bout 50 students and faculty were ordained as “ministers of fun” by Bob Evans, president of Force Fin Products, at his lecture, “The Shape of Things to Come,” Thursday night.

“If it’s not fun, don’t do it. If you must do it, make it fun,” was the oath the audience, consisting mostly of engineering, business and art students, swore.

Evans, the creative genius behind the company, gave attendees insight on how the positive attitude of a contemporary businessman has brought success to his company and progress to the divers’ swim fin industry.

Evans said he started playing with swim fins in 1971 and since has patented 37 designs that put him in the forefront of fin technology. As the primary source for U.S. armed forces’ divers and Time magazine’s 2002 Innovator of the Year, Force Fin has been recognized as the expert of its field.

Evans said Jacques Cousteau, a world-renowned diver, asked him to design a fin that meets the needs of his specialized diving team. Force Fin now is the exclusive provider for Cousteau’s team.

Force Fin’s swim fins function according to people’s natural muscle response, Evans said. Our legs are naturally stronger stroking upward, so the fin opens wide and flat so that more water is moved. However, on the down stroke, when the legs work less, the fin curls in, requiring less energy to reset it to the power stroke.

This “power-recovery” relationship makes the fin easier on the human structure, something other companies don’t acknowledge, he said.

Their source for this technology is nature, Evans said. He has studied all types of fish to identify which forms work best and has tested them with all types of divers. While working, the form’s fish-like acoustic pattern attracts friendly marine life and don’t give off the unwanted turbulence that attracts sharks.

Evans said his reason for speaking at NIU was to start giving back as a mentor by “watering the next generation … just like Johnny Appleseed.”