PSU Magazine Spring 1998

increa e the number of female and minority students in the field. Tektronix continue to upport the school. It has donated more than $2 million in equ ipment through the years. he gifts are part of a major shift in the atti– tudes of big companie toward PSU's program-tradition– ally dismissed as "small and fai rly new," Dryden says. "They understand how much potential we have to erve their needs." Civil engineering has acquired, through grants and industry donations, new equipment for testing the effect of earthquakes. The $160,000 "shake table," part of a new STAR (Seismic Testing & Applied Research) lab, will test tructures to see if they meet seis– mic standards. P U i playing a vital ro le in a new Performance Center. A joint venture between the Oregon University ystem and the engineering schools of P U and Oregon State University, the center works with organizations, government agencies, and companie to help make them smarter and more efficient. An ambitious project with big clients like the U. . Po ta! Service and "multimillion-dollar leve ls of 12 PSU MAGAZINE SPRING 1998 research," the center allow teams of faculty and students to work together, tackling problems and devi ing real olutions, according to Dryden. "For students to work clo ely with companie like this, it's excellent for their future employment," Dryden ays. "It's al o a great way for PSU to enhance its image." The center should be self-sufficient within three years, through member– hip dues and fees for their work on projects, he says. Individuals and businesses, includ– ing LSI Logic and Janzten Corporation, have endowed 10 new scholarships for the engineering school. While impressive, these are only ome of the developments in the University's engineering program, which has ought to build ever closer ties to industry leader , other schools and program , alumni and potential tudent. Reaching out to alumni , the school ha tarted a newsletter and created a 24-member Adv i ory Board, as well as an Academy of Distingui hed Engineering Alumni, which recognizes the success of alumni in their fields and their contributions to PSU and the community. Forging closer link with the busi– ness community, the school i repre– sented at trade shows, hosts conferences, and recently joined MECOP (Multiple-Engineering Co-op Program), an industry-run internship program. Recruiting students remains a top priority for the school, according to Sally Cross, development director. The departments send teacher out to high chool cla sroom and community colleges, seek out potential student on a one-to-one ba i , attend conferences and sponsor contests, like the "Mouse Trap-Powered Car Conte t," the "Egg Drop Contest," and the "Fruit Battery Conte t." f one phra e sum up all these efforts, it's "making connections," accord ing to Dryden. Interv iewed on a gray winter day, as he is about to dash off to yet another conference to set up yet another infor– mation table for his school, Dryden is brimming with energy. "The more the community know who we are and how we work and what we're doing, the better we'll be ab le to meet their need and the more they're go ing to upport u ," he ays. D (Jack Yost MA '71, a Portland writer and filmmaker, wrote the article "Picture This," which appeared in the winter 1998 PSU Magazine.) PHOTO BY BRIAN WHITE