local/state Battalion/Page 5 October 4, 1982 &M researchers convert ethanol to power engine by David Hatch Battalion Reporter ;A team of Texas A&M scien tists and engineers have been ex perimenting with an engine po- vered by hydrogen. But unlike bther hydrogen-powered en gines, the hydrogen is derived from methanol which is con certed to hydrogen inside the “ngine. “The hydrogen-powered en gine is nothing new,” Dr. Wil- Harris of the chemical en gineering department, said. [The main reasons that hyd- jogen is not currently used for fuel in automobiles are that hyd- fogen as a fuel does not enable fhe engine to provide much power and it limits the distance Ihat can be traveled to around [00 miles before re-fueling is leeded.” The researchers have been trying to develop a method of converting methanol to hyd rogen that provides for a more powerful engine, can be done with a minimum of added equipment and is cost efficient. This is possible because a fuel ackieSlv .Park dedicated for Elsie Olsen hi :« udientcij by Carole Craft Battalion Reporter unasifl A park in honor of Mrs. "t C.E.“Pat” Olsen, wife of the for- ni1 !/ * tt\ev Texas A&M baseball great ng f(« I for whom the baseball stadium is 'Ubouit rtamed, was dedicated Sunday. youniB; The Elsie Duncan Olsen Grove, which is south of and adjacent to the baseball stadium, was financed by Mr. Olsen. 1;, Mr. Olsen and John Black burn, a faculty member in the P Department of Recreation and tPHirks, planned and designed Olsen Grove. Much of the con struction was done by Black- npr burn's students. .uv' Olsen Grove offers facilities for recreational vehicles and pic- ^ P nickers. It has 40 lighted recrea- >1 tional vehicle hook-ups with wa ter, electricity and waste dispos al. The park also has a large out door grill and a covered pavilion complete with picnic tables. Mrs. Olsen has been associ ated with Texas A&M for over 60 years. Her father, W.A. Dun can, came to the University as director of food services. She was one of the first women allowed to attend classes. Before women were formally admitted to Texas A&M in 1963, the daughters of faculty and staff could attend class on a limited basis. Mrs. Olsen is a member of the Texas A&M Mothers’ Club and lives in College Station. Hinckley writes one more letter isiotife le rates h for i Station. Station H 1 llieeap United Press International inciltooli LUBBOCK—John W. Hinc- oppose kley Jr. says he’s a Texan at by alb heart, and his poems to actress lect ite Jodie Foster were important in the trial that acquitted him of ates mil’shooting President Reagan. 6. I In a letter to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Hinckley said, “I think my poems turned out to be very important evi dence in the trial. I “Some of the jurors have stated that the poems played a big part in their not guilty ver dict,” he wrote. “Of course, the testimony by the defense doc tors helped me because they were merely echoing what I told them.” I Hinckley was found innocent by reason of insanity in June for the March 1981 shooting of Reagan, presidential press sec retary James Brady, a Washing ton D.C. policeman and a Secret Service agent. “The letter I wrote to Jodie a couple of hours before the shooting also proved to be help ful to us because it stated the reason why I was shooting the President,” he said. “I still like Lubbock and Texas Tech is one of the best universities in the country when it comes to atmosphere and openness among the students,” Hinckley said. “I’m a Texan at heart.” Hinckley moved to Lubbock in 1973 and enrolled at Texas Tech University. DRESS TO IMPRESS Formal attire for any size man or boy. A\*s FORMAL WEAR 1609 TEXAS AVENGE COLLEGE STATION CALL 693-0947 1 SHRIMPARAMA MONDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT $5.95 FRIED SHRIMP OUR REGULAR $7.95 Platter with all the trimmings AGGIE OWNED AND OPEFtATED CLASS ’60 HILL SEAFOOD •A RESTAURANTl EAST 29th AT CARTER CREEK tank filled with methanol pro vides twice as much hydrogen as a tank filled with pure hyd rogen. Harris said the experiments consist of various fuel-to-air ratio tests. A computer is prog rammed to take readings on many of the performance aspects of the engine during each experiment, he said. The data gathered by the computer is then used to plan further experiments and test the effectiveness of the tests they have made. “The project we are working on here is not the immediate solution to the energy crisis,” Harris said. “The high costs of both the conversion unit and the methanol make nationwide con version economically imprac tical. “If an economical method of producing enough hydrogen for a universal fuel could be de veloped, then there is no doubt in my mind that it would take over as the predominate fuel in the world,” Harris said. The only current, practical use of hydrogen-powered auto mobiles being considered, Har ris said, is in Los Angeles. City planners are considering con verting taxi and fleet cars en gines to run on industrially- prepared hydrogen in an effort to help abate the city’s severe air pollution problem. HEY JUNIORS! Get Involved! Be Active! Support the Class of ’84 Class Mtg. Tues.Oct.5 7:30 p.m. Rudder Sox GULF ENERGY CREATING-ENERGY 11 WE’RE TAPPING NEW ENERGY SOURCES AT A&M. W e’re Gulf Oil Corporation. And we’ll be on campus to look for something very much in demand these days. New energy. Specifically new human energy. The fast-changing energy field will continue to be one of the most exdting and rewarding places to launch a career. Into the eighties, and beyond. And Gulf has exceptional opportunities for new people with new ideas about solving energy problems. Sign up for an appointment now at your placement office. And pick up some Gulf literature for background information. Because this year promises to be a great year for new energy. And we can’t think of a better place to look than here. DATES; OCTOBER 26 & 27 Bus. Anal., Comp. ScL, Fin., Econ., Acctg., GeoL, Geophy., ME, EE, PE, ChE, Physics, Chem. For a 15^''x20%"