Show 20— The Herald Journal Logan Utah Sunday March 30 1986 Slide Rules from Computers slide rules are now tool T® Once a engineers couldn't get along without By Barbara Stinson Lee correspondent dinner the big event of the year for engineering students I was dating Pat when I went to my first Slide Rule dinner so I took her I remember I didn’t win anything that Fifteen years ago you could tell engineerthe long slender leather pouches hanging from their belts They had a lot of respect for those leather pouches but more for the items inside — their precious slide rules Slide-rul- e people had their own culture instruments They lived for those ruler-lik- e depending on them for logarithmic and antilogarithmic scales Their status symbols the instruments of their trade went back a good many years The slide rule was invented by English mathematician and inventor William Aughtred in 1575 Now engineers and mathematicians alike d to find their old slide rules are usually stashed away in a drawer someing students by year “There was also a huge slide rule hanging over the front door of the engineering college (at the University of Detroit)" he was no doubt it played a large part in said-“Ther- our education I doubt if they’re even mentioned in most colleges today” Werling said the slide rule was for the most part accurate in its calculations but it wasn't as accurate as even the most archaic of small calculators and computers emerging on the market during the 1960s and 1970s “Technical knowledge always does away with tradition" Werling said “And the slide rule was a tradition It went the way of the dinosaur as our technology became more hard-presse- where having given way to pocket calculators and more recently the computer They are still as accurate as could be expected for their times though usually a little dusty and cracked “Slide rules are relics now" said Joe Elich professor of mathematics at Utah State University after being asked to produce his “I don’t think I've seen mine since sometime in the 1970s" years than we have from the beginning of time up to those last 20 years" he said Technology calculated more accurately than the slide rule and it did it faster “Back in the 1950s professors complained that they couldn’t give thorough exams to the students because time didn't allow for students to complete a test (using a slide rule)” he said “With calculators and computers the problems took much less 20 According to Dick Werling an engineer for the purchase of a slide rule was no small matter when he was going to school at th University of Detroit 32 years ago “Buying a slide rule was the biggest investment an engineering student made” Werling said “They cost about S20 Of course you have to remember that most textbooks only cost about $7 or 88 dollars in those days" The slide rule was the ultimate symbol of the engineering field and Werling and his wife Pat remember that symbol as an element even of their social life “Every year the school had an annual Slide Rule dinner" he said “It was an awards Morton-Thiok- ol antiques time" Werling still has his old slide rule Though he hasn't picked it up in 15 years he handles it like he uses it every day hiding it back and forth demonstrating its features on a “simple" academic problem determining the angle of twist on a tortion bar With a slide rule in one hand and a calculator in the other Werling quickly pointed out the old relic’s shortcomings “The slide rule was much more awkward" he said as he juggled it to write down his figures “and of course you still hud to use pencil and paper Also the slide rule doesn't add or subtract or give decimals (Using a slide rule) we still have to figure decimals in our heads rounding it out to ’roughly' this or 'somewhere around’ that Our calculations were only as good as our assumptions But still a lot of our first airplanes were built calculations" using slide-rul- e What took Werling five minutes on a hand calculator took half an hour on a slide rule “The early monaural calculators were slow but accurate even when all they did was add and subtract” he said “The personal computers and calculators we use now do everything and more We now have computers that do finite element analysis" Business and Women According to Werling engineering students are encouraged to buy their own personal computers now or at least hand-hel- d calculators “Still you have to know what you're putting into it” he said “Garbage in — garbage out" While Werling treats his old slide rule with affection he doesn’t miss it in his everyday use of the calculators and computers now available to him “It died a natural death” he said “The only time I miss it is when we have a power failure or 1 have to buy batteries" WEATHER SHIELD MFG INC Craftsmanship - Quality Innovation - Coast to Coast Corporations are supporting affirmative action - NEW YORK (UFI) working for a Dayton When Susan Boren was Ohio bank in 1975 the management asked her to bring a letter from her husband giving her permission to travel i While confident that such an incident would not occur today Boren said the request brought it home to her how much remained to be done to change corporate attitudes toward women as managers “Just to protect their profit margins corporations must address issues important to working women" says Felice Schwartz president of Catalyst a group helping fit companies to develop women's leadership capabilities According to Catalyst only one of the top i000 United States corporations — The Washington Post — has a woman as chief executive officer But the organization says women now at levels are entry- - and pushing toward top corporate positions ! middle-manageme- nt Women currently represent almost half the nation’s law students a third of its MBA candidates and 15 percent of its developing engineers They comprise half the country’s accounting students “Women’s liberation from the home was one crucial stage but by itself not enough" said Felice Schwartz president of Catalyst “The task that lies ahead is facilitating the enormous change that has been put in motion" “Affirmative action and equal opportunity programs give corporations a competitive edge” said Janice Stoney who as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Northwestern Bell Telephone Co was one of several women Catalyst honored recently for leadership and contributions to their companies' earnings in the July “Especially for a firm with as varied a group of customers as a telephone company's a diverse workforce — including women and minorities — provides an inside track to the marketplace” Stoney said Other Catalyst honorees agreed “A national retailer needs all perspectives to help it deal in all its markets" said Susan Boren now a vice president in Minneapolis of n Corp “If we didn’t take advantage of the women in the workforce we would be a step behind" said Carole Evans vice president in charge of US Field Operations at Combustion Engineering-Taylo- r Instruments in Rochester NY Dayton-Hudso- While affirmative action programs are themselves important they need the commitment of senior management Catalyst says n Boren said at the ability to create a diverse working group is evaluated in terms of a senior manager’s compensation Dayton-Hudso- She said a recent outstanding achievement n award gave her for her role in and developing promoting younger employees signaled a broadening of corporate attitudes and showed that her company valued a humanistic contribution as much as it appreciated achievements in such areas as consumer credit or relations with the financial community “I can’t emphasize too much that affirmative action and equal opportunity employment has to start at the top" said Northwestern Bell’s Stoney adding that that dynamic really applies to all corporate change “Affirmative action needs to become part of the fabric of a business so that it becomes a way of life as opposed to a separate consideration” Stoney said “It’s not just a personnel issue Dayton-Hudso- anymore" ’60S This is the month when our thoughts go out to the valiant country svr''e for their PMilii MCM XUSNMU e him i— ms 71MI1-III- 1 NarikCvathaHvWia Chariot A North Carolina — u— — Hyd fori Mowoditialh imm ssnisii N WaaAarShiaM at Canada 204J37 5M For ovor a quarter ot a century wearner shield has been manufacturing wood windows and steel entry systems that have helped build a strong America Our continued success is based on the premise that the construction industry demands products that are built with skill and craftmanShip products that are tested for quality in both the laboratory and at field testing sitesproducts that are innovative in design and performance to meet tne needs of a highly sophisticated marketplace Each and every time you use a Weather Shield product you can feel confident that it is the very best it con be It nos to be or it shouldn't be Weather Shield Weather Shield Mfg Inc is one of the nations largest 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entrance systems are available in hundreds of styles sizes and options that enable you to choose a product that best fits your needs Weather Shield wood windows and doors the beautiful way to save energy! 19 1967 se icemen in Vietnam If we wait until December 25 to wish them a happy Christmas it will be too late to have any meaning Every generous-hearte- d person in Cache Valley may make his own holiday a truly wonderful Christmas knowing that a friend in a war-tor- n country has received a package from home Just send whatever you can spare to the local Red Cross chapter at 561 North Main or to the public library and your contribution will help to buy the gift bags going out September 1 Lt James LundahL son of Mr and Mrs Ezra Lundahl is one of our young men who has served in Vietnam He was there last year and saw how the Red Cross made Christmas a merry occasion for al lthe men in his company With a program and a bag of gifts for every one the young women in the Red Cross were able to prove to the guests that the friends and relatives at home were remembering them with love and appreciation for their 1 Catniadc fchcplactoshapFar nUTOflflOBIIES You’ll find an unusual selection of new and used cars in our Classified columns 6 When you specify a Weather Shield wood window you are selecting a quality product made with care and craftsmanship Weather Shield has always refused to accept industry standards as being "good enough" That's why our entire product line from Angle Bays to Casements are built with pride using only the best quality materials and production methods So if you make a personal statement with each of your projects make it positive make it Weather Shield Come to Weather Shield We have the answers AH Wtmlkrr Simurbrnm No matter what the need Classified has something for everyone! 752-212- 1 Ahtmyt! 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