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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 1988)
r- ' ■ 1 Page 4 The Battalion Tuesday, December 6,1988 SCHULMAN l 2.50 ADMISSION . Any Show Before 3 PM' 2. Tueeday - All Seats Moo.-Wed. - Local Students Wkh Current ID'S . Thur.-KORA -Over 30 nlghr •DENOTES DOLBY STEREO SCHULMAN 6 2002 E 29th 775-2463 Battalion Classifieds Call 845-2611 HON EAGLE B pg BLUEBERRY HLL pg-is $ DOLLAR DAYS $ COCKTAIL r COMNG TO AMERICA w •PIE HARO R •YOUNG GUNS R PLAZA 3 226 Southwest Pkwy. 693-2457 [FRESHHORSES pg 7:10 030 [•TEQUIUi SUNRISE r 7:13 • AO [•COCOON:THE RETURN pg 7*3 0^43 MANOR EAST 3 ■ Manor East Mall 823-8300 •SCR00GED PG-i3 7:23 •AO EARNEST SAVES CHRISTMAS pg 7:13 • 33 •OLIVER A COMPANY Q 7*3 •:10 April 15 Could Be The Most Important Day of Your Career Why April 15? Because that's when you can take the Fundamentals of Engineering examination and become qualified as an engineer-in-training . .. the first step in becoming a Professional Engineer. If you’re an engineering student consider this. P.E. registration allows more career flexibility and choice. Professional Engineers aren't locked out of a career path; jobs are theirs for the choosing in government, industry, construction and pri vate practice. Many employers require registration for advancement to senior engineering positions. It will never be easierto take the exam than now, while courses are still fresh in your mind. The test, developed by the Nation al Council of Engineering Examiners, will be administered on April! 5 at sites selected by the Texas Board of Land Surveying. The cut-off date for exam applications is Feb. 15. For more information, call the state board at (512) 452-9427. Clip and return the coupon below for a free brochure on how to become a P.E.: ^ Please send me the free brochure, "Why Become a P.E.? ^ The NCEE Guide to Registration." Name: College:. Address: City: State: Zip Code: Return to: The National Council of Engineering Examiners Student Information | P.O. Box 1686 • Clemson, S.C. 29633-1686 | We Buy Books Everyday at T exas ASM Bookstore Hours: 7:45-6:00 Weekdays 9:00-5:00 Saturdays Scientists expect hydrogen to serve as alternate energy By Timothy J. Hammons Statf Writer In the face of the oil embargo during the mid-70s, researchers be gan looking for alternatives to crude oil. One of the alternatives is a hy drogen economy. Hydrogen can be used in fueling automobiles and jets and creating electricity. William B. Craven, manager of Texas A&M’s Center for Electroche mical Systems and Hydrogen Re search, said there is an abundant supply of hydrogen and a limited supply of crude oil. The center, a department of the Texas Engineering Experiment Sta tion, is recognized as the leading in stitute in the United States in hydro gen research. Craven said Prudoe Bay, Alaska was supplying one-third of the United States’ oil two years ago. In four years Prudoe Bay will be pro ducing little, if anything, he said. Knowing this, an alternative will be necessary. Craven said hydrogen is the best alternative for supplying energy needs. “We can take hydrogen and use it anywhere that hydrocarbons, gaso line and diesel fuels are used,” Cra ven said. Hydrogen is an abundant me dium of energy and a type of fuel ev erybody can use, he said. Hydrogen is obtained from water through a process called electrolysis. Craven said the best fuel to use is hydrogen. There is an abundant supply of hydrogen and it burns much cleaner than hydrocarbons, he said. Texas A&M is currently working on a hydrogen car with plans to help bring about the hydrogen economy. For transportation purposes, hy drogen can he used in automobiles in two ways. The first is in the internal com bustion engine, the same way gaso line is used. The second is through the use of fuel cells. David Swan, director of the pro ject at Applied Research Corpora tion, said hydrogen is a renewable medium. He said hydrogen is a me dium because it takes electricity to produce it, whereas coal and natural gas are energy sources. Applied Research has a hydrogen fuel car — a Chrysler LeBaron con verted to run on hydrogen along with gasoline. Swan said they have run into seve ral problems with the LeBaron. One problem is that the hydrogen causes the car to backfire through the in take manifold. He said this problem has been partially corrected. The other problem is a 60 percent to 70 percent power loss, he said. Another problem with the LeB aron is cost if gasoline. When equa ting the cost of hydrogen to gasoline, it comes to about two dollars a gallon of gasoline. Swan said. The price is calculated through the conversion process at local electricity costs, he said. This expense is the reason Ap plied Research is looking to use hy drogen in vehicles with a fuel cell. The fuel cell would make the vehicle about three times more efficient than the internal combustion engine and would produce no air pollut ion. The fuel cell works in the reverse of electrolysis. Hydrogen is pumped in, and through a chemical reaction, electricity is produced. Swan said the idea is to develop a cat powered partly by the fuel cell and partly by batteries. This is why Applied Research also has several battery-powered cars. Swan said they have two Dodge vans, a Lynx Ev and a General Mo tors Ev that are battery powered. With the exception of theGM they are all owned by theUniven Swan said he lias talked to companies who have used L powered vehicles and thecomi, is always the same: Thebatterie inefficient. I he Lynx Ev can only travel:' 25 miles before it has to kt charged, he said. Thisisequi to one gallon of gasoline.,It. about live hours to recharge tit teries. Ibis high inefficiency is ait reason why Applied Reseattlj looking to use a battery-fuel, combination. The combifiationt up with one luel cell and several teries. During acceleration tie cell and batteries help povverikt While the car is at a constantly, or parked, the fuel cell coniiift operate and recharges thebatu Swan said. In this setup, the car will In traveling distance of 100-plus , and will operate at an equivalte SI a gallon of gasoline, he said At this price, the car willbt economical and will helpredutt affects of air pollution. Swan said GM is looking* fuel cells for an auxilary powtt ply. I he fuel cell will he puli luxury cars to allow the air boning to run without runninj engine. He said that with on computers the owner will be set the time for the air conditio come on, so when hecomesout work, he'll have a cool car. Although* the hvdrogci sounds like the answer, fully ered f uel-cell cars will not be dam this century, Swan said work being done today is for tui e. T he work is somethingi to be started now, so when comes, the information will able, he said. : thtij Petroleum engineering alive despite changes in oil world By Sherri Roberts petroleum engineering students re- by universities justifies their Staff Writer u” ~ Oil — the black gold commodity — became the backbone of the Texas economy, establishing Texas in a race with Alaska to be the largest oil-producing state in the nation. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ ability to pro duce inexpensive oil because of its member countries’ high-capacity wells has allowed it to hold the world oil industry in a tight grip. The faltering of the industry has led to a redirection for Texas A&M Department of Petroleum Engi neering. William Von Gonten, professor and head of the petroleum engi neering department, said under graduate enrollment decreased from 1,600 students in 1981 to 184 students in 1988. But graduate en rollment helped offset that by in creasing to 184 students from only 25 students in 1981. Not only have faculty require ments remained constant, he said, but a greater emphasis has been placed on the graduate program. Von Gonten said many graduate students chose to enroll in the pro gram because of stricter education requirements demanded by oil-re lated companies. Companies have become more ef ficient and technologically oriented in an effort to reduce costs and in crease the quality of productivity, he said. Graduates of A&M’s petroleum engineering department, which is ranked first in the nation in terms of quality and enrollment, are popular recruits for many of these compa nies. 1 he average starting salary for petroleum engineering students re ceiving a bachelor’s degree $43,000, he said. Seventy percent of the depart ment’s undergraduate students last May had jobs waiting for them, Von Gonten said, while 100 percent of those graduating with a master’s de gree had jobs. Though the current number of graduates meets market demand equally, Von Gonten said there will be a shortage of graduates needed to meet the demand in 1989 unless en rollment figures increase. These enrollment figures, though low in comparison to those of 1981, are equivalent to figures in the mid- 70s, Von Gonten said. The Arab oil embargo and the 1981 oil boom were situations which created un usual peaks in enrollment, he said. While Texas, Louisiana and Cali fornia — states with heavy stakes in the oil industry — are negatively im pacted by the weakened state of the industry, the rest of the country is benefitting. Von Gonten said states with strong manufacturing bases, in addi tion to many other consumers, wel come the cheaper oil prices. The effects of the crisis have forced Texas legislators to examine alternate routes to economic stabil ity. With this examination, higher education has emerged as part of the solution to the problem. While visiting A&M last October, Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby commended the University for its biotechnology re search plans in Houston. Hobby said the research will create dozens of new products and thousands of new jobs. Hobby said the prosperity created Ahyundai 286C $999 -80286 10 MHZ -640KB RAM -12” Monochrome Monitor -Hercules Compatible Graphics -One Serial, one parallel -1.2 Meg Floppy Drive -101 Keyboard -Small Footprint -MS DOS 3.3/GW Basic -18 Month warranty Price, performance, and standard features are what have made the Hyundai 286C our best selling computer. Whether its desktop publishing, computer aided design, calculating large spreadsheets or sorting files the 10 MHz 80286 processors the 286C won't keep you waiting. Fast quality components and as always MORE BYTES, LESS BUCKS. ,ei ai MEXICO [Salinas de G< lare poles a] ■they found l Isonie good la I The occas {tion of Salina llieves in im Ismaller gove |Mexico on T All Castrc Icommunism |had to do wa: Salinas’ op Ithat his rulir Itionary Party [sidency, wet ■Thursday m; leign heads o Ito a presiden I “They’re I for support Icause they c linside the iCardenas, t |Front leader The Sal in Latin Ameri I invited bee I countries wt I presidents t Itions. They [would enco I unity. I Those in [here were Ithat presidei [caragua and Itro, decided 764-1136 xT: Sale ends December 31, 1988 2 HO In universities justifies their j pense. But Stan Carpenter, an asss professor of educational admi tion, said education lobbyists!] making idealistic promises the keep. Carpenter said higher is only part of the answer tos the state’s economic woes. H education alone, he said, change the economy’s structurt 10 years. Carpenter said the political]! sure was leading many Univtij faculty to question their prina] He said the temptation to rto more funds may cause rfMl agenda to he dictated by ecoiol wants. T he economic strain hashal| additional effect on higher i tion. Carpenter said. Attracting I lessors to 1 exas' universitieshatf come increasingly difficult, heal professors read of the state's'll gles. he said. He said that many oftheppyj ing smokestack states nave taM iintage c>1 the situation by 4 faculty away From Texas withl lucrative offers. T he University counteracts I faculty raiding through its "ill repellent” fund. The fundisusti match promising offers frontoi universities. Larry Dooley, senior acadl business administrator, said 4 taining quality faculty in Teal versities is an important keyij growth. “If you lose good studentsi faculty, you lose good industries] said. 2' CO V. $1 ns CO/VI PUT3 ACCESS 819 S. Texas Ave., College Station