Somewhere along the way, several years after hearing about it, I ran into someone who had heard about that project.  I don't remember any details about that encounter, except that they thought it was something they were taught about, and not a student project.  So it did get around a little.  Also, I would not be surprised if the professor took a bit of credit for it.  Maybe not directly, but if he published it later, people would attribute it to him anyway.