Dorm's science wing enjoys rise in interest

It's not just for astrophysicists anymore. In fact, it's not just for engineers, computer whizzes and Trekkies anymore, either. The Science and Technology Wing of Kings Court, affectionately coined STWING by those who reside there, has experienced a major upswing in interest and participation this year, its residents say. The wing is a living-learning program, located on a Kings Court floor, which focuses on sciences. "Last year, it was only the B wing of the second floor, with about 20 people," said STWING resident Gillian Silver. "This year it is the entire floor, with almost 60 people involved." Silver said she chose to live on the wing this year but was randomly placed there last year. The College sophomore became involved in STWING by accompanying her friends to programs. She chose to stay on the wing this year because "being in the College and not wanting to be a hard science major, I needed an outlet to research and explore [hard sciences]." Some residents attribute the increase in participation to a flyer advertising the wing that was sent out to incoming freshmen with the Residential Living handbook on room selection. Rachana Patel, one of the wing's Resident Advisors, said the wing will concentrate on four issues this year. The Wharton and Engineering junior said the wing's programs will focus on telecommunications, basic materials, biotechnology, and astronomy. Activities will cover each aspect throughout the year. Wharton and Engineering sophomore Eric Fitzpatrick said that in the past the wing's unique feature was its 10 direct Ethernet connections to the University's computer network. "Before the ResNet thing, we were the only dorm on campus that had a direct network connection," Fitzpatrick said. "When everybody got Ethernet [connections], we kind of lost that individuality." But at the end of last year, Fitzpatrick and his roommate, James Ingraham, also a Wharton and Engineering sophomore, helped come up with an idea that would make the STWING not only unique, but also the most technologically advanced residence on campus. The students were told they could apply for a grant from the National Science Foundation if they could propose a use for it. The STWING residents originally suggested using the money for a number of different items, all in a relatively low-price range. Fitzpatrick said the residents were then told to come up with their "dream" suggestions. Ingraham suggested a SPARC, a computer station with about one-eighth the capacity of the Engineering School's ENIAC computer. A financial proposal was drafted and the funding for the SPARC was approved. Fitzpatrick said the SPARC, which should be operational within a month, will enable STWING residents to run their own e-mail system and do experimentation with electronic simulations, among other things. "Anybody who wants to do anything on it that's legal, go for it," said Fitzpatrick. And Ingraham believes that the SPARC will provide invaluable opportunities to STWING participants. "Electronic media can be a forum for all kinds of social and intellectual pursuits," Ingraham said. "I wanted to give ourselves the chance to do that at maximum ability." Faculty Resident Jorge Santiago-Aviles said STWING students will be able to use the SPARC to "do the same kind of work that seniors and grad students are doing in terms of design and simulation." Ingraham said he is especially excited about the prospect of having a computer with which students can experiment. "If we screw up [our SPARC], who do we hurt? Nobody," Ingraham said. "But if we [are experimenting] and we screw up on ENIAC, we hurt the entire Engineering School."