Growing Crystals in Space.
When the shuttle
Discovery
was launched in late summer, aboard
was a Clarkson-devised crystal growing experiment to precipitate zeolite crystal growth in
space. These crystals were to be used in catalysis, radiation waste disposal, biotechnology
separation, and aerospace applications.
Later in 1992, Clarkson sent crystal-growing experiments aloft in a small canister bolted
to a free-flying platform released by the COMET (COMmercial Experiment Transport) which
replaced NASA's space shuttle as the primary launch vehicle to place experiments in space.
Such a platform orbited the earth, free of vibrations, for three months, and reentered the
atmosphere to land at White Sands, N.M.
Small Business Course.
Mark Cornett, assistant professor of management, taught freshmen
and sophomores how to operate a small business in an ethical way, and to help a charitable
organization at the same time. About 30 students set up a business called "Southerne Comforts"
to sell T-shirts, summer beach pants, and boxer shorts. The profits from the business were used
to aid the Potsdam Day Care Center.
Operating a business is one thing, but teaching the students to face the thorny question
of whether to violate their own ethics in order to sell more clothing is quite another. Clarkson
regulations prevented the students from selling door-to-door in the dormitories, but the
operators of this business realized that they could have sold considerably more merchandise by
that method than just by selling at booths located around campus, and at special campus events.
The students finally agreed to take less profit and abide by regulations. Still, their efforts were
quite successful, and the Day Care Center benefitted from the profits by receiving over $500 in
cash and donated energy to paint the rooms and repair the porch of the Center.
High School Teachers Honored.
At Commencement, five high school teachers were awarded
Clarkson's Inspirational High School Teaching Award for their professional excellence and
dedication to "nurturing youthful minds and spirits." Each was nominated by a member of
Clarkson's graduating Class of 1991.
The five were Patricia Clancy of Vernon Township High School, N.J., nominated by
Glenn DeBiasa; Richard Depenbrok of Chardon High School, Oh., nominated by Paul Fowler;
Walter Faustman of Lyman Hall High School, Wallingford, Conn., nominated by Jeffrey
Holden; Larry Franks of Chittenango, N.Y., nominated by Douglas Stansbury; and Frank Sofia
of Liverpool High School, N.Y., nominated by Edward MacMahon.
International Conferences.
Two international conferences were held on campus during
August. A contingent of 30 scientists from the Soviet Union joined 60 of their counterparts
from Europe and the United States to discuss such topics as trans-Atlantic optical cables,
instabilities in semiconductor lasers, why climate predictability is limited, and other physical
phenomena. Other participants came from England, France, India, Germany, Italy, Japan, and
Turkey.
At the same time, 50 other scientists from Japan gathered on campus in the second US-
Japan Seminar on Micromechanics of Granular materials. Such understanding can be used to
improve the manufacturing of parts for cars and airplanes, predicting damage from earthquakes,
and the impact on the world's climate of ocean ice movement.
