Tech Topics - Spring 2009 - (Page 7) LETTERS FROM THE PUBLISHER Flying Club Was Grounded I enjoyed reading “Going Airborne With the Flying Club” [Winter 2008]. Looks like the club has come a long way since 1959. Back then, the club owned an Aeronca 7AC. The paint and fabric covering needed replacing, the right brake needed replacing and the radio receiver would only work if you hit it with your fist. The tower controllers at Fulton County Airport were always telling us to either fix the plane or park it at some other airport. I started taking lessons GARY MEEK in December and by late January 1959 was ready for my first solo, which I did on a cold Friday morning. I went out Monday afternoon for another lesson, but the plane did not return from the previous one. About 4 p.m. the instructor called with news that they had landed in a cornfield when the engine quit, damaging the wing strut, propeller and wheel strut. Had my first solo lasted another 20 minutes, I probably would have been trying to make that emergency landing. Our faculty adviser and Dean Griffin decided the plane was not worth repairing. The club continued to hold meetings, but by the time I graduated in 1961 we still had not replaced the Aeronca 7AC. Herb Rusk, IM 61 Hoschton, Ga. Tech’s Driver’s Seat Exciting Place to Be S hortly the next leader of Georgia Tech will arrive on campus. The challenges of leadership at Georgia Tech are daunting in many ways but also hugely exciting. On balance, the opportunities outweigh the risks for whomever “takes the reins.” For a school with quite humble beginnings, we have evolved into a global driver in educating leaders for our technologically ubiquitous world. That mission will continue to stay front and center for our next president. The constant companion of any college president is funding. Where do we get it? How do we get it? What can we do to get it? These questions drive much of what a president does each day. The talent to raise money is a requirement. The talent to work with others and to get them to buy into the vision is yet For a school with quite another. What are the important strategic humble beginnings, we have directions we should embrace? The evolved into a global driver in Institute has quite a body of great, important work and investment in educating leaders for our the future. In the 2007 State of the technologically ubiquitous Institute introduction on Tech’s Web world. That mission will site, it’s well-phrased, and I quote: “Tech has stepped across the continue to stay front and disciplinary boundaries that separate center for our next president. biology, chemistry, medicine, engineering and computing to launch a broad array of health care initiatives, from nanomedicine to bioinformatics, from cancer diagnosis and treatment to prosthetic devices for those who have lost limbs. The Institute is also a leader at the intersection of computing with the liberal arts, gaining national and international attention for using video games to explore real-life problems and approaching music composition from a creative technological perspective. “As a global economy based on innovation takes shape, Georgia Tech has crossed national boundaries, developing strategic education and research platforms in Europe and Asia and helping the state of Georgia expand its global economic connections. As Tech reaches across traditional boundaries and uses technology in creative ways to solve problems and improve the quality of life, the Institute is becoming increasingly well-rounded, interdisciplinary, collaborative and global.” I can’t say it any better. Basking in the Euphoria of Triumph Ah, the splendor of the gold and white. After seven years of dreary blight, we can be thankful for those special serene moments in time when the proper order of things is briefly restored to the universe. On Nov. 29, the gold-and-white forces of good vanquished the dark, barbarous forces of red and black to bring a glorious oneyear respite from the restless hoards in Athens. A narrow victory of 45 to 42, while reason to be joyful, should only make our forces of good in gold and white more resourceful and determined. We must never forget that in Athens, as always, the incessant efforts to infect the masses of our wonderful state will continue unabated. So as we bask in the euphoria of the triumph and enjoy the bliss that comes from order in the universe, let us make no mistake about it, eternal vigilance will be required to maintain the good fight against drought, famine, pestilence and the dark forces of the Dawgs from Athens. George P. Burdell Tybee Island, Ga. This letter to the editor appeared in the Jan. 11 edition of the Savannah Morning News. Vandalism Saddens Tech Fans I enjoyed the “Buzz Around Town” article and photos [TECH TOPICS Winter 2008] regarding the painted Jackets all over campus. They were beautiful. When they first went up, our daughter said, “I’ll bet that within a week someone is going to break off the antennae.” Unfortunately, she was correct. We have season tickets for Georgia Tech football games, and it saddened us as we walked to the games and saw that those beautiful objects had been vandalized. I hope they can be repaired. Fay. A. Riddle LaGrange, Ga. The sculptures damaged by vandals are being repaired and are slated to be auctioned off this year. Joseph P. Irwin President Georgia Tech Alumni Association TechTopics | Spring 2009 7
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