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uiuc techmag since 1885
Spring 2008 (alpha1).indd 1
DaYd
o
abr
spring 2008
ST U
TECHNOCUTIES
2/6/08 4:25:40 PM
Spring 2008 (alpha1).indd 2
2/6/08 4:26:13 PM
40 years ago,
March 1968
spring 2008
6
5
8
All the information for engineeers who want to study abroad
Interview with U of I grad
who worked on Hubble
U of I offers new minor joining
the forces of LAS and Engineering
14
10
13
Take a break from it all with a
blast from the past
also
page 3, Editor’s Desk
page 16, UIUC’s New Home Page
Spring 2008 (alpha1).indd 3
Learn about the project to provide Third World kids with laptops
Top 8 Tech Products that You’ll
Want to Check Out in 2008
staff
Editor-in-Chief Satya Shanmugham
Managing Editor Eric Anderson
Layout Design Declan Holzman
Writers Matt Anderson Doug Litteken
Sumona Ray Gavin Rehkemper
Publisher Mary Cory
Adviser Sarah Durham
3
2/6/08 4:26:32 PM
Dear Subscribers,
cold? I don’t just
All this messy cold weather has me thinking, what happens when things get
immediate
almost
mean single digits of Fahrenheit; I mean something cold enough to cause
ing experience.
frostbite when it comes in contact with living tissue. That’s usually an interest
If you want to make something really, really cold, liquid nitrogen (LN2) is quite
useful.
r news in
LN2 freezes at 63oK, and for those of you who don’t read your morning weathe
.
-321oF
or
77oK,
Kelvin, that is -346oF. Brrr! On the other hand, it boils at
which we are
And because LN2 can maintain temperatures below the freezing point of water,
all familiar with, guess what you can do with it!
from proWARNING: Use LN2 with proper supervision and care. Serious burns will result
and tongs
longed contact with LN2 or objects that have been frozen in it. Use safety gloves
when handling these objects. Use in well-ventilated areas.
We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.
Some fun things to do with LN2 (thanks to our local scientists and Physics Van):
-Create a lot of fog
-Kill grass in funny patterns
-Make ice cream
-Dip a baseball cap in it to make your head “smoke”
-Make anything metallic look frosty
-Freeze a banana to use as a hammer
-Make racquetballs not so bouncy…and break them against a wall
-Fill balloons with nitrogen
-Make a soap explosion in the middle of an intersection
-Maybe reanimate Fluffy one day with LN2’s use in cryonics
Go out and start making things cold! (With proper supervision, of course.)
4
spring 2008
Spring 2008 (alpha1).indd 4
2/6/08 4:26:40 PM
uiuclocal
Engineers Abroad
What’s it really like to study
abroad?
To escape the plains of central Illinois to live and study abroad is the
chance of a lifetime. But as an engineer in a nationally ranked college,
it is hard to consider putting away
your textbooks and delaying graduation. Is it possible to study abroad
without losing time and money?
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offers hundreds
of programs for students to study
abroad. Many University departments
offer specific programs to match
to the curriculum of the student.
International Programs in Engineer
(IPENG) offers technical programs
for engineering students to study
abroad. IPENG not only offers programs during the spring, summer
and fall semesters, but also during
winter break.
Andrew Muehlfeld, senior in
Electrical Engineering, worked with
IPENG to plan two trips: the first
to Madrid, Spain during the second
semester of his sophomore year, the
second to Taiwan and Hong Kong
during the winter break of his junior
year.
The most common deterrent for
engineering students to studying
internationally is the threat that a
semester overseas will force you to
spend more than eight semesters in
college. However, according to IPENG
and Muehlfeld, it is entirely possible to stay on track while studying
abroad. The best way to ensure you
do not fall behind is to plan ahead. A
great place to start would be IPENG’s
International Fair held on the Engineering Campus at the beginning of
each academic year. For the details
of how to study abroad through
IPENG, see the inlet on the bottom of
this page.
Cost is also an important factor for
many students considering international studies. The price for a semes-
ter of studying abroad depends heavily on the program that you choose.
The total cost, however, is often less
than the price of tuition and housing on campus. IPENG also offers
multiple scholarships and fellowships
to assist students who want to study
abroad.
If you are looking for a vacation
from the technical life of UI engineering, check out a general program
offered by the University of Illinois
Study Abroad Office. Beth Richter,
junior in Engineering, is currently
studying in Spain through an international program offered by the
Study Abroad Office. Richter, who is
studying culture and language and
working on an international minor
while in Spain, said she wanted a
break from the toils of civil engineering.
Both Richter and Muehlfeld agree
that studying abroad is a life-changing opportunity that everyone who
has the chance should experience.
Engineers especially should consider
international studies as globalization
makes foreign relations a major component of engineering.
by doug litteken
The IPEN
ProcessG
1.
neeringGoHto 210 Engiall and ta
with
you wIPaEnNt G about wlkha
experien from your t
possible ce. Look at
tions. program op2.
gram aSnedlect your proapplicatio submit an
n.
3.
pon acce
tance, U
p
s
e
classes anlect your appro d get the
IPENGvaend for creditm
ment. d your depbayrt
4.
travel VAISpply for your
A.
5. Enjo
y your trip
!
spring 2008
Spring 2008 (alpha1).indd 5
5
2/6/08 4:26:44 PM
outofthisworld
Hubble Trouble
by matt anderson
What if a U of I alumnus worked on the
famous space telescope?
University of Illinois alumnus
Doug Norman is not surprised that
the Hubble Space Telescope is one of
“NASA’s most successful missions.”
Why isn’t he surprised? He helped
create it!
Norman graduated from the University in 1981 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. He then landed a job
at Lockheed Martin and was assigned
to work on the Hubble Telescope. One
might think that working on such
a groundbreaking project would be
intimidating, but not for Norman.
“Back then (Hubble) wasn’t that
prestigious,” Norman said. “It was a
very low key project.”
Since its launch in 1990, the
Hubble Telescope has revolutionized
astronomy. According to hubblesite.
org, the telescope orbits the earth
353 miles above the surface, circling
the planet every 97 minutes. Being
in space allows the Hubble to take
pictures without disruption from
the earth’s atmosphere. The Hubble
has aided in estimating the age of
the universe and discovering the
existence of dark energy, a force
that accelerates the expansion of the
6
universe.
Norman designed the antennas
that transmit the pictures from the
telescope back to earth and accept
commands from scientists on earth.
“There are four antennas on the
Hubble,” Norman said. “I worked on
two of them: the low gain antenna
and the high gain antenna. The low
gain receives commands from Earth
while the high gain sends data back
to Earth.”
These two instruments are central
to the Hubble’s effectiveness. Norman
worked on the project for a couple of
years and was even able see the telescope in person.
“I actually got to see the space
craft,” Norman said. “I walked inside
the Hubble when it was in a giant
cleaning room, which was pretty
cool.”
The Hubble is expected to crash
back into Earth’s atmosphere around
2013. Another telescope, which will
look even deeper into the universe,
will then be launched into space.
Norman currently works at L-3
Communications, a large defense
company, where his job is more than
just designing antennas.
“My job consists of a variety of
things, some hands on, some recruiting,” Norman said. “I have a lot of interface with customers. There’s a lot
of group interaction and meetings.”
Although the Hubble Telescope’s
time in space is running out, Norman’s work has helped provide over a
decade of scientific discovery.
spring 2008
Spring 2008 (alpha1).indd 6
2/6/08 4:26:47 PM
outofthisworld
Advice t
o
S
tudents
“Listen to
your he
don’t
lot of freeecl right, dona’trdt. If things
young peruiting and m o it. I do a
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you’re e not alwa how it wo
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Lines, field
s and wa
ves.
spring 2008
Spring 2008 (alpha1).indd 7
7
2/6/08 4:26:55 PM
uiuclocal
Informatics Me A Dream
What if there was a new
University minor ?
The Illinois Informatics Initiative
(I³) began offering a minor in Informatics this semester. “Informatics,
in general, is using computation as
a universal problem solving tool in
both engineering and other disciplines like the humanities,” said Judy
Tolliver, coordinator for Informatics
Education Programs at the Illinois
Informatics Initiative.
“There are many different flavors of
Informatics,” Tolliver said. “Bioinformatics is the combination of Biology
and Computing. Health Informatics
is the combination of the Health Sciences and Computing.”
Informatics will bank expansion
upon Bioinformatics. “We’re starting
to look at masters programs, and the
first one is going to be the masters of
Bioinformatics,” Tolliver said. “Right
now, bioinformatics mostly revolves
around the genome.”
Informatics presents courses in
a more applied way than Computer
Science.
“The early digital computers were
constructed by engineers, physicists, and mathematicians,” Tolliver
said. “They built computers to solve
specific problems like bomb trajectories or analyzing complex data sets.
Informatics is an applied version of
these studies.
“If you open a paper or read any
technology news website, you will
almost certainly find a story about
something related to Informatics.”
Tolliver cited the shutdown of the
Internet in Burma last year as a
prime example.
“The citizens were filming military
police shootings, so the government
attempted to suppress the spread of
information by shutting down not
only video websites like YouTube, but
the whole internet.”
Students will recognize social networking implications.
8
“Users of Facebook were outraged
last year when privacy settings
weren’t used to protect their data,”
Tolliver said. “This is just another
instance of informatics in our daily
lives.”
The minor in Informatics was the
idea of Deanna Raineri.
“The department of Liberal Arts
and Sciences thought that the students in their college were not being
trained well enough in using computing,” Tolliver said.
Marc Snir later joined as the I³
director. He made it his goal to help
unite all of the Informatics research
going on across campus.
“Half of the Computer Science
graduates at the University of Illinois are not working at computing
companies after they graduate,” Snir
said. “Engineering has traditionally
focused on physically based science.
I³ is bridging the gap between the
engineering and social sciences.”
“The minor is different from the
Computer Science minor,” Tolliver
saids. “Informatics is more focused
on how to apply Computer Science
concepts.”
The three core courses of the minor
are INFO 102, INFO 103, and INFO
202. INFO 102 is a broad introduction to computer science. INFO 103
is an introduction to programming.
This class uses the Python programming language, which is different
than other introduction to programming classes on the U of I campus.
INFO 202 deals with the social aspects of information technology.
“Information Technology has
changed how the world operates,”
Tolliver added. “I³ hopes to help
bring some of these IT related resources to the University of Illinois.”
by gavin rehkemper
In
atics
Minfoorrm
C
o
Sequenucrse
e
INFO
introdu1c0t 2 – A broad
nature, caion to the
limitation pabilities and
ing. Learns of computrepresen how data is
in today ’sted and stored
the gene computers,
algor ral ideas o
putatitiohnms and comf the futural efficiency,
ing. The ce of comput“Great Ideourse covers
various a as” across
field, inclureas of the
tography ding crypcurity, pr , internet seoblem so
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INFO 10n3.
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aspects o – Social
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courseecehxnology. The
p
lores ho
inform
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issues on nd economicl,
and socie the individua
l
tal level.
spring 2008
Spring 2008 (alpha1).indd 8
2/6/08 4:26:58 PM
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Spring 2008 (alpha1).indd 9
2/6/08 4:27:14 PM
8
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Spring 2008 (alpha1).indd 10
2/6/08 4:27:37 PM
at could rule the C-U in ‘08
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spring 2008
Spring 2008 (alpha1).indd 11
11
2/6/08 4:27:47 PM
UI Engineering students’
best kept secret for success:
transfer credits from Parkland.
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Associate in Engineering Science (A.E.S.)
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Spring 2008 (alpha1).indd 12
2/6/08 4:28:07 PM
world
No Laptop Left Behind
Should the West help the
rest?
At the 2005 World Economic Conference, Nicholas Negroponte, an
MIT scientist, introduced a low-cost
laptop for the education of children
in less-developed countries. Titled the
“OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) Project,” Negroponte’s laptop, which costs
$100, has already been distributed in
Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay.
It seems phenomenal that Negroponte has found a way to technologically advance the education
system. But will OLPC be effective?
The Center for Advanced Study at
the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign hosted a dialogue on
OLPC between Professors Langdon
Winner, Bill Hammack, and Robert
Markley. (when?)
Antagonists to OLPC believe
that the $100 Laptop is just another
example of the gadget-focused American mindset. We all know that new
products get upgraded, requiring
more expensive software. Therefore,
if governments buy the laptop, they
might be paying even more to maintain it. Target customers tend to be
governments of the developing world,
which are still trying to provide more
basic needs, such as a healthy midday meal and teachers for schools.
Antagonists argue that these laptops
should not be imposed on countries
that need to first properly build the
infrastructure for an educational
system.
Proponents counter that lack of
educational infrastructure is a reason
to provide countries with the laptop.
The laptop might allow impoverished
children a high-quality education
without the educational infrastructure. A student in poor regions of Africa might never see a teacher write
on the chalkboard, but access to the
internet can give the student the ability not only to start a blog and communicate with the entire world, but
also to learn through online lectures
and homework.
Some question whether this method
of learning could alter the personality of the student. Will the lack of
teacher-student bond affect society?
How much more effective is the
student-teacher method than laptoplearning?
Regardless, many people fear
an era of “Technological Colonialism”
and believe this product should not be
imposed on countries. Just because it
fits into America’s timeline of gadgets
does not legitimize imposing it on
other countries.
The laptop should gradually be
implemented into societies at their
discretion. And just like the first
ipod, which has evolved into today’s
smaller and more powerful version,
the $100 Laptop will probably spawn
a new industry that constantly improves.
by sumona ray
Charact
of theeristics
$100 La
ptop:
Weighs t
hree pou
nds
Uses two
watts of e
ergy
nlapto(p1’s/2e0 of a norm
nergy usa al
ge)
True cost
: $188
Built-in m
icrophon
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spring 2008
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Sexual Revolution (and T
The 60s were a turbulent time in
America. We had assassinations,
political upheaval, a trip to the moon,
and lots and lots of sex. The decade
marked a complete change in attitude
on sex and brought it to the public
square ­ literally, in some cases.
While no one can pin down the
exact cause of the sexual revolution, some say independent working
women and new reliable birth-control
may have played a part. But I would
like to throw out a far more likely
theory: the Technograph.
Yes, the Technograph. In 1955,
the Technograph began running a
feature entitled “Technocutie of the
Month,” in which the magazine fea-
tured a buxom girl from campus and
provided her dimensions and relationship status. Yep, we were once the
campus pimp. Following Hugh Heffner, ‘49, the first Technocutie column
in 1953 tried to show another side of
women ­ and no, not just the side that
wanted to be pictured in a creepy engineering magazine. The column ran
from February 1955 until May 1964.
During that time, many Technocuties
had the great privilege of of getting
their picture (sometimes depicting
them tugging on random levers) in
the magazine.
“This lu
brown escious brown h
ficially ayed girl is not air,
time.” ttached at preofss--- Miss J
first Techo Bellmar, the
ve
nocutie,
1955
Februarry
y
y, she men
“By the waat she is overrun
tioned thk at the EE Buildwith worwould appreciate
ing and volunteered.”
any help
ch
retta, Mar
r
a
B
e
n
n
A
--1955
“Numer
ically, th
haired m
is br
35, and iss scales 35o-2wn
isn’t far is unattached. 3not call from here, so wLAR
der overext. 633 and w hy
ansome tim
e?”
--- Trish
1958 Holly, Novemb
er
at
d of girl tuht
in
k
e
h
t
is
bo
“Pat
erythingsapecial
enjoys esvh
a
s
a
eh
life, but s for big rings
s
e
n
his
weak
Don’t let t
and ME’su., ME, I’m sure
scare yo n’t have anythingy
she does n costume jewelr
more thayet!”
in mind
961
y, March 1
--- Pat Terr
14
spring 2008
Spring 2008 (alpha1).indd 14
2/6/08 4:28:15 PM
nd Technograph too) by declan holzman
ather inform
“If any fusrired, direct your
tion is de to 6-2571.”
inquiries
eaughlin, D
L
c
M
ie
ll
e
“Egotis
--- N
56
tive metnical and unatt
cember 19
peeve. S are Marion’s enthe typehe also rates lpet
“I’m her that call and sow
A sense e; come on doway,
low goe of humor in a n.”
s
e
h
c
in
f
s far wit
.5
5
ds 6
h her.” el“She staning the scales at
--- Mario
tall, tippa quarter cwt. We
n Hiller,
1
r
d
960
e
n
Februar
b
a
e
m
on
nu
e
n
o
h
y
p
r
e
h
t
o
g
r
.”
fo
ok
o
b
e
h
t
in
but it’s
ruary
Allen, Feb
e
n
n
a
s
o
R
--1956
“Of con
as she issiderable inter
tached, at present un est,
likes to is the fact thatatgood atknit, and is ver she
socks.” making argyley
--- Janie
Pugh, M
arch 195
7
“If any
she hasbnody is interest
manent ’t made any p ed,
field is wcontacts, and erthe
ide open
.”
--- Judy
1956 Kelch, January
eers
sted engin
“All intereed to analyze the
are invit and make adsituationroposals.”
equate p
ril
leming, Ap
--- Peggy F
1961
spring 2008
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newnoise
Oh Say Can You See! A New UIUC Hom
What if the University got
a new Web site?
The Fourth of July is coming two
days early this year. But instead of
lawn chairs and bottle-rocket wars,
all you will need is some bandwidth.
July 2, 2008 is when the new uiuc.
edu is scheduled to launch. But designers Joel Steinfeld and Val Turner
from Creative Services at Public Affairs need your help.
Yes, you.
“Students are our number one audience,” said Robin Kaler, Associate
Chancellor for Public Affairs. “The
site needs to work for them. They are
a demographic that is very sophisticated when dealing with the web.”
A ten-question survey on the website allows for student input, whose
opinions Kaler credits as extremely
integral to the design process.
A newly designed uiuc.edu is seeking to pave over its predecessor’s
faults with innovative yet navigable
presentation. “We decided quite a while ago that
March 3, 1997
16
our site is getting awfully long and
obtuse,” Kaler said.
Over the past few years, the site
had gradually become overburdened
with an increasingly greater share of
the campus marketing load.
“People would approach
the administration and ask for this
thing or that thing to be changed to
the site,” she said. “What started as
a clean design has become cumbersome.”
Addressing these concerns, the
new website will be less cluttered and
more interactive. For one, it will reduce the number of links on the site.
Chancellor Herman and Provost Katehi envisioned several major enhancements. Herman wanted to show what
differentiated U of I’s excellence from
other universities. He also wanted a
YouTube/web2.0 connectivity. Moreover, the site will acknowledge the
university’s rich history and future.
Katehi wanted the site to showcase
August 19, 2002
the campus’s diversity and facilitate
faster information location.
A team analyzed current
website behavior to judge user needs.
They found out that express e-mail
is the overwhelming number one
hit. This makes sense because more
than half the users are current and
prospective students. Users have
also proven to be high-tech: 97% of
hits are done with a broadband connection. Still, the new website will
provide text-only content for older
computer systems or wireless-device
access.
The team decided to ditch the
current “bubble up” design approach
for a “branded” approach. The old
site’s “bubble up” had provided a
mass of links (180 in total), splattering lots of information on the homepage, which complicated navigation.
“Branded” essentially exchanges
quantity for quality, blending arts
and technology and quick information access. Condense information
and use a consistent visual language.
Acknowledging the majority
of users’ large monitors and broadband connections, the new site will
include larger images. The homep-
February 5, 2008
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newnoise
Home Page by eric anderson
age design will be flexible and thus
open to future content change. After
investigating other college’s websites, Steinfeld and Turner noticed a
pattern: many other university websites, including University of Southern California, Stanford University,
Dartmouth College and University
of Michigan, organize content in a
three-column layout. True to Herman’s desire to differentiate U of I’s
site, the team realized they should
not design the website with that layout.
The orange and blue of the
site are fresher, younger and brighter, Turner said in an online presentation. The link to e-mail is placed
prominently in the upper left-hand
corner.
And there will be glitzy
goodies, too. Kaler is especially
thrilled that the web 2.0 addition will
add a dose of novelty.
“We’re not just going to be force
feeding you,” she added. “It’s going
to be your site. We want to capture
what Illinois means to you.”
Summer 2008
Web sites obtained from the Internet Archive
Wayback Machine
spring 2008
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2/6/08 4:28:31 PM
Run with Zebra
Co-op and summer internship available
Interested in Programming?
Run with Zebra’s Spring Co-op Program.
• Get paid while you learn
• Earn college credit
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excel in your studies
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Working assignments in…Java Eclipse RCP…
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Zebra is also looking for summer
2008 internship and fall co-op candidates.
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To apply, send cover letter and resume to
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©2008 ZIH Corp. All rights reserved.
Zebra Technologies is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.
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