Raver May 2008

May 2008

Volume 1 - Issue 3

Aeroheads assemble award-winning airplanes

Eminent Expansion: This map of school and the surrounding area has X’s where the apartments are located.

Residence Life captures apartments

By David Foster Three months, two missed deadlines, and countless attempts. I never thought it would be so hard to get a twenty minute interview with Maureen Wilson, Director of Residence Life. Between waiting for the Board of Regents vote at the end of March and countless other delays Wilson was recently given the go ahead to make official statements concerning the new housing options, just in time for the last issue of the Raver.

During my interview last month, Wilson was more than happy to answer all of the questions that have come up since the e-mail sent out early this semester by Residence Life. The School of Mines has made available approximately 50 apartments in three locations within walking distance of the campus. These three complexes (Park Vista Apartments, LaCroix Apartments and Kelley Apartments) are all owned by the School of Mines Foundation. Even though sign up for these apartments has been available since March 3, Residence Life did not know if the plan for the apartments

would go through. Now, after countless delays, the plan has been approved and the Raver is here to tell you everything you need to know about the new apartment options.

First off, the Residence Life website has added a new page detailing the new apartments which can be found at http:// reslife.sdsmt.edu/apartments. html. All three complexes are located within two blocks of campus. The Kelley Apartments are located between the ADPi House and Birch Avenue.

They feature a combination of efficiency, 1-bedroom, and 2level 2-bedroom units. Some of the apartments even feature an enclosed balcony. The LaCroix Apartments are located two blocks from campus along Kansas City Street and feature a combination of 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom units. The Park Vista Apartments are located just across the street from the back entrance to Surbeck and feature a combination of efficiency, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, and 3-bedroom units. Several units feature open balconies.

See “APARTMENTS” Con’t on Page 2

By Megan Mallett “That plane shouldn’t be in the air!” James Tomich, a sophomore in metallurgical engineering at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, clearly expressed the shock of seeing the Center of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing and Production (CAMP) Aero Design Team regular class plane soar through the air.

During an airplane competition, most people would not be shocked to see their plane actually flying in the air.

In this year’s Society of Automotive Engineer’s (SAE) Aero Design West Competition, taking place in Fort Worth, Texas, the Aeroheads of Tech ranked number two in America and third internationally. They beat even the aeronomical engineering schools such as University of Minnesota- Minneapolis, Michigan Tech, Concordia of New York City, and Warsaw University of Technology. Furthermore, the Aeroheads Team competed in both the micro class and regular class plane competitions, making it the first time ever

Aeroheads team up: Left top to bottom right: Lindsey Penfield, Adam Lungren, Nick Swanson, Ray Tapper III, Eric, Camdon DePaolo, Sara Hagie, Steve, Pilot, Megan Mallett, James Tomich and Chris Vickery. Photo by Dr. Dolan. to take four complete payload airplanes to competition. The regular class plane, designed and manufactured by underclassmen, under the direct supervision of the upperclassmen, took first in the design report and most payload weight, and took third overall. This year’s plane carried 32 pounds, with the plane itself being only eight pounds. The plane was designed to lift only 26 pounds, and fell short winning first by five points. The micro plane, being explored by the seniors

Look! No hands!: Jimmy Tomich uses the magic power of high wind speed to levitate the plane. Photo by Dr. Dolan.

as a senior project, took sixth on their paper, fifth on presentation, and eighth overall.

Both planes made it in the top ten planes at competition for each of their class. The regular class plane was behind only a few points, being beaten by the Kansas University and Ecole Polytoechnique de Montreal as first.

The students taking part in this highly competitive contest discovered more than what victory feels like. Spending late nights in the Cat lab working for excellence, learning how to communicate effectively and efficiently, catching on to teaming abilities and working around technical difficulties are a few skills these students will be able to relate to future work experience once they finish college. This year’s team was “a very diverse team made up of many underclassmen that has found an excellent way to work together and get things done,” according to Chris

See “AEROHEADS” Con’t on Page 13

NEWS

Raver - Page 2

May 2008

A note from the Dean of Students Residence Life now authority of apartments I hope you have had a successful semester and your preparation for final exams is going well. To help you prepare- you are all invited to the finals week late night breakfast from 9:00 p.m. to11:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 4, in the Surbeck Center Hardrock Dining Hall.

Members of the campus community will celebrate the presidency of Dr. Charles Ruch and wish Chuck and Sally a wonderful retirement at a reception on May 6 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Surbeck Center Ballroom. RSVP’s were due online at http://sdmines.sdsmt. edu/ruch before April 30.

Congratulations to the 2008 spring graduates! Commencement will be held at 9:00 a.m. at the Civic Center arena. Weather and road conditions permitting, M-Hill will be accessible by foot and four-wheel drive for you to take your family members to see your name on the commencement plaque from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 10. Rides will be provided

Publication of the South Dakota School of Mines Students

Printed at the Rapid City Journal Editors

Katie Aurand Erica Kjar

Advisor

Dr. Kathy Antonen

Journal Representative Alan Platt

Email Submissions to: raver.sdsmt@gmail.com

and the last vehicles going up the hill will leave at 4:30 p.m.

This event is being sponsored by the Student Alumni Connection (SAC).

For those of you returning in the fall, please register for classes if you have not already done so. When you return in September, the 3n emergency alert system will be in place. Plans for the Surbeck Center renovation and the Paleontology and Chemical/Biological/Chemistry building (CBEC) buildings will be well underway. For the first time, the university will be managing some single student off campus apartments close to campus; if you are interested, please contact the Residence Life Department.

Please call on me if I can be of assistance. My office is located in the Surbeck Center, and I can be reached by phone at 394-2416, or e-mail at Patricia.Mahon@sdsmt.edu. Have a great summer!

Sincerely, Dean Mahon

“APARTMENTS” Con’t from Page 1 For those who have never rented or lived in an apartment, here are some basic definitions of what is included in an apartment. An efficiency apartment has a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room which will also double as your bedroom. A 1bedroom apartment is the same as an efficiency but also includes a separate bedroom. A 2-bedroom apartment is the same as an efficiency but includes two separate bedrooms. A 3-bedroom apartment is the same as an efficiency but includes three separate bedrooms. None of the units are furnished so you will need to bring your own desk, dresser, etc. Residence Life will provide you with a Connolly bed if you need one and if you request one. A stove and a refrigerator are included but a dishwasher is not so be prepared to continue doing your own dishes.

The deposit for these units is the same as a dorm room, $100.00. The apartments will be used to house only School of Mines students and staff.

The apartments can be single or double occupancy with a single occupancy being more expensive. Just like the dorms, highspeed internet, cable, electricity, water/sewage, and garbage are all included in the rent. Living in the apartments also means that you are no longer required to have a meal plan with the school. The rental agreements for these units will be 9-month and 12-month options ranging in price from $2,374 - $5,069.

There will be two RA’s, so to speak, one in the LaCroix complex and the other in the Park Vista complex. These RA’s will be the go to people for all the needs of the residents of the apartments. Anything from complaints to minor maintenance will be handled by them.

Since the apartments are run by the School of Mines, all rules set by the university and the South Dakota Board of Regents will have to be followed.

That means no alcohol, pets, firearms, and everything else the rules prohibit. The punishment for breaking the rules in the apartment complexes will be the same as the punishment

to symbolize that we too are left defenseless in the face of a tragedy like the Virginia Tech shootings of April 16. This protest, started by Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC), is taking place across the country on hundreds of college campuses in an effort to change state laws and school policies across the nation. Under the South Dakota Codified Laws, 23-7-8.1, it states, “The holder of a permit may carry a concealed pistol anywhere in South Dakota except in any licensed on-sale malt beverage or alcoholic beverage establishment…” However, under our school’s weapons policy we are prohibited from “possessing … firearms…” on school premises

or sponsored events off of campus.

In a world of violence, the words of President Teddy Roosevelt come to mind, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Even in today’s fast-paced world, the idea of deterrence still seems to work. In 1911 the Sullivan’s Act was passed in New York, making it the first state in the United States to pass “gun-control” legislation. Today, according to the F.B.I.’s Uniform Crime Reports, New York state is one of the highest violent crime per capita states in the country. New York’s violent crime rate is four times that of South Dakota, according to the 2006 F.B.I. Uniform Crime Report. New York citizens may find themselves

for breaking them in the dorms, so you might want to hang onto your student handbook.

The apartments are for students who are not required to live in the dorms. What this means is that the apartments are basically for upperclassmen.

Juniors and seniors, as well as graduate students, have the option to live in the apartments instead of the dorms. Students who are taking programs from other state colleges held on the School of Mines campus, such as the nursing program, also have the option to live in the apartments. There are no apartments for married students nor are there any “gender neutral” apartments available. So the guys will have to room with other guys and the girls with other girls. There are currently no plans to change this in the future.

Residence Life held an open house in April to view three of the available apartments. Students were given the chance to view the apartments before they make the final decision to live there next semester.

Concealed weapons should be allowed on campus

By Jordan Mason At 7:15 a.m. on April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho opened fire on the student body of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. After illegally obtaining two firearms, he killed 32 law-abiding citizens, of which 19 were legally eligible under Virginia state and federal laws to have a concealed weapon at that time. However, because of school policies prohibiting anyone from having a firearm on campus, those 19 law-abiding citizens found themselves defenseless that day.

Today, other students and I walk the halls of South Dakota School of Mines and Technology with an empty gun holster

like the law-abiding students on Virginia Tech, unarmed and defenseless against an armed criminal who does not care about the laws in place to prevent him or her from having a gun.

Today, as I continue to wear my empty gun holster, I think back to those students from Virginia Tech and wonder how many lives could have been saved that day. I look at my empty gun holster and remember that 32 people’s lives were taken because they were not granted their inalienable right to defend themselves when they needed to the most. So today, in accordance with our school policies, we law-abiding citizens and students walk these halls unarmed and defenseless.

OPINION

May 2008

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ARAMARK’s “green campaign” masks hidden agenda

By Brian Jensen The School of Mines’ contracted food service company, ARAMARK, has been promoting their attempts at “going green”. They have initiated Trayless Tuesdays, hung “green” posters around the dining hall, tried selling green mugs, etc. In my opinion, ARAMARK has made these changes for reasons other than helping the planet. These changes have been made for their company’s benefit and as an excuse to provide inadequate service.

Green has turned into quite a fad lately. Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to the Oscar award winning movie, An Inconvenient Truth. The polar ice caps are melting. We are running out of fossil fuels. The list goes on.

Yes, these issues pose a large threat to humanity and there are green solutions to each issue, but I’m not convinced ARAMARK

is making their contribution for the right reasons.

Trayless Tuesdays has not gone over well on campus. One of the initial emails sent out by ARAMARK said, “By going trayless we are reducing the amount of food waste that is being put in the landfill. . . We will also be saving water by not having to wash trays as well as reducing our energy by not running the dish machine longer than need be.” I partially understand the point of removing the trays. It makes sense that by taking away our means of transporting food from one location to another, food waste will be reduced. However, I think ARAMARK is mistaken. Most students take a normal portion of food, realize it does not taste as good as it looks, and go back for something else. The trays play a minimal role in the food wasting dilemma.

The reality is that students

expect good service for the price paid for mandatory meal plans.

In going trayless, ARAMARK has made the mistake of giving students the opportunity to view their stated intentions as an obvious cover-up for a reduction in service. After complaints of going trayless, ARAMARK stated they will purchase new, larger plates and spend more time washing the tables. This, in turn, will undoubtedly lead to increased costs!

Last month, the Miner’s Shack introduced “green” cups.

They cost $5.99, and with this cup, customers get discounted refills. This is a great idea but I still feel it was only put into effect to generate profit. A simple solution is to offer a small refund if customers use their own mug from home. Many coffee shops offer the same discount already. By doing this, both customers of the Miners Shack and ARAMARK would be sav-

ing money and the environment at the same time.

ARAMARK stated in their newsletter that they intend to reduce, reuse, and recycle. I think ARAMARK’s energy and time could be put to use in a better scheme of reducing, reusing, and recycling. What about the two open, constantly running coolers in the Miner’s Shack?

Couldn’t those be replaced with one large, more efficient closed cooler? What about the pounds of trash generated by the cellophane sandwich wraps, foam pizza plates, paper chicken containers, and packets of condiments? I think ARAMARK should keep the trays and implement hard, reusable dishes instead of all the dispensable items in the Miner’s Shack.

I am not the only person on campus that feels this way. Student Association recently put on a survey for two days outside the dining hall. They asked both

students and professors various questions about ARAMARK’s attempts at going green. Of the four questions asked, over 70 percent of the people surveyed either disagreed or were unhappy with Trayless Tuesdays and ARAMARK’s overall attempts at going green.

In conclusion, I feel ARAMARK has exploited the situation by using a serious issue as part of its marketing scheme.

Many college students are passionate about environmental issues, and ARAMARK has taken advantage of this fact. Unless ARAMARK can prove the credibility of their intentions, their “going green” campaign will simply resonate in the minds of students as an unfair and ill-intentioned marketing scheme. I am happy if ARAMARK truly wants to make a difference, but thus far it seems their efforts have been for inappropriate reasons.

The real question behind the guns-on-campus protest

By Laura “Red” Gierach An e-mail was sent out to the campus on April from student Craig Johnson telling of a peaceful protest. This e-mail stated: “During the week of April 21-25, students at SDSM&T will be joining college students across the nation in peacefully protesting against state laws and campus policies that prohibit concealed handgun license holders from carrying their concealed firearms on college campuses. The participants believe that licensed individuals legally permitted to carry concealed handguns virtually everywhere else in the state of South Dakota, from office buildings to movie theaters, should be allowed the same measure of personal secu-

rity on college campuses.

This will be a peaceful protest. The nature of the protest will be limited to students wearing T-shirts and EMPTY holsters. The significance of the empty holsters is to symbolize that students, faculty, and guests are left defenseless on college campuses; therefore, no protestor will carry anything resembling a firearm in his or her holster. Protestors will not carry signs or banners, and nobody will make any attempt to disturb the peace. Protestors will simply go about their daily routines while wearing holsters, which, in both appearance and function, differ only slightly from cell phone holsters. This protest is not affiliated with any student organization at SDSM&T, rath-

er its participants are acting as individuals who believe strongly in a national cause.”

Now, in theory I think this idea might work but first people would have to NOT bring guns on campus ever and as we have seen in the news this is not the case when an individual has an agenda or score to settle. The people in question disregard the rules and have done some horrible things. These actions have raised a lot of questions about the safety of the students and the faculty of every college and high school. Many plans of action and evacuation have been put in place, staff members are being trained on how to get everyone out alive or how to get authorities to the scene before things can escalate too far so

it is possible to see the change.

However, is it really possible to feel safer just because it says on paper that staff member A will call the police while staff member B ushers everyone out the fire door?

There was a bill that the legislature tried to pass that would allow concealed guns to be carried on campus and it failed.

Now there is a group trying to protest the inability to carry a weapon by going for five days with shirts and empty holsters.

I am NOT against their right to protest and I can see where they are coming from, however, I think in the long run one crazy with a gun is one too many.

In a situation like Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University, the addition of more

people with weapons to that kind of confrontation will only create more loss of life. When all the smoke has cleared, who is to say who started shooting when there are 18 people in the room with guns drawn and uncountable dead. The image this idea creates is almost one of vigilante justice: “He has a gun, so I should have a gun if he ever comes here.” That’s a little too “eye for an eye” if you ask me.

Really the question becomes: “Do you feel safer knowing there are procedures in place to try to keep you safe or that the guy sitting next to you in Intro to Chem could be carrying a gun?”

OPINION

Raver - Page 4

May 2008

Dining Services’ “Trayless Tuesday” debunked E

What’s missing from this picture? Photo by Katie Aurand.

The Red Pen The Midnight Marauder What would be titled as an article about the tray situation has turned into something a little bigger, because, to Dining Services, it is something a little bigger than just trays. I’ve written (angrily) about the trays before, so now it’s time to take a look at what Dining Services has done since late March, and why.

Shortly after the tray debacle first surfaced, a student council meeting was held, at which a Q&A session was held by the head of Dining Services on campus here. A few important things to note from the meeting were: •Dining Services made the decision to eliminate trays next semester as an in-house idea to “go green.” This was NOT, as it previously seemed, a decision made by the corporate headquarter types at ARAMARK. ARAMARK merely asked its operators on campuses to find ways to “go green,” and this is the response from Dining Services here at the School of Mines.

•Dining Services has no means by which to measure the environmental impact of going

trayless, save for whenever they decide to measure how much food we throw out. There is no measure of how much electricity or water they are saving, because that runs off of the meter for the whole Surbeck building.

•To compensate for the loss of the trays, Dining Services planned to purchase new plates, which will have a larger surface area and somehow are supposed to perform the same function as the trays would. The claim is that new plates had to be purchased anyway, since the old ones are getting dull.

•What becomes of the trays?

Will they and the outgoing plates end up in a landfill? That doesn’t sound too “green” to me, but Dining Services claims they have no ownership of the trays or plates, and as school property they will be offered up to other state institutions at a surplus auction. If nobody buys them, you can guess as to where they’ll go…

Since the meeting, at which there was a good deal of dissent about the proposed connection between going trayless and “going green,” a few of these changes have been implemented. Today, the new plates (ironically, green ones) made their debut, and just to prove a

point, the dining hall measured waste food both for the debut of the new plates, and the last day for the old ones. Along with the new big plates come new black square shaped thingies, yellow tiny soup bowls, and red doggie-dish type things to join the blue dessert plates. Excellent, because I needed to see my food on this confetti-colored dishware so that I can visualize the indigestion to come. Amusingly enough, these plates look to be exactly the same size as our old plates, just with a wider rim. I guess if there’s nothing good to eat, at least we can play Frisbee. And not only do we get new plates, but an ad blitz in every dorm and hallway, telling us how “Trayless Tuesday” is an essential part of what is otherwise a well-minded Green Thread program helmed by Aramark headquarters.

Speaking of Trayless Tuesday, we might consider a small victory in the face of this debacle. With the uproar after the complete removal of trays about a month ago, Dining Services conceded us back our trays except for on Tuesdays, saying that they had merely put us through a “test period of our new experience in the fall.” Not only does this sound laughably unconvincing, but it’s a sign that yes, Dining Services might listen to what we have to say…

At least, that’s how it should be.

Unfortunately for ARAMARK, Trayless Tuesdays, the oncoming removal of trays altogether in the fall, and the flawed idea behind the “going green” principle in getting rid of trays in the first place, didn’t stop the complaints. The only place to publicly voice these complaints has been on the comment cards that Dining Services places outside of the Dining Hall, and near the microwave in the Miners Shack. Some of these cards re-

ceive responses, and are posted in a display case with the menus for the week. I highly encourage all of you to go read these cards, as they’re entertaining and enraging all at once. The inquiries and requests made by students range from the apathetic and useless “The food sucks” to well-worded, legitimate questions as to why food is continually undercooked, why we couldn’t get plates made out of ceramic instead of petroleumbased plastic, and what other things the dining hall could be doing to “go green” rather than taking away our services.

However, over the weeks the responses to these comments by Dining Services staff have gotten progressively more condescending, snide, or just downright mean. Complaints about undercooked food or dirty tables are blamed on unmotivated staff. A lack of variety in certain food groups (fruit, for instance), is met with an answer about how it’s hard sometimes to find enough fruit. Attitudelaced comments seem to mostly come from one of the chefs, jokingly threatening to purposely serve students garbage, and telling students to “just live with it” when they complain about food quality. What kind of answers are these?

With such an attitude from the staff, one has to wonder how seriously student complaints are being taken here at the School of Mines. ARAMARK holds a contract for services with schools across the state, and it makes me wonder if behavior would change throughout Dining Services staff if keeping that contract was on the line. The surprising reality is that contract is really the only control that the School of Mines has over ARAMARK. The school has no say over what policies Dining Services chooses to institute.

However if ARAMARK won’t listen, turning our complaints to the administration here at Mines might be a productive option.

Most administrators aren’t aware of the farce that gets put on by ARAMARK in the name of protecting our environment.

If they were, pressure from both the school and the students might be enough to ensure we get the services that we pay for.

It’s an idea.

As a final note, people may read this and see a very bitter person.

Of course it’s easy to mock and criticize. What I will say is that I’m happy to see ARAMARK leading an effort to encourage environmentally friendly practices among students. Blue recycling bins are starting to pop up in Surbeck. Reminding people to turn off their lights and put their computers to sleep (as long as it’s done without being condescending) is never a bad idea. However, the trayless idea was a very bad lead-off to this Green Thread campaign, and it still is as full of holes as it was a month ago. We’re smart enough people to see through lies and propaganda, and so of course we question these things. I’m not arguing for my tray because I’m an ass, I’m arguing for my tray because I paid for it, and I want it. I also want this school to “go green,” so in addition to getting my tray on Tuesday, I want to see Dining Services take their efforts in other directions.

Stressing energy efficiency in lighting, cooking processes, and reducing waste during food prep would be easy ways to help “go green” without cutting back on the service to students. And, as always, making sure that the food is prepared correctly, seasoned well, and at a proper serving temperature would be the best way to ensure happy bellies and less leftovers.

May 2008

OPINION

End-o-World: Three Possibilities

By Matt D. Recently I remembered to add the Mayan Doomsday to my Google Calendar. I have it set to warn me a week in advance in case I should forget that it’s coming.

For anyone else who’s interested, the “last day” on the Mayan calendar is December 21, 2012. You might have seen several broadcasts about it on either the History or Discovery channels. From what I’ve been told, on that very day earth will fall rather close to the gravitational center between the sun and Jupiter where sunspots and solar flares have been theorized to become larger and more frequent. Really, that is the only scientific thing that seems to hold any punch since solar flares can cause power outages.

In addition, there is the interesting coincidence that it will be the same day that our solar system crosses the central plane of the Milky Way. Basically, if the galaxy was a vinyl record, we would be moving through the polymers from the top side to the bottom side.

I also added the next total solar eclipse viewable by the United States (August 21, 2017), which is my next end of world scenario; but seeing as how an eclipse pales in comparison to solar flares and galactic planeshifting, I don’t know what to say about this except that most of the contiguous 48 states will be a tad darker for a few minutes. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to enjoy it if the first one comes true.

Assuming we all don’t die of astronomical phenomena, there is one last chance for a good bucket-kicking on Tuesday, Jan 19, 2038 at 03:14:07 AM. On that day every UNIX computer on the planet is supposed to literally run out of time. Many computers have been counting the number of

seconds since January 1, 1970, and they can only count so high.

This bug is similar to Y2K, even aimed at the same sorts of computers – the kinds that hold bank accounts and run websites like our beloved facebook. This bug, like the millennium bug before it, will most likely fall prey to advances in technology. Unless every computer scientist/ engineer dies of the melanoma they contracted 26 years prior, we won’t have a problem. On a side note, every operating system has this bug in one form or another. Windows just has a different date for destruction.

Philosophy in a Barrel I had heard about the philosopher Diogenes before, but I hadn’t actually run across any of his material until just recently.

Simply fascinating… he lived in a barrel, thought all people were stupid, and had the most fascinating outbursts of eccentricity and general smart-assness. For example, wanting to look busy while everyone was repairing the city walls (they were under siege), he rolled his barrel about the perimeter of the wall until the city was captured. Apparently he and Plato had the sort of relationship that produced some humorous and insightful banter. You’ll have to look him up.

Spam This is the last straw. I’m getting spammed in Russian.

I thought it was bad when the spammers just neglected articles in their emails, now they’re using a language that doesn’t even have any.

The other day my gmail told me that I had 101 spam messages: Spam (101). I felt like I was getting an introduction to spam.

Nilla Wafers In case your Thetan just arrived to our solar system or you haven’t been breathing for the last fourteen years or so, you

may not remember the beautiful analogy made by Forest Gump’s mama between life and a box of chocolates. That’s OK, because finally, after several weeks of trying to relate philosophy to a box of Nilla Wafers, I’ve come up with something similar that you can use to fill that empty spot in your cinema-driven perception of the universe.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, life is like a box of Nilla Wafers.

Cookies are mischievous creatures by nature, especially those of the wafer family. They start off looking rather bland and stationary, and you can never know before opening the box if a certain wafer will prove whole or broken, sweet or stale, rounded or sharp, etc. What’s more uncertain is what to do with those ity-bity fragments that have fallen and scattered from each wafer into the bottom of the package.

In fact, if you ever take a close look at a freshly-opened box of Nilla Wafers, you would find chaos! So many seemingly identical cookies are lying disarrayed with thousands of crumbs lying far from their origins. Each wafer is lost in a complex world, trying to find its originality while searching for little pieces of itself along the way.

At the same time this little disheveled world is, despite its imperfections, sweet, delicious, and incredibly adaptable.

Two wafers can be united with creams and frostings to form a rich, sugar-loaded sandwich, the dry few can be resurrected with a little milk – heck, even the ones that have broken in half are still edible, and therefore have maintained an existence with purpose.

You may never know what kind of Nilla Wafers you’re going to get, but the box is always open to the possibilities.

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Chem computer programs currently flawed

By John Batteen This semester’s General Chemistry 112L students are the first to try out a new series of three computational chemistry labs, using the molecular modeling program ArgusLab to build and predict the properties of various molecules. The Tablet PC program has been hotly debated, and this has the potential to be a prime example of effective use of technology in the classroom. Unfortunately, the program suffers from some serious drawbacks.

First and foremost, the software is buggy. A program that does wonderful things, but only does it sometimes, is not particularly useful. When calculating the electrostatic potential, it will occasionally not begin the calculation and instead return an error message. The program, and sometimes even the entire computer, will freeze when trying to render a surface. Additionally, an error in the program’s configuration file can cause the program to simply not start.

(For reference, this bug can be worked around by deleting the configuration file located at C:\ Program Files\ArgusLab\Settings\arguslabsettings.xml. The program will then generate a new one from the set defaults.)

Even when the program does work, it is at best tedious to use. Nothing in the user interface is where one would expect it to be. The menus and dialog boxes are inconsistent, with certain steps being required some times but not others to com-

plete similar tasks. What should be simple tasks require far too many mouse clicks, menu navigations and keystrokes. For a student experienced in both computers and chemistry, the program can be figured out in an hour or so, but to anyone not seriously dedicated to the hobby already it can be quite difficult to learn. Increasing the difficulty of learning to use the software is the fact that the labs cover concepts not yet covered in the class itself. How is a student supposed to learn to use a program to compute electronegativity when he doesn’t yet understand the concept itself?

These were by far the most the common complaints.

Once a working knowledge of the program is achieved, it is a very capable and useful tool.

It can be used to visualize and explain concepts such as molecular geometry and electronegativity in a brand new way, by rendering a three-dimensional, color-mapped image that is able to be manipulated in real time.

By actually seeing and learning from the image of the molecule, a mental image of what’s going on is much easier to conjure when computing geometries by hand with the VSEPR theory.

Clearly the idea of using such software in a lab is great. Unfortunately, its current implementation has so many problems that it negates any benefit to be had. The Chemistry department needs to take a serious look at these labs, and reevaluate their methodology.

Baja SAE Team to compete in May The Baja SAE CAMP team will be competing May 29-31 at Peoria, Illinois.

“We will be bringing two Baja cars to competition again this year,” said Jason Fields, CAMP Student Leader. “We plan on bringing home first and second. Anything less will be

disappointing.”

Last year, the team hosted the competition here in Rapid City. Their cars took seventh and eleventh place overall. The #7 car was also first in overall Dynamic Events, first in the Hill Climb, and second in Acceleration.

GRADUATION

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Q&A: Advice from a recent School of Mines’ graduate

By Katie Aurand Anthony Johnson, who graduated from the School of Mines last May with a degree in mechanical engineering, took some time to give advice about life after college. A marketing representative for Caterpillar Inc., Johnson said that students can prepare themselves for life after college by studying hard, going to class and having fun.

What are the biggest differences between being a fulltime student and a being fulltime employee?

The biggest difference is the paycheck! It is a nice change getting paid to work, instead of paying to do homework. Another big difference is your schedule; 9:00 a.m. classes don’t seem so early any more when you have to be at work at 7:00 a.m. every day! Having 2 or 3 classes per day with the rest of the day’s schedule at your discretion is nice, compared to spending the entire day at work with a set schedule.

Do you recommend attending graduate school?

I would say yes, whether it is immediately after getting your bachelors or after you’ve been working for a while.

Many companies offer a tuition assistance program that pays for almost all of your graduate degree, as long as you remain a full time employee. On one hand makes it harder (you have to balance your job responsibilities with your coursework), but it makes it a lot easier to pay for!

What activities should students get involved in during

college to prepare themselves for the workplace?

CAMP projects! The experiences and lessons I learned on CAMP teams were great experiences, great resume builders, and helped prepare me for real life situations in the workplace.

How much do grades matter after college?

Grades matter some, but are not really all that important as long as you keep them high enough. Many companies have a minimum GPA that potential employees must meet. If your GPA is below the minimum, that company will not even interview you. However, if you meet the minimum GPA, that is all that matters– whether you just barely meet the GPA or if you have a 4.0. That being said, you should still work hard and get the best grades that you can!

How do you know what job will be best for you?

You have to figure out what kind of job you really want to do. Internships help immensely with this. There are many different types of companies and different types of jobs out there, so check out as many companies as you can at the career fair. Try to interview with as many companies you’re interested in as you can, and if you get an internship offer, take it!

There’s no better way to check out a company and/or a job than by actually working there!

Would you recommend doing an internship and/or coop?

Yes, absolutely. Internships are great experience and are

great resume builders. Internships also help you answer the question of what job will be best for you, because you have the opportunity to test out a company that you might work for after school. The company also has the opportunity to “test you out” as an employee, and having an internship makes getting a full time job offer with that company a lot easier.

I had 3 internships and one co-op (7 month internship) during college, and it definitely affected my choice of a full time job. I had the opportunity to intern as a test/quality engineer, a design engineer, and a production supervisor. Through my internships I found out that I didn’t want any of those positions as a full time job, and I ended up accepting a position as a marketing rep, so yes, I would definitely recommend internships and co-ops!

What do employers look for when hiring students out of college?

Extracurricular activities, leadership roles in student organizations, and applicable work experience (internships and coops).

Another important thing during the interviewing process is to research the company you are interviewing with. Check out their website, find out some basic information about the company, learn what key markets the company is in, and attend the info session presented by the company. (Usually held around career fair time, a day or so before that company holds their interviews.)

May 2008

Spring Fling Week

Water is wonderfully wet: Sophomore Lukasz Dubaj sports an expression of jubilation after getting pummeled with a water balloon during the Water Wars in the Quad. Photo by Patrick Satchell.

She loves Legos: Freshman Katie Aurand shows off a few Lego blocks as she competes in the Lego Building Competition. Photo by Patrick Satchell.

NEWS

May 2008

Is your employer Googling you?

By Mark Northrup You know, following a recent presentation in one of my classes by Dr. Gautam Pillay, School of Mines’ Vice President for Research Affairs, I’ve been thinking…

Given the popularity of social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, especially among college students, those of us who are about to enter the job market need to take into account the practice of employers “googling” potential employees. The earliest news stories about this go back to at least 2002. A quick Google search returned a number of employment websites, some for recent college graduates, which have pages less than six months old on the topic. These sites caution job seekers to use common sense when creating one’s online persona because “big business” may be watching.

Reasons given by employers for googling potential employees seem legitimate. Of course employers want to know if a potential employee is a neoNazi skinhead, an abortion clinic bomber, a potentially violent jihadi, or generally a drunken knave and cad. Web searches of candidates for jobs in academia and government are common as it is an efficient way to verify their curriculum vitae (CV) or qualifications. Unfortunately, some people are not honest about this and when the truth does come out, it can be publicly embarrassing for an employer.

The Bush II administration was profoundly embarrassed on several fronts when, on 8 February 2006, the New York Times broke a story involving one George C. Deutsch. Deutsch, a political appointee to the NASA public affairs office, attempted to restrict press access to climate scientists whose scientifically informed perspectives under-

mined the Administration’s political agenda. Additionally, Mr. Deutsch attempted to pressure web developers to use “weaselwords” when referring to the Big Bang “theory,” possibly for religious reasons, on NASA’s web sites. His claim to have graduated from Texas A&M with a B.A. in Journalism was challenged by a blogger who did some digging and found it to be bogus. Apparently, no one in the Administration bothered to check the man’s CV before appointing him. Holding the toes of charlatans and frauds to the fire is always a good thing; nevertheless, if we wish to maintain a free society, there are lines that must not be crossed.

The United States has laws that prohibit employers from asking questions about marital status, disabilities, race or ethnicity, and religious views, just to name a few. Unfortunately, this is the sort of information that is often part of one’s online persona. So while employers are prohibited by law from asking potential employees for such protected information, there is currently little protection against employers using otherwise protected information, provided they obtained the information by a means other than direct questioning.

I have a blog (http://romanticrationalist.blogspot.com/) and a Facebook profile. While there are no incriminating pictures or similar material on either site, I am an outspoken atheist and my blog posts are frequently very critical of religion and the behavior of some religious believers. Even if my views had no reasonable bearing on my job performance, a potential employer may have a problem with it. A study by researchers at the University of Minnesota, published in April 2006 in the journal American

Sociological Review, revealed the degree to which freethinkers are distrusted. The study showed that the white, protestant-dominated, American electorate would sooner vote for a Catholic, an African-American, a Jew, or a homosexual than for someone lacking a mono-theistic, supernatural belief system.

While it would be nearly impossible to prevent an employer from googling a potential employee, there must be limits on how the information is used. The legal and ethical reason employers are prohibited from asking certain questions is that, as citizens in a free republic, one cannot be penalized for exercising their fundamental liberties, neither by the state, nor by employers hiring from the general pool of citizens. In a legal context, it can be argued that it is not how such information is actually obtained; but that it is used at all. The alternative interpretation would be something like, “it is not permitted to directly ask certain questions, but it is okay to obtain the same information indirectly or surreptitiously.” If this alternative reasoning is accepted, what is the point of any information being protected, if it can be legally obtained by other means?

This issue will probably go to court before too long. Legal protections will have to be put in place to ensure that citizen’s free exercise of protected liberties cannot be held against them when seeking employment, regardless of how an employer finds out about them. Until such protections are in place, in addition to exercising discretion in my online life, I will be providing any potential employers with my blog address and will ask them straight out if they have googled me, and I will inform them that I have googled their names as well.

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Walpurgisnacht rediscovered

By Evan Waddell In the United States, May Day is well known as the holiday of spring awakening. However, in many other parts of the world, an equally popular and powerful holiday exists: Walpurgis Night, or Walpurgisnacht. It takes place on April 30 or May 1, depending on the specific locale, and is ridden with controversy.

The holiday itself is named after Saint Walpurga, an eighth century English abbess and preacher of Christianity in Germany.

The general meaning of this day, though, is less than holy. In one account of this holiday, Walpurgisnacht marked a large flight of witches, perhaps in defiance of the transfer of Walpurga’s remains on May 1.

The darkness of this holiday is reflected further in Goethe’s Faust, in which the power of evil becomes intensified atop the Hartz Mountains: FAUST Spirit of Contradiction! On! I’ll follow straight.

‘Tis planned most wisely, if I judge aright: We climb the Brocken’s top in the Walpurgis-Night, That arbitrarily, here, ourselves we isolate.

MEPHISTOPHELES But see, what motley flames among the heather!

There is a lively club together: In smaller circles one is not alone.

FAUST Better the summit, I must own: There fire and whirling smoke I see.

They seek the Evil One in wild confusion: Many enigmas there might find solution.

The witches’ ritual here is paralleled in other Faustian works; the final effect is that any Christian air that may have been aligned with the Night Walpurgis is stifled and defeated. And so, upon the eve of May Day, think not of the goodness of man, for caution is to be held; evil may be afoot.

Upcoming CAMP Competition Dates This summer, look out for results from the following CAMP team competitions: Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) Competition April 25- 27 at University of Wisconsin-Madison Baja Competition May 29- 31 at Peoria, Illinois Formula SAE Competition June 25th - 28th at Fontana, California Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) July 27- August 1 at Fort Benning, Georgia

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COMICS

May 2008

COMICS

May 2008

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What is your favorite summer/family vacation memory?

By Patrick Satchell

Name: Ciara Breen Age: 20 Class: Sophomore Major: Atmospheric Sciences Hometown: Sioux Falls, SD “Going to Ireland with my family. My dad takes tours to Ireland every other summer so it is really fun to go with people from all walks of life and get to know them during the travels. The last week there we spend time staying with family too. It is just a really great time.

Honestly, there is nothing better than a pint of Guinness on a beach in Ireland.”

Name: Dani Olinger Age: 21 Class: Senior Major: Geology Hometown: Buffalo, MN “My family is big into taking educational trips; we always have to learn something on vacation. On one vacation we traveled to Boston, MA. I remember my dad and brother running up the stairs from the subway singing the theme song to “Rocky.” It was hilarious. The only down side was that it snowed the entire time we were there, except for the last day. Snow seems to follow us wherever we travel.”

Name: Gretchen Berg Age: 21 Class: Junior Major: Atmospheric Sciences Hometown: Emery, SD “When I was in high school, my family went to California to visit my brother. The day we were supposed to fly home, there was a huge snowstorm in South Dakota, so we got “stuck” in Cali for a few extra days. I came back to SD with a tan and had to start shoveling...”

Name: James Kliewer Age: 20 Class: Sophomore Major: Civil Engineering Hometown: Mountain View, OK “Last summer I stayed in Rapid City and worked as the youth minister for Westside Baptist Church. I planned activities and events for teenagers and was a sponsor for youth camp. I pretty much spent the summer hanging out with teenagers and positively impacting their lives.”

Name: Kaycee Carson Age: 22 Class: Senior Major: Math Hometown: Bountiful, UT “My favorite family vacation was my high school graduation trip to Cape Cod and Boston, MA. I loved learning about all the U.S. history that happened in the area.

My favorite part was visiting the USS Constitution, the oldest Navy ship in commission.”

NEWS

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May 2008

Nine Inch Nails: Ghosts I-IV offers unlimited artistic freedom

By John Batteen On March 2, Nine Inch Nails released their latest album, “Ghosts I-IV.” The contract with their recording studio recently ended and they chose not to renew it, giving them unlimited artistic freedom. It began as a project in musical exploration, just to see what different styles and beats they could come up with to see what worked and what didn’t. As lead singer Trent Reznor explains on the band’s official website, “This music arrived unexpectedly as the result of an experiment. The rules were as follows: 10 weeks, no clear agenda, no overthinking, everything driven by impulse. Whatever happens during that time gets released as... something. … What we thought could be a five song EP became much more.”

Although I’ve heard and enjoyed their music before, until

now I was never actually motivated enough to purchase an album from them. “Ghosts,” however, is remarkably different from their previous work.

Volumes I-IV contain two full CDs worth of audio in thirtysix tracks. The tracks are generally short, between two and four minutes, and vary widely.

Some are ambient music that I would play in the background of a friendly get-together, while others are energetic, engaging, and demand your full attention.

Especially in the harder songs, their industrial background shows through, but the softer ambient songs are remarkably different than anything I’ve heard from them before. While some of the songs don’t appeal to me as much as others, there’s such a wide variance that there’s something in there for everyone.

I can’t think of another album that displays this kind of musi-

cal diversity.

Another remarkable thing about the album is the level of fan interaction that they’ve encouraged. It was released not under a restrictive copyright agreement, but under the Creative Commons AttributionNoncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license. This means that fans are free to share and remix the music, so long as it’s for non-commercial purposes, they credit the original author, and release their works under a similar license. For $75, you can purchase the entire album in multi-track format, making remixing a breeze. Additionally, the band is joining forces with YouTube to create the Nine Inch Nails Ghosts Film Festival. As explained by Reznor, “The concept is for you to take whatever tracks you feel inspired by from Ghosts and create what you feel should accompany them visual-

ARAMARK is “going green” from now on

By William Ealy ARAMARK’s recent push to go green by removing trays has been met with criticism from students. Accusations have been made that the real reason that ARAMARK removed the trays was to save money for themselves. The fact of the matter is ARAMARK will see no economic benefit from the reduced energy usage from not washing the trays as they pay a flat rate to the college for utilities as per their contract.

The idea of going green is not a new concept to ARAMARK. Currently they follow such energy saving steps as turning off computers and lights when not in use and replacing older equipment with energy star compliant appliances when available. They are also working to conserve natural resources by recycling glass, paper, cardboard, cans and paper, as well as switching to partially

recycled paper for use in the office.

Other steps have also been taken to reduce their footprint.

For example, to reduce the amount of Styrofoam cups in the trash they purchased plastic mugs made of mostly recycled plastic and using both sides of papers and reducing the amount of paper used outright by placing information online. They also use ecologically friendly chemicals from Ecolab.

ARAMARK has plans to further reduce their impact next semester. First, they plan to go completely trayless. An informal study on the impact of going without trays for a week earlier this semester may soon be available. They would also like to expand the recycling program which is currently hampered by a lack of capacity. ARAMARK has the ability to easily fill two of the blue residential bins every day. They also intend to

buy modern equipment when the Surbeck center is renovated to reduce their energy usage.

They have already invested in some smart equipment such as their dishwasher which only runs when there are dishes to be washed and dries only when there are dishes to be dried.

ARAMARK also intends to be actively involved in the campus Sustainability Committee which is involved in reducing the environmental impact of the campus as a whole and may even give a grant to the committee.

ARAMARK will also be involved in campaigns to promote student awareness of conservation practices and encourage their use. To help make the transition to a greener campus move smoothly the support of the student body is needed.

ARAMARK already recycles approximately 180 pounds of cardboard and 85 pounds of paper a week.

ly. Eventually (within a couple of months?) we will present a virtual “film festival” with me and some special guests presenting selections of your work.”

As many of you may be aware, the record companies are becoming obsolete with the advent of digital distribution. On top of overcharging for music, the record companies refuse to satisfy consumer demand by providing easy-to-use digital music in a format that can be used in any standards-compatible device, instead encrypting the music with DRM and making it unusable except in company-sanctioned hardware and software. In recent months, this battle has been gaining increasing attention. A few record studios have begun experimenting with DRM-free downloads, but it’s not happening quickly, and several studios remain set in their ways.

Nine Inch Nails, on the other hand, are not bound by a recording contract and are free to do as they please. They’ve made a gigantic leap forward in giving their fans what they want, and for only $5 the entire album can be downloaded in DRM-free, 320kbps MP3, FLAC, or lossless AAC. Additionally, they’ve made the first of the four volumes available for download absolutely free on BitTorrent and other peerto-peer distribution networks across the internet. Due to the quality and variety of music, as well as being on the forefront of a movement in digital music distribution, I give both the band and this album a solid two thumbs up. The album is available for download at http:// ghosts.nin.com/, and the 2-CD set is available for purchase in retail outlets across America.

New sustainability committee on campus By: William Ealy There is a new committee on campus dedicated to the reduction of the entire school’s ecological impact. In response to the President Bush’s Climate Commitment, over 500 universities have decided to lead the way for the rest of society by actively seeking and taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint. The newly formed School of Mines’ Sustainability Committee will be looking at ways to move to a more sustainable campus in regard to all of the resource consumption.

The group has several goals for the next year including expanding the recycling program to make it more student friendly, performing a water usage survey, completing a green house gas inventory, incorporating green issues into the curriculum and improving student awareness of issues and what they can do.

The Sustainability Committee is also working to ensure that all future appliances purchased by the campus are energy star compliant and that the dorms and other campus buildings are renovated to reduce their energy and water consumption. In accordance with South Dakota state law, they are also working to ensure that all new campus buildings are LEED certified.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design building rating system is a system that measures how “green” a building is based on a checklist.

The Sustainability Committee would like to all new construction rated silver or better. The new paleontology building will be silver certified.

Any students interested in more information on the Sustainability Committee should check out the website at http:// www.hpcnet.org/sustainability.

May 2008

NEWS

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HAM Radio Club newest CAMP team Proffessors, Staff, Community members honored at convocation University & Public Relations Professors, staff, and community members who have made important contributions were recognized at the 57th Honors Convocation.

Stacy Phelps, chair of the math and science department at Oglala Lakota College, was awarded the Mines Award for Outstanding Public Service.

This annual award recognizes a deserving individual for their outstanding contributions to public service. Phelps is a 1996 graduate of the School of Mines.

Dr. Scott Kenner, professor, civil and environmental engineering, was awarded the Benard A. Ennenga Faculty Award.

The Benard A. Ennenga Faculty Award was established by Mr. Ennenga to recognize excellence in teaching at the School

of Mines and Technology. The recipient is to be a faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in teaching and/or motivating students.

Ellen Haffner, civil and environmental engineering secretary, was awarded the L. Richard Kitchen Memorial Award.

The award was established to recognize a non-faculty staff member who is distinguished by demonstrated excellence in their work and by encouraging students to complete their education at the School of Mines.

Vi Stoltz, senior secretary, academic affairs, was awarded the Virginia Simpson Award.

The Virginia Simpson Award was established by Simpson to help support and encourage new or continued involvement by the School of Mines faculty or

staff with the Rapid City community.

Dr. Dan Dolan, professor, mechanical engineering, was awarded the Jim and Connie Green CAMP Faculty Award.

The Jim and Connie Green CAMP Faculty Award provides support to a School of Mines faculty advisor of any major student project that is competing at a national level and that involves mechanical engineering students.

Dr. Wayne Krause, professor, mechanical engineering, was awarded the President Award for Outstanding Professor. The Presidential Award is based on exemplary performance as an assistant, associate, or full professor at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.

Students recognized with Giant Vision Awards University & Public Relations Radio receptors: HAM Radio Club members operate in the ColMore than half of the winlegiate Championship. Left to right: Logan Loeb, Chris Bliss,, Ryan ners at the 4th Annual GoverKroetch, Peter Wimmer, and Alex Brech. nor’s Giant Vision Business Plan awards competition held with 1161 contacts, so we have

By Alex Brech recently have ties to the School The School of Mines’ Ama- room to improve. of Mines.

We also participated in a teur Radio Club (FCC call sign During the competition, is KØVVY) had a competition digital mode competition on businesses and student teams on November 17-18, 2007. We April 12. The Collegiate Cham- from across South Dakota were placed 13th and beat Harvard pionship used voice to make selected to compete with a forand MIT. The basis of the com- contacts, but this digital mode mal business, formal business petition is to make as many con- competition used typing on a presentation, poster session and tacts as possible within the time computer (like MSN Messen- 90-second elevator speech. The of the event. This event was 30 ger) and transmitted that over competition awarded cash prizhours long but the rules stated the radio waves. In that one, es to five business entries and that any station could only oper- we made 61 contacts. It was a 6 three student teams. ate for a maximum of 24 hours; hour contest and we don’t have Two teams each earned secbreaks had to be at least 30 min- results back yet. We participated ond place awards and $2,500 utes long. (For more about the in both competitions from our cash prizes in the Student Divicompetition, see http://www. ham shack on campus in the EE sion: DJ Kjar (m.s. technology Building, next to the Robotics collegiatechampionship.org/ ) management, Custer) and Jason This was our first competi- Lab. Howe (m.s. electrical engineerWe are getting a new radio tion for a long time; first for the ing 07, The Woodlands, Texas) club and first for the club mem- this year, so maybe next year we for Valde Robotics, which spebers. We all had fun and we will win. We have about 8 mem- cializes in designing and manumade 199 contacts with places bers. We are the newest full facturing urban environment including California, Puerto CAMP team; we were a support unmanned aerial vehicles; and Rico, the Virgin Islands, and team until last semester. Our Chris Flack (mechanical engiCanada. Hesston College got meetings are in the ham shack neering, Rapid City) and Jordan first place and made 1141 con- on Wednesdays at 5:00 p.m.

Johnson (mechanical engineertacts and Stanford was second

ing, Rapid City) for Krystal Klear Kart Bodies, with an innovative design for clear go-kart bodies.

Placing second in the Business Competition was Jody Sperlich of Dakota Fire Systems, Inc. with its design and manufacture fire suppression and protection gel delivery systems which received a $10,000 prize. Mechanical engineering students Treavor Hendrickson (mechanical engineering, Rapid City) and Jeff Schnabel (mechanical engineering, Emery) supported this project through a senior design project.

Also of note is the third place finish in the Business Division by Jordan Krell and Krell Safety Products (KSP) for Smart Swim, a patent-pending drowning alert system. Krell is a senior at Plankinton High School and will join the fall 2008 freshman class at the School of Mines.

Dr. Stuart Kellogg, chair and professor, industrial engineering, and Butch Skillman, assistant professor, mechanical

engineering and Director of the Office of Technology Transfer, served as advisors on these projects.

“This level of involvement in Business Innovation by both the students and the faculty of the School of Mines shows very real progress towards establishing a culture of entrepreneurship on our campus,” Skillman said. “It should be noted that Brad Wheeler, a 1974 mechanical engineering graduate of the School of Mines, is the overall chairman of this program and has been its champion from the beginning in 2004 through the South Dakota State Chamber of Commerce.”

The Governor’s Giant Vision Business Awards and Governor’s Giant Vision Student Awards were established to help citizens realize that South Dakota is the very best place to start a successful business. The program was designed as an opportunity for entrepreneurs to compete for seed money and a chance to achieve their dream.

SPORTS

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May 2008

Intramural competition results Cold reception in Colorado doesn’t keep ‘Rockers down

First place flag football: The Blackshirts team of Karl Anderson, Trevor Bennett, Travis Ducheneaux, John Heine, Dustin Jordan, John Metzger, Jason Simmons, Jesse Taylor, Mark Wagner, Clint Weiss, Derek Nordby, Jake Donnelly and Tyler Flattum.

Compiled by Jennifer Ranum Fall Champions: FLAG FOOTBALL: Power – Trailer Trash – Matt Anderson, Anthony Atkins, Marcus Bartlet, Dylan Ekstrom, Ross Hardy, Ray Hespen, Galen Hoogestraat, Dustin Kittleson, Brent Kovash, John Neuberger, John Nielson, Tyler Novotny, Blake Tideman Rec league – Blackshirts – Karl Anderson, Trevor Bennett, Travis Ducheneaux, John Heine, Dustin Jordan, John Metzger, Jason Simmons, Jesse Taylor, Mark Wagner, Clint Weiss, Derek Nordby, Jake Donnelly, Tyler Flattum Women’s - Domination Station – Whitney Ashford, Stephany Bjustrom, Cayla DeGeorge, Amber DeWeerd, Kayla Goshorn, Bethany Holyoak, Madi Hotovec, Jerika Ihnen, Nicole Martin, Loryn Sheutzle, Leah Sundby, Jessica Tsingine, Teneil Tyno, Melanie Vedvei, Chelsea Wattier……….

KICKBALL - Off In The Dark – Tony Adams, Scott Anderson, Valeri Eisenbraun, Renae Keppen, Justin Schmidt, Brandon Smith, Josh Stebbing, TJ Winowiecki…………

3 ON 3 BASKETBALL – Men’s – Deuce Droppers - Galen Hoogestraat, Brent Kovash,

Jason Lambert, Trevor Smith, Blake Tideman Women’s – ADPi Spring Champions: INDOOR SOCCER – Diablo United FC – Whitney Ashford, Tanner Friesen, Jerika Ihnen, Dana Mellage, Loryn Schuetzle, Andy Smith, Tylor Svitak 5 ON 5 BASKETBALL – Men’s Power – Romance Explosion – Travis Duchenaux, Derek Schumacher, Tim Luchini, Brandon Fredrickson, Tyler B., Jared Johnson, Tom Lunzman, Dana Mellage, Logan Wiley, John Metzger Men’s Rec – No Sympathy – Justin Collins, Matthew Johnson, Garrett Monson, Tom Boyle, Jeremiah Raveling, Scott Fredrich, Jesse Morris Women’s – VB Girls – Amanda Cammak, Steph Carpio, Paige Corcoran, Valerie Eisenbraun, Karina Garber, Katherine Hanson, Ashley Kauffman, Jen Markoff, Amanda Skroch, Mandy Veldkamp WATER POLO – Freshwater Sharks – Alena Ori, Val Eisenbraun, Amanda Cammack, Jennie Malone, Marcus Bartlett, Chris Googlez, Mike Fontaine, Stephen Perez, Jake Cornella, Brandy L., Matt Schulte

By Brad Blume Sports Information Director After a warm and sunny reception in Colorado a week ago, the School of Mines’ men’s and women’s track teams made a return trip to Fort Collins Saturday for the Jack Christenson Invitational hosted by Colorado State.

Mother Nature wasn’t in a very good mood this time around as the Hardrockers had to brave the elements of snow, wind and sun at various times throughout the day.

“We competed much better this week even though the weather was windy and there were snow showers in the morning,” said Hardrocker head track coach Jerry Schafer. “[The Hardrockers] didn’t let the weather get to them. We got in there and got after it.”

The ‘Rockers were again up against some fairly talented and fierce competition, but they still

managed some impressive performances, including one event winner as well as placing in several other events.

Senior Chandler Caldwell (Thorton, Colo.) earned the title in the pole vault event, clearing a height of 15-feet-7-inches.

Caldwell has already automatically qualified for the NAIA National Outdoor Meet in St. Louis, MO., at the end of this season.

Joining Caldwell will be fellow senior Tyler Flattum (Bristol, SD) in the 110-meter high hurdles. Flattum also automatically qualified for the NAIA meet earlier this season. During Saturday’s meet, Flattum raced to a fourth-place finish, clocking a time of 14.84 seconds in the 110’s.

On the women’s side, freshman Brittany Hovdenes (Rapid City, SD) put forth a good showing in the 3,000 steeplechase

taking fifth place and posting a time of 13:01.89.

Also in the women’s division, both freshmen Kim Kerce (Colorado Springs, CO) and Molly Vukelich (Rapid City, SD) improved on their personal best marks in the 5,000 run.

Kerce took eighth during Saturday’s meet with a 22:58.73 and Vukelich was a spot back in ninth with a time of 23:37.23.

Hardrocker sophomore Katrina Donovan (Martin, SD) also did well in the javelin. She secured fourth place Saturday after a toss of 85-5.5.

“Our times might not have improved [from last weekend], but our efforts did,” Schafer said. “Everyone was pretty much solid [at the meet].”

Next up is the Dakota Athletic Conference Meet, which will take place Friday, May 2, in Jamestown, ND.

SDM thinclads split forces; compete in Kansas and Colorado

By Brad Blume Sports Information Director The School of Mines’ outdoor track team split up Friday an Saturday, April 18 and 19, to compete at two different events.

A small squad of two traveled to Kansas to participate in the very high powered Kansas Relays while the rest of the Hardrocker thinclads made the trek to Fort Collins, CO, for the Colorado State University Ram Open.

NAIA national qualifiers Chandler Caldwell and Tyler Flattum had the opportunity to compete at the Kansas Relays.

Flattum ended up finishing eleventh in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.87 seconds and Caldwell was a Top 20 placer in the pole vault clearing a height of 15-feet-1-inch.

“Tyler performed very well.

He won his heat but only the top eight times advance to the finals. He fell a little short,” said Hardrocker head track coach

Jerry Schafer.

Chandler competed in the Friday competition of the college pole vault. It was equally as tough as the (Reno Summit) with the same quality vaulters.

The Reno Summit was where Caldwell set a new school indoor record in an extremely competitive field of vaulters.

As for the rest of the Hardrockers, there were a number of personal and seasonal improvements at the Ram Open.

Sophomore John Heine had a personal best in the 100meter dash, clocking a time of 11.22 for seventh place. ‘Rocker freshman Chris Hannan also had a personal best mark in the 200 dash with a mark of 23.45 for twentieth place.

“Heine and Hannan were probably the highlight performances of the meet for us,” Schafer said. “The 200 marked the second time Chris has run that race this year. They both ran tremendously and I was pleased

with them. We also had some others who showed improvement.”

Hardrocker sophomore Dustin Jordan improved his personal best mark in the 400, posting a time of 52.17 for sixteenth position. Mines senior Colin Royer also competed in the 400, earning ninth in a time of 50.81 for a season best finish.

Freshman Corbin Haller kept a fast pace in the 800 run and ended in a time of 2:00.78, earning eighth place for his fastest mark of the season. Everett Brill had a personal best distance in the hammer throw at 117-8 and placed in the top 30.

The Hardrockers also got a look at freshman Michael Ross who just joined the track team.

Ross performed in the long jump and the triple jump. In the long jump Ross leaped an eighthplace finish with a distance of 19-2 and then had a length of 41-7 in the triple jump for tenth place.

NEWS

May 2008

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Student Senate News Seniors showcase projects at annual design fair

Of the people, by the people, for the people: The new Student Association Senators. From left to right: (back) Hakon Skillinghaug, Lukasz Dubaj, Marcus Bartlett, Matt Schulte, Derek Nordby, Evan Waddell, Chris Weyer (front) Patrick Satchell, Erica Kjar, Angela Glanzer, Katie Aurand, Melanie Satchell, Marius Pettersen.

Student Association Election Results University & Public Relations South Dakota School of Mines and Technology students recently elected the president and vice president of the Student Association, the university’s student government. The elected students were sworn into office in the middle of April.

Marcus Bartlett of Firesteel, South Dakota, was elected president. Bartlett is an industrial engineering major, and has previously held the position of vice president of the Student Association. He has also been involved in the Campus Planning Committee, Commencement Committee, Campus Budget Committee, Key Less Task Force Committee, Honor’s Day Committee and the Surbeck Renovation Committee.

Lukasz Dubaj of Warsaw, Poland, was elected vice president. Dubaj is an interdisciplinary sciences major specializing in science, technology and society, and has held a number of positions in the Student Association, including freshman senator, public relations committee, sophomore senator, public relations committee chair.

He has also served as peer advisor, summer orientation leader, participated in the Desire2Learn implementation, advertising committee, retention committee, Surbeck renovation committee and intramural sports In addition, School of Mines students recently elected class representatives to the Student Association.

Seniors: Brandon Lampe, geolgical engineering, Salem; Melanie Satchell (class president), interdisciplinary sciences, Pleasant Dale, Nebraska; Matthew Schulte, mechanical engineering, Geddes; Evan Waddell, chemical engineering, Indianola, Iowa Juniors: Katie Aurand (class president), environmental engineering, Rapid City; Sean Hayes, mechanical engineering, Eagle, Idaho; Patrick Satchell, industrial engineering, Milford, Nebraska; Christopher Weyer, computer science and electrical engineering, Sturgis Sophomores: Erica Kjar, engineering, Akron, Iowa; and Derek Nordby (class president), metallurgical engineering, Stanton, Nebraska.

By Katie Aurand An automated cookie decorator, a robotic window washer and a fire protection system were just a few of the student projects on display in the Surbeck Center during the senior design fair yesterday at the School of Mines. Over 300 seniors from almost all of the engineering and science disciplines worked in teams to solve real-life problems to fulfill senior design credits.

“It’s more hands-on than just sitting in a classroom,” said Chris Flack, mechanical engineering senior. “There’s a lot that goes into these projects that you don’t see- a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff- whether it’s meeting deadlines or using something that doesn’t work and having to try it again.”

Flack, along with senior mechanical engineer Jordan Johnson, did a project entitled “Krystal Klear Kart Bodies,” which uses a vacuum-formed co-polyester plastic as the body for go-carts. They received third place in the 2008 Governor’s Giant Vision Student Competition earlier this month in Sioux Falls and they hope to pursue this as a business venture after graduation.

Many other students hope to market their designs to the public. Many inventions and businesses have come from the projects according to Butch Skillman, the senior design fair coordinator. Also, many of the projects have won local, national and even international awards.

Other leading engineering universities have courses similar to the School of Mines’ senior design, but according to Stillman the School of Mines is unique because they solve reallife problems.

“I think that we are a real leader in the nature of the projects that we do,” said Stillman.

“Many of our projects are real industrial projects; most of the

stuff hasn’t been figured out before. There are no canned projects.”

According to Dr. Dan Dolan, one of the directors for the school’s Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Production (CAMP), the students improve their communication skills, project management skills and leadership skills while learning how to work as a team through senior design.

“They realize the incredible value of things like respect and trust within the team,” said Dolan. “Students also learn how to develop their personal feelings for other people on the team, valuing them for who they are as a person and not just what they can do for the team.”

“We get teamwork a lot from school, but we don’t always get to see the project form beginning to end,” said Mike Billars, senior electrical engineer. His team, composed of senior electrical engineers Firas Khoury and Ryan McGonegle, designed a wireless fire detection grid that is currently patent-pending.

“No such design exists in industry thus far, so this could be something that the government could use in high-risk fire areas,” said Khoury. “We feel that there is a problem and this is a very good possible solution for it. We just need to meet the right people to get it implemented.”

The senior design fair also gave the students the opportunity to connect with community members who could potentially invest in their design.

“This is a chance for the students to passionately show their work and to be questioned by the general public and [the public] has been asking hard questions,” said Dolan. “The students are put under that pressure and that’s a good thing.

This is positive recognition for what students on this campus do.”

Through the senior design process, students learn not just from textbooks, but from the other members of the team.

“I’m more tailored towards mechanical engineering in the classroom, so the biggest thing I’ve gained is learning more from people with other disciplines, which also ties into teamwork,” said Joe Farke, a senior mechanical engineer who did his project in conjunction with the school’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle team.

“It’s a real-world project,” said Farke. “Everything you learn along the way might not specifically help you in your career, but the real-life experience you gain cannot be taught in a textbook.”

Aeroheads compete

“AEROHEADS” Con’t from Page 1 Vickery, the Aeroheads President. Many different fields were represented, ranging from Metallurgical Engineering to Electrical Engineering to Mechanical Engineering. And, because of understanding differences, everyone had an accepted place on the team.

The plane represents the students participating in the Aero Design Team here on campus. For example, despite the design’s well researched expectation of being limited by its structure, the plane fought for excellence and superior performance. The Aeroheads themselves, with great aid from their old team members and outside resources, including their exceptional advisor Dr. Dan Dolan, learned not only how to compete with a payload RC airplane, but also learned the values of respect, affection, skill, understanding, responsibility, well being, teaming, and selflessness.

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Catastrophic Ceasar cuts conquer campus

NEWS

May 2008

Robotics team place in top ten; receive new circuit board mill

Electric deals: IEEE’s Bob Galbraith and the Robotics Team’s Jonathan Huft pose by the new circuit board mill.

By Katie Aurand “We’ve made tons of progThe Robotics CAMP team ress and things are a lot more recently trekked to Kansas City, professional than they used to Missouri, in April to compete be,” said Jonathan Huft, Presitheir three autonomous robots. dent of the Robotics team.

They returned with third, fourth “We’re making a lot of neat Faux-Hawks overthrow Ceasar: Sophomore Tyler Blumenthal and ninth place, which is ex- stuff.” sports his Faux-Hawk, which is a magnet that girls cannot help pected as the team has always The Robotics team divides but be attracted to. Photo by Scotty Nelson. finished in the top ten since into three separate project teams composed of five to six students, chick ratio, yet there is hope. 1999.

By Scott Nelson Bad hair styles have prob- Metallurgical engineering heartably been flowing out of the throb Tyler Blumenthal copes Steel Bridge Team finishes third at regionals School of Mines’ bosom ever with these hard times by styling since it was erected. It looks his hair into a Faux-Hawk. A like big brother has picked out Faux-Hawk is a tantalizing new all the marshmallows from the hair style in which the hairee lucky charms again, for yester- simply combs his hair into a day’s mullet has been transmog- fake Mohawk.

In a recent interview, Blurified into today’s collegiate menthal explains that now that Caesar cut. If you do not know he fl aunts his Faux-Hawk, the what I am talking about, just ladies are all-upons.

However, look around…or in the mirror. a great Faux-Hawk is not withTech is littered with the Caeout its hardships.

Blumenthal sar cut, a hair style popularized

by Julius Caesar circa 44 B.C. explains that a good chunk of This hair style is characterized the ladies that are attracted to by a short horizontally straight him just because he has a Fauxcut fringe layered 1 to 2 inches Hawk already have boyfriends. all over. The Caesar cut has had With great Faux-Hawks comes its better moments periodically great responsibility. The results throughout the two millennia, are in: If you Faux-Hawk your but at School of Mines this hair you will have lots of girlunfortunate hair style is being friends, some of them will probrenaissanced at an alarming de- ably also be astronauts. And ladies, please make Tyler’s life gree.

This heightened degree of a little bit easier by forming a Engineer that: Team members assemble Prospector during the competition. They received first in lightness and first in strucCaesar cuts trickles down to single file line. tural efficiency.

Tech’s embarrassing dude to

resulting in three unique robots.

“Most schools only bring one team,” said Huft. “There are also a lot of Texas teams. They have much larger budgets than we do. A lot of their robots can cost over $1000; ours are about $500 cost to make.”

Composed of computer engineers, electrical engineers and mechanical engineers, Huft says that anyone can join the team, especially freshmen.

“There’s a lot of mechanical design that goes into it, which is why we like mechanical engineers,” said Huft. He said they used solid works to design the bodies of the robots and most of the parts are made on campus.

The Robotics team is also partnering up with IEEE in the near future. Bob Galbraith from IEEE donated $1,500 for their new circuit board mill; CAMP also donated $12,000 for the mill.

“We’re trying to build up a partnership again with IEEE,” said Huft. “They’ve given us a lot of support.”

UAV prepares for summer competition

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) CAMP team will be competing later this summer in Fort Benning, Georgia. Three out of the past four years, the team has placed in the top three places. They are expecting to do just as well this year.

“We plan to do very well at this year’s competition,” said UAV’s public relations director John Heiberger. “We are in the running for the top spots with Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.”

Last year, the team placed second, completing Stage 2 of the competition. They also had the best technical paper with a score of 100 percent. It was the first perfect score awarded in the 17 year history of the competition.

NEWS

May 2008

ΔΣΦ

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Drama Club performs Hamlet II by Sam Bobrick after months of rehearsals

Delta Sigma Phi ΔΣΦ would like to wish everyone a great summer as the school year comes to an end!

We would like to congratulate our graduating seniors for their commitment to the fraternity and their completion of their bachelor’s degree at the School of Mines. These seniors include Travis Walker, Karl Barfuss, Mike Mule and Hank Tanner. Travis Walker is further pursuing his education at Stanford University for the next four or five years with a full ride to complete his doctoral degree.

Karl Barfuss is looking for donations to continue his education career after graduation.

Mike Mule will begin his full time career in the Army. Hank Tanner is going to work for Tate & Lyle with his wife Kayla and his son Hunter. We would also like to congratulate all other graduating seniors at the School of Mines.

Delta Sig has achieved goals that were set at the beginning of the year. One goal that was achieved was winning the blood drive challenge with a total count of 108. This year’s 29th annual Cowboy Party at the Rapid City Fairgrounds was a huge success, with over 700 guests. Thanks to all of those who showed up, as we were able to donate $500 of our proceeds to the Club for Boys.

Delta Sig is hosting softball Sundays for people who enjoy sports during the weekends. Everyone meets at the Sig house between noon and 1:00 p.m.

As for next year, the annual Cowboy Party will be on April 4 at the Fairgrounds with the band 32 Below. Also on the Labor Day weekend Sig will be hosting a First Adventure weekend.

Have a great summer everyone!

The play’s the thing/ Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king: The cast and crew pose for a group shot. From left to right (far back) Jason Neitzert, Tony Amundson (middle) Justine Miller, Garrett Schmitz, Justine Soli, Ben Swan, Andrew Polyak (front) Blake Wright, Leslee Moore, Mariah Tooley, Ryan Tucker, Christine French, Steve Malsam, Noel Palmer, Amanda Odden (very front) Pamela Spann.

School of Mines Celebrates Earth Day 2008

By Angela Glanzer The School of Mines joined a global initiative to celebrate and raise awareness of environmental issues by participating in a wide range of activities within the community in celebration of Earth Week.

This years celebration started on April 22nd, the U.S. observed Earth Day, with a visit from “Forever Wild” Walkin’ Jim Stoltz at the Journey Museum. This event was open and free to the public. The festivities continued on Saturday, April 26th as School of Mines played host to a variety of local orga-

nizations and guest speakers.

The campus community and public were invited to assist in a litter pick-up near the campus and then spend the day visiting booths and enjoying fellowship.

Student Association took part in this wondrous event by hosting a kid friendly booth. Children of all ages were invited to stop by and plant a sunflower to take home with them. As Earth Week comes to an end, the SDSM&T campus is proud to have taken such an active role in the celebration of the ongoing commitment to the environment.

Executive Director of Board of Regents visits campus

By Melanie Satchell Dr. Tad Perry is the executive director of the South Dakota Board of Regents. He makes an annual visit to each institution in the state that is under the direction of the BOR. During his visit this April he met with Student Association members and discussed the past legislative session, fee increases and the year to come.

The upcoming year will prove to be an exciting and challenging one. The Regents will undoubtedly face the proposed “gun bill” with the coming legislative session. The Open & Clean Government Act will be considered on the November ballot.

The Board of Regents is in step with the DUSEL project by placing concentration on funding graduate students and research and development. They are working to provide funding to some programs for graduate students to attend at no cost, or

limited cost.

The board will struggle through the mobile computing initiatives this next year. The other universities in the state are not as up to date as our campus. DSU is comparable but campuses like SDSU and USD do not have wireless internet across campus and obviously DSU is the only other university that has a tablet program.

Dr. Perry has assured us that if money is put toward mobile computing that Mines will not be over looked but will indeed receive a portion of the funding to make improvements.

Dr. Perry said that the board will continued to lobby for additional state funding for Maintenance & Repair, Salary competitiveness and move efficient long range planning for campuses. Specifically to the Mines campus he is urging the administration to form and follow a long range plan for Residence Life.

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NEWS

May 2008