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vanced camp to be considered for commissioning. This year, UNCW sent 20 cadets to Fort Bragg. The 19 males and one female were among 3,967 cadets from East Coast colleges and universities participating in advanced camp. To encourage a better understanding of advanc ed camp, Major David Felt, UNCW’s military science department chairman, led a delegation of UNCW administrators on a day-long orientation to Fort Bragg. Attending were Vice Chancellors Charles Cahill and Bill Bryan, Deans Daniel Plyler and Norman Kaylor, and Public Informa tion Officer Mimi Cunningham. Chancellor William H. Wagoner met with Brig. Gen. Curtis F. Hoglan, First ROTC Region commander, to talk about UNCW’s ROTC program and its future. "The whole day was very productive,” com mented Felt. "Our group saw firsthand the em phasis on leadership and hands-on involvement that the cadets get at advanced camp. They also observed the mass effort of the National Guard, regular Army and ROTC instructors to put this camp on once a year.” The group received a briefing on advanced camp, the basic purpose of which is to "instill self- confidence, the key to good leadership,” in the cadets. During the tour of camp, they observed cadets in action on the leadership reaction course, during RECONDO training, combined arms train ing, anti-armor training and field Eirtillery train ing. They also had an opportunity to fire live mor tars and LAW missiles and see six UNCW cadets in action. Photos by Jean Joyner During Greek Week 1984 in April, UNCW Greeks award- ed the Outstanding Professor Award for 1384 to Dr. Betty Jo Welch, associate professor and coordinator of speech communication at UNCW. The award was based on recent publications, campus and communi ty service projects, professional organizations, and out side interests. At the presentation were (from left) Will Darby, member of Tau Kappa Epsilon and president of the UNCW InterFraternity Council; Dr. Welch; and Linda Williams, Alpha Delta Pi and president of the Panhellenic Council. July 1 Marks Opening Of School of Nursing On July 1, 1984, UNCW opened the doors of its four-year School of Nursing. Dr. Marlene Rosenkoetter is acting dean of the school, which offers the Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. Dr. Charles Cahill, vice chancellor for academic affairs at UNCW, made the announcement to the university’s trustees at their April board meeting. Until this change, nursing had been a department within the College of Arts and Sciences. The bachelor’s degree program in nursing is set to begin with the fall 1985 semester. The last class in the associate degree program in nursing at UNCW will be admitted in the fall semester of 1984. We Try to Keep Up As Computers Teach Themselves "The machine will educate itself... its power will be incalculable ...ifwe are lucky, they might decide to keep us as pets. ” ■^Marvin Minsky, MIT computer scientist The prospect of computers’ growing so smart and so powerful that they one day will take over has intrigued and frightened mankind for decades. But how intelligent is artificial intelligence? And is it likely that computers will advance to the point where they surpass the capacity of the human brain? Most people think that computers are either ex tremely smart or inherently stupid. Neither opin ion is correct. Basically, a computer’s thinking process is very simple and not creative. It is just like an ordinary calculating machine, but it operates at a striking ly fast speed. UNCW Patrons Recognized At Gala Banquet Paul Fulton, president of Hanes Group of Win- ston-Salem, spoke to about 140 patrons of UNCW at a banquet June 22. Sponsored by the UNCW Foundation, the Patron’s Banquet recognizes and thanks individuals who provide broad-based sup port to the university. Presiding for the evening was C. D. Liddicoat, chairman of the UNCW Foundation board of direc tors and site manager for Wilmington’s DuPont plant. The Cape Fear String Quartet provided entertainment for the evening. Patrons support UNCW in ways the state can not. Even though the school is a state institution, there are many things that we aspire to do that cannot be paid for with state funds. Patrons are indeed an integral part of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. If you would like to know more about becoming a UNCW Patron, contact Tyrone Rowell at 919/395-3170, or write him at the university address. UPPER PHOTO: Ronald C. Choate ’72, vice chairman of the board of directors of the UNCW Alumni Associa tion, and W. Robert Page ’73, chairman, enjoy the festivities at the Patrons Banquet held recently to show UNCW’s appreciation to all its patrons for their support. LOWER PHOTO: Bob Page (left) attended the Patrons Banquet with his wife Betty (right). Here they talk with Dr. Hubert Eaton, former chairman of the board of trustees at UNCW, and Marion Morris. The question remains, however, whether "ar tificial intelligence” (AI) may one day perform the more creative thought processes associated with the human mind. Some scientists regard that day as inevitable—and not very far in the future. Edward Fredkin of MIT goes so far as to rate the appearance of artificial intelligence equally as im portant as the creation of the universe and the creation of life itself. He says, "It is a very God-like thing to create a super intelligence, much smarter than we are— there can’t be anything of more consequence to happen on this planet.” Al"tlficiCLl i? tVip makinp machines do things that would require intelligence if done by humans. It is a "regenerative science,” that is, ac complishments of today rapidly build those of tomorrow. Thus, as we progress, the computer becomes more capable of helping us in making decisions. We already have sophisticated computer pro grams that help us design better computers. In other words, computers tell us how we can improve the existing machines (computers). The next step is that these intelligent machines won’t even need human intervention for their bet terment. Fairly soon we will find ourselves using such words as "consciousness” and "intuition” to describe them. When that day comes—some people think it already has—the world will not be the same. When radio technology was first invented, it awed the world. The same thing happened with the television, telephone and nuclear technologies. The early years of computer development also caught the world by surprise, and it still causes Photo by Jean Joyner the same curiosity because of its regenerative nature. We are already beginning to see the won drous effects of this. Already, artificial intelligence is performing the tasks that once required human intelligence. Some common examples are: diagnosing the malfunc tions and diseases of the human body, locating mineral deposits and deciding where to drill oil wells. The first commercial AI products are now begin ning to appear. These include: computerized con sultants with highly sophisticated programs and computer-guided weapons systems developed by the uelense Lu‘y/c» .n.ji.', Still another area of development is artificial sensing, the technique that sorts through the sig nals coming from audio-visual sensors to identify sound and images. This technique is being used in industry to guide robot arms and in the military for surveillance. AI also permits limited language translations. Already you can translate almost any of the ma jor languages of the world with the aid of the computer. Computer technology, like every other, has some drawbacks. The future worries some modern thinkers—computers have a potential not only for good but for evil, as well. Whether they are used for mankind’s benefit or harm will depend on the wisdom of the humans who use them. As one scientist says, "The trouble with these machines is that they don’t give a damn.” The author of this article, Ravija Badarinathi, is an assistant professor in the management and marketing department of UNCW’s Cameron School of Business Administration. FROM THESE BEGINNINGS: WILMINGTON COLLEGE 1946-1969 The most complete history of “the college,” from its earliest days in the old Isaac Bear Building in downtown Wilmington, to its new location on College Road and 1969—the year it became a state university. If you graduated from Wilmington College, you’ll remember some of the events author J. Marshall Crews mentions. If you came to UNCW after 1969, you’ll enjoy reading how it was in the early days! As a special offer to readers of UNCW today, the first 100 people who order will receive an autographed, numbered copy of this history of Wilmington College. So don’t wait! Send your check or money order for $9.00 made out to UNCW, to the UNCW Development Office, 601 S. College Rd., Wilmington, NC 28403. If you want us to mail the book to you, please include $2.00 for shipping. FROM THESE BEGINNINGS: WILMINGTON COLLEGE 1946-1969
UNCW Today (University of North Carolina Wilmington Alumni Newsletter)
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Aug. 1, 1984, edition 1
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