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&M researchers confirm fusion experiment
I STAFF & WIRE REPORTS
Texas A&M University researchers have
confirmed a controversial University of
Itah experiment that reportedly achieved
mclear fusion using a relatively simple
irocess, Ed Walraven, a spokesman for
[A&M, said Sunday.
Dr. Charles Martin, a chemistry profes-
iratA&M, and Bruce Gammon and Ken-
Ineth Marsh with the Texas Engineering Ex
periment Station will hold a news
conference at 9 a.m. today to announce
[they have achieved the same kind of cold
fusion, one of the most sought-after scien
tific breakthroughs.
“Other labs around the country have
been trying to duplicate this, but nobody
else has been able to get satisfactory re
sults,” Walraven said. “Our people are con
vinced that they’ve got it, so as a gesture to
the researchers in Utah we wanted to an
nounce it as soon as possible.”
Dr. Kenneth Hall, deputy director of
TEES and associate dean of engineering,
said the researchers had confirmed an en
ergy increase with their experiments.
“We have a unique group of people here
at Texas A&M and that’s why we were able
to confirm this before anyone else in the
world,” Hall said.
“We happen to have all the right kind of
people here and Texas A&M is in a good
position to take advantage of the scientific
and engineering aspects of this.”
Scientists have long sought the secrets of
nuclear fusion, considered a possible re
placement for conventional energy sources,
because it would be clean, inexpensive and
virtually inexhaustable.
Researchers in Utah announced March
23 they had achieved nuclear fusion at
room temperature. Their claim has been
met with widespread skepticism among col
leagues.
Other researchers have complained that
they tried to replicate the experiment of
Stanley Pons of the University of EJtah and
his British colleague, Martin Fleischmann
of the University of Southhampton, but
without success.
Pons has said he wasn’t surprised at his
colleagues’ difficulties because the experi
ment is more complicated than press re
ports have made it out to be, and only re
cently have the technical details reached the
scientific community.
Steven Jones of Brigham Young Univer
sity in Utah said recently that he had
achieved fusion in a similar experiment, but
obtained far less energy than Pons and
Fleischmann said they obtained.
As of Sunday night, A&M officials could
not confirm the amount of energy gener
ated in the A&M experiment.
Fusion, the energy source that powers
the sun and hydrogen bombs, is achieved
by joining atoms, usually through the appli
cation of millions of degrees of heat. Fis
sion, the energy source for nuclear power
plants, comes from splitting atoms. Fusion
generates far less waste than fission.
Pons and Fleischmann said they pro
duced fusion energy in a 6-inch glass jar at
room temperature and normal pressure.
They said the experiment generated four
times as much energy as it used.
The Utah Legislature on Friday ap
proved $5 million for further fusion re
search.
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HOUSTON (AP) — A Life Flight
Ihelicopier crashed on takeoff from a
hospital parking lot Sunday, plung-
an estimated 100 feet and se-
Iriously injuring a three-person crew
after a possible mechanical failure in
[swirling winds, officials said.
At least one witness reported a
[loud crash before seeing the heli
copterspinning to the ground, and a
police officer said he saw the craft
drifting backward toward an eight-
story parking garage at Hermann
Hospital, prompting speculation the
tail rotor may have smashed into the
Istructure.
However, a Life Flight official
[said the pilot told him after the 6:50
am. crash that the German-made
helicopter malfunctioned on takeoff
and a structural engineer who exam
ined the garage said there was no
sign of damage.
It was the second crash this year in
[Texas of a BK-117 helicopter involv-
[inga medical crew.
Three people were killed on Val-
jenune's Day when a helicopter
Icrashed in a wooded area while at-
[tempting to return to Mother
Ifrances Hospital in Tyler during
(foggy weather.
The victims of Sunday’s crash
(were identified as Jeffrey Gardner,
(40, a 20-year veteran pilot and in-
(structor who previously worked for
llhe helicopter's manufacturer, MBB
j Helicopter Corp.; flight nurse Rose-
jannWtndel, 42; and paramedic Pat-
(ricia Crain, 26.
All of the victims were listed in se-
(rious and guarded condition after
suffering spinal damage and were
being examined for further internal
(injuries, Dr. Kenneth Wells said.
The pilot also suf fered facial injuries
(afterstriking the controls on impact.
The bright red and white heli-
|copter fell flat on its belly in the
parking lot about 150 feet from a
landing pad that was unused due to
(renovation. Hospital officials said
(the parking lot, which was blocked
(from traffic, was a routine alternate
(landing site.
Senior members of Company E-2 (I to r) Pat Sartor, a business
analysis major from Baytown; James Counts, an industrial distri
bution major from Gladewater; Ty Snear, an industrial distribu
tion major from Spring and Eric Rauscher, an architecture major
Photo by Jay Janner
from Dallas, watch as Reveille IV is buried at the north end of
Kyle Field Sunday. The former mascot was 14 years old and
died during eye surgery from complications related to old age.
Thousands of parents and students attended the service.
Thousands pay respects at funeral
of former A&M mascot Reveille IV
By Andrea Warrenburg
REPORTER
Thousands of parents and stu
dents paid their respects at the
funeral of retired Texas A&M
mascot Reveille IV Sunday af
ternoon on Kyle Field.
Reveille IV, mascot from 1975
to 1984, died March 29 from
complications of surgery to cor
rect problems of old age. She
would have been 15 years old
May 31.
Planned by Company E-2, the
unit that cares for the mascots,
the funeral included a brief his
tory of the Reveille tradition and
Reveille IV, a prayer and the reci
tation of a poem, “In Honor of
the Passing of Reveille IV,” writ
ten by senior Hilary Haynie.
“Taps” was played as the Corps
of Cadets and attending military
officials saluted her memory.
The funeral concluded with
the crowd singing “Auld Lang
Syne” and E-2 marching to the
north end of Kyle Field to bury
Reveille IV beside her predeces-
Paige Brooks, a sophomore
English major from Houston,
said since Reveille IV was the
highest ranking member of the
Corps, her funeral was only befit-
ting.
“I hope my funeral is this ni
ce,” Brooks said.
The Reveille tradition began
31 years ago when three A&M
students struck a stray dog with
their car and brought her back
with them to keep at A&M, hid
ing her in their dorm room. The
next morning when the dog bar
ked at the bugle call, she received
the name Reveille, and the tradi
tion was born. She adopted A&M
as her home and became a symbol
of the “undying spirit of Aggie-
land.” Every mascot upon her
death is buried at the north end
of Kyle field.
Reveille IV was donated by
Thomas Godwin of Deer Park,
Class of‘67. Upon her retirement
in 1984 she was cared for by Dr.
and Mis. Lee Phillips of Bryan.
Dr. Phillips is a former Corps
member, Class of‘53.
Abortion-rights
activists march
on Washington
WASHINGTON (AP) — With
cries of “choice” and symbolic coat
hangers hanging from their cloth
ing, about 300,000 abortion rights
activists marched Sunday on the na
tion’s Capitol hoping to avert a re
turn to the days of back-alley abor
tions.
“We’re scared,” said Ellen David
son, a Yale University junior from
Hewlett, N.Y. Scared, she said, be
cause “we’re coming to the realiza
tion that the thing we’ve taken for
granted can be taken away.”
The Supreme Court will hear ar
guments April 26 in a Missouri case
that pro-choice and anti-abortion
forces agree could significantly alter
the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision that
gave women the right to an abortion.
“I’m thrilled to have my baby,”
said Kristin McNamara of College
Park, Md., as she wheeled 4-week-
old Kathryn in a stroller during the
march from the Washington Mon
ument to the Capitol. “But I think a
woman must have a choice to decide
whether and when to have a child.”
“The message is: Don’t let this
right go,’* actress Whoopie Goldberg
said in an interview as the marchers
gathered in a brisk wind in intermit
tent sunshine.
The women’s rights advocates —
men and women. Democrats and
Republicans, dozens of members of
Congress and a host of celebrities —
assembled on the Mall at the Mon
ument for the march to the Capitol.
Marchers traded taunts with
about 200-300 anti-abortion protes
ters who stood along Constitution
Avenue. Police, some on horseback,
kept the opposing forces apart.
The anti-abortion activists set up a
symbolic “Cemetery of the Inno
cents” on the Washington Mall con
taining 4,400 white wooden crosses
and Stars of David. That, organizers
said, is the number of unborn chil
dren killed daily since the Supreme
Court legalized abortion.
Molly Yard, president of the Na
tional Organization for Women,
vowed to “raise a political army” to
ensure that abortion rights are pro
tected. “If they (politicians) don’t get
the message, we will replace them
with pro-choice.”
Astronaut presents
University with flag
from space mission
By Andrea Warrenburg
REPORTER
A flag representing Texas
A&M and the Corps of Cadets
made especially for the recent
space shuttle Discovery mission
was presented to University offi
cials Sunday by mission specialist
Col. Robert C. Springer.
Col. Springer, father of Com
pany C-2 freshman Chad
Springer, presented the flag that
accompanied him on his first
shuttle mission to A&M President
William Mobley, Corps Comman
dant Thomas Darling, Corps
Commander Todd Reichert and
Deputy Corps Commander Jay
Kregel.
Each astronaut was allowed to
carry a limited number of per
sonal items on the mission and
Col. Springer chose an Aggie mo-
mento to accompany him on his
First mission to space.
“I have always been impressed
by A&M,” Col. Springer said. “It
was an honor to take up some
thing to represent the school and
the Corps.”
The 30-by-48 inch flag has a
maroon shield on a field of white
with “Texas A&M Corps of Ca
dets” emblazoned around the
shield.
Since no official Corps flag
existed, the design was conceived
by Corps Commandant Thomas
Darling and Assistant Comman
dant Donald “Buck” Henderson
and rushed to Flouston seams
tress Reba Ray.
Ray, who has made other flags
for the Corps, was told the flag
had to be at NASA headquarters
in five days to be packed for the
mission then scheduled for Feb
ruary.
Springer, who was present at
the March 13 launch of the Dis
covery, said, “It didn’t dawn on
me that my father was on board
until right before it went up.”
Springer said he was not afraid
for his father.
“I know that NASA takes every
precaution,” he said. “Any glitch
at all and they would have
stopped the countdown.”
Discovery was launched March
13 on a five day mission to deploy
a $100 million tracking and data
relay system satellite.
“I was happy Chad chose
A&M,” Col. Springer said.
“There are lots of Aggies at
NASA also, so we had lots of peo
ple cheering us on.”
Group plants hope at Bryan shelter
By Melissa Naumann
REPORTER
They planted more than tomatoes
and zucchini when the Students To
gether Opposing Poverty dug up the
empty lot beside the Emmanuel
Baptist Church Shelter; they planted
hope.
STOP is a non-profit organization
that links Texas A&M students and
high school students with opportuni
ties to help others in the community,
J. Craig Headley, director of STOP,
said.
“We connect people who want to
help with people who need help,”
Headley said.
The group of 20, composed
mainly of students from A&M’s
United Campus Ministry and First
Presbyterian Church, planted the
garden to help the women who come
into the shelter.
“What we’re hoping to do is help
them help themselves,” Headley
said. “We wanted to get the bend-
over, hard work out of the way and
then they can pick the fruits of our
labors.”
Because the shelter is connected
with- a religious group, it doesn’t
qualify for many programs that pro
vide aid to other shelters, Headley
said.
“They’re doing a great job against
horrible odds,” he said. “There’s just
not a great deal of funding or volun
teers.”
Headley said most of the plants
and tools were donated by Furrow
Building Materials.
The women in the shelter will
maintain the garden, which consists
of okra, tomatoes, watermelon, zuc
chini, beans, cucumbers and green
peppers.
“The tomatoes, cucumbers and
zucchini were our first choice to
plant because they can be picked the
soonest and that’s what’s important
here,” Headley said.
The Rev. Jerry Nugent, director
of the shelter and the adjoining food
pantry, said the shelter, located on
the corner of East 24th and Houston
streets, is the only shelter in Bryan-
College Station for women who
haven’t been abused and their chil
dren.
“A woman’s got to have a busted
mouth or a broken nose to get into
Phoebe’s Home (a home for battered
women),” Nugent said. “We don’t
require that here.”
The shelter houses an average of
four women and from two to 12 chil
dren at a time. It is a four bedroom
house with one bathroom, a small
kitchen and a small living area.
Nugent said the goal of the shelter
is to help women improve their situ
ations.
“Our target is to have a redemp
tive community,” he said. “We want
to have people leave here better off
than they came.”
The garden for the shelter is not
STOP’s first project. The group,
with the help of the Residence Hall
Association, organized a Christmas
drive for toys, food and clothes.
They began the project latei than
other groups so they could help peo
ple who weren’t already being
helped, Headley said.
Photo by Ronnie Montgomery
Sarah Lents, a junior management major from Houston and a
member of Students Together Opposing Poverty, prepares a
garden to benefit the Emmanuel Baptist Women’s Shelter.