University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, November 20, 1990
Campus/Area
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Joseph J. Lies/Special to the Kansan
vernon Brejcha, associate professor of design, squints through steam created during the shaping of a glass sphere. Brejcha was working yesterday at his business, Hot Winds, 401 Elm St.
Support still not definite for qualified admissions
Glass works
By Yvonne Guzman
Some legislators say a system of qualified admissions proposed by the Board of Regents is no more likely to be used than the current system.
Kansan staff writer
The Regents on Thursday endorsed for the fourth time in as many years the admissions proposal that would have been introduced.
State Rep. Robert Vancrum, vice chairperson of the Legislative Educational Planning Commission, said that the vote would be close but that new leadership in the governor's office and in the House did not seem more likely to support qualified admissions than the leadership of the last four years.
In addition, Marvin Barkus, who probably will be the new speaker of the House, is opposed to qualified
"I think we're getting within five or six votes to pass it, but those last six may be hard to get." he said.
Qualified admissions is the Regents proposal to limit the number of students in the institutions to those who meet the criteria set forth below.
The plan would require incoming freshmen to have a cumulative ACT score of 23, graduate in the top one-third of their high school class or have completed a recommended set of classes with a grade point average of 2.0.
Supporters say that the proposal would save money for the state because about half of it is not used for example, notGraduated.
Any changes in the proposal will be discussed and completed before the legislative session begins Jan. 14.
Opponents have said that the plan might keep qualified students out of state-supported universities, despite a window that would allow 15 percent of the incoming class to have none of the qualifications.
Martine Hammond-Paludan, director of academic affairs for the Regents, said that there was a possibility that the ACT requirement might be lowered but that the Regents had not decided vet.
Kansas is the only state that does not have a system or qualified admissions for in-state students.
State Rep John Solbach, D-Lawrence, said he did not think Finney would be likely to support qualified admissions.
Admissions increases analyzed
The Associated Press
TOPEKA — A legislative committee recommended yesterday that the six state universities should try to balance their enrollments so big campuses don't get too many students while smaller schools admit too few.
Rep. Fred Gatlin, R-Atwood, said the Legislature had been encouraging universities to recruit students by providing additional money for unexpected increases in the student population.
The recommendation was made by the Special Committee on Ways and Means, which considered changing the policy.
At the same time, he said, two of the Board of Regents schools have about reached their capacity. They are Kansas 'two biggest schools — the University of Kansas and Kansas State University.
Quarry proposal raises fears about University dump
By Mike Brassfield Kansas staff writer
Kansan staff writer
A Eudora woman, who is sung the Board of Regents in connection with a radioactive waste dump near her property, is worried about the possible effects a proposed quarry would bring to cleanup or containment of the dump.
But the company that wants to create the quarry says blasting and drilling for the quarry would have no effect on the dump.
Jean Martin of Eudora filed the suit in July. The suit claims that toxic chemicals have leaked from the building, where a police party, just northwest of the landfill.
The suit asks the court to force the Regents to clean up the dump, which was used by the University of Kansas from 1984 to 1982 to dispose of hazardous waste.
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The proposed Evening Star Quarries would be situated between Eudora and De Soto, just west of the dump. Local residents fighting the quarry would be a nuisance — creating dust, noise and traffic in the area.
The Ash Grove Cement Co. of Kansas City, Kan., is seeking a permit from the Lexington Township Zoning Board to operate the quarry.
Obviously, we don't want to be responsible for the spread of any toxic chemicals in the area. We don't think the quarry will have any effect whatsoever on the dump.
Charles Nichols, geologist for Ash Grove, said the board would decide
- Charles Nichols
geologist for Ash Grove Cement Co.
today whether to recommend approval of the quarry. The board's recommendation would go to the county Commission for final approval.
"The Regents have been discussing various remedies to the landfill problem, but no solution has been approved," he said.
John Parisi, a lawyer representing Martin, said there was concern that blasting and drilling for the quarry were not being handled appropriately developed to deal with the dump.
Robert Bearse, associate vice chancellor of research, graduate studies and public service, said the University still was negotiating with the Kansas Department of Health to develop a plan to contain the landfill.
Nichols said Ash Grove had studied the situation.
"Obviously, we don't want to be responsible for the spread of any toxic chemicals in the area," he said. "There are too many other effects whatsoever on the dump."
Nichols said that if the quarry were approved, the company would drill a series of three-inch holes in the ground, fill the holes with ammonium nitrate — a common blasting compound — and set off the charges one after another.
He said studies had shown that the explosives in each hole would affect the local soil in an area about 55 m² (27 sq ft) than the hole's circumference.
if each hole has a radius of $1 \frac{1}{2}$ inches, the explosive would affect the soil a maximum of seven feet from the base. He said that the Sunflower Landfill, he said.
KU files patent on newly discovered superconductor structure
By Tatsuya Shimizu
Kansan staff writer
KU has filed a patent on a discovery made by a team of researchers that will make the research of high-quality materials in the University appeared yesterday.
Kai-Wai Wong, KU professor of physics and astronomy, was head of the group of five scientists that discovered a basic structure of metal-oxide high-temperature superconductors last year. The scientists have worked since then to validate findings before filling for the patent.
The structure is one of the simplest superconductor structures yet discovered. Wong said. The discovery makes the understanding of the structure possible and the fabrication of superconductive materials easier than before.
Superconductors are materials that have no electronic resistance and expel a strong magnetic field when electricity flows through them.
During a news conference yesterday at the Walnut Room in the Kansas Union, Wong explained the structure by using blocks. The basic structure consists of two cubes, which contain some metal and oxygen atoms. Materials that are made based on this structure become superconductive about minus 270 degrees Fahrenheit.
Frances Horowitz, vice chancellor of the Office of Research, Graduate Studies and Public Service, said the studies will help in the development to superconductivity research.
"There is a lack of the knowledge in fundamental structures underlying superconductive materials," she said.
In a news release Wong said that researchers had been making super-conductors without knowing exactly how they worked.
For the past two years, Wong has been studying superconductivity with researchers from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the University of Arkansas and the University of Hong Kong.
Superconductors can be used to help create major societal changes such as faster computers, cheaper and improved land and space travels.
"We now have a systematic way of searching for and fabricating higher-temperature superconducting oxide compounds," he said.
However, the application of super
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We are really taking a much longer-term approach to our investments.
Sam Campbell
president of Campbell-Becker Inc.
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conductors is difficult because materials need to be cooled down to about minus 270 degrees Fahrenheit.
The research was financed by Campbell-Becker Inc., a Lawrence-based investment company that focuses on technology. The company also will receive a portion of the royalties.
Sam Campbell, president of the company, said that financing super-conductivity research was a long-term investment and that the company would continue to finance the research.
"We are really taking a much longer-term approach to our investments," he said. "We don't expect we to lose our investment for years into the future."
Kal-Wai Wong demonstrates the structure of high-temperature superconductors with toy blocks.