Tuesday, October 18, 2011 I TechNews campus@technewsiit.com UTSAV GANDHI Water-themed engineering group cleans up local beach By Amy Henson OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS ARMOUR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING On Friday, 29 students, faculty, and staff teamed up to clean the 31st Street Beach as part of the HT Engineering Theme: Water. At the day of service, the team combed the beach for litter and tested water samples for bacteria and contaminants. Testing for bacteria takes two days of incubation and strong attention to detail to avoid contaminating the samples. With the help of three student team leaders, Professor Paul Anderson (CAEE) documentedthe process andwill post the results and pictures at the themes website this week. Check out the results at iit.edu/engineering/ themes. The Water volunteers will also report the results as part of a national data collection effort with the Alliance for the Great Lakes. According to the Alliance, the Great Lakes contain nearly 20 percent of the world’s fresh water, providing drinking water to more than 40 million people. Threats to the Great Lakes range from pollution and invasive species to wasteful water use and global warming. The HT Engineering Theme Water is taking a hands—on approach to all of these issues, helping HT students gain experience and work to solve the problems at the same time. If you missed this chance to volunteer, the Engineering Themes will host another beach cleanup in the spring. Here are a few highlights from the day: Found most at the beach: Styrofoam, glass bottles, cigarette butts, plastic bags, and fast food wrappers. Grossest find: a dead fish! Total litter removed: more than 501bs. Most collected: Engineering staff member Lisa Stok — nearly 101bs of trash. Nice job Lisa! Quote of the day: “It’s good to see HT helping the environment and the community,” Chris Schaffer, mechanical and aerospace engineering undergrad. Thanks again to everyone who helped out. The neXt theme sponsored trip will be to The Plant, Chicago’s first vertical farm, on Thursday, October 27. For more information, visit the themes website or stop by Perlstein Hall Auditorium at 1p.m. Monday, October 17 for a presentation about The Plant, sponsored by the HT student group Engineers for a Sustainable World. Photos courtesy of Armour College of Engineering Intramural basketball program scores slot on campus By Ian Sisson TECHNEws WRITER In the spring of 2009, the men’s and women’s varsity basketball programs at HT were ‘indefinitely suspended’ by university president John Anderson. Most of the former athletes of these programs have either graduated or moved on to other universities, though a handful remains. Since the end of basketball as a varsity sport, organized basketball has remained popular on campus among students. The courts at Keating Hall are filled to capacity with pick—up games nearly every night of the week. The co—ed intramural league has seen significant growth in participation and level of competition over the past few years. With interest in basketball on campus at such a high level, the opportunity is present to again provide students with the opportunity to compete in the sport at a higher level. Although the future of basketball as a varsity sport is indefinite, basketball as a club sport is immediately capable of being established. The good news is that this process is already under way, and you have the great opportunity of becoming a part of the HT Men’s Basketball Club in its inaugural season this fall and winter. If you have ever competed in basketball at the collegiate level or aspired to compete at the collegiate level, this program is directed toward you. We are seeking to form a roster ofwell—conditioned, athletic, and skilled players by the end of October and start playing official games by early November. Membership is open to graduate and undergraduate students of HT and students of its affiliated campuses, as well as students from Shimer, Vandercook, and ICC. You can find and ‘like’ our page on facebook, HT Men’s Basketball Club, to learn more and receive updates. Contact isisson@hawk.iit.edu with any questions.