Veritas, Vol. 18, No. 06, November 4, 1977

              A prívate, independent, international university An equal opportunity employer
Volume 18, Number 6 November 4,1977
A01, A03, A05 Positions Face 60-Day Hiring Delay
T-seciion lest girder -facility.
■ weighing 19 tons — is lifted ontoaflatbed truck for shipment to Illinois research
Girder Design May Save Dade County $20 Million
By Susan L. Hartt News Bureau
Concrete girders suggested by Dr. Thomas Hsu, chairman of UM’s department of civil engineering, could save $7-$10 million in the cost of the first 16.5 miles of Dade County’s rapid transit system. “Beyond that,” Dr. Hsu said, “the savings for the entire 40 miles now planned would be around $20 million.”
Last January the Kaiser Transit Group (KTG), general consultants for the system, came to Dr. Hsu for help in designing a girder that could be cast in the concrete plant rather than at the construction site.
Most of the elevated system will run above the railroad tracks that parallel Route 1. The girders on which the tracks will be laid have to be unusually large—80 feet long, 12 feet wide and five feet deep—and will weigh more than 90 tons each. Approximately 1500 girders will be used in the first phase of construction.
Elevated systems generally use “box section” girders that have to be made, at great expense, on the site. The Kaiser Group knew that “double-tee section” girders, which would cost two-thirds as much, could be precast but did not know if they could withstand the loads of the trains and the wind.
Dr. Hsu, with the assistance of C.S. Hwang, a Ph.D. candidate, made a theoretical analysis and showed the Group that it could. Dr. Hsu then suggested testing two model girders of the new design.
“There were,” he said, “two major points to be considered: 1) rider comfort (i.e., minimal rocking of the train) and 2) safety of the girder in case of
derailment. From our calculations we knew there would be maximum rider comfort and that the derailment risks were small, but these theoretical predictions had to be tested.”
So two two-thirds scale models—53 feet long—were built by Stresscon International here in Miami and were tested by the Portland Cement Association in Skokie, Illinois, in late July.
The results were impressive; indeed, the calculations were correct within a +/- 5 percentage. “Even I was a little surprised by our degree of accuracy,” Dr. Hsu said.
Plans for testing four full-scale girders, necessary to confirm details and dynamic behavior of the system, are now underway.
Dr. Hsu and his colleagues are confident that the results of the second Continued to Page 7
As a means to balance the 1977-78 operating budget following a shortfall in projected tuition income, President Henry King Stanford announced on Oct. 27 that the central administration had approved a policy requiring a 60-day delay in filling vacated administrative and staff positions.
The policy took effect Nov. 1 and will continue through the balance of the fiscal year.
It includes the following guidelines:
1.	The policy will apply only to those positions funded from the general fund budget (U accounts).
2.	The policy will apply to administrative (A01) and staff (A03-A05) positions. Faculty positions (A02-A06) are not included.
3.	Positions vacant on Nov. 1, 1977, will not be filled until Jan. 1, 1978, unless a written commitment has previously been extended to employ an individual after Nov. 1.
4.	Positions becoming vacant after Nov. 1,1977, will be required to remain vacant for a 60-day period. This period is defined, for budgetary purposes, as two monthly pay periods for A01
positions and four biweekly pay periods for A03-A05 positions.
5.	The 60-day period will begin on the last day a terminating employee worked as stated on the termination papers.
6.	For each vacated position, the Budget Office will make a nonrecurring transfer in an amount equal to the salary and fringe benefit rate of the position for the 60-day period. The funding level for the position in next year’s budget will not be affected by the one-time transfer this fiscal year. A Form 8 will be completed by the Budget Office to transfer the funds and a copy will be sent to the account signatory.
7.	Reclassification of positions will be discontinued for the remainder of 1977-78, effective Nov. 1, 1977. This will apply to all fund groups (general, designated and restricted).
8.	In cases of hardship which might be caused by a position being vacated for the 60-day period, department or division heads have the option of reducing their budget allocations by the required amount of the “salary lapsing factor.” Such cases are to be approved by the appropriate Executive Vice President or the Vice President for Medical Affairs.
Conference Will Address Alternative Energy Sources
By Susan L. Hartt News Bureau
Approximately 1,000 scientists, engineers, architects, economists and policy makers from 30 countries will gather for the “Miami International Conference on Alternative Energy Sources” Dec. 5-7 at the Fountainbleau Hotel, Miami Beach, Fla.
The Conference is being presented by the Clean Energy Research Institute (CERI) of the University’s School of Engineering and Environmental Design. It is sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Energy and UM’s School of Continuing Studies.
Dr. T. Nejat Veziroglu, CERI director and conference chairman said, “with fossil fuels — particularly oil and coal — being rapidly depleted, the development of alternative energy sources is essential. This conference addresses the present state and future promise of all the alternative sources Continued to Page 7
Parents Are Receiving Veritas
Parents of UM undergraduate students have begun to receive Veritas on a monthly basis, as announced in an Oct. 1 letter to them from President Henry King Stanford.
Regrettably, some parents received envelopes without President Stanford’s letter due to a mailing error by an off-campus mailing service.
His message included the following comments:
“Activities and events are now in full swing at the University of Miami with the fall semester underway. There is a wide variety of campus information to report, and we intend to provide this to you on a regular basis during the
remainder of this academic year.
“Beginning in October, you will receive monthly issues of Veritas, a publication which highlights news of special interest to members of the University family.
“It is important that you, as parents, be kept informed about the general character of life at UM. Veritas is designed to assist in that process.
“I believe that the more familiar you become with the University the more pleased you will be with its people, its programs, and its purposes.”
He ended the letter by welcoming their comments, suggestions, or questions.