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L L N OTECHNOGRAPHoIFT L EXCHANGE' DEPT220A MAIN LiaRA'YJ-Nil V OF ILL 'ATTM- S. GLAtJ.HU^u M P U S

1982 Volume 98 issue 3$1.25

State administrators look to high technologyfor a solution to the woes of Illinois.

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Easlnum Kixlak Connsiiiy. 1W2

One ofthenations toocompanies in sales orelectronics-relatedequipment

isKodak.

Kodak'sapplication of elec-tronics technology isbecoming more andmore extensive every day. Thatmeans we have growing career op-portunities for electrical/electron-ics engineers.

In projects as diverse as thedesign and production of outputdriver chips for the logic and con-trol unit of Kodak Ektaprint copier-duplicators. Development of ad-vanced analog and digital tech-nology and sophisticated softwaretechniques for blood-chemistryanalysis with the Kodak Ektachem

400 analyzer. And explo-ration of potential product

improvements in the KodakKomstar 300 microimage processor,

a computer peripheral which usespulsed laser beams to convert digi-tal data to alphanumeric imageson microfilm at speeds up to 20times faster than many ink-jetpaper printers.

If you want to expand your hori-zons to meet the Kodak challenge, seea Kodak recruiter on your campus.Or send your resume to:Personnel ResourcesEastman Kodak CompanvRochester, N.Y. 14650.

Kodak.The right place.The right time.An equal opportunity employer manufacturing photographic pnxiucts, fibers, plastics, chemicals, and electronic equipment Plants in Rochester. N.Y.;

Kingsport. Tenn.; Windsor, Colo.; Longvicw. Tex.; Columbia, S.C; Batesville, Ark.; and a sales force all over the U.S.

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TAKESON EXCITINGNEWDIMENSIONS INTHEAIR FORCE.

Computer-generated design for investigatingstructural strengths and weaknesses.

Developing and managing AirForce engineering projects couldbe the most important , excitingchallenge of your life . Theprojects extend to virtually everyengineering frontier.

8 CAREER FIELDSFOR ENGINEERS

astronautical, civil,electrical, mechanical and

nuclear. Hundreds of diversepecialties are included in a wide

variety of work settings. Forexample, an electrical engineermay work in aircraft design,space systems, power production,communications or research.A mechanical engineer might beinvolved in aircraft structuredesign, space vehicle launch padconstruction, or research.PROJECT RESPONSIBILITYCOMES EARLY

IN THE AIR FORCE

Air Force electrical engineer studying anxraflelectrical power supply system.

Engineering opportunities inthe Air Force include theseeight career areas: aeronautical,aerospace, architectural,

Air Force mechanical engineer inspectingaircraft jet engine turbine.

Most Air Force engineershave complete projectresponsibility early in theircareers . For example , a firstlieutenant directed work on anew airborne electronic systemto pinpoint radiating targets.Another engineer tested the jetengines for advanced tanker andcargo aircraft.

OPPORTUNITIESIN THE NEWUSAF SPACE COMAAAND

Artist's concept of the USCS III Defense SatelliteCommunications System satellite. (USAF photo.)

Recently, the Air Forceformed a new Space Command.Its role is to pull together spaceoperations and research anddevelopment efforts, focusing onthe unique technological needs ofspace systems. This can be youropportunity to join the team thatdevelops superior space systemsas the Air Force moves into thetwenty-first century.

To learn more about how youcan be part of the team, see yourAir Force recruiter or call ourEngineer Hotline toll free1-800-531-5826 (in Texas call1-800-292-5366). There's noobligation.

AIM HIGHAIRFORCE

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Talent uses nature's power. Genius preserves it.Put your energy ideas to work in theAmerican Electric Power System.

We're looking for more thantalent.

We're looking for foresigfit. Tomanage our resources today. Andpreserve our energy independencetomorrow.

If you are graduating witfi a ma-jor in any of tfiese areas, opportunitiesare available witfiin tfie AEP System: Electrical engineering Mechanical engineering Environmental engineering Communications engineering Civil engineering

Computer science Cfiemistry Geology Mining engineering Nuclear engineering Operations research Chemical engineering Business administration accounting/economics/financeThe AEP System's eight operating

companies serve 7 million people inseven East-Central states:AppalaL.iian Power Co.. Roanoke.Virginia Columbus & Southern OhioElectric Co. . Columbus, Ohio Indiana& Michigan Electric Co.. Fort Wayne,

Indiana Kentucky Power Co..Ashland, Kentucky KingsportPower Co.. Kingsport, Tennessee Michigan Power Co . Three Rivers,Michigan Ohio Power Co.. Canton,Ohio Wheeling Electric Co..Wheeling, West Virginia

And overseeing the entireSystem is our management andtechnology arm, the AEP ServiceCorporation.

Find out where you might putyour ideas to work in the AEPSystem, We invite you to contact thePersonnel Department at AEP or atany of the companies listed.

American Electric Power180 East Broad StreetColumbus. Ohio 4321 An equal opportunity employer

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ILLIN ITECHNOGRAPHDecember 1982 Volume 98 issue 3 1982 Illini Publishing Company

Making the Best of DisabilitiesRobert Ekhlau concludes his series on accomodations for thehandicapped.

Opto-electronic ChipRob Busse explains how the opto-electronic chip will furtherminimize circuit size.A New Breed of ReactorsThe technical and political intricacies of the Clinch River BreederReactor are exposed by Laura Kasper.

Industry and EducationPolitics and expensive land are among the factors formulatinghigh-tech policy. Joe Culkar reports.

Engineers and the RecessionJim O'Hagan updates current college recruitment.

A Monopoly on LifeDepartments

Charley Kline uncovers some of the mystery of the versatile DNAmolecule.

Tech Teasers 4, Forum 5, Technovisions 14. Technotes 18,Technovations 25. Tech Profiles 27

On the Cover: The governor of Illinois is making a bid to draw hightechnology industry to the state. Will tasks like this fill the idle hands ofIllinois workers in the future^ tphoto by Randy Stukenberg)

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TECH TEASERS

Film at Eleven1 kniiw the semester was long, and

there was mit much time to spend on thingsother than the hare essentials: eating,sleeping, studying, and drinking, notnecessanly in that order. Few were thetimes we watched the news or perused anewspaper, but we really do have aresponsibilty to keep up with our volatilesurroundings.

Therefore. 1 suggest that over thewinter hreak we all try to watch whathappens in the news. With this in mind I'llthrow out some issues that you might wantto pay attention to.

Extra Strength Tylenol. ExtraStrength Anacin. and several otherover-the-counter medications including eyedrops were tampiered with b\' someone whointended to harm innocent people. Why docrazy people victimize the public with theirpoisoning schemes, and how can weprevent them in the future?

How long will the marines stay inLebanon?

Since U.S. District Judge TerryHatter has ruled ti.e last draft registrationinvalid, will we all have to go through thewhole painful process again?

How did 198 people who earned overS200.000 in 1980 get away without payinga cent in income ta.xes?

If Northwestern University tuition istaxed by the city of Evanston. how couldthat affect the University of Illinois'relationship with the cities of Urbana andChampaign?

Will the Illinois State ScholarshipCommission receive their requested 239^increase from SI 34 million to $165 millionto allow a maximum grant of S2300 asoppt)sed to S2000?

Leonid Brezhnev has died. Whatrelationship will President Reagan have withthe new Soviet leader. Yuri Andropov?

Will we ever know the whole storyof what happened to Lech Walesa duringhis impnsonment in Poland?

What went wrong with the shuttlepilots" space suits to prevent them fromvenairing out into space for the firstAmerican space-walk in nine years'.'

Another 700 layoffs at Illinois basedagricultural equipment firms increased thestates already soaring unemployment rate.Which is worsehigh unemployment,inflation, or both of the above?

Who really is the governor ofIllinois?

The Urbana-Champaign Senateapproved the proposal to move ReadingDay to the Saturday prior to final exams.Why did the faculty senators ignore thedesires and needs of the students?

Is the Reagan administration pursuingan isolationist tack by insisting that valuableEuropean allies obey U.S. economicsanctions against the Siberian oil pipeline?

Several states passed non-bindingresolutions for a freeze on nuclear arms inthe recent elections. The people obviouslywant a change. How long can we collectthe weapons of our own destruction at abreak neck pace?

The stadium seems to sway duringfootball games, but structural engineershired by the University said it was nothingto worry about. Now the University wantsto use the stadium for commemcementceremonies. Will it fall down duringgraduation?

Now that the football strike is over,do people realize the economic anguish itcaused several major cities with footballteams? How can professional sfwrts havesuch impact on a city?

Illinois state schools are begging formore money from the state, but theGovernor says there is none to be had. Isthere a better way to fund higher education?

So there is my list of suggested issuesto watch over break. Sometime in betweenall the yuletide cheer read Time or someother publication besides a text book. Youmight even make it a New Year's resolutionto make a habit of watching the worldaround you even during school.

f/^jjvy^ 0. Ujiyv^yy-

1. 32.547.891 x 6 = 195,287.346On both sides of the equals sign, all ninedigits (1 through 9) are used once, but nnecessarily in order. Find another instancwhere this occurs, using 6 as a multiplieagain.

2. A sportsperson wishes to go skiiin the mountains for a week. She packsher 170 cm skis in a mailing tube for theplane flight, only to find that the airiinenot accept any package that has any dimsion greater than one meter. Undauntedthis troublesome rule, she re-packs her sin a manner that the airiine will accept.you figure out how she packed them? Shdid not have folding skis, and she did noalter their physical configuration in anyway.

3. Find the smallest number whichwhen divided by 45 leaves a remainder4. by 454 leaves a remainder of 45, by4545 a remainder of 454, and by 45454remainder of 4545

4. In 1928. the month of Februar>'five Wednesdays. Find the latest year be1928 and the earliest year after 1928 whethis same amazing thing happened. Therare many other dates before and after 19where it occurred, and you ma\ find thif you wish.

5. How many triangles are in this fgure?

.4;i,vucr.s on page 24

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STAFF

Fidelity PiracyEric Guarin

Ruffians with eye patches, woodenand parrots perched on their shoulders

not often seen by the average person;one may see dozens or even

of pirates daily. No. not duringand no, not during the filming of

swashbuckling epic; these "pirates"pirates of a different sort. The

among them can makeincomes with sales comprising a

30 to 50 percent share of popularand other music markets. The more

and refined of them can even bein New York's Metropolitan OperaBut just what sort of "pirate" is

consideration here'.' That's an easymusic pirates, and not of theof Penzance" sort either.

Copyright law governs the legality offorms of copying: words, pictures,

etc. Copyright laws change withbut the general idea behind the laws is

fairly reward the artist and other involvedfor their efforts. Consequently, when

buys an album and makes a tape of saidfor use in his car, that's fine, sincehe originally bought the album part of

price he paid went to the artist asOn the other hand, Joe cannotborrow an album from Jane and tape

because the artist then gets nothing fromuse of his composition. If Joe not onlythe album but sells the tape, this hurts

artist even more, since he not only getsfrom the transaction but the

sales of his work are being cut inOf course, the public may not care

out the artist's fate, or about the fate ofperson who helped the artist produce the

Therein lies a basic conflict.Unlawful taping is exactlyunlawfuliiut few really seem toand they tape anyway. Why would allpeople knowingly violate the law?are two main reasons: lack of

and economics.Perhaps the, biggest reason peopleillegal recordings has to do with

this is true for both the professionalsare making money and for more

common people who save money. Newalbums or tapes cost about eight dollarseach; at those prices, buying illegally forless gains a certain definite appeal.An example is in order. As analtemative to buying illegal recordings, aperson could watch for sales and shopdiscount music stores or mail-order houses.Depending on the listener's taste in music,this can decrease the cost of a single albumto four or five dollars. On the other hand, apremium grade tape will cost somewhat lessand will accomodate two single albums, forunder half the cost per album on thelegitimate market. If just adequate fidelitysuffices, decent tape may be purchased forless than one dollar for a length of tapewhich accomodates two albums. Thiscorresponds to one eighth of the cost ofbuying new records, and the illustrationserves to show how do-it-yourself tapingcan really save money.

Exactly why these savings are worththe risk of incarceration is easy to explain;the risk is very small. Although professional"pirates-for-profit" are indeed caught andprosecuted, punishment may not be verysevere; and home tapists who do not selltheir work are even less likely to get caught.Also, home taping lends itself torationalizing; it is easy, for instance, tosimply believe that record companies inflateprofits so ridiculously that they deserve tobe ripped off. Of course, a savings of fiftyto ninety percent lends a lot of weight tosuch reasoning.

What the whole mess boils down to isthis: record companies scream bloodymurder and say "that's not legal" whilepeople tranquilly reply "who cares?".Home taping is like speeding; although it'sillegal, people do it anyway. The lawshould concentrate on the speeders morethan home tapists, who aren't nearly asdangerous. In the meantime, "damn thetorpedoes" and full (tape) speed ahead!

Foram is intended a.s an open exchange of views andideas on areas of interest to the Engineenng campus. All Uni-versitv students and facults memberi. are invited to contributeanicles for Forum, Anicles mav be editorial in nature, andmust be signed.

EditorProduction EditorBusiness ManagerCopy EditorAsst. Copy EditorPhoto EditorFeatures EditorDesignAssistant Design

PublisherProduction ManagerAdviser

Editorial StaffSteve AlexanderRob BusseDoug CampoliTushar ChandeJoe CulkarTad DierkesJames EhrhartRobert EkblawJane FialaElayne FletcherMary Kay Flick

Business StaffBrian CarlsonJeff LeeDonna Obermaier

Copynght Ulini Publishing Co., 1982Illinois Technograph(USPS 258-760)Vol, 98 No. 3 December 1982

niuiois Technograph is published five times during theacademic year at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,

Published by lllini Publishing Co , 620 East John St..Champaign, Illinois. 61820 Editorial and Business offices ofthe Illinois Technograph R^K m .^02 Engineenng Hall. UrtanaIllinois. 61801. phone |2I7) .1.1.1-17.10

Advertising h\ LiiterMurravBamhill. Inc., 1,128 Broad-wav. New York. N,Y., lOOOl; 221 N. USalle Street, Chica-go,' [L,, 60601

Entered as second class maner. October 30, 1920, al thepost office al Urbana, Illinois under the act of March 3. 1879.

Illinois Technograph is a member of Engineering CollegeMagazines Associated.

Kevin WenzelLarry MallakJim LeeCharley KlineRaymond HightoweRandy StukenbergLangdon AlgerNancy GrunthanerBeth Beauvais

E. Mayer Maloney,Geoff BantEd Mast

Eric GuarinChris KonitzerLaura KosperJames O'HaganBill ProctorJohn PrzybyszThom RoeDoug ShawAndrew SaporoschenYuki SpellmanRobert Strahanowski

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Living with Disabilitiesand living services allow disabled

more opportunities.Robert A. Hkblaw

i.v ihi' M'ctmil pcirl oj a two pan xeries on facilities available Im hamt-people on campus. The first part appeared in the November. N,\2

Imagine walking down W'nght Street. All ot a sudden, a strangehum is heard t'lom behind. Then, a low \oice is heard call-

""txcusc me. may 1 get through'.'"' A young man in a wheelchairand rolls onto a metal platt'omi next to a bus. The plattomi

slowly, till it is level with the floor of the bus. The doors close.the bus drives away. The letters on the side read. "Rehabilitation

Center."" How was the bus equipped to handle the man.where did the man li\e.' The Di\ision of Rehabilitation Educa-Ser\ices has the answer to these questions.The Uni\ersity ot Illinois Rehabilitation Education Program be-

in 1947 on the University "s Galesburg Campus. When the Gales-Campus closed in 1949. the program moved to the Urhana-

campus. This program, headed by Professor Timothy J.concentrated on providing accomodations for paraplegic and

students. Now housed in the Rehabilitation Educationat 1207 Oak Street, the program is responsible for the

for ramp construction and building refurbishing, as wellexciting extras like the bus lifts, special sports competitions, andBeckwith Living Center. Professor Nugent, long concerned withneeds of these extraordinary students, devised many original

The Rehabilitation Program here at the University was the firstprogram to be initiated at a major educational facility. The busa metal hydraulic platform used to raise wheelchairs from the

to the bus. was another technical advance created by the Re-Program. Their national debut was here on the University

In fact, until 1980. the University of Illinois was the onlycampus in the nation to use a bus lift, and they have been inhere since 1949.

In 1965. the program moved into the Rehabilitation Educationits present location. It contains areas focused toward the

saidents as well as business offices. There are counsel-otfices. medical oftlces. a library, a meeting room, a recreation

and a physical therap>' department. The physical therapy de-handles special exercises, instruction, and skills designed to

both the mind and bod> of the student. The center also containsand instructional facilities used to train handicapped students

their aides. For example, the center is responsible for instructionman\ of the technical utilities available at the center for use by the

These utilities include braille printers, tape recorders,talking computers, all of which where either designed or testedpeople who attended the University of Illinois.From w ithin the halls of this building. Professor Nugent and hisctxirdinate activities, facilities, and instruction for the handicap-

ed students attending the University. Some of the activities andccomplishments of members of the Reiiabilitation Education Ser-

vices program are:

1. Issuance of varsity letters to outstanding wheelchair and bliUniversity athletes.

2. Selection of a woman wheelchair athlete as Athlete of theYear, as well as several wheelchair athletes of both sexes for Athleof the Month.

.^. Initiation of pilot training for individuals in wheelchairs witthe University of Illinois Institute of Aviation (this program has produced over 50 licensed wheelchair graduates).

4. Development of the Ms. Kids women's athletic teams.5. Continuing the growth of the National Wheelchair Basketba

Association, which was began at the University of Illinois in 1948.This program now has 165 teams in 27 conferences.

6. Appointment of a director, chosen from the staff at the Re-habilitation Education Center, to head a special committee to theNCAA regarding creation of a series of intercollegiate sports forwheelchair and other disabled athletes.

7. Research into a multitude of technological, educational, another disciplines for the purpose of assisting handicapped studentspersonnel.

8. Merging of physical therapy and exercise therapy into a sile, comprehensive clinic, as well as training qualified personnel inathletic training, sports medicine, and other fields which benefit thwith disabilities.

The Rehabilitation Education Center and the Division of Rehalitation Education Services have received many state, national, andinternational awards and recognitions for the large number of projecompleted at the University for use by paraplegics. Several " "experments"" run by University students or staff, supervised by membersof the Center or the Division, have been emulated by organizationsall around the nation. The program here at the University of Illinoiwas instrumental in creating a new educational field which has towith the design and construction of tools to assist in the daily livinof paraplegics. This field, called Rehabilitation Engineering, is avaable to students at many universities across the country. The workProfessor Nugent and the Division of Rehabilitation Education Ser-vices has made all this possible.

The center"s work has not stopped with the activities, educatitraining, and facilities it has instituted to date. Several years ago. irealized that the domi facilities for paraplegic living were inadequaWith a healthy donation from Guy M. Beckwith. a retired Illinoisfarmer, construction began on a new living center for handicappedstudents. Ground was broken on the two-hundred block of East JoStreet in Champaign. Finally, in August 1981. the first studentmoved into the new building. It was officially dedicated on May 11982 as the Guy M. Beckw^ith Center for Paraplegics.

Beckwith. as stated by Professor Nugent, is ""the first of itskind."" It is the only facility in the nation specially designed as a Iing quarters for the severely handicapped. The Living Center is definitely the best furnished facility for handicapped citizens. The firfioor of the two-story construction contains twenty sleeping/study

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Guy M Bechvith Center far Paraplegics, (photo by Jane Fiala)for the occupants of the hving center. These rooms contain thein technological aids. The light switches are large indentedplatforms, that activate with Just a bmsh of a hand. There is a

intercom on the wall, enabling the residents to signal theof the center. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Thorton. if there iswrong. The telephone is connected to a speaker intercom

(similar to that used in business offices), so that it is notto hold the phone up to the ear to talk or listen to the per-

on the other end of the line. There is a nurse's call button bybed which can be activated with just the press of a button. Ev-

room has a smoke detector and emergency sprinkler. The bath-has a low sink accessible from the wheelchair and a bar next to

toilet to allow the resident to transfer from his chair to the seat.The lounge is located on the first fioor, complete with a colorIt is a great place to watch television, meet with visitors.

relax after a long day. Next to the lounge is the dining rooman adjoining kitchen. Beckwith has a live-in cook who makesmeals daily for the residents. The dining room has tables that

low, only inches above the armrests of the wheelchairs. This en-the residents to wheel under them and eat in perfect comfort,

having to reach up to rest their arms on the table. The tablesconnected to the walls, in such a way that they can be raised and

within them when not in use. Thus, the table has only onelocated at the very end of the table. This eliminates the need

the ""extra" legs that would only be an inconvenience for a per-in a wheelchair.The last room on the first floor is the library. Not only does thecontain books, but it has three PLATO terminals for use by

residents. Needless to say. this is one of the favorite rooms ofresidents and visitors.Accessible by an extra-large elevator (to allow room for several

the second floor of Beckwith contains two more sleep-rooms, as well as one-bedroom and two-bedroom apart-A married couple, the husband being a paraplegic student.

in one of the two-bedroom apartments. Each of the bedroomsapartments on the second fioor has a wooden terrace, accessible

through a glass patio door. These terraces serve both as scenic over-looks and as fire escapes.

Perhaps the most interesting of the rooms on the second floorBeckwith is the ""efficiency apartment." This place has several ap-pliances found in an average home, with a few subtle difl'crcnces.The oven, stove, and dishwasher have touch controls. The refrigera-tor has several low shelves, since those in wheelchairs could notreach up high. The folding ""hide-away" bed is hinged so a slightpush will retract it into the wall. The closet is large and wide, enabling the paraplegic to just roll his wheelchair in. The bathroom has athe aspects of those on the first floor, plus it has a shower with aseat. If the person does not have the ami strength to lift himself outof the chair onto the seat, a special shower chair is available. Thechair, a water-resistant version of the common wheelchair, would juwheel into the shower. The shower seat is hinged and is just liltedand locked against the stall wall.

The second floor also contains a medical office. Beckwith hastwo professional medical staff members and eight pre-nied studentsavailable to them for use in medical situations. Next to the medicaloffice, there is a large room used for emergency care, if needed. Asof yet, it has not been needed, so the RX)m has been u.sed as alounge.

Beckwith houses twelve paraplegic residents at the present timeAll of them attend class at the University, in the same classes andmajors as everyone else. The residents are detemiined to be likeeveryone else and to be able to make it on their own. At Beckwith,they are allowed to do everything they can before receiving help. Thmajor job of the staff at Beckwith is to regulate the diet and healthhabits of the residents. Since most of the residents were victims ofcar or sports accidents, they knew an active life before, and are ex-tremely determined to remain active. Most of them are involved infraternity, sorority, and campus activities. From talking with the resdents of Beckwith, one can realize the strength of their detemiinatioIt is painful to think of what their lives would be like without thework of Professor Nugent and the Division of Rehabilitation Educa-tion Services. T

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Opto-electronic Chipsis being conducted on an improvement to

the electronic chip.Kob Kiisse

Twenty five years ago, the transistorstill an infant device. The basic theorv'

this dc\icc \\as still beins: exploredU;irdeen, Hall. Ha\nes and Shockley.

others. Out ot the work ot thesesprung a revolution in the field of

Now, a newly developedoffers a substiuite for the widely

sed electnmic semi-conductor chip.Researchers working at the LIniversity

Illinois Solid State Devices Laboratory,led by Nick Holonyak Jr.. are developing aew type of integrated circuit chip whichses photons instead of electrons to carryhe signal through the semi-conductor chip.Holonyak is v\ell known for de\eloping thefirst red light-emitting diode (LKDl and thered solid-state laser. His work withsolid-stale lasers still continues inllolonyak's present research.

Holonyak has been working withgallium ai'senide (GaAs) and aluminumarsenide (AlAs) semiconductor lasers. Whenlayers of GaAs and AlAs are fabricated oneon top of the other, they form aheterojunction laser which emits light of1.42 eV. which is in in the near infa-redregion. Holonyak has been using 45 Alayers of GaAs sandwiched between 150 Alayers of AlAs. with one chip consisting of40 of these layers. At these narrow widths,the quantum mechanic wave nature of theelectrons becomes important.

Under nomial conditions, the lightemitted from a GaAs-AlAs laser is prop-ortional to the energy difference between theelectron energy levels in the GaAs andAlAs. When the widths of the GaAs layersare decreased, the wave nature of the elec-tron affects the differences in electron ener-gies. At very narrow widths, the electronhas a wavelength equal to the width of theGaAs layer. Since the energy of an elec-

AIGaAs chip with CJaAs-AIAs laser

tron. Eo = he ^ X (h = Plank's constant, c= speed of light. X = wavelength), theenergy of an electron is increased by mak-ing the GaAs layers narrower. Increasingthe energy of the electrons in the GaAs.causes the energy difference between elec-trons in the AlAs and the GaAs to decrease.This results in an emitted light with lowerenergy.

Usually, a GaAs-AlAs laser emits lightof 1.42 eV. By making the layers of GaAsnarrower. Holonyak has been able to makelasers with energies anywhere between 1 .42eV and 2.00 eV. The result is a wider rangeof available laser light. Semi-conductor las-ers are very efficient and small. A quartermillimeter square semi-conductor laser canemit as much pwwer as a three foot CO:laser. Because of their small size and effi-ciency, semi-conductor lasers are very use-full. Being able to create the wavelength oflight required is a desirable quality in a las-er.

Since semi-conductor lasers are small, alarge number of them can be fabricated on

GaAtAs laser

l?() A45 A

one small piece of semi-conductor materiHolonyak's group fabricates their lasersforming a crystal with 40 alternating layof 45 A thick GaAs and 150 A thick AlWith these dimensions, the lasers emit lwith an energy of 1.61 eV. Zinc is thenintroduced into the crystal except wherecrystal has been protected by a mask. Thsmall amount of zinc disturbs the uniforof the layers of GaAs and AlAs so thatcrystal of AIGaAs is fonned with regionthe fomier GaAs-AlAs crystal lattice leftuntouched (Fig. 1). The result is many aof GaAs-AIAs imbedded within a crystalAIGaAs.

Since the GaAs-AlAs lasers are forin a semi-conductor material, other kindssemi-conductor devices can be formed inthe AIGaAs along with the lasers. Withother devices present, the chip begins tolook like an integrated circuit.

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(7) CciAs-AIAs laser(T) Transistor or any other solid state device Photo-diode or similar device which

changes the light signal into an electricalsignalmm optical waveguideconduction path

e signal is electronic7 signal is a light wave

Depicted is a simple opto-electronic devwe. Alight signal enters and travels down the opticalpath to a photodiode where the signal is spininto an electrical signal and an optical signal.The electrical signal is sent to a transistor,while the light signal is transformed into anelectrical signal, then back to a light signal by alaser. The resultant light signal is then sent toother devices.

Although they are still in theretical stage, these new chips will

of lasers and transistors contained incrystal. The lasers would be used to

a signal coming into the chip andsend the signal to various parts of thethrough optical waveguides or tlbers.

in a section of the chip would beby conduction paths so thatwould be used in these parts of theWhen an electrical signal must be sentdistance to another section of the

or to another chip entirely, the signalbe fed into one of the lasers and a

signal would be directed to theplace, where the light beam

be reconverted into an electrical(Fig 2.)

The lasers would replace many of theconnections in conventionalcircuit chips. The reduced number

contacts would mean a reducedto electrical noise and

interference. The lasers would be used toconnect different kinds of chips to formlarger circuits. Different chips could even beformed in layers on top of each other withthe lasers connecting the signal to thedifferent layers. This would enable circuitrywhich normally consists of many integratedcircuit chips mounted on a circuit board tobe formed in one layered opto-electronicchip with each layer doing the job of one ofthe conventional integrated chips. This kindof fabrication would lead to furtherminiaturization of electronic circuits.

The age of the opto-electronic chip isstill at least 25 years away, predictsHolonyak. His group of researchers is stillinvolved with exploring the properties of theGaAs-AlAs lasers so that opto-electronicchips may one day be fabricated."Twenty-five years ago, we were workingon putting a layer of metal-oxide onsilicon," Holonyak said. "We didn'tactually build the devices. That's the stagewe're at now. We are developing the theoryof these devices which will then allow otherf)eople to design circuits out ofopto-electronic chips."

Holonyak further explained that hiswork was primarilly developing betterGaAs-AlAs lasers, which is the heart of theopto-electronic chip. Some of their nextexperiments involve subjecting these lasersto pressures of over lO.OtX) atmospheres.High pressures exerted on the layers ofGaAs and AlAs would cause the thicknessof the material to vary, which would affectthe wavelength of emitted light.

The opto-electronic chip is a promisinginnovation in electronics. Holonyak's groupof researchers are just beginning to explorethe building bkx;ks of this chip. In time theopto-electronic chip will become ascommon in everyone's life as the electronicchip is now. All because of some researchin solid-state lasers now going on in theUniversity's Solid State Devices Labor-atory.T

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Tlie Dispersion AnalysisExhaust dispersion near a roadway is influenced by theturbule}ice a?id heatgenerated liy moving vehicles. Findingsat the GeneralMotors Research Laboratories haveprovideda new understandingofthe dispersion process.

Tracer Concentrations

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The buoyanc\' Hux, B, is propor-tional to the heat emission rate ofthe vehicles.Moving vehicles also en-hance both turbulence intensityand mixing. To determine how thismodifies the edd\- diffusivity ten-sor. K,,. Dr. Chock invoked a "sec-ond-order closure" assumption,which relates eddy diffusivity toReynolds stresses and the gra-dients of mean wind velocity andmean temperature. Eddy diffusiv-ity was assumed to be the sum ofambient and traffic contributions.To determine the tratific contribu-tion, the length scale of the trafific-induced turbulence was assumedto be comparable to vehicleheight 1.5 m.

USING THE vast data basecompiled during the experi-ment. Dr. Chock was able to spec-ify Kjj and the mean crossroad andvertical wind components, andsolve the equation numerically. Totest the model, half-hour measure-ments of a tracer gas were used tomap out experimentally the ex-haust dispersion under various me-teorological conditions. The casewhere the wind speed is low and tliewind direction is nearly perpendic-ular to the roadway is representedby tlie black lines in Hgure 1. Boththe model and the experiment showthe same dispersion ])attern. Thepeak concentration is on the down-wind roadside.When the wind is nearly par-allel to the road, the situation ismuch more complicated. F'igure 2shows that when the wind andtratlfic flow on the upwind lanes op-pose each other, a high shear re-gion occurs immediateh' upwind of

the first traffic lane. When the windand traffic are in the same direc-tion, the high shear region occursin the median of the road, hi thesehigh shear regions, large eddies aregenerated and turbulent mixing isintense. The gra\' lines in I^'igure 1show a comparison (jf the model'spredictions with the tracer data forthe case illustrated by Figure '1.Notice that the peak concentrationcan actually occur on the upwindroadside, due to the exhaust trans-port by these large eddies. Dr.Chock's model is the first to predictthis occurrence.Under all combinations ofwind speeds and directions, thepredictions based on the modelcompare favorabh' with the mea-sured tracer concentrations. Thereis little systematic bias with respectto wind direction.

"In light of this new model,exhaust dispersion near a roadwaycan now be predicted with reliabil-ity," says Dr. Chock. "This is ofimportance for environmentallysound road planning, and opens thedoor to the investigation of disper-sion on city streets, where the pres-ence of tall structures introduceseven further complexity."

THEMANBEHIM)THEWORKDr. Da\'icl Chockis a Senior StaftResearch Scientist in the En\' ironmen t alScience Department at the tieneraMotors Research Laboratories.

Dr. Chock received his Ph.Din Chemical Physics from the Uni\ersity of Chicago. His thesis concerned the quantum mechanics ofmolecules and molecular crystalsAs a Postdoctoral Fellow at theFree Uni\ersit\' of Brussels, he didresearch work on the dynamics ofcritical phenomena. He did additiiinal postdoctoral work in thefields of solid-.state ph\ sics and fiiiidtlynamics.

Dr. Chock joined the corporation in 1972. He is leader of theGM atmospheric modeling groupHis current research interests inelude the phenomena of atmosi)heric transport and reactionsand the statistical study of timeseries data.

General Motors

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A New Breed ofReactors

fuel controversy burns from Tennessee to

Laura Kasficr

Clinch Rivi'r Hrcedcr Ran tin- Plain Pnijecl (pholo courtcsx of Project Maiuisicinent Corp.)

For over twenty years the feasibilitya breeder reactor in the U.S. has beenthoroughly researched, and the research hafinally gone the way of production. As witevery major issue, though, the thought ofreactor in Tennessee has raised quite acontroversy.

The Clinch River Breeder ReactorPlant Project, in planning stages since 197will be the first breeder of its kind incommercial production in America if itreceives Congressional approval. It willutilize plutonium-239 (Pu^"^) anduranium-238 (U-'"*)in a fission process thatproduces an excess of fuel.

Plutonium-239 is the fissionablematerial. It collides with a neutron, whichcauses the plutonium to break apart andrelease a large quantity of energy in theform of heat. The heat is used to boil wateand create steam that rotates the blades ofturbine. The axle of the turbine turns agenerator that produces electricity.

The fission process also produces twoto three neutrons. One of these keeps thechain reaction going, and the other one ortwo are absorbed by U-238, which becomePu-239. This brings the process back to stone. where Pu-239 was used as the initialfuel. The process has completed its cycle,and at the same time, it has provided enerfor public use.

As planned, the Clinch River Plant wibe a Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor(LMFBR). This type of reactor utilizes ametal, in this case sodium, at temperaturesabove its melting point. "Fast" refers to tvelocity of high energy neutrons as opposeto "thermal", which refers to the lowervekx;ity of lower energy neutrons.Governments worldwide consider theLMFBR to be the most practical of all typof breeders. There are breeders in operatiotoday such as the Phenix in France, theBN-350 in the U . S . S . R . . and the PFR ithe United Kingdom.

Although the research has beencompleted and parts such as steamgenerators have been contracted and built,the project is still having problems inCongress. Under the Nixon administration,the planning was begun, and the project

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Shown is ihe fission reaction undergone hvPlutonium when struck by a neutron. Theprocess produces three neutrons, heat, and twoJission products usually about half the mass ofPlutonium.

have been completed by late 1982 ifCarter administration hadn't been so

opposed to its construction. Aswriting. Congress is split over the

It is quite likely that the project willhowever, due partially to

Reagan's pro-nuclear policies, andto the suppwrt of Senator Howard

According to plan, the Clinch Riverwill be located in Oak Ridge.in the state that Senator Baker

The plant will create 4,100 jobsheight of construction, and about 240

will be needed while the plant isThe 4.100 jobs would be an

plus for Tennessee, thus Senatorwants the project for his state.

Critics of Clinch River have compiledlarge number of arguments

nst the completion of the plant. Asubcommittee has published a reportmany of its major criticisms""A Cost and Technical Fiasco".

three main arguments cited in the reportfinancial abuse, safety quirks, and the

of obsolescence in a project of this

The project was originally financed atmillion, but due to delays and what

committeemen refer to as financialit now carries a price tag of $3.2There have been legal problemsto do with contracts that are unclear

incomplete; there are some contractsare lacking in technical specifications.

costs, along with the costs of severalhave turned a S5 million steam

into a S7I million project.Although the people in charge of

River claim to have everything underthe coolant used in the reactor hasa controversy. The liquid sodium

for heat transfer is highly volatile.Another safety problem concerns theplutonium as an energy source,

ics are worried about using plutoniumto the high security risk. They imagine

infiltrating the Clinch River plantstealing plutonium to produce nuclear

Also, this fear will add to theprice tag in the form of moresecurity systems.

Fission of Plutoniuin-239

0-

Heat

The obsolescence angle is anotherworry. Though Clinch River would be afirst for the U.S.. breeder reactors alreadyin existence in foreign countries are moreinnovative and technologically advancedthan the one which still lies on U.S.drawing boards. The subcommitteemembers argue that Clinch River would bea waste of money and time if it turns out tobe obsolete prior to its existence.

Proponents of Clinch River havecounter-arguments for all of the preceedingpoints. They claim that the overall price hasbeen increased due to stalling on the part ofCongress. When the project was started in1972, it would have cost much less thantoday's projected cost. As far as safety isconcerned, this is not the first, nor will it bethe last instance where engineers will workwith and benefit from the properties ofhazardous materials such as sodium andplutonium. The toxicology of both elementshas been well researched.

Much has been done to inform thepublic of the importance of breeder reactors.The U.S. Department of Energy has been incharge of managing the Clinch RiverProject; other day-to-day management dutiesare handled by the Tennessee ValleyAuthority, Commonwealth lidisonCompany, and Project ManagementCorporation. The Project ManagementCorporation was organized especially for theClinch River project. These companies haveall put money into the project; their latestpublic relations campaign was a display atthe 1982 Worid's Fair in Knoxville thatfeatured a full-scale mock reactor core alongwith a computer game explaining the detailsof the plant.

Some of the economical details of theplant's function include a breeder'srelatively low cost in the long run. Not onlydoes it produce more fuel than it uses, butU"""*, used in a breeder with a neutron tocreate Pu"''', is virtually useless in itspresent state. The conversion to plutoniumfuel enables efficient utilization of existingstockpiles of U""'', which presently consistsof over 280,000 short tons. If used in abreeder, that much uranium would have apotential energy equal to 2,400 billionbarrels of oil. Theoretically, no moreuranium would have to be mined for severalcenturies. Clinch River is the U.S.'s firststep toward relying on nuclear power inmassive quantities.

Clinch River will have the capacity ofgenerating 375 megawatts of electric andoperate under the Tennessee ValleyAuthority System. The breeder has beenreferred to as a "stepping stone to a 1200megawatt plant". It is a basic, logical stepin research and development to build a plantof this size. Also, the project is 86%complete, waiting only for a license fromthe government. If the plan is halted at thisstage, over a billion dollars in equipmentand technology would be lost.Now it is up to Congress to decidewhether Oak Ridge, Tennessee, gains anuclear breeder reactor or a $1.2 billion pileof scrap metal and ore.T

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TECHNOVISIONS

text .iiul photos b\ R;iikI\ Stiikciilx'rg

Liberty Bowl BoundThe Fighting IMini finished regular

season play with a 7-4 record, qualit'yingthem tor a Liberts Bow I hitl. which will bepla\ed on December 2.S. Ihis will be thehni's tlrst bowl game appearance since the

Rose Bowl in 1^)63. Quarterback TonyEasiin and kicker Mike Bass broke sevenNCAA and Big Ten passing and kickingrecords. Next yeiir. . .'.' Rose Bowl. RoseBowl, Ooh Ah.

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Industry and Educationbusiness and education

is a sticky situation.by JcK- C'ulkar

Unknown to many people here at theuniversity, the Governor's Task Force onHigh Technology has been working onmaking recommendations on how the statecan attract high-tech industries. Tlie TaskForce submitted its ten page rep

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ii?iiil

of a major project at the Universit\stems from what is learned here at the

in the college of engineering.University is a major research

and as such isn't concerned withresearchers with the operations

a company. Professors and graduatets work within relatively small

each person with their own focus orIn contrast, the Illiac IV projecttogether many people, from themanager to the technicians. Eachworked on a different aspect of the

project. The job of coordinating theof the scientists and others isn't

something which is likel) to be learnedwithin today's engineering curriculum. Allthis knowledge and more is needed to runany major project.

The Illiac IV project provided ArtCarroll with additional experience in theseimportant areas. Mr. Carroll, president andfounder of Cairoll Touch Technology inChampaign, worked for two and a halfyears as Deputy Chief Investigator (secondin command) on the Illiac IV computerproject. After working for several years inthe electronics industry. Mr. Carroll came tothe University to work on the Illiac IVproject. His responsibilities included thesupervision of over 100 technical personnel,overseeing project finances and

Far Left: Hi)>h Technology orgcmizalions luiveIIIreach hci;iiii !

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TECHNOTES

Solutionsa Miner Problemthe Hditor:Concerning Tech Teaser I (Nov.why do you need 7 weighings? Itmuch easier to use only 3!

(1 ) Put the 3 and 7 kg weights in thepan and weigh 10 kg of gold (note the

aren't even necessary as one canthe 20 kg into two 10 kg portions in

first weighing).(2 & 3) Divide the two 10 kg portions4-5 kg portions.Have I missed something?

Mike Binder,Associate Professor.Mechanical Engineering

the Editor:creating the solution to the first Techof your November issue, yououtdid yourselves. Although themay require seven weighings tohis 20 kilograms of gold evenly

his four children. I suggest that anyworthy of his ptK'ket protector

handily distribute the wealth in nothan three weighings and withoutthe weights.

Sincerely.Dave Fathauer

Indeed, the easiest solution is 3 weighingsthe weights. In the words of one of myprofessors. "I was just testing you."

to know you are all awake!Features

Technograph invites lellen. in response to ns aniclesedilorials. or .in\ other item ol imeresi to our readership

photopniphs. and other contnhutions will also be corLcneT>. must be signed, but names will be withheld

request.

by Langdon Alger

Bucks for BrainsJust a quick note that may be of

interest to all, as it points to the apparentimportance of a technical education.Governor Thompson has outlined a programthat will provide assistance to ""low-incomeyouths" who want to be trained in someform of high technologyvia scholarships.TTie program is being carried out by theDepartment of Commerce and CommunityAffairs (DCCA) in ten areas of Illinois.Thompson has allocated $300,000 betweenthe DCCA and the Community ServiceBlock Grant funds.

This is how it will work: the moneywill be given to community college studentswho are fiscally disadvantaged andinterested in computer science, engineering,electronics, and medicine (medicine is nowconsidered high-tech). These students willbe awarded maximum scholarships of $1000per year. The students in the 10 areas ofIllinois in which the DCCA is implementingthis program will receive their shares of the$300,000 from now through August 1983.and a statewide program will take over fromthen on.

Thanks, Evans & SutherlandTTie University of Illinois is one of the

fourteen universities across the country thatwill receive a PS 300 Computer GraphicsSystems from Evans & SutheriandComputer Corporation. Seventeen otheruniversities have already received thedonations.

The U. of I. is receiving the generousgift because the school is involved inapplying state-of-the-art computer graphicsto several different education and researchfields. Like the UIUC. all the other schoolsare applying these computer skills to theareas of Chemistry, MechanicalEngineering. Computer Science, andGeophysics.

Evans & Sutherland's business isspecial purpose computers used forgraphics, and their PS K)0 system is thefirst in its family of new graphics displaysystems. The system has the capabilities ofreal-time, three dimensional imaging

ithout large computer intervention. Evan& Sutherland's products currently appearsome pilot training simulators, and plentythem are being used for engineering,research, and design applications.

GiUies LecturesThis is the year for the seventh annu

Gillies lectures, and the speaker will beProfessor Arthur Burks, from the Universiof Michigan.The lectureship was endowed througthe University of Illinois Foundation, whiwas given a generous contribution from tDigital Equipment Corporation for thehonor. It serves as a memorial for DonaldB. Gillies, who passed on in 1975 afterserving as a computer science facultymember here at the College for nineteenyears.

Burks is a professor in both Philosoand Computer & Communication Scienceat Michigan. He helped to develop thelogistics of an electronic digital computerthe late '40s at Princeton's Institute forAdvanced Study, and the design eventuallbecame the model for modem-daycomputers. Burks has also been awardedquite a few honors, including the LouisLevy gold medal of the Franklin Institute,an honorary doctorate from DePauw, andthe Russel lectureship at the U. of M.: thlatter is the highest honor a senior facultymember can receive at that school.

Professor Burks will arrive in Februato lecUire and work with the computerscience students and faculty.

Super CenterGovernor Thompson is showing mor

interest in building up Illinois' hightechnology rating, and he's starting with tschool. He announced that Illinois will us5.25 million dollars over the next threeyears to establish the University'sMicroelectronics Center.

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This is the second cooperative projectthe Task Force on High Technology,

first being the biomedical research parkWest Medical Center. The

Force is trying to group together highresearch and private industries to

Illinois a high-tech center, and all ofTask Force's projects are supported by

administration.It is up to the University to obtainmillion dollars from private sources to

the equipment for the center. Aboutof those funds will go to theof an electronic beam

installation, which is used tointegrated circuits. The UIUC will be

of four schools across the entire countrywill have the same capability as the

Center.This whole thing is just one more ofmany that puts this school into the rankslandmark.

Regional ConferenceOn the weekend of November 12-14.

IV of the National Society of Blackheld its 1982 regional conferenceAmericana Congress hotel in

In attendence were sixfrom the University of

Chapter.The primary purpose of NSBE is to

blacks to pursue careers inTo fufill its goal, the society

scholarships, problem-solvingand social events on both the

and high school levels. Since itsin the early seventies, NSBE has

chapters at over one hundredthroughout the United States.At the conference, several events

at once. There were seminars andat which decisions were made

the growth and structure of theThere was also a job fair, at which

Jents could discuss internship

opportunities. While the seminars and jobfair were in progress, students from severalChicago area high schools competed in atechnical quiz contest, in which they wererequired to solve several science and mathrelated problems (Tech-Teaser number twowas one of the competition problems).

Although much of the weekend wasspent in a business atmosphere, there wassome time for the conference participants toget to know one another. As one Illinoisrepresentative put it. "The conference wasenjoyable, but it was productive as well. Atthe end. there was a definite feeling ofaccomplishment."

Todd Barrowdift, senior in biomechcinicsemployes an overhead single frame projectorand computer located in the BiomechanicsResearch Laboratory. He is analyzing how gaitpatterns change in walking with no shoes totennis shoes to high heels.

Making Future LeadersThe sixth annual Engineering Student

Leadership Conference took place onNovember 13, and it was quite a success.The program began at 8:30 in the morning,continuing on through 3:30 that afternoon.Everyone who attended felt that it was aworthwhile experience.

Once the participants had registered forthe day's activities. Associate Dean ofEngineering Howard Wakeland. EngineeringCouncil President George Mejicano. andEngineering Council Personnel VicePresident Donna Fritzsche combined theirefforts to deliver a rousing intrcxluction.Afterwards, seven workshops wereconducted, each exploring a different phaseof the leadership enigma.

Professor Jackson, professor emeritusin psychology, held the first generalworkshop, called "Knowing Yourself." inwhich he discussed how a person canmeasure himself against his abilities. JimTrail gave a concurrent talk on "DelegatingAuthority" during the second session, asdid Hugh Satterlee on "Communications,"and Jim Pracher on "Planning an Event."During the third session, Stuart Lemer andAssociate Professor of MechanicalEngineering, David Offner gave concurrentsessions on "Types of Leaders" and"Brainstonning." Toby Kahr ended the daywith a general session, "Evaluations."where he discussed the evaluation process asseen by the manager.

This year's conference continued in thetradition that has been set for the past fiveyears: those who attended left with newknowledge about the field of management ingeneral. With the latest statistics showingthat by 1990, 50% of all managementpersonnel will have technical backgrounds,it is good to know that such leadershipconferences are being offered to engineeringstudents at such an early point in theircareers.

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Engineersand the Recession

Jobs are not as plentiful as they used to be.bv Jim ()"Hauan

lla^viiicnt Statisticspca'cnl employedpcaeni employed in Illinoispercent in graduate sehcxil

liiliiiiiililiiBiWith the increasing emphasis on high

technology industiy in the United Stateseconomy, the need for engineers to plan,design, and implement new systems andmachinery has become great. This isreflected not only by the steadily increasingstarting salaries offered to graduatingengineers, but also by the heavy emphasisplaced upon technical know-how by thenation's top corporations and govemmentagencies. Nevertheless, post-graduationemployment is by no means certain, evenfor graduates in this vital field.

While unemployment nationwidehovers around 10 percent as the UnitedStates finds itself plunged into it's worstbusiness slump since World War II. eventhe traditionally economy-proof engineeringfield is feeling backlash. And so aregraduating students. Major companies such

as Xerox. Atlantic-Richfield. and Ford hslashed hiring by 20 to 25 percent sinceyear ago.

"This time is the worst job marketdecade," said David R. Opperman. Dirof Placement for the University of IllinoCollege of Engineering. Job offers are fand the increase in salaries is smaller ththe past couple of years.

"Last fall was the most active (mocompanies talked to sUidents) of any falthe last decade." explained Opperman.'This took place at a time when the jobmarket was decreasing rapidly, howeverAs a result, their plans didn't result in tsame action, and job offers declined 35percent below the levels of the previousyear. "By spring," Opperman continued"they (the companies) were beginning tsee the recession was for real. There wadecreased action over the last year and joffers continued to come in 35 percentslower than the spring before."

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of May Graduatesof Science in Engineering

56 -58 ) '62 'M '66 '68 '70 '72 '74 '76 '78 'HO

of Average Salaryin percent)

Now that the economy is mired in adeep recession, job offers continue to lagbehind levels of past years. The number ofcompanies talking to smdents has declined,although it is still too early to determine thenumber of job offers for fall engineeringgraduates. ""This fall is not as active aslast." explained Opperman. "Action is 33percent below last fall." Of the hundreds ofjob offers received each year, only 31 havebeen recorded to date, as opposed to 52 ayear ago. Opperman is quick to point outhowever, that "It is really too early to saymuch about the offers. I'm not expectingthis fall to be worse than last fall or lastspring."

Job offers are expected to keep up withlast year's levels because while companieshire fewer graduates, they also visit fewerschools. As a result, the number of joboffers per student interviewed remainsessentially the same. In fact, somecompanies, such as Johnson and Johnson,have found they are free to be moreselective in their hiring practices becauseother companies are cutting back.The long-awaited economic recoverynow forecasted by many analysts shouldbenefit job-seekers graduating next spring."This fall 1 see a bottoming out. Offersshould increase by the spring semester,"predicted Opperman. Indeed. 310companies have already reserved dates toconduct interviews for the spring semester;roughly one company for every threegraduates. This number can go up evenfurther notes Opperman. "It is entirelypossible because companies haven't reserveddates and if the economy begins to recoverthey will be reser\'ing dates then."

Once the country' pulls out of itscurrent economic difficulties, the demandfor engineers is likely to climb again.Fortune magazine recently reported that thedemand for new engineers is likely to growat a rate of 10 percent due to the shortageof trained engineers currently in the market.Although larger corporations can be satisfiedwith physicists or draftsmen who can doengineering work, smaller, less diverseConlinued

1956 1961 1966 1971 1976 1981

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are hurting. Once a strongertrees these businesses to hirepersonnel, the demand forwill rise again.

This shortage ol' engineers has evena number of economic models to

the direction of this engineeringin the years to come. TheAsstxialion of EngineeringlAAKS). with the help of theScience Foundation, is prepanng a

model that will predict theand distribution of engineeringfor the next ten years, reportsunci Enginecrini^ News. The \alue

such predictions is great in that they v\illschiH>ls and employers in planning foriirrival of upcoming graduates. In fact..American Electronics Association

that 15.(K)0 electrical and computerwill graduate in 1985 for a ni;irket

need of 5 1 .(TOO engineers.The demand for engineers has resulted

a nse in starting salaries. "GeneralKthere are bigger intluences on

and demand although wages are aof each."' explains Opperman.1956. wage,; decreased only in 1972.

low point in recruiting. "This time, in thejob market in a decade. I still see aincrease." Oppemian predicted,

he cautioned this increase wouldapproach the double-digit percentages of

ent years.Because of the drop in interviewing

this year, changes in the collegecement system were developed to aid

graduates. Becausecompanies obviously had

lob openings, interviews had to bein other ways. This was

accomplished by granting more interviewsto students graduating in this semester thanprevious years had seen, with fewerinterviews scheduled for next semester'sgraduates. As a result, fall graduates had abetter opportunity to find jobs immediatelyafter graduation.

Because of the large number of jobsavailable to engineering graduates in thepast, other difficulties have arisen. Withwages rising at double-digit rates, moregraduates are choosing to enter the workforce rather than attend graduate school andearn advanced degrees. This results in fewerengineers qualified to teach, and thus,increased competition for professors. Thishas hindered state universities in particular.Unable to compete with wages offered inthe job market or by private institutions,many schools have had to delay hiringplans.

Since 1975. the percentage ofgraduates chtiosing to attend graduate schoolfrom the University of Illinois has droppedfrom 32.6 percent to only 20.4 percent lastyear, while the number of undergraduateshas nearly doubled. This decrease reflectsnot only the strong job market for engineersover the past few years, but the difficultiesin recruiting felt by top graduate engineeringschtxils. Fornmi' recently reported similarstatistics. Although the number ofengineering undergraduates has doubled inthe last 10 years, the number of AmencanPh.D.s graduating who are qualified toteach these students has acOially declinedfrom about 3.tX)0 to 1.800. As a result,classrooms are more crowded, and studentsat some schools are being told they shouldexpect to wait five years before graduatingso they can find room in required courses.

The reason behind both of these trendsis the high salaries offered by largebusines.ses. While graduating engineers withmerely a B.S. degree find st;ming salariesin business hovering near S22.(XX). salariesfor professors for the nine-month year arelittle higher. A survey by The American

ouncil on Education noted that over 10percent of engineering-faculty positions ofU.S. engineering schools were vacant in1980. Although most professors can makeadditional wages by advising businesses odoing summer work, the corporate jobmarket remains attractive.

One advantage of teaching hastraditionally been the increased oportunityfor research. No longer is this the case asmany businesses, realizing the threat fromforeign competitors, are originating newresearch departments to preserve theirtechnological edge.

Despite the changing conditions undwhich today's graduating engineers seekemployment, the skills and attributes sougby recruiters remain essentially the same.Although specific types of jobs may callspecialized training in a given field,recruiters are basically searching foremployees with high grades in theirtechnical classes. "I don't think manyrecruiters look at electives," explainedOpperman. "Instead they're looking foracademic performance, leadership potentiand previous engineering experience. Somrecruiters might look for extra- technicalbackground, but for the most part classperformance is important. Specific jobs adifferent."

Success in college along withexperience in the field can help hopefulgraduates find work. Coupled with theefforts of college placement offices and aupswing in the economy, the attributes otoday's graduates will reverse thedownswing in job offerings not only to tbenefit, but to the benefit of the expandinbusinesses for which thev will work. T

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A Monopoly on Lifefrontier of science allows

to design and manufacture life.arlev Kline

t"s a little like getting in on the act ofitself. Using a biochemicalknown as recombinant DNAit is possible to modify theof living organisms in order to

a particular function with a newof science called genetic

understand how the operation of acreature can be changed, let us first

the mechanics by which anperforms its assigned duts'. Within

cell's nucleus is a set ofa string of genes unique toEach gene is a coiled strand

(deo.xyribonucleic acid), whichthe genetic material of the cell.

The structure of the DNA molecule."double helix" proposed by

Watson and Francis Krick in 1953. ismakes it ideal as a carrier of the

code. DNA can be visualized as aladder, with the uprights formed of

sugar and phosphate groups. Theof the ladder are formed of fourbases; adenine (A), guanine (G).(C). and thymine (T). Adenine andform a strong chemical bond when

opposite each other on the chain.cylosine and guanine formstrong bonds.

This means that the two strands in amolecule are complementary; rungs

of the four compounds in any ofcombinations; AT. TA. CG. or GC.

the code along one side of thesay . . . ATGCACGTCG .... themakeup of the cell is determined.

Now. the genetic code is used by thebuild protein molecules. Protein

are composed, like a train ofcars, of building blocks called

amino acids. There are 22 amino acids, andsince there may be many thousands ofamino acid groups in any given proteinmolecule, the possible number of proteins isvirtually infinite. Each cell has its own setof proteins which it uses to pierform itsjob^a cell in the human adrenal gland, forexample, builds proteins of adrenalhormones, while an in\ading strepbactenum produces proteins which are toxicto human cells. Each cell must also produceproteins to gi%e itself energy, to reproduceits own substance, and to defend againstbacterial invaders.

Each protein a cell produces ismanufacttired from a particular segment ofthe genetic code. A blueprint, if you please,of the protein is stored in the DNA of thenucleus as follows: Every amino acid isrepresented in the DNA as a group of threeladder rungs. Each such group of three iscalled a codon. The amino acid valine, forexample, may have AAG as a codon.Certain codons are reserved as stop codes.to signal the boundaries between proteinblueprints in the DNA.

Consider, then; by appropriately addingor changing portions of the 2;enetic code inthe DNA of a cell, the cell can theoreticallybe made to manufacttjre any protein, or toperform any function. This is the concept ofgenetic engineering. Through the carefulmanipulation and splicing of the DNAgenetic code in the nucleus of a cell, thecell's function can be altered to suit man.And. since the cell is still alive and stillreproduces, once one of these organisms ismanufactured, it makes copies of itself andneed only be grown in a medium anddistributed to customers.How does one go about altering thegenetic code of a cell? One way is to let theorganisms do it themselves. Recently, astrain of bacteria has been made to consumeotherwise non-biodegradable chemicalwaste. Normal bacteria were first allowed tomultiply in a nutrient solution. Then thenutnent concentration was decreased whilein&oducing small amounts of the wastecompound. Through natural differences inthe genetic makeup of the individual

bacteria, and through cooperativeconjugation, some of the bacteria in thesolution were able to survive the change inenvironment. They were then allowed togrow until their numbers equaled theonginal colony size.

The process was repeated, withsuccessively decreasing amounts of food andincreasing amounts of chemical waste, untilfinally the bacteria found themselvessubsisting only on the chemical wasteproduct with no other food around. Throughenvironmental manipulation, a new strain ofbacteria was artificially evolved to serve acertain purpose.

Another method of artificially creatingnew organisms is to splice new genes intothe organism's chromosomes in thelaboratory. This method recei\'es most ofthe media attention since it is moresensational. Supfxjse a pharmaceuticalcompany decides to make an organismwhich will produce human growth hormone(HGH). an otherwise very expensivecompound obtainable only from the pituitaryglands of human cadavers.

The first step is to isolate the gene inthe cells of the human body responsible forproducing HGH (since each cell in anorganism contains the genetic makeup forall cells in the organism, no matter howspjecialized. the genes can be obtained from,say. skin scrapings, and not necessarilyfrom the pituitary' gland itself). This is anarduous task which involves analysis of theHGH protein and of the human genetic codeitself Once the proper gene has beenisolated, it is extracted from the DNAmolecule using enzymes which cleave theDNA into pieces at the proper stop codes.Coiinnued

23

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Ihcn an appropriate bacterial strain is selected to receive theDNA segment. Bacteria arc used because their gene-code is far simpler than that of humans, and the job of splicingDNA is consequentl) easier. Often, the strain H. Coli. the bacter-present in human intestines, is used, since it is easily obtained andbeen studied eNtensi\ely. Also through the use of enzymes, the

DN.A is spliced into the genetic code of one bacterium Theis then placed in an incubator and allowed to reproduce

.M'ter large colonies of the nev\ strain of bacteria ha\e been pni-all that needs to be done is to tap off the HGH that they ha\e

producing due to the genetic implant, purity it. and release it toAll the real work is now done; the company can simpl> letnewly manufactured organisms make the drug and watch the

roll in.Organisms anificiallN altered in the laboratory to date include aof bacteria to break down ocean oil spills into hannless siiluble

and cells to produce human insulin. The companiesdid the reasearch work to produce the new life ha\e obtainedrights on their products. The supreme court ruled that life it-

if presented in the form of an original prcxiuct. is eligible for aAlthough this would seem to have little impact on strains ofcurrent research is leading towards recombinant DN.A synth-

of higher organisms, and the critics fear that the thought of aon higher life forms is too frightening to allow research to

Another area of criticism is that of safety. Like any expandingof science, recombinant DN.^ research is highly ex-.Sometimes mistakes are made, and the resulting organ-

may not perform the desired function. Nomially. the products oferrors are destroyed. However, if such an organism were to be

free of the controlled laboratory environment (remember thatone need escape, since bacteria reproduce b\ di\ision. and thatbacteria cannot be seen with the naked eye), it could find itsinto the outside worid. and there could ha\e unpredictable

It could, for example, cause an unfamiliar disease in humans.consume a scarce resource.The scientific community has enforced strict laboratory isolationon itself in the area of recombinant DNA research. It insists thata danger is minimal, and that the current uproar is unwarranted,

a biological convention. go\emment standards were set tor labor-involved in such projects. In more recent action. howe\er. the

rules were relaxed slightly, in view of the greater under-and control biologists are achieving over their experiments.

The ability to alter life to suit man smacks of science fiction,there are many possible consequences of the current research,as strange new diseases and patents on life, which seem toout of a fantasy novel. But. like any other advancing field, it

be expected to be met with cnticism. The mass pnxluction ofcompounds such as insulin. Human Clotting Factor V'lll (used

n treating hemophiliacs), and interteron is a great accomplishmentor our science. And since this research helps to solve other biologic-mysteries such as the causes of cancer, perhaps genetic engineering

is worth our applause and respect as a true server of mankind.

4

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Tech Teasers AnswersFrom page 4

1. 94.857.312 x 6 = 569.143,872.2. She found a cubic box with one meter edges. Then she

placed the skis along the diagonal that connects opposite comers othe box. It can be shown algebraically that the length of this diagois exactly equal to the square root of three, which is greater thanm (or 170 cm. the length of her skis).

3. The smallest number is 35.641.667.749. Another number46.895.573.610 or any multiple thereof

4. TTie new calendar was adopted in 1752. so there are no yewhere this happened before then. The times it occurred were theyears of 1764. 1792. 1804. 1832. 1860. 1888. 1928. and 1956. Iwe go past 1982. the years of 1984 and 2012 are also blessed witthe phenomenon. So the answer is 1888. the last year before 1928and 1956. the first year after 1928.

5. There are 35 tnangles in the figure.

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Alger

is Son Fnmiisio as seen fom 500 milesThis picliiic was taken by Generals Landsat I satellite

LandSpirolite is a special kind of

plastic pipe that remainswhen heated. It is produced infrom ten feet to eighteen inches,

is practically non-corrosive andIt weighs a tenth as much as

piping, and a sixth as much as ironWith credentials like those, you canit must have a use in the oil

Indeed, the high-density polyethyleneis going to be produced in Gulf Oil

Company's (GOCHEM) newin Waxahachie, Texas. GOCHEM

the land in September, and theshould be finished in the fall of 1983.Part of the reason this plant is beingis because the pipe is so econcTiical.

lightweight structure means that itbe installed much less expensively than

of its iron or concrete counterparts. Ithas an infiltration-free linkage systemmakes for lower maintenance costs.was introduced in the U.S. in

and has been gaining popularity inus sewer and water systems ever since.been around outside the country for

and will no doubt continue itssuccess internationally.

Only You Can Prevent FiresIt tends to be difficult to imagine how

a company's product can feasibly be "twodecades ahead of its time," but Pyrotronics"XL3 Advanced Protection System definitelyseems to surpass any state-of-the-art firealarm system. This package intertwinesthree separate systems: fire/smoke/heatdetection, supervision, and alarm control.

The system consists of two parts; amain control panel and the satellite systems.The control panel keeps tabs on all thesatellites, continually checking them to besure they are functioning. It will also tellyou if any one of the satellites are in alarmcondition or out of order, displaying itsnumber on the control panel. The satellitescan be any one of a number of differenttypes of equipment, but most of the timethey are the detectors. They utilizephotoelectric, ionization, and contactdevices to identify the presence of a hazard.The satellites can also be external horns orbells, or extinguishing systems.

The system will tell you when any ofthe detectors have found a hazard, or whenone of them is installed incorrectly. Thesystem will stay in control when only a fewof the detectors go into alarm condition,will tell you where the detectors are, andwhat kind of emergency exists. You can setthe detector sensitivities, test them, andoutput performance reports. You can evenmake use of special options, such as timersthat will pause before dischargingextinguishers for health and safety sake.Another Bright Idea

Many new products are hitting themarket, but every once in a while there isone that outshines all the others. Such is thecase with this simple, ordinary, not highlytechnical innovation. It is called Redilite,from a company in California called TheIdea Works, and it is the greatest help inthe dark since the lighted pen.

The Redilite (under $3) is installed in adrawer or cabinet with the double-facedsticky tape that comes with it. Once it isinstalled correctly, it turns on whenever youopen the door or drawer. It has a rollingwo-way switch that causes this to happen,and it operates on two AA batteries. The

light it gives off is bright enough to lightthe entire drawer, cabinet, or wherever it'sput. Just think of the possibilities. . .use itin the car's glove compartment, in anunderwear drawer, in workshop storagecompartments, the refrigerator, andanywhere else imaginable.Dump it on Somebody Else

A computer which disengages whilehard-copying can be quite a problem.Quadram Corpwration, based in Atlanta,Georgia, has a solution that makes tons ofsense.

Microfazer is its name, and it is aprinter buffer. It simply consists of a smallbox, and it stacks well with otherperipherals like modems. All the user has todo is dump the data to be printed into theMicrofazer, which accepts it as fast as thecomputer dishes it out. Then the buffertakes over, dumping its data onto theprinter, freeing the computer for use again.This can more than double the efficiency ofword processing systems, and triple theefficiency of graphics systems.

This printer buffer has at least 8000bytes of memory, and depending upon whatmodel you purchase, or how much memoryyou add through plug-iii memory interfacecards, you can get up to 512K bytestheupper limit of expansion for the new IBMpersonal computer. This is the first printerbuffer that comes with up to ahalf-megabyte of memory, which isequivalent to about 250 typewritten pages.TTie original models were u,sable only with aparallel computer and a parallel printer, butthe new line also has units compatable withserial-serial, serial-parallel, andparallel-serial systems. Thus the Microfazercan be added to any system on the market.Tlie price of the Microfazer variesdepending on memory and model, startingat $169, and continuing on up to $1395.

25

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FellowshipIn 1949, Hughes awarded its first

fellowship. Since then, more than 4.000 menand women have earned advanced degrees inengineering and science with the help ofHughes fellowships advanced degrees toprepare the men and women of today to meettomorrow's technical challenges.Hughes Aircraft Company will again offer

more than 100 new fellowships in the comingyear for graduate study in:

* Engineering (Electrical. Mechanical,Systems, Aeronautical)Computer Science

' Applied Math* PhysicsJust a few months from now, you could be

working on your fylaster's. Engineer, or PhDdegree and receiving from Hughes

* Tuition, books, and fees' Educational stipend* Full employee benefitsProfessional-level salary

* Summer employment* Technical experience

Total Value: $18,000 to $40,000 a yearAs a Hughes Fellow, you will gam valuabletechnical experience working summers atHughes in Southern California or Tucson,

Arizona. Work Study Fellows study at anearby university while working part-time atHughes.

Full Study Fellows work at Hughes in thesummer and study full-time during theregular academic year.The range of technical assignments

available includes the option of theEngineering Rotation Program to diversifyyour work experience.

Fellowship Story, An invitation to advanceyour education and your career withassistance from a company that is advancingthe frontiers of technology. Write yourself in.

Fill out and mail the coupon, or write toHughes Aircraft Company, CorporateFellowship Office, Dept 104. BIdg4006/W870, Culver City. California 90230Creating ^ uorld mlh eteilfHUGHESProof of US, Citizenship RequiredEqual Opportunity Employer

.Write yourself intHughes Aircraft Company. Corporate Fellowship Office, Dept. 104. BIdg. 4006/W870,Culver City, California 90230.Please consider me a candidate for a Hughes Fellowship and send me thenecessary information and materials.

PLEASE PRINT Name

CityI am interested in obtaining a .Engineer degree

DEGREES NOW HELD (OR EXPECTED)Bachelors: Datety/Iaster's: Date

Zip.Doctorate

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PROFILES

Edenphoto by June Fiala DavidR. Opperman

text by Raymond HightowerJack Groppellexi and photo by Dove Colbiirn

In 1972, J. G. Eden received his B.S.Engineering from the

of Maryland. College Park. Hereceived a Masters in 1972 and a

in 1973, both of which he earnedthe University's Electrical Engineering

Dr. Eiden was awarded a Nationalch Council Postdoctoral AssociateshipNaval Research Laboratory inDC. in 1975. In 1976 hethe Laser Physics Branch of NRLhe studied the rare gas-halide

lasers and the photolytic and protonpumping of visible and ultravioletHe joined the University faculty inof 1979.

He spends a large amount of his timeGaseous Electronics Laboratory where

s working on the development of lasersthe visible and ultraviolet ranges.

lasers have applications inand power transmission.

is also studying the multi-photonand ionization of rare gasses withtoward the study of kinetics of

gas halide molecular formations. Onenewest areas of Dr. Eiden's researchexcimer lasers, used in the growth and

of semiconductor films.the Gaseous Electronics Laboratory

are fourteen students and they havevered seven new lasers within the pastAmong these is the first high

(above 400 C) dischargemolecular laser which usesiodide.

Smwm

i

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lllinl I'ublishini) Conipanv

The mini Publishing Company is proud of its tradition of serviceto the students, faculty and friends of the University of Illinois.Our student-operated media entertain and inform while pro-viding the student managers and employees a valuableexperience to supplement their classroom education.

The Daily lllinl newspaper is a consistent award winner incollegiate and professional competition. For more than 100years, Ul students have combined their editorial and advertis-ing knowledge to produce a high quality newspaper fivedays a week.

thillini

WPGU, FM 107, is one of a very few completely{pl/ifi student-operated radio stations in the country. Seven days a

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GULF-ENERGY iGuHtfJc REATING-ENERGYWERE1KFPINGNEW

Were GulfOil Corporation. And we'U be ^"^^Sm^ on campus to look for something verymuch in demand these days. New energy. Specifically, new human energy.The fast-changing energy field will continue to be one ofthe most exciting and rewardingplaces to launch a career. And Gulf has exceptional opportunities for new people withnew ideas about finding and developing Americas fuel resources. .Ifyou're about to earn your degree in Petroleum Engineering, we d like to meet you. We re

also interested in Chemical and Mechanical Engineers. In Geology and Geophysics majors. InComputer Science, Accounting, and Business Administration majors. In students in PetroleumLand Management programs. And in people in technical discipfines with a flair for sales.Check the placement office to confirm a date for our Gulf Representative s visit. And sign upfor an appointment. Ifwe miss you, send your resume to Coordinator, College Relations, Dept. B,P.O. Box 1166, Pittsburgh, PA 15230. ^ , ,,

Gulf is a world leader in training young, motivated people to solve todays energy problems.When we find you, we'll be that much farther aheadFor a 15^4" X 20'*s" color poster of this illustration, please send your request lo:Poster. College Relations, PO Box 1 166, Pittsburgh. PA 15230,

(: GulfOil Corporation. 1982.An Equal Opportunity Employer

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IF-YOU-CAN-DREAM-IT-YOU

Expand the mindof: the microchip.

Remember when electroniccalculators were considereda luxury'' Well, consider thissign seen recently outside agasoline station in Schenec-tady, New York: "Free calcu-lator with an oil change.That s just one sign of theenormous impact micro-chips have had on the waywe do everything - frombanking to game-playing.But how will we use micro-

chips that are smarter,faster, more reliable, andless expensive to design''How will these new micro-

chips be used to improvesystems, products, and pro-cesses'' As one GE engi-neer puts It, "The sky's thelimit!"That sky is replete with anumber of integrated circuit

concepts that GE is apply-ing right now.There's the custom IC, a

chip that performs highlyspecialized functions. Tradi-tionally creating this chiphas been an expensive,time-consuming job. Sowe're working on ways tocut design time and costWe're using computer-

aided design (CAD) todesign and simulate chipsright on computer screensWe're also developinggate arrays, a system that

allows you to build inexpen-sive prototype chips thatcan be "played " in systemsbefore the final design isfixed.Another area that GE is

developing is VLSI (VeryLarge Scale Integrated)circuits. These ICs willeventually squeeze onemillion transistors onto asingle chip.Where will all this superelectronic power be

applied'' GE engineeringmanager Don Patersonsees It this way:

"At GE you can innovatefrom the system down to thechip to create whateverignites your imagination

In other words, you candream it. and do it