VOLUME CVIII, NUMBER 4 PASADENA, CALIFORNIA OCTOBER 16, 2006 Alumni and Biology Professors Meet President of Iceland Photo courtesy of Andrew Shaindlin

BY: ANNA HISZPANSKI Reykjavík, the Caltech group was welcomed to the country at a re- A few weeks before under- ception hosted by the President grads returned to Tech for a year of Iceland and the former prime of classes, exams, and field trips, minister of Iceland at the Presi- undergrads of years past came dentʼs residence. The Alumni As- together this past August to take sociation was able to arrange the a kind of field trip of their own. special welcoming because the However, unlike most typical former prime minister of Iceland, field trips, this one took alums Steingrimur Hermannsson, is a across the Atlantic to Iceland and Caltech alum from the Class of began with a welcoming by the 1952. President of the country. “I contacted [Hermannsson] to “The Alumni Association does see if he was willing to welcome what we consider ʻeducational the group at a reception, and he toursʼ for alumni. We typically emailed me back saying he would have two or three trips a year, try to do even better than that,” usually overseas,” said Andrew said Shaindlin. “He said the cur- Alumni sailed an Icelandic glacial lagoon in this amphibious “duck”. Shaindlin, Executive Director rent President would be glad to of the Alumni Association. “We host our group at a reception at company does not offer tours, but said sophomore and biology ma- established by an anonymous do- look for faculty who can lead the his residence, and that was our because two Caltech alums hold jor Angela Zah, the only under- nor specifically for the purpose of trip and whose expertise is related official welcome.” high management positions in the graduate on the trip. “Iceland is sponsoring undergrads to travel to the itinerary. Then [the profes- Keeping in-line with their goal company, special arrangements a really isolated country. Itʼs a on the alumni trips. sors] can give firsthand informa- of “doing things that you couldnʼt were made. closed community and pretty ho- “This is not something that tion to the alums so it makes it a do if you werenʼt with Caltech According to Shaindlin, many mogeneous. So what they can do students apply for,” said Shaind- unique Caltech experience.” [on the trip],” the Alumni Asso- Icelandic families have records is take two individuals from one lin. “When we identify a trip that Biology Professors Scott Fraser ciation was also able to arrange of their family trees that trace a family, one with a genetic disease we want to do, we ask the fac- and Marianne Bronner-Fraser led a private tour of the headquar- familyʼs roots to Icelandʼs found- and one without, and compare ulty leader or leaders to identify the Icelandic trip, whose focus ters of deCODE Genetics, a bio- ing in the 9th century. The com- their genomes to gene-target for a small number of students who was the unique genetics research pharmaceutical company in the bination of genealogy, detailed diseases.” could potentially participate and taking place in Iceland. Both capital Reykjavík that conducts medical histories, and Icelandʼs The Alumni Association typi- who alumni would enjoy travel- professors previously led alumni research in genetics and applies isolation allows deCODE to bet- cally invites one or two students ing with. Based on those criteria, expeditions to the Galápagos Is- its advancements towards de- ter study and understand genetic to join the trip. Zah was selected the faculty and alumni staff select lands and Costa Rica, as well. veloping drugs to treat various diseases. for the Icelandic trip, and her ex- one or two students to go.” Upon arriving in the capital, “deCODE is really amazing,” penses were covered by a fund genetic diseases. Typically the Continued on page 2 Volleyball Loses in Doubleheader DVD Library Reopens tween Lloyd and Page. The delay BY: MATTHEW GLASSMAN BY: DANIEL ROWLANDS was caused by the need to prepare the new check-out computer for After spending last year in Techers donned body paint last use. storage, the ASCIT DVD lending While the library was in stor- Friday night as the volleyball library will be available for use team suited up for their second age last year, ASCIT Frosh Direc- any day now. The DVDs will be tor at Large Chris Watson spear- double header of the season and available for check-out by under- ASCIT hosted the first athletic headed an effort to get it back grads and grad students at Cof- into service as soon as possible. barbecue of the season. The eve- feehouse in the Red Door each ning began with a tough loss to The BoC donated a laptop that evening and can be checked out it was no longer using to run the the West Coast Baptist Eagles for a period of three days. (24-30, 15-30, 25-30) and ended check-out system and Evan Mur- The library contains several phy wrote the software to run the with another defeat by the Uni- hundred DVDs, including clas- versity of Dallas Crusaders (16- system. sics, sci-fi films, and a number The library will be stored on 30, 15-30, 14-30). of Russian and Korean language “We played really hard, and the second floor of Winnett dur- films. A complete listing can be ing the day and will be brought weʼre pretty exhausted,” said co- found on the Donut website. captain and setter Sarah Stidham into the Red Door for use during Several years ago, ASCIT de- Coffeehouse. The only remaining on the teamʼs effort. “This was voted some of its excess money probably one of the better nights delay is obtaining a cart to store to building the DVD library and and transport the DVDs. of our season.” improving the acoustics in the The women played both games Watson said that ASCIT is try- ASCIT Screening Room. The li- ing to get a cart from the Caltech in a gymnasium packed with fans. brary was kept in the SAC until Hopes were high that Caltech (0- libraries, but if they canʼt they it was closed for the South House have funds on hand to purchase 9) might have pulled off a win Restoration. against West Coast Baptist (9-9) one. DVDs were checked out by While there are currently no to mark the first intercollegiate swiping oneʼs ID and scanning victory in two seasons. plans to purchase new DVDs, IHC the DVDʼs barcode. A computer Chair Craig Montuori said that it “If we didnʼt have so much system designed by Ryan and stress from work, weʼd be able is “somewhat likely” next yearʼs Graham Yoakum kept track of BoD will be interested in replac- to beat these [teams],” exclaimed which DVDs were available and topless fan Constantine Sideris ing DVDs that have been lost. At who had the checked-out ones. the moment there is no procedure with a huge exclamation-point After the SAC closed, the li- painted across his chest. in place for students to request brary went into a state of limbo. additions to the library—a sug- After the first match, fans The DVDs themselves were kept strolled out to the track to grab a gestion box is likely to be placed by a series of students while the in Coffeehouse along with the li- bite to eat at the athletic barbecue, DVD cases have gone missing run by the Meat Club. Two grills brary, but ASCIT hasnʼt decided and are thought to be in storage how many requests they will fill cooked everything from burgers somewhere in St. Lukeʼs Medical to steaks to vegetable skewers. or the timescale for additions to Center. the library. The volleyball players could be There were rumors that the li- seen getting a quick snack before Caltechʼs volleyball team fought hard in two back-to-back games. The GSC recently contributed brary might become available at a significant amount of money to heading back to the gym for the The last time volleyball won While the women have won a few some point last year, but the only the library, and will presumably second match. a match was in the 2004 season, games, they have never won a visible sign of the libraryʼs exis- “It was better than CDS on a against the same West Coast have some say in how that money Continued on page 2 tence was the DVD return box is used. Friday night,” one student said. Baptist they played last Friday. near the student mailboxes be- In This Issue Career Fair Special Medieval Club Battles it Up Page 6 New Season of Numb3rs Sizzling Sensations at Mannionʼs Page 8 Page 4 Mathematica Adds Up Page 8 Page 6 Dr. Quark Rescues Techers Again Page 12 2 THE CALIFORNIA TECH NEWS OCTOBER 16, 2006 The Outside World Announcement leading to his arrest. BY: HAROLD MARTIN Bangladeshi Economist Russian Reporter Killed, Wins Nobel Peace Prize New Space Contest World Responds to North Final Report Published Muhammad Yunus won the NASAʼs Aeronautics Research Monetary awards ranging from Koreaʼs Nuclear Test Two weeks ago, outspoken 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his Mission Directorate announced a $1,000 to $5,000 may be avail- Since it reported its first nucle- Russian journalist Anna Polit- creation of the concept of “micro- new aeronautics competition for able for first place winners in each ar test last Monday, North Korea kovskaya was slain, apparently credit”, small loans to those too high school and college students. category. There will be awards has been roundly condemned for by a hired assassin. She was mur- impoverished to qualify for tradi- College students are invited to for second and third places and its actions. However, the U.N. Se- dered just as she was finalizing tional bank loans. propose solutions for complex honorable mention recognition. curity Council has yet to set forth a report exposing brutal human After developing the concept, technical problems in hypersonic Winning university students may any consequences should North rights violations committed in Yunus founded the Grameen Bank and supersonic flight; subsonic be offered a ten-week summer in- Korea continue its tests. Chechnya by various pro-Russian in 1976 to execute it. This bank fixed and rotary wing transports; ternship at a NASA field center. Japan has already responded by forces, which her editor published turned normal banking practice or Mars entry, descent, and land- For details about this competi- imposing strict sanctions against posthumously last Thursday. on its head, requiring that bor- ing. College entries are due by tion, visit: http://aero.larc.nasa. North Korea, including a total Her report, which includes grue- rowers provide evidence of their April 27. gov/competitions.htm embargo on exports from North some images from a torture video, poverty in order to qualify for Korea. The U.S. has pushed for claimed that Kremlin backed se- loans. Since then, Grameen Bank less restrictive sanctions to be curity forces were extracting con- has provided over $4.7 billion imposed by the Security Coun- fessions from Chechens in order in loans, helping impoverished Alums Enjoy Iceland cil, but this has been opposed by to manufacture evidence that the villagers, especially women, to Continued from page 1 Russia, which wields a Security war against Chechnyan separat- break out of poverty. Another Day], they blocked off Council veto. ists is going well. Yunusʼ microloan model has Zah said that, though there was the inlet from the ocean so that China, one of North Koreaʼs Her murder has engendered since been emulated in numerous an age-gap between her and most the lagoon would freeze over.” closest allies, has stated that it strong international response, countries, playing what the Nobel of the alumni, she enjoyed trav- The groupʼs expeditions into supports limited sanctions, but since she was one of the few re- Foundation called a “major part” eling with them and trading Tech the outdoors were especially that those sanctions ought to maining journalists willing to in eliminating world poverty. He stories. pleasant because of the uncom- be designed to bring North Ko- publicly criticize Moscow, in pledged to use his award money “A lot of the people were re- monly sunny weather. In the 10 rea back to six-party diplomatic spite of increasing restrictions on to set up a company to create ally interesting, and I got to talk days the group was there, all but talks. freedom of the press. low-cost high-nutrition food for to them about how Caltech was in the last day were warm and rain- North Korea has remained the poor. the past,” said Zah. “Many of the less. steadfastly defiant, stating that it U.K. Antispam Firm De- alums on the trip were Darbs, and “I bought my son a t-shirt and will view sanctions as a declara- fies U.S. Court First Congressman Con- they were telling me how Dabney had to wear it just because it was tion of war, and that continued The Spamhaus Project, a U.K. victed in Abramoff Brib- used to be the gentlemenʼs house so hot. It was in the 60ʼs and 70ʼs pressure from the U.S. will only organization responsible for ery Scandal and was the last one to give up nearly the whole time,” said Mrs. lead to further nuclear tests. blocking up to 50 billion spam wearing suits and ties to dinner.” Karen Rossum. After long denying his in- “We sent people a packing list messages daily, has defied a U.S. volvement, Rep. Bob Ney pled In addition to meeting the Pres- American al-Qaeda Mem- District Court ruling that it re- ident and visiting deCODE, Zah to bring mittens, wool socks, um- guilty last Friday to taking bribes brellas, and water proof pants.... ber Indicted for Treason move U.S. spammer e360insight from right-wing lobbyist Jack and the group toured the many Adam Gadahn, a 28 year old from its blacklist. Spamhaus natural wonders of Iceland, in- And then we got there and it was Abramoff. Standing before a gorgeous,” said Shaindlin with a former resident of California, has did not contest the case, instead judge, he admitted to accepting cluding the Blue Lagoon, Skaf- been indicted for treason after claiming that it was not under the tafell National Park, and Lake laugh. money and other gifts in return Now back at its Caltech home, providing “aid and comfort” to jurisdiction of any U.S. court. for performing official acts on Myvatn. al-Qaeda. This is the first time an On Oct 6th, the judge in the “Icelandʼs geology is just amaz- the Alumni Association has al- Abramoffʼs clientsʼ behalf. ready begun planning its next American has been indicted for case struck back, proposing that The Abramoff scandal has se- ing...,” said Dave Rossum, an treason since 1952. the U.S. based ICANN, the or- alum who has traveled on several trip to the Sea of Cortez, which verely tainted the Republican- is slated to be led by geology Since joining al-Qaeda in May ganization responsible for man- controlled congress over the Caltech trips with his wife Karen. 2004, Gadahn has been an impor- aging domain name distribution, “Thereʼs so much to see and so Professor Joann Stock in June of past several months, and various 2007. However, while the Iceland tant propagandist for the terrorist be ordered to remove Spamhaus congressional aides have pleaded many questions to ask.” organization. He has appeared in from the internet records. “We also went to this glacial trip may be over, the impression guilty on related charges. Ney, the country made on the group various videos, vehemently de- Aside from the technical prob- the first member of congress to lagoon where they filmed two claring his hatred of America and lems such a massive increase in Bond movies,” said Zah. “It appears to be a lasting one. be convicted, now faces up to 10 “The country is so beauti- claiming that more violent attacks spam would cause, such an order years in prison. never freezes over because of the are forthcoming. would undoubtedly be perceived salt water that flows in from the ful, and the people are so nice,” Ney has not yet resigned his said Zah. “I would definitely go Believed to be in Pakistan, the by the international community seat in congress, reportedly due ocean. So when they filmed [Die FBI has placed Gadahn on their as an attempt by the U.S. govern- to his weak financial situation, “Most Wanted Terrorists” list, and ment to control the internet, and although he has promised to do the State Department is offering a could trigger a crises in internet before receiving his sentence. Techers Support Team $1 million reward for information governance. Continued from page 1 will host their biggest rival, Oc- match against a conference team. include both ug and grad students of reserves ASCIT still has. If cidental College, at Brown Gym ASCIT Minutes (the inclusion of grad students youʼre in need of funding, we “They didnʼt win any games on Tuesday, 7:30 PM. might increase the female yield), have money to give you! tonight, but they held out against “We really wanted to beat West or whether this might be an in- some tough teams,” said Head Wednesday, October 11, 2006 Coast Baptist,” said Stidham. tercollegiate event. Because the 4. Movie Library Coach Maureen Burl. “We were Present Officers: Todd Gin- planning is still in its first stages, * WANTED: A tri-level wheely “But weʼre going to beat Occi- missing one of our starting outside grich, Jean Sun, Craig Montuori, the BoD suggested funding the cart for the movie library. Once dental next Tuesday.” Vickie Pon, Chris Gonzales, Csilla event with $100 for now. After this item is obtained, we can start hitters [senior co-captain Lisa St- Felsen, Nathan Donnellan, Chris people RSVP for the event, if it renting out movies! Chris Watson reit] but the rest of the team rose Watson, Jon Senn, RJ Krom looks like they need more fund- will look into getting a temporary to the challenge.” ing, the BoD supports them in cart from the Library so movies In the third and final game Guests: Kevin Watts, Joe Don- asking for more money later. can be check out as soon as Fri- ovan, Mitchell Wang, Nathan o Vote: A majority vote day from the Coffeehouse in Red against the Eagles, the Bea- Crook granted $100 for the Speed Dat- Door! vers were behind by over 1. Funding Requests ing event. * Kevin Watts and Joe Dono- ten points, but fought back 5. Staff Awards to rally to within three. van, the VP and Prez of BEM 2. Trustee Meeting * All the awards are currently Club, requested $250 to invite * The Trustees have requested in the Tech Express (taking up “I try not to think about speakers for lunch talks. BEM for a few undergrads to attend 1/2 the room in there!). After the the score,” said junior Rene Club just started up recently (after their annual meeting on October meeting, the boxes will be brought Davis on coming back late the spring club funding season), 28th for a “conversation” about to Todd and Nateʼs room for stor- in the game. “My mindset, so $250 would be enough funding student concerns. This is an in- age until Watson distributes them for Fall and Winter terms. BEM credible opportunity to address to the awardees by this Friday. since Iʼm not that good, is Club will apply for club funding the Trusteeʼs attention to the ways just to hustle all the time.” again in the spring. in which Caltech can be improved 6. Thank you Tom! Caltech had a tougher o Vote: A unanimous vote for undergrads. * Tom Mannion bought lap- time in the second match granted BEM Club $250. * The BoD needs to provide tops for both the IHC and ASCIT * RJ requested $300-500 in the names of students to attend by so we can store all our files in one against the University of funding for the Ultimate Frisbee the end of the week. We created a place from year to year! (A big Dallas (12-14). Club. The Ultimate Frisbee Club list of about six undergrads whom thanks from the Secretaries!) “We could have beat West has been playing against other we felt will fully represent every Coast Baptist,” said co-cap- collegiate teams and in tourna- aspect of undergraduate academ- 7. Athletic BBQ Friday, Oct. tain Erin White. “We made ments. They need uniforms, ics and life. 13th which cost at least $35 each for * The main issues we want * The ASCIT Social Team is too many errors. Dallas the 20+ members. to address will be items concern- having the first Athletic BBQ this was a better team, though. o Vote: A unanimous vote ing housing, student life, and aca- term this Friday, Oct. 13th, be- Iʼm not upset about losing granted the Ultimate Frisbee Club demics. The specifics of what will tween the volleyball games. Weʼll to them. We were pretty $500 for uniforms. be presented at the meeting will see you there! * Mitchell Wang and Nathan be worked out later this week. tired.” Crook requested $250 in funding Respectfully submitted, The team is looking for- for a “Speed-Dating” event. The 3. Budget Update Vickie Pon ward to their next game this Co-captain Erin White and bare-chest- funding would go towards food, * Last week, Jon sent the BoD ASCIT Secretary ed Techers wait for the serve in the sec- prizes for 1st dates, and raffle an update with the dollar amounts coming Tuesday. Caltech ond match of Fridayʼs doubleheader. prizes. The BoD asked if this will THE CALIFORNIA TECH NEWS OCTOBER 16, 2006 3 4 THE CALIFORNIA TECH FEATURES OCTOBER 16, 2006 Despite all the encouraged op- tell, perhaps even interview from To encourage social interaction portunities, many students were alumni. with the other sex, offi cial events Th en and Now were arranged for Tech men. In still quite unhappy with the situ- The ratio ation. Headline such as “Aroused Even the Wikipedia article on In most social situations at its October 5, 1958 edition, one BY: YANG YANG Beavers Tie Poets 6-6,” in the Caltech reads more like a resume Caltech, it is the 500lb gorilla that Tech headline blares “Frosh to 1948 edition belied a sense of than a biography. Amongst all the everyone has learned to ignore. Meet Girls.” Although Caltech has man- sexual frustration. Pictures of a amazing accomplishments, the Although no one vocally com- “About 200 college freshman aged to stay at the forefront of a scantily clad woman headlined studentʼs perspectives were lost. plains about the ratio, any guy and high school senior girls will century of technology, the school two editions of the Tech in 1969, Curious what life was really or girl would seize the option to be on the Caltech campus Sun- has retained many of its historic the second one with the caption like at Caltech, I began delving change it. day for the Annual Freshman Tea qualities. “if you didnʼt get it last week....” into the archives of The Tech. But for the majority of Caltech Dance, according to Dance Chair- The September 25, 1958 edition A 1949 joke issue of the Tech bit- As an offi cial ASCIT publica- history, the school had been all- man Lou Toth” the story reads. “ of the Tech greeted 202 “big and terly noted the ratio. tion, The Tech did cover a lot of male. The fi rst female undergrad- ʻThey are the cream of the crop,ʼ bright” new students on campus; “The following sex breakdown the major accomplishments – No- uates did not enroll in the Institute said Thoth, describing his imports two weeks ago, we welcomed was released by the registrarʼs of- bel-prize-winning faculty, major until the fall of 1970. from Scripps, Los Angeles Coun- 231 new undergraduates. Almost fi ce recently: award winners and campus reno- How did the undergrads handle ty Hospital, Good Samaritan Hos- every issue of The Tech in 1948 Male students ...... 731 vations. However, the student the situation back then? pital and the local high schools.” contained updated scores for In- Women students...... 000” writers often injected their own Although there were no female nother popular pre-integration terhouse sports, the editors even It comes as no surprise that sense of humor and opinions into undergrads, girls were never ab- mixer was the prom, complete compiled all-star teams for some for a period of time a strip club its pages. sent from campus. The houses with King and Queen. Candidates sports. Just yesterday, our house named Hi Life prospered near I had originally planned one held an annual interhouse dance, for queen of the prom were se- Athmen reminded everyone of Caltech. Starting in the fall of article about The Techʼs past fi lled with couples that disap- lected by houses and on-campus the upcoming Interhouse tennis 1970, the club began advertising and present, but after spending pear into “the darkest corners of organizations, they were mostly matches. in the Tech, luring men with a two hours browsing the 1948- the lounges,” according to the girls from local colleges and high Anyone can read the history of “special daytime offer for Caltech 1948 edition of the Tech, I real- December 4, 1947 edition of The schools. Caltech on the school webpage, students, faculty, alumni and em- ized there was no way 60 years Tech. Local jewelry shops publi- Each year before the big dance, fi lled with interesting tidbits ployees...” of stories can be retold with just cized their engagement ring pric- the candidatesʼ pictures and a about past faculty and alumni. one article. Hopefully, I will be short blurb were inserted in the However, none of it notes the es through ads in the paper, aimed Next week: The history of inte- back again with more stories to at hopeful lovers. Tech, in 1949 the head shots took gration at Tech unique student life at the Institute. up 70% of the front page.

ers. When the big day arrives, walk From Job Fair to Job Off er 4) Dress nicely. Wear a pressed/ around the booths, pick up com- an industry, organization, or fu- 2) See who is coming – Go to ironed buttoned shirt/blouse, and pany literature and job listings, lis- BY: JONIE WATANABE TSUJI ture careers. the Career Development Center pressed slacks/pants/skirt (not ten to other students as they speak CAREER CENTER Who comes to the Career Fair? website at www.career.caltech. holey Levis). If you are serious at with recruiters, and most impor- Companies that are actively hir- edu, we have a link to all of the all about making career contacts, tantly—drop off your resume and The Caltech Career Fair will ing. They know about the quality companies who are attending. fi rst impressions are key. Dress- ask intelligent questions. Once occur this Wednesday the 18th of Caltech students and its rigor- We also have a ready-made list of ing nicely demonstrates respect you have successfully navigated at Bechtell Mall, the area be- ous academic programs. In fact, companies listed alphabetically, and your seriousness about the Career Day and made some great hind Millikan Library. The Tech many of the recruiters are Caltech as well as by industry. Check out company. If you are looking at contacts, follow up—get business presents the following informa- alumni. the company websites, and pri- fi nancial institutions (investment cards of the recruiters, and con- tion from the Caltech Career How should you prepare your- oritize a list of the companies you banking, hedge funds, etc.) then tact them (making sure to remind Center. self for the Career Fair? The most most want to see. We have 100 dress even better. them who you are—they may important thing is to plan ahead! companies scheduled to attend! 5) Prepare questions in ad- have seen hundreds of students What comes to mind when you 3) Make a business card. vance, then step up and start ask- during the course of the day). Did think of the Career Fair? Cool 1) Bring your resume. Attend a Graphic Arts offers a special deal ing. What do you want to know? I say how IMPORTANT it is to giveaways? Door Prizes? Hope- resume writing workshop and get on them for Caltech students – or Internships? Corporate culture? follow up? Only a few students fully you consider getting a full- feedback from others. If you donʼt make some yourself for Career Career paths? Locations? Re- take the time to thank them and time job, an internship, meeting have a good resume yet, then col- Day, then go to Graphic Arts. If search projects? Skills most re- express further interest. Be one specifi c employers, or just asking lect cards and send employers one you donʼt use it now, you will in quired? of the few – believe me, it makes lots of questions to fi nd out about as a follow up. the future. It impresses employ- a big difference. Companies in Attendance Information Sessions 1010data Farmers Insurance Group PortBlue Corp. 3M Fulcrum Microsystems Program Analysis & Evalua- Session in Avery Library ActiveMaps,Inc. Goldman Sachs & Company tion October 16th 4:00-5:30PM MIT-Lincoln Advertising.com Green Hills Software Quantum Design 3:30-5PM ExxonMobil Infor- Lab Information Session in Avery Aerospace Corp. Guidance Software QVT Financial LP mation Session in the Brennen Conference Room (upstairs) Air Liquide America Hamilton Sundstrand Rand Corp. Conf. Room Akamai Technologies Heavy Iron Studios Raytheon Company 4:00-6PM Boston Consulting October 19th Alfred Mann Foundation Infosys Technologies Ltd. Raza Microelectronics Presentation in the Avery Library 12Noon-1PM Goldman Sachs Altera Corp. Inst. for Defense Analyses Redback Networks 6:30-8:30PM Ellington Mgmt. Information Session in the Bren- Anritsu Company International Game Technol- Rincon Research Corp. Reception in the Athenaeum nen Conf. Room Applied Signal Technology ogy Robert Bosch Corp. - RTC 3:30-5PM DE Shaw Informa- Arbor Vita Corp ITA Software Schlumberger Tech. Corp. October 17th tion Session in Avery Library Arete Associates Ixia SRI International 3:30-5PM Oshkosh Informa- 3:30-5pm Schlumberger Infor- ATA Engineering, Inc. Jane Street Capital, LLC State Street IMS tion Session in the Brennen Conf. mation Session in the 2nd fl oor Bechtel Bettis Inc. KBC Financial Products KLA- Susquehanna International Room Conf. Room (Student Services Boeing Tencor Group, LLP Bldg.) Broadcom Corp. Lam Research Teach for America October 18th 4:00-5:30PM 3M Co. Infor- Caltech Alumni Fund Laserfi che Tech Empower 3:00-5PM Tower Research mation Session in Brennen Conf. City of Hope Natʼl Medical Lawrence Livermore Natʼl The Open Planning Project Capital Information Session in Room Center Lab. (TOPP) Brennen Conf. Room CNA Corp. LEK Consulting Tower Research Capital 3:30-5PM Nvidia Information October 20th Countrywide Financial Corp. Lockheed Martin Coherent Trex Enterprises Corporation Session in the 2nd fl oor Conf. 3:30-5PM CNA Corp. Infor- Crabel Capital Management Technologies US Navy Offi cer Programs Room (Student Services Bldg.) mation Session in Avery Library Cree, Inc. Los Alamos National Lab. Western Asset Management 4:00-6PM Yahoo Information Dallas Semiconductor/Maxim Marvell Semiconductor, Inc. Co. D.E. Shaw Group Microsoft Corp. Wireless Generation Deutsche Bank MIT Lincoln Laboratory WorleyParsons Getting Business Cards DreamWorks Animation Mozilla Corp. Yahoo! Earthlink, Inc. Nextwave Broadband Having business cards is one of the most effective means of mar- Eaton Corp. Northrop Grumman GRADUATE SCHOOLS keting yourself and leaving a lasting impression. It provides a means Ecliptic Enterprises Corp. Novellus Systems Duke University to follow-up at a career fair, interview, meeting, conference, alumni Effi cient Frontier NVIDIA Princeton University event, etc. The Career Development Center recommends ordering your Ellington Management Group Optiver Holding BV UCLA Anderson School of business cards at Caltech Graphic Resources (call 626-395-6701 for a EMC Corp. Oracle Management quote). Environ International Corp. Osha Liang LLP Watson School of Biological Erler & Kalinowski Oshkosh Truck Corp. Sciences EWT, LLC Oversee.net Exxonmobil Picoco LLC THE CALIFORNIA TECH NEWS OCTOBER 16, 2006 5 6 THE CALIFORNIA TECH FEATURES OCTOBER 16, 2006 Club of the Week Make a Winning Duo Science and Medieval History Photo courtesy of Caltech CMRS Caltech Medieval and Renais- BY: TESSA YAO sance Society. The CMRS researches many What is it about the Middle aspects of life in the Middle Ages, Ages that fascinates people? For including warfare, weapon-mak- some it is romantic images of ing, blacksmithing, leatherwork- castles, knights, and beautiful ing, brewing, weaving, and cal- maidens. ligraphy. But for the young male For a group of people at Caltech members and even some females, it is a curiosity to learn, in true the prime attraction tends to be scientific fashion, how things the combat sessions. were done in a long-ago time – a CMRS members indulge in time that shaped many of the in- several types of medieval com- stitutions and liberties we benefit bat such as heavy fighting, rapier from today. fighting, archery, and occasional- For example, the constitutional ly experiment with siege weapons law practiced in many Western such as catapults and trebuchets. countries had its foundations in But it is the heavy fighting with the Magna Carta, an English char- broadswords and shields which ter from the year 1215; and many was symbolic of the Middle Ages of the courtesies and freedoms that is the most popular among that modern women enjoy had our members today. their roots in the chivalric code Since the focus of the group is practiced in medieval Europe. authentic recreation, the goal is to Recognizing this and other sig- make the fighting as realistic as Caltech Medieval and Renaissance Society members practice broadsword fighting. nificant contributions of the time, possible. As members will attest, sword fighting, which requires as the Caltech Medieval and Renais- it is not easy to make a sword that CA in 1966 and has 30,000 mem- up two pages of sign-up sheets sance Society (CMRS) is a club much strength and skill as any of bers from all around the world. with names of potential new is balanced and handles like a real the other ancient martial arts such whose goal is to research and rec- broadsword. Interestingly enough, according members. The CMRS Booth dis- reate the Middle Ages. Composed as judo and karate. Wikipedia de- to the SCA Web site, a high per- played various medieval arts and In the interest of safety, the scribes this type of fighting as “a of Caltech students and staff, the group members have to wear pro- centage of SCA members are in- crafts and there was a spectacular society focuses on medieval and serious full-contact sport; moves volved in high tech fields – com- broadsword fighting display on tective gear. Some of the CMRS are not planned or signaled and Renaissance-era Europe, but also members wear armor handcrafted puters, aerospace, high energy the Beckman Lawn. includes any culture that had con- fighters strike each other with physics, etc. which may explain For more information and pho- by modern-day blacksmiths, but considerable force and speed.” tact with Europe in any time prior the club does have loaner armor its popularity among Caltech per- tos of club events, visit the CMRS to 1600. The Caltech CMRS is associ- sonnel. website at http://voyagers.caltech. and helmets available for new ated with a much larger organi- So even students with an inter- members to start out with. The CMRS recently participat- edu or contact Tessa Yao, Caltech est in Chinese or Middle East- zation called the Society for Cre- ed in the Caltech Club Fair held Division of Biology, at (626) 395- Then they are trained by experi- ative Anachronism (SCA). The ern history can take part in the enced fighters in the art of broad- on Sept 23rd and had a very posi- 8336, [email protected]. SCA was founded in Berkeley, tive response from visitors, filling Mark’s Track Prattle Caltech Makes Math Cool with Another Season of Numb3rs Photo by Jonathan Tsai fic”, in which the basic premise BY: MARK EICHENLAUB was that the Los Angeles area had recently seen a spree of attacks on Caltech likes Numb3rs. This highway motorists. Not surpris- was clear from the moment that ingly, Charlie Eppes saved the President Jean-Lou Chameau day – with math. took the stage last Wednesday Numb3rs co-creator Nick Fala- to introduce a screening of an ci claimed after the screening that upcoming Numb3rs episode and math is about 30% of what makes a panel discussion with sundry the show unique. Caltechʼs Gary Numb3rs cast, crew, and self-in- Lorden explained that his role fatuated masters of ceremonies. as math consultant was to, “stay Among the more intelligible of up late, drink Diet Coke, and fax Chameauʼs brief utterances was, pages and pages of math equa- “Welcome to Caltech, where you tions to the researchers for the really do use math every day. In show. I try to very politely but fact, if you talk to our students, sometimes very intensely make they will tell you it is not only notes on the script about things I every day, but also every night.” would do differently.” That is not strictly true, because Professor Lordenʼs comments it is currently Friday night, and I must have gotten lost for a couple have not yet gotten any numbers. of scenes, such as the one where Caltechʼs affinity for Numb3rs mathematician Charlie Eppes ex- is not a difficult phenomenon to plains to FBI agent Megan Reeves understand, and can easily be that her hypothesis that the high- treated formally. way murders are connected by a pattern she couldnʼt yet find was a Proof that Caltech Likes “hidden variable theory – the idea The cast of Numb3rs along with Caltech professor Gary Lorden holds a panel for the show. Numb3rs that nothing in the world can be Postulate 1 (“Legacy of Balti- truly random.” It looks like Char- and Iʼm still not sure if that dude out that a deranged Care Bear was lie would do no better in Ph 125 a continuing play on our percep- is supposed to be a good guy or strangling Rainbow Brightʼs pos- more”): tion of probability. Randomness, Caltech likes money. than I did last year. a bad guy or what. Since its in- se with synthetically-grown or- Back in the fake world, Eppes Charlie Eppes pointed out to his ception, Numb3rs has become ganic polymers that decay within Postulate 2 (“Fundamental students, implies the lack of a Theorem of Hollywood”): walked in to physicist Larry increasingly convoluted as well, minutes in UV radiation), I real- Fleinhardtʼs office and discov- pattern. The lesson continued in adding so many twists and turns ized that I was lost in the showʼs Television = money. the FBI office, where Eppes sug- Given these postulates, it is a ered that Fleinhardt was recover- itʼs study is becoming a legiti- fast-paced blending of drama and ing from a bad weekend, in which gested that seven recent highway mate branch of topology. “Traf- jokes, action and contemplation, trivial application of the fact that attacks, for which the investiga- Numb3rs is a television show to ʻPolitzerʼ shot down his thoughts fic,” in addition to a complicated math and love. I didnʼt expect to on multi-dimensional quantum tors could find no pattern, might investigation of highway murder say it, I still almost donʼt want to demonstrate that FBI Agent Da- simply be random. He claimed vid Sinclair is really cool and gravity by studying the law of and lessons on probability and the say it, but itʼs true, and so here it cosines. Fleinhardt spouted a that humans always search for application of fluid mechanics to is: this show is good. It makes hard-core. The proof that Dylan patterns where there are none. Brunoʼs heroically- string of phys- civil engineering, threw in asides me feel dirty just to admit it, but ics buzzwords This led, unavoidably, to on Fleinhardtʼs love life, Don after watching “Traffic,” I really chiseled jowl is a ves- “It looks like Reevesʼ iPod. The iPod in ʻshuf- tige of his MIT under- so long, fast, Eppesʼ disenchantment with the do want to know what has Don Charlie would and meaning- fle modeʼ never repeats itself, and world, a mostly-gratuitous chase Eppes in such a funk, and when graduate education is therefore isnʼt random, just like left as an exercise to do no better in less that after- scene through an LA car wash, Charlie and Amita will finally get ward I could the circumstances of the highway the nature of morality, and social it on. the reader. murders didnʼt repeat. After the If Caltech is bi- Ph 125 than I did not even the implications of anger and road I couldnʼt identify what it was measure an- Numb3rs crew exploited this clue rage. Thatʼs an awfully hefty list that pulled me in, but discussion ased one way towards last year.” to discover that the murders were Numb3rs, I am biased gular momen- for an hour-long TV spot. panelist and TV-scientist Bill tum vector of my spinning head, linked, a series of increasingly- But somewhere between the Nye hit the nail on the probabi- the other. First, I donʼt like TV. complicated and obscure investi- Second, I donʼt like math. Third, much less write the list down for physicist who sleeps in his office listically-unlikely head. “When replication here. gations led them to find the hid- because getting an apartment is youʼre in love, you want to tell I will not be won over simply by den patterns after all. the dark, enchanting intensity Thatʼs not to say the showʼs too inconvenient and the showʼs the world,” he began. “Thereʼs mathematics were simply one Now, I am but a simple, hum- inexplicable climax (I guess I a tension between people in love of David Krumholtzʼ midnight- ble man (possibly the humblest). dreamy locks. long disaster. Most of the first shouldnʼt give it away, but I just half of the show revolved around I donʼt handle complicated plots donʼt understand how they figured The episode shown was “Traf- well. I tried to watch ʻ24ʼ once, Continued on page 8 THE CALIFORNIA TECH OCTOBER 16, 2006 7 8 THE CALIFORNIA TECH FEATURES OCTOBER 16, 2006 Things Heat Up at Mannion’s Panel Promotes Math Photo by Jonathan Tsai BY: ANDREA DUBIN Via Television Show What do trips to LA to see dis- tinguished speakers, a cooking Continued from page 6 class, and the carnival/club fair math exercises for use by school all have in common? They are all with mathematics and people teachers. I completed an exercise intended to improve the quality of getting shot at. I think itʼs cool on the famous ʻbirthday prob- student life and they are all orga- as heck.” Falaci clarified that lemʼ and considered submitting nized by Campus Life. Campus Numb3rs works because itʼs it to Professor Lorden for extra Life is primarily responsible for about “a very interesting group credit, just before realizing that I the nonacademic side of Student of people coming together. Itʼs a had turned in a drop card for Ma Life on campus. They provide clash of the university world and 112 that very afternoon. And Iʼll services such as housing, resident the FBI.” These worlds are col- admit, seeing the Red Door Cafe, associates, dining, bookstore, liding because they occur in two Millikan Library, “The Fishbowl” computer store, and child care. brothers on opposite sides of the in Ruddock House, and occasion- Tom Mannion is the Assistant link. “We focus a lot on the fam- ally even myself on TV is pretty Vice President for Student Affairs ily,” Falluci said. cool. for Campus Life and is in charge And itʼs only going to get bet- The greatest selling point for Tom Mannion and TA Matt Glassman put the finishing touches on ter. Throughout the panel discus- Numb3rs is itʼs popularization of of organizing these events. While the main course that students prepared Thursday night. many students know of Mannionʼs sion, the cast and crew dropped math. “Trafficʼs” clarification of hints that upcoming episodes cooking class, his job is actually “Itʼs clearly one of the more pop- student, gives undergraduates the some common misconceptions of would contain a self-taught math- much more complicated. ular classes. Iʼm writing a book, opportunity to do something fun probability and itʼs taste-test in- ematical genius as a foil to Charlie “Thereʼs actually a very large so weʼll have our own textbook,” that they might not otherwise be troduction to the science of traffic Eppes, a new character who acts business component,” said Man- said Mannion. “Stephen Hawk- able to afford. Alumni are be- control were integrated into the as a fictional parallel to Caltechʼs nion. “We tie together housing, ing will be coming 2nd term next coming increasingly interested in show so smoothly the unsuspect- real-life Dr. Tom Tombrello, and the bookstore, and dining servic- year and the food writer for the the campus life programs and are ing median American wonʼt even bigger and badder villains, one of es. We deal with anything hav- LA Times is coming. After ten also making significant contribu- know heʼs being educated as he whom, someday, might even get ing to do with food, including the weeks, their cooking is as good tions to improving student life. watches. away. kosher food plan, and weʼre in- as any upscale restaurant in Pasa- Students can look forward to a Numb3rs, Dr. Chameau in- The showʼs mathematical inac- volved with the food committee. dena. The ability to teach some- large range of student life activi- formed us, has won the Carl Sa- curacies are forgivable, itʼs naive The housing challenges are hard, thing is nice, and what I have to ties. The distinguished speaker gan Science award for promoting stereotyping of physicists is be- thereʼs a very though line between offer has a special little niche. series allows students to attend public understanding of math neficent enough to be sufferable, meeting the trusteeʼs expectations Students cook dinner in Jean- talks by Nobel laureates, best- and science. The youngest par- and itʼs intentions, as far as these and what the students want.” Lou Chameauʼs home for the vice selling authors, explorers and ticipant in the post-screening things go, seem to be in the right “Campus life also does a lot of presidents and division chairs. It celebrated personalities. Every question and answer session was place. things to enhance culture here at is a huge opportunity for the stu- Sunday Mannion invites students a middle-school girl who, in ad- “Weʼd love to Caltech. The MOSH is involved dents and faculty to interact” over to his house to watch foot- dition to express- see this country in taking students to operas, we The recent budget cuts ball. He will be inviting each of ing her finite-but- being far more “Numb3rs... has have an etiquette class with the shouldnʼt affect the quality of the the houses over for dinner to dis- uncountable love interested in MOSH, thereʼs a cooking class, student life events. “The amazing cuss the south house project and won the Carl (or alternatively, science,” said and a number of alums call me thing is that we cut the budget al- possible plans for the new north deification) of Cheryl Heuton, Sagan Science for advice with cooking. We try most 40% last year, and still have houses. David Krumholtz, the showʼs co- to make sure the students see each more events last year than ever,” “Anything we can do to take the award for pro- expressed the one creator. Itʼs not other by putting together events said Mannion. “In three years pressure off and make students thing that makes just idle talk. moting public like the carnival. The alumni as- we expect to give money back to realize what a great place this is, Numb3rs worth- The Numb3rs sociation was so impressed with Caltech to help the general bud- thatʼs what itʼs about,” said Man- understanding of while. “Ever since website, www. the fireworks this year that they get.” nion. “Unless I hear, ʻtech is hell I saw this show, w e a l l u s e m a - math and science” want to double the budget.” A lot of the money for these pro- but I enjoy every minute about itʼ, Iʼve wanted to be theveryday.com, Tom Mannion also teaches a grams comes from donors. The Iʼm not going to be happy. Some- better at math,” contains not just information and cooking class on Thursday nights. Don Shepard Fund, established by times it takes other activities to she announced. Well, young lady, advertising for the show, but also Itʼs open to 16 undergraduates, the late Larry Shepard in memory make them realize that.” me too. with priority given to seniors. of his son, Don, a former Caltech Software Review Photo courtesy of http://www.astro.uu.nl/ict/ Mathematica >> Other Tools?

basic algebraic manipulations, BY: RADHIKA MARATHE The sign ^ stands for raised to. matrix operations such as inver- For example, Are you a frosh who gets com- sion, solving second and third 50.4+2^3 -> 208 pletely lost when the professor degree polynomial equations, dif- Inverse[{{1,2}, {3,4}}] -> {{- casually says, “Oh, if you canʼt ferentiating with respect to any 2,1},{3/2,-1/2}} calculate it manually, just plug specified variables, indefinite and Integrate[3x^2, x] it into Mathematica”. Are you an definite integration plotting in 2D -> x^3 upperclassman embarrassed with and 3D over a specified range. Solve[ax^2+bx+c=0, x] - your knowledge of mathemati- Apart from these, computa- >{{x-> (-b+√(b^2-4ac))/2a}, {x- cal softwares? The beginning of tions that may be quite tedious by > (-b-√(b^2-4ac))/2a}} the new school year is the perfect hand such as factorials of large Plot3D[Sqrt[xy], {x, 0, 1}, {y, time to learn something about numbers, factoring polynomial 0, 5}] these softwares that can be valu- expressions, numerical solutions able tools during your time at of differential equations and plot- Maple: Maple has two modes Caltech and beyond. Three soft- ting of vector fields is possible of problem entry and evaluation: wares popularly used on campus using these. The range of util- the document mode (which allows – Mathematica, Maple and Mat- ity for these softwares includes for quick problem-solving with lab, are briefly introduced below. areas such as complex analysis, rich-content composition with graphics, statistics and signal pro- minimal commands required) and Development and current cessing with the help of Fourier the Worksheet mode (the tradi- Transforms etc. tional environment with appear- versions For ease of importing and ex- Mathematica is a programming ance of a command prompt). The porting data, all three softwares commands given as examples language developed and sold by are compatible with major com- Wolfram Corporation. The current here are for the worksheet mode. puting systems and accept data The expression to be evaluated version is 5.2. Maple was devel- in varied formats such as EPS, oped as a commercial mathemat- followed by Return gives the an- GIF, PNG, SVG, XML, HTML, This screenshot from Mathematica demonstrates its functionality ics software in 1981 by a team by swer for basic operations. TeX, and RTF etc. At a higher in plotting and symbolic manipulation. the Symbolic Computation Group level of computation, these may Example: based in the University of Water- be integrated with various other Matlab : Once again, simple > my_matrix = [8, 12, 19; 7, 3, 2; loo, Ontario, Canada and has been > 123^2 - 29857/120 -> programming languages to create 1785623/120 expressions may be typed in fol- 12, 4, 23; 8, 1, 1]; sold commercially by Maplesoft components of software systems. lowed by the Return Key to give Y=inv(my_matrix) since 1988. The current version is > sin^3 (π/3) -> 3√3/8 > solve (x-2)/a = 1 -> {x = 2 + a} the calculated result. A major fea- > X=[0, 0.05, pi]; Y=(- 10. Matlab (MATrix LABoratory) ture of Matlab is that expressions .2.*X).*cos(X); Z=(- is a computer algebra system cre- Syntax to get you started > diff(tan(x)sin(x), x) -> Although extensive function (1+tan^2(x))sin(x) + tan(x)cos(x) that are non-scalars are stored in .2.*X).*sin(X); plot3(X,Y,Z) ated by The Mathworks in 1984 lists are available on the inter- the form of arrays and operated to perform intensive computa- > plot3d([xy/(x^2+y^2)],x=- net for each of these packages, 1..1,y=0..5) on accordingly. As clear from the above exam- tional tasks better than languages the most basic functions are dis- ples, the basic syntax is similar such as Fortran and C. The cur- cussed below with examples for > 65*2 ->130 for all three packages. Clicking rent version is R2006b. The Document mode has inter- the syntax: active features for most of these >(roots of the polynomial x^3- on the Help Menu or typing help Mathematica: For basic alge- operations on the Menu and com- 6x^2-72x-27) returns a detailed guide on per- Tools in the toolbox braic manipulations, the expres- mands need to be used less fre- p=[1 -6 -72 -27] forming any required task. All these packages can primari- sion to be evaluated followed by quently. r=roots(p) -> returns the roots The software reviewed above ly used for all operations possible a Shift+Return gives the answer. in the form of a column vector (a may be downloaded by Caltech with a calculator. This includes vertical single columned array) students at software.caltech.edu. THE CALIFORNIA TECH OCTOBER 16, 2006 9 10 THE CALIFORNIA TECH COMMENTARY OCTOBER 16, 2006 Overarching philosophy aside, Dean Hallʼs ignorance of CRC Reponse to Dean Hall procedure shines in his article. any of its members were given For example, he mentions that BY: MASON SMITH any notice of growing concern “often, interviews would also be held with the people involved... Note: This article reflects only by the Deans before the sanc- tion, without at all confirming or but, in the present instance, the the opinions of the author, and history itself was sufficient...” does not reflect those views held claiming otherwise. Dean Hall did mention that the However, the little t specifically by Page House, the Tech, or any says that, during the preliminary larger group. Routing Committee imposed the sanctions as opposed to the dean investigation, “interviews are held First of all, let me say that with those involved in the matter upon hearing that Dean Hall had himself. I will happily concede that point; Dean Hall is in a much reported” and that “at the conclu- written a response to my article, sion of the interview process [my “Deans Violate the Honor Code”, better position than I to say who did what, since Page was left out emphasis], the co-chairs will de- I was pleasantly surprised. Even cide if the case will be considered though it seems as if Dean Hall of the loop for much of the pro- cess. by the full CRC.” was compelled to write a response Dean Hall has recently come under fire for prohibiting As a matter of fact, the little t only because he thought my arti- My second realization was that the article doesnʼt adequately public alcohol consumption in Page House during the references nothing besides the cle was “irresponsible” and “just summer. The restriction has since been lifted. interview process itself in the plain wrong”, it is refreshing to explain many aspects of the spe- the professor throughout the latest it was at the start of the preliminary investigation. Hallʼs see that our Dean cares, at least cific case against Page House, nor week to complete the set. When summer. mention of collecting cases from to some extent, about how he is define what exactly constitutes the second co-chair was finally Dean Hall rationalized this in four terms ago lacks even a vague perceived by the undergraduate “Page House” in this scenario. available to meet, we still didnʼt the latter meeting by saying that reference in the CRC policy population.* I find this especially impor- meet with her; rather, the CRC he was on COSGAA (essentially, for preliminary procedures. Of Unfortunately, after reading the tant because I *still* am unaware met independently. the precursor to and creator of the course, as I mentioned and Dean article, I couldnʼt stop my self of these specifics. For instance, Perhaps the most amusing as- modern CRC) and that he was Hall confirmed, the full CRC from laughing hysterically. when I asked Dean Green during pect of the article, though, was well aware of the purpose and hearing was scheduled before the The first thing that struck me the CRC preliminary what exact- Dean Hallʼs references to estab- workings of the CRC. However, preliminary (as defined by the about the editorial was that, de- ly constitutes “Page House”, she lish procedure. his perception of the CRC as a CRC) was conducted and even spite its name, it wasnʼt at all a responded with a rather vague re- On at least two separate oc- committee that influences major before Page House was notified response. Save for the rather in- ply which could be accurately be casions, during meetings with policy flies squarely in the face of that there was a case. cendiary introduction, the article summarized as “Depends...”. Dean Hall, Iʼve asked him ques- all publicly available literature re- Dean Hall essentially argues couldʼve easily been written as is After reading through it a sec- tions about published CRC pro- garding the CRC, which regards that there was enough “evidence” without having read my original ond and third time, I was further cedure (for my own knowledge, the CRC as a board which merely to push a full trial without re- editorial. amused by its spins. For instance, not as some pop quiz). In both responds to non-academic viola- garding the statements of the The article fails to mention Dean Hall states that “A proposal instances, he admitted to not tions of the honor code. defendants. Not only is relevant specific issues addressed in my was prepared by Page, and, after having read the sections of the Furthermore, on multiple occa- evidence ignored; rather, the par- article, such as the fact that no several exchanges with the com- little Little t dealing with the sions, I was directed to the Little ties in question refused to even one from the House was allowed mittee, was accepted.” However, Honor Code and CRC/BoC pro- t by a CRC co-chair when I asked attempt to collect it. Is this what to see the “history” of Page alco- Page only met with the CRC once, cedures. The more recent meet- where I could find more informa- Dean Hall is implying when he re- hol abuse being considered by the without one of the co-chairs pres- ing was toward the start of the tion about CRC specifics. The fers to “appropriate procedure”? CRC or to contest any of those ent. The distinction may sound current school year. I honestly Little t, of course, presents a dif- In any case, I again thank Dean charges. He, at best, alludes to the minor, but itʼs the same difference canʼt remember the date of the ferent (even if still vague) picture Hall for being receptive to discus- fact that neither Page House nor as simply doing a problem set in- dependently and working with less recent meeting, but at the of the CRC from Hallʼs. sion about the issue. Reflections on Rotation Thanks to the Admin of the last two or three dinners. BY: RADHIKA MARATHE BY: CRAIG MONTUORI I had ended up wondering why with the fact that these cuts are happening, which is reasonable, The California Tech in the world could upperclass- Iʼd like to personally thank a but I definitely appreciate the way Caltech 40-58, Pasadena, CA 91125 I confess that my decision to men not ask questions beyond few people for some things that advertising e-mail: [email protected] in which the decisions are being move off campus this year was happened over the summer. I editorial e-mail: [email protected] our names and majors and made in this case. I hope other almost entirely based on hav- think more people should be maybe the activities we liked administrators have taken notes ing the liberty to cook my food aware of the help we are given VOLUME CVIII, NUMBER 4 doing for fun and the clubs we on what I believe to be a quite in whatever way I wanted and from various administration fig- joined in high school. respectful way of making a deci- David Chen ures whose positive efforts de- Jonathan Malmaud being able to prepare a dish of But the experience of being sion that affects students. serve mention. Jonathan Senn choice when I felt like. Having on the ʻother sideʼ this year Thank you, Miriam. For those First, Iʼd like to thank Dr. Mir- Co-Editors survived on CDS food for a was an eye-opener in many who donʼt know her, Miriam is iam Feldblum for working with Chris Yu full three terms and hating the coming off of quite a few years as ways. us on the health care insurance Business Manager very feeling of being hungry special assistant to former Presi- Come to think of it, when issue. As the health care survey by the end of the year, it did dent Baltimore. She is returning Chandra Barnett you are put in the middle of a implies, weʼre facing more cuts seem like a welcome change at now to a full time assignment in Circulation group of completely unfamil- and cost increases for the health student affairs, so I wish her best that time. iar people who look up to you care, due to the financial situation Dr. Gary Libman of luck for the future. Advisor Of course, there was the lin- as an upperclassman and leave that we are still in. The short is Second, Iʼd like to thank the gering thought at the back of that the cuts last year were offset you to be in charge, the most MOSH, Cathy Jurca, for her work my mind of not being able to by the large increase in prices for logical questions to ask would and interest in increasing interac- Matt Glassman Chandra Barnett participate in house activities construction materials and fuel Head Photographer Marissa Cevallos be the ones which get you ac- tions between students and facul- as much as before. Most peo- costs. The Trustees are extremely Mark Eichenlaub quainted better with the tastes ty. She hosted the previous Open Hamilton Falk insistent that administrators need Mark Eichenlaub ple from my house will surely and preferences of that per- House at Page third term last year, Head Sports Matt Glassman to balance the books. However, want to state for the records son and generally gives you a during which we had a chance to Correspondent Anna Hiszpanski unlike earlier cuts and financial- Cindy Ko that it wasnʼt one of the most good idea of whether a person talk to administrators and fac- related changes, we were made Matt Glassman Vibha Laljani active house members earlier ulty about anything that we had Sonia Tikoo would fit well into the house or aware of the need for these cuts Anna Hiszpanski and it should have hardly made questions about. The next Open Alumni Association Staff Writers not. many months before a final deci- a difference to me. House is likely going to be dur- Correspondents Of course, we could have al- sion is to be made. Additionally, Ironically, it was the free ing the week of November 5th, so ways discussed the latest bas- Miriam got the Health Commit- HamilTony Falk Harrison Stein think about issues that youʼd like food during rotation week and ketball game with these people tee involved in gathering student President of The Critic to bring up. Additionally, she has the week beyond that brought but doesnʼt rally tell us much views on what aspects of the HamilTonya money to spend on student-fac- Craig Montuori us back to the house and I health insurance coverage are apart from how enthusiastic ulty interactions that may not be Mason Porter Rabble-Rouser was surprised at how much I most valued by us. The Ghost of Techʼs the dude is about basketball. fully utilized. Check it out. loved being part of the house: The fact that more cuts are nec- Past And I would have probably Thank you, Cathy. Also, Cathy the table banging during din- essary is unfortunate but is a fact tried to avoid this conversation is often a voice for the students, so The Tech is published weekly except during ners without caring a damn that we have to deal with. The vacation and examination periods by the As- altogether cause being a nerdy it might be smart to invite her to sociated Students of the California Institute important point is that this was about how many plates and Techer, I donʼt follow sports... House dinners to talk about things of Technology, Inc. The opinions expressed not sprung upon us like many oth- herein are strictly those of the authors and glasses simultaneously geared just kidding. that you care about. For that mat- advertisers. er budget cut decisions, but rather up to take their final plunge ter, consider inviting more faculty Letters and submissions are welcome; e-mail Well, of all the time-hon- we were part of the decision- submissions to [email protected] as plain-text onto the floor, the (sometimes members to House dinners from attachments, including the authorʼs name, ored Caltech traditions, Rota- making process this time. Some useful but mostly funny) an- time to time. It never hurts to by Friday of the week before publication. tion definitely changes your people, including many grad stu- The Tech does accept anonymous contribu- nouncements, the frequent and have more faculty friends. tions. The editors reserve the right to edit and perspective towards your dents, are legitimately unhappy abridge all submissions for any reason. All completely random floating of house, house members and written work remains property of its author. the President and frosh who The advertising deadline is five p.m. Friday; the Caltech undergraduate all advertising should be submitted electroni- just seemed to enjoy getting community in general like no cally or as camera-ready art, but The Tech can soaked every day, the movie Letters to the Editor also do simple typesetting and arrangement. other. Having blahed blahed A minor correction to the article “A Brief History of Rotation”. I can All advertising inquiries should be directed for rotation and the general so- to the business manager at business@caltech. about all this for so long, I say with complete certainty that in 1988 the rotation procedure allowed edu. For subscription information, please send cializing that followed dinner. guess my new responsibility frosh to list a minimum of four and a maximum of seven houses, with mail to “Subscriptions.” When I was a frosh during will probably involve trying to rankings. You could list one house as “1” and the rest as “5,6,7”, and last yearʼs rotation, I had a de- keep up the level of interaction you could not be picked into a house you didnʼt rank. cent idea about which houses I had with my house members I wanted to rotate into during over the past couple of weeks, - Jason Surace, Ricketts c/o ʻ92 the first couple of days of ro- which would be a Herculean [email protected] tation and I must admit that I task without more free food! was frankly bored by the time Hail Tom Mannion! THE CALIFORNIA TECH FEATURES OCTOBER 16, 2006 11 Ask-a-Prof Professor Nate Lewis: How does being a Caltech un- Prof. Richard Murray: dergrad compare to being on the Caltech faculty? How does being a Caltech un- dergrad compare to being on the “Basically, it is the same. In each case, Caltech faculty? when you are starting, it is pass/fail (get tenure or fail), then you get grades (with a Things that are the same: the honor sys- low average in either case, one from profs tem, the “feel” of the campus, the sense of the other from grant agencies), then you apprehension I get walking down the Ol- get some burnout along the way, in both ive walk on the first week of class in late cases you get to work long hours in lab for September (“am I really going to be able to not much money, in each case you have to make it at Caltech?”). pay for parking, in both cases we never Things that are different: teaching instead have a winning football team to root for of being taught, working “regular” hours, except USC, we both get to collaborate eating at Chandler and the Ath instead of the with smart people on our science and student houses and BC. engineering problems, and we all get to keep asking the administration for things What website(s) do you frequent? to make us happier, while we somehow Team Caltech wiki, Slashdot. still stay and like it better than anywhere else we could be.”

Puzzle 42792 from http://www.sudoku-puzzles.net 12 THE CALIFORNIA TECH HUMOR OCTOBER 16, 2006 Dr. Quark Answers Helping you with the power of Science! Comics Dear Dr. Quark, country and had a great time, I was wondering what the re- but I got stuck outside Chicago percussions of having sex in the in Febuary and long story short Gene Pool are. I am considering my left leg is prosthetic. Itʼs doing it, but would like to have pretty realistic so people donʼt your opinion before I make up really notice, but Iʼve been my mind. thinking of joining the soccer -Dedicated Reader team. Do you think, ethically, I can use my super kicking pow- Do it, assuming youʼre a guy ers (my knee is spring loaded so (which is generally correct 2/3 that I can kick a ball so hard it of the time), and assuming you catches fire) to destroy oppos- found a girl (which is correct less ing teams? of the time.) The worst thing that -Ronny Cordova can happen is you catch some sort of terrible disease (that pool water Forget the ethical ambiguities is pretty sketchy) or fall victim to for now. A super powered knee a similarly nasty side affect, like jerk isnʼt really that much worse children. You could also be seen, than steroids, and you have the but all that would lead to is a po- health benefit of not turning out tentially embarrassing situation to be like Bob from Fight Club - with campus security and perhaps with unnaturally large mammary some pictures that will follow glands. I think you should consid- your around for the rest of your er the mechanical flaws in your academic career. On the positive plan. With one drastically over- Tutors Wanted side of things you will able to powered leg you would be forced Home tutoring for all subjects K-12. tell wonderful stories in your old to run in circles during a match. Flexible hours. Car needed. Long- age to future generations about I could perceive you stealing the term positions. Caltech students get how you did something patently ball from an opponent by super retarded. Additionally, while it is credentialed teacher rates: $20.50- kicking him or her in the spleen, $22.00/hour. To apply visit: generally the norm to have sex only to dribble the ball away at within the boundaries of the gene super fast speeds in a large circle, www.academicadvantage.com/jobs pool, I think you should consider where the same player you had the exciting possibilities of hav- stolen it from would be waiting. ing sex outside of it! Not only are Also, I am pretty sure that light- the accommodations much more ing the ball in play on fire would comfortable, but intensely more be considered a yellowcard, varied! Considering how repro- which means you can only do duction with specimen outside of it once a game. Perhaps a better oneʼs species produces nonviable than asking yourself “Should I offspring, I think you would be join the soccer team and use my doing the rest of the world a fa- super fantastic kicking power?” is vor. Carry on sir! asking yourself “Why do I want to win?” What is your mad ob- Dear Dr. Quark, session with winning? Sports at I think I might have a prob- Caltech is not about winning. Itʼs lem that you could help me with. about not winning...I mean hav- You see, I spent a year in high ing fun. school hitchhiking across the

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