THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2008
NEWS
5A
>> SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Lisa Lipovac/KANSAN
Ron Barrett, associate professor of aerospace engineering, was recognized as a top educator in aerospace engineering by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Students and professor conquer the sky
The department of aerospace engineering won big in a national competition
BY MARY SORRICK
msorrick@kansan.com
The department of aerospace engineering is flying high after winning three national awards from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Nobuya Nishio, University of Kansas alumnus, placed first among undergraduates in the Individual Airplane Design Competition for his design of a light-sport aircraft. Roelof Vos, doctoral student, won the Abe M. Zarem Award for Aerospace Research.
Ron Barrett, associate professor of aerospace engineering, was also recognized by the AIAA as a top educator in aerospace engineering.
"We like to live vicariously through our students," Barrett said. "We're so proud of them."
"I'm more proud of my days of challenge and effort than the award itself."
Nishio, who graduated in May 2007, said he designed his plane to hold two passengers comfortably
NOBUYA NISHIO University of Kansas alumnus
I researched the current light-airplane market and its forecasts, and tried to find what I wanted to deliver to
The finished product, named "Regulus," was a sleek tandem-winged airplane with an artistic flare.
plate the design after a semester of working 30 to 40 hours a week.
without sacrificing speed affordability or style.
Nishio's unique design lifted his entry above those of his competitors, Barreth said.
The award has already garnered Nishio extra attention at Mitsubishi Motors in Japan, where he works.
"He put his heart into it and the judges saw that," he said.
people," Nishio said.
But Nishio said accolades for his design have not been the most rewarding part of the experience.
"I'm more proud of my days of challenge and effort than the award itself," he said.
Vos, who came to the University from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, won the Abe M. Zarem Award for his design of an actuator that would allow a plane's wing to imitate the movement of a bird's wing.
Vos said Barrett suggested the idea for the project when he was advising Vos at Delft.
"I thought, 'No, that can't be done.'
That's stupid," Vos said.
Despite his initial skepticism, Vos decided to tackle the project.
"We put a lot of effort into it," he said. "Seeing the thing fly was a cool day."
His hard work paid off when the actuator was finally tested on a remote controlled plane.
Though Barrett said Nishio's and Vos' designs would not hit production lines any time soon, he was still optimistic about the students' achievements.
Vos' actuator, when applied to a small unmanned aircraft, allowed the plane's wings to twist and bend according to airflow, giving the pilot a greater degree of flight control.
"I may not see it in my lifetime, but my kids will and my grandkids will," Barrett said.
Built of a material that condenses or expands according to an electrical pulse, the actuator proved lighter, more efficient, and able to transmit information about 11 times faster than the conventional actuator used in many planes.
These advantages have motivated some students at Delft, Vos' former university, to consider applying the actuator to wind turbines. Vos' actuator could react quickly enough to counteract tiny vibrations in a turbine's blades and could help conserve five percent of the turbine's overall energy output.
Barrett said the technology could also be adapted and installed in passenger plane wings to act like shock absorbers and combat in-flight turbulence.
- Edited by Patrick De Oliveira
CAMPUS
Numbers low, satisfaction high in academic advising survey
BY BRENNA HAWLEY
bhawley@kansan.com
The ballots have been counted, the beans have been separated and the votes have been tallied, and the
results say KU students are happy with their advising experience.
--across Kansas. More than 2,500 students responded. At the University of Kansas, the survey was sent via e-mail to 19,699 students, and 1,396 students, or 7 percent, replied.
The Student Advisory Committee to the Board of Regents carried out the survey on the orders of the Board of Regents.
He thought the survey might not have been representative of the whole student body.
The survey was administered to university students
"The people who responded to the survey were the go-getters." Tretter said. "They're the ones who seek out advising."
"The people who responded to the survey were the go-getters. They're the ones who seek out advising"
The small percentage of responses worried Alex Treaster, director of the Student Legislative Awareness Board.
ALEX TREASTER
Director of the Student Legislative
Awareness Board
Almost 80 percent of the students who responded to the survey said they were satisfied with the academic advising they received.
E r y n Hardison Stilwell freshman visited
the university Advising Center this year for help on deciding her major and to talk about study skills. She said her advisers were very experienced and helpful. She has visited the center twice, and said she would go again if she had any more questions.
of the University Advising Center, said the center exists for students like Hardison. She said the center helped students with the beginning of their college careers and also helped students with undeclared majors.
Burright said she didn't know why the survey had been ordered, but she thought students could utilize their advisers better.
Diann Burright, associate director
"Students should view enrollment as more of a process and should visit throughout the semester," Burright said.
Earl Brooks, Topeka senior, visited the center for help figuring out his credits when he transferred from Kansas State University. He said he went more than once, and some advisers were more knowledgeable than others.
He said it was better for students to talk to an adviser who had extensive knowledge about their degree track rather than a general adviser.
"I if I had to go again, I'd probably request a supervisor", Brooks said.
—Edited by Matt Hirschfeld
by the numbers
-7 percent — Fort Hays State students who replied to the survey
-3,887 — number of Fort Hays State students who were sent the survey
-5.8% — Pittsburgh students who replied to the survey
-1,000 — number of Pittsburg students who were sent the survey
*results for Wichita State University were not available
-7 percent — KU students who replied to the survey
-19,669 — number of KU students who were e-mailed the survey
-18.75 percent — K-State students who replied to the survey
-2,501 — number of K-State students who were sent the survey
-5.21 percent — Emporia students who replied to the survey
-6,354 — number of Emporia students who were sent the survey
-2,500 — approximate number of students who replied to the survey state-wide
"And frankly, it's a good thing," Kelly said. "The city smells better without a bunch of drunken kids using every doorway as a toilet."
Kevin Kelly, who lives on the parade route, said the crowds did seem quieter. It was too early for college students on spring break to join the party, Kelly pointed out.
The celebration appears to have bounced back strongly since Katrina flooded more than 80 percent of the city. Mardi Gras crowd estimates hovered around 1 million in the years before w, and the crowd reached about 800,000 last year. This year, however, some worried turnout would be lighter because the celebration fell so early.
Kim Disselliss, 49, simply taped a sign to her back showing Sen. Clinton dressed as George Washington and reading, "Monica Lewinsky's X-Boyfriend's Wife for President. 2 for 1 Sale."
Among the men dressed in pink baby-doll paiamas or leather loincloths and the women flashing glimpses of flesh for beads were some whose costumes had political themes. Louisiana voters don't head to the polls until Saturday, so many let their costumes make political statements on a day when 24 other states were holding presidential primaries and caucuses.
Mardi Gras — also known as Fat Tuesday — is the end of the pre-Lenten Carnival season. The celebration characterized by family friendly parades upown and in the suburbs — and by heavy drinking and lots of near-nudity in the French Quarter — ends 12 days of parades and parties.
NEW ORLEANS — Fat Tuesday and Super Tuesday collared on the streets of the French Quarter, where revelers added a distinctly political flavor to the city's annual raucous bash.
Temperatures were expected to rise to about the record of 81 degrees in New Orleans, an indicator that flesh-flashing in the bawdy French Quarter was likely to be greater than usual. Crowds that had begun staking out spots on the parade routes as early as Friday night spent the day collecting beads and other trinkets thrown from floats.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
》 NATION
Mardi Gras goes political