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From: pjd@mandrill.UUCP (dr. funk)
Newsgroups: comp.edu
Subject: More on CS support
Message-ID: <2229@mandrill.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 24-Aug-87 16:30:28 EDT
Article-I.D.: mandrill.2229
Posted: Mon Aug 24 16:30:28 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 26-Aug-87 02:01:36 EDT
Reply-To: pjd@cwruecmp.UUCP (dr. funk)
Distribution: na
Organization: CWRU Dept. of Computer Engineering, Cleveland, Ohio
Lines: 40


Thanks to Eric Green for his comments on my message about donations.

1. The ERTA incentives and requirements were there primarily to qualify
for a tax break. This would make the bean counters happy at Big Computer
Manufacturer. (FYI: Read "the Reckoning" by Halberstam to see how
beanies can screw up well-intentioned technical people.)

2. Even with the number of donations that are made every year,
the facility situation in all fields of engineering and science remains
critical nationwide. What computer people need is power in Washington
to fight for our needs. How many Crays/workstations/etc. could be
purchased instead of some multi-billion dollar accelerator for a bunch
of -------- physicists?

3. Indeed, many PhD's will disappear into a lab somewhere. However,
we don't all write papers for JACM -- some of us teach and practice
engineering. (Please don't start me on how tenure policies encourage
theoretical screeds over good teaching and the development of sound
academic engineering principles and methodology!) PhD students are
not the only ones that benefit from donations.....

4. Yes, the funding/support situation is pretty bad all over. Now,
rather than look at our own situations (poor facilities,
low student support, insufficient research funding, whatever), let's
think national policy.

  >> What will happen to our national competitiveness and national
  >> security if this trend continues?

5. At every commencement, I look at the line of graduating lawyers
and the line of graduating engineers (especially at the MS/PhD level)
and get depressed. Looks like our national priorities are a bit
out of wack.


-- 

paul drongowski				sun!cwruecmp!pjd
case western reserve university		pjd@CWRU.EDU