Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - (Page 23) MOTION Written by Becky Straw Photography by Ben Stechschulte Clockwise from far left: Fitch holds a model of the Corvette he drove in Sebring, Fla. In the 1960s, Fitch crash-tested his safety barrier. Today, a Fitch Barrier guards his garage. A steering wheel hangs under Fitch’s portrait. L ike the yellow and white lines painted on black pavement, Fitch Barriers have become a fixture in the landscape of the American highway. These large, yellow, sand-filled barrels, which often line exit ramps, have saved tens of thousands of lives by acting as a crash cushion. The man behind the barriers, John Cooper Fitch, is hardly a stranger to crashes. He has been shot from the sky in a fighter plane, flung end-over-end in a racecar, and personally crash-tested the Fitch Barrier he invented by driving junk cars into prototypes at 70 miles per hour. In August, Fitch—now 90 years old—will attempt to break a land speed record during the 2008 Bonneville Speed Week. To do so, he must drive a 1955 Mercedes 300 SL Gullwing 170 mph. Fitch has attempted to break the land speed record for his car’s class three times over the past five years (in 2003, 2005, and 2006). If he’s successful this year, Fitch will achieve another landmark: becoming the oldest person to ever break a record at the famed Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. “I think we’ll make it,” he says with confidence. The former Formula One racecar driver’s face is lined like a wellworn road map. His gait is stiff and slow, but he holds his long, lean body erect. As he drives his one-of-a-kind Phoenix (another one of his inventions) around his hometown of Lime Rock, Conn., Fitch handles the car with dexterity, suggesting that recent bouts with pneumonia and Lyme disease have barely affected his skills. winter 2008 23
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 Contents From the President's Desk Mailbox On Campus Research Arts & Culture Sports Ugly is in the Eye of the Beholder Fitch's Law of Motion A Blessing to the Community The Amidonian Acclamation China Trip Bridges Cultures, Generations From the Publisher's Desk Alumni News The Last Word Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 (Page Cover1) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 (Page Cover2) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Contents (Page 1) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - From the President's Desk (Page 2) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Mailbox (Page 3) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - On Campus (Page 4) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - On Campus (Page 5) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - On Campus (Page 6) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - On Campus (Page 7) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Research (Page 8) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Research (Page 9) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Arts & Culture (Page 10) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Arts & Culture (Page 11) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Arts & Culture (Page 12) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Arts & Culture (Page 13) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Sports (Page 14) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Sports (Page 15) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Ugly is in the Eye of the Beholder (Page 16) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Ugly is in the Eye of the Beholder (Page 17) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Ugly is in the Eye of the Beholder (Page 18) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Ugly is in the Eye of the Beholder (Page 19) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Ugly is in the Eye of the Beholder (Page 20) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Ugly is in the Eye of the Beholder (Page 21) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Fitch's Law of Motion (Page 22) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Fitch's Law of Motion (Page 23) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Fitch's Law of Motion (Page 24) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Fitch's Law of Motion (Page 25) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Fitch's Law of Motion (Page 26) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - Fitch's Law of Motion (Page 27) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - A Blessing to the Community (Page 28) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - A Blessing to the Community (Page 29) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - The Amidonian Acclamation (Page 30) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - The Amidonian Acclamation (Page 31) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - The Amidonian Acclamation (Page 32) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - The Amidonian Acclamation (Page 33) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - China Trip Bridges Cultures, Generations (Page 34) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - China Trip Bridges Cultures, Generations (Page 35) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - China Trip Bridges Cultures, Generations (Page 36) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - China Trip Bridges Cultures, Generations (Page 37) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - The Last Word (Page Cover3) Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - The Last Word (Page Cover4)
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