Worcester Polytechnic Institute - Peddler Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

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B. S., W. P. I. 1887; Instructor in Mechanical Engineering, W. P. I., 1887-91 ; Assistant Professor of Steam Engineering, 1894- 96; Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Washburn Shops, 1903- When the summer vacation arrives the most of us are thinking of the good times and the healthy coat of tan we will put on. Not so with the Mechanics’ friend, “Piggy” Bird. He knew well that a coat of tan would not help out his looks, so he put forth his b est efforts and raised a really commendable (we don’t know the correct name for it, but anyway it’s on his chin). Even though the presence of this thing gives him a more stately appearance, the man himself has not changed. He still brings that well-worn note book to Dynamics with him; he still springs a few good jokes, and the classes still appreciate his attempts to take the monotony out of recitations. ARTHUR WILLARD FRENCH Professor of Civil Engineering C. E., Dartmouth, 1892; Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Dartmouth, 1895-98; Professor, W. P. I., 1899- . The Idol of all Civils, but the “jinx” of the Sanitary Civils! “Pa” holds sway over Boynton Hall as no king of old ever dared to, and no one disputes him or even asks why. “Before you come to Tech you hear of Pa, but doubt him; while you are here at Tech you know him and ‘cuss’ him; and after you leave Tech you think of him and admire him.” This is the description which a Civil gives as best fitting the man who moulded out the course at the Institute, which makes or breaks students in their mad rush to become engineers in the short course of four years. “Pa” is an all-around engineer and his common sense and judgment have had their influence in directing engin¬ eering projects from the Arctics to the Equator. rczr: 19

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WALTER LOUIS JENNINGS Professor of Organic Chemistry A. B., Harvard, 1889; A. M., 1890, and Ph. D., 1892; Assistant in Chemistry, Harvard, 1890-92; Parker Fellow at University of Berlin, 1893-94; Assistant Professor of Chemistry, W. P. I., 1894-99; Professor of Organic Chemistry, 1900- If there is any one of Dr. Jennings’ many nicknames which fits him better than the others, it is “the Kaiser.” One does not have to be long in the Chemistry Depart¬ ment to learn who is in authority there. Although Dr. Jennings bears the responsibilities of the head of the de¬ partment, there is no one who takes a more personal in¬ terest in the men under him. In the laboratory he is always free with criticism and ready with suggestions, trying to develop in the men a degree of accuracy and deftness of manipulation such as he himself possesses. By those outside the department. Dr. Jennings will be longest remembered for his hobbies for bicycle riding and tennis playing, but by those who have studied under him, “Beiley” will be remembered for his interesting lectures, his personal interest in the men and for being a good mixer at Chem. Club meetings, on the New York trip, and at the dinner, at which he entertained so royally. ALEXANDER WILMER DUFF Professor of Physics B. A., University of New Brunswick, 1884, and University of London, 1887; M. A., University of Edinburgh, 1888, B. Sc., 1892, and D. Sc., 1901; Professor of Physics, University of Madras, 1889-90; University of New Brunswick, 1890-93; Purdue, 1893-99; W. P. I., 1899- . It will probably never be known whether Dr. Duff went abroad in our Sophomore year in order to escape the terrors of teaching Physics to 1916, or to be in Ger¬ many when the cannon-balls commenced to soar, that he might measure their gravitational constant. At any rate he left us and studied for awhile at the University of Berlin, from which place he returned to the U. S. with difficulty at the outbreak of hostilities. Dr. Duff is revered by the students as an instructor of Physics, and they honor him for his many achieve¬ ments in that science—not the least among which is his book now used as a textbook by many colleges. 18

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ORIE WILLIAM LONG Professor of Modern Languages A. B., Centre College, 1903; A. M., Harvard, 1911, and Ph. D., 1913; Professor of Modern Languages, Add-Ran College, 1906- 10; Instructor in German, M. I. T., 1912-13; Professor of Modern Languages, W. P. I., 1913- We came to know “Doc” as sophomores, when he arrived at the Institute as head of the Modern Languages Department and started to take the kinks out of the Lrench and German courses. That first semester showed us that our new member of the faculty was indeed a man of action, and it required hours of extra plugging to even “hang on,” as we sometimes expressed a bare 60 per cent. In these three years, however, we have become acquainted with “Doc” as well, if not better, than most of the members of the faculty, and we predict that his in¬ fluence at Tech, not only with the undergraduates, but also with the alumni, will see our Alma Mater ranking high in college athletics in a very few years. ALTON LINCOLN SMITH Professor of Drawing and Machine Design B. S., W. P. I., 1890, and M. S., 1899; Assistant in Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, W. P. I., 1890-91 ; Instructor in Mechanical Drawing, 1891-1900; Assistant Professor of Draw¬ ing and Machine Design, 1900-06; Professor, 1906- Some of us made the acquaintance of “Ding” in our Lreshman year when we were summoned to his office on “errands of mercy,” and we found that beneath that mask of severity lay a sympathetic heart, one that could understand all the trials and tribulations of a Tech man, since he had been through the mill himself. His “Technical Sketching” helped us over the sharp places in Mechanical and Lreehand Drawing, and later his lucid descriptions of the most intricate of double-back, triple-action mechanisms, elliptical gears and quick-return motions made a really interesting course out of Kine¬ matics. His ability as a designer of machinery is known far and wide, but the best expression of it was given by a Senior Mechanic: “If you describe a mechanism to ‘Ding’ and he hasn’t ever heard of it, it’s a cinch there ain’t no such thing.” 20