Cardinal Chronicle

One of the most photographed sites on campus each spring is a THOMAS CHURCH original, says grounds manager HERB FONG, referring to California’s pioneer modernist landscape architect. In late spring, Chinese fringe trees blossom into a spectacular show of white flowers in Geology Courtyard behind Building 320. “Some people don’t realize what a treasure we have here,” Fong says. Recently, grounds staff duplicated Church’s design with Japanese flowering cherry trees in the opposite corner of the quad next to Building 260. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the beauty of these havens, Fong says, but they should keep them clean and uncluttered. Church enjoyed international prominence in the 1950s and ’60s and was influential in creating what became known as the asymmetrical “California style” of landscaping.

Three groups of Stanford grad students get to show off their inventions at the Smithsonian’s upcoming “March Madness for the Mind 2001” exhibit in Washington, D.C. The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance each year awards grants to students nationwide who pitch cool ideas and will showcase the most promising prototypes March 7. “Just as the best college basketball players gather at the Final Four in March, the best college inventors gather at the Smithsonian,” says PHIL WEILERSTEIN for the NCIIA – not to be confused with the NCAA. Student MARY O’ CONNELL and a team from Biomechanical Engineering will show off an “Anastomosis Device” for heart bypass graft surgery. O’Connell says the tiny stainless steel clamp joins two blood vessels together without the need for invasive suturing. “This is simpler and safer for patients because you don’t have to crack the chest open,” she says. MIKE STRASSER and pals from Mechanical Engineering will display their “IMPACT Shoe Wear Indicator,” a device built into a shoe that lets athletes know the lifetime of their foot gear, knowledge that may help them prevent injury. And Product Design student NEIL GRIMMER and colleagues have invented a “Cue Card Emergency Medical Aid” – an electronic, credit-card-sized device that uses a human voice to prompt care givers administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation. “This [serves as] a memory jog for a layperson who has been trained in CPR,” Grimmer says. Kudos also to Associate Professor ROLF FASTE from Mechanical Engineering, who advised Strasser’s and Grimmer’s nifty projects.

Reminder: To reach BenefitSU from off-campus, dial 736-2985 not 726-2985. The latter is a private residence. The new campus directory abbreviates the on-campus number as 6-2985. Remember, all telephone prefixes ending with “6” become 736 when dialed from off-campus.