WPI Journal - The Magazine for WPI Alumni

FALL 2014

The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)

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12 Fall 2014 W π O nce upon a time, a group of students lived in a castle. They had a noble quest: to uphold the honor of the historic mansion that had recently become a gem in their university's campus. In 1971, six women and 16 men moved into Higgins House, formerly the private residence of the Higgins family. In exchange for the privilege of living there, they took on chores, such as dusting the intricate wooden carvings, washing the leaded windows, and waxing the foors of the elegant Great Hall. They slept—sometimes three to a room—in every available room. The group—known as THERA (The Higgins Estate Residents Association)—returned to WPI for a mini-reunion during Alumni Weekend 2014, to reminisce about their experiment in group living, which included communal meals and weekly house meetings to iron out problems. A cherished memory was the night they invited Milton P. Higgins (son of the original occupants, and chair of WPI's Board of Trustees in the '70s) to dinner. The students learned about the history and unique features of their new digs, and Higgins shared his own stories about growing up in a home built to resemble an English castle. "It was wonderful to see the areas where we had lived, formed such great bonds, and gener- ated such great memories," says Tony Cappuccio '74. "The weather cooperated, allowing us to visit the grounds that we trod on a daily basis going back and forth to class." "This was part of the glory days for Higgins House and for WPI," adds Mike Tanca '74. "We hired our own cook to provide meals for us. We played our guitars on the third-foor organ loft. The acoustics were great—you could hear us all over the house." When the Great Hall was booked for an event, the students would retreat to their sleeping quarters in the servants' wing and carriage house. Although more recent alumni may think of Higgins House as part of WPI from the very beginning, the house was not built until the 1920s, and was bequeathed to WPI on the death of May Higgins in 1970. Today it houses the Alumni Offce and serves as an elegant venue for con- certs, lectures, and other gatherings, as well a favored spot for alumni weddings. research Go North, Monarch Butterfy Study demonstrates use of a magnetic compass by a long-distance migratory insect IS IT TRUE that butterfies never ask for direc- tions? A new study published in Nature Commu- nications, co-authored by assistant professor of biology and biotechnology Robert Gegear, pro- vides the frst evidence that monarch butterfies use a magnetic compass to help guide them on their long migrations. The study, conducted at the University of Massachusetts Medical School by lead author Steven Reppert, MD, and UMass postdoctoral fellow Patrick Guerra, provides the frst evidence for the use of a magnetic com- pass by a long-distance migratory insect. Rain or shine, millions of monarchs make an annual 2,000-mile trek from breeding sites in the eastern United States to central Mexico, where they overwinter. The researchers previously showed that butterfies use a time-compensated sun compass located in the insect's antennae to orient themselves. "Monarchs, in fact, also use a sophisticated magnetic inclination compass system for navigation similar to that used by much larger-brained migratory vertebrates, such as birds and sea turtles," Gegear said. "This is likely a back-up compass for the butterfies, so they can continue to fy in the right direction even on days when they can't see the sun." A better understanding of butterfy migration may help assure their survival, the researchers noted. Fall migration is currently threatened by climate change and by the continuing loss of milkweed, affecting overwintering habitats. An- other vulnerability to now consider is the poten- tial disruption of the magnetic compass in the monarchs by human-induced electromagnetic noise, which can also affect geomagnetic orien- tation in migratory birds. reminiscing Higgins Estate Residents Revisit the Glory Days

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