LOCAL/STATE

The Michigan Daily Thursday, April 17, 1997 -3


CTI technology
division appoints
new director
The University's Center for
Information Technology appointed Pete
Honeyman as the new director. CITI is
a branch of the University's
Information Technology Division.
.Honeyman joined CITI in 1986 and
is also an adjunct associate professor of
electrical engineering and computer
seience. Prior to his involvement at the
University, he was a member of the
technical staff at Bell Labs as well as an
-istant professor of computer science
Princeton University.
"As director, Peter will lead
advanced development and research
projects, while establishing partner-
ships with external sponsors. He will
focus his efforts on engaging with
enterprising organizations outside the
University to embark on joint research
projects," ITD Executive Director Jose-
Marie Griffiths said in a statement.
4Honeyman is also a University alum-
U' chemists give
talk on new data
University chemists and professors
Ciistine Evans and Mark Mowery
presented their latest data on polymer
chemistry at this week's American
Chemical Society meeting.
Peaks and valleys are important fac-
*s in determining where polymers
form in single molecule layers, accord-
ing to the researchers.
"In polymer chemistry, as in archi-
tecture, it's important to pay close
attention to your building base;' Evans
and Mowery said in a statement.
The polymers have a definite prefer-
ence for valleys. Researchers will glad-
ly receive this news, which helps them
lize ultrathin molecular films and
Olymers, instead of silicon and micro-
circuitry, Evans said.
"Varying the surface topography
gies us one more tool we can use to
direct and control the growth of these
single-layer polymers," Evans said. "It
takes us one step closer to our ultimate
goal, which is exploiting polymers'
potential to revolutionize nanoscale or
ultrasmall technology."
6TD recommends
anti-virus kit
Recently, viruses have been causing
problems for students using University
cpmnputers, so ITD has proposed a
solution in a small package.
,After extensive research, ITD sug-
gests using Dr. Solomon's Anti-Virus
Toolkit to combat viruses on several
'fware programs.
WA computer virus - a program that
replicates itself - may be harmless,
wvhile others could cause immense
destruction, according to an ITD state-
ment. Computer viruses have existed
for about 10 years.
Previously, software like F-Prot and
Disinfectant have been used to combat
computer viruses. However, a new kind
of. infection called the Word Macro
virus, which infects Microsoft Word 6.0,
wreaked havoc on University com-
puters, according to an ITD statement.
The first Microsoft Word Macro
virus, called "Concept," appeared on

campus accidentally after being distrib-
k d on a CD-ROM with the release of
e4ndows 95.
-Macro viruses infect Microsoft doc-
'ents rather than programs or appli-
cations.
ducation Dept.
seeks proposals
The U.S. Department of Education
will finance some University projects
ender its Library Research and
Demonstration Program.
The department is seeking grant pro-
posals from University researchers that
will improve libraries, library educa-
tion and information technology. The
adline for applications is May 12.
Tor more information, call 936-1354.
- Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter
Marc Lightdale.

Engineering students design for Expo '97

By Gre CCox
Daily Staff Reporter
Last night was anything but relaxing
for many University mechanical engi-
neering seniors.
These students labored late into the
night to put the finishing touches on
their senior design projects, which will
be displayed today in Design Expo '97
on North Campus.
"I guess our group is unusual, as we
finished early,' said Engineering senior
Joel Jacobs.
Jacobs worked with three other
Engineering students to design a special
glove to help physicians insert breath-
ing tubes into patients' tracheas. The
final design was the product of many
tested ideas, Jacobs said.
"We basically brainstormed and

designed a lot of prototypes to see
what aspects of them did and didn't
work," Jacobs said. "We later com-
bined all of the
designs' best (( -
qualities."C
More than 70 WVe
students in ME with all
450 designed and
built 23 prototype wacky do
machines as a
final design pro-
ject before gradu- En
ation. They will-
display their cre-
ations in the Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science Building atrium
today from 1:30 to 5 p.m. Some of the
projects were sponsored by industrial
giants such as General Electric, General

Motors, Ford, Hewlett-Packard and
National Standard Co.
"We met with GM to get the project

me up
kinds of
esigns."
- Michael Zick
gineering senior
sponsor - they'rei

statement, see
what they are
currently doing
and what their
problems are,"
s a i d
Engineering
senior Matt
Memmer. "You
have to keep an
open relation-
ship with your
investing time and

Future Car Team and Hydrodynamics
Lab all sponsored projects related to
their own design goals. In addition,
one group worked with the U. . Army
to design a high-speed, high-mobility
seat restraint system.
"They gave us their vision and gave
(the project) initial guidelines," said
Engineering senior Michael Zick, who
helped design and build the seat
restraint system. "We came up with all
kinds of wacky designs."
Jacobs said the students gained real-
world experience in applying the con-
cepts they learned in the classroom to
practical applications.
"We learned how to take a problem
all the way to completion," Jacobs said.
Memmer stressed the importance of
teamwork in achieving the goals of the

project statement.
"Everybody had different abilities
and skills they brought to the tean,"
,Memmer said, "Teamwork is a big
thing because the engineering industry,
relies heavily on it."
Despite the practical aspects of the
projects, Zick admitted that his grou's
design might not be feasible in the real
world.
"This (our design) is so impractical
that it will probably never be imple
mented," Zick said.
According to Zick, practical knowl
edge isn't the only advantage to com-.
pleting the senior design project -not
is engineering all work and no play.
"Our professors are taking us out,
tomorrow night and buying us beer,'
Zick said.

money in us."
Other projects were related to work
being done by other organizations at
the University. The Solar Car Team,


Mental images

MSU suicide rate
Ae-wouUll-wt C 1001

20-year-old hung himself last
week - the fifth suicide
since January
LANSING (AP) - The number of students
committing suicide at Michigan State University
has more than doubled since 1991, an increase that
has officials and students confused.
One of those asking questions is Marcello
Flores, who had no idea why his friend Jesse
Jeter hung himself from a tree on the campus last
week.
"It was just a total shock," Flores told the
Lansing State Journal in a story published yester-
day. "He always had a smile on his face.'
Jeter's death was the fifth ruled a suicide at the
school since January.
Flores said there was no indication that Jeter - a
well-liked, athletic, 20-year-old - was on the verge
of killing himself.
"The worst thing is that everybody here knew
him;" he said. "He could have come to any one of
us for help."
Dr. Dennis Jurczak, director of Michigan State's
Olin Health Center, said the recent suicides fit the
population group that has the highest suicide rate:
men between the ages of 21 and 25.
Men accounted for 2,555 of 3,008 suicides in
1994 among 20- to 24-year-olds nationwide. In
Michigan, 104 of 121 suicides among that age
group were committed by men in 1994.
"This is the time when people start dealing with
their sexuality, encounter new social situations,
independence," Jurczak said.
Michigan State officials had only reported two
suicides since 1991, except for 1996 when offi-
cials did not release numbers.,

Jurczak said the recent deaths could be a result:
of a "copy-cat syndrome:'
Suicides are known to come in waves, said
Morton Silverman, director of the University of
Chicago's counseling center.
"One anticipates one or two suicides a year.f
you haven't had any in a while, more or less you're
due."
A couple of the Michigan State students wio
committed suicide were under psychiatric care-
Jurczak said.
Suicide rates are normally 50 percent lower ol
college campuses than among others that age who:
are not in college, according to a study by:
Silverman.
"It has a lot to do with the role of student coun-
seling services, dorm personnel and academic:
counselors," Silverman said. "Students who arle
in trouble are more likely to be identified than"
those comparable individuals in other communi=
ties."
Michigan State residential staff have responde(
to the recent suicides by counseling students about
the deaths.
Zsofi Gomory, a 25-year-old graduate student~
said thoughts of the man who shot himself Jan. 10
on her floor haunted her for days.
"It was a huge shock," said Gomory, 4
Hungarian student. "I don't know how mangy
times I woke up that night thinking about thaC
bullet."
After a suicide, trying to help those affected by
the death can prove difficult, said Jane Olson,
Michigan State's department of residence life
director.
"There's an awful lot of fallout," Olson said. "At
least 15 to 20 people are directly affected. That's
where we do most of our work.'

KRISTEN SCHAEFER/Daily
LSA junior Betsey Davies of the performance group 'Mentality' recounts her experiences with
manic depression during a monologue last night at Stockwell residence hall. The group will
perform again tomorrow evening at the First United Methodist Church on Washtenaw Avenue.1
State unemployment at-
new low, 4.3 percent

DETROIT (AP) - Michigan's
March unemployment rate of 4.3 per-
cent is its lowest since 1970 and "noth-
ing short of spectacular," an indepen-
dent economist said.
"Michigan's turning out to be the
Tiger Woods among state economies,"
David Sowerby, chief economist with
Beacon Investment Co. of Ann Arbor,
said after the state released the figures
yesterday.
"I don't know what it was back in
1902, (but) it is nothing short of spectac-
ular for the state's economic winning
streak.'
The seasonally adjusted March rate
is the lowest since the state started
keeping those records in 1970, said
Norm Isotalo, a spokesperson for the
Michigan Employment Security
Agency.
It compares with a rate of 4.5 percent
in February and of 5.1 percent in March
1996, he said.
Gov. John Engler said the low rate,
coupled with a continued decline in
welfare caseloads, shows the state is on
the right track and should stick with
what's worked so far.
"It's just an indication of how strong
the economy in Michigan is at the pre-
sent time," he said. "It really does show
what happens when everything is click-
ing."

David Littmann, vice president and
senior economist at Comerica Bank,
said the new number reflected a posi-
tive trend.
"The most impressive part of the sta-
tistic itself is looking at it a year ago.
That confirms the strength of it," he said.
March's 4.3 percent also marks the
24th straight month that Michigan's
unemployment has been lower than the
nation's rate, which was 5.3 percent in
February. National unemployment fig-
ures for March have yet to be released.
"The economy in Michigan contin-
ues to perform. Michigan has the auto
industry, and the industry is doing very
well,' Isotalo said.
The improvement was credited to
gains in retail trade and in the service
sector, said acting MESA director
Thomas Malek.
The service sector is a catch-all cate-
gory that includes such jobs as some in
the legal field, accounting, lawn ser-
vices and health care, and makes up
more than I million jobs in Michigan,
Sowerby said.
"The positive forces are still in place,
namely, low inflation, favorable pro-
ductivity growth, an improved tax cli-
mate, and even the recent strength of
the U.S. dollar still has not derailed
Michigan's export opportunities," he
said.


What's happening in Ann Arbor today

,.
y

GROUP MEETINGS
U Campus Crusade for Christ,
Fellowship meeting, Dental
School, Kellogg Aud., 7 p.m.
DU Muslim Students' Association, 930-
9049, Rackham, Assembly Hall, 7
. -.m.-

EVENTS
U "Caregiver Stress" sponsored by The
Alzheimer's Association, St
Clare's Episcopal Church/Temple
Beth Emerth, 2300 Packard Rd.,
12-12:45 p.m.
U "Evolution: Color Photography Show,"

http: / www.umich.edu/-info on
the World Wide Web
U English Composition Board Peer
Tutoring, need help with a paper?,
Angell Hall, Room 444C, 7-11
p.m.
0 Northwalk, 763-WALK, Bursley Hall,
8 p.m.-1:30 a.m.
0 PsvchonInv Peer Academic Advising.



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