PASADENA—For Russell Drosendahl, copiloting a vintage World War II Curtiss Commando on April 30 was fairly routine. A veteran of 27,000 hours in the air, he has flown everything from the big World War II bombers to TWA jetliners.

PASADENA—The historic 10-foot wind tunnel at the California Institute of Technology will pass into the aviation-history books on April 30, when it is decommissioned after 68 years of continuous service.

Conceived in the 1920s by Theodore von Kármán ("the father of aeronautics"), the wind tunnel was used to test many of the warplanes that helped the Allies win World War II — among them, the P-51 Mustang, the B-24 Liberator, the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-29 Superfortress, the twin-fusilage P-38 Lightning, the B-25 Mitchell, and the night fighter P-61 Black Widow.

PASADENA—Yaser Abu-Mostafa, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Caltech, has received the third annual Richard P. Feynman Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

The Feynman Prize, which is made possible by an endowment from Ione and Robert E. Paradise, is given each year to a Caltech professor who demonstrates exceptional ability, creativity, and innovation in both laboratory and classroom instruction. As the 1996 recipient, Abu-Mostafa will receive $3,000 and an equivalent raise in salary.

Erik Antonsson, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Caltech, has received the second annual Richard P. Feynman Prize for Excellence in Teaching.

This prize, which consists of a cash prize and an equivalent raise in the annual salary of the winner, is awarded each year to a Caltech professor who demonstrates unusual ability, creativity, and innovation in classroom and laboratory teaching. The prize is made possible by an endowment from Ione and Robert E. Paradise.

PASADENA—Scientists affiliated with the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) will publish three sobering papers in the January 13 issue of the prestigious journal Science. The studies examine the nature and likelihood of future earthquakes in the L.A. region, and the expected response of certain types of buildings to a major temblor. The scientists conclude that both the likelihood of major earthquakes in the region and the potential for damage to certain types of large buildings are greater than was previously thought.