The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)
Issue link: http://wpialumnimag.epubxp.com/i/456562
DEFICIENT CONCEPT I should acknowledge that the [fall] WPI Journal was well illustrated, organized, and generally well done. WPI was once a well-respected engineering institute. Now it is a diversifed university like hundreds of others. On a student/parent tour about four years ago, the student-led tour skipped by Kaven Hall (Civil Engineering) without a word and lavished praise on the audio- visual building. Which is not engineering at all. Engineering education is learning all the ropes used in the past by the greats. This is a tough brain expansion, not playing with robots. After four years the new undergrad is fnally able to signifcantly innovate, usu- ally after a few years of experience. To send an undergrad student to innovate in a third world country is humorous to consider. I have about eight years of real engineer- ing experience overseas as accumulated in Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Bangladesh, India, Burma (Myan- mar), Venezuela, and Peru. These countries (except Japan) do not have the infrastructure to beneft by a wide-eyed beginner trying to innovate. Why is WPI trying to upstage the Peace Corps while someone is paying $55,000 per year? True, a handful of villagers will think well of the American who tried to help. Soldier on, as I realize you are hemmed in by the glitter and glamour of a watered- down educational experiment...project- based nonsense. There is a reason why most other colleges have not gone project- based. Somewhere about 1970, Prof. Grogan of the EE Dept. had an epiphany. He decided that all upperclassmen would pursue projects overseen by faculty and at the end of four years a board of examiners would review the four-year effort for quality. Pass or fail. Only problem was a fail had no solution. Parents out $100,000 plus, and no chance of transferring credits to a "normal school." WPI was in a jam and escaped by toning down the project concept to more bite-sized pieces. Still, in my opinion, it is a defcient concept of educating a future engineer, but fne for music and art majors. DAVID SPENCER '66 Editor's note: While some may disagree with Mr. Spencer's opinions, we felt his point of view was worth sharing. What do you think? Tell us at wpijournal@wpi.edu. COMPLETED CAREERS First of all, I want to congratulate you on the fall 2014 issue of the WPI Journal. I read most of the articles and looked at all of the pictures, which were wonderful. There is one section that I didn't' think was wonderful, however. This is your "In Memory" section. A number of years ago this section was titled "Completed Careers," which I think is very appropriate and quite moving. The words de- scribe quite well a fnal step in what Presi- dent Leshin calls "the human condition" or the human experience. You also use this term in your website reference at the bot- tom of the page. Also, it seems as if you could devote a lit- tle more space to this section and add the degree that the alumnus received: e.g., BS Civil Engineering. As one gets older, I be- lieve that the importance of the section I am discussing increases a very great deal.. DAVID T. VAN COVERN '53 ALS CHALLENGE I was fipping through the latest issue of the WPI Journal and read the article on the ALS Challenge. I was surprised to notice that you did not mention the late Professor Russell Krackhardt, who retired from WPI in 1990. He was, in my opinion, one of the greatest professors at WPI during my four years, a great inspiration to thousands of students over his extremely long tenure at WPI, and a wonderful man. He also had Lou Gehrig's disease, and it took him far too young. I would love to see a story about Professor Krackhardt sometime in the Journal. He is remembered fondly by many. That man could teach EE better than anyone I ever met. A natural-born teacher with a gift for explaining diffcult concepts, and a kind soul. JONATHAN BIRD '90 PI THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE FALL 2014 JOURNAL BANKING ON FOOD WOODY BRADFORD '89 SETS THE TABLE FOR HUNGER PREVENTION Winter 2015 9