CUEngineering125

#CUEngineering125: Alumnus Philip Pearl

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 09:21:39 +0000

#CUEngineering125: Alumnus Philip Pearl Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/19/2018 - 03:21

Tatiana Jones

The CU Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. The following story was submitted by alumnus Philip Pearl, a retired professional engineer and ASCE fellow. He earned a BS in civil engineering and business in 1953 and served in the Air Force between years studying at CU Boulder. If you have CU Engineering memories, share your story with us using the link to the right.

Philip Pearl (second from left) completing surveying field work with fellow students for Professor Roland Rautenstraus. These surveys were later used to build a portion of the future Denver-Boulder toll road.

"I entered CU as a freshman in September 1947 to pursue the five-year program in civil engineering and business.

Most of us engineering students wore “engineer’s boots,” especially during the colder and snowy days. We wore our slide rules hanging from a belt loop. I bought my slide rule at the student store when I was a freshman. It was a K&E log decitrig. It had 20 scales, and I used them all. After graduation, I used that slide rule in all my structural and hydraulic designs until the early 70’s when I purchased my Texas Instruments TI-55 11 scientific hand calculator. I still have that slide rule; it has a special place in my desk.

Another memory was my working for my room and board in the dorms. The big boss of the dorm system was Bly Curtis. She was a real taskmaster, but very fair. I worked for two years in the freshman women’s dorm, on the serving line in the cafeteria. Another quarter I mopped all the floors after dinner, and another quarter I operated the potato machine in the evening. The job had some perks... I was able to occasionally join the basketball team for dinner at their training table in the basement. They ate a lot better than the general student population.

In 1949 and 1950 the engineering students formed an intramural baseball team, and so did the engineering professors and instructors. We played each other a couple of Sundays per month at a baseball diamond down near Vetsville (the other side of Boulder Creek). I pitched and played third base. I don’t remember the scores, but we played for bragging rights.

I had a CU student summer job in Central City and was a part of the students who made up the Air National Guard Squadron in Boulder. I joined the Colorado Air National Guard in 1948, and in April 1951, our squadron was activated into the Air Force by Harry Truman. The university gave us credit for our course work completed up to May 1. Our squadron was made up mostly of CU students, including pilots who flew in World War II.

We were shipped to Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, N.Y. Our squadron was the 109th Radar Calibration Squadron, and we took care of the engineering and radar calibration for the early warning stations along the northern part of the U.S. (from Buffalo to northern Maine down to Virginia). Chauncey DePuy and I were the only 'civils' in the squadron, and we took care of all the surveying. Our squadron was transferred to the Air Force Base in Sioux City, Iowa, in April 1952. We serviced the early warning stations in Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota.

I was discharged in August 1952, got married, and returned to CU to complete my fifth year, with about 42 semester units to tackle - CU went to the semester system while I was gone."

Compiled by Tatiana Jones. Tatiana is a junior Technology, Arts & Media major working in the Dean's Office through the Earn-Learn Apprenticeship program.

The following story was submitted by alumnus Philip Pearl, a retired professional engineer and ASCE fellow. He earned a BS in civil engineering and business in 1953 and served in the Air Force between years studying at CU Boulder.

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#CUEngineering125: Dean William Pietenpol

Anonymous — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 14:44:25 +0000

#CUEngineering125: Dean William Pietenpol Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/12/2018 - 08:44

Tatiana Jones

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr6DOZL1fJQ]

The CU Boulder College of Engineering and Applied Science is celebrating its 125th year in 2018. This video is the first in a series of interviews with CU Engineering alumni, faculty and others who can shed light on and celebrate the history of engineering at Boulder.

William J. Pietenpol served as dean from 1978 to 1979. The college has been an important part of his life; his father taught at CU when he was young, he earned a BS in electrical engineering and a BA in physics from CU, he taught classes at CU, and most surprisingly, he was born on the campus.

During his time at the college, he remembers electrical experiments with voltage comparable to that of the electric chair, being classmates with future Supreme Court Justice Byron White, and the acquisition of the CU centrifuge. Between being a student and becoming dean, the Engineering Center was built and the college evolved. Although it has changed since his time here, he continues to appreciate CU. His granddaughter is currently working toward a BS in civil engineering.

Pietenpol's roots are strongly tied to the history of CU, and the experiences that he has had in Boulder are an important part of his life.

Tatiana Jones is a junior Technology, Arts & Media major working in the Dean's Office through the Earn-Learn Apprenticeship program.

This video is the first in a series of interviews with CU Engineering alumni, faculty and others who can shed light on and celebrate the history of engineering at Boulder.

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William Frobe, MS Telecommunications'14

Anonymous — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 17:58:39 +0000

William Frobe, MS Telecommunications'14 Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 02/20/2018 - 10:58

I came to CU Boulder on the Army's Advanced Civilian Schooling scholarship program to obtain a Masters of Science in my Telecommunications field. The other Army officer and I were almost inseparable during our time here, even teaming up on our Top Three Capstone research project of using 4G LTE signals in avalanche search and rescue up at Copper Mountain ski resort. Awesome teachers, fabulous campus, and incredible Engineering Program! Go Buffs!

I came to CU Boulder on the Army's Advanced Civilian Schooling scholarship program to obtain a Master's of Science in my telecommunications field. The other Army officer and I were almost inseparable during our time here.

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