Winter 1996

Something different

Echoes regularly reports on the academic achievement of students, but in this issue we prove they are people with multifaceted interests. Dale Long writes about three students with special interests that take them outside the labs and classrooms.

Ironman challenge all in a day’s work

Student Todd Smaka likes to swim, run, and even ride a bicycle.

But how about swimming 2.4 miles, then cycling 112 miles before finishing with a 26.2-mile marathon?

It’s all in a day’s work for Smaka, who placed 402nd out of 1,288 finishers in the Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii on Oct. 27. The 22-year-old senior, who is studying for bachelor’s degrees in mechananical engineering AND electrical engineering, completed the endurance test in 10 hours, 24 minutes and 22 seconds. (Competitors had 17 hours to complete the course.) He placed fourth among 11 Indiana triathletes and ranked 34th (out of 59) in the 18- to 24-year-old age group.

This was Smaka’s first triathlon at this distance.

Captain of Rose-Hulman’s 1995-96 varsity swimming team, Smaka excelled in the opening event, being the 202nd swimmer out of the water. He also was strong in the marathon, with a time of 3 hours and 33 minutes. He completed the cycling leg in five hours and 51 minutes.

"I knew that cycling would be my weakest event. I didn’t own a racing bicycle until July of 1995," Smaka noted. "I’m satisfied with the results. All of the hard work was worth it."

Those extensive workouts included 50 miles of running, 180 miles of cycling and 8,000 yards of swimming each week for the past three months. He was also on a strict diet and had four classes at Rose-Hulman.

Smaka, from Bristol, Ind., qualified for the Ironman Triathlon by finishing ninth out of 180 contestants in the 18-24 year old age group at the Chicago Triathlon (1-mile swim; 25-mile bicycle race; and 6.2-mile run) in July. He placed eighth overall at the Terre Haute Triathlon, 10th in the Warsaw (Ind.) Triathlon, and competed in the Muncie Triathlon.

"The triathlon is a sport that offers the best combination of the events in which I excel. It’s also a great way to stay in shape and release the academic stress at Rose-Hulman," said Smaka, former vice president of the college’s Blue Key Honorary. "As my cycling improves, I’ll become a better triathlete. My goal is to do well at the U.S. Nationals in August, 1997."

Let’s buy a vowel and call him a big wh__lAfter tackling calculus as part of engineering courses at Rose-Hulman, you’d think Brad Smith would have no trouble solving a puzzle on the popular "Wheel of Fortune" television game show.

Well, Smith says, it’s harder than you might think. Smith, 19, fulfilled one of his childhood dreams by being a contestant on the Oct. 31 "Wheel of Fortune" show.

So, how did the Cicero, Ind., native do?

Good enough to solve two puzzles; appear on the Nov. 1 "champions" show; bring home $23,216 in cash and prizes; swap jokes with "“Wheel of Fortune" personalities Pat Sajak and Vanna White; and sign autographs, like a movie star, for audience members.

"Wheel of Fortune" is the nation’s most popular syndicated television game show, with a projected 100 million viewers worldwide.

All of those eyes watched Smith solve the second puzzle on Oct. 31 (Smarty ?; Bell Bottom ?; Ants In Your ?), where he earned $2,000 for providing the key word (Pants); and the third puzzle (Eye Of The Tiger Woods), advancing to the Bonus Round and a chance to win a 1997 Cavalier convertible.

It’s a scene - and opportunity - that Smith had dreamed about since last spring, when he was one of 30,000 central Indiana residents who applied for an Indianapolis tryout for the show.

He faltered on WHISK BROOM after Vanna only revealed three of the 10 letters in the phrase: W_IS_/_R___.

"I had never heard the word before. Even if I had, it was an impossible puzzle to solve," said Smith, reflecting later about his misfortunes. "Why couldn’t it have been one of the `easy’ puzzles that I’ve solved at home?"

Smith says things are much more relaxed lying on the couch, solving puzzles, than sweating in front of television lights.

For instance, the wheel itself is much heavier and took greater effort to spin. Also, there’s a lot of activity behind the cameras, making concentration on the puzzle more difficult. Then, there’s the pressure to succeed.

"I felt calm and relaxed going into the show, much better than I do before a final exam at Rose-Hulman . . . I was so concerned about things that didn’t have anything to do with puzzles - mentioning I was a student at Rose-Hulman, member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and from Cicero, Ind. And, of course, I didn’t want to disappoint my mother," Brad said of Sue Smith, who originally registered her son for the Indianapolis tryout. "My mother is such a big fan of the show. I was living her dream.

Sue Smith was also the first person to greet her son at the Indianapolis airport following the show’s taping in mid-September. The welcome mat was graced with a series of congratulatory balloons and two presents: Two whisk brooms.

Fighting fire with fire in the Rockies

Erik Hayes admits he may not fit the characteristics of the typical firefighter for the U.S. Forestry Service.

After all, the senior mechancial engineering major stands 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs slightly more than the backpack he carries to battle forest fires in western Montana.

But Hayes fights fire with fire - a desire for one of the U.S. government’s most demanding and important jobs: Protecting the country’s beautiful wildlife areas in the Rocky Mountains.

"It’s invigorating and the best job in the world," the Stevensville, Mont., native says. "There’s a great sense of accomplishment after successfully battling a fire. It’s hard work, but I know I’m making a difference."

That’s why Hayes has worked between 80 and 100 hours each week, seven days per week, during the past three summers as a forestry technician for the forestry service’s Bitterroot (Mont.) Range Station.

"It’s no day at the beach, but there’s no job like it anywhere," Hayes said. "The summer of 1996 may have been the worst season for forest fires in U.S. history, with Hayes being called upon to help extinguish blazes on all but six days between May 25 to August 22 in a 100-mile region near his hometown. He also spent a week in Utah battling a 60,000-acre fire.

"Only five of the fires fought in my region were caused by humans (smoldering campfires or discarded cigarettes)," Hayes states. "The conditions were just right for a productive forest fire season. First, the region had a wet spring season, producing a thick area of brush and grasses. That was followed by a dry summer and several lightning storms. Finally, the winds were especially strong this summer." On call 24 hours each day, Hayes joined an 11-person firefighting team that hiked (or was dropped from helicopter) into the wilderness, carrying a 50-pound backpack, 15-pound fire pack, a shovel and Pulaski, a pick/axe device that firefighters use to clear an 18-inch fire breakwall around a fire.

Most fires take up to three days of constant surveillance before bringing under control.

"Firefighting requires quick action, executing a good game plan and lots of good luck," the Montana native said.

Hayes hopes to improve those odds by utilizing his engineering skills to design a two-headed Pulaski, which could increase productivity in clearing the breakwall - the vital link in fighting a forest fire.

"Hopefully, I can combine my engineering and firefighting expertise to design a better Pulaski or other firefighting equipment.

"Maybe it will happen this year. If not, I may have to go back next summer for more on-the-job experience," said Hayes, who plans to attend graduate school after graduating from Rose-Hulman next May.

At Rose-Hulman, Hayes has been a resident assistant at Baur-Sames-Bogart (BSB) Hall for two years.