so it may be a lonely job.
The Mott Foundation Grant and a Dark Future By Tyler Van Eck Copy Editor From the outset of the Summer 2012 term, many students at Kettering soon became aware of the budget disparity by means of the slashed food budget. From The Technician’s investigation of the issue, the cause was determined to be just an accounting error, but this editor wishes to assert that such an allegation of simple accounting mistakes was in no way an accident. It is instead preparation for a darker time. As many have doubtlessly noticed, recent years have seen society’s dominant fetish du jour take increasingly darker turns at every given opportunity. The future of the optimist has been devoured by a dark world of existential despair, pitting a human race reduced to rubble against the multifarious fears lingering in the dark corners of the human mind. Yet among the settings of an Earth beset by an egregious adaptation of a classic tabletop game and sadistic villains running amok in a metropolis protected by a man who dresses up in his spare time, one setting stands out as the dominant representation of the derelict future. This future, of course, is the future of the zombie apocalypse, and not even Kettering University can outrun the influence of its undead touch. Kettering’s fears were only recently confirmed during President McMahan’s announcement of the $15.5 million endowment by the Mott foundation and the projects toward which they would be put to use. As a leader in stem universities with a
rich, storied background in mechanical engineering programs, the decision to imbue Kettering with the multimillion-dollar potential was wisely made. One does not need to look far in order to see their implementation as countermeasures against the impending zombie apocalypse. Before these new programs even began, the original intent for slashing the food budgets was to acclimate students to an environment in which resources were scarce so that they may better acclimate to a hostile future. The new Biology program will serve to create the foundations on which Kettering students and faculty alike can build their understanding of the functional zombie and the most effective ways to destroy it. The new first Robotics program not only serves as an outreach program to high school students potentially willing to join the technical side of the fight, but any breakthroughs made in creating or repurposing robots with offensive capabilities will provide a much-needed reduction in both human casualties and the risk of human combatants becoming infected. This assumes, of course, that the potential horror of robot zombies is out of the question. Naturally, the other newly-constructed facilities will also provide better fortification than the portion of Kettering’s aging infrastructure. With this new grant, the Mott foundation has placed upon Kettering’s shoulders the cross that will shine through the dark fifty-shades-of-coffee-filterbrown future. Let it guide the way toward a new era of innovation.
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Mayor Murdered in the Morning A Technician Murder Mystery Puzzle
By Rebeccah MacKinnon Online Editor Bunchy, the Rabid Squirrel, was about to sit down for a nice breakfast when a call came in from his longtime friend and business partner, Ana, who worked the homicide division in the city’s police department. “Bunchy,” she said, “we need your help. The mayor is dead and we don’t even know where to start looking for a suspect.” “I’ll be right there,” said the Squirrel. He arrived to a dreadful scene. Blood was splattered everywhere in the mayor’s study. The patio window was broken, glass covering the deck outside. A large rock, probably used to break the window, lay half under the desk. The decapitated politician lay in a pool of his own blood. After pausing for a moment of silence, Bunchy headed over to Ana. “What do you know?” he asked. She gestured over to a young man in the doorway who was staring at the scene in a daze, holding his foot in a bloodstained handkerchief. “That’s the mayor’s nephew, Andrew,” she said. “He was the only other one in the house when the murder occurred. Says he was in the study, talking with his uncle, when he heard breaking glass and then was hit over the head. He woke up to this.” Bunchy walked over to Andrew, who still seemed to be in shock. “Andrew,” Bunchy asked, “is there anyone who would want to hurt your uncle?” The boy shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t know. I was the only family he had left after my parents died. I just can’t believe he’s gone.” “You called the police right after you woke up?” “Yeah. Then I went out back to see if I could find anything after seeing the patio door. I saw a trail of footprints leading up to the patio. I guess that’s how he got in; he probably threw that rock through the glass door. I cut my foot on all the glass on the patio. After that I figured it was best if I just didn’t touch anything.” “Thanks, Andrew,” said Bunchy, leaving the boy to attend to his foot. The squirrel went over to window, dodging blood stains on the otherwise clear floor to avoid tampering with the evidence. After examining it and the surrounding area, Bunchy headed back to Ana. “Take Andrew in for questioning. I’m pretty sure he murdered his uncle!” What made Bunchy so suspicious of Andrew’s story? Editor’s note: Answers will be provided online at bulldogs.kettering.edu/technician
Crossword - Kettering Landmarks
7. Where to go if you want a midnight snack, or need some money 12. Everyone is his favorite student 15. Largest room on campus By Erin Boyse 16. Site of a current phytoremediation project Staff Writer 17. You could go here to swim, but there isn’t any Across water 2. You might feel like you’re underwater if you 18. Technician Meetings are held in this building study in here 19. Official name for our mascot 3. Provost 20. Connie & Jim John’s crowning achievement 4. Kettering’s current president 5. Grassy area in front of the dorms
Crossword Hints
Down 1. Our university is named in honor of him 6. 2-225 AB 8. Named after Betty Jane’s Bar 9. Newest building on campus, where great ideas take shape 10. Houses most of the Mechanical Engineering department 11. Where most classes are located 13. Statue that gets painted almost every day 14. Freshmen are required to live here
Cryptoquote By Rebeccah MacKinnon Online Editor
“R’ud tdhpldi xvhx ydzytd qrtt szpedx qvhx fzk chri, ydzytd qrtt szpedx qvhx fzk iri, okx ydzytd qrtt ldudp szpedx vzq fzk bhid xvdb sddt.” – Bhfh Hledtzk Note: The cryptoquote can be solved by letter replacement. Each letter in the quote corresponds to a different letter in the alphabet. Hints will be provided online at bulldogs.kettering.edu/technician
“Osmosis” Comic provided by Andrea Hays