Columbia University School of Engineering - Yearbook (New York, NY)

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The 1933 COLUMBIA ENGINEER VVilliam Campbell is a philatelist and prominent member of the Numismatic Society. A. W. Hixson is a horticulturist, and so is D. D. Jackson, specializing in roses. Outside of our own faculty, there is VV. R. VVhitney of Schenectady who has a turtle farm. He has been making a scientihc study of various turtles, their feeding and breeding habits, the secrets of the hibernvating period, etc. H. E. Howe of Washington is an iris fiend. His garden holds almost a thousand different varieties, German and Spanish and Japanese. R. B. Moore of helium fame was a landscape painter, and so was Ostwald, the elder. The chief engineer of the ul. G. has the most complete collection of cacti, and not dried and mounted, but living and thriv- ing, a special soil and special treatment for each class or specie. Graham Bell took a keen fancy in raising sheep and, in particular, in making two sheep grow where only one grew before, to use his own words. His experiments, by the way, were carried out twenty miles from the nearest telephone. E. F. Northrup, inventor of the high frequency induction furnace, raises quail, making a scientihc study of the effects on growth of different foods, and a different environment. The choice of .a hobby appears to be almost without limitations. And why not golf? lndeed, golf is one of the best hobbies for engineers, except that it is possibly too strenuous for an engineer whose particular branch of the profession keeps him outdoors all day. VVhat hobby shall we choose? Uusually the choice is made more or less accidental- ly, but there are a few com- mon -sense suggestions worth noting. Our hobby should give us what is commonly termed a complete change in en- vironment, in occupation and, in particular, in subject or theme. lf our job keeps us indoors all day, then by all means let us choose an outdoor hobby. Furthermore, as engi- neers we will usually be hap- pier with a scientific hobby than with one selected among the fine arts. If our daily work taxes our eyes, then let us select a hobby that will rest our eyes. Most important of all, the hobby must fascinate us, and not only ourselves, but our better half as well. ln conclusion, we must not overlook a most important benefit derived in cultivating a good hobby. It is what we might term old-age insurancef' When we have passed our six- tieth birthday, we may become tired of building bridges or dynamos, but we will never grow tired of our pet hobby. Pity the retired engineer with- Out fl hobby! STILL IN c11m11C.4L ENG1NEI?R1NC L.f1BOR.JTORY Tfwenly-nine'

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The 1933 COLUJVIBIA ENGINEER CHEMICAL ENGINEERS AND FACULTY Ames, Hladky, Tenney, Trixka, Hixson, Apploboom, Coler, de IWarchi,Schoening, Pope, Wagner, Smerechniak, Gaskill, Rrrthenzrzcher, Skafw, Illorrirroe, Ilfliller, Marcotrigiano, Ward, Glas-ter, Johnson, G. Jenkins, Burkey, W1. Jenkins, Pofwell, Berne-Allen, Srhulz, !WaCW00d, Wledl, Garbo, Stringer, Conlon, Linn, Lang, Fink, Work, Jackson, Turner, ' McKee, Ilflorgan, Frehner. AN ENGINEER AND HIS HOBBY COLIN G. FINK T IS an interesting fact that many of our most prominent and successful engineers have at the same time been ardent pursuers of a hobby-a recreation or avocation that often occupies not merely so-called 'lspare time, but a very large fraction of the day, this fraction usually increasing as the years go by. Offhand, one would be inclined to advocate against diverting so much attention to matters outside of one's regular vocation or profession, and yet experience has shown that the pursuit of the hobby was not only not a hindrance to the engineerls advancement, but was actually a stimulus or necessity. Without a hobby, no really successful engineer. There is this constant danger of growing stale when we apply ourselves too assidu- ouslv to our chosen profession, and never afford the mind the necessary and stimu- lating periods of relaxation of the right sort, which a sensible hobby alone can give. ln riding a hobby we are so utterly free from nervous strain and anxiety. No manager worries us about increasing production and lowering costsg no board of directors forever requests a detailed monthly report, no competitor threatens openly or otherwise to send us to the poorhouse, no legal adviser urges suit against our infringers. Our hobby is our own in its entirety-to do with as we see fit,-to nurse it patiently and to enjoy its healthy growth, or, if we must occassionally, to neglect it entirely and without anxiety, certain at all times that our hobby is ever ready to welcome us with a smile whenever we find a minute, or an hour, or a day to devote to it. An engineer with a live hobby is invariably an optimist. Granting, then, that an engineer must have a hobby to be happy, what shall he choose? Professor K. Finch has one of the finest and rarest historical col- lections of glass Hagons and bottles, some hundreds of years old and many of rare beauty of design. I. H. lVIorecroft is an expert apiarist and disciple of Maeterlinck. Tfwenly-eigfzt

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The 1933 COLUIIKIBIAI ENGINEER CIVIL ENGINEERS HND FACULTY Grapes, Imhoff, Hartman, Spalh, Croyhy, Dailey, Lohr, Ririgliano, Langmur, Tighe, Kash, Kirby, Boyd, Stri7zger,,W'ei1', Simmonds, DiL0re7zzo, Quilty, Vogel, Blatterman, Sinacori, Zazzolo, Ilflahorz, Ludemrm, Sieger, Vaxsilaror, Feodorojf, Lahti, Beyer, Lofvell, Wyckohzf, Finch, Krefeld, Bm'mi.vter. BE YOURSELF! VV. ul. KREFELD Wlzat you are speaks so loud that I fa1z't hear what you say. -EMERSON OU ARE entering the ranks at a time ef much lamentation and confusion, a Babel of theories and doctrines each of Whose advocates, like the Pharisee, are consoled bv the conviction that I am not as the rest of men. We find con- tempt for the machine, ascribing to it all the ills of scientific materialism while others dream of a technological civilization dedicated to the Baconian philosophy of Fruit, In all this conflict of ideals and interests, there has been a concentration of atten- tion- which We as engineers take both as a compliment and a responsibility. But having been recognized as men who do things, let us not so forsake the fundamental principles of our training, our common sense and practicality as to enter into the fields of prophecy and conjecture lending support to bootstrap panaceas. The mis- fortunes and uncertainties of the present are due largely to a Lack of coordination. That the forces of science, economics .and politics have not been synchronized has been forcefully demonstrated. Does it not appear that the hope for a solution of our common problem lies in cooperation? If the engineer contributes his talent to the building of a more durable social structure, surely he Will retain the confidence born of his past accomplishments. But what are your-prospects? If you are what your tutors think you are, your opportunities for service will be greater than any who have gone before you. The Thirly