Chen was a ‘Favorite’

I’m currently living in Huntsville, Ala., and am an engineer with Adtran, which designs and manufactures a wide array of enterprise and carrier telecommunications equipment. I enjoyed the After Hours article in Contacts (Spring 2003) about Dr. Chen’s garden. Dr. Chen was certainly one of my favorite and most influential instructors.
  Timothy J. Eggenberger
  EET, ’97

ED: Thank you for your letter; it gives us an excuse to include additional photos of Dr. Chen’s garden.

Dr. Chen in his garden oasis.

Dynamics of Engineering

I enjoyed reading the Jay Forrester article pointing out the dynamics of engineering. College education in engineering is just a start on what a lifetime brings up in engineering. I’m still doing OK at 97. Best wishes to you.
  Merritt E. Scoville
  EE, ’30

Award-winning Bridge Design I read with interest the career achievements of Josef Sorkin in the Spring 2003 Contacts. I wanted to add another award-winning project, from right there in Nebraska, to the list. I’ve attached a file containing photos of the Bryan Bridge over the Niobrara River just south of Valentine, one of Sorkin’s earliest designs. The arched cantilever truss bridge is connected in the center with a single pin, the only one of its kind in the U.S., and was honored by ASCE in 1932.   John Engel   BSCE, ’93; MSCE, ’97|

Sorkin-designed bridge over the Niobrara River in Northwest Nebraska.