Los Angeles Valley College - Crown Yearbook (Valley Glen, CA)

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Q53 it 'Q 5 'gl X, aifwrbsagr 'ii sam 'V Engineering student Bob Dow studies plans for a new air cushion K track designed in Valley's physics department. Dow sets the drill for one of the 384 l3MflOOO- inch precision holes required for the track to function properly. An engineer makes a track The new age of space and tech- nology has come to Valley. Com- puters and other modern devices for solving complicated problems have been incorporated into the engineer- ing curriculum, enabling the stu- dents to keep, abreast of the new developments in the field. Slide rules, desk c a l c u l a t 0 r s, dividers and micrometers are tools which aid the eager engineering student in designing a unique tool for the future or to conduct an an- alysis on the cable that supports the Golden Gate Bridge--to find its greatest point of stress. Under the guidance of seven cap- able faculty members - Donald Bruner, Maurice Deutsch, joseph Finck, Cyrus Kirshner, Ellis Foster, Glen Thomas, Gordon Fay and Jay Glassman - this new program un- folds. One example of these modernized methods is the recently introduced 1620 computer. It enables the stu- dent to become acquainted with all facets of given problems and to arrive at answers in minutes that under other circumstances would have taken weeks. Stress-relieving principles and atomic and molecular structures are clearly demonstrated and thorough- ly analyzed. Sixteen separate courses are of- fered for the prospective engineer. Shop practice is also available for those who want to make tools which they might have designed. The first piece of metal is placed between the vice grips-to steady the material for the exactness of the proiect. -R

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Perfect balance is also necessary, Dow finds, if the device is to be in working order upon completion. Dow cranks the drill press to the proper level, preparing forthe next step on the plans. 2 In .fl J' ll I .El 4 Dow follows rigid plan of cushion track-measuring and aligning the holes in the shop. An air cushion track, something new for the future railroad industry, was con- structed by Bob Dow, a first semester en- gineering student. This project was as- signed to him in the applied engineering class of shop class. Each student takes a set of plans and professionally constructs tools or modern industrial devices. They are actually de- monstrating the principles of physics in these labs-this is engineering. Dow made this air cushion track from plans drawn up by Andrew Mason of the physics department. He spent hours in the shop, shaping metal, balancing and align- ing parts to tit the mechanism. Precision is absolutely necessary, said Dow. Exactly 384 holes exactly Byzf 1000 inches in diameter had to be drilled into the long frame, If one hole was a frac- tion off, the device would not work, he said. Dow's project took one semester to complete, and many similar mechanisms which will be used in future industries are being designed and developed in the growing engineering department.