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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 1980)
THE BATTALION MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1980 y putedWest ttketeerim the law. he success- 'rime Strike 1 California attempts to hers. 1*7,500 (rom S to murder iefwhowas ed on those ied in testi- tra; Samuel ha reputed ' orlieute- unsellor- t row of the ight days of died by law -own on the ring Jan, 12 her m includes lepl r. Levin si ? uisvillewomti te mothers li isen this chi >f the gamei given people enting,” Levi ; her to come, is just gettisj oack Friday,' rery tookplm ven ition lid life tnge [•national Ark. — St® 1 who pW 1 Steve Clarli lyedunderwi- mg to life Sts- on. Mr. and Mis bot, ArM s Hospital, e range of"h' cal conditica said. "U ige in thep® 1 Hinson fa»l w the child ji* nee that s®i' m waschasii! aen he fell® 11 mrface. search hat ares and mt i half an ho# m with he® 11 -mouth res#’ Local Aggies design coffee filter separator Anti-crime talk tonight By KATHY O’CONNELL Battalion Reporter Frustrated coffee drinkers take note! Two students at Texas A&M University may have put an end to the tedious and often time- consuming task of separating coffee filters from a stack. Forrest Heath and Rodney Hoctor have designed a device that will separate coffee filters one at a time. In addition to designing the device, the enterprising students decided to patent their invention. Heath, a 1979 chemical engineer ing graduate, said he and his partner applied for the patent in the spring of 1978 and are now trying to find someone to manufacture it. Heath said the dispenser is a plas tic cup with a movable arm that grabs a filter and places it in the filter hol der. “When we first got the assign ment,” he said, “we sat and piddled around for a couple of hours and then it hit us. We realized we were mak ing it more complicated than it really is.” Dr. Tim Coppinger, a professor in the Engineering Design Graphics department, said there is at least one other student who has pursued a pa tent. This student, he said, designed a sprinkler system that utilized the framework of a wire-link fence for the water distribution system. Cop pinger said the student didn’t hire an attorney as Hoctor and Heath did. Instead, he went through a company that deals with patents. The com pany wasn’t willing to put up the front money on the device even though they thought his invention was patentable. Course teaches motorcycle safety By BELINDA McCOY Battalion Reporter It’s not just “hippies and hoodlums” riding motorcycles nowadays, and it’s not just “hippies and hoodlums” getting hurt on motorcycles nowadays either. With more people riding motorcycles to combat the high cost of fuel, more people are getting hurt on them — usually because of inexperi ence, said Paul Sittler ofTexas A&M University’s Industrial Education Department. Texas A&M is trying to decrease that number of injuries by offering a motorcycle riding course called Safety Education 430. The course will be taught in conjunction with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) and will teach basic operating skills, plus give training to enable the students to teach the course to others. The course is actually an instructor preparation course, explained Sittler, graduate student and course instructor. “Any dummy can jump on one (a motorcycle) and take off and go 50 miles an hour and not fall over, ” said Sittler. “The skill associated with riding a motorcycle is stopping and going in traffic. ” Sittler also said the major skill involved in motorcycle riding is perception — looking out for the other guy. Research shows that in 65 percent of accident cases involving motorcycles, the driver of the other vehicle was at fault, not the motorcyclist. “What we’re trying to do in the MSF course is teach people the necessary survival skills to really watch out for the other guy,” Sittler said. Safety Education 430 is not new to Texas A&M, said Sittler. The course was taught from 1976 to 1978, but was cancelled due to lack of enrollment. It was reinstated in the spring and summer semesters of 1980, but failed again this fall. “Lack of publicity was the major cause,” Sittler said. “Nobody pre-registered. ” The course was originally developed by Texas A&M’s Safety Educa tion Program for the Kawasaki motorcycle company. Later, the other major motorcycle companies — Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, and Harley- Davidson—developed similar courses. Eventually the five companies combined the course and founded the Motorcycle Safety Foundation to educate the public on the safe use of motorcycles. Sittler said the instructor preparation course has three phases. The student first takes the Motorcycle Rider Course, which is a 20-hour course in basic riding skills. Then the student learns how to teach, organize and administer the course. Finally, the student actually teaches the course. Successful comple tion of the course will certify students to teach motorcycle safety. This will be important because on January 1, 1981, a new law will go into effect in Texas requiring all persons under 18 to receive motorcycle instruction before licensing. Students do not have to have their own motorcycle and helmet to take the course. Local motorcycle dealers furnish motorcycles and the Harley-Davidson company furnishes helmets. bunch-a-b’loons a fun way to say almost anything ASK ABOUT OUR BONFIRE BUDDY SPECIAL! call weekdays 1-5 696-4179 MSC Arts Committee is sponsoring a Juried Student Art and Crafts Competition Entries will be accepted November 17 through 19 10 a.m.-IO p.m. at the MSC Craft Shop. For rules and further information contact the MSC Craft Shop. If a company like this doesn’t see any money in a project, they won’t have anything to do with it,” he said. Coppinger said at one time Texas A&M had a liaison with a company in New York who dealt with patents. None of the patents the University sought were accepted by the com pany, he said. “The trouble with patents,” he said, “is that it only prohibits other people from making, using and sell ing your invention. Even if you have a patent it won’t guarantee sucess in the market place. “All patents are good, but they’re not the answer to everthing,” he added. Coppinger said the coffee dispens ing assignment isn’t the only one he gives out. “I’ve given an assignment where students have come up with a workable solution for dispensing powdered-drink mixes like Tang.” He said he tries to assign projects that shouldn’t be too complicated since his students are freshmen. “Sometimes the freshmen have come up with some ideas that are being used right now,” he said. For example, he said, “In 1969 we assigned students a project to modify an existing facility, namely gasoline service stations. “One team came up with a solu tion that used computerized pumps and self service,” Coppinger said. “At that time, self-serve stations were almost unheard of.” The Texas A&M University Police Department will sponsor a talk on crime prevention tonight at 7:30 in Lounge A, between Spence and Briggs dormitories on the Quad. Residents of the two dorms have been having trouble with thefts and requested the presentation, Police Chief Russ McDonald said. iz-i--1. ..i i»‘ i" r * r * i * i - j rm n njrnjrn n u SWENSEtfS ^COOL WEATHER FAVORITES: • Hot Sandwiches & Hamburgers • French Onion Soup & Quiche Lorraine • Hot Coffee, Hot Chocolate, Hot Tea • Hot Apple, Hot Carmel, Hot Fudge Sundaes Culpepper Plaza • College Station •H r RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OPENINGS Tulsa, Oklahoma DOWELL, a service division of Dow Chemical U.S.A., pro vides services and products to the energy industries. It is one of the most rapidly growing and innovative companies in the field and currently has openings in its research organiza tion in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A representative from the Dowell Research and Develop ment Center will be on campus November 20, 1980 to interview candidates for B.S., M.S. or Ph.D. in geology, chemistry, math/computer sciences, mechanical, chemical or electrical engineering. 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