Bad news, good news
The bad news is the stock market meltdown of 2008 is likely the worst in history, according to Robert "Dr. Bob" Froehlich, a UD alumnus and chairman of the investor strategy committee for Deutsche Asset Management.
The good news? The economy is at least halfway through this crisis, and a recovery could happen in as little as two to three years, he said.
"I predict the stock market will post positive returns in 2009," Froehlich said during a standing-room-only talk at UD Nov, 24. "And the market that will turn the corner first is the U.S. economy." He said the U.S. has a 12-month head start on the rest of the world because it started cutting interest rates last year to encourage lending while economies worldwide were raising their rates.
Froehlich encouraged the audience of mostly students to take advantage of the depressed stock market and buy stocks at bargain prices. But before investing, everyone should do extensive research and should continue monitoring the stocks during good times and bad, he said.
Asked by one audience member to take out his crystal ball and predict the next big stock market "bubble," Froehlich said he sees infrastructure dominating for the next few years, as China and the U.S. both embark on major infrastructure improvement projects.
For more good news/bad news, watch Froehlich's talk.
Viking Thanksgiving
The table was wrapped in tin foil and decorated with food — turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie — and no utensils.
We used just our hands during the Christmas on Campus committee second annual Viking Thanksgiving.
After hands were washed, 20 students crowded around the table. We said a prayer and prepared ourselves for the thousands of calories we would consume. We then attacked the food and tried not to lick our fingers too much. "This is so good," said one member of the yams glazed in brown sugar and topped with melted marshmallows.
My bursting belly told me we did not need to eat again until the real Thanksgiving.
My Old House: 221 Irving Ave.
This remodeled house is home to six men, just as it was back in Mike Vitullo ’68’s day. Back then there were black walls, a bulls-eyed ceiling and a bathtub – no shower. See how things have changed.
Pas de deux
When you think of robots, forget the tin-can clunkers from ’60s sci-fi. Instead, think "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy."
During Friday's dedication and blessing of the Motoman Robotics Lab in Kettering Laboratories room 232, two sleek, gray robots danced to music from the Nutcracker while a muscle-bound robot in blue and white directed the show. It was a demonstration of the precision of these tools and the ingenuity of their programmers.
The robots, a gift from Motoman, will soon be augmented with appendages thanks to SAS Automation. Next year, pirouettes?
Going green
The Crest is clearly going green. The dining hall ordered 13,600 fewer disposable cups this year than it did last year by switching to reusable tumblers — a clear plastic alternative for those who are keeping their drinks in-house.
First-year student Lindsie MacPherson gestured to her tumbler, saying, “It’s what I always use — saves a cup.” Joining her at the table was Rachel Janicik, who opted for the disposable cup. She said she likes to take her drink with her, something you can’t do with the new tumblers.
But numbers say the students are choosing the washable cups more and more — a trend that Sheryl Rhodes, a dining hall employee, is happy about. “It’s better if we can save a tree,” she said, adding with a laugh, “I don’t work in dishes, so it’s no extra work for me.”
‘When you enjoy what you’re doing …’
Engineering technology professor Bob Wolff blames his heritage for his 50-plus-year commitment to his work, his family and the University.
“I’m German,” he said. “I’ve got a good work ethic.”
Friends toast his loyalty, wit and sense of duty at a reception at 3 p.m. Friday in the Innovation Center of Kettering Laboratories.
Wolff’s history at UD is much longer than his faculty appointment. He grew up in the 1942 house his parents built at 1912 Trinity Ave. He walked to Holy Angels for school, and when lunchtime came, he hopped on a passing freight car and rode it the quarter-mile or so home along the tracks that ran between campus and the NCR neighborhood. On the Saturdays of Flyer football games, Wolff and his friends ran through the storm sewers and snuck into Baujan Field through a manhole.
Today, he’s not as mischievous, but he’s every bit as industrious. Read about Wolff’s UD career on the Campus Report site.
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