Messenger - Vol. 2, No. 1, Page 24
Fall 1992
What in the World

      Eric Beyeler '85M, '88Ph.D. begins his science demonstration before
inquisitive teenagers with a composites sample in hand.
      "I ask them to guess what it is," says the Du Pont Co. senior
research engineer in the advanced composites division. "Generally, the
answers range from tin to plastic. Very few know it's carbon fiber and
polymer."
      The middle and high school students then actually handle composite
products, like a bicycle wheel and aircraft floor panels that Beyeler has
brought. "They're amazed at how light they are, but still very strong," he
says.
      President of the Engineering Alumni Association (EAA), Beyeler and
fellow EAA volunteers have visited schools since 1990 through the Delaware
Science Alliance. Called "What in the World," the program seeks to interest
students in science careers, he says. The EAA also contributes $250 toward
the alliance's outstanding volunteers program.
      A letter from a Sussex Central Middle School teacher has encouraged
Beyeler that his efforts are having an impact. "You and the Du Pont Co.
have opened my mind to a new dimension of thinking," the teacher wrote.
      "Whenever we can demonstrate something from the real world that you
need science to accomplish, that's such a plus," Beyeler says." "The kids
don't believe that math or physics have any value out there."
      For information about the Delaware Science Alliance's programs,
contact Melanie Vinson at (302) 454-2420. To join the Engineering Alumni
Association, call the College of Engineering at (302) 831-2401.
                                   -Bill Clark, Delaware '82