Missouri i . .., () 0 The UMC College of Engineering Student Magazine OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1985 Help Keep The Tradition Growing . • • Shamrock l),.,unh,r, 1~n_11; \ ul,J ' .. 2 \\ Ito• I~ 1914 1935 1948 \US:S-FROS I Y G.\I '\I\: \I OS Qum1 of I,,,, ai•I &11111·- /9t>b 1956 1966 1976 Don't Miss Your Chance to join the SHAMROCK when recruiting and orientation begin early next summer 1985 On the Cover Missouri SHAMROCK The UMC College of Engineering Magazine Oct. IN ov., 1985 Vol. 79 No. 1 contents From the Editor's Desk ................................ 2 Not Just Your Average Secretary ................ 4 A11 aerial view of campus as viewed from atop tl,e Pl,ysics l111ildi11g 011 a Friday ci>o1i11g wl,c11 tl,e campus obseroatory ope11s its telescopes to Engineering Honors Program .................... 6 the p11/Jl1c. Sec story page 12. Senate Bill to Provide State Money for Cover photo by John D. Wilson Laboratory Equipment ............................ 8 MSPE: Helping Students to a Better Education .................................................. 10 Laws Observatory: A Colorful History ...................................................... 12 The Missouri Shamrock is published three lime annually (Oct ov, Jan Feb, Mar1Apr) by the engineering students of the UM ollege of Engineering. Opinion lated herein do not ne es• Engineering Designated Home of sarily reflect the views of the oil ge of Engineering. Three Research Centers . .. .. .. .. .. 16 Sub cnption rate i 5.00 per year. Inquiries concerning subscriptions or advertising should be directed to Mis• ~)uri Shamrock, ollege of Engineering, 1020 Engineering, University of Missouri­ Organizations .............................................. 19 Columbia, olumbia, Missouri 65211 . Foremost, the Shamrod, acknowl• edges its advisors, Robert W. Leavene, Jr, Associate Professor of Electrical and The Superconductivity Phenomenon omputer Engineering, Annette Sanders, Dir~ctor of Engineering om­ and Engineering Applications .............. 22 munacations, UM ollege of Engineer· ing, and Dr yrus Harbour!, Director of Engineering Extension. SHAMROCK STAFF Editor Mark DeYoung from the editor's desk Busine s Manager Brian Gustin Managing Editors Cindy Bohr Work Experience Gives Janice hrhardt Copy Editor Students More Marketability Mary Daly Linda Roehrs Job Experience! Engineering stu­ probably don't know what type of Production Editors dents who gain practical job experi­ work you prefer. It's important to Keith F. Mueller ence have several advantages over have some sort of base before choos­ Barb White those who don't bother with applied ing a permanent job. Without it, it's engineering until after graduation. hard to choose." Engineering students spend hun­ Not only can the job enlighten stu­ rawford dreds of hours every school year dents as to what type of work they Features Editor studying to some day apply their enjoy, but also can give students in­ Tim Popp knowledge-studying to be an "engi­ sight into the type of firm they would Technical Editor neer." Very few students however, prefer to work for permanently. Do know what they specifically want to you like big companies where engi­ Phil Bennett do when they graduate. Worse yet, neers specialize in a certain phase of Photographers not many students know their options. harlie William The best way students can get a feel­ J hn Wil on ing for their career goals is to work in "Interviewing Writers the engineering industry prior to companies figure the graduation. Rob Angerer student with Dani I B ton Discovering possible career direc­ Mvron Grae · le tions is just one of many benefits an experience will be Ro ·eann Koffkey undergraduate receives with work Terry Kroeger experience. A closer look shows that more productive Tracy Rolf working in industry brings the stu­ initially." Hank Zucker dent an abundance of advantages. Advertising Staff Job experience can make someone a better student. One student com­ production or do you like small com­ Mark chroed r Li a Hemming mented, "its exciting, it takes the panies where engineers see a product Chri ·a Pavlopoulos boredom out of school." Students develop from start to finish? Do you tend to find classes more interesting prefer a "big city" or "small town" Computer Accounts and less burdensome when they have location? A more specific look at the Manager seen how school material is applied. employer might answer additional Dave Hawkin On-the-job training is also an excel­ questions such as what kind of peo­ Circulation lent learning device in itself. Senior ple will you be working with if you Tom Payne Computer Engineering student Kev­ accepted a permanent job? Do the V rn Avanzado in Stanley said of his co-op experi­ permanent employees seem adequate­ John Ohlm ence with McDonnell-Douglas, "l ly challenged and content with their learned more there than I ever did in salary and benefits? Are there suffi­ school-at least practical learning." cient advancement opportunities? Work experience tells students Work experience can tell students whether they enjoy the type of work more about a company than a "plant they' re assigned. Engineering place­ trip" could ever offer. ment secretary Lou Baur says, "If In general, on-the-job training cre­ you've never worked before, you ates a more marketable engineer as Page 2 Missouri SHAMROCK Baur explains, "Interviewing compa­ nies figure the student with experi­ The Time To Apply Is Now ence will be more productive initially. A lot of the initial fear and know­ how are already taken care of." She As far as getting practical experi­ through the College of Engineering. went on to say that if two academical­ ence, students should get it any way The big decision for underclassmen ly equal students are competing for they can. My personal suggestions at this point is "do you want to pull jobs, the one with practical experi­ are as follows: away from your textbook long enough ence will get twice as many job offers to take the time to apply?" Consider­ 1. Make out a resume, fill out a as one who has no experience. "It's ing the advantages involved, applica­ UMC engineering information sheet, getting a little soft in the market and tion time is time well spent. In fact, and file it with Lou Baur in the place­ when it comes down to it, it's the kid even if no jobs pan out, there are still ment office. As Lou says, "We can't with work experience that will get many gains acquired through trying. help anybody unless we know they the job," Baur added. "Experience Interviewing experience and compa­ need help." will raise your GPA as far as recruit­ ny exposure are two obvious advan­ ers are concerned." 2. If there is a particular company tages. There are three common ways stu­ you have interest in, send your resu­ Some colleges in the country feel dents can get job experience as an me with a cover letter to the company practical experience is so important undergraduate. The most common is expressing your interest and objective. for students' educations that they to start a co-op session with a certain Then over Christmas vacation put on require at least one semester of expe­ company where students alternate a suit/dress and visit their placement rience before they will award a di­ semesters taking classes and working office. See if they have any oppor­ ploma. Although UMC doesn't re­ with the company. Similar to co-op is tunities. quire work experience, students who a summer internship where students take initiative and get it anyway are 3. Sign up for interviews in the spend the summer working for a gaining an edge over those who are engineering building outside the place­ company. Finally, students can get only sati sfying the necessary require­ ment office for co-op or summer posi­ jobs with the college of engineering ments to graduate. tions whenever they're posted. working on special projets. All three are great ways to acquire valuable 4. If you're interested in a special work experience. in-school project, you must apply Mark DeYoung is a senior from Inde­ pendence, Mo. majoring in electrical and computer engineering. Mark recently worked as a summer intern with Black and Veatch Consulting Engineers in the Power and Mark DeYoung, Editor Electrical division in Overland Park, KS . This Missouri SHAMROCK is his second year with the Shamrock and first yea r as editor. He is also a member of IEEE, Engineer's Club, Beta Theta Pi social fraternity, and Eta Kappa Nu electrical engineering honor­ ary. After graduation, he plans to work in industry and go to graduate school. Missouri SHAMROCK Page 3 Not Just Your Average Secretary by M ary Daly One person who all graduating en­ gineers need t o know on a fi rst name basis before brea king into the busi­ ness community is the engineering placement secretary. But this necessi­ ty ca n also be e njoyable, as many seniors have discovered upon open­ ing the door to the engineering place­ ment office and spea king to the wom­ an b ehind the desk. Lou B aur is the placement secre­ tary in the College of Engineering. "My job consists of coordinating in­ dustria l r ecruiters with the students on ca mpus," she says. One of the things Lou m ost enjoys about the job is working w ith the recruiters who are sent to represent their companies. She e mphasizes, "The recruiters are the c ream of the crop-the a bsolute elite of the company." Most compa­ Plr oto /1_11 Clrarles Willia 111s nies make a nnual ci rcuits of the ca m­ ABOVE: Alw ays helpful, Lou Baur assists mecha11ical engi11eeri11g senior puses which train the type of employ­ Todd Odeh11al w ith his job search.