11"4v II
Pride in our Past Faith in our Future 1 865 -1 965
I I PCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTI TUTE
IV I'-
e
... ,_.," • • • •
ew6
---- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Vol LV
Worcester, Massachusetts, Friday, Oct. 16, 1964
PROFESSOR COREY lr TERESTED IN SUMMER PROGRAM Professor Corey ol the Mechanical Engineering Department in the past several years, has been working on a summer employment program for undergraduates in the freshm an and sophomore classes. His program would pro· vide on-the-job training for fresh· men and sophomores in their chosen field of engineering, in a hometown industry. His belief is that "most boys have an idea of what profession they want to fol· low, but need the personal ex· perience to make the final deci· sion." As he points out, " a student may enjoy his chemistry lab work, but it is too late to find out that he can't stand the smells of the chemtcals in a plant," alter he has graduated and has gotten a job as a chemist or chemical engineer. Professor Corey's progr am, as he visualizes it, would have com· panies in a student's home town give him a job lor the summer during which he would receive training and would have a chance to both observe actual operations and also be able to discuss opera· lion and procedures with company employees and officials.
This would cost t he company money in the short run, but as a long term in vestment it would be priceless since these students could get to know and like or dis· like a company before th at com· pany spends really substantial amounts of money to train him in his job. Mr. Corey's work has h owever, been quite discouraging due to the lack of support and interest which he has found in companies. Even companies which presently have training programs for juniors and seniors are not very interested in starting this training at an earlier stage: at a time when the student still can choose his major field. Most of Professor Cor ey's ef· forts have been on his own, how· ever, and be realizes that this is not one man operation. He hopes to arouse interest in thP, Society of Fam ilies, the parents of present students, for they, he feels, can make their voice heard much better tha n he can . He also fee ls that these are the people who should be most interested since it is their sons who will profit from this experien ce.
HOMECOMING-1964 A HUGE SUCCESS Homecoming 1965, the one-hun· dreth anniversary of Worcester Tech, got off to a flaming start as students, faculty, alumni, and other spectators gathered around the baseball diamo nd to witness the igniting of ttH! annual bonfire.
After a morning of classes, the students gather ed with alumni to witness the Engineers from Tech clashed with the Bate's Wildcats on the gridiron. At the s ame time, the cross-country runners were pitting their speed and stamina
A FAMILIAR FAN The frol>h, who are in charge of the bonfire, outdid themselves as they erected a foreboding struc· lure of railroad lies and scrap lumber nearly fifty feet in height. As the blazing inferno began to die, the Worcester Tech Marching Band ll'd all in a slithering snake dance through th e streets to City Hall, " here, with ·spotlights whirl· lng, thp t•beerleaders led the Tech· men an their dates in some spir· lied sonr,s and cheers in prepara· lion for Saturday's football game.
against that of the Bate's runners. On the soccer field , the Tech booters were pitted against t he kickers from A.J.C. For d etails on these stories see sports section. Following the football game, all the spectators hurried to Institu te Park for the annual r ope pull be· tween the freshmen and the soph· omores. On the Park Avenue side of Institute P ond were the favored sophs, fresh olf their victory of (Continued on Pa.. 3)
Number 5
Bush Is Highlight Of Convocation South and West have successfully followed in the footsteps of your academic plan." The three chal· lenges to our academic plan that he mentioned were excellence, pur· pose and foresight. He concluded that, "to develop such an educational pattern. the understanding and the support of Industry is necessary." At the Centennial Dinner Thurs· day evening, Dr. J . Herbert Hoi· loman, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Science and Tech· nology staled , " I do not believe I overstate the case one bit when I predict that the engineering school of the future will become the dominant institu tion in trans· forming the America of today Into the great urban society of tomor· row." On Friday, October 9, the Cen· tenia! Convocation continued at the Worcester Memorial Auditor· ium. featuring an address by Dr. Vannevar Bush, Honorary Chair· man of Massachusetts lnstltute of Technology. He dealt with a topic ol particular interest to the galh· ering, " What Is An Engineer?" He noted the misconceptions and misevaluations of the role of an engineer In society, continuing. "the tende ncy to downgrade the engineer goes far back in history." Regarding this trend Dr. Bush CONVOCATION BEGINS felt, "Much of the misconception Mr. Ronald B. Smith, Senior Vice of the engineering profession, The Centennial Convocation President of the M. W. Kellogg which still abou nds, is the en· concluded Friday, October 9 pro· Company and immediate past gineer's own fau lt." He added that , vided an expression of the views president of the American Society "The very natur e of an engineer's on e ngin eering and engineering of Mechanical Engineers, spoke work renders it difficult to popu· education by nationally known Thursday afternoon at Alden Me· larize." personalities. Dr. Bush stated, "There are two morlal Auditorium on "Engineer· After a welcome by Milton P. ing . . . a Profession of Change." great classes of subjects which Higgins, Centennial Convocation One p oint stressed by Mr. Smith is men seek to understand and apply Chairman and Life Trustee, Mas· the field of design and d evelop· in their attempts to lead successful sachusetts Governor Endicott Pea· ment, "wh ich has taxed the qua· lives. The first includes all the body presented his message. He lity of engineering talent." He phenomena of nature. The second noted that it was appropriate that noted that, "one's adaptability to Includes the interrelation of men the National Aeronautics and change in volves a never-ending in their organizations." He str ess· Space Administration be repre· process of intellectual regenera· ed the need for competence in sented because of the pioneer lion that with maturity becomes both classes but noted," the true work in rocketry carried on by ever more individual than insti· difference between the study or Professor Robert H. Goddard and tution al." He considered Tech as things and or men lies in the fact because of the existence of Wor· ". . . a br eeder reaction in engin· that the former may often be cester Tech and other such schools eerin g education , as schools East, (Continued on P ... 3) which brought the NASA research complex to Massachusetts. The main address of the Cen· tennial Luncheon, "Our Current Efforts in the Scientific Exploration or Space and its Challenge to Education," was given by Dr. Harry J . Croeth, Director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Cen ter. He cited the roles of the scientist and the engineer in the Space A ge. He stated, "their as scientists is to bridge the gap between the known and the un· known. The job of the en gineer, in contrast to the scientist , Is to use the resources of nature for social ends-to bridge the gap between ttH! known and the desir ed." He noted, "there is g rowing need for closer interdisciplinary collaboration between scientific specialists in various fields," and used examples to point out t h is Dlt. VANNEVAit lUSH need.