Thursday, February 12, 2004

by Lauren Janowitz
Gazette Reporter

Swarthmore engineering professor Carr Everbach has been appearing in
newspapers all over the country this past week, in conjunction with his
work on the science center windows.

Daily Gazette: How did you get involved with these windows?

Carr Everbach: I’m a member of the college’s Green Team, which was
designed to make the science center more environmentally friendly. Back
in 2000, after the plan for the science center was released, we heard a
lecture from Daniel Klem, an ornithologist. Through research he had
done, he calculated that about a billion birds die each year from
flying into windows. After natural causes, that’s the leading cause of
bird death, by far.

Since we had planned on using so many windows in the science center,
we knew that we had to do something to prevent this. We initially
looked into putting up nets, but ran into too many problems there:
leaves and snow would get caught in them, plus the worry that some bird
would get caught and hang itself where everyone could see.

We then decided to try to use a different type of window. Daniel had
proposed a type of “Klem-glass”-a glass that would appear opaque to
bird, so they wouldn’t fly into it, but still look normal to humans.
That type of glass doesn’t exist, but we decided to make our own type
of Klem-glass.

DG: How does it work?

CE: Daniel discovered that if he put horizontal stripes on glass,
bird wouldn’t try to fly through if the stripes were less than four
inches apart. Similarly with vertical stripes, birds would avoid the
glass if the stripes were less than two inches apart. We found a glass
maker who could put different patterns on glass, so we decided to try a
variety of patterns: stripes, big dots, little dots. We ran some tests
with each of the patterns in Kohlberg to see which pattern people liked
the best, which was the smallest set of dots.

DG: Are these dots going to cover all the science center windows?

CE: We’re leaving the dots off the lower level windows, the ones at
eye level where birds don’t really fly anyways. But the dot patterns
will be on numerous windows at higher elevations. Also, to detect how
well the windows are working, I’m developing a sort of “thump sensor”-a
webcam that will activate whenever a bird hits a window. We’re going to
take data on these windows over the next ten or so years to try and
learn more about this problem.

DG: So tell me about this article you were in.

CE: About two weeks ago, an AP reporter from Philadelphia caught
wind of the work Daniel and I had done with these windows and thought
it would make an interesting story. I was interviewed, and a
photographer came out to take a few pictures of me with the science
center. The story was sent out on the AP newswire and initially picked
up last Tuesday by about 110 papers. The following day, even more
carried the story-papers like CNN, USA Today, the LA Times. I’ve
received over 100 emails, the majority of them positive.

DG: What do you hope for the future regarding these windows?

CE: Hopefully glass manufacturer’s will see a demand for this type
of glass and start making it for the public-I know many people would
pay a few dollars more for glass if they know it will prevent bird
deaths.

DG: Now a few random questions: favorite movie?

CE: “The Return of the King.”

DG: Favorite hobby?

CE: Bicycling.

DG: And favorite food?

CE: Coffee cheesecake.

*****

* Today, scientists in South Korea announced they have created human
embryos through cloning and extracted embryonic stem cells. The use of
stem cells in this research is likely to reignite debates concerning
stem cell research and the controversy surrounding cloning. The paper
detailing the work of Dr. Woo Suk Hwang and Dr. Shin Yong Moon of Seoul
National University has been published today in the journal Science.
Researchers are impressed with these findings; Dr. Richard Rawlins, an
embryologist who is director of the assisted reproduction laboratories
at Rush University Medical Center, stated, “My reaction is, basically,
Wow. It’s a landmark paper.” However, opponents of cloning have already
begun their attack – Dr. Leon R. Kass, chairman of the President’s
Council on Bioethics, wrote to the NY Times in an email, “The age of
human cloning has apparently arrived: today, cloned blastocysts for
research, tomorrow cloned blastocysts for babymaking. In my opinion,
and that of the majority of the Council, the only way to prevent this
from happening here is for Congress to enact a comprehensive ban or
moratorium on all human cloning.” Dr. Hwang and Dr. Moon, however,
claim that their goal in researching embryo cloning was to further the
understanding of the causes and treatment of diseases, not to clone
humans.

* Retired US general Wesley Clark announced that he has withdrawn
from the race for Democratic presidential candidate. Clark cited lack
of voter support and funds as reasons for discontinuing in the contest.
Senator John Kerry currently holds the lead, having won 12 of the 14
contested states. Kerry reacted to Clark’s announcement with praise for
Clark and his campaign, “General Clark ran a campaign that he and his
family should be proud of. He reminded Democrats of the importance of
national security as we face a wartime president who has run a reckless
foreign policy.”

* NASA has declined to give the Hubble a final reprieve. New rules
implemented, due to the loss of the Columbia space shuttle last year,
do not allow astronauts to visit the Hubble. If it is not serviced, the
Hubble will last only a few more years. There has been a lot of
criticism surrounding NASA’s decision, and those involved in the
decision-making process are sad to see the Hubble’s demise. Responding
to critics, Ed Weiler, NASA’s head of space science, said, “There is
life beyond Hubble, as much as I hate to admit that.”

*****

Study Abroad Meeting: Bard College Programs, International Human Rights
Program (Cape Town), Programs in Hungary and Russia
Call Rosa Bernard, x7826, for an appointment

Living Wage Report Meetings: Staff
LPAC, 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Scott Arboretum Lunchtime Lecture
Scheuer Room, 12:00 p.m.

“Decentering Rome”: Benjamin West Lecture by Stephen J. Campbell
LPAC, 4:30 p.m.

Linguistics Department Party
Bond, 6:00 p.m.

Infosys Technologies Information Session (Career Services)
Scheuer Room, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday Night Peace Forum: Women Witnessing for Peace
Friends Meeting House, 7:30 p.m.

SPC Movie and Munchies
Science Center 101, 7:30 p.m.

*****

In the article on SAC bylaws, “College Dems strapped for cash; SAC
bylaw revision being considered,” in last Friday’s Gazette, it was
incorrectly stated that the debate on the rule change was sparked by
the inability of the College Democrats to obtain funding for their
recent study break. In fact, the issue was already being discussed by
Student Council members, and this incident was simply a concrete
example of the preexisting concern. Additionally, SAC Co-Director
Kristina Pao’s name was spelled incorrectly.

In the coverage of Dr. Diana Buttu’s talk that appeared in Tuesday’s
Gazette it was stated that the individual who referenced the presence
of public safety prior to the beginning of the question and answer
period, Anna Perng ’03, was a representative of SATO, Students Against
the Occupation. Perng, however, was serving only as moderator for the
lecture and was not representing SATO.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

The men’s basketball team was victorious last night at Muhlenberg
68-65. This victory gives the Garnet a 3 game win streak and an
impressive 6-2 record overall and in the conference since January 17th.
On an even more significant note, Swarthmore’s defeat of Muhlenberg,
along with Gettysburg’s 75-74 loss to Ursinus, propelled our hometown
Tide into a tie for 4th place in the Centennial Conference. A fourth
place finish in the conference will qualify the Garnet for the
playoffs, but there are still four crucial conference games left in the
season.

In last night’s action, Jim Dalton ’06 scored the Garnet’s final 9
points, which was enough to help them come up with the 3 point victory.
Matt Gustafson ’05 led the scoring with 19 points, while Jeff Maxim ’07
scored 15, and Dalton had 12. Co-captains Chris Loeffler ’04 and Jacob
Letendre ’04 also put up big numbers with 9 rebounds and 10 assists
respectively.

The Garnet, now 11-10 and 8-6 in the conference, return to action at
2:00 p.m. on Saturday in a key conference match-up at Tarble Pavilion.

*****

The men’s swim team added a solid 127-76 victory over Washington
last night in its last conference match of the regular season. The Tide
end the season with a 4-6 record (3-3 in the CC). Individual results
were not available at the time of publication.

*****

The women’s swimming team fell to Washington last night by a score
of 123-83. With this loss, the Garnet’s record drops to 6-4 and 3-4 in
the Centennial Conference. Individual results were not available at the
time of publication.

*****

Today:
Women’s Basketball hosts Bryn Mawr, 7:00 p.m.

Tomorrow:
There are no contests scheduled for tomorrow.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“A man who is ‘of sound mind’ is one who keeps the inner madman
under lock and key.”
–Paul Valery

*****

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