June 1986 The Engineering Society's Studen.

t Forum June 1986

A ocalypse
I
ow?
Building
Our Future:
. Military hardware cannot
exist without engineers.
Can we afford to keep trying
to build a better bomb?
Can we afford not to ?
See Point!
Counterpoint,
'page4
Feature
Interview:
Greg Sorbara .
2
IRON WARRIOR
Assignments - Who Needs Them?
Hand-in assignments are some-
thing we are a1l familiar with, part
of the tradition of university life.
Assignments are a neccessary part
of our education - we can't be really
prepared to be engineers without
having to solve problems on our
own. They are also the best
measure of how well we under-
stand the course material before we
go into midterms and finals. But is
it really necessary for assignments
to be handed in?
The responsibility for marking
assignments is usually &iven to
TA's. Every week, they mark a
large stack of papers, many handed
in at the last minute, and not all of
them original (I know that may be
hard to believe). Most of us have
been in the situation of just not
having quite enough time to
complete an assignment, and rather
than voluntarily losing marks, the
usual solution is to clone. Cloning,
although it may get you the marks,
is a waste of time for both the TA
and yourself - you haven't really
learned anything unless you figure
out how to solve the problem
yourself. .
Assignments are not usually
worth that much in terms of marks,
and if solutions were posted,
correct solutions could be found at
any time, on your own schedule.
We don't really need T A's to tell us
what we don't understand - we'd
get more mileage out of them if they
were available more often to answer
questions.
Both students and professors
complain that if assignments did not
have to be handed in, wouldn't
get done. Well, we're sll:pposed to
be in university now. It all comes
down to what we will get more out
of for our educati0n - having
someone hold our hands week by
week to make sure we learn what
we are paying for, or learning to
work independently and scheduling
our own education, budgeting our
own time.
Just one more thing - Electrical
Engineering has a department
policy of no hand-in assignments.
We seem to muddle through
without any lessening of the quality
of our education. Solutions are
nearly always available in the EE
Reading Room, allowing more
freedom to work the way that suits
us best.
Professionalism Means Responsibility
A surprising number of people
have stopped me in the hall and
said, .. AI, your last editorial was
probab\y really good, but what the
hell were you talking about?" To
these people, and to any others who
might be just itching to ask, I can
say this: I sure do hate explaining
myself to people, since I rarely
know what the hell I'm talking
about, but .for you, OK. First, go
get the last issue of the Wanior.
Now, do the ballpark calculations
that I did, for your own case. You
should notice the following: the
actual amount of money you spend
here is small compared to the value
of your time; and, you get a pretty
good return on your -investment,
unless you're doing something
wrong. Got the idea? Good. Now
I can talk about what I wanted to
talk about, which is this Doctor
stuff. Listen: you and I are going to
be professionals one of these days
(well, I am), and we should be
paying attention to what goes on.
OK. I can appreciate the OMA
point of view: as a member of an
alleged self-governing body of
The Iron Warrior is a forum for ideas
presented by the Engineering Societies of
the University of Waterloo. Views
expressed in the lron Warrior other than
editorials, are those of the authors and do
not necessarily reflect the opinions of the
editors or 'the Engineering Societies.
The Iron Warrior welcomes all
submissions from students, faculty, and
other members of the university
community. Articles, letters, and artwork
should reflect the concerns and intellectual
level of the University in general.
professionals, it would sure churn
my butter to have the government
try to tell me how much I could
: charge rot >my services. Q . THE
OTHER HAND; if you have been
granted the respect and trust of the
public, you should uphold that
trust. If you use your special skills
and knowledge to hold the public
hostage, you have betrayed that
trust, and maybe yourself, too.
Doctors are supposed to take the
Hippocratic Oath which, you would
think, would preclude closing
Emergency Wards in the name of
collective bargaining.
Suppose engineers decided that
the Code of Ethics wasn't
important. OK, some don't take it
seriously, and maybe you don't
either, but what if all engineers up
and said, "Well, that's it. There will
be no more safe vehicles, no clean
drinking water, and no more
electric light or heat, until some-
body comes across with a little
R-E-S-P-E-C-T." That would pro-
bably turn a few heads, no doubt.
But would it be professional ?
IRON WARRIOR
All submissions become the property of
the Iron Warrior which reserves the
right to refuse publication/circulation of
material which it deems unsuitable. The
Iron Warrior also reserves the right to
edit grammar, spelling, and portions of
text that do not meet University standards.
Authors will be contacted for any major
changes that may be required.
All submissions must be legible and must
..-include the author's name, class (if
applicable) and a phone number where
he/she may be reached.
All submissions should be forwarded to:
The Engineering Society
CPH 1327
ext. 2323
All advertising enquires should be directed
to:
The Advertising Manager
clo Engineering Society
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ext. 2323
June 1986
IRON WARRIOR
STAFF
Editors
Peter Stubley
AI McGowan
Writers
Shayne Smith
Paul Meyer
David B. Jensen
Doug Parker
Steve Taylor
Tom Schmitz
Martin Baron
Todd Ruthman
Wendy Swan
Judy Beauchamp
Surabhi Shah
Sean Maw
Julian Ford
Gus Boyle
Francis Chow
Ted Judge
Copy Editors
Michael Schatz
JOlia Elvidge

James V. Abraham (director)
Todd Ruthman
Greg Krebs
Jypesetting
Luigi (director)
leon
Pina
E.E.R.C.
Layout
lynda Wilson (director)
Mr. Guy R. Bisson
James V. Abraham
BfIIAUan
Todd Ruthman
Doug Pat1<er
Sherry ems
Susan leach
Damian Hanel
Karen Ness
Brenda Reive
Francis Chow
Janice Beauchamp
Mark Driedger
Rich Rawling
Artwork
Paul Arthurs
Mike UcKechnie
Delia Chesworth
June 1986
The issue of fees and tuition is of
?bvi?us interest to all and I thought
It mIght prove useful to provide
some on the issue. I
believe it also only fair that you
know where I st,and on the subject.
The main sources of income to
the university are the grants from
the ' province and tuition fees paid
by students (grants $9.2M: tuition
$19.4M; 1985/86). The grants are
based on a complex formula that
uses student enrolments, present
and past, and is based on a basic
income unit (BIU). An engineering
student is "worth" 2 BIU's (Arts is
1 BIU, Masters 4 BIU's and
Ph.D's 6 BIU's). A medical
student is worth 5 BIU's. The
84/85 value is $4125. This scheme
was put in place in 1967 and
relected the relative costs of
mounting the programs at that time.
Whether it is still valid is debatable.
Tuition is set by the government
each year. There is a published base
value, but universities are allowed
to exceed this value by 10%. All
engineering programs in Ontario are
at this 110% value. I believe nearly
all programs are. Each year, the
government then decides the
increase - 4% this year. for both the
Do you get the feeling that every
term, we seem to be paying more
for tuition and incidentals, yet we
seem to be getting less for our
money? If you look at the decline
of our athletic facilities as well as
the increase in co-op fees, it is
obvious that this is exactly the case,
and we should tackle these issues
before less is accepted as normal.
An event of relative insignificance
to anyone except active PAC users
and varsity athletes were the cuts to
the Athletic Injuries Clinic last
winter. To those who don't know,
the clinic was forced to reduce staff
and cut back services to only
varsity athletes.
.,.
I say "insignificant" because the
clinic only became important when
you had some injury that was best
treated at the clinic. However,
anyone who has had the misfortune
to require their services somehow
felt extremely fortunate to have
such top-notch facilities and people
at hand. If you've ever gone to the
clinic, you know that it was great to
have an injury treated properly.
The most important fact of this
mess is that it represents another
negative growth for athletics at
Waterloo. The last real positive
growth in the athletics department
from an undergrad standpoint was
the Columbia Icefield, which
opened in 1984. Since then,
classrooms have made their way
IRON WARRIOR
The Price of Education
\
,
BIU value ane!. the tuition base.
In engineering, tuition reflects
approximately 18% of the direct
costs of your education. A recent
government sponsored study - the
Bovey Commission - recommended
that this rise to 25% over 5 years.
The government did not act on that
recommendation. Twenty years
ago, students paid 33% of the direct
costs.
into the PAC, at the expense of the
varsity weight room and the
proposed women's locker room
expansion, the injury clinic has
moved off campus, and there is a
user fee for lockers in the change
rooms.
The amount of athletic facilities at
Waterloo is already . one of the
worst in Ontario on a per student
basis. Worse than that is the
DECLINE of these facilities in
recent times, which the athletics
department is powerless to stop in
the face of the administration.
Where do we come in? Petitions
. do not seem to work (it didn't seem
to work when classes were put in
the PAC) so there must be some
way to get the message across to
the powers that be. The ever-
popular excuse of underfunding
will creep into the picture, but that
should never be used as a reason to
take the space of existing facilities
from the campus.
A solution to this dilemma may
take the form of a campus adver--
tising campaign similar to that of
the Seventies where a typical 65
year old Swede was compared to a
21 year old Canadian, and the
Swede was in better physical con-
dition. How about a typical UW
undergrad verses a typical 65 year
old Swede? The results could be
scary if the present trend continues.
We will also have to say more in the
I support the Bovey
recommendation. It was, in my
view, entirely reasonable. It was
coupled with an increase in OSAP
monies. It appears the tuition
increa es are too sensitive an is ue
for politicians to deal with. I
strongly feel that the situation
regarding university funding is now
extremely serious - the worst I have
experienced in twenty years of
involvement with post secondary
education. While it is difficult to
measure the "quality of education",
I feel that we no longer have the
resources to provide the environ-
ment to educate people to the full
extent of their potential. The
solution is political and will require
the politicians to recognize the
problem. Ontario recently became
10 out of 10 in terms of
government support for univer-
sities.
This brings one to fees. Co-op
schools are expensive to operate.
We require an extensive Department
of Co-ordination and we operate
our teaching program twelve
months a year. Most people ask,
given the rather obvious success of
co-op, why do other schools not
begin a co-op program. The answer
is obvious. They wouldn't touch it
next few months about the extra-
odinary increases in co-op fees. By
the end of 1988, you can expect to
see $300 co-op fees PER TERM.
Are you willing to pay that? .What
do you expect for your money?
You should feel it is necessary to
have a say where your money is
going since it represents almost
$2400 if you pay it from day one,
like next year's frosh will do.
Engineers pay every term even if
you stay with one company for six
terms or if you find your own job,
or if you do not even get a job.
There are vehicles through which
the co-op fee increases can be
addressed, such as the Student ,
3
with a ten foot pole! It is too
expensive and there is no govern-
ment grant that reflects this
expense. We have carried it "off the
top" of our operating budget for
years, but, because of the recent
budget cuts, we have increased the
co-op fees,
The computer fee is composed of
two parts - $100 to the university
and $50 to the faculty. We are
using your fee to enhance and
operate the facilities in engineering.
At present, our costs are of the
order of $600,000 per year. I will
detail these in the next issue. The
fees collected so far are $147,000. I
still believe the fee represents a
better solution than requiring
students to buy their own micros.
Queens, MacMaster and, to some
extent, Guelph, now have this
requirement. I believe, however,
that it is just a matter of time before
we will follow suit.
tJC
w.c. Lennox,
Dean of Engineering
Advisory Council (SAC). and a
new co-op fee committee being
formed by the Peds. SAC is there
for problem undergrads have with
the co-op ystem, and it i also a
body where useful changes can be
suggested to the administrators of
r:o-op. This fee issue is sure to be a
topic of hot debate jf we choose to
make it one (that is a hint).
The co-op fee Commitee is being
set up to investigate the need for the
fce increases by finding out just
how much money is being used for
co-op and to determine if it is really
necessary to have such a large fee.
Is the co-op fee increase just
another computer fee in disguise?
Will we be getting better service
from Co-ordination or any job
guarantees? These are just some of
the questions that the commitee will
attempt to answer.
If you that blindly accepting
less serVIce and accessibility in
return for greater outlays of cash is
not for you, then make an effort to
add some input to SAC or the
Co-op Fee Committee. Let those
who take your money know that we
want something in return, not just
less of something we have now.
4 IRON WARRIOR
June 1986
POINT COUNTERPOINT
Military Engineering
by David B. Jensen
In the last decade, the peace
movement has commanded
increasing public attention through
its more numerous and vocal
demonstrations around the world.
This heightened level of awareness
has induced many responsible
individuals to re-evaluate their
moral position with respect to
nuclear weapons and the machinery
of death in general. This leads
engineers into a moral quandary - is
it right to create machinery whose
sole purpose is to bum or fragment
other human beings?
The above question can be
considered from many standpoints.
Yes, in a simplistic, moral sense it
is not right to kill another human
being. But, when answering such a
question, one must also take into
account all pertinent considerations.
To continue this discussion, a
few basic rules need to be
established. First, every human
being has the right to defend
himself when transgressed upon by
one with ill intentions. Along with
this right must also go some sort of
responsible self-restraint: we've all
seen the results of the righteous
self-defenders in cowboy movies.
Through a simple process of
reasoning, we can see the validity
of this first right. There are those
on earth who would do wrong to
others and it would seem axiomatic
for the individual, or a country, to
have the right to self-defense.
Second, as callous as it may
seem, the taking of another's life
cannot always be said to be the
wrong thing to do. Consider, for
example, a hostage taker on the
verge of murdering hostages: it
would be more right to kill the
wrong-doer than to allow innocent
hostages to be killed in the name of
passivity. '
America were to be attacked, the
attackers would surely not be
innocent and we would not be
acting immorally if we were to
defend ourselves.
Having established the above
points, I wish to argue for the
validity of weapons engineering.
We in the Western World enjoy,
on almost all scales, a life of
freedom. Yes, we do have to go to
work in the morning, and no, you
can't drive through a subdivison at
100 mph at 3 o'clock in the
morning because of your rights as a
'free' individual. But excepting the
rules which we must obey to
maintain order in society., we do
have a great deal of lateral freedom.
On the other hand, the Soviet
Union and the Eastern bloc
countries have shown a remarkable
disregard for the individual and his
right to certain basic freedoms. You
cannot go wherever you want to in
the Soviet Union; you cannot do or
say what you want to and you
cannot become what you want to
become. The bottom line is that you
do whatever is best for the state,
whether you can get a note from
your minister saying you are an
avowed pacifist or not. There are
those who say that maybe the
Soviet people enjoy this lifestyle
and the author respects the right of
those people to their opinions. But,
in the last 40 years, the Soviets
have shown a remarkable affinity
for expansionist policies (it is
openly stated in communist doctrine
that the policy of the Soviet Union
is an international workers
revolution as they see it) - from
East Germany to Czechoslovakia to
Angola to North Yemen to Vietnam
to North Korea to Afghanistan, etc.
This may also be the will of the
people living within these countries
but from what we can see, it
appears not.
At this point, supporters of the
disarmament movement advocate
Many who would not participate increased arms negotiations with
in the weapons industry cite the Soviets with the aim of
religious reasons. Specifically, eliminating nuclear arms and
Deuteronomy 5:17 is quoted where reducing weapons stockpiles world
it is written "Thou shalt not kill". V" wide. Unfortunately, there are
Yet, Numbers 35: 16 states "If several points which appear to point
anyone strikes another with an iron in the direction of failure for nuclear
object so that he dies, he is a arms reduction/elimination at the
murderer; the murderer shall be put present time:
to death". Thus we can see that the
Bible, under certain circumstances,
prescribes death as a just
punishment. We can therefore not
say that weapons should be not
made because the Bible says we
shalt not kill. The Bible itself
prescribes that the Israelites should
arm themselves and make war upon
other divinely selected nations. It
would perhaps be correct to
paraphrase Deuteronomy 5: 17 as
meaning "Thou shalt not kill the
innocent". Obviously if North
1) The Soviet record for
disobeying previously negotiated
arms pacts including the most
recent SALT n Unratified Accord
(deployment of SS25 ICBM, buil-
ding of Krasnoyarsk Anti-Ballistic
Radar, illegally encrypting tele-
metry results needed to verify
missile tests.)
(see "Military", page 5)
by PauJ Meyer
"Engineers should not participate
in, or contribute to military
projects." Is this feasible? Is this
acceptable? Is this reasonable? Is
this neccessary? If we, as
engineers, want "good" engineering
then the answer to all four of these
questions must be yes.
Before examining why, let us
define a few terms. By "military
projects", it is understood that we
are talking about projects whose
primary purpose is the victory over
an armed enemy (ie. to kill
personnel, destroy property, etc.).
This also includes so called
"spin-off' projects such as missile
guidance systems or defensive
killer satellites.
When we say "good"
engineering, what do we really
mean? Do we mean technically
proficient or do we mean morally
good? Well, the best engineering is
both. Most of us can think of
examples of "good" engineering
from a technical standpoint: an
electric amplifier with no distortion,
a bridge that spans two kilometres,
a Ferrari, etc. -- engineering that
has the capacity to impress us with
its ability to perform its design
function with a minimum of wasted
material or energy.
We can also think of engineering
that is "good" from a moral
standpoint in that it benefits a large
number of human beings or
improves their quaFty of life.
Sewage treatment plants that
prevent cholera, plastic pumps that
bring water to the Sahel (area just
south of the Sahara - Ed.),
Cobalt-60 radiotherapy units that
fight cancer; these are all examples
of eNgineering for the public good.
One can sense that these projects,
and others like them, were designed
by engineers whose primary motive
was to benefit their fellow man.
Thus, it was "good" engineering.
Military projects, while they are
occasionally technically proficient,
are rarely created with the benefit of
mankind as their primary motive.
(It is the rare military project that is
designed to increase anyone's
chance of survival, except by
ensuring that a larger number of
enemies die first. This is hardly to
the benefit of mankind as a whole.)
While one could argue that the
defence of one's home, children
and way of life is a noble goal, it is
hard to believe that" defence" is the
main motive of the designer. One
need only examine the technical
specifications of most weapons
systems to see that aggression is
their primary function, either in the
short term (machine guns) or the
long term (Strategic Defense
Initiatives). As instruments of
aggression, they work against the
interests of humanity as a whole.
One argument that is frequently
raised to justify the engineers'
involvement in military projects is
the side benefits that result from
military designs. "The inertial
guidance systems designed for
missiles are now used to guide
civilian aircraft, making travel safer
for all", is one such example.
However, is this really "good"
engineering in either sense? If we
wanted to develop an inertial
guidance system for aircraft, we
could have done so at a fraction of
the cost of a guided missile
program and without producing the
missiles themselves.
If we wanted to develop
operations research we could have
done so with the intentions of
optimizing factory productions
rather than invading Nazi-occupied
France, without sacrificing hund-
reds of Canadians at Dieppe.
If we want to develop high-tech
communications systems, we can
do so without participating in
American aggression against the
USSR. "Good" engineering de-
mands that we work directly
towards our goal and that that goal
is a valid one.
By their very nature, military
projects are jnvol ved in the des-
truction of life or pro'perty.
Engineers, or at least "good"
engineers, are dedicated to the
enhancement of life through the
creation of works. If we involve
ourselves in projects whose
ultimate goal is to destroy our
works (and our clients),we not only
hurt ourselves but work against the
best interests of humanity.
As responsible, moral,
technically proficient and socially
intelligent individuals, our choice is
clear: we must be creators, not
destroyers.
NORRIS HOME BAKERV
(519) 742-0564
7427961
460 Frederick Street,
(beside Conestoga Expressway)
Kltchener, Ontario N2H 2P5
Established for 43 years
Items include:
cakes, muffins,
cookies ... etc.
June 1986 IRON WARRIOR
5
Computerized Traffic
Cops in the UK
Military
Engilleerillg
(continued from page 4)
2) With each new Soviet
the waits holding
It s breath for a new and improved
relationship between the East and
West. To be considered is the fact
that, to reach the top ranks in the
ruling Politburo of the Soviet
Union, one must successfully be
indoctrinated for a 30 to 40 year
period in the lower ranks of the
Party. Successfully rising through
the ranks means reiterating and
supporting Soviet Marxist policy
(change is not looked upon
favourably). Thus, it is not likely
that with the arrival of a new
General Secretary will corne new
warmth to the West or an intention
of greatly altering past Soviet
Also Russia is not ruled by
a slOgle person who co-ordinates
policy. It has a very broad
powerbase with three or four senior
them over long distances. Should
Russia negotiate away this trump
card, it would be relegated to the
position of a floundering economic
giant. Thus it doesn't appear likely
that the Soviets will give up their
international position and power to
appease international concern over
nuclear arms proliferation.
Doug Parker
SCOOT is a traffic-control
system that has been implemented
in seven cities in the UK to date. It
employs a computer algorithm that
makes instantaneous decisions to
change the traffic signal timings
with the goal of minimizing the
lengths of the line-ups caused.
In 1967, Dennis Robertson, of
Bri tain 's Road Research
Laboratory, wrote a significant
computer application called
TRANSYT. A colleague had
recently devised a traffic model that
produced an accurate picture of the
lengths of all of the queues in the
network. The TRANSYT program
calculates signal timings that will
minimize he . um.(). a e e
queues. This sum represents delay
to the drivers in the network and is
instantly convertible to economic
tenns. This program has been very
successful. Several newer and
enhanced versions have been
created both in Britain and in the
United States.
SCOOT is simply a version of the
time-tested TRANSYT algorithm
that runs in real-time. With
TRANSYT, the necessary infor-
mation with regard to the volumes
of traffic on the roads was gathered
and input to the program. The
signal timings generated would then
be implemented in the actual traffic
signals. With SCOOT, this
volumes information is fed automa-
tically into the delay-minimizing
algorithm from vehicle-sensing
detectors on the streets. The
resulting timing adjustments are
made immediately. The form of
these adjustments is important. If
any single adjustment is too large,
traffic will be disrupted by the
transition between the two timings.
If the adjustments are too
infrequent, the timings may not
effectively handle transient
conditions in the traffic flow and
__ the timings must be
updated, both frequently and by
relatively small increments.
Three different timings are
updated by SCOOT: splits, offsets,
and cycle. The split is the
green/amber/red proportion of the
entire cycle. The offset is the time
that the green for the cycle begins
with respect to some universal and
arbitrary time zero for the entire
network. The cycle length is the
time for one repetition of
green/amber/red.
Just before a signal changes
colour, the program uses the latest
information available to decide
whether the projected delay in
queues could be shottened by
advancing or retarding the
upcoming change by four seconds.
If neither change is favourable
. . '
none IS lffiplemented.
Once each cycle, SCOOT
performs the same sort of
experiments with the expected
effects of a plus or minus four
second change in the offset of that
particular signal. Finally, every few
minutes, the cycle length of a
grouping of intersections can be
shifted by a few seconds. Some of
the decisions made will undoub-
tedly be wrong. Fortunately, as
long as the majority of the decisions
are correct, the incremental and
frequent nature of the updating
process masks their effects.
"Nice idea", you say, "but how
much does it cost?" The hardware
required includes some kind of fast
cOI,l1pu ter, inductive-loop detectors
for the roads, and communications
equipment. All of this must be
The detection equipment
WIll have to be well maintained
because, if more than about 10% of
the data is missing, the results may
be a little confused. A system like
this is a major undertaking that can
.. Politburo (including the
fmally voting on
polIcy Issues. Again, sudden
change in policy doesn't appear to
be likely.
3) Economically, the Soviet
Union does not have a viable
economic base (e.g., for the last 20
years, the Soviets have experienced
'bad weather' precluding them from
growing their own wheat in the
Taking into account the above
and judging from past Soviet
behaviour, the only successful
attempt to negotiate peaceful
policies is from a position of
strength (witness the extremely
quick return by the Soviets to the
Arms Negotiating table with the
introduction of SDI) - thus the need
for advanced weaponry and the role
of the weapons engineer as a
legitimate contributor to the estab-
lishment of a stable international
power balance. The arming of
Western countries does not
preclude the need for negotiations
with the Eastern bloc in the interest
of stability. Only when a change in
Soviet policy is evident can a true
pact of peace be hoped for.
The author does not advocate a
pre-emptive strike upon the Soviet
Union or any other Eastern Bloc
country: we must always retain the
respect of the international com-
munity by our affinity for peace.
But true peace can only be hoped
for under a balance of power. Thus
the need exists for the engineer to
apply his talents to ensure that we
will never be held at so great a
miJitary deficit that others weuld
-think that we could be overcome
militarily and the balance of peace
broken.
only pay for itself in extremely

.raine, which alone could supply
their need, leaving the Soviets
dependent on Canadian and
American wheat surpluses),
Technologically, in almost every
the Soviets severely lag
behmd the West. Thus Russia
attains its 'Superpower' status and
ability to influence world events
solely upon the power which
accompanies posession of weapons
and the ability to accurately deliver
I realize that such a complex topic
cannot be fully argued in a few
short paragraphs and I welcome
any comments or criticism.
potential benefits begin to become
really significant economically.
Oops!
In my counterpoint in the May
1986 issue of the IRON
WARRIOR, I stated that translation
errors were responsible for the birth
of the tradition of Immaculate
Conception. This is patently incor-
rect. What I should have said (and
indeed intended) was that trans-
lation errors resulted in the tradition
of the origin birth of Christ
Immaculate Conception is "'the
dogma of the unique privilege by
which Mary was conceived in her
mothe.t;'s womb without the stain of
original sin through the anticipated
merits of Jesus Christ" (Random
House Dictionary).
My apologies for any incon-
venience this error may have caused
and my thanks to the several people
(engineers no less!!) who brought
this error to my attention.
Damien L. Hanel
4A Electrical Engineering
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6 IRON WARRIOR
June 1986
The Mechanics of Fusion
by Shayne Smith
Analysis of a Tokamak
The Tokamak concept is widely
acknowledged as being the most
feasible approach in establishing a
fusion energy reactor. Projects such
as JET, TFTR, and JT -60 were
discussed briefly in Part One.
These four projects together repre-
sent the international progress being
made in magnetic confinement
research.
In the last issue, it was noted that
extreme temperatures must be
maintained in order to sustain the
fusion reaction. In fact, an average
of about 5 keY is required, corres-
ponding to a minimum temperature
of 58 million C.
The temperature alone does not
determine whether fusion will
occur. A British scientist, J.D.
Lawson, established another neces-
sary condition for the plasma to
sustain fusion. This "confinement
parameter", also called the Lawson
Criterion, is the product of the
plasma density (in particles per unit
volume) and the confInement time
(in seconds). Lawson's work
showed that less confinement time
was required for denser plasma in
order to ensure the onset of fusion.
Current estimates indicate that the
confinement arameter must be
greater than 10
20
seconds per cubic
metre to sustain a thermonuclear
burn in 200 million C plasma. Fig.
1 illustrates the system schema-
tically. The toroidal reaction vessel
contains the plasma in a vacuum. A
magnetic field confines the plasma,
and an auxiliary heating system
helps to raise its temperature. A
system must be in place to fuel the
reaction and purify the exhaust
stream. The first wall of the
reaction vessel must be able to
withstand the radiation and heat
generated by the plasma, and a
surrounding blanket must have the
ability to -capture the escaping
__ TRITIUM
- - - DeUTERIUM
neutrons where their heat can be
removed by a coolant and trans-
ported to a conventional power
system consisting of heat exchan-
gers, boilers, and turbines.
The blanket must also be able to
breed tritium from the available
neutron flux and recycle fuel back
into the system.
Heating Systems
The principal method used to heat
the plasma in a Tokamak is ohmic
heating, which is accomplished by
using the plasma as a secondary
winding in a large DC transformer,
as shown in Figure 2. Poloidal fIeld
coils act as the primary windings
for the iron transformer core.
Plasma currents of several million
amperes can be generated in this
manner. Besides generating the
required magnetic fields, this
plasma current acts to heat the
plasma to extremely high temper-
atures by electrical resistance.
Unfortunately, a transformer
cannot drive current in the secon-
dary winding continuously without
increasing the primary current
indefInitely. After a finite period of
time, the transformer must be
"reset'l, resulting in a tennination of
the fusion burn. Present Tokamak
designs, therefore, use a pulsed-
mode operation, in which one pulse
of the poloidal field generates the
required condt'on for usion to
occur. The fact that the transfonner
must operate as a pulsed system
points out the need for auxiliary
heating, to lengthen the pulses or
eliminate them altogether.
Two main approaches have been
used in establishing effective auxi-
liary heating systems. The fIrst is
Neutral Beam Injection (NBI), in
which neutralized deuterium atoms
are energized and injected into the
plasma: the plasma is thus heated
by interatomic collisions.
Another method of heating uses
antennae mounted on the walls of
the torus to radiate high-power
electromagnetic waves, which are
launched into the plasma.
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
FIGURE 1 Schemat-ic
of a Tokamak System
FlGUR! 2 Tokamak
Kasnetic Field ,
ConHsuraUon
Winding
{Prunory
cirelllt]
'Resonant interaction
converts the radio-frequency (RF)
waves into thermal energy.
Power Requirements
Power consumption requirements
for a fusion test facility are typically
greater than the local power grid
can support. Because these test
reactors do not generate their own
power as yet, it is necessary to
incorporate a separate generating
facility into the test site.
During operating pulses at JET,
peak power requirements could
exceed 900 MW. What cannot be
supplied by the local utility is
instead provided by two massive
vertical-shaft fly wheel generators
, at the JET site. E.ach generator
provides 400 MW of peak power . .
The rotors each weigh 775 tonnes
and are accelerated by an 8.8 MW
Pony- motQr. When power is
needed at JET, the rotor windings
are energized and the rotational
energy of the flywheel is converted
to electricity. The resulting AC
current is rectifIed to DC for use by
the magnet and transformer system.
Five principal loads account for
the power demand at JET: toroidal
magnetic fields (600 MW), ohmic
heating circuit (300 MW), plasma
positioning control (150 MW),
neutral beam injection (80MW) and
radio requency heating 60 ).
Similar roto-generator sets are
employed at the TFfR to meet its
power requirements.
Engineering
Difficulties
There are many problems to be
solved with a Tokamak system,
none of which appear to be
insurmountable. The following lists
some of the engineering hurdles
to be overcome:
Neutron radiation: High energy
neutrons from the fusion reaction
escape the plasma and collide with ,
and displace the atoms in the metal
lattice of the surrounding structural
and blanket material .. This presents
two serious problems: embrittle-
ment and radioactive activation (ie.
the blanket material itself may
become radioactive).
The fact that the first wall of the
reactor might have to be replaced
periodically due to metal deterio-
Iron Transformer Core
Toroidal Field Coils
Poloidal
Magnetic
Field
I I I
I I I
(SoodGry c/reull)
Toroidal
Magnetic Field
L _______________ ___________ J
ration introduces some serious
concerns, both economic and
environmental. On the other hand,
Vanadium looks to be very durable
in a radioactive environment, and is
being considered as a prime
structural component.
Strutural Integr,ity and Material
Selection: Given the idea of how
Tokamak operates, it is easy to
envision the hostile environment in
which a particular component must
survive. Metals will be subjected to
pulsed high temperatures,
time - varying magnetic field
stresses, and radiation- induced
embrittlement, as well as cheniical
reaction with contained gases and
liquids. In some areas, metals must
withstand shear loads of up to 120
kPa. At JET, the maximum twisting
moment around the axis of the
machine is approximately 30 :MNm.
Impurities and Vacuum
Control: To achieve a suitable
environment for fusion and
adequate control of the fusion fuel,
the reaction vessel must maintain a
very high vacuum. Some appli-
cations require vacuum conditions
on the order of one-billionth of an
atmosphere. This is not a parti-
cularly easy task, given that the
volume of the vessel is several
hundred cubic metres. Weld quality
must be extremely high to ensure
air-tig tness. A , for example,
the maximum acceptable leakage
rate corresponds to one litre of air
escaping from the vacuum vessel
every 3000 years.
Tritium Handling: In early fusion
reactors, it will be necessary to
maintain substantial inventories of
tritium, which can be a significant
radiation hazard, if not properly
controlled and monitored. The
trouble is that there just isn't a great
deal of scientifIc information on the
behaviour of high concen- trations
of tritium. Like other hydrogen
isotopes, tritium can penneate many
materials, including metals, rather
quickly. It can also degrade and
embrittle polymers and ceramics.
Remote Manipulation: Remote
handling facilities are very
expensive and tedious to develop:
however, it would obviously be
required in some maintenance
applications. Replacing components
on the inside of the torus, as well as
hanoling activated metals and
tritiated components, will be the
main tasks of a remote manipulation
facility. Hands-on applications will
never be practical for all main-
tenance, because there is too much
radioactivity with the shielding. In a
sufficiently shielded environment,
however, workers in plastic
alpha-suits may be ablo to do most
of the routine maintenance.
The fInal article in this series will
examine the political and ethical
considerations of nuclear power,
and outline the possible future of
fusion reactors.
June 1986
IRON WARRIOR
7
A New Wave in Canadian Architecture
by Martin Baron
In the late 1700's, engineering
was being taught in Paris at some
of the first all-engineering schools
in the world. The schools did not
see a separation between what we
today call engineering and
architecture; t11e two subjects were
being taught as parallels. But by
1800, a separation was growing.
As far as buildings were concerned,
engineers were concentrating on
structure, while architects were
paying more attention to shape,
function, and aesthetics.
During the two world wars,
engineering became more impor-
tant. The architects had little to
contribute to the military effort, and
considered themselves more and
more to be artists. World famous
architects like Walter Gropius were
forming their ideas and philo-
sophies in schools such as the
Bauhaus in Germany, a school
dedicated to art. It may have been
functional art, but it was completely
separated from mathematical engi-
neering.
Today, engineers and architects
work together in the design and .
construction of large buildings.
Typically, it is more of a division of
interests and responsibilities than a
partnership. The engineer makes
functions such as electrical and
heating systems work. He usually
doesn't consider the ramifications
of his work on the architecture.
The architect must deal. more with
people. A building can be con-
sidered as public art. It is some-
thing to be experienced, as well as
something that works. The engi-
neer wants to make the structure
stand. The architect wants to make
the structure define and modulate
space. It is not difficult to see how
conflicts between architects and
engineers can develop.
The University of Waterloo has
been described as "a collection of
the worst architecture in the
country". Our new William G.
Davis building is changing that. It
is a beautifully innovative deSIgn
that brings forth a new marriage
between architecture and engi-
neering.
Ron Keenberg, the architect of
the new building, believes that the
engineering aspects of a building
should not be hidden. "Why is this
ceiling staying up?" he asks. "I
know that there is a column in that
comer. I want to see it. I can flip a
switch and the lights come on. I
don't see how, is it magic? No!"
. The systems and structures of a
building are as much a part of the
building as the doors and the win-
dows. Yet the ventilation ducts,
wires, plumbing, and skeletal
support structures of a building are
usually hidden. In the new ICR
building, beams and pillars are
clearly visible. Cables are carried
by overhead racks, they are not
hidden behind walls or under-
floors. Electrical panels are out in
the open too.
The temperature control system is
a mass thermal energy storage
system. Unlike most other systems
of this type where thermal energy i&
stored in water tanks, the concrete
of the ICR building itself is the
storage unit. Air flows through
holes in the concrete and into
rooms, modulating the temperature.
This the need for duct
work, reducing construction costs.
Thermostats in each room control
the air flow into the room from the
concrete "pipes". The air temper-
ature in a room can be varied from
18C to 25C at a rate of lIrc per
hour. Heating costs will be 40%
down from a conventional heating
system.
At $85 per square foot, the ICR
is much less expensive than the
more typical $150-$200 per square
foot buildings that other schools are
constructing. Don't mistake this
for a "functional design" . With
architects exploring engineering,
the word "function" has been
replaced by "purpose". The buil-
ding has a purpose and conveys it.
Researchers asked to have
privacy and isolation for their re-
search. The administration wanted
more interaction between different
research groups. As the building is
designed, the researchers can go
into their labs and offices and be
relatively isolated for their work,
until they come out.
Instead of having traditional
corridors, the new ICR building
has "streets". The streets are very
open, and increase interaction. One
can not step out of an office without
seeing another person, unlike El
for example. There are many more
staircases than required by code to
again stress interaction. There is
one dining room where profs,
students, and grads all intermingle.
A great hall with a ceiling four
stories above the ground adds to the
open feeling of the streets.
Dynamic energies are focused in the
streets and galleries. Consequent-
ly, the money was spent on the
streets and galleries. The labora-
tories are reI ati vely plain in
comparison. Money was only
spent where it was necessary.
The building is not a computer
building, but rather a teaching
bUilding. It is for people.
How about engineers? Did you
take PSYCH 101 or ECON 101 as
an Arts elective? Architects are
"expanding their horizons". They
are trying to work beyond the
leading edge because the leading
edge, as new as it is, is known.
Working at the leading edge gives
rise to redundant reproduction of
ideas. We, the artists, architects,
scientists and engineers, must reach
past the leading edge to achil,;ve
advancement. Are the architects
giving us a hint? Like a slap in the
face!
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8
IRON WARRIOR June 1986
by Wendy Swan,
Surabhi Shah,
and Judy Beauchamp
Education Around the
World
Tired of exams at the end of
every term? Tired of fees that are
going up? Then maybe you
should consider the education
systems in other countries. Every
country has its own way of
providing post-secondary educa-
tion. We take midterms and exams
every term for granted, and, much
as we grumble about fees, we
accept the responsibility of paying
for at least part of our education.
However, some countries only
have comprehensive exams at the
end of all schooling, and some
countries pay all tuitions, making
university almost free.
The attitudes of students also
varies from country to country,
coloured somewhat by the systems
they are used to. Some people think
we don't work hard enough, while
others are used to more free time
and think we work too hard. Some
students are much more active in
political life than we are, while
students in some countries cannot
afford to be anything even remotely
considered radical.
We hardly ever consider or
appreciate the quality of student li fe
and education that we enjoy in
Canada. It's a pretty good way to
learn, but it's hardly the only way.
Germany
Engineering is extremely popular
in Germany. At a larger university,
it is not unusual to have 800
students in a first year lecture. This
size, of course, makes the profes-
sor somewhat remote, but there are
teaching assistants available if you
require additional help.
The engineering school year is
divided into two terms: October to
February, and from a time just after
Easter through to June. Assign-
ments and midterms carry little or
no weight, and most courses have
100% final examinations. These
finals are usually written over a
period of six to eight weeks after
the term is finished. However, at
some institutions, only two sets of
finals are written: one set after the
first two years and the second set
after the final two years.
German schools tend to place a
major emphasis on project work
and oral presentations . These
projects can often stretch a four
year degree to six years, during
which time the student pursues his
or her own particular area of
research.
As a rule, German students have
more options than Canadian
students in choosing their technical
courses. There are also no formal
humanities requirements which
must be fulfilled to obtain an
engineering degree.
At the older schools in Germany,
campuses tend to be spread out all
over the city. There is a central
administrative core, but other
buildings can be several kilometres
away. A bicycle is definitely a
must!
A bicycle is definitely a must
Compared to German students,
Canadian students seem to work
much harder, but also tend to
socialize more with fellow students.
However, many Germ.an students
seem to direct much of their
energies for political activities --
more so than their Canadian
counterparts. The Canadian stu-
dents al so seem to have more
di sposable income than the German
students.
In Germany, the tuition is paid by'
the government. Other fees (eg.
administrative, student union, etc.)
are paid by the student and total
about $30/term. Furthermore, liv-
ing expenses in Germany are
generally less than in Canada. For
example, a decent apartment can be
had for $100Imonth, while resi-
dence fees are about $150lmonth
(without a meal plan). However,
residence rooms are much smaller
than in the UW Student Villages.
One last point (for those of you
who complain about the male-
female ratio at UW) -- the
percentage of women in a typical
engineering program is approxi-
mately 2% as compared to about
to% at UW. That's 16 women in a
Glass of 800!
The United States
University education in the
United States is basically the same
as Canada but there are some
differences. The American schools
tend to have a more rigid structure,
relying more heavily on formal
coursework and assignments than
on individual project work. This
means that the total number of
courses taken to obtain a degree is
much greater. Technical education
tends to be more liberal than in
Canada, with more courses in the
humanities and the social sciences.
The students themselves are also
more liberal in their attitudes than
Canadian students. They are much
more involved in political organiza-
tions and movements, participating
heavily in organizations such as
Greenpeace and Science for Peace.
In Canada, all of the universities
-have similar tuitions, because they
are all government-supported. In
the US, there are private schools
and state colleges. The state
colleges are government-supported,
and have a policy of universal
access. The private colleges have
very li e government support, and
rely mostly on endowments and
tuition for funding. This means that
Trinidad
The West Indies has one main
university: the. University of the
West Indies. This institution is very
old and was once a part of a British
college before the current political
organization of several independent
nations developed.
There are three campuses at the
university, one each on the islands
of Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados.
Each campus has one major faculty
(engineering, medicine or law), as
well as several smaller faculties
such as arts, science, or agriculture.
The engineering faculty is located in
Trinidad.
Ten years ago, tuition was paid
by the government. Today, the
student must pay for his or her
education. Fortunately the fees are
significantly less than they are in
Canada -- approximately $200
Trinidadian (less than $100
Canadian) per year.
tuition can vary widely from school
to school. The fees can be as high
as $15,000 Cdn at the more
prestigious schools, and can be as
low as $3,000 Cdn for state
. colleges.
Financial resources are obviously
a consideration when deciding
which school to attend. Generally,
the bigger the school, the more it
costs. However, the bigger schools
also tend to be better endowed,
resulting in more money available
for financial assistance. Although
the prestigious schools, such as
MIT, Princeton and Northwestern
have plenty of research dollars and
resources, the private school
system also results in schools that
are starving for money and have
barely enough to get by from year
to year.
Technical degrees are not always
as complete as they -are here. In
Canada, an engineering degree
provides enough background to
b.ecome a licensed professional. At
Stanford, in contrast, an
undergraduate degree is not really
enough, and 60%-70% of the
g.:aduating class goes on to get a
master's degree.
About 10,000 students in total
attend the University of the West
Indies and of these, about 400
study engineering. An average first
year class is around 100 students.
The first year curriculum in
engineering is very general. The
students then choose a particular
discipline (Mechanical, Electrical,
Civil, Chemical and Agricultural) in
second year. There are also various
specializations within disciplines.
An example is Industrial
Engineering which is offered by the
of Mechanical Engi-
neenng.
University tends to be much
more popular in Canada, where
students are much more career
oriented, than in the West Indes.
However, the highly volatile nature
of West Indian politics seem to
encourage students to become more
politically aware and active than
their Canadian counterparts.
June 1986
Italy
If you are a self-motivated
person, who hates being tied down
by deadlines, and happen to speak
Italian, you might prefer taking
your engineering degree in Italy.
At the Politecnico di Milano, you
wouldn't be required to attend
classes, do assignments or write
midterms. The only written work
required is a final examination, of
which the resulting mark has little
influence on you final grade. At this
point, you're probably asking
"what's the catch?"
An engineering degree
requires five years
In Italy, an. engineering degree
requires five years of instruction.
Each school year, from November
to May, students take six courses,
each having seven hours of classes
per week. The exception to this rule
is in the first year, where there are
only five courses. Courses rarely
have midterm exams, assig!l1Ilents or
labs. You don't even need to go to
class. Before graduating, however,
each student must take a written and
an oral examination for each
course.
Australia
In Australia, all vocational
schooling is paid for by the Federal
government ("vocational schooling"
impb.es an education leading
towards some job skills).
Since tuition is paid for by the
government, there are fewer
scholarships available than in
Canada. Students, however, are
expected to pay other fees such as
Student Union and registration
fees. This comes to approximately
$200/year. Furthermore, students
must pay for their own room and
board and (textbooks are
generally imported and therefore are
very expensive) and this encour-
ages many students to live at home
and attend a local university.
Community colleges are very
popular in Australia. Most students
attend part time and hold a day time
job. It takes about years to
complete a 600-900 hour certificate.
Many employers give "study
leave" for part-time students
Many industries give "study-leave"
during normal working hours to
their employees so that they can
attend college. As a result, the age
group attending community college
tends to be relatively older.
Post-secondary education is
divided into three levels: com-
munity colleges which offer mostly
certificate programs; colleges of
advanced education which offer
diplomas and undergraduate deg-
rees (similar to Ryerson
Poly technical in Toronto); and
universities offering programs lead-
ing to undergraduate and graduate
degrees.
IRON WARRIOR
In Italy, students do not need to
take the exams at the end of the
term. It's generally the respon-
sibility of the student to decide
when he or she will take these
exams. Furthermore, the student
may take these exams as many
times is needed in order to pass,
without having to repeat courses.
The written final may consist of 3
to 5 questions, of which 2 or 3
must be done perfectly. Although a
passing grade on a written final
exam may not influence the final
mark, it is a prerequisite to taking
the oral exam. A student's final
course mark is determined by this
oral exam which lasts approxi-
mately 1 112 hOUTS. .
It often takes six years
Because of this method of
examination, students usually take
six years or more to obtain their
degree. Normally this would
include a two month break in the
summer, depending on how the
student had scheduled his or her
exams. It is very .to
Australian engineering students
study mostly core subjects through
their first three years, just as
Canadian students do. In fourth
they can specialize but must
take courses from at least two
different subject are'as such as fluid
mechanics and solid mechanics.
There is also a final year project- a
sort of "mini-thesis". Also, there
are no rigid arts requirements.
There are fewer university
students per capita in Australia than
in Canada and fewer still in
graduate studies. Furthermore, it is
easier ' to get accepted into an
engineering program than in
complete the requirements In bve
years, but this is wholly dependent
on the student's motivation.
The final requirement, after
pissing all of the course exams, is
to complete and present a thesis or
major project. Depending on the
quality of this project, the student's
final average can be increased from
between two and ten percent.
After six years of school, you
might expect Italian student to
have large debts, but the cost for a
year is only about $400 for a
resident Italian. For those of you
ready to jump on a plane, it may be
as high as 95,000 lira (not as bad as
it sounds).
Overall, an Italian post-secondary
education allows for more flexi-
bility but expects more responsi-
bility from the student than in
Canada. The disadvantage is that it
lacks some of the practical
applications such as those involving
teamwork, laboratory techniques
and presentations. However, if the
idea of no assignments and flexible
exams appeal to you, you may want
to start brushing up on your Italian.
Canada, but the first year drop out
rate is very high. One of the largest
Australian schools , the University
of Melbourne, has approximately
200-250 first year engineers. After
first year only 50-60 remain. Also
the percentage of women in
engineering programs ranges from
5%-10%, somewhat similar to that
in Canadian schools.
Although there i no formal co-op
program in Australia, enginecring
students must complete a certain
number of hours obtaining hand-on
experience in an engineering related
job. These hours can be obta.ined all
in one summer or over the course
of the whole four year period.
November to March is
"summer break"
The school year is divided into
three, 3-month terms. Final
examinations cover the full nine
months and are general1y worth
about 70% of the final grade. After
lectures are completed, there is a
two week period before exami-
nations, called SwatVac, start. The
total exam period is about three
weeks. Summer break is from the
end of November to early March.
Australian engineering students
appear to be very similar to
Canadian students. One of the
biggest engineering events at the
University of Melbourne is the
annual Trike Race, for which
groups of engineering students
build large tricycles (28" front
wheels), and ride them in a 100km
relay race. And of course, the
anthem "We are, we are, we are ... "
is just as popular in Australia as it is
here in Canada.
9
Mexico
The nature of university
education in Mexico is largely
dependent on whether the institu-
tion is of state or private
ownership. The government's
commitment to education results in
an increased availability of post-
secondary education: Mexico City
alone has seven universities.
Government subsidies make it
possible for students to attend any
state-owned university for a fee
equivalent of $l/year. In contrast,
private university fees are prohi-
bitive for many. Perhaps it is this
fact which enable such a large
number of Mexico's high school
graduates to attend university. For
many, the fact that they will attend a
university is determined at an early
stage. This is subject, however, to
an ability to support th.emselves
during the course of their post
secondary education. Although the
government does provide signi-
ficant subsidies for tuition, it does
not provide a program for loans and
for living expenses (such as
uSAP in Ontario).
Graduate students, by constrast,
receive strong financial support if
they wish to study abroad. Whereas
undergraduate education is consi-
dered standard, graduate studies is
a desired lUXUry for many. One
reason for this is largely economic -
most university professors, for
example, have fulltime jobs outside
of the university (professors'
salaries are often inadequate)
leaving them little time for research.
The state of research within the
country forces many graduate
students to do their further studies
abroad.
Political alld social
awareness is widespread
The atmosph re in a typical state
university campus in Mexico
greatly differs from that in Canada.
Pilar Erena, a graduate student
from Mexico now studying physics
at Waterloo, notes "Canadian
universities are apolitical...likc OUf
private universities in Mexico".
Political and social awareness is
widespread among the student
population in Mexico. An active
interest in the arts (especially music
and film) is as much apparent in
the science and engineering
students as they are in those
studying the humanities.
Observing Canadian campus life,
Brena finds that Mexican students
by contrast are more group
oriented. This stems form a basic
underlying cultural difference:
"individual sacrifices are made for
the benefit of the group". She
notes, "competition is not with your
neighbour; it is with yourself." As a
result, students are not as reluctant
to discuss assignments and class
work.
Most students in Mexico go on to
attend post-secondary schools, with
a quality of undergraduate edu-
cation comp&rable to any in
Canada. However, the political
flavour of campus life and the
collective thinking stemming from
cultural influences results in an
education unique to Mexico.
10 IRON WARRIOR June 1986
Malaria - The Hidden War
by Francis Chow
There will always be some little
thing too big for us to tackle.
Consider the malaria mosquito. It
hardly weighs two milligrams. Less
than a pest, it's a nuisance; a little
scrap of nothing. Surely malaria
mosquitoes can't be worthy
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opponents for a species such as
ours, consummate omnivores and
masters of this planet; we were
created in the very image of God
and given dominion over all living
things.
It's too bad no one bothered to
aquaint the mosquitoes with these
impressive credentials. They might
have hurt us less since we began
the fight against them.
The fighting started 88 years ago
when a enthusiastic young
Victorian named Ronald Ross,
working in oppressive heat in
India, opened the hostilities on
humanity's behalf. The opening
days of any war are always the
most exciting, and this war's were
no exception, but before the story
of Ronald Ross and what he did is
told, let me detail the war's current
status.
I'll start with the body count.
Human casualties since 1898
exceed 200 million. That's
equivalent to the current population
of the United States or the USSR.
Furthermore, despite an initially
hopeful period in the late 1940's
and early 1950's, humanity is today
very much in retreat.' In Asia,
where the battle had seemed almost
won, malaria is now resurgent. In
EI Salvador, and Guatemala, there
are now: malaria mosquitoes
immune to all known insecticides .
In North America, the malaria
parasite, a foreigner not accustomed
to our climate, was not driven out
until 1950 after a long, bitter and
expensive campaign (it has been
reintroduced several times since,
but stopped before it could spread).
At WHO (World Health Organ-
ization) headquarters in Geneva,
nerve centre for the human effort,
there is even talk of "limited war"
and "strategic withdrawal". Such
talk has grim implications for the
people of developing nations:
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" As limited war against
malaria by definition cannot
extend to the protection of all
people, a suggested strategy is to
concentrate on protecting those
people in society whose econo-
mic contributions are most
important -- workers in key
industries, producers of cash
crops, those who labour to build
roads, dams and other capital
improvements ... It
All this is a far cry from the
exultant mood of Ronald Ross in
1898 when he wrote,
This day relenting God
Hath placed within my hand
A wondrous thing; and God
Be praised. At His command,
Seeking His secret deeds
With tears and toiling breath
I find thy cunning seeds,
o million - murdering death.
preparation of specimen slides. On
top of these shortcomings, he was
highly temperamental and an
arrogant braggart (his temperament
may have been the cause of his
problems with the army). He had,
however, characteristics which
were to see him through:
perseverance, intelligence, and
enthusiasm.
Ross always believed he could
triumph against all odds.
Characteristically, he became an
early advocate of the extermination
of Anopheles mosquitoes.
Ronald Ross was a Victorian. In
that era, science and technology
were inflating human capabilities,
and Europeans were at a zenith of
power the like of which the world
had never seen before or since.
Victorians believed in action.
Their first campaign was
launched in 1899 in the British
colony of Sierra Leone on Africa's
west coast. It was a sweeping
Ross, a British Colonial Army campaign to eliminate all the places
Medical Officer (and an amateur where mosquitoes could breed.
poet and mathematician), had Despite a heroic effort to either
succeeded in identifying the swar- remove, fill in, or oil every
ming sporozoites of the malaria standing puddle, the size of this
parasite Plasmodium in-the salivary task proved unmanageable. A
glands of an Anopheles mosquito. single mosquito could (under
His triumph had cost him three favourable conditions) have twenty
years of lonely and unrewarding million descendants in ten weeks.
toil. With no time for his wife (who With such resources at its disposal,
missed him a great deal) and three the enemy would hold Sierra Leone
children, and fighting an army for another fifty years (until the
bureaucracy who couldn't see the of DDT).
merits of his work, Ross sought Desplte the stalemate at Sierra
out India's most malarious regions. Leone, hostilities soon spread to
Their names conjure images of the other fronts. Here are some of the
bygone days of Empire: Bombay, milestones:
Secunderbad, Banjalore, Sigur Under military discipline and
Ghat. Kalhutti. and Calcutta. I with access to immense funding,
Ross' task was almost impossible there were heartening victories for
given the primitive instruments at us in Kuala Larnpur, Panama, and
his disposal. Furthermore, he Staten Island. There, under
began his work with a handicap Malcolm Watson, William
insuperable for any lesser man: he .Crawford Gorgas, and Alvah and
was ignorant of almost everything Doty respectively, the enemy was
he needed to know. Knowing little rou ted and contained, if not
of bacteriology or zoology, he had defeated. (Following World War II,
read almost nothing on the subject it was driven from North America
of malaria, was untrained in the use entirely.)
of the microscope, and was During World War I and World
unaware of the procedures and War II, when control measures
chemIcals required for the proper lapsed, ' malaria surged with a
vengeance everywhere, and during
the two World Wars, killed more
people than bombs, artillery and
firearms combined. .
After World War IT, DDT offered
the first real hope of victory, and it
was used against the mosquito with
considerable success, but the
chemical had terrible environmental
side effects, and in any case, the
mosquitoes were soon to develop a
resistance to it in many parts of the
world. Malaria cases in India
soared to over 30 million in 1977
after and all time low (through the
use of DDT) of 50 thousand in
1961.
Today, in spite of an impressive
array of drugs which can kill the
malaria parasite once it has invaded
the human body, and an equally
impressive array of anti-mosquito
insecticides, the enemy remains
immensely strong.
War continues.
June 1986 IRON WARRIOR 11
Greg Sorbara, Minister of
. by Al McGowan
The Iron Warrior interviewed
Mr. Sorbara in the Ministers'
Reading Room at Queen's
Park on Tuesday. June 17th.
IW: What is the role of your
position in determining the
province's educational po-
licy?
GS: The government sets the
policy, but my position (as Minister
of Colleges and Universities)
obviously means that I have a lot to
say about the formation of that
policy. It's a collective process - the
Cabinet as a group defines
whatever direction we as a
government take, and I, as the
minister responsible, implement
that decision.
IW: The President of the
University of Waterloo, in an
address to the Empire Club,
said that the direction in
which we were headed would
cause us to become a third
world nation. What do you
think of his contention that
we are selling our resources
with no consideration for
developing a solid techno-
logical base?
GS: I don't see that happening. As
a government, we have committed a
billion dollars over the next ten
years towards technology, and
being technologically relevant in
world markets. If you look at the
Throne Speech, you will see that
we are providing another $15
million in the budget to be applied
towards research- in that very area.
Now, I know that Dr. Wright
enjoys a reputation for being very
outspoken - even, sometimes, at the
risk of the facts. The question of
being technologically competitive
must be addressed on a number of
fronts: primary and secondary
industry, universities, the private
sector anq so on. I think that we are
addressing the question in all
those ways.
IW: Aren't you limited in
what you can do by the
choice between ' balancing
your budget today and
developing a solid R&D
program for the future?
G S: Well, it's not a simple
either/or choice. We have to deal
with as many areas of the economy
as we can in any given yearly
budget, including the deficit and the
ability of the taxpayers to meet
increases. Naturally, the Treasurer
Colleges and Universities
has to be concerned about imposing
more taxes on people who can't
afford to pay the incremental costs,
and we are limited in that sense: we
can't spend more than the taxpayer
can afford.
IW: Isn't there an additional
complication with the neces-
sary consideration of political
survival? One would expect
that a "long ,-range" plan
would be limited to a four-
year span.
G S: Well, that's one of the
dilemmas that plagues the political
process, and probably always will.
Any political party has to be
concerned with being elected, and
has to devote a certain amount of its
energy to that end. Sometimes, but
not always, the politically expedient
act may not be good for the
provinces as a whole, 'and good
government involves putting the
public interest before the party. I
would like to think that
governments that are courageous,
that are acting in the best interests
of the public, will say, "we will do
the right thing", instead of simply
concentrating on getting elected,
and I think that ours is one of
those.
IW: The chairman of UW's
Long-Range Planning Com-
mittee made some comments
on post-secondary education
in the last issue of the
Warrior; what is your
reaction to these? First, do
you see an active role that the
government could play in
reducing the Brain Drain?
GS: Yes, I think we have a role to
play, which is to ensure that
universities have adequate
resources, in terms of their facilities
and hiring monies. This is not to
say that there won't be a continuing
flow of good people out of the
province or out of the country, and
that may not be a bad thing. We
don't want to place "import
restrictions" on the people that
come to Ontario, so we shouldn't
be restricting the "export" of those
who want to leave for whatever
reason. The fact that Americans,
and others, look to places like
Waterloo for good research people
says that we're doing a good job in
developing our technologies.
IW: Second, why is Ontario in
tenth place of ten provinces in terms
offunding dollars per student?
GS: One thing to consider is that
we have more university students
per capita than any other province,
so that the total amount of money
we spend is divided by a large
number. The result is that the
situation looks worse than it
actually is. That doesn't mean that
we are happy with our current level
of spending, but only that one has
to be careful when interpreting
statistical data. You would probably
like to know when we'll be in ruth
place, or first, in the country, but I
can't answer that.
IW: Does the reduction in
transfer payments from
Ottawa have an effect on that
"statistical" position?
G S : Well, yes and no. The
reduction in transfer payments is, I
think, a short-sighted deficit-
reduction measure on the part of the
federal government. I think it was a
result of their not having any set
policy on post-secondary edu-
cation, and when it came time to
balance the budget, the transfer
payments were cut. So, the feds
had not directed themselves to the
after-effects of their actions, with
the result that we essentially lost
out. On the other hand, we can't
use them as our scapegoat by
saying "Ottawa cut us off, there's
nothing we can do." We are not
about to use this situation to ignore
our responsibility to our post-
secondary institutions, and I think
that our current budget reflects that
sense of responsibility.
IW: The LRPC Chairman also
suggested that the universities
might not see any real dollars
coming out of these budgetary
allotments. How much of the
billion dollars, for will the
universities actually receive?
GS: Well that's up to the Premier's
Council, so I don't really know. I
would imagine that it would be a
substantial portion of the total,
although the money may be tied to a
particular sector or industry, to
reflect the needs of the provincial
economy. I don't fault Dr.
Brzustowski's assessment, and I
don't think that a billion-dollar
research fund ends the need for
further development, but until the
Premier's Council is formed and
starts to set policy on the allocation
of the budget, I really can't say
where the money will go.
IW: Finally, coming back to
hort-tcrm versus long-term
planning, what can univer-
sities (and students) expect
from the government in the
future?
GS: Well, I don't want to give
away the government secrets, so
you probably won't get as complete
an answer as you would like. From
my own perspective, I can say that
I would like to se,e the "freeing of
our institutions", to allow them to
more aggressively pursue their
work with the highest standards
possible. Now, that's all very well
and glowing, but not a very good
answer to the question.
I see the future of the province as
depending on our collective
intelligence, and that has to be
continually maintained and
upgraded. That may mean the
pursuit of different educational
models than those we are using
now, and not necessarily relying on
conventional methods for
improving our technological base
and educating our students.
Universities have to free themselves
from the bonds of conventional
teaching techniques, which
Waterloo has done to some extent
with the co-op program, in order to
ensure that the educational process
can develop and meet the new
demands of the market. Again,
Government has a role to play in
that process, but it is a co-operative
effort.
12
IRON WARRIOR June 1986
The CSPE and YOU
by Todd Ruthman
In a recent meeting of the Iron
Warrior staff, someone asked how
many of us had heard of the
Canadian Society for Professional
Engineers (CSPE). The answer
was less than half. The purpose of
this article is to introduce to you a
new and important organization for
engineers, present and future. We
are at a crossroads in our
profession and you must make the
decision which way to go!
What is the CSPE?
The Canadian Society for
Professional Engineers (CSPE)
gained its charter in February of
1979. It has since dedicated itself
"to the promotion of the
engineering profession and its
contribution towards maintaining
the social and economic well being
of the Canadian Public."
For an understanding of why the
CSPE is important to you, the
engineer, here is a summary of its
charter. The CSPE exists to:
1) promote the interest of its
members
2) provide a lobbying voice for
engineers
3) to make the registration as a
professional engi neer (P.Eng)
more meaningful '
4) "to maintain and further the
professional and ethical stan-
dards of its members."
History of the CSPE
Let us look at three of the main
professions in Canada today:
medicine, law and engineering.
All three professions are
self-governing and
are licensed profeSSIOnals. ThIS
means that they require a license to
practice their profess,ion (althot1;gh
this is not as unIversal wIth
engineers), They get these licenses
from a licensing body, the
Association of Professional
Engineers of Ontario (or another
province or territory) for engineers,
the College of Physicians and
Surgeons for doctors and the Upper
Canada Law Society for
These associations have the
power to strip a member. his
license. The reason for thIS IS to
ensure that the professional serves
and protects the public. Thi.s iS,the
only reason these
exist: to mom tor then profeSSIon,
Many years ago, the doctors and
lawyers realized that these
organizations, while important,
were lacking in helping individual
members. Because of this, they
formed other organi zations such as
the Canadian Medical Association
and the Canadian Bar Association.
These organizations were run by
the professionals themselves and
iTOTAL I\AGe
& HAIR SALON
membership was purely voluntary.
Over the years, these groups have
become very powerful and useful
for their professions. The news is
full of the OMA's fight against the
government. They also provide
many services to their members
such as inexpensive insurance and
educational upgrading.
Realizing that such a service
organization is essential to any
profession, the APEO has recently
been trying to provide some
services for engineers. But because
they are also the licensing body,
many problems arise. Their man-
date will not permit them to help
engineers in cases such as wrongful
dismissal or in lobbying for
engineers in general, since this
would place the APEO in a
conflict-of -interest situation. Some
of the people in this 'service'
section of the APEO recognized this
conflict of interest and proposed a
separate organization, the CSPE.
And with the initial consent of the
APEd (see Problems) they
founded the CSPE in 1979.
The Present
The CSPE presently provides
many services to its members.
These include legal aid in cases
such as wrongful dismissal and
also with the patent propriety
rights. CSPE also provides
assistance in writing resumes and a
recommended residential and
automobile insurance plan.
Because the trend in engineering
positions seems to be short term
agreements, the CSPE has also
developed an employment contract.
This contract is provided on request
to its members and is presented to
the prospective employer as a
guideline. Its purpose is to help
inexperienced engineers who
otherwise may not have considered
all of the factors involved.
Present goals of the CSPE
include the promotion of a nation-
wide registration standard, the
development of 'portable' pension
plans, the encouragement of re-
search and development in Canada,
the representation of the interests of
its members as well as the public
. affected by engineering wherever
possible, and better utilization of
the engineer's skills.
Another useful project of the
CSPE is the reconstruction of the
income model provided by the
APEO. APEO's chart deals mainly
with years of service. The CSPE's
model takes such things as
- - - - - - - -.,.. - - - - - - - ... , - - - - - - skills, efforts to
$2.00 off
Cut & Style
I I remain current, management ability,
I Y2 price for I $10.00 off responsibility and other such
I I factors into account. This
I all Perms. I Highlights researched model is beneficial for
I I both the engineer and the employer.
--------.------------------
Not Va Ii d wi th Any Other Oi scounts Since its inception, the CSPE,
W tm t PI
746 8764
"has become an effective body,
es oun ace representing, speaking out and
Also ask about our Membershi Cards for 20% off
lobbying on behalf of engineers,
and is generally providing services
similar to those long since available
to other professions."
The Future
In the future the CSPE hopes to
expand its services to its members
and increase its lobbying strength.
One current plan . is the
establishment of a job placement
service similar to the alumni referral
system here. This would provide
unem- ployed engineers help in
finding a job and those already
working the opportunity to keep
their options open even while
employed. Although similar
services exist today, they are run as
businesses and charge large fees
while the CSPE intends to offer it
as a service to its members. These
and other projects all depend on a
large increase -in membership in the
near future.
Problems
As with all new organizations,
the CSPE faces some challenges.
The greatest of these -hurdles is,
surprisingly, the APEO. Initially,
the APEO was all for this new
organi zation and even provided
some funds to get the organization
started. However, for some reason
or another, the APEO currently
feels that it is better equipped to
provide services to engineers.
Simply by comparing the goals and
present servi ces of the two
organizations, one can see that this
is not the case. Regardless of this
fact, the APEO seems to be
restricting contact between the
CSPE and non-members in the
engineering field.
This is directly linked to the
CSPE's main problem, member-
ship. Originally the CSPE had a
membership of 5000 professional
engineers. This has since dropped
to 3000. However, it is encour-
aging to see that these member are
determined to stay with the CSPE,
because they recognize its
importance to the profession." The
fact still remains though, that in
order to flourish and even to
survive, the CSPE needs new
members and lots of them.
The End
Have you thought much about the
future, about what happens after
graduation? If you haven't, you
should. It could make all the
difference in your professional life.
You, as an engineering student, are
the fu ture of our society. You are
also the future of the CSPE. Do
you want to decide your future? Do
you care about your future? Do you
care at all? The future is yours ...
what will it be? You be the judge -
ask for more information from
EngSoc.
June 1986 IRON WARRIOR 13
The Day Before Tomorrow
Fiction
by Julian Ford
Dr. William Thomson stared out
the small window in his lab at the
scene beyond and his mind
wandered backwards. Even after
three years, he had not grown
accustomed to the twisted metal, the
blackened ground where nothing
would grow and the empty howling
of the wind through empty streets.
It had been three years since the
end, since they had finally annihil-
ated themselves.
When the bombs fell, Will, his
wife, and a handful of scientist
friends fled north to a bomb shelter
they had built. Only days after the
first exchange, the world lay quiet
except for the sounds of mourning.
Thomson and his small group
emerged from their shelter eight
months later to find the world they
had known was gone.
Will's group grew in size as they
ran into other survivors, all of them
moving, fleeing the radioactive
clouds which plagued them. For
almost a month, however, they had
been living in a small town whose
name had been forgotten, all hoping
they had finally found a home,
where they could s{ar-t to r bui d
what they had lost.
Will's reflections were inter-
rupted by the sound of
footsteps . The door creaked open
and his wife, Sandy, walked in.
She wore an old dirty cotton dress,
her hair was uncombed and her
hands and face were smeared with
dirt from digging in the field. She
had been so beautiful before, he
thought. Despite her appearance,
she wore a smile. It never ceased to
amaze him, how she could always
wear a smile to try and cheer up
others.
"I've got a surprise for you," she
said as she walked over and gave
him an affectionate kiss. She placed
the plate she had been carrying on
the table in front of him.
"It's a carrot. We've just been
digging up. We've run all
kinds of tests on them and they
seem to be alright. That means the
soil we've been working on is
good enough to start growing
vegetables on a regular basis now."
She .beamed with pride at her
accomplishment. A smile spread
across Will's face.
"Oh, Will!" she exclaimed as she
threw her arms around him,
squeezing him tightly, "we're on
our way again. I can feel it." Just
then she noticed the equipment on
his bench.
"Well, it's progressing but
there's so many components I just
can't find anymore."
"Don't forget that Greg is coming
back from the city today," she said.
"He might have brought you back
something." Will shrugged. It had
been virtually impossible to find
any useful equipment. Most of it
had been destroyed in the war. The
computers he was using now, he
had taken with him into the shelter.
He picked up the carrot and
stared at it for a moment. anay
had peeled it and cleaned it for him.
It had been so long. He bit into it
and tasted the juices he had almost
forgotten. The smile came back into
his face. Maybe he should try to be
more optimistic, he thought, the
way Sandy was.
"Maybe he will," he said. Will
looked out the window again and
saw some children carrying buckets
and various garden equipment. The
sight always disturbed him.
"It's not fair that they should
have to Ii ve tl)is way because of our
mistakes. Those kids should be
piaying tag or hide-and-seek, not.
doing hard labour." Sandy took his
hand and stroked it, then gently
kissed it.
\
"Everything will get back to
normal, you'll see. Already we're
growing vegetables." She indicated
the carrot in his hand. "We're
finding more cities that are
becoming habitable again, we've
been living here for almost a
month. Everything's starting to
look up." She smiled at him. "Now
you get back to work," she said.
"We've both got lots to do." She
turned and walked out of the room.
Will watched her go, then turned
back to his work bench and the
network of wires and components
that covered it. He was so close, he
thought, yet so far without the right
parts. He sank heavily into his chair
"How's you machine or whatever ' with an s!gh. He
it is coming along?" Will's eyes looked at his momtor, vanous data
turned to the mass of components scattered the screen, and
which lay atop his work bench. began tappmg at the keyboard.
The sun began to set The blood
red sky cast an eerie glow over
everything. The sound of a car hom
suddenly flooded the small camp.
When Will heard the horn, he got
up from his bench and looked out
the window. He saw the beat-up
brown Toyota he knew to be
Greg's. Greg one of t?e pe,?ple
with whom Wlll had survIved eIght
months underground. This was
Greg's third trip to try and find
survivors, equipment, food or
anything else useful. He had .so
been fairly successful by bnngmg
back canned food and some
equipment. When Will reached the
compound, most of the camp had
already gathered around
swamping him with questions. Will
pushed his way through the crowd
and when he finally got to Greg,
Greg turned to him and handed him
a small box.
"Here," he said. "I've got a
present for you."
"What's inside?" asked Will.
"Go open it in your lab. Oh, and
I want to talk to you, too."
"You took the readings?"
"Yeah. I'll go over it with you
later." Will didn't like the look of
the frown that was on Greg's face.
They stood and stared at each other
for a moment, then Greg turned
away and forced a smile onto his
face as another of the inquisitive
crowd questioned him about his
trip. Will took the parcel Greg had
given him and turned back towards
the lab.
Will cleared away a space on his
work bench and placed the box
there. He opened it and as soon as
he looked inside, a smile spread
widely across his face. He went to
work immediately. He typed away
at the computer and began
assembling various parts from the
package.
ot
Will had been working for almost
an hour when there was a knock at
the door.
"Come!" he shouted. The door
opened and Greg walked. in.
"Any of that stuff useful?" he
asked with a knowing smile.
"Where the hell did you find all
of this?"
"We lucked out and found some
sort of manufacturing firm.
Radiation levels were pretty high,
otherwise I might have been able to
get more."
"What about all the readings I
asked for?" Greg looked down at
the floor then back up at Will. His
face had lost the smile he came in
with.
"Not good. The levels of
radiation are getting higher just as
we suspected. There's obviously '
some fallout drifting up from the
south again. It's moving pretty fast,
we might have two more weeks
before we have to move again." He
glanced at Will's work bench. "So
how's your miracle
coming? No one else knows what It
is yet, do they?"
"No, no one else knows.
Sandy's given up asking me now.
Well, I've managed to reproduce
most of it, but with this stuff
y u've brought, 1 ,hould be able to
get quite a bit don ."
"Great," said Greg. "Well, I'm
dead tired. I think I'm going to tum
in. We can discuss your
developments in the morning."
"Fine, sec you then." Greg
turned and walked out of the room.
* * *
continued next issue.
* garlic chicken wings*
Parkdale Plaza II
465 Phillip St.
Waterloo. 884-0001
14 IRON WARRIOR
TIP TOE THROUGH THE TRIVIA
by Ted Judge
Due to the overwhelming
numbers of entries to my last
column, I awarded the prize, a bag
of OREO cookies, to myself. With
this month's topic being movies, it
seemed appropriate to award a pass
for two to the theatre. To ensure
that there is a winner (nobody
wants me to go), the entry with the
most correct answers will win. So
submit your ans wers to the
Engineering Society Office by July
11 so you can be on your way to
the movies.
1) What actor supplied the voice
of Darth Vader for the Star Wars
trilogy?
2) Who played the female lead
in the 1976 version of King
Kong?
3) What actor died during
the filming of Twilight Zone:
The Movie?
4) The Sugarland Express
starring Goldie Hawn, marked the
debut of what director?
5) The science fiction sex
fantasy, Barbarella, was a
starring vehicle for what actress?
6) Who played the crazy, drunk
gunslinger in Cat Ballou?
7) Mickey Mouse was briefly
known as ?
8) The title role in Zorro,
the Gay Blade, was portrayed by
actor?
9) What was the name of Han
Solo's space ship in Star
Wars?
10) Who composed the musical
score to Chariots of Fire?
There must be a winner and it
could be you, so get those entries
m.
Since the answers to the last
column did not appear in ESP, they
are now listed here.
1) Coca Cola was invented in
1886, by Dr. John F. Pemberton in
Atlanta, Georgia.
2) Oliver asked for more Gruel.
3) The first MacDonalds
restaurant opened in Richmond BC,
in June of 1967.
4) The Oreo cookie is 1 and 3/4
inches in diameter.
Don't Forget to Stop and Smell the Roses
by Todd Ruthman
Just what does it take to be an
Engineer? Here's a suggested
recipe handed down by Grandpa
Lennox from his school days:
Ingredients
1 cup strong math ability
2 tbsp interest in science
112 cup good analytical skills
3 tsp good working habits
3 cups resistance to heavy
workloads
Mix well and place in a pressure
cooker just below boiling for five
years, alternating between class-
room and office ovens every four
months.
Serve immediately,garnished with
a degree and a small iron ring.
While the above is not meant to
be taken seriously, the fact remains
that a student will experience
immense amounts of pressure in the
process of getting hislher degree.
Fortunately for us, there is a
safety valve at the University of
Waterloo; It's known as the
Engineering Society. The men and
women of Eng Soc spend a great
deal of their free and not-so-free
time to, among other things,
organize ,events to relieve this
pressure.
Unfortunately, for one reason or
another, the turnout for these events
is not always great. We spend
about 1500 hours on campus per
term, including weekends but not
finals. So the next time your class
P R S C RIP T ION S
WESTMOUNT PLACE
PHARMACY
886-7670
WESTMOUNT KING
CENTRE PHARMACY
5781610
50 Westmount Rd. N.
OPEN DAilY
9 am to 10 pm
SUNDAYS & HOLIDAYS
11 am to 9 pm
King Centre
OPEN DAILY
MTWS 9:30 - 5:30
Thu & Fri. 9:30 - 9:30
Closed Sundays
Most tlrug Plans Honoured .
June 1986
5) Jethro's stage name was
Beef Jerky.
6) The phrase that Wimpy was
known for was "I will gladly pay
you Tuesday for a hamburger
today."
7) When Alice ate the cake she
got smaller.
8) The Cooki e Monster's
birthday is November 2.
9) The second oldest cookie is
the Oreo, which is 75 years old.
10) There were three drinks that
Micheal J. Fox ordered in Back To
The Future;they were a Pepsi Free
then a Tab, and then a coffee.
WH AT I '<> W n\\ \KtS
rhljlP l'\e.C.ttI\NIC.S
rep announces another pub or
why not close your books
for a few hours and join in. It's a
great way to unwind, meet people,
clear your head, enjoy yourself and
forget all about integrals for a
while.
C'mon people,give yourselves a
break!

886-7520
183 Louisa Street
Kilchener
578-7270
1167 King Street East
Kitchener
743-3705

Student
June 1986 IRON WARRIOR
Panning F or Gold on the Ottawa River
Following the receipt of a hot tip that there was a fresh strike of beer in
the virgin Ottawa River, an intrepid group of engineers (complete with
nurses) set out to brave the perils of the untamed white water,
Unexpectedly, the serene Ottawa turned vicious and the tenacious
group was beset by peril after peril.
Undaunted, the excited engineers continued
panning with renewed zeal.
Editor's Note: The LegendQry
Ottawa River Raft Expedition
actually happened. Only now
can the true story be (old.
by Steve and Tom
Laden with equipment and with hope in their hearts, the fearless
group set out.
EUREKA!
15
16 IRON WARRIOR June 1986
The Ring Road Classic
by Gus Boyle
Engineering Society B is once
again hosting the Ring Road
Classic bicycle race. This year the
race is to be held on Sunday, J u1 y
13th. Registration will begin at
7:30 (yes, in the morning) with a
9: 00 sharp starting time. Come out
and enjoy a traffic-free Ring Road.
Thi s year, in an attempt to
improve further on last year's race,
there is to be a change in format.
There will be two or three races
depending on the tUrnout of novice
riders. First there will be a novice
race for those just wanting to enjoy
a ride without the worry of traffic.
The second race will be for the
more serious novice riders who
would like to experience the
excitement of pack racing. If the
turnout is small these races will be
combined. The last race will be an
OCA sanctioned Senior 3 r ace.
This is for OCA licensed riders and
will provide for some exci ting
entertainment for spectators. The
distances are 4, 10, and 20 laps
respecti vely, with each lap
measuring 2.8 km.
Once again the organizers need
the assistance of a large number of
marshals. Las t year the turnout
." was great and this provided for a
very safe race. It is hoped that the
turnout of marshals will be even
better this year. There is a sigl1-up
sheet posted in the Orifice. To help
encourage the turnout, there will be
two P**5 points awarded for every
marshal. This is a quick, cheap,
and dirty way to earn lots of points
for your class.
There will also be one P**5 per
competitor and 25 P**5 points for
the most outrageous cl ass team.
Pre-register in the Orifice up to July
11th.
The not-so-good news is that
there will be a $1.00 entry fee for
the novices, which is cheap
compared to the Senior 3's $6.00.
Better news is that the winning
prize is a $100 computer desk from
Stack-a-Shelf, second prize is an
$85 wrist pulse meter from Homefit
and third prize is a $40 fitness
appraisal from Body Check. The
top woman's prize is from
A TP Sports. Riordans is providing
$450 worth of prizes for the Senior
3 event. There will also be draw
prizes provided by Eng Soc.
Enjoy the fun and excitement of
high-speed bicycle racing. Drag
along some friends; drag along
who were out drinking the
night before. The novice race is
to anyone, so tel1 all your
friends, socially inept or not.
HELMETS ARE
MANDATORY.
Than.k Y01.I!
ThaI1k ..... !

5
The University of Waterloo would like to
thank Clare Millar Travel for their continuing
support of UW's phonathon program. This
spring they provided the major incentive prize
for volunteers participating in the I?honathons
- a weekend for two in Montreal.
50 On .. rio s.
KIt<:/lener.OnI.
N2G ,X4
(5'11) 57. 4410
, oa King N.

N2J 2XI
(S1t)8U 5'to
ClARE mlllAn TnAVEI
Their contribution has helped the University
maintain communications with our graduates
and to build support for the Waterloo devel ..
opment program. Our sincere appreciation!

News Briefs
Special UW Polymer Lectures
Dr. N aoya Ogata, form Sophia
University, Tokyo, a world-
renowned polymer researcher, will
give two lectures at Conrad Grebel
on July 4. Polymers are long chains
of carbon compounds that ' are
cross-linked, resul ting in materials
that are resilient or elastic. The first
lecture will describe Japanese
polymer-related industries, of major
i mpor tance to the economy.
Following the 1973 oil crisis,
Japanese polymer interests shifted
to more sophisticated, higher=-
performance materials.
The second lecture will deal with
fine polymers, Dr. Ogata's major
area of research. He will explain the
development of fine polymers,
modelled on the sophis ticated
func tional capabilities of living
organisms.
UW Joins Worldwide
Network
RAPPI is a research project that
is linking both high schools and
universities across Canada, and in
France, Italy, and the United
Kingdom through a computer
network. Japan and China are soon
to be added to the network.
Students at participating schools
can easily -- and cheaply -- send
information back and forth from
country to country.
RAPPI works as follows: a
Canadian student with a question
about, for example, the history of
Italy, types it into a computer
terminal in his or her school and
routes it through.a "conference" on
the general subject to an Italian
school, or to several schools.
The question is received almost
instantaneously in Italy, and Italian
students who wish to reply may do
so -- typing their answers into their
- own computer terminals.
The next stage in the development
of the network may involve adding
museums, art galleries, and other
cultural resources, allowing access
for just about anyone, anywhere.

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student prIce $19.95
reliUs approximately $13
Brewskl'a at Walerl:lO Town Squal'll
or phone Donna at 885-(:160
Government Decision:
No More Computer Fees
The long-awaited decision onthe
legality of incidental fees has been
announced. On Friday, June 20,
t he Ministry of Colleges and Univ-
ersities stated that, after May 1987,
universities would no longer be
al lowed to charge extra fees ( for
example, the "computer fees" at
the University of Waterloo). To
replace this source of revenue,
universi ties will be allowed to
increase tuition by an additional five
per cent annually.
The fees will be frozen at their
present level for one year to allow
university administrations to adjust
their budgets accordingly. The UW
administration estimates revenue
losses at $1 .5 million per year as a
result of the new ruling.
The Ontario Federati on of
Students (OFS) claims that the
announcement does not solve the
problem, since universities will still
be allowed to raise the cost of
tuition. The OFS suggests that the
increased ceiling on tuition merely
allows uni versities to charge
incidental fees under another name.
Scott Forrest, President of UW's
Federation of Students, said that he
was disappointed wi th the
announcement. "If they get rid of
the computer fee, where does t
money to run the university come
from? Students can't, realistically,
pick up the whole tab. I think that
. we at UW have been fairly
responsible in our approach to the
problem: we asked the government
to respond to underfunding by at
least matching tuition increases with
government contribution . That's
exactly what they didn't do. This is
a piecemeal solution, and the only
positive result is that fee increases
will be regulated. I hope that the
government will address the
problem (of underfunding) next
time."
The Feds will be hosting a
conference on underfunding at
Waterloo on the weekend of July
11-13, and "we'll probably spend
most of that time discussing
incidental fees" , Forrest told the IW
in a telephone interview, "We will
also be talking to the OFS in the
near future regarding this particular
announcement and the student
response to it."
GandalfData Award
An annual award of $1,000 to an
outstanding undergraduate or
graduate student in Electrical,
Systems Design or Computer Engi-
neering who is in need of financial
support to continue studies and
who has an interest in the data
communications industrY. Students
in IB or above are eligible to apply.
Applications are available in the
Student Awards Office, the Engi-
neering Society and the offices of
the departments involved. The
deadline is June 30,1986.