Aside on Neal Amundson and the Department

Columbia, Missouri, and, sadly, Madden and Stoppel had died. In addition, we had some of the members of the deceased School of Mines and Metallurgy, whose faculty had been dispersed among several departments by Dean Swalin Hutchinson, Nicholson, Sivertsen, Toth, and Gerberich, who had come after this diaspora. 

Such was the department when I was appointed Head35 in 1974, full of vigor and with a tremendous variety of ongoing research.36 I was probably the right person for the job, for it was clearly a transitional time and soon to be fraught with freezes and cuts. If a head can take credit for the successful hires of his administration,371 can hold mine up with the best, for Matt Tirrell came in 1977 and is now himself Head.38 

It is the custom in certain branches of engineering science to seek out the most singular point in the domain of a function. Such a point serves as an organizing center in its neighborhood all possible forms of behavior flourish and may be apprehended coherently. Though it smack a little of the vulgar solecism very unique, I venture to commend 

35 Actually, acting head (in the hope that Amundson would change his mind), but I could never understand the difference. 

37 George Stephanopoulos came at about the time I became head, but Amundson did all the negotiation. 

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