Tech Topics - Winter 2007 - (Page 7) MailCall No One Like Him The article about Dean George Griffin in the Fall TECH TOPICS reminded me of my one and only encounter with him. I had entered Tech in 1951. In December of 1953, I joined the Air Force pilot training program with only two years of college, which was acceptable during the Korean War. At the time I was accepted into the cadets, I was taking 21 hours of credits. Instead of withdrawing from classes I just walked off campus and received 21 hours of failures! This resulted in pushing my GPA to 1.9. In 1960, I returned to Georgia Tech to continue my studies, making A’s and one B. It was very difficult to bring up the GPA from the 1.9. Someone advised me to talk with Dean Griffin about dropping the 21 hours of F’s since I chose to go into the military. When I presented my case to Dean Griffin, he gave it some thought then said, “Mr. Bass, I have the power to remove the 21 hours of F’s from your record, but my question to you is will this make you a better man?” He was telling me it was time to own up to my deeds. What a man! There was no one else like him. GEORGE “SAM” BASS, IM 63 Clarkesville, Ga. Global Issues G Georgia Tech alumnus Henry Lee Plage, left, receives the Legion of Merit for his brave work during a typhoon from Adm. William Halsey aboard the USS Tabberer. Of Typhoons, Medals and Hurricanes I was out of town when the Fall TECH TOPICS arrived. Before my mail could be retrieved, my fellow Rotarian and Georgia Tech alumnus Rudy Biddle, IE 58, phoned. He went on to extol your great story about Henry Lee Plage saving so many storm-tossed seamen in the great typhoon of December 1944. I read it with great anticipation and marveled at the skill and dedication that Plage displayed. Although I appreciate the desire of those who wish that he could have been presented the Medal of Honor, such efforts should cease. The Medal of Honor is specifically the country’s way of honoring those who have gone beyond the call of duty in the course of battle with the enemy. Most of my Navy career was with the Civil Engineer Corps. CEC officers command the Seabees. My reaction is to say he would have made a great Seabee, for our motto is “Can Do.” Having lived in New Orleans during my last duty assignment in the Navy and being an ardent conservationist, I also gave special attention to the article “Bracing for the Next ‘Big One.’” We engineers know after the fact that there was a lot of subpar engineering and construction revealed by Hurricane Katrina. Technology, sound analysis and the resulting engineered works will go a long way to prevent similar future damage. However, adequate consideration must be given to nature’s influence upon New Orleans or any other site where the topography is a major factor in what the end result can be. Not only do we need high technology for the future of New Orleans, we need to get the protective marsh replaced. In anticipating possible similar storms along the Gulf Coast, we need to be sure that protective marshes are in place everywhere, for infrastructure in general and deterioration of our highway bridges warn us that we must make sound decisions now to prevent further disasters there and in any other works of man. With tongue in cheek and without malice aforethought, I wonder where Gina Carr, IE 84, got the idea that she is an “old-timer”? She is a “middle-timer,” I’m an “old-timer.” BILLY WALLACE, EE 46 Stillwater, Okla. Broyles Considered Tech Your article on Frank Broyles was quite good [Summer TECH TOPICS]. Bud Carson was fired in 1971 after losing to Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl. The Atlanta JournalConstitution reported that Broyles was prepared to accept the Georgia Tech head-coaching position provided that Tech would pay him what he was receiving at Arkansas. Tech chose not to meet the salary requirements and hired Bill Fulcher. Two years later, Fulcher quit. By this time, Broyles had lost interest in our program and Tech had to spend big money at the time to get Pepper Rodgers. NELSON E. WALTERS, IE 76 Holland, Mich. Remembering the Y My thanks for the update on the Alumni House in the Fall TECH TOPICS. To me it will always be the Georgia Tech YMCA. I was active in the Y during the late 1940s. I lived in one of the front rooms on the third floor and worked the desk for a while during the time of Charlie Commander. It was a great place to hang out. It was a good thing for me. I have many fond memories of the Y cabinet and all the Friday night dances and movies that were shown at other times. The Technique offices were in the basement as well as a lot of other organizations, including the Glee Club and Wesley Foundation. I expect when they get through refurbishing the building, and with all the other add-ons, like most of the rest of the school, I will no longer recognize the place. Such is progress, so they tell me. H. SPEER EZZARD, ME 50 Columbus, N.C. eorgia’s second official drought in five years has caused us all to step back and think about how we use this precious resource. Mark Twain once said, “In the West, whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting over.” We can all agree that there’s only one thing wrong with Mr. Clemens’ comment — that’s the “in the West” part of it. One of the most critical issues for mankind in the coming century is water. Joseph Hughes, chair of Tech’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, presented a seminar called “The Global Water Challenge: Quantity, Quality and Security” to our Homecoming attendees and it was fascinating — and scary. He said 97 percent of the water on Earth is within the oceans so salinity and the economics of desalinization make it unusable. The remaining 3 percent of Earth’s water are freshwater sources but 77 percent of that water is stored in glaciers with no real opportunity for conversion. The remainder — just six-tenths of 1 percent — is available for humankind for all of our uses: agriculture, power generation, industrial and, finally, public use. Water is an issue for every state in the nation and every country in the world. This sets the stage for us. These huge problems — these global issues — don’t get solved by people sitting around wringing their hands and ruing the old days. They get solved by people dedicated to the fundamental understandings of our environment and our behavior and seeking answers. And it’s one more reason for you to support Tech — we have those people here, dedicated to advancing society through fundamental and applied research and teaching others to do the same. Provost Gary Schuster wants to recoin the old Georgia Tech maxim “look to your left, look to your right” and finish it with: “One of you will win a Nobel prize someday.” Join me in sharing his vision. JOSEPH P. IRWIN President Georgia Tech Alumni Association TECHTOPICS | WINTER 2007 7
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