Engineer's
Week
Issue
Engineer's
Week
Issue
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Vol. 49 No. 134 LINCOLN 8,"NEBRASKA Wednesday, April 27, 1949
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ihK. KNtiiNEER'S WEEK Open
entirely by students, with the advice and help from time to time
of thefaculty. The 1949 event, 37th in the history of the Uni
versity, will begin Thursday afternoon. The public is urged to
attend. Student heads of Engineer's Week shown conferring with
Dean Roy M. Green (seated, center) are Bob Bottum and Meno
Wilhelms, and Neil Shields, secretary-treasurer.
Patron Saint Tradition
Claimed by Engineers
BY SLIP STICK.
The other day while I was
standing in the halls of lower
learning waitfng for my sosh class
I was accosted by a red-faced
freshman, apparently bent on
speaking to someone. He must
have sensed that I was an engi
neer, because he came straight
toward me.
"Hey, you , with your brains
hanging from your belt,' 'sej he,
-I want to talk to you."
What was I to do? I couldn't
run. The mob had started down
the steps and he had me backed
in a corner.
"Say bud," sez he, "what's the
deal on this Engineers' Week? All
day long I've heard nothing but
that confounded PA system blar
ing confounded music, and some
confounded inker talking about an
Engineers' ' "
I FELT . . i the fellow.
Obviously the boy hadn't been
taken aside when he was in his
earlier teens and had the facts
explained to him. "Really it's pa
thetic what some of these men in
sosh college don't know. I saw
then and there that it was up to
me to help the boy out
"It's this way," I said. "It all
started back when Ireland was a
small country. In those days there
was a fellow known as Pat. (His
intimate friends called him Saint
Patrick). Well, now, Pat had a
firm that dealt with the extermi
nation of rodents ....
"Yes." sez my friend, "but
what's this got to do with Engi
E Week
Of
.Engineer in
In addition to its value as a
popular attraction to the college
and as a social outlet for the stu
dent body, E. Week involves a
fine display of initiative and
drive .even in the preparation of
the smallest exhibit.
The project is approved by the
faculty as a valuable auxiliary to
the educational program of younrj
engineers. However it is impor
tant to note that the entire under
taking is planned and carried
through to completion by 6tudent
action.
AN UNDERSTANDING of the
predominance of student initia
tive can be gained from a study
of the succession of authority be
hind the Engineer's Week com
mittee. Each year the co-chairmen
are chosen from candidates
-A
W3
House is planned and constructed
neer's Week?"
"IT'S THIS WAY," I said, "St.
Patrick is the patron saint of the
engineers. You probably wonder
why the engineers happened to
choose St. Pat as their "patron
saint. The truth is that St. Pat
chose the engineers."
"You see, it all took place back
in A. D. 443. About that time the
'little bit of heaven' was having
rodent trouble. St. Pat was called
to Erin to do the job of dealing
with SNAKES. This was long be
fore the Bell system, and the tele
phone connections were pretty
bad. Instead of hearing 'snakes,'
he heard STAKES; and thinking
he had a valid contract, he
promptly enlisted all the engineers
he could muster to aid him with
the survey."
"WHEN HE ARRIVED on the
site, he was immediately corrected
and told to drive all the snakes
into the sea. Here he was, strand
ed, alone with nothing but a con
tract and a sizeable corps of en
gineers. "Fortunately he had chosen
well, for his loyal engineers drew
their slide rules and clubbed those
overgrown fish worms into the
sea. The matter was settled, con
tract or not contract. St. Patrick
promptly knighted all these brave
fellows, and then in turn declared
him their patron saint.
"So you see, my friend, whether
some colleges observe this day on
St. Patrick's day or, like we do,
just a little before Ivy Day, it's
Provides
elected from the six departmental
student societies. Final selection
is made by the Engineers' Execu
tive committee, composed of the
executive officers of the student
societies sponsoring the event, un
der the supervision of Dean Roy
M. Green and the faculty adviser,
J. S. Blackman.
The real backbone of the week
is found in the active young en
gineers banded together in the
ASAE, AIChE, ' ASCE, AIEE,
ASME and Architectural Society.
(To the unenlightened, the alpha
bet organizations are those of the
agricultural, chemical, civil, elec
trical and mechanical engineers.)
By enlisting the support of non
members, these groups bring the
full weight of the college into the
outstanding production that is En
u
Baseball, Talks
Wind Up Week
Whereas open house is all for
the public the Friday field day is
all for the student engineer.
This is day of inter-departmental
competition, general
mingling and an all-around good
time. Through games of baseball
and faculty-student bull sessions,
the engineers become better ac
quainted. Following the morning convoca
tion, students adjourn to Pioneer
Park. Baseball, a sack race and
other contests of energy and in
genuity are the order of the day.
Points earned by the winners in
each event count on the special
award presented at the evening
banquet.
EngineersPlan
Dinner-Dance
FridayEvening
The Engineer's Week dinner
dance tradition has been revived
this year and a capacity crowd
will attend the arrair unaay eve
nine in the Union ballroom.
William Raines will act as toast
master at the banquet, at which
scholarships and honors will be
announced. Dean Roy M. Green
will present the O. J. Fee award;
Kent Tiller, the Sigma Tau schol
arship Key; and Temple Neumann,
the Blueprint Key award. ,.
Announcement of departmental
awards will precede the presen
tation of the winner of the En
gineer's Week contest by Bob
Bottum and the Field Day prize
bv Meno Wilhelms.
Dancing to the music of Johnny
Cox's orchestra will begin at 9
p.m. after a half-hour organ re
citai and get-acquainted period.
Displays Include
New Axial Motor
Among the displays will be the
new axial airgap motor, made by
the Fairbanks-Morse company
This motor is the latest develop
ment in the electric power field
Features of the motor are com-
Dactness in size, lighter weight,
increased flywheel effect and an
unlimited aDDlication field. In
stead of having the rotating part
enclosed by the coils, this motor
is built with the rotating unit on
top of them. From this consiruc
tion comes the name axial airgap
The motor has been used on
lawn motors, floor waxers. close
motor mounts on gear cutters
machines and other
equipment where a thin but pow
erful motor is needed.
all the same. The cause is a united
drive. And besides, we've got to
have some excuse for having a
rip-roaring picnic on school time!
Display
Education
gineer's Week.
TEN DEPARTMENTS are rep
resented this year. In addition to
the six branches of engineering
and the departments of engineer
ing mechanics and geology, the
Army and Navy ROTC units will
participate with their engineering
personnel and equipment.
For Open House, each depart
ment places on display all of its
engineering and instructional
equipment, material loaned by
various engineering firms and the
results of individual and eollec
tive endeavors in the engineering
line. Exhibits are judged by
faculty committee on the basis of
amount of student work and
preparation, value from an engi
neering standpoint and interest to
the general public
Open House
Tomorrow s
Today's Dream Tomorrow's Reality.
The motto of Engineer's
to describe the week itself, although today plans for the
annual event are far past the dream stage. A variety of
activities is keeping the engineers busy, as they arrange
Ford Tester
To Address
Convocation
William A. McConnell, head of
the engineering test section of the
Ford Motor Company, Dearborn,
Mich., will discuss the testing of
new automobiles at the Engineer's
Week Convocation, Friday morn
ing. Beginning at 11 a. m., the
convocation will be held at the
Nebraska theater.
McConnell, a 1941 graduate of
the University's Engineering Col
lege, is the son of the Rev. R. A.
McConnell, pastor of First Ply
mouth Congregational church in
WILLIAM M'UOINNfcLL.,
Lincoln. The engineer is a mem
ber of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma XI
and Sigma Tau while at the Uni
versity he won drawing awards
from the SPEE and was also an
intramural wrestling winner.
In the summer of 1939 he be
gan working for the General Mo
tors laboratory at Detroit and the
following summer he worked at the
company's truck and coach plant.
In 1941. after graduation, he be
came a test engineer at General
Motors proving grounds.
During 1944 he did experimen
tal work for the navy at the radar
roving grounds at Harvard uni
versity. He has been with the
Ford Motor Company since 1946.
McConnell has made several in
vetions of equipment for testing
new automobiles. He will describe
the experimental approach to
problems which can't be solved
with pencils. The techniques used
in finding the answers are not ex
plained in textbooks.
Fly's Private
Life Revealed
The secret of the housefly is
out. Bob Albee and Bill Kuser of
the engineering mechanics depart
ment have perfected the mechan
ical repleca of the housefly's
gyroscope.
After reading about this phe
nomenon in Life magazine re
cently, these men prepared an ex
hibit as part of the Bancroft hall
displays.
The housefly keeps his balance
and directional sense by means of
a small rod that oscillates in the
same plane regardless of his
movements. This condition is
simulated with a small rod and
mechanism representing the
movements of a housefly.
Displays
Reality
Week might well be used
displays for Thursdays open
House.
Students and members of the
University faculty are invited to
attend the Open House from 1:30
p.m. until 11 p.m. Ten groups of
exhibits will be set up at various
places onthe campus. Locations
are marked on a map found else
where in the paper.
THIS EVENT serves each year
to acquaint the public with the
functions of the cooperating de
partments of the University.
More than a formal exhibition,
the displays are unusual and in
teresting. Each is based on prin
ciples which have practical ap
plications in a modern technical
society.
A special invitation has also
been sent to high school students
urging them to spend a day in
Lincoln visiting the city, state
capitol and Open House. This
gives them an opportunity to see
the state university which they
might' someday choose to attend.
The tour of Open House intro
duces them to the machines, ma
terials, processes, problems and
principles which they meet indi
rectly in everyday life.
ENGINEER'S WEEK is not a
new thing at the University. In
1894 the members of the Society
of Electrical Engineers of the
University of Nebraska decided
to hold an exhibition on the eve
ning of Charter Day, Feb. 15.
After working for many weeks
building most of their equipment,
they amazed the crowds which
visited the new electrical en
gineering building. Demonstra
tions included a counterfeit coin
tester, the production of calcium
carbide in an electric furnace,
and its reaction with water, elec
trolysis and the pulling power
of the "big electromagnet."
Establishing a tradition, dis
plays on heating, welding, elec
troplating and the telephone
were added in 1895 at what was
called the "First Annual Exhi
bition." IN 1913, with the mechanical
engineering building completed
and new laboratory equipment
installed, the other departments
of the College of Engineering
joined the electrical engineers in
presenting the "First Annual
Engineer's Week."
In the past, essential parts of
Engineer's Week have included
ducking for non-cooperating en
gineers and brief skirmishes with
the lawyers. At one time the
School of Pharmacy, the geology
department and the College of
Engineering joined in entertain
ing the public.
StcamRainbow
Geyser Guards
ME Entranee
Spotlights on a jet of live
steam will guard the approach to
the Mechanical engineering build
ing Tuesday night.
The rainbow fountain is fed di
rectly from the steam supply in
the University power plant. Flood
lights of various colors will be
played on the geyser.
Inside the lab building, it's a
day at the races. A high speed
race track, designed and built by
the ME's, will feature engineer
ing problems of centrigfugal force.
Self-propelled, gas-powered mid
get racers speeding around a 40
foot track at 60 miles per hour are
propelled by tiny gas engines sim
ilar to model airplane units. Cas
ter oil and noise of the race track
are duplicated to the uth decree.