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(104™ YEAR • ISSUE 1S1 • 6 PAGES
TEXUS ASM UNIVERSITY ■ COLLEGE STATION. TEXAS
MONDAY
Opinion:
A&M students should take
advantage of Study Abroad
Programs.
THURSDAY • JUNE 11 ' 1998
The gift of knowledge
jlexas Instruments awards college $5.1 million
By Patrick Peabody
Staff Writer
Dallas-based Texas Instruments In-
Icorporated announced a landmark $5.1
Imillion gift to the College of Engineer-
ling Wednesday.
Dell Whitaker, Class of '65 and senior
[vice president of Texas Instruments, pre
sented University President Ray M.
Bowen with a check for the analog engi
neering program, one of the largest gifts
[ever given to the University.
"We live in an analog world," Whitaker
[said. "Temperature, light, sound and even
electricity are all analog signals. We need
analog technology to process these signals."
Although the number of college grad-
luates in analog engineering has steadily
declined over the past 15 years, Texas
I A&M's analog program currently ranks
third in the nation.
Whitaker said he hopes this partner
ship will bolster A&M's standing.
"Texas Instruments is the largest pro
ducer in analog technology and wants to
help Texas A&M become the leader in
producing graduates in analog technolo
gy," he said.
The donation will create two chairs in
the electrical engineering department: the
We live in an analog
world. Temperature, light,
sound and even electricity
are all analog signals/’
— Dell Whitaker
Senior VP Texas Instruments
IT Jack Kilby Chair in Analog Engineering
and the TI Chair in Analog Engineering.
Jack St. Clair Kilby, who invented the
integrated circuit at TI in 1958, attended
the announcement.
Both chairs and three professorships
will be permanently endowed, creating
additional analog faculty positions over
the next five years.
The gift, managed by the Texas A&M
Foundation, also will expand the gradu
ate program by supporting fellowships,
research and educational activities.
Some of the funds will be used to de
velop, operate and maintain laboratories
for teaching and research in analog de
sign and engineering.
Dr. Bowen presented Kilby and
Whitaker with two A&M chairs with
commemorative plaques attached to the
backs of the chairs, symbolically repre
senting the two newly created endow
ment chairs.
mmm
Dr. Ray
Bowen, Texas
A&M University
president; Dr.
Ed Davis, Texas
A&M Founda
tion president;
Dr. Barry
Thompson,
Chancellor of
Texas A&M
University
System (shown
in back L to R);
and Jack Kilby,
inventor of the
integrated cir
cuit, (in front),
were present at
the Texas In
struments gift
ceremony.
Phoix) By
Brandon
Bollom
f
I
k
Mommy's little helper
MIKE FUENTES/The Battalion
A five-year-old resident of College Station, picks out apples for her mother Wednesday afternoon at The Farm Patch.
Summer Senate session allows
leaders to research campus issues
Amber Benson
City Editor
The Student Senate undertook an extensive legislative re
search agenda Wednesday at the first meeting of the inaugural
summer session.
The summer session, which was created by legislation passed by
the full Student Senate during the spring semester, is comprised of
those student senators who remain
ln the area during the summer.
Speaker of the Senate Amy
Magee, a senior psychology major,
said that the summer session al
lows time for research not available
during the regular school year.
1 here are less distractions and
demands on our time in the sum-
Magee said. "This allows
as to do extensive research on
road-based issues that affect all
students."
Because of the limited member
ship of the summer session, the
enate cannot pass legislation dur-
* n g summer. However, it can share
ks opinion by passing resolutions.
Pressing issues do arise during
the summer that we have not been
[Mobilized to face in the past," Magee said
er e to deal with those issues."
'Now there is a body
The legislative research agenda accepted by the Senate covers a
broad range of student concerns spanning the Senate's four stand
ing committees: Academic Affairs, External Affairs, Rules and Reg
ulations and Student Services. An ad hoc committee on Student
Lifp also will be included.
Research topics will gauge the feasibility of a variety of projects
ranging from developing more effective standards for teacher eval
uations and placing students on professor and staff search com
mittees to voting for student elec
tions over the Internet and
expanding the services available to
students on campus.
The Senate also is using the spe
cial session to nurture relation
ships with new student body pres
ident Laurie Nickel and her
executive council, as well as other
legislative bodies on campus such
as Faculty Senate and Graduate
Student Council.
Magee said she hopes students
will see the value of the research
and work completed during the
summer.
"In the past, we have had to wait
to start research in the fall, which
meant that legislation didn't get vot
ed on until late in the spring," she
said. "By doing our research in the summer, we will be able to start
making changes as soon as the full Senate returns."
■ Eyes on the environment
Conference looks
at concerns facing
Gulf of Mexico
By Sarah Goldston
Staff Writer
A conference addressing both commercial and environmental con
cerns in the Gulf of Mexico will be held through June 12 at the George
Bush Presidential Library Complex.
"Sharing Our Gulf — A Challenge for Us All" brings a variety of
experts together to discuss problems and possible solutions for the
Gulf Coast.
The conference stemmed from the research of biology professor Dr.
David Owens on the use of turtle excluder devices and by-catch re
duction devices in the shared waters.
Through his research, Owens found that fishermen, conserva
tionists and government regulatory agencies were all facing the
same problems.
"At this conference we want people from different backgrounds to
have the opportunity to discuss the common problems facing the
Gulf," Owens said.
Jenny Toups, assistant editor of Texas Shores magazine, said rep
resentatives from the commercial and recreational fishing industry,
academia and oil and gas industries will spend part of the conference
in groups discussing Gulf resource use, as well as listening to pre
sentations.
Southern region Occidental Chemical Corporation environmental
manager, James Kachtick, said the Gulf of Mexico is a unique natural
resource that has an im
portant relationship
with industrial activi
ties in the Southern
United States.
"There are business
es and industries whose
activities and successes
are directly affected by
the quality of water and
aesthetics of the Gulf of
Mexico," Kachtick said.
He will propose ideas
for maintaining a sus
tainable economy while
preserving the Gulf.
"Some industries use
the Gulf of Mexico and
its bays for navigation,
raw materials, cooling
water supply and trans
portation of inputs and
products. Because of the
location and cost ad
vantages, these indus
tries are often enhanced
by their proximity to the
Gulf and its bays."
Environmental concerns also will be discussed during the
conference.
Kenneth Roberts, a marine economics specialist for the Louisiana
Cooperative Extension Service, said the future of returns from Gulf
fishery resources are affected by ecosystem changes and economic
forces, and management actions affect people with share interests
in the Gulf.
"The future is already evident with the addition of essential fish
habitat and by-catch reduction mandates, overfishing management
and the role of fees and crew in assigned access as elements of man
aging shares," Roberts said.
In addition to the featured speakers, the conference includes con
ference fellowships awarded to high school students from each of the
Gulf States with exceptional science fair projects that address marine
or Gulf of Mexico issues, Toups said.
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