The Battalion
StateLocal
Tuesday, August 4,1992
Nick Pena/The Battalion
Gone fishin'
Ed Perry, a senior civil engineering major, from fishing in the Brazos river from the back of his
Lewisville, relieves some pre-finals stress by truck, before he starts his typical cram sessions.
Senate rejects amendment,
saves super collider funding
WASHINGTON (AP) - The
Senate breathed new life into the
superconducting super collider
Monday, fending off an attempt to
follow the House and kill the
$8.25 billion giant atom smasher.
On a 62-32 vote, the Senate
rejected an amendment by Sen.
Dale Bumpers to eliminate
funding for the super collider.
The House voted two months
ago to kill the project, which
would be the world's largest
scientific instrument. Had the
Senate followed course, it would
have meant almost certain death
for the super collider.
"There was reason to worry
after the House vote that the
superconducting super collider
would become extinct, but the
Senate today took this important
basic research project off the
endangered species list," said Sen.
Lloyd Bentsen.
"It was a very strong win,"
said Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas.
"Our first objective was to win.
Our second objective was to try to
pile up a strong margin to help us
when we go to conference with
the House."
Gov. Ann Richards said the
vote was gratifying.
"The superconducting super
collider project insures that the
United States will be preeminent
in science into the next century,"
the governor said.
Super collider spokesman Russ
Wylie said supporters in
Waxahachie were delighted by
the vote.
"We think it's a great victory
for basic science that will extend
our country's leadership in a very
important field," Wylie said.
"Obviously, this strong support
by the Senate will have a very
telling effect."
The Senate Appropriations
Committee allocated $550 million
for the super collider in the fiscal
year beginning Oct. 1. That
amount is $100 million less than
the Bush administration is
seeking.
A similar amendment offered
by Bumpers last year failed on a
62-37 vote.
Bumpers predicted he would
garner more support this year and
that growing opposition
eventually would force the
project's cancellation.
Bumpers argued Monday that
halting the collider would be a
step toward reducing the federal
budget deficit.
r Yes! 1
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The Battalion
TODD STONE,
MACK HARRISON, Opinion Editor
JAYME BLASCHKE, Lifestyles Editor
MEREDITH HARRISON, News editor
HEIDI SAUER, News Editor
Editor-In-Chief
GARY CARROLL, City Editor
MARK EVANS, Asst. City Editor
J. DOUGLAS FOSTER, Sports Editor
ROBERT REED, Photo Editor
Staff Members
Reporters — Robin Roach, Chris Carroll, Robin Goodpaster, Juli Phillips, Christ) Ray,
Tanya Williams, Julie Chelkowski, Susan Westmoreland, Ursula Simms, and Erin Bradley.
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Columnists — Anthony LoBaido, Stacy Feducia, John Deshazo, and Paul Greco.
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Student changes career
goal after receiving gran
By Erin Bradley
The Battalion
T. Scott Murrell, a doctoral student from Indiana,
made a 180-degree switch to soil chemistry after
earning his bachelor of arts degree
in history and has recently been
awarded a J. Fielding Reed PPI
Fellowship, which is one of four
$2,000 grants from the Potash &
Phosphate Institute.
"I spent a year at Yale studying
Assyriology, or ancient Near East
language and literature," Murrell
said. "But, as you can probably
imagine, the job market in that
field is zero. So I took a year off
and worked with my dad's compa
ny in agronomy, then in a soil
testing lab with a professor at Pur
due, and I made the switch.
ing the title," Murrell said. "It's kind of compl
ed."
Murrell's research, although "not yet specific,
basically seeking to measure the extent to whit*
particular element or ion moves over time,
when the ion is applied to a plant as a fertilize
may be possible to measure how quickly it read
the roots, and thereby it can be determined
when, and how close to the root, the fertilizer shoj
be applied. "There's a certain mystique to
T. Scott
Murrell
"Now I'll have several options open, either at the
university level, as a professor of topics in soil chem
istry and fertility, or maybe with my dad, in charge
of a research project," Murrell said.
After receiving his bachelor's degree, with distinc
tion, in history, from Purdue and spending the year
at Yale, Murrell returned to Purdue and earned a
master's of science degree in agronomy. In pursuit
of his doctoral degree, Murrell's dissertation is titled
"Gradient Diffusion of Nutrients for Crop Produc
tion."
"The best way I can explain this stuff is just by us-
because lots of work has been done without®
progress," Murrell said. "It's challenging, in
because it combines so many different discipline
physics, physical chemistry, quantitative
and lots of math.
"This is a lifetime project, and hopefully I'll lii
some understanding of the subject after thenextii
years," he said.
Of the approximately 40 applicants seeking gn
uate degrees in soil science, the four recipients
chosen based on outstanding scholastic record,
nal research and leadership abilities. "Each year,
have the privilege of presenting this recognition,
of the applicants for the Fellowships have excel
credentials," David Dibb, PPI President, saidina
leased statement. "These individuals and their
cational institutions can take pride in the
achievement represented."
The Potash & Phosphate Institute is a market
search company with offices world-wide whi
seeks to promote the use of fertilizers by educat
the public with quality technical information,
Steve Couch, a member of PPTs circulation dep:
ment.
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Bush brings home big event
Houston expects more as president's 'adopted hometowr
HOUSTON (AP) - The Re
publican National Convention is
expected to provide a shot in the
arm to Houston's oil-dominated
economy, and many are crediting
President Bush for bringing his
party to town. This is, after all, his
adopted hometown.
Bush did tap Houston as the
site for the 1990 Economic Sum
mit, brushing aside suggestions to
hold the prestigious event in San
Antonio. The Alamo City is con
sidered far more picturesque, but
Houston got the presidential nod.
Many are quick to praise Bush
for bringing the two high-profile
and lucrative events to town, but
others are wondering what else he
has done for Houston.
"There's really nothing beyond
those two things," Rice University
sociologist Stephen Klineberg
says. "There's been a lot of disap
pointment with Bush. The oil
companies are upset by his failure
to address this country's depen
dence on foreign oil."
"A lot of people in the industry
are wandering around in circles as
to who to support (for presi
dent)," says Paul Taylor, a vice
president at Anadarko Petroleum
Corp., a Houston-based indepen
dent oil and gas exploration and
production company. "There are a
lot of my friends who are mad as
hell at George Bush. But there are
a lot of them who totally distrust
the Democratic Party."
Houston officials see the GOP
Convention as a tool to attract
new business to the city, which
has been trying to extricate itself
from the energy industry's grip
ever since the economy took a
near-fatal nose dive when oil
prices collapsed in the mid-1980s.
Diversification efforts have:
cused on the Johnson Space 0
ter, the Texas Medical Centefa
the Port of Houston, but the ene
gy industry still accounts for
percent of the local economy. A:
times are bad in the oil paten,
"The petroleum industry inii
United States is in one of the®!
deplorable conditions I'veev
seen," said Michel Halbouty,
independent oilman who haste
in the business for 63 years
"Wildcat drilling in the Unis
States is practically non-existe
and for that reason it has deva
tated the independent segment
the industry. There are very,veil
few independents left. I'm oneo:
them," the 83-year-old Houston
ian says.
Bush was once part of the in
dustry, and many feel he hai
good understanding of it.
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with this me
ago. I wish
lozenge and
mean, like, e
his Hamlet d
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result.
Tuesday, August 4
Wednesday, August 5
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: General discus
sion from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Call the Center
for Drug Prevention at 845-0280 for meeting loca
tion or for more information.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: General discus
sion from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. For more infor
mation call the Center for Drug Prevention at 845-
0280.
TAMU WOMEN'S RUGBY: Rugby practice at the
Rugby Field next to the Polo Fields from 6 p.m. to
8 p.m. All are welcome. No experience neces
sary. For more information call Danielle at 846-
2746 or Thu at 260-9109.
Lo
INLINE SKATE CLUB: We welcome all individuals
with inline skates to come and participate in a
skating seminar in Research Park from 7 p.m. to
10 p.m. All novices and experts are invited. For
more information call Randy Paterno at 847-1431.
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Texas A&M
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