Students at the U now have another option when choosing a major or minor. The department of languages and literature recently announced the implementation of a comparative literacy and cultural studies major and minor. The major and minor are designed to develop skills in critical and cross-cultural thinking and communicating.
As a little girl, Carole Fink was fascinated by the stories told by her grandmother, Rose Zauzmer, a Polish immigrant. "The wonderful stories I heard from my grandmother inspired me to want to learn more about the past," Fink said. Fink said her grandmother's stories were just some of many things that fueled her passion for history.
Hurricanes, the most powerful storms in the world, have had an enormous effect on human history. They have wiped out naval fleets, changed the courses of exploration and devastated countries and cities. Trends have shown that the total power that hurricanes generate has increased during the last 50 years, and research done by Kerry A.
Six hundred thousand years ago, a volcanic eruption 1,000 times the size of the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption created a giant volcanic crater now known as the Yellowstone Caldera. And a 16-year U study shows that the active volcano is still shaping the landscape of the 45-by-30 mile caldera even though it hasn't erupted in more than 50,000 years.
Walter Arabasz entered Boston College as an English major. Little did he know that one required geology class would change his life forever. "I was astonished to learn that the earth was billions of years old and constantly changing," Arabasz said. "I thought that what was there when I looked out the window had always been there.
Most people have had experiences with dropped calls or busy networks, but this situation can be beyond frustrating when the call is made in an emergency situation. Often, if the network is busy, authorities have been unable to pass along vital information that could help save lives.
An organization on campus is working to make sure every Salt Lake City resident's story is told. The American West Center, located in the Annex Building, has been in operation for 43 years, working to collect and distribute history in the Salt Lake Valley.
Several U students working in conjunction with the Bennion Community Service Center and with help from the Salt Lake Bicycle Collective hope to have a bicycle collective set up on campus by next fall. The collective would provide students who commute to campus by bicycle with several services, such as finding the fastest and safest routes to campus, providing bicycle repairs and creating a community of U bikers.
The basement of the Kennecott Building is a place few U students know exists. But a traffic lab located in this basement has been in operation for 12 years. "People don't really know we are here," said associate professor of civil and environmental engineering Peter Martin, who organized and runs the traffic lab.
Two U engineering professors received the highest honor an engineer can receive, when they were named members of the National Academy of Engineering. With their appointments to the NAE, Anil Virkar--professor and chairman of material science and engineering--and William Hustrulid--professor emeritus of mining engineering--became the 33rd and 34th researchers from the U to be elected to NAE membership.
