NEW ENERGY RESEARCH
The recently announced Precourt Institute for Energy (see President’s Column) expects its first undertakings to include a spring competition for $2 million in research funding, according to Lynn Orr, professor of energy resources engineering, who was named director.
The institute, formed with $100 million in funding and whose founding donors include energy industry executive Jay Precourt, ’59, MS ’60, expects to hire six to eight faculty members (some will have joint appointments in other departments) and support 20 new interdisciplinary graduate student fellowships.
Orr, ’69, had been the director of the Global Climate and Energy Project, which will be incorporated into the new institute, as will the two-year-old Precourt Institute for Energy Efficiency (now the Precourt Center for Energy Efficiency).
RECRUITING BONANZA
Sportswriters described this year’s football recruits as among the best group in Stanford history, citing recruiting analysts who ranked the 22 players as high as 14th best among colleges nationwide. Top names included Shayne Skov, a linebacker from New York, and Tyler Gaffney, a running back from San Diego.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh also was quoted widely as stressing his intention to remain at Stanford, even though his contract extension has been delayed while the athletic department concentrates on budget problems related to the economic downturn.
