Your Views
Spring 2011 | By THiNK Staff
First, congratulations on a beautifully designed magazine. But, I have to pick a bone (actually two) with your writing and editing.
In “Monuments and Moments,” the author tells the reader the history behind Felix Haas Hall, but doesn’t tell us who Felix Haas was, or what he had to do with the train wreck. Neither does he tell the reader the name of the hall before it was renamed in 2006.
In “Boys Will Be Boyz,” the writer takes us back to Rebel Without a Cause as an illustration. She was okay until she referred to the movie as “a black and white classic.” Classic, yes. Black and white, no. It was very definitely a color film.
Steve Nienaber
BS 1964
Thank you for bringing these important details to our attention. Felix Haas, Purdue’s Arthur G. Hansen Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, has no connection to the train wreck. Instead, he holds the distinctions of being the first dean of the School of Science and helping to establish the nation’s first computer science department. The Memorial Gymnasium eventually came to house that growing program, and was unceremoniously renamed the Computer Science Building in 1985 before being renamed again in Haas’ honor — not in his memory — in 2006. We regret the omissions and error.
Victor Papanek
Congratulations to you and your staff for creating THiNK. It is truly a wonderful magazine. As an alumna, I was particularly delighted to read the article about Purdue’s industrial design program in the most recent issue.
“But Wait ... There’s More” tells a great story, but you missed an opportunity to point out that industrial design at Purdue has a half-century of excellence. Beginning in 1964, Professor Victor Papanek stressed socially relevant design decades before it became cool.
I believe that it is not an exaggeration
to assert that Victor Papanek was one of the founders of modern industrial design, and that you should take pride in pointing out
his affiliation with Purdue.
Jacqueline M. Ullman
BA 1969, Industrial Design
MA 1972, Photography
Through Jacqueline M. Ullman, I learned of THiNK and found the spring 2010 issue online. I am impressed with the visual quality and writing of your fine publication.
As Victor Papanek’s close friend and colleague at Purdue from 1966 until we both left in 1970, I certainly agree with Mrs. Ullman’s comments about the importance of Victor Papanek to Purdue’s proud tradition of firsts. He deserves some ink in THiNK.
Al Gowan
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Steve Visser, industrial design professor and program chair, shares your sentiments. “Victor Papanek, one of the founding faculty members of industrial design at Purdue, has inspired countless young people. On a personal level, he is the person responsible for my entering the design profession. As a young artist I found his book, Design for the Real World, which he wrote while a professor at Purdue. After reading it, I applied for graduate study in industrial design.”
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