Lucre and love at Illinois Tech

After riding an up elevator for more than 10 years, starting salaries for engineering graduates may be leveling off.

One indication comes from the Illinois Institute of Technology. Placement director Earl C. Kubicek reports that the average Illinois Tech graduate, class of June 1954, was hired for $363 per month. This was $1 more that the average 1953 Tech graduate got.

Looking back over his records, Kubicek recalls that 10 years ago starting pay averaged $193 per month. Five years ago it was $282.

Still in the surveying mood, Kubicek finds that his alumni are astoundingly lucky in love. 90% of students from the classes of 1939, 1944, and 1949 are married. Not one is divorced.

"This is significant," Kubicek points out, "in view of the fact that one of every four marriages in the United States ends in divorce."

Why do Illinois Tech Graduates, 90% of them engineers, marry so successfully? Kubicek harks back to his first theme: "Engineering salaries have been increasing steadily for more than fifteen years. Because they are better off financially, there may be less friction in their marriages over money problems, one of the major factors in divorce."

Few engineers may roam the multi-carat circles, but as long as they are in the chips, the girls remember what are whose best friends.

Largest commercial solar operation at Honeywell

Minneapolis, MN —The nation's largest high-temperature solar energy system for heating and cooling began operation November 29, 1978, at Honeywell's general offices here. It is the first solar system of its kind to provide all of a major building's heating and cooling needs on sunny days and was designed, funded, and built by Honeywell for its new eight-story, 106,000 sq. ft. office building.

In the course of a year, the high-temperature system is expected to generate 50% of the building's heating needs, 80% of its cooling energy, and 100% of the hot water requirements.

On the roof of a parking ramp adjacent to the office building, 252 trough-like collectors track the sun to focus its rays on liquid-filled pipes. The liquid, which may reach 350 °F, is pumped to an isolation heat exchanger that allows different fluids, pressures, and flow rates to be used in the two-loop system necessitated by Minnesota's cold temperatures. Excess heat is stored underground in two 18,000 gallon tanks until needed.

Controls for the collector field and the solar equipment in the mechanical rooms consist of conventional Honeywell pneumatic valves, differential temperature sensor, and simple electronic relay logic. A Delta 1000 computer-based energy management system monitors and provides alarms and status of the solar equipment. Each row of solar collectors is controlled by a local controller that uses a photosensitive sun tracker and bi-directional electric drive ac motor.

A collection of items ...

• Next generation is here for Simoreg: Siemens 16-bit microcontroller plays a big part in expanding the performance and function of its fourth-generation dc variable-speed drive. The 38 MHz controller has a 4-stage CPU that can process four instructions simultaneously to speed scan cycles.
• Fieldbus, part 1: Origins of digital communication, covers the history and background of fieldbus efforts from the early 1980s to 1994, ISP and WorldFIP expect to unite [the future Fieldbus Foundation].
• In research co-sponsored by Control Engineering , unit purchases from 1992 to 1995 showed a compound annual growth rate of 10.5%, PCs 1.2%, graphical operator interfaces 14.5%, and RISC-based workstations, 20.5%; data covers use of equipment in over 40,000 plants.
• Product Focus: Pushbuttons and Switches: Allen-Bradley expects to introduce over 100 pushbuttons as Hannover Fair; 22 mm size is popular; 28-chip LEDs pushbuttons are introduced.
• In news, a Control Engineering survey noted that 63% of OEMs said there's a "Great need" to connect to other control equipment. A survey by Control Engineering's parent company found that among 400 senior and midlevel decision-makers within U.S. manufacturing industries, 56% expect to boost exports to Mexico and just 6% anticipate their businesses to invest in production facilities in Mexico, from the recently passed NAFTA. The Dec. 20, 1993, death of quality pioneer Dr. W. Edwards Deming was noted. Motorola Semiconductor Product Sector started commercial production of insulted gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs). Manufacturing '94 and IMTS '94 will unite for a Sept. 7-14, 1994, conference in McCormick place, expected to attract 1,500 engineers and managers.