Penn State University - La Vie Yearbook (University Park, PA)

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NEWS RESEARCH Battling Bulges We’ve all heard the saying, Thin is in, but fat is whore it's at, usual- ly spoken by some jolly, plump per- son. Unfortunately, for some 20 mil- lion overweight Americans, fat is not where it’s a I. If you are obese (weight 25-30% more than your opti- mum weight), you are more prone to chronic diseases, high blood pressure, respiratory difficulties, and find strenuous exertion nearly impossible. Simply eating less is not the cure-all for obesity, and re- searchers in the University's Labo- ratory for Human Performance Re- search. directed by Dr. Elsworlh R. Buskirk, are trying to define the causes of obesity in order to find safe, permanent weight loss meth- ods. Observing characteristics of fat vs. t iin people may shed some light on the subject, and researchers have studied methods of determin- ing body fatness. Body denseness was measured by pinching skin folds, using ultra-sound, and weigh- ing people underwater as well as in the air. One researcher is testing lean and overweight women as they exercise in cool water, in hopes of determining whether thin women expend more calories. The researchers believe that childhood patterns may play a role in obesity - good physical training in youth may decrease the chances of becoming an overweight adult. An experimental training program with eight to twelve year olds showed that the overweight kids did benefit from the physical activi- ty. They reduced body fatness and showed significant fitness gains. ■ Energy Social scientists at the University are studying resource related issues in order to provide state legislators with information they need in mak- ing major policy decisions. Working under the University's Center for the Study of Environ- mental Policy, the researchers are studying consumer attitudes to- ward energy conservation, burial of low-level atomic waste and pollu- tion abatement bonds. Dr. Terry A. Terror, director of the Environmental Policy Center, is in charge of the research projects which are being funded by part of a $335,000 grant from the Ford Foundation. For the first project — consumer attitudes toward energy con- servation — two marketing profes- sors arc designing methods of mea- suring consumer preferences. They are using new marketing research techniques which measure how much relative importance people place on specific energy proposals when considering them as alterna- tives. Four researchers are working on the second project which involves finding disposal sites for low-level radioactive wastes. The scientists are developing guidelines for selec- tion of disposal areas in Pennsylva- nia for these nuclear wastes. A finance professor is conducting the third project which concerns pollution abatement revenue bonds. He is evaluating the bonds, which are issued by various political units in the State, to see how the bonds benefit local communities, if they lower the cost of capital for a com- pany. and what motivates in- stitutions to buy these bonds. ■ 20

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 o n As rapidly as the University seems to increase the number of students which swell its ranks, downlown State College grows to accommodate them, their appetites and their interests. One of the most obvious and most recent expansions is the addition of a large restau- rant section to The Train Station on College Avenue. This new area will seat about 300 people, according to a restaurant spokes- person. A classy red caboose is parked in front, used as a lobby and waiting room for hungry clients. At the time of this writing, consideration is being given to the estab- lishment of a banquet room. Speaking of food. State College has made several other additions to its list of eating establishments. Wuv’s Restaurant. Bell's Greek Pizza, and Tippy's Tacos have all brought their cuisine to the College Avenue area, while Patriot Steak house opened on South Atherton Street. And for evening enter- tainment. Gatsby's, a 20 s style speakeasy bar, opened its doors as part of the Corner Room complex. Other diverse structures have been built in State College in 1977. The Sheraton Hotel on Pugh Street added a new wing of luxury rooms. Central Counties Bank opened a drive-in office at the corner of Garner Street and Beaver Avenue. A senior citizen's hous- ing project was constructed on Belair Avenue and Bell of Pennsylvania on South Allen Street added a tall dishlike structure to its roof which makes use of microwaves in com- pleting long distance telephone walls. Clockwise, from lop left: Dunk's second floor addition: ruins of Cut's Luncheonette; painted wall on Corner Street: Wiener Kind's sign; Train Station; Wuv's. 19

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Cr«« student Zen An ton ink and fuel scientist Howard Palmer with their model solar energy collection system on the roof of Mineral Industries Building. Students at work in a car mechanic shop in the Altoona vocational education school system. Hitting the Roof Zenaii Antoniak. a grad student in fuel science, spent the summer of 75 on lop of the Mineral Industries building. Doing What?” you might osk. He was roof-sitting a small, experimental version of a solar energy collection system that he and his adviser built. Their emphasis while building the system was on simplicity and practicality. Almost all the materi- als and parts used are common and inexpensive. In fact, they used ordinary commercial graphite to soak up the rays, since black is a veritable sponge for sunlight. In simple terms, the system works like this: an X-shaped piece « graphite is housed in an in- sulated glass pipe, and helium gas Is pumped through the pipe. When !be graphite soaks up light, heat is transferred to the flowing gas, and this heated glass could ultimately drive a gas turbine coupled to an electric generator. The system is meant for power plant installations, not for the home, and the scientists hope to demonstrate the feasibility of heat- gases enough to run a turbine in a full scale working model. ■ Stop Drop-outs Trying to spot the potential high school dropout and then find ways to keep him in school was the goal of a Penn State research team who followed the progress of 780 ninth- grade students through the Altoona High School system. For four years, Dr. Seymour llrantner and Dr. Thomas Ender- Icin watched and recorded traits of both vocational and non-vocation- al students. Of the twenty independent vari- ables used, absenteeism and a low grade-point average were the most consistent dropout warning signs. With vocational students, it was a combination of the two; but with non-vocationals it was absenteeism only. Special counseling might keep these potential dropouts in school, and the research team recommends that the attendance record and grade-point average for each stu- dent up to grade nine be carefully watched. The team's report has been sent to high school administrative per- sonnel and counselors all over the country. ■ 21