---

Engineers utilize skills in Bolivia

By Jillian Clair / STAFF REPORTER | February 11

Several Auburn engineering students will travel to Quesimpuco, Bolivia, this August to assess the technological needs of the community.The trip will begin a five-year partnership between the newly formed Auburn chapter of Engineers Without Borders and Servants in Faith and Technology which will serve the community of Quesimpuco exclusively.A meeting was held Feb.

Literature course keeps civil rights fight alive

By Maxwell Newfield / ASSOCIATE CAMPUS EDITOR | February 11

Some students worry upper level courses may focus on incredibly specific subjects, but one 4000-level course in the English department allows students to work on their critical thinking and writing skills, all the while making sure everything relates back to a critical time in American History.The class is Special Topics in African-American Literature: The Fight for Civil Rights in African American Literature and Culture, and it is taught by Susana Morris."Students are going to read a diverse set of readings from authors from the'50s, '60s and '70s," Morris said.

Plane wing creates horizontal tornado

By Drew Thompson / ASSISTANT CAMPUS EDITOR | February 11

Aerospace takes the fierce air speeds of a tornado, or vortex, and tames the tornadic winds by creating the cyclic phenomena in water.Manjul Gupta, graduate student in aerospace engineering, is able to use the dense quality of water to create a vortex in water at a speed of only .2 meters per second.The vortex is created by the turbulence off the tip of a small-scale airplane wing pitched at four degrees from the natural flow plane.A pitch of four degrees would allow a normal airplane to slowly climb higher, called its angle of attack.There has to be an angle of attack to form a vortex, Gupta said.Gupta uses a wing that is four inches wide.The width of the wing is the chord length of the wing."I am trying to simulate a real aircraft," Gupta said.

Homes left abandoned, leaving modern ruins

By Nicole Emmett / WRITER | February 11

Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art presented an exhibition by Brooklyn based photographer Chris Mottalini on Saturday, which details the existence of modern ruins throughout the country."After You Left, They Took It Apart" is comprised of 21 photographs detailing the downfall of three modern houses in Rhode Island, Florida and Connecticut.The demolished homes were built by Paul Rudolph, Auburn alumnus and skilled architect known for his linear, perpendicular designs."We are showing a small selection of works of a larger group of photographs that he has done," said Dennis Harper, curator of collections and exhibitions at JCSM.Harper said the gallery, available until April 17, shows contradictory connotations, as older architecture is expected to collapse.Seven photographs of each house show different views of the damage, starting with a wide view of a mansion in seemingly great condition."The last photographs show the extent of the interior damage to the home, which is surprising," said Andrew Henley, education curator at JCSM.Mottalini came across the subject matter by chance when he was asked to photograph an abandoned 4,200 square-foot house in Westport, Conn., on the eve of its destruction in 2006."That photo compelled him to follow this line of investigation," Harper said.The Micheels House was the first of more than 100 Rudolph houses photographed by Mottalini and is one of three on display in Auburn.Henley said it is important to observe the kinds of mansions that are being left to fall apart."The architectural style of the houses fell out of favor as people opted for more marketable, bigger mansions," Henley said.Another house, The Cerrito House, was destroyed during a planned relocation from Watch Hill, R.I., to New York in 2007."The restoration costs would have been in the millions," Henley said.

Art students personalize Valentine's Day cards

By Jillian Clair / STAFF REPORTER | February 11

Promoting art in Auburn is as easy as buying a Valentine's Day card, and it doesn't require as much effort as driving to Hallmark.The art department's student organization, Association of Visual Artists, is hosting the third annual "Art for the Heart" Valentine's Day card sale tomorrow from 11 a.m.

Loaded Words Pack Punch

By Brian Desarro / ASSISTANT INTRIGUE EDITOR | February 11

There once was a time when a fag was a fag, a bitch was a bitch and the word cunt was simply an anatomical expression.In recent years, however, loaded words like these have picked up new meanings, transforming them into hurtful insults."Words have a great deal of power; they can bring joy, cause damage and inflict pain," said Barbara Baker, director of the Women's Leadership Institute.

Documentary draws large crowd at student center

By Jennifer Beckett / WRITER | February 5

Students celebrated the beginning of Black History Month with food, friends and a film in the student center Thursday night.Narrated and produced by Reggie Bullock, the 25-minute documentary "A War for Your Soul" showed the obstacles that black and white people have overcome since the days of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.

Pianist charms judges in pageant

By Chelsea Harvey / WRITER | February 4

The Miss Auburn University Scholarship Pageant began with a curtain rising over the Student Activities Center stage to reveal Miss Auburn University 2009 accompanied by 13 contestants vying for the 2010 title.

Females Take Over Theater

By Michelle Teslik / WRITER | February 4

A shortage in male actors has left the next Auburn theater production solely to the ladies.Monica Bland, senior in stage management and director of "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing," adapted the play herself from Judy Blume's book."I sat down last Christmas and turned it into a play," Bland said.

Auburn professor's life, struggle inspire

By Rod Guajardo/ MANAGING EDITOR | February 4

The bases are loaded in the final game in the College of Business softball league. The score is 13-2 as the 9th inning arrives.The batter steps up to the plate and hits a ball deep into left field.

Robo Camp Seeks Future Engineers

By Maxwell Newfield / ASSOCIATE CAMPUS EDITOR | February 4

Some children use Legos to create windmills or landscapes, but the children who gathered in the Shelby Center Jan.

Small steps for Haiti

By Maxwell Newfield / ASSOCIATE CAMPUS EDITOR | February 4

The Auburn chapter of Omega Psi Phi has stepped up to do whatever it can to help the island nation of Haiti after the 7.0 earth-quake last week.For its main fundraising effort, the brothers of Omega Psi Phi hosted a step show and T-shirt sale in the Student Center Friday, Jan.

A Meal for Haiti Gathers Money To Support Victims in Haiti

By Crystal Cole / STAFF WRITER | February 4

Auburn students helped the victims of the Haiti earthquake by doing what they do best: eating.A Meal to Heal for Haiti, last Monday night in the Student Center Ballroom, fed approximately 1,500 people in four hours.The price for a meal was $5, but attendees were encouraged to donate as much as they could.Pannie-George's Kitchen, a restaurant on South College Street in the shopping center next to McDonald's, provided the food for the meal.Mary Counts, co-owner of Pannie-George's, said she felt honored to be asked to participate in the fundraiser."The support that everyone's shown to be able to come together and help is just wonderful," Counts said.

Auburn Hygiene Drive for Haiti calls Auburn community to gather hygienic supplies

By Anna Schierholz / WRITER | February 4

The Auburn community can now donate something tangible to aid in the relief of Haitians after an earthquake devastated their nation Jan.

Auburn University turns roads green

By Drew Thompson / ASSISTANT CAMPUS EDITOR | February 4

Reclaimed asphalt pavement, RAP, is one of many recycled materials tested at the National Center for Asphalt Technology at Auburn University."The NCAT and its unique programs represent the best in cutting-edge technologies in the field of asphalt research and education," said Jim Killian, director of communications and marketing for Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.

Lab turns trash to gas

By Drew Thompson / ASSISTANT CAMPUS EDITOR | February 4

Auburn University is constructing a gasification unit off of South Donahue Drive that will take farming feedstock and produce fuel, high-value chemicals and electrical power."Our goal is to create a unique pilot-scale facility that will enable our faculty to be leaders in the science of using gasification to convert biomass resources into liquid fuels, high-value chemicals and electrical power," said Steven Taylor, professor and head of bio-systems engineering and director of the Center for Bio-energy and Bio-products.When the unit is finished, it will be the best biomass gasification unit in the Southern U.S., Taylor said."This laboratory will allow us to develop improved methods for creating synthesis gas from biomass," Taylor said.Biomass is separated into categories.Forest biomass comes from places such as pine plantations or logging operations that contain residue from harvesting pulpwood or saw timber.Agricultural biomass includes materials such as switch grass, peanut hulls, pecan shells and poultry litter.Sushil Adhikari, assistant professor in bio-energy, will be conducting research for the gasification unit at the Auburn University Center for Bio-energy and Bio-products."I will be involved in research to understand the effect of temperatures, pressures and biomass feed-stocks such as pine wood and switch grass," Adhikari said.Dave Mills, manager of the bio-energy and bio-products laboratory, has been working in the lab for over a year and a half."We are going to be gasifying multiple feed-stocks, agricultural waste and forest waste to produce liquid fuels from the gas," Mills said.The gasification unit is designed for research, not for commercial sale operation, Taylor said."The system will consume over 100 pounds of biomass per hour and produce as much as 40 cubic feet per minute of synthesis gas," Taylor said.Adhikari will be researching the synthesis gas."Syngas, or synthesis gas, is a mixture of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane," Adhikari said.The syngas will be studied for its energy content and its cleanliness."Our primary focus is on the processes needed to make these fuels and their overall quality," Taylor said.

Lunch and Learn teaches students diversity, acceptance

By Maxwell Newfield / ASSOCIATE CAMPUS EDITOR | February 4

The Multicultural Center has combined two common college student activities, eating and learning, into one activity, the Lunch and Learn series."It's a program that has been done a little bit in the past, but we wanted to make it more consistent this semester and to try and continue it kind of as a signature program for the Multicultural Center," said Shakeer Abdullah, director of the Multicultural Center.

Doc Waller brings his love for art to Auburn

By Ellison Langford / News Editor | February 4

He realized the NBA wasn't likely to start knocking down the door of a "toothpick" so he turned to art."One day I was this big basketball guy and next day I was this nerdy arts (kid)," said Doc Waller of his transition in high school.