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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WWW.KANSAN.COM
VOLUME 120 ISSUE 26
THURSDAY,SEPTEMBER 25,2008
PHILANTHROPY
Auction to help shelter animals
The Lawrence Humane Society will hold its annual Pawsible Dream benefit auction this Friday from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at the Lawrence Holiday Inn Holidome. The Humane Society hopes to raise $85,000 to provide food, shelter and vaccinations to abandoned and abused animals of Douglas County.
Gavin Strunk, Wichita senior, works on the headlight of a Volkswagen Beetle as part of a senior design project for the School of Engineering. Strunk, along with a team of 10 other seniors, is working to make the vehicle run on sustainable fuel, and, Strunk said, "take it from what it is now to a serious hybrid."
FULL STORY PAGE 3A
ENTERTAINMENT
Rvan Waddoner/KANSAN
University Theatre performs fairy tale
Students are bringing the fairy tale world of "The King Stag" to life through puppetry and traditional acting. The show can be seen at 10:30 a.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the Inge Theatre in Murphy Hall.
FULL STORY PAGE 4A
ENVIRONMENT
Engineering team builds hybrid car
BY SACHIKO MIYAYAKAWA
smiyakawa@kansan.com
A 1974 Volkswagon Beetle could be the key to developing a modern hybrid vehicle. Students enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering, Senior Design Project class used a VW Beetle to develop a sustainable car as part of a project called "EcoHawks."
Christopher Depcik, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, said he introduced the project to teach students practical skills that could be beneficial to society and help students find jobs.
The project started with recycling an old vehicle, which was the most energy-efficient way to create a new vehicle.
"I wanted students to have something that was iconic," Depcik said. "Then I thought about the VW Bug."
the design and adoption of interchangeable engines, he said. The design allows the vehicle to use many different kinds of fuel, such as gasoline, biodiesel and ethanol.
Lou McKown, Downing Town, Pa, senior, is among the 11 seniors doing research and building the vehicle for EcoHawks. He said the project aimed to design a more efficient car. The innovative aspect of the project is
"The developments that we make during our project really benefit not just KU, the entire community,"McKown said. "No vehicle is really available in a common marketplace."
Matt LeGresley, Lawrence senior and member of EcoHawks, said such a vehicle would help the global energy sector become more local, which is an important aspect of sustainability. The EcoHawks use biodiesel that was produced in a chemical engineering laboratory on campus.
"What this allows us to do is use fuels that are produced locally from crops or feedstocks," LeGresley said.
Depik said he planned to continue the
KANSAN.COM
View more photos of the hybrid car at www.kansan.com/gallerys/
project after this academic year. The project focused on the use of biodiesel and ethanol this year to develop the methodology for building hybrid vehicles. He said the project would choose a different primary fuel source every year, looking at the trend of the time to teach more practical skills.
"The idea is that as we move forward throughout time, students are working on the status of technology," Depcik said. "We're doing something that is completely applicable to which way the economy goes,
which way society goes."
McKown said the EcoHawks team faced technological and funding challenges. The KU Transportation Research Institute donated $10,000, but the team needs more funding to continue the project for the next few years, McKown said.
McKown said the team would showcase the project during the University's Homecoming festivities.
Edited by Becka Cremer
FILLING THE STANDS
Fans backed into a sold-out Memorial Stadium to watch Kansas defeat Sam Houston State, 38-14, on Saturday. The football program has sold almost 39,000 season tickets this year, and later this season the program will break the single-season attendance record for the fourth consecutive year.
Season ticket sales to set record
Jon Gnerina/KANSAN
BY B.J. RAINS rains@kansan.com
While the Kansas football team tries to top last year's school record 12 wins, it appears the football program will be breaking another significant record in 2008.
break the single season attendance record for the fourth consecutive year, football spokesman Mike Strauss said. The football program has sold almost 39,000 season tickets this year — 8,000 more than the 31,000 season tickets that were sold last year.
Later this season, the Jayhawks will
The home game against Louisiana Tech, game No. 2 on the schedule, had more than 48,000 fans attend, even though the team played the entire game in the rain.
said of the record-breaking attendance this year. "Our fans are loyal. They know that when they come out to see our kids play, they are going to play until the very end and play their tails off. I think our fans appreciate that."
"I think it's great," coach Mark Mangino
Kansas has already sold out two games this season, including the season
1921 and is the sixth oldest college football stadium in Division One, is the home playing field for the Jayhawks for the 88th consecutive season.
Memorial Stadium, which was built in
The listed capacity crowd for Memorial
opener against Florida International and Saturday's 38-14 win over Division 1-AA Sam Houston State.
SEE TICKETS ON PAGE 5A
index
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