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Stonewalled by construction
CAT SCRATCH FEVER:
Do you want to lash out, too, when dealing with construction
on campus? Here, a construction trailer butts up against the
saber-toothed tiger statue perched on the plaza between McLaughlin
and McCone Halls. Engineering News found it thought-provoking.
Could it be an illustration of larger forces in conflict? Say,
ancient versus modern, preservation versus progress, action
versus inaction? Or the big one: nature versus man? Okay, you’re
right, it’s just a statue and a construction trailer.
(Photo Credit: Rachel Jackson)
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He’s one of the people responsible for turning Boeing’s
gee-whiz ideas into reality. Gary Fitzmire is vice president of engineering
and information technology at Phantom Works, Boeing’s advanced
research and development arm. His team of 1,100 engineers and technicians
creates advanced technologies, processes, and systems that help improve
the company’s current aerospace products and make future aircraft
and spacecraft projects possible. You may have heard of some of them:
the Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle, Space Maneuver Vehicle, Blended Wing/Body
Transport, Orbital Express, Solar Orbit Transfer Vehicle, Space Shuttle,
C-17 Globemaster III, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, AWACS, AH-64-D Apache
Longbow, Delta III and IV launch vehicles, and the Boeing 777. In aerospace
innovation, Fitzmire is on the leading edge.
On Tuesday, October 4, engineers can learn more about this amazing
world when Fitzmire comes to campus to deliver a talk entitled “Innovation
at Boeing” as part of the College’s View from the Top lecture
series featuring industry leaders. [FULL STORY]
Have you seen the pictures from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast? The
devastation is catastrophic. As an engineering student, there is much
you can do to help. Right after the hurricane, a group of Berkeley professors
and students joined forces to form the Katrina Recovery Task Force (KRTF).
The task force will study the effects of the damage and serve as consultants
and advisors to those charged with restoration and rebuilding. All majors
are encouraged to join. Both undergraduate and graduate students will
earn research credit. Paid internships may also be available.
“We know you’re busy this semester, so if you can only
give a few hours a week, that’s okay,” CEE professor Bob
Bea told students during a task force meeting held on September 22.
“We need your help in developing websites and databases, researching
literature, and archiving photos, for example. You can do marvelous
things. It’s just a matter of mobilizing your talents.”
To volunteer, go to http://citrissrv2.eecs.berkeley.edu:8888/drupal/crisis/volunteer
and fill out the volunteer form. [FULL STORY]
As far as Zorigt Bazarragchaa (pronounced Zor-EET Ba-za-ROTT-cha) knows,
he is the only Berkeley undergraduate from Mongolia. Bazarragchaa grew
up in the capital city of Ulaan-baatar, which has a population of 700,000
and is surrounded by four holy mountains. It has the coldest average
temperature of any national capital in the world (31 degrees Fahrenheit).
“Sometimes I miss it,” he says, though he doesn’t
mean the weather. “Time is more relaxed there, and you have more
free time. But here, it’s lively and active. There’s a lot
going on.”
On this day, the EECS junior transfer is wearing shorts and a T-shirt
appropriate for a sunny autumn day in Berkeley. In casual conversation,
his speech is peppered with “like” and “chill,”
and in his spare time, he enjoys going out with his friends or to the
movies. On campus, he’s just like any Cal student, though, Bazarrag-chaa’s
journey here is somewhat unique.
Four years ago, his father, a mechanical engineer and college teacher,
sought political asylum in the U.S. So at 16, Bazarragchaa found himself
in Massachusetts with his parents. He couldn’t speak English,
and the only thing familiar, perhaps, was the winter chill. “It
was difficult to adjust, for sure,” he says. “But back then,
I looked on it more as an adventure than a hardship. I thought it was
all exciting. The benefits outweighed the negatives. People in my high
school wanted to get to know me because I was from Mongolia. They wanted
to know another culture. I felt a little bit like a star.” He
laughs with embarrassment. [FULL STORY]
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