The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 8,1993- 3
.$15 million facility built in
memory of aerospace grad
By JAMES NASH
and YOSHI ORIBE
FOR THE DAILY
University aerospace engineering
i students got an unwelcome surprise
one day 10 years ago when water
escaped from a ruptured steam line,
condensed on the ceiling of the aero-
space engineering lab and fell on stu-
dents.
Thomas Adamson Jr., a professor
emeritus in aerospace engineering,
laughed as he recalled the incident.
But he said the shower served as a
* pointed reminderoftheneed foranew
building.
The waiting is over. Today at 11
a.m., University officials and aero-
space engineering experts will wit-
ness the dedication of the new
Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Building.
The $15 million North Campus
facility is named in honor of a 1982
University aerospace engineering
graduate who died seven years ago in
a helicopter crash at age 24.
The 93,000-square-foot FXB
Building is partially occupied, but no
classes are scheduled there yet.
The facility includes 30 teaching
and research laboratories, a 156-seat
lecture hall, three additional class-
rooms, 30 faculty and staff offices, 30
graduate student offices and a student
lounge.
* The facility is a dramatic improve-
ment over the current facility, built in
1972, before lasers were introduced
to the classroom, Adamson said.
The new building has its roots in a
1986 study by the Department of Ar-
chitecture andUrban Planning. Given
two choices - upgrading the old
facility or building a new one - the
Architecture and Urban Planning de-
partment labeled the second option
more cost-effective. The aerospace
engineering officials then tried to
solicit funds for the project.
The FXB Building was bankrolled
by the University and private gifts.
The largest donation -$5.2 million
- was given by the Association
Francois-Xavier Bagnoud, a founda-
tion established in memory of
Bagnoud by his mother.
The four-story FXB Building fea-
tures four levels, one of which is
underground. An atrium ofmore than
5,000 square feet serves as the
building's centerpiece.
"The exceptional resources of the
Francois-Xavier Building will stimu-
late and support the highest potential
of our aerospace faculty and stu-
dents," said Peter Banks, dean of the
College ofEngineering, said in apress
release.
Students have complained that
space is tight at the old aerospace
building, and students outnumber
seats in many classrooms.
"No question, the old building
just wasn't meeting our needs," said
John Ziemer, president of Sigma
Gamma Tau, an honors society for
aerospace students. "I think (the new
building) will really instill life in the
program."
The FXB Building includes so-
phisticated laboratory and computer
facilities for research on aircraft,
spacecraft and aerospace sciences.
Four blast-resistant laboratories will
be used for research on high-energy
propellants and combustion.
In conjunction with the FXB dedi-
cation, the University yesterday
hosted William Pickering, a pioneer
in the U.S. space program. Pickering
recalled his 22 years as director of the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
Against the backdrop of the Cold
War, the JPL scrambled to surpass the
Soviet Union in the space race after
the December 1957 Soviet launch of
the Sputnik satellite.
The JPL succeeded just 83 days
later, Pickering told the crowd in the
ChryslerCenterauditorium. Explorer
I was launched on Jan. 31, 1958, and
during its orbit discovered the Van
Allen Belt of trapped radiation.
"It was remarkable that we were
able to do all that in three months,"
Pickering said. "Today it probably
would have taken three years todo the
same!"
After recalling several unpiloted
space missions, Pickering vigorously
defended the current U.S. space pro-
gram, which he said is hampered by
public apathy and a string of recent
failures. The failures, he said, are "the
price we pay for working on the fron-
tier of knowledge."
Pickering's speech struck a chord
among many aerospace students,
whose careers may be jeopardized by
diminished U.S. funding of space
exploration.
"It would be a shame to sacrifice
all the benefits from our space pro-
The Francois-Xavier Bagnoud building, a state-of-the-art aerospace
engineering facility on North Campus, was dedicated this morning.
gram for some short-term savings,"
said John Scherer, a doctoral student
in aerospace engineering. "I think (he)
made the best argument for continu-
ing (the program) - that many of the
technological advancements from
space exploration are applied to our
everyday lives."
Institute to
broaden
'U' studies
By NATE HURLEY
DAILY STAFF REPORTER
Broaden your horizons. Travel
abroad. Learn about other cultures.
That is the message the Univer-
sity is sending to undergraduates,
graduate students and faculty mem-
bers.
In a joint effort, the Office of the
Provost and the College of Litera-
ture, Science and the Arts have setup
the International Institute to "inter-
nationalize the University."
But the program does not mean
students have to leave Ann Arbor to
participate. In addition to facilitat-
ing students in studying abroad, it
also aims to improve international
studies on campus.
By coordinating activities within
the area studies programs, compil-
ing information for students and fac-
ulty interested in the studies and
working with the Undergraduate
Research Opportunities Program to
set up seminars, the institute strives
to improve research and education.
Students wanting information
about studying abroad should still go
to the Office of International Pro-
grams, as the new institute will serve
as an administrative unit to oversee
all international studies
Emphasis in class offering is
likely to be placed on Korea, Central
Asia, Africa, Latin America and the
Caribbean, said Prof. David William
Cohen, who came this fall from
Northwestern University, where he
set up similar area and international
studies programs.
"The purpose is to bring together
and support area and international
studies in the University and, more
broadly, beyond the University,"
Cohen said.
He added more students are inter-
ested in international studies in the
post-Cold War era. "There's a free-
domof travel and inquiry in theworld
now."
He said students now feel they
can do activist work in human rights,
women's rights and environmental-
ism without being concerned with
advancing their own country or help-
ing Cold War enemies of the United
States.
Ggbert Whitaker, provost and
executive vice president foracademic
affairs, who helped set up the insti-
tute, said, "We have high hopes for
this. It's going to be a sign of the
improvement in what we do in this
area."
The institute has a core staff of 10
people, with a total staff of 59, which
includes administrators and student
assistants of the groups overseen by
the institute.
The 12 groups range from Asian,
Latin American, Russian and British
studies toeconomicdevelopmentand
research to the Office of Interna-
tional Programs.
"Each of these offices will retain
its identity," Cohen said.
Praising the benefits of interna-
tional studies, Cohen encouraged stu-
dents interested in studying abroad
to stop by the Office of International
Programs at 5208 Angell Hall.
Film expert brings Japanese cinema classics
I
By JOHN MURPHY
FOR THE DAILY
Donald Richie is a foreigner in his
own country.
"This is the most alien culture I've
ever been in," he said of life in Ann
Arbor, just a two-hour drive from his
birthplace in Lima, Ohio.
But Richie's alienation is no sur-
prise. For the better part of almost
* five decades, Richie has been a resi-
dent of Japan where he has made a
name for himself as an authority on
Japanese film and culture. Last week,
Richie came home, or perhaps left
home, to teach at the University.
Richie is visiting the University
for Fall Term on a professorship spon-
sored by the Toyota Motor Corpora-
tion. The former film curator for the
Museum of Modern Art in New York
and author of more than 40 books on
Japanese cinema and culture is teach-
ing "Classic Japanese Films," a course
which will explore the aesthetics and
history of cinema in Japan. Richie
also selected material for the Center
for Japanese Studies' classic Japa-
nese film series, being shown this fall
at the University.
Attending a course on Japanese
cinema taught by Richie is not unlike
having a course on flying taught by
the Wright brothers. Richie pioneered
the field of Japanese film criticism
with writings on directors Akira
Kurosawa and YaujiroOzu. His works
are still considered classics in their
field, said Ira Konigsberg, director of
the Program in Film and Video Stud-
ies.
But Richie's eye isjust as percep-
tive outside the movie theater as it is
inside. His books and essays on Japa-
nese culture examine everything from
Japanese Noh plays to comic books
to the Japanese kiss. "The Inland Sea,"
perhaps his best known work, ana-
lyzes the nature of modern Japan.
"Richie's work has been impor-
tant in bringing Japan to the popular
mind," said Jennifer Robertson, di-
rectorof the Center forJapanese Stud-
ies.
Richie is not only a popularizer of
Japanese culture, but also a firsthand
witness to the changes that have oc-
curred in Japan since World War II.
In 1946, at 22, Richie arrived in
Tokyo to work as a typist for the
occupation forces. Soon, however,
he was able to utilize his boyhood
interest in movies as a film critic for
The Pacific Stars and Stripes, and
later for The Japan Times.
Richie's early encounters with
Japanese cinema were complicated
by his limited knowledge of the Japa-
nese language. "I was forced to look
at the structureof the film,rather than
try to follow a story," he said.
Richie credits these experiences
with teaching him how to look closely
at Japanese films and compare them
to their Western counterparts.
"American films were about ac-
to campus
Even after years of study in Japan,
Richie is reluctant to consider any of
his writings definitive works on the
nature of the Japanese culture or
people. As a foreigner, Richie says he
has always been kept on the outside of
the culture looking in.
Butas aself-describednon-joiner,
Richie does not mind being excluded
from the Japanese culture.
"Japan is ideal for me because
they don't allow me to join anything.
The result is an existential freedom
which is unmatched," he said. "Sartre
never had it so good."
Richie's detached relationship to
Japan may be his saving grace in the
future. The Japan he entered in 1946
has changed significantly over the
years.
Richie said the close relationship
between the Japanese and nature
which once characterized the country
has now disappeared.
"A lot of it was romanticized," he
said. "But I remember seeing work-
men cutting ahole in a wall to accom-
modate a tree limb. This is a phenom-
enon we no longer see. Today, the
tree would be cut down."
Changes like this have made Ja-
pan foreign for Richie once again -
perhaps as foreign as the streets of
Ann Arbor are to him now.
But Richie resists sentimentality.
"Since I'm not connected to it,
then I don't have to suffer," he rea-
soned. "But I can observe it, which is
the story of my life."
MARY KOUKHAB/Daiy
Donald Richie, an expert in classic Japanese films, teaches students in the
Frieze Building Wednesday morning.
tion. European films were about char-
acter," Richie said of the films being
made during the '40s,'50s, and '60s.
"ButJapanese films were about some-
thing else."
That "something else" has occu-
pied the majority of Richie's schol-
arly life. In simple terms, Richie said
he believes atmosphere is the charac-
teristic feature of Japanese cinema.
"In Japanese films, the viewer be-
comes a temporary extension of the
film, creating a seamless whole," he
said.
________________________ Er 1
Friday
U Korean Campus Crusade for
Christ, fellowship meeting,
Campus Chapel, 1236
Washtenaw Ct., 8 p.m.
Q Founder's Day Dance, spon-
sored by Phi Sigma Pi, Michi-
gan Union, Anderson Room, 9
p.m. - 12 a.m.
[ Ninjutsu Club, IM Building,
Wrestling Room, 6:30 p.m.
Q Octoberfest, sponsored by the
Law School Student Senate,
Law Quad, 2-7 p.m.
D Polish Film Festival, sponsored
by the Polish Cultue Group, call
764-8369 for details..
" Psychology Academic Peer Ad-
vising, walkins welcome or call
for appointment, 747-
3711,West Quad, room K-103,
11 a.m-4 p.m.
Q Saint Mary Student Parish,
campus prayer group, 7 p.m.,
1 p.m.
Q Shorin-Ryu Karate-Do Club,
everyone welcome, CCRB,
room 2275,6-7 p.m.
Q Tae Kwon Do Club, everyone
welcome, CCRB, room 2275,
7-9 p.m.
Q Weekly Bridge Game, Dupli-
cate Bridge Club, Michigan
Union, Tap Room, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Q Club Fabulous Pride
Awaremess Commitment
Week Kickoff Dance, spon-
sored by the Lesbian-Gay Male
Programs Office, St. Andrew's
Church, at Division and
Catherine, 10p.m.
Q Polish Film Festival, sponsored
by the Polish CultueGroup, call
764-8369 for details.
Q Women's International
League for Peace and Free-
and lecture, sponsored by the
Asian American Students Coa-
lition,HutchinsHall,LawQuad,
Room 250, 7-9 p.m.
Q Christian Life Church Sunday
Service, School of Education,
Schorling Auditorium, 11 a.m.
Q Phi Sigma Pi, general meeting,
East Quad, 52 Green Lounge
7:30 p.m.
Q Prayer That Reaches Our In-
ner Wounds, Walls and Wars,
speaker:Flora Wuellner, spon-
sored by the Wesley Founda-
tion, First UnitedMethodist
Church, 7 p.m.
Q Polish Film Festival, sponsored
by the Polish Cultue Group, call
764-8369 for details.
Q Safewalk Nighttime Safety
Walking Service, UGLi, lobby,
936-1000, 8 p.m.-11:30 p.m.
Q SIGN Participation in Hunger
Walk, sponsored by Guild
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