U-M student augments scientific syntax with language of love

A literary engineer? That's what best describes a U-M chemical engineering senior who is preparing to spend a year in London studying literary composition.

Kyle Allison will exchange formulas and compounds for form and composition this fall on a scholarship that rewards outstanding writers in the College of Engineering (CoE).

Allison, 21, wrote the winning essay for this year's Roger M. Jones Fellowship Abroad, an all-expenses paid scholarship that allows engineering seniors interested in humanities to study abroad for a year. He will focus on creative writing, modern literature or a combination of the two, he says.

Though the relationship between engineering and literature isn't a linear progression, "studying literature really helps us understand who we are as people and how we fit in," Allison says, adding that this understanding may feed into his future work as an engineer.

Jeanne Murabito, managing director for undergraduate education, suspects this type of fellowship is unique to U-M engineering, and says it's rooted in history.

"The College of Engineering used to have a full-blown humanities program, which evolved into the technical communications program," Murabito says. "I think there is a long tradition of humanities in this college and this is one way we recognize that."

The Roger M. Jones Memorial Fund was established in 1977 to honor a professor who was committed to teaching his engineering students about literature and poetry. Initially the fund supported the Roger M. Jones Poetry Prize, which awards student poetry within CoE. Upon her death, Jones' widow, Pauline, bequeathed her estate to the memorial fund, which now also supports the yearlong fellowship at a cost of about $40,000.

In 2005 Thom Rainwater, who graduated last May from electrical engineering, won both the Poetry Prize and the Jones Fellowship. He chose to study poetry and Scottish verse in St. Andrews, Scotland.

"Poetry and engineering are both exercises in discovering and employing patterns ... " Rainwater wrote in an e-mail from St. Andrews. "While engineering tends to be objective, because of its reliance on the language of math, which is itself objective, poetry tends to be perceived as subjective, fluctuating and interpretable, due to its reliance on the subjectivity of language. I like to meddle with these two perceptions and believe that neither is wholly objective or subjective."

More Stories

• Big House renovations to improve game-day experience
• Coleman praises VOICES volunteers
• U-M regents give nod to $121M Kellogg expansion
• U-M focuses on protecting private personal info
• Careers at Michigan site replaces Jobs Web site with added features and functions
• Expanded seating, amenities approved for softball, baseball stadiums
• Collective effort improves process to get uniqnames
• Spotlight: Moving and Trucking keeps U. humming
• Symposium will provide research-based insight into student life
• Survey: Relationships with faculty, advisers influence doctoral experience
• University appoints newcoordinator of China initiatives
• A tradition of excellence-at atomic resolution
• Knight-Wallace program names 2006-07 fellows
• Faculty Perspective: Senate Assembly Resolution on Gender Identity
• The world to be classroom for students, faculty
• Regents approve faculty promotions
• U-M student augments scientific syntax with language of love
• Electronic stability control proven lifesaver in rollovers
• Ground broken on Kelsey additions
• Photos: Faculty, business meet and greet
• Photo: Distinguished Dissertation Award recipients
• Photo: Pre-UMMA Alumni Memorial Hall
• Don't Miss