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Show FRATERNITY HONORS LOCAL LEADERS BY MARY ROYAL /STAFF WRITER A group of Sigma Chi fraternity members donned their best suits and ties for a night recognizing influential local and state officials on Wednesday. The prominent leaders from Utah included Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, Utah Supreme Court Justice Constandinos Himonas and Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams. Chris Coombs, president of Sigma Chi fraternity, said the event inspired fraternity members to be better leaders and to show appreciation for the local community. "We wanted to learn from their experiences as well as honor them for being positive role models," he said. Becker spoke about the sense of enjoyment he has received from serving Salt Lake City. "The chance to help change a community in a way that meets the aspirations of the people you serve is a huge honor': he said. Michael Zoumadakis, a sophomore in business and pre-medicine, said the event encouraged him. "There is not a better way to learn than to listen to some of the community's best leaders': he said. m.royal@chronicle.utah.edu @mary_royal U PISTOL TEAM HITS ITS MARK BY KYLEE EHMANN /STAFF WRITER PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN D RICKARD t's not often a sports team wins with an actual bang, but the U's Pistol Team did just that. The team brought home several wins from the National Inter-Collegiate Pistol Championships in March, winning four events — two individual and two national — against shooting powerhouses such as MIT. They met with U President David Pershing to celebrate their victories on Monday. Matt DeLong, the team's coach, started the team in 1994 in partnership with the U. Since then, the team has become one of the best pistol teams in the country. "I don't do this to win national championships': DeLong said. "Time spent on the collegiate team more than pays for itself through academics. Shooting is all about focus, selfcontrol, mental discipline and training your conscious brain to not interfere with perfectly simple activities:" Alexis Lagan, a senior in physics, joined her freshman year and is now the president of the team. "I shoot anywhere from 10 to 30 hours a week on the range': she said. "It not only helps with your focus and your concentration, but it also helps with time management:' Lagan said prior to joining the team she had only done plinking — shooting at informal targets, such as tin cans or glass bottles — when she was younger. She won the women's aggregate award this year for the second time, and she is going to the World Collegiate Championships in South Korea, as well as a World Cup event in May to try out for the Olympics. "Through the coaching staff and the support that you receive, you definitely feel like you have the strength to continue through whatever may come and become a nationally ranked shooter': she said. "You don't have to be just limited to a collegiate career." Pistol teams are rare on college campuses, especially on the West coast. The only other school in the Pac-12 with a team is Oregon State. DeLong said people have a misconception that the U U ALUMNI RECEIVE HONORARY DEGREES hree U alumni will be given an honorary degree at this year's graduation commencement to recognize the achievements they made in their respective fields. "We had an impressive pool of candidates ... and we are proud to present them with the institution's highest honor," Julie Barrett, the Board of Trustees honors committee chair, said in a statement announcing the honorary degrees. The three individuals are, Anne Cullimore Decker, Henry B. Eyring and Mark Fuller. Anne Cullimore Decker, known for her work as a professional actress in television, opera and theatre, graduated from the U in 1957 with a bachelor's degree in speech communication and later received a Master of Fine Arts in theatre in 1982. She I spent several years as a faculty member at the U and served on the board for PioneerTheater Company. She was also the chair of the Utah Arts Council and the vice president of the U's Alumni Association. She will receive a Doctor of Fine Arts. Henry B. Eyring is an influential member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is currently serving as the first counselor to the presidency of the church. Last year, he was asked to speak at an interfaith colloquium at the Vatican. Eyring, along with many members of his family received his bachelor's degree from the U. After graduating, Eyring continued his education at Harvard University. He will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters. Mark Fuller is the CEO of WET, the current industry leader behind water and fire based designs. His work can be seen all over the world, from fountains in Dubai to the ones at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. Fuller received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the U and completed his master's in engineering at Stanford University. He will receive a Doctor of Engineering. Emily Van Allen, a senior in urban ecology, said she looks forward to hearing more about each of the honorary award recipients at the ceremony on May 7. "I think it is cool that all three of them are alumni of the U',' she said. "It shows that graduates of the U go out into the community after graduation and really make a difference:' m.royal@chronicle.utah.edu @mary_royal Anne Cullimore Decker PHOTO COURTESY OF DEBRA MACFARLANE STUDIO Henry B. Eyring PHOTO COURTESY OF INTELLECTUAL RESERVE, INC. Mark Fuller PHOTO COURTESY OF WET BY MARY ROYAL /STAFF WRITER is anti-guns. "The team's always been supported by the administration," he said. "Specifically, whenever they were having the big brouhaha about concealed carry on campus — that was irrelevant to the team." The team has about eight to 10 students involved on average. Members typically are majoring in physics and engineering. The group does not receive financial aid from the U, and ASUU has a provision that bans spending money on ammunition, so they rely on donations and membership fees. Tryouts for the team are next Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5 p.m. in the basement of the Naval Science Building. DeLong said students don't need to bring anything, but they're welcome to pack their own eye and ear protection. Anyone is free to come. k.ehmann@chronicle.utah.edu @Ehmannky U JOINS THE FIGHT AGAINST CYBER CRIME BY CAROLYN WEBBER /STAFF WRITER PHOTO COURTESY OF U OF U COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING A s weapon technology advances each year, the United States Department of Defense must prepare to face the next generation of attacks — and it's not from guns. Rather, it's over the Internet. For the past 20 years, cyber attacks have steadily increased and pose a serious threat to the U.S. For that reason, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is funding research on these attacks at 10 universities, including the U. Matt Might, professor in the U's School of Computing, said the agency gave the university $3 million for this. Cyber attacks occur when someone deliberately infiltrates a computer network or system, gaining access to information such as plans for the military or combat data. "Anything that you can imagine that has a benefit to an enemy on the battlefield is getting stolen," Might said. 4 { THECHRONY I NEWS I OPINION I ARTS I SPORTS I FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2015 } He also said cyber attacks cost the U.S. half a trillion dollars each year. Countries like China and Russia can cause massive economic harm to the U.S. "If we don't anticipate the next generation of attacks now then that problem will continue to get worse," Might said. "We have to stay ahead." Suresh Venkatasubramanian, another professor in the U's School of Computing, is also working on the team researching cyber attacks with Might. The 10 universities looking into the security problem are divided into teams, with some creating software hacking programs and others trying to resist the attacks. The groups will work for four years on the issue and continue to receive more funding as long as they're still developing potential solutions. "An attack is not just an attack on code; it's a murder weapon," he said. While Venkatasubramanian has seen a growth in cyber attacks, he said this research initiative is nothing sudden or desperate from the U.S. Department of Defense. "It's an ongoing battle — the arms race against the attackers," he said. Since the rise of the Internet, people have worried about cyber attacks, and academic t_ ....7111Mr7Kir institutions are often utilized to solve similar problems. What makes the U stand out are its strengths in algorithm analysis and expertise in machines. c.webber@chronicle.utah.edu @carolyn_webber 5 |