6 BEHREND BEACON February 5, 2010 www.thebehrendbeacon.com World and National Engineering News in Brief GE Transportation reports first quarterly loss in 20 years LAWRENCE PARK -- According to a quarterly statement released by Gen eral Electric, the Lawrence Park-based Transportation segment of its business posted a $157 million loss in the fourth quarter of 2009. The loss was expected, and even predicted in early 2009 by CEO Lorenzo Simonelli, who estimated that locomotive production could fall by 44 percent for the year. Despite the quarterly loss, the Transportation segment reported a yearly profit of $473 million, around half of 2008's yearly total. Sponge created for spill cleanups Researchers at Case Western Re serve University have developed a lightweight sponge designed to absorb oil out of contaminated water while leaving the water behind. The oil can then be squeezed and reused. It is hoped that the material can be used to clean up factory floors, high ways, and large bodies of water. Ac cording to EPA estimates, H) to 25 million gallons of oil are spilled every year in the U.S. alone. New standard set for world's most accurate clock There is now a new "world's most accurate clock." The National Institute of Standards and Technology has cre ated an atomic clock based on a single atom of aluminum, setting a new stan dard for accuracy. The clock is twice as precise as the mercury-based atomic clock that previously held the title. According to Physical Review Let ters, the new clock would neither gain nor lose a second in the next 3.7 bil- lion years A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language. - 0 u -V X susiE n, KR 4IP SENO MEP A Ma COME ON RCM/X. I lOW2 SK:uoNt Order a subscription to THE BEHREND BEACON Stay aware of what's happening on-campus! Get home delivery of The Behrend Beacon, regardless of how far away you might be. Simply fill out this form and mail back to: The Behrend Beacon, 4701 College Dr., Erie Pa. 16563. Perfect for alumni, parents, extended family, friends, and any Behrend faculty, staff, or student living off-campus. To order: Contact our Business Department at 814.898.6488 or contact the Editor at editor@psu.edu. In Erie County*: One month (4 Issues): $4.00 Half semester(7 issues): $7.00 Full semester(l3 issues): $13.00 Full year(26 issues): $26.00 Outside Erie County*: One month (4 Issues): $6.00 Half semester(7 issues): $10.50 Full semester(l3 issues): $20.50 Full year(26 issues): $39.00 *Prices cover shipping, labeling, and packaging costs kiiNr7ykidNOßSEeiill 2 4 , 4Mllti Warley settling in as M.E. program chair CONNOR SATTELY After half a year in his position as the Department Chair of the Mechan ical Engineering program, Russel War ley is starting to feel like he should really be there. He has become, in his words, a "leader among peers." Warley took over the position last July, when it was vacated by William Lasher's resignation. He has used the friendships and relationships with fac ulty and colleagues to create a type of "consensus" leadership of the depart ment. This has presented what Warley thinks is the best way to lead, but has also given several distinct challenges. "You don't just hit the gavel and have it done," he says, drawing from his 20 years of experience managing in industry, rather than a university. "There's no such thing as tenure in business, so you didn't have to worry about that." Fortunately, he says, those relation ships with faculty make the job easier. "We have very competent, very col legial, cooperative faculty," he said. "We haven't had any issues with fac ulty even for a second, so that makes it very easy." Lasher, who held the chair position for a decade, still remains as a "fall back" for Warley, giving advice and as sistance when he can. "I help with developing schedules for teaching - what classes are held when, who teaches what, and so on - as well as problems with students," he says. "Graduation requests, transfer credits, graduation requests, that type of thing." Despite the fact that Lasher advises the faculty member who is now the chair for his own department, he thinks Warley is off to a good start. A lot of that good start is due to the transition which actually began fairly editor-in-chief Penn State Behrend Marketing Russel Warley, left, had some help transferring into the position heading up the Me chanical Engineering program by his predecessor, William Lasher, right. WHAT'S NEXT? DR. RUSSEL WARLEY'S LONG-TERM GOALS FOR THE M.E. DEPARTMENT 1. E-Learning 2. Wider reputation 3. Make educational Does it make sense for The M. E. program is research known the School of Engineering solid with a good reputation Employers are satisfied to participate? If so, how? in the local area, particu- with the graduates that The faculty would have to larly with local businesses. the M.E. program pro be intimately involved. The next step is to vide. Wharley says, Since a lot of schools expand that reputation out though, that many do not are moving towards this, to a further-reaching area, recognize the innovation this is something to both in Pennsylvania and in educational processes explore in the future. elsewhere. going on at Behrend. well before Warley took the post. "Really, I ramped into the position," Warley said. " He became the Dean's Representative to University Park, and dealt with a lot of students who needed to transfer after two years. That helped him prepare for many of the issues which come to his desk on a daily basis today. "Bill [Lasher] and I knew a little early that it was likely me that would be taking the role," he said, "so I SUSIE LIFE Is corrucATED stes So wooer, AOOl5/ YOU. `1 1 1:0 BOYS TWIT rt MAN 31)SrmAKE 00112 iTSRTMONG w BE A \ ) YEAH, WEIL JUSTE A TACK • 111 Even at low doses, alcohol significantly impairs the judgment and coordination required to drive a car or operate machinery safely. Low to moderate doses of alcohol can also increase the incidence of a variety of aggressive acts. Copyright orWrong? In order to protect the security and integrity of Computer and Network Resources against unauthorized or improper use, and to protect authorized users from the effects of such abuse or negligence, the University reserves the rights, at its sole discretion, to limit, restrict, or terminate any account or use of Computer and Network Resources, and to inspect, copy, remove or otherwise alter any data, file, or system resources which may undermine authorized use. (AD 20 Policy) Since the beginning of the 2009-2010 academic year over 30 Behrend students have been found in violation of the AD 20 Policy because of illegally downloaded copyrighted materials. Mott of these downloads have been facilitated through Bit Torrent. While the use of Bit Torrent is not illegal, this "technology enables us to access many different media in a timely, convenient fashion. However, the ease of access provided by modern digital technology may result in the use of works without full understanding of rights and responsibilities." Using unauthorized copies of music, movies, pictures, and videos in either digital or non-digital form is a violation of copyright laws and a violation of the University Code of Conduct. Make sure you have the legal right to download an item before you proceed. The University receives regular reports on illegally downloaded items and your access code identifies you, the time and date of the download, and the item downloaded. ode FIND OUT MORE AT: http://guru.psu.edu/policies/ad2o.html and of Co-Ici , ct http://www.bittorrent.com/legal/copyright-policy/? 1 E 01'•1 YEAH rriti 14 , WK. UR wokiVl oNsoltxr4iTcH mpg MIS FEAVE GETTPro CAEEFER. AND CREEPER. 0 ) Tas. A cohol Fact sre money is spent promoting alcohol each year than any other product? In all of this advert izing you never see this one fact : alcohol is a drug. It is the most widely used and commonly abused psychoactive drug in the world. Engineering started to work with him in advance on some things, start training early." Amongst those early training oppor tunities was the Fall 2009 Semester schedule, which the two created to gether last spring. "There's a lot of potential repercus sions there for even a minor error," Warley said. "If a certain class over laps and you don't notice until after the semester starts, then you've got to deal with contacting every student in Engineering Internship available: Position: Spring Co-op Employer: General Electric Job Function: Engineering I Accounting / Banking / Administration / Sales Location: Erie, Pa. Minimum cumulative GPA: 3.0 Deadline: February 19, 2010 Details: GE offers co-op positions for a variety of majors, from computer science to me chanical engineering to business administration. Apply online at www.gecareers.com/campusinterview. Select "Business Specific Internship," then click the drop-down menu and select "GE Transportation," then "GE Transportation Co-op." a certain section of a certain class, and for many it can severely impact their semester schedule." As for Lasher, life is a little easier without having to deal with possible catastrophes around every turn. "I'm under a lot less stress," he said. "I have a lot more time to do teaching research, talk to students, everything else. The toughest challenge with the program chair was the continual flow of problems; you get done with one and there's another to deal with." Warley's long-term goals are still in tact, but that continual flow of prob lems has presented its challenges as well. "It feels like, as an employee, there's a lot more coming at you at a faster rate than previously," he said. "It feels like I'm a bit less in control, because you can't necessarily foresee the work load coming at you. It makes it hard to plan for and accomplish longer- or in termediate-term goals." How does he deal with transferring from an assistant professor position to handling the problems of a depart ment? "It's tough," he said. "The way I do my teaching, my workload was very high. The way I teach, there was a lot of out-of-class stuff, constant student contact, and lots of grading. Now, it's all continued, plus there's a little more." And its taken its toll, he says "Psychologically, I feel like with the flood of things that are coming in, that I'm somehow going to drop the ball or let something fall off the bottom of the to-do list. There's a little bit of appre hension, I think, but just mainly be cause I'm new. "But I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to take the position," he said. "It'll probably take a full year cycle including the summer to see how I'm really doing in the position, assess how the last year went."
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