WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018 JW Marriott Essex House Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall New York, New York
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EAST COAST SCHOLARSHIP GALA WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2018 JW Marriott Essex House
WELCOME
Graig R. Eastin
Vice President, Institute Advancement
Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall
R ECOGNITION OF RECENT TRANSFORMATIVE COMMITMENTS
New York, New York
SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT FACULTY AND RESEARCH SUPPORT
The Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D.
President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
D INNER PRESIDENTIAL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS PRESENTED TO Gail Kodosky and Jeffrey L. Kodosky ’70, Trustee The Boeing Company | Greg Hyslop, D.Sc.
Helen-Jo Kelly and John E. Kelly III ’78, ’80 Ph.D., Trustee
Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D.
THE RENSSELAER ORCHESTRA
Nicholas DeMaison, Ph.D., Conductor
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COAST TO COAST We thank all of our Corporate Partners whose generous support of these events is helping Rensselaer to “Bridge the Gap” between the cost of the world-class education we provide our students, and the scholarship support we will be able to offer them as we build the university we envision for our third century.
WEST COAST GALA SPONSORS DINNER SPONSOR
BRIDGING THE GAP CIRCLE
CORPORATE SPONSORS
FRIENDS OF RENSSELAER
Direct Energy Benchemark Printing
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EAST COAST GALA SPONSORS DINNER SPONSOR
BRIDGING THE GAP CIRCLE
CORPORATE UNDERWRITER
CORPORATE BENEFACTOR
CORPORATE SPONSORS
FRIENDS OF RENSSELAER
Bank of America Merrill Lynch Core BTS, Inc. Corning Incorporated JMZ Architects and Planners, P.C. Rose & Kiernan Inc. Mimeo
ADDITIONAL CORPORATE SUPPORT PROVIDED BY
Fidelity Investments Artist Pianos Steinway & Sons
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DEAR FRIENDS, It is a sincere pleasure to be in New York City this evening, with the opportunity to thank each of you for your dedication to our beloved Rensselaer. Just a few months ago, we gathered on the West Coast for a companion event, where we celebrated the launch of our capital campaign by showcasing our global challenged-linked research, and visionary approach to the student experience within the framework of a day-long, immersive celebration. This evening, we highlight the arts, which are a key part of our overall vision for Rensselaer as The New Polytechnic, with a historic performance by the Rensselaer Orchestra in a world-class, iconic venue, Carnegie Hall. As Rensselaer approaches its third century, we intend to be even more transformative in the world at large, by achieving our $1 billion initiative, Transformative: Campaign for Global Change. The continued support of our generous individual and institutional donors, some of whom will be recognized this evening, will empower us to accomplish this ambitious goal. The cost of the education we offer at Rensselaer—world-class, immersive, and experiential—is not within reach of many of our prospective students. Because we intend to accept the very best students regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds—and because we intend to honor the vision of Stephen Van Rensselaer, who founded The Rensselaer School to place knowledge “equally within the reach of all”—we must add to our endowment to Bridge the Gap between our resources and our students’ financial needs. Financial support enables us to attract and retain the very best student talent, and the very same principle applies to our faculty. We seek, through the Campaign, to expand our tenured and tenure-track faculty to 500, so that Rensselaer can achieve intellectual critical mass, and continue to lead and innovate in crucial areas of research and education. And continuing to grow, equip, and modernize our beautiful Troy campus is essential to the research, teaching, and learning that will allow us to change the world for generations to come. On behalf of Rensselaer, and our exceptional students and faculty, I invite you to join these endeavors as the pillars of our campaign. Thank you for being here, for what promises to be a very special evening, and for your steadfast support of Rensselaer. Sincerely,
SHIRLEY ANN JACKSON, Ph.D. President Professor of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy Professor of Engineering Sciences 4 2018 EAST COAST SCHOLARSHIP GALA | GIVING.RPI.EDU
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PRESIDENTIAL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD The Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award celebrates those whose unique contributions ensure that the fire ignited by Stephen Van Rensselaer nearly 200 years ago continues to burn brightly at Rensselaer today.
It is our privilege to recognize the distinct examples set forth by the 2018 Honorees: IN RECOGNITION OF EXEMPLARY INDIVIDUAL PHILANTHROPY
Helen-Jo Kelly and John E. Kelly III ’78G, ’80 Ph.D., Trustee Gail Kodosky and Jeffrey L. Kodosky ’70, Trustee IN RECOGNITION OF EXCEPTIONAL CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP
The Boeing Company
PREVIOUS HONOREES
Howard N. Blitman P.E. ’50, Trustee Curtis R. Priem ’82, Trustee IBM
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HELEN-JO AND JOHN E. KELLY III ’78G, ’80 Ph.D. We are pleased to honor Helen-Jo and John E. Kelly III
Dr. Kelly has been an esteemed member of the Rensselaer
’78G, ’80 Ph.D. for their exemplary support of Rensselaer
Board of Trustees since 2010. He and his wife, Helen-Jo,
students and research.
have demonstrated a deep appreciation for Rensselaer
Dr. Kelly began his relationship with Rensselaer during his time as a graduate student, receiving a Master’s Degree in Physics in 1978 and a Doctorate in Materials Engineering in 1980.
students by establishing three endowed scholarships to date: the John E. Kelly III ’78 Scholarship, in 2001, the Nicholas M. Donofrio ’67 IBM Scholarship, in honor of his long-time friend and colleague, in 2010, and the Professor Minoru Tomozawa Scholarship, in honor of a
Dr. Kelly began his 30-plus year career with International
respected Rensselaer faculty member, in 2010. Coupled
Business Machines Corp. (IBM) in 1980, and currently
with the Kellys’ support of the Patroon Scholars Program
serves as senior vice president of Cognitive Solutions
of the Rensselaer Annual Fund, their generous support
and Research. Dr. Kelly and his teams have been
of scholarship at Rensselear has provided opportunities
responsible for numerous technology breakthroughs
for numerous students to attend Rensselaer.
over nearly four decades, including most recently— and perhaps most importantly—advancing the science of cognitive artificial/ augmented intelligence (AI) ... Watson... a household name. This reignited the field of AI globally, which is now transforming every industry and aspect of life from financial services to health care. While the Rensselaer/IBM partnership dates back decades to the revolutionary IBM System/360, first announced in 1964, Dr. Kelly has been instrumental in further cultivating the IBM/Rensselaer partnership that encompasses platforms such as the IBM Blue Gene/Q supercomputer, the Advanced Multiprocessing Optimized System, or AMOS—after Rensselaer founder Amos Eaton—the most powerful supercomputer at an American private university, the Jefferson Project at Lake George, and the Cognitive and Immersive Systems Laboratory.
Most recently, Dr. and Mrs. Kelly established an endowed fund to support the ongoing research within the Jefferson Project: the Helen-Jo and John E. Kelly III ’78 Data Visualization Laboratory, located at the Margaret A. and David M. Darrin ’40 Fresh Water Institute in Lake George. It will come as no surprise that Dr. Kelly has been honored by Rensselaer Alumni Association (RAA) for his service to the Institute, receiving the RAA Fellows Award in 2002, the RAA Alumni Key Award in 2009, and the RAA Alfred Fox Demers Medal in 2018. In 2006, Dr. Kelly also received the Rensselaer Davies Medal for Engineering Achievement. He and Helen-Jo are members of the Stephen Van Rensselaer Society of Patroons at Rensselaer, for their lifetime commitment to Rensselaer in excess of $1 million. Tonight, please join us as we further express our appreciation for the dedication, service, and generosity of Helen-Jo and John E. Kelly III ’78G, ’80 Ph.D.
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GAIL AND JEFFREY L. KODOSKY ’70 It is our privilege to honor Gail and Jeffrey Kodosky ’70
physics and science discovery. As an accompaniment to
for their unmatched support of faculty and students at
this visionary gift, the Gail and Jeffrey L. Kodosky ’70
Rensselaer.
Lecture Series supports annual speakers in the areas of physics, information technology, and entrepreneurship.
Mr. Kodosky earned his Bachelor’s Degree in physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1970. Not long
Known for their enthusiastic patronage of the arts, as
after his graduation, in 1976, Mr. Kodosky co-founded
evidenced by Mr. Kodosky’s recent appointment as
National Instruments and subsequently served as the
Chair of the Board of Officers for the Austin Opera,
company’s vice president of research and development
Mr. and Mrs. Kodosky also have clearly demonstrated
from 1980 until he was named a Business and Technol-
their passion for classical music through the Kodosky
ogy Fellow in 2000. Known as the “Father of LabVIEW”
Foundation Fund for Classical Music, which has
by engineers and scientists worldwide, Mr. Kodosky
provided thousands of tickets to classical music
holds 68 patents associated with LabVIEW technology,
performances for Rensselaer students, faculty, and staff.
and was inducted into the Electronic Design Engineering Hall of Fame for his invention.
Mr. and Mrs. Kodosky are members of the 1824 Society of Patroons at Rensselaer for their lifetime commitments
In addition to the leadership and counsel Mr. Kodosky
in excess of $10 million, and recipients of the prestigious
has provided as a member of the Institute Board of
Alis Aquilae Medal at Rensselaer. Mr. Kodosky has been
Trustees since 2002, he and Mrs. Kodosky lend their
recognized by Rensselaer Alumni Association (RAA),
support to a variety of initiatives at Rensselaer. Perhaps
receiving the RAA Fellows Award in 1999, the Albert
their most transformative investment was that of the very
Fox Demers Medal in 2002, and the highest honor
first research constellation—a concept in its infancy at
bestowed by the RAA, the Distinguished Service Award,
the time. Their belief in the vision of The Rensselaer
in 2018.
Plan resulted in not only their unrestricted support of Rensselaer, but the establishment of the Gail and Jeffrey Kodosky ’70 Constellation in Physics, Information Technology, and Entrepreneurship, to further interdisci-
Tonight, please join us as we celebrate the selfless service, generous philanthropy, and enduring legacy established at Rensselaer by Gail and Jeffrey L. Kodosky ’70.
plinary research focused on energy conversion, future electronics, nano-sciences, and a broad range of other cutting-edge areas of inquiry, including cyber-based
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THE BOEING COMPANY–RENSSELAER PARTNERSHIP More than 50 years ago, Rensselaer pioneered the
In 2014, when a group of executives from The Boeing
concept of cooperative education, which provides
Company visited our Troy campus, the Chairman and
undergraduates with experiential job placements.
CEO at the time, W. James McNerney, Jr., shared why
Visionary corporate partners, such as Boeing, have
Boeing—the largest aerospace company in the world—
helped to ensure the success of the program, and the
seeks out and hires Rensselaer graduates: they share
students who take part in it.
with the company “an aspirational element,” and a
In addition to funding fellowships and establishing a scholarship program for underrepresented minority populations—which to date has provided much-needed funding for many students—Boeing has taken steps to provide Rensselaer students with the tools to build solid foundations for successful careers. The company’s
commitment to making the world a better place. This successful technical partnership earned recognition for Rensselaer in 2012 as a Boeing Supplier of the Year. While demonstrating its affinity for the university through existing partnerships, Boeing is in continual pursuit of additional opportunities for collaboration.
appreciation of diversity has been illustrated by its
We are very proud to honor The Boeing Company with
support of student groups such as the Society of
a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for the
Women Engineers, and the Society for Asian Scientists
organization’s long-standing research partnership with
and Engineers at Rensselaer.
Rensselaer and exceptional dedication to the student
Beyond regular participation in career fairs at Rensse-
experience.
laer, Boeing has provided support to the Professional Leadership Program, which is designed to assist our juniors and seniors in understanding the concepts and complexities associated with leadership. These students also benefited from a panel discussion, led by Boeing, on how to successfully apply for internships, after which many of our students were accepted into Boeing’s internship program. Some have continued on to prosperous careers at Boeing. Today, Boeing employs several Rensselaer graduates.
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GREG HYSLOP, D.Sc.
Chief Technology Officer
Senior Vice President, Boeing Engineering, Test & Technology
The Boeing Company We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Greg Hyslop to
Hyslop reports to Boeing Chairman, President and CEO
accept the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award on
Dennis Muilenburg and is a member of the company’s
behalf of The Boeing Company. As the company’s top
Executive Council.
technology leader, Hyslop oversees the development
Hyslop is a member of the Aeronautics Committee of
and implementation of the enterprise technology
the NASA Advisory Council. He has also been named an
investment strategy.
Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics
His portfolio of responsibilities includes the company-
and Astronautics (AIAA) and is a member of the Board
wide Boeing Engineering function; Boeing Research &
of Trustees of the AIAA Foundation. He serves on the
Technology (BR&T), the company’s advanced central
Advisory Board of the University of Nebraska’s Engineer-
research and development organization; Boeing Test &
ing College, as well as on the Engineering Advisory
Evaluation (BT&E), the team that verifies and validates
Council of the University of Notre Dame’s College of
Boeing’s commercial and defense products; and the
Engineering.
Intellectual Property Management organization, which works to protect and strategically leverage the company’s intellectual property.
Hyslop has a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and a Master of Science degree in mathematics from the University of Nebraska. He also has a
In his role leading the Engineering function, which
Doctor of Science degree in systems science and
includes more than 45,000 engineers around the world,
mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis,
Hyslop partners with the Engineering leaders of Boeing’s
where he served as an adjunct professor.
business units to ensure the company deploys the proper technical resources to support programs across the enterprise. He also plays a key role in decisions that affect the technical integrity of Boeing products, services and processes.
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Congratulations Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award Honorees The Boeing Company Helen-Jo Kelly and John E. Kelly III ’78G, ’80 Ph.D., Trustee Gail Kodosky and Jeffrey L. Kodosky ’70, Trustee From Wanda Denson-Low ’78, J.D., Vice Chair, Rensselaer Board of Trustees, Retired Senior Vice President, Office of Internal Governance, The Boeing Company and Ronald Low, J.D.
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#6 Among 50 best video game design schools —TheBestSchools.org (2017)
#1
#6
Among information technology and web science undergraduate programs at national colleges and universities
Undergraduate physics program
—College Choice (2017)
#2 Among undergraduate business schools in New York state —College Choice (2017)
#3 In the nation for our Masters of Business Analytics —TFE Times
—College Factual
#12
#9 Among 30 U.S. private colleges where students go on to earn the most money —CNBC (2017)
#9 In the U.S. in the Best Masters and MBAs ranking for the M.S. in Business Analytics — Eduniversal (2017)
In the nation for graduate nuclear engineering programs —U.S. News & World Report (2017)
#13 Best undergraduate programs in architecture —DesignIntelligence (2017)
#17 In the nation for graduate industrial engineering programs —U.S. News & World Report (2017)
Rensselaer designated as an All-Steinway School —Steinway & Sons (2016)
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You & Western Digital Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute thanks Western Digital for their commitment to provide scholarship resources to students.
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MEMBERS OF THE CLASS OF 2019 ARE EMPOWERED BY SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT To be able to study at RPI is not a
I really appreciate the assistance
I cannot thank you enough for your
miracle. It is the result of the efforts
because it’s allowed me to continue
kindness that has allowed me to
of everyone who helped me reach
excelling in academics while
pursue my dreams. Without your
this point. Unfortunately, money is
preparing to enter the professional
aid, I would not be able to learn the
a huge barrier to so many. For the
job market as a powerful resource
physics and mathematics that
grants that have been made to me,
that has the potential to make a
interest me so much. I am very
I am truly thankful. I remind myself
positive difference.
happy for actualizing my mother
frequently that I owe it to so many more than myself to succeed.
JONATHAN LOIACONO ’19 Bronxville, NY
CARSON DUNBAR ’19
Business and Management
Corpus Christi, TX
Angelo and Rosina DeStefano Valente
Chemical Engineering
Scholarship
someone who can change the world. Thank you so much for giving me this great opportunity. RAYMOND WU ’19
Walter E. Irving Scholarship
West Hurley, NY Being able to attend RPI is
As a beneficiary of a scholarship,
something that I dreamed to do
I feel supported by the alumni who
once I was first contacted by a
have been in my shoes in the past
recruiter. Any assistance in allowing
to make the most of the excellent
me to fulfill that dreams is greatly
classes at RPI as well as the quality
appreciated. From this support I
research opportunities at my
am able to cut down on accruing
disposal. This support has made it
debt while being able to attend RPI,
possible for me to pursue an
helping me reach my goals of
exceptional undergraduate educa-
changing the world with the
tion and got me interested in going
knowledge that I have gained.
to graduate school.
and father’s dreams in becoming
Physics and Mathematics Laura Neske Valente Scholarship
MATTHEW STORMER ’19
ASHLEY HERSEY ’19
Bear, DE
Easton, ME
Mechanical Engineering, and Design,
Chemical Engineering
Innovation, and Society
Patrick Thomas Shubsda Memorial
Mary F. and William T. Bahr ’49 Memorial
Scholarship
Scholarship
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RECOGNITION FOR EXCELLENCE IN MUSIC
In 2016, Rensselaer joined more than 180 institutions on five continents designated as an All-Steinway School. This prestigious designation is a testimony to Rensselaer’s commitment to providing expertly crafted pianos to our students for the study of music. Steinway & Sons awards the All-Steinway School
According to Steinway, more than 90 percent of the
designation to music educational institutions in which
world’s active concert pianists—over 1,600 artists—
not less than 90 percent of pianos (in performance
bear the title “Steinway Artist.” Each pianist prefers to
venues, teaching studios, or practice rooms) are
perform on a Steinway, recognizing the expansive
Steinway instruments, maintained in performance-
timbral capabilities of the instrument. According to the
quality condition by Steinway-certified technicians.
organization, each Steinway piano, consisting of more
Almost one year later, Mary Simoni, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
than 12,000 individual parts, has its own musical character and is as unique as the individual who plays it.
(HASS) at Rensselaer, joined contemporary artists
Simoni was recognized as a Steinway Artist at an event
including Lang Lang, Diana Krall, and Billy Joel, as
at Steinway Hall in New York on November 15, 2017,
well as “Steinway immortals” such as Cole Porter,
where she performed with Kimberly Dolanski Osburn
Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Arthur Rubinstein, in
(soprano), manager of operations and administrative
bearing the title of Steinway Artist.
services in HASS; and Rensselaer students Aidan Gorby ’19 (saxophones), a biology major preparing for a career in medicine; Alexander Shane Jones ’18 (upright bass), an applied mathematics major, with a minor in finance; and Matthew Lamport ’19 (drums), a mechanical engineering major.
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Our Steinway pianos exemplify the seriousness of our commitment at Rensselaer to the arts, and to the connection between the arts and science and technology. We thank Steinway & Sons for recognizing Rensselaer as a university that provides its students and faculty with the most advanced tools for education, for expression, for collaboration, and for innovation.” – PRESIDENT SHIRLEY ANN JACKSON, Ph.D.
ALL-STEINWAY PLAQUE OF RECOGNITION PRESENTED DECEMBER 18, 2016 Paul Jennings, General Manager of Artist Pianos, Sally Covaleskie, National Director of Institutional Sales, Steinway & Sons; Dr. Mary Simoni, Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson
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TRANSFORM. INNOVATE. INSPIRE.
This evening, we celebrate the launch of our new Bachelor of Science in Music, our enduring commitment to student scholarship, and the invigoration of the Rensselaer community through the arts. The Rensselaer Orchestra will perform Missy Mazzoli’s
AOP/Prototype Festival), Mojiao Wang’s Encounter
River Rouge Transfiguration and Jean Sibelius’s
(Beijing Modern Music Festival), James Ilgenfritz’s The
Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 82.
Ticket That Exploded, Charles Fussell’s The Astronaut’s
Mazzoli was commissioned to compose River Rouge Transfiguration in 2013 by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The “River Rouge” of the title refers to the
Tale, and newly commissioned orchestral works by Miya Masaoka, Zach Layton, Erica Ball, Eli Greenhoe and others.
Ford Motors plant in Detroit, which was constructed
Also an active composer, DeMaison’s music has been
between 1917 and 1928, transforming the city.
described as “crossing the threshold from being
Sibelius composed Symphony No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 82 after concluding a successful American concert tour. The piece premiered on December 8, 1915, his 50th birthday, which had been designated a national holiday in his native Finland. Sibelius revised his composition during World War I, before finally
abstractly academic to emotionally provocative,” (Time Out NY) and “faster and blippier…smooth-versusscreechy…both ominous and playful at the same time.” (Lucid Culture). His work spans from chamber works with live electronic audio and video components to works for chorus and orchestra. Ensembles that have performed DeMaison’s music include The New York
releasing it for publication in 1919.
Philharmonic, Giants Are Small, PRISM Saxophone
Since Chicago Magazine first described his early opera
Quartet, NOISEBridge, andPlay, Del Sol String Quartet,
projects as “Chicago’s most daring and avant-garde” in
ensemble dal niente, UCSD New Music Ensemble,
2010, Nicholas DeMaison Ph.D. has continued to prove
Hunter College Campus School Orchestra, South
himself as one of the most capable conductor/composers
Hadley Chorale, Florilegium Chamber Choir and Opera
in the young generation of multi-talented musicians
Cabal. His work has been featured at June in Buffalo.
working to reimagine classical institutions and genres.
He regularly works on the music staff for broadcast
In recent seasons he has led the premiere productions
productions with the New York Philharmonic, MediciTV,
of Pauline Oliveros’ The Nubian Word for Flowers (which
and Live from Lincoln Center.
he assembled posthumously for performance—ICE/
DeMaison is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory and
Roulette), Nathan Davis’ Hagoromo (ICE/AOP/BAM
UC San Diego. He joined the Rensselaer faculty in 2013.
Next Wave), Mikael Karlsson’s The Echo Drift (ICE/
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T HE RENSSELAER ORCHESTRA Reinvigorated in 2012 by the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences and housed in the Department of the Arts, the Rensselaer Orchestra performs classics of the orchestral repertoire and regularly premieres new and experimental works. In anticipation of an expanded music facility in West Hall, the group of undergraduate and graduate students currently makes its performing home in The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC), under the direction of Maestro Nicholas DeMaison. We are pleased to welcome family and friends of orchestra members to this evening’s performance. VIOLIN I Chey Barlao ’19 (concertmaster) Jake Bugiera ’22 Tyler Chang ’19 Victor Chen ’19 Meixing Dong ’15 * Tudor Dornescu ^ James Hanford ’16* Alexander He ’22 Lucas Houchin-Miller ’22 Patti Kilroy ^ Chuan Kai Nicholas Lim ’19 Hannah Lim ’22 Francesca Lo ’22 Prakhyat Pola ’19
Chloe Fisher ’21
Xavier Salazar ’22
Wyatt Garber ’22
Tenzin Tashi ’19
Evan Hall ’22
Greg Williams ^
Elizabeth Holland ’22 Louis Hyde ’19 Gabriela Islava Hofmeyer ’95 * Zachary Johnson ’22 Aleksandra Labinska # Nathaniel Moretz ’20 Elisabeth Schanz ’21 Stephanie Su ’20 Janet Xu ’15 * Destin Yee ’22 Yinxiao Zhang ’22 VIOLA
Miriam Rundell ’21
CELLO Frank Peters ’21 (principal) Matthew Benjamin ’20 Naila Brown ’19 Nolan Bunyaviroch ’21 Sean Burns ’21 Celia Chen ’21 Margaret Harwood # Russell Jones ’17* Miranda Kaiser ’20 Jayson Mintz ’22 Catherine Tonias ’22
Sylvia Shablovsky
Isabelle Peck ’19 (principal)
Mosa Tsay ^
Zicheng Tao ’22
Rose Bollerman ’22
Ryan Waddell ’21
Fred Choi ’21
Tianhang Zhu ’20
Kallie Ciechomski ^
Jack Zhu ’21
VIOLIN II Kevin Donovan ’18 (principal) Andréa Deeb*’18 ’18G Erica Dicker ^
Carrie Frey ^ Anna Heflin ^ Dan Kazenoff ’19 Paul Koonaporn ’21
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MAESTRO NICHOLAS DEMAISON, Ph.D.
BASS
BASSOON
Peter Firmin ’20 (principal)
Brian Callahan ’15G *
Greg Chudzik ^
Sara Schoenbeck ^
Glenn Edmonds ’20
Nikhil Shah ’21
Stephen Jones ^ Tristan Kasten Krause^ Emily Lockwood ’20 Anthony Naslas ’18 * Patrick O’Connell # FLUTE
FRENCH HORN James Cassidy ’20 Patrick Celentano ’17 *
Robert Eatmon ’22
John Gattis ^
Bingjia Wang ’19
Bert Hill ^ Emily Lottes ’19
Gwen Diebold ’18*
Tristan Protzman ’20
Roberta Michel ^
Ethan Solomon ’22
Molly Monge ’22
Duncan Turner ’20
Chris Saour ’23 Jacob Walker ’18 * PICCOLO Joe Souto ’19 OBOE Stuart Breczinski ^ Michelle Farah ^ Elisabeth Ryan ’19 CLARINET Max Jenquin ’17 * Jarrett Rosenberg ’22 Dalton Slegel ’20 Steven Tignor ’16 *
TUBA
TRUMPET
PIANO Julia DenBoer # HARP Kathryn Andrews ^
Kate Amrine ^ Grant Block ’21
PERCUSSION
Devin Glenn ’16 *
Russell Greenberg ^
Harrison Ma ’19
Nick Johnson ’20
Drake Niedzielski ’19
Gabriel Priem ’22
Ben Stovall ’17 *
Griffin Smith ’21
TROMBONE
ORCHESTRA MANAGER
Jen Baker ^
Eric Miller ’21
Mallory Peskins ’19 Ed Prettyman ’19 Jacob Weisbard ’22
* Rensselaer Orchestra Alumni and Alumnae # Rensselaer Faculty ^ Professional Musician
Eric Umble ^ 2018 EAST COAST SCHOLARSHIP GALA
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What is the role of the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences in the 21st century technological research university? The answer is simple: We are seekers. We seek to understand the very nature of our humanity. We seek to improve the quality of life. We seek to preserve our world. We seek truth through artistic innovation...” – MARY SIMONI, Ph.D. Dean, School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGY: THE BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN MUSIC To preserve Rensselaer’s prominence as a leader in
the STEM disciplines as a means of preparing a modern
pedagogical innovation, we have added 21 new
musician that is fluent in the arts as well as the
academic degree programs in emerging fields. Just this
sciences. This coupling will attract a wider demographic
year, the first incoming cohort of students has enrolled
of students within the landscape of not only other
in our new, technologically-infused Bachelor of Science
technological universities in the United States, but also
in Music degree. We expect many other students will
music conservatories and schools of music.
select our music degree.
We are especially proud of this degree as it exemplifies
The B.S. in Music is designed to prepare Rensselaer
a curricular instantiation of Art_X@Rensselaer. The
students for 21st century careers in music, such as
vision of Art_X is to explicate the relationship between
sound design for virtual reality, composition for interac-
the arts (=art) and another field (=x), realizing the art in
tive games, or developing algorithms for music net-
and of science and the science in and of art.
works. The degree is offered as a single disciplinary major, but is also designed to pair as a dual major with
In the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at Rensselaer, we embrace the provocative challenge of reimagining the traditional liberal arts in our rapidly evolving cultural context. The B.S. in Music establishes Rensselaer as the vanguard of cross-disciplinary inquiry that fuses technology with the arts and sciences.
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The Szabat Sisters
FOR THE LOVE OF MATH AND MUSIC Scholarship is very important to Linda Szabat Sanford ’75G, Trustee Emerita. After earning a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at St. John’s University, it was a full scholarship to attend Rensselaer that played a major role
LINDA SZABAT SANFORD ’75G
in her decision to earn a master’s degree in Operations Research and Statistics. Linda’s recognition of the
But the sisters didn’t focus on just math and science.
importance of scholarship led her to create the Linda
Each of them took singing and piano lessons from a
Szabat Sanford ’75 Scholarship in 2006 for female
neighbor who had performed at the Metropolitan Opera.
students enrolled in the School of Engineering, School
They would take what they learned in lessons and put it
of Science, or those pursuing a degree in information
into practice—performing regularly at the annual Lions
technology and web science. Since its establishment,
Club talent show. “I love how Rensselaer has added
there have been six student beneficiaries. Linda’s most
music and the arts to their curriculum,” Linda says.
recent commitment will provide additional resources for
“Focusing on music helped us to get comfortable in
those students, and will extend the support to female
front of people at a very young age. This well-rounded-
students pursuing the new Bachelor of Science degree in
ness is a critical piece of preparing our graduates for
Music.
success. We are able to leverage technology with the
Linda grew up on her grandparents’ potato farm in Long
arts—a perfect demonstration of what transformation is.”
Island, NY with her parents and four sisters. Each of the
Throughout her 39-year career at IBM, Linda became
Szabat sisters enjoyed math and science, and today
intimately familiar with transformation. During the last
have successful careers in the STEM fields, after having
10 years of her career, she led the transformation of IBM.
earned master and doctorate degrees. “We used a lot of
“I set up an internal team on how to transform an
math on the farm,” states Linda, “whether it was figuring
organization—one very important element was creating
out how many rows to move the irrigation pipes or what
a team of smart, great statisticians with analytic capabili-
discount to give at the end of the day to make sure all
ties who mastered the leveraging of data and analytics,”
the vegetables were sold!”
Linda states. “I was so excited to have the opportunity to
Although they didn’t have a lot of resources, and never attended college themselves, her parents were bound
create this team that is still very much a critical part of IBM today.”
and determined that each of their daughters attend
Linda already sees intuitive analytical traits in her two
college. “At that time, it was rare for women to pursue
granddaughters, 9 and 4. “Interest starts early. Young
higher education,” states Linda. “If it wasn’t for scholar-
girls interested in math or science want to solve a
ship and our parents’ encouragement, we wouldn’t have
problem. As we move forward, we need to figure out
been able to receive the education we did.”
how to keep that natural curiosity and instinct growing. The world needs it.” 2018 EAST COAST SCHOLARSHIP GALA | GIVING.RPI.EDU
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TRANSFORMATIVE PRIORITY:
BRIDGING THE GAP:
IMPROVING ACCESS AND ENHANCING THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE To attract and retain the smartest and most promising
We educate our students to be intellectually agile,
scholars, Rensselaer must have the financial resources
multi-culturally sophisticated, and globally focused,
to compete with other top-tier universities, including
and prepare them to confidently address the challenges
those able to meet the full financial needs of students.
and opportunities of the 21st century. Scholarships
Improving access and enhancing the student
alleviate the constraints of excessive debt, empowering
experience requires us to bridge the gap in available
our graduates to take risks and pursue dreams that
financial aid.
have the potential to reward us all.
RPI represents a major pivot point in my life journey. I am honored to be here.” – CODY MADIGAN ’19
Saratoga Springs, NY Materials Engineering Martha and Clinton Thornton ’33 Scholarship
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We recognize that bright young men and women come from diverse ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds the world over. Attracting these talented applicants, regardless of financial need, is integral to creating a richer and more rewarding educational experience for all Rensselaer students. Scholarships create life-changing opportunities for deserving students to focus on their education with all the energy and attention such a transformative endeavor deserves.
43% UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WHOSE NEED EXCEEDS FINANCIAL AID TOTAL NEED PER YEAR EXCEEDS AID BY
$35,030,037 At this time, Rensselaer is unable to meet the full financial aid need for nearly half of our undergraduate population. We must close the existing financial aid gap to attract the most talented students to Rensselaer.
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RECOGNIZING TRANSFORMATIONAL STUDENT SUPPORT As the first technological university in the English-speaking world, Rensselaer is dedicated to educating the leaders of tomorrow to address global challenges, within the construct of The New Polytechnic. To continue doing so, we must strengthen our ethnic, gender, intellectual, and geographic diversity, as outlined in The Rensselaer Plan 2024. In addition, in order to provide all accepted students, regardless of socioeconomic background, the opportunity to attain a world-class STEM education, we must expand our financial aid resources. We are pleased to recognize the generosity of donors who have made initial or additional transformative commitments since we last gathered to celebrate student support at the inaugural Rensselaer Scholarship Gala in 2016.
ANONYMOUS LAURY EDWARDS AND KENT R. EDWARDS ’63 The Laury and Kent Edwards ’63 Scholarship was established in 2017 by Laury and Kent R. Edwards ’63 in support of undergraduate students enrolled in the School of Engineering. JOHN S. HOLMES ’47* The Holmes Engineering Scholarship was established in 2017, through the estate of John S. Holmes ’47, for students enrolled in the School of Engineering. LINDA PITZI JOJO ’87, ’92G AND ROBERT R. JOJO ’87G The Linda Pitzi Jojo ’87, ’92G and Robert R. Jojo ’87G Scholarship was established in 2017 by Linda Pitzi Jojo ’87, ’92G, Rensselaer Trustee, and Robert R. Jojo ’87G with first preference for women enrolled in the School of Science or School of Engineering. TERESA A. LITTLE AND MARK M. LITTLE ’82 The Teresa A. and Mark M. Little ’82 Scholarship was established in 2013 by Rensselaer Trustee Mark M. Little ’82 and Teresa A. Little, for students in the School of Engineering.
As of September 1, 2018
*Deceased
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ANN (NANCY) LYONS AND ROBERT J. LYONS ’50 The Ann and Robert J. Lyons ’50 Scholarship was established in 2017 by Ann (Nancy) and Robert J. Lyons ’50 to support students in the School of Engineering. WILLIAM F. MCKAY ’81, ’86G The William F. McKay ’86G
Both of us have benefited from the help of others in achieving success in circumstances which otherwise might have disallowed it. Our hope is that students who benefit from our fund will achieve success and help others do the same.” – LAURY AND KENT R. EDWARDS ’63
Biomedical Engineering Scholarship was established in 2017 by William McKay ’81, ’86G to support
science. An amendment in 2018
SUSAN O. WOJNAR AND
undergraduate students accepted to
incorporated the newly-established
THEODORE J. WOJNAR, JR. ’80
the biomedical engineering program
music major.
The Susan O. and Theodore J.
who demonstrate academic promise and extreme financial need.
THEODORE SINGER ’48* The Ted Singer ’48 Scholarship was
Wojnar, Jr. ’80 Scholarship was established in 2017 by Susan and T.J. Wojnar, Jr. ’80, Rensselaer
HARRY F. MEINERS ’52, ’58G*
established in 2013, through the
The Harry Meiners Fellowship
estate of Theodore Singer ’48, in
Program was established in 1994
support of worthy and needy
through the Trust of Professor Harry
students enrolled in the School of
F. Meiners ’52, ’58G in support of
Engineering, with first preference for
graduate students studying physics.
students majoring in mechanical
MONA ZANDER AND
engineering.
EDWARD J. ZANDER ’68
LINDA S. SANFORD ’75G The Linda Szabat Sanford ’75
CAROL WEISSMAN AND
Scholarship was established in 2006
ROBERT J. WEISSMAN
by Linda Szabat Sanford ’75G,
The Weissman Family Scholarship
Rensselaer Trustee Emerita, for
was established in 2005 by Robert
female students enrolled in the
J. Weissman for female students
School of Engineering, School of
enrolled in the School of Science,
Science, or those pursuing a degree
majoring in mathematics.
in information technology and web
Trustee, to support talented students at Rensselaer with first preference for those enrolled in the School of Engineering.
The Mona and Edward J. Zander ’68 Scholarship was established in 2007 by Mona and Edward Zander ’68, Rensselaer Trustee, for students who demonstrate financial need, academic excellence, and other criteria that the Institute deems of value.
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STUDENT AMBASSADORS CAROLINA MOTTER CATARINO ’19
CHRISTIE CHEN ’19
Curitiba, Paraná - Brazil
Electrical Engineering
Chemical and Biological Engineering, Ph.D.
Boeing Scholar
Science Without Borders Program (Brazil)
New York, NY
Because of my internship at Boeing,
As a scientist, my dream is to help
I’d like to work for Boeing after I
end animal testing in the Brazilian
graduate. It’s such a great place to
industry, and continue working for the
work, with nice mentors and many
development of new models that will
opportunities. I chose Rensselaer
allow us to expand the range of tests
because of the motto, ‘why not
that can be performed without animal
change the world?’
models or animal-derived materials.
BRANDON HERRADA ’20
JOCELYN MCCONNON ’21
Torrance, CA
St. Johnsbury, VT
Computer and Systems Engineering
Mathematics
Boeing Scholar
Rensselaer Alumni Association Scholarship
Becoming an engineer has been a
I am truly passionate about my
large part of my identity since I was
studies in mathematics. As I think
a child, as it has always been my
about my own professional future,
dream to follow in my grandfather’s
I will always think of the unique
footsteps. Rensselaer has provided
experience of attending a polytechnic
me the opportunity to acquire knowl-
institute. The financial support is a
edge and skills that have given me
gift that I am proud to have received,
the edge when it comes to working
and I am thankful to those who
with companies in the real world.
came before me.
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OLIVER FEAGIN ’21
GINO GASBARRO ’18, ’19G
GRAYSON GERLICH ’20
Harbor City, CA
Northridge, CA
Denver, CO
Psychological Science and Business Management
Mechanical Engineering, B.S. and M.Eng.
Biomedical Engineering
Barbara W. and William J. Raymond ’60 Scholarship
Currently my plan is to pursue a
learned that you have to build up
Scholarship support has helped to
into the public sector and use my
your foundation so that you have
lift a weight off of my shoulders, and
education to make meaningful
something to stand on when you
enabled me to focus on my studies
change. Whether that becomes a
reach new heights. I’ve learned that
and community involvement at
position in academia, in nonprofits,
you have to embrace yourself and
Rensselaer. It has also given me
or elsewhere, I’m seeking to utilize
instead of casting your weaknesses
the possibility to experience this
my RPI experience to help build a
aside, transform them into strengths
invaluable, first-class education, and
better world community.
that you can rely upon.
the opportunity to succeed in life.
JACKIE PELHAM ’21
TOMÁS PROVENCHER ’21
ILSSE SALINAS ’19
Voorheesville, NY
Morgantown, WV
McAllen, Texas
Biochemistry and Biophysics
Physics and Mathematics
Biomedical Engineering
Carol D. and Samuel C. Wait, Jr. ’53 Undergraduate Research Scholars Fund
John E. Kelly III ’78 Scholarship
The Low Family Endowed Scholarship
I’ve been given an opportunity to
Rensselaer seemed like the type of
Miriam and Milton A. Prince ‘34 Fund for
attend Rensselaer. No matter where
college anyone would want to attend,
Undergraduate Research Support
I end up, I plan to help others
given that its academic challenges
John L. Marsh ‘58 Undergraduate
achieve what they want to achieve.
and social opportunities allow for
Research Scholars Fund
Being a professor would be the
students to experiment within the
best way for me to pay it forward,
paths they encounter so that they can
because I would be able to give
mold and shape themselves into
students the resources to change
outstanding individuals. I felt that RPI
the world in their own way.
would be the best match for me as I
While attending Rensselaer, I’ve
Paying it forward is something that is very important to me. Community STEM outreach activities are current efforts of mine, with philanthropy as a future goal.
Ph.D. Ultimately, I’d like to move
grew into the type of person I was meant to be. 2018 EAST COAST SCHOLARSHIP GALA
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BUILDING A LEGACY I have always felt that my RPI education was responsible for my ability to design and develop helpful products, to create a successful business, and to enjoy a wonderful life. I would hope that by providing a scholarship it would not only benefit RPI but would provide young students with a superb education, not only helpful to themselves, but helpful to others.” – ROBERT LYONS ’50 A Rensselaer education did not come easily to Robert
in Management Engineering in January 1950, and
Lyons ’50. Following a referral to Rensselaer, as one of
married Nancy the following June. Lyons went on to
his math teacher’s “best students,” Lyons requested an
join his father’s manufacturing company in Connecticut,
application, was accepted, and asked for his father’s
where he secured many U.S. and foreign patents, and
blessing to enroll. In the fall of 1940, Lyons hitched a
grew the Bilco Company—which he would eventually
ride from Connecticut, with a friend who was on his way
lead—into an internationally-recognized supplier to the
to Cornell University, and walked through the iconic
architectural and construction industries.
archway onto the Troy campus.
At the same time, the Lyons’ family also grew, and now
Raised during the Great Depression, Lyons was the first
includes seven children, 16 grandchildren, and five
of six siblings to go to college. His path took a turn
great-grandchildren.
during the first semester of his second year, when he received a World War II draft notice, and left Rensselaer for airplane mechanic school. Showing initiative yet again, Lyons applied and was accepted to pre-flight training and navigation school, followed by radar school.
The Lyons’ support of Rensselaer extends beyond the endowed scholarship he and Nancy established in 2017, that will eventually support students in the School of Engineering. He has given generously of his time and talent in other ways, through his involvement with the
Ultimately, he was assigned to a 12-member crew that
Rensselaer Alumni Association Club of Southern
would fly the newly-designed and largest airplane at the
Connecticut, which established its own endowed
time, the B-29, out of the Mariana Islands. Lyons survived
scholarship. The Lyons are pictured with the 2017-2018
several 14-hour nighttime bombing missions over Japan
beneficiary, Marek Harabin ’18.
before being joined on the base by another secretive fleet of B-29s. One of them was the Enola Gay, whose historic mission was key to the Japanese surrender.
The Lyons are proud members of the Rensselaer Heritage Society, which recognizes individuals who have chosen to leave a legacy at Rensselaer by planning a
Lyons returned to Rensselaer, where he met Ann
testamentary gift or making a life income gift. We are
“Nancy” O’Connor, a student at Russell Sage College.
grateful for their generosity, dedication, and support.
A decade after he first enrolled, Lyons received a B.S.
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ďƒš SIGNATURE RESEARCH THRUSTS BIOTECHNOLOGY AND LIFE SCIENCES Creates new routes to drug discovery and development, and understanding the fundamental mechanisms of disease. COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING Focuses on high performance computing, big data, and data analytics, which supports research and innovation across a broad front. MEDIA, ARTS, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY Facilitates new approaches to networking, advanced visualization, sensor design, haptics, and multiscale modeling and simulation. ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, AND SMART SYSTEMS Explores renewable technologies, energy efficiency, and the understanding of global environmental change to preserve the bio-diversity of our planet. NANOTECHNOLOGY AND ADVANCED MATERIALS Utilizes the atomic and molecular properties of a wide range of nanostructured materials to create new, functional hybrid products and systems.
Within these signature thrusts, Rensselaer faculty have created the darkest nanomaterial yet devised and have used magnetic forces to control gene expression. They are unlocking the secrets of, and treatment modalities for, diseases such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and osteoporosis; pioneering sustainable building materials from nano-engineered structures and from agricultural waste; and, shaping the smart power grids of the future.
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The best leaders attune themselves to the complicated, interconnected systems that form the contexts for their decisions. Innovation… takes thoughtful analysis, understanding of the value and limits of data, and, perhaps most of all, an open perspective to sort through what is significant and what is trivial.” – PRESIDENT SHIRLEY ANN JACKSON, Ph.D.
RECOGNIZING TRANSFORMATIONAL FACULTY AND RESEARCH SUPPORT This award recognizes donors who have recently made substantial commitments to funds in support of faculty and research during Transformative: Campaign for Global Change. THE GRANTHAM FOUNDATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF
The design of this award
THE ENVIRONMENT
was inspired by the mathematical symbol for
JUDITH AND THOMAS N. IOVINO ’73 We are grateful for the additional contribution to enhance the support provided to geotechnics and earthquake expert, Professor Tarek Abdoun, the Judith and Thomas Iovino ’73 Professor in Civil Engineering. BETTY* AND HOWARD P.* ISERMANN ’42 The Howard P. Isermann ’42 Chair in Chemical and Biological Engineering was funded through a generous testamentary gift through the estate of Howard P. Isermann, Class of 1942. JENNIFER AND DANIEL T. PICKETT III ’90 The Pickett Family Career Development Professor in Data Science, established in 2015, will support a promising young faculty member working to address pressing global data issues.
infinity. It comes from the Steuben Gallery of Fine Crystal, and is representative of the synergistic relationship between Rensselaer and Corning Incorporated. Steuben was founded in 1903 and named for Steuben County, New York, where the town of Corning is located. In 1918, Steuben became part of Corning Glass Works, now Corning Incorporated.
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RESEARCH CONSTELLATIONS
A Research Constellation is a unique, transformative model for research endeavors launched only at Rensselaer—a multidisciplinary collaboration among stellar senior faculty, promising junior faculty, gifted graduate students, and ambitious undergraduates. Through this synergy, scholars address the interconnected global challenges we face, including energy, water, and food supplies, climate change, sustainable infrastructure, national and global security, and disease prevention and mitigation. Each Research Constellation is a bold endeavor to push past the boundaries— in microelectronics and microsystems, in advanced materials, in nanotechnology, advanced scientific computation, modeling, and simulation. As global challenges and opportunities evolve, so does the need to establish new CINDI AND CURTIS R. PRIEM ’82
Research Constellations.
were recognized at the West Coast Rensselaer Scholarship Gala in June 2018 for establishing our most recent Research Constellation the Curtis. R. Priem ’82 Cognitive and Immersive Systems Constellation.
Rensselaer Research Constellations have been generously funded by these dedicated individuals: GAIL AND JEFFREY L. KODOSKY ’70 Constellation in Physics, Information Technology, and Entrepreneurship (2000) Noble Enterprise Constellation (2001) MORRIS “MARTY” SILVERMAN* Wellfleet Constellation in Future Chips Research (2004) KATHLEEN M. AND PAUL J. SEVERINO ’69 *Deceased
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CURTIS R. PRIEM EXPERIMENTAL MEDIA AND PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Earlier this month, the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) commemorated a decade of adventurous programming at the intersection of art, science, and technology with the celebration. In its first decade, EMPAC has commissioned more than 100 new time-based artworks across the disciplines of music, dance, theater, visual arts, and film, has presented over 600 cross-genre productions, logged over 4,000 days of research and artist residencies, and developed pioneering experimental media technologies. Hailed by The New York Times as “the concert hall of the 21st century,” EMPAC is widely regarded as the country’s most technologically advanced performing arts center and serves as a model for new initiatives, centers and institutions around the globe. As an icon of “The New Polytechnic,” Rensselaer’s vision of transdisciplinary education and research, EMPAC is the most advanced performing arts center in the world, and a laboratory for research into human-digital interactions of all kinds, at human scale. The celebration included presentations of cross-disciplinary research at EMPAC, demonstrating technologies such as the Wave Field Synthesis 3D audio system developed by EMPAC engineers, and highlighting the work of the Cognitive and Immersive Systems Laboratory (CISL), a joint research venture between Rensselaer and IBM, developing new human-scale computer interfaces integrating AI with human-group interactions.
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Special gratitude and recognition are extended to the following donors who have made commitments of $1 million or more in support of Transformative: Campaign for Global Change. INDIVIDUALS
Thelma* and Kenneth* T. Lally
CORPORATIONS,
Anonymous
Teresa A. and Mark M. Little ’82
FOUNDATIONS, AND
Christel* and James E. Alden ’58
Nancy and Robert J. Lyons ’50
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
Cornelia Bailey*
George F. Mahe Jr. ’42*
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Janet and C. Lloyd Bauer ’55
Judith B. and Thomas* L. McClintock ’47
American Heart Association
Betty* and Paul* D. Birkhahn ’47 Wanda K. Denson-Low ’78 and Ronald Low
William McKay ’81, ’86G Harry F. Meiners ’52*
Anonymous Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Boeing Company
Evelyn* Z. and Conrad* Diehl ’50
Douglas A. Mercer ’77
Laury and Kent Edwards ’63
Robert D. Nalven ’52*
Samuel J. Eva* Class of 1891
Lynn Noble
Evelyn M. and Hugo S. Ferguson ’56
Barbara D. and Roger B. Orloff ’60
Jeanne and Frank M. Fischer ’64
Jennifer and Daniel T. Pickett III ’90
Nancy E. and Walter J. Galvin ’68
Jessie* N. and George* W. Price ’37
William W. Gibson*
Cindi and Curtis R. Priem ’82
Elisabeth Smith Golden and Arthur F. Golden ’66
Linda S. Sanford ’75
The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment
Kathleen M. and Paul J. Severino ’69
Helen V. Froehlich Foundation
Gail* E. and Samuel* F. Heffner Jr. ’56
Theodore Singer ’48*
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Jerene and William H. Hernstadt ’57
Ranjana and Srinivasan Sivaram ’85
IBM
John S. Holmes ’47*
Carl J. Thomsen ’38*
Isermann Family Foundation
Judith M. and Thomas N. Iovino ’73
The Jaffe Foundation
Betty* and Howard* P. Isermann ’42
Eleanor* and Howard* E. Van Winkle Jr. ’51
Shirley Ann Jackson and Morris A. Washington
Lorraine Vought-Nicklin ’74 and Edmund H. Nicklin Jr. ’68
The Little Family Foundation
Amy D. and David M. Jaffe ’64
Caroline* and Richard* Wasicko ’53
Linda Pitzi Jojo ’87 and Robert R. Jojo ’87
Carol and Robert J. Weissman
Helen-Jo R. and John E. Kelly III ’78
Susan O. and Theodore J. Wojnar Jr. ’80
Gail and Jeffrey L. Kodosky ’70
Mona L. and Edward J. Zander ’68
Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation Emerson Charitable Trust ExxonMobil The FUND for Lake George General Electric Company General Electric Energy
Kodosky Foundation The Priem Family Foundation Rensselaer Alumni Association Skidmore, Owings and Merrill United Health Foundation Volvo Research and Educational Foundation Warren Alpert Foundation
In addition, Rensselaer is grateful for legacy gift commitments, which remain anonymous, and are in excess of $50 million from our alumni/ alumnae and friends.
The Mona and Ed Zander Family Foundation
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CAMPAIGN LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D. Wanda K. Denson-Low ’78 and Ronald Low Susan and Gary T. DiCamillo ’73
KATHLEEN M. AND PAUL J. SEVERINO ’69 Campaign Co-Chairs
Jeanne and Frank M. Fischer ’64, ’65G Melanie and Arthur J. Gajarsa ’62 Elisabeth Smith Golden and Arthur F. Golden ’66 Helen-Jo and John E. Kelly III ’78G, ’80 Ph.D. Gail and Jeffrey L. Kodosky ’70 Teresa A. and Mark M. Little ’82 Ph.D. Jennifer and Daniel T. Pickett III ’90 Cindi and Curtis R. Priem ’82 Ranjana and Srinivasan Sivaram ’85G, ’86 Ph.D. Kay and Jackson P. Tai ’72 Mona L. and Edward J. Zander ’68
As we approach our third century, and embark on this new campaign, we ask you to join us—to secure the future of Rensselaer, and guarantee a world-class education for generations to come. Together, we can be Transformative.” SHIRLEY ANN JACKSON, Ph.D. President
Donors listed at left documented gifts as of September 1, 2018. If your name was omitted in error, please accept our apologies and notify the Office of Institute Advancement by calling (518) 276-6247. * Denotes donors who are deceased
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A “SMARTER” 21st CENTURY HEALTH WORKFORCE A generous multi-year award from United Health Foundation will enable researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to leverage their data expertise and resources to create the innovative Rensselaer Health Informatics Challenges in Technology Education (INCITE) Pipeline. Under the leadership of Dr. Kristin Bennett, Associate Director of the Institute for Data Exploration and Application and a Professor in the Mathematical Sciences and Computer Science Departments, novel educational approaches and research experiences will reach new pools of students drawn from mathematics, biology, and computer science, and motivate them to pursue careers in Health Informatics (HI): the philosophy and tools of data analytics applied to health care. By contributing real-world HI problems, data, and expertise, healthcare organizations may, in turn, partner with Rensselaer to construct a HI pipeline that meets their individual workforce needs. Ultimately, the Health INCITE Pipeline model could be replicated worldwide, to meet the need for students prepared to make contributions as thoughtful and visionary data scientists in healthcare. The United Health Foundation was established by UnitedHealth Group as a not-for-profit, private foundation dedicated to improving health and health care.
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FOUNDATIONS’ GENEROSITY ADVANCES RESEARCH EFFORTS: ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE With support from the Warren Alpert Foundation, researchers at Rensselaer are focused on controlling a pathological process associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. “A key pathology in Alzheimer’s is accumulation of senile plaque in the brain, which is mainly composed of the Amyloid -42 (A42) peptide,” explains Dr. Chunyu Wang, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences and lead researcher. In collaboration with Dr. Jonathan Dordick, Howard P. Isermann Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Special Adviser to the President for Strategic Initiatives, and partners at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Wang seeks a -secretase inhibitor drug that could selectively block the production of A42. An initial field of tens of millions of drug compounds will be screened. Drug candidates that made it to previous clinical trials were unsuccessful, because—while targeting -secretase—the compounds blocked many other important functions. In 2014, Wang et al. discovered a novel structural mechanism for certain mutations that cause Familial Alzheimer’s Disease: these mutations can change the dynamics of the substrate of -secretase, leading to higher level of A42 production. The focus of the Warren Alpert Foundation is to improve the health of the public through grants and programmatic activities progressing toward attaining or perfecting medical treatments or cures through basic research, translational and outcomes research, as well as through health education.
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TRANSFORMATIVE PRIORITY:
THE FACULTY 500:
EMPOWERING WORLD-CLASS TEACHING, WORLD-CHANGING RESEARCH
Accomplishing our academic and research goals requires us to attract and retain outstanding faculty at all levels, in every school, and in each department— from the bright junior faculty member just making a mark in exciting new research, to the teacher-scholar whose dedication to innovation in the classroom makes a subject new year after year—from the senior professor working at the frontiers of research to the internationallyrenowned scholar questing after new knowledge. To prepare for our third century, and achieve the vision of The New Polytechnic, we must optimize our ability to recruit and retain exceptional faculty. A world-class community of 500 tenured and tenure-track faculty will help to attract extraordinary students, additional faculty, and expanded research opportunities, allowing Rensselaer to continue to answer the question, “Why not change the world?”
I need to work with experimentalists (and Rensselaer’s supercomputers) to test my theories, and I need to work with engineers to explore how my discoveries might be applied in the real world. Rensselaer gives me the tools and the network of highly skilled collaborators I need to function as a scientist.” – VINCENT MEUNIER, Ph.D. Head of the Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy Department Gail and Jeffrey L. Kodosky ’70 Constellation Chair Director of the Innovative Computational Material Physics Group
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Biotechnology brings together Rensselaer’s rich traditions in science and engineering.”
One of the most advanced
– DEEPAK VASHISHTH, Ph.D., Director, Center for Biotechnology
for Biotechnology and Interdisci-
and Interdisciplinary Studies
biotechnology research facilities in the United States, the Center plinary Studies (CBIS) supports the collaborative work of faculty,
A BLOOD TEST FOR AUTISM
students, visiting faculty, and postdoctoral fellows to conduct groundbreaking investigations
Big data techniques applied to biomedical data found different patterns in
at the frontiers of life sciences,
metabolites relevant to two connected cellular pathways (a series of
physical science, informatics,
interactions between molecules that control cell function) that have been
and engineering.
hypothesized to be linked to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). By measuring 24 metabolites from a blood sample, an algorithm can tell whether or not an individual is on the Autism spectrum, and even to some degree where on the spectrum they land. While an estimated 1.5 percent of people are affected by ASD, most children are not diagnosed until after age four. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes ASD as “a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain.”
Their innovations will address key challenges and opportunities in health care, including drug safety, disease diagnosis and treatment, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine
We are able to predict with 88 percent accuracy whether children have autism.” – JUERGEN HAHN, Ph.D., Systems Biologist, and head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering
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TRANSFORMING THE FUTURE OF THE COSMETICS INDUSTRY Carolina Motter Catarino ’19, a graduate student in chemical and biological engineering, has been awarded a Lush Prize, which is a collaboration between cosmetics company Lush and research organization Ethical Consumer. As the largest prize fund for the complete replacement of animal experiments, the Lush Prize recognizes projects working to end animal research in toxicology (chemical testing) in several key areas: science, training, public awareness, lobbying, and young researchers. Catarino is one of 13 young scientists—from Brazil, the United States, China, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Germany, Luxembourg, and the UK—who each received £10,000 toward their projects, and were honored at the Lush Prize Awards Ceremony in London in November 2017. Her doctoral thesis on 3-D printing of human skin has the potential to develop human-relevant models for researching and testing compounds without involving animals. Her findings could impact other areas of study, such as regenerative medicine and therapies, and the development of clinically superior skin grafts.
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THE JEFFERSON PROJECT AT LAKE GEORGE: PRESERVING AND PROTECTING THE QUEEN OF AMERICAN LAKES Like many lakes around the world, Lake George faces threats from human activities that include pollution from road salt, introductions of invasive species, and inputs of excess nutrients. The Jefferson Project at Lake George—a collaboration between Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, IBM Research, and The FUND for Lake George—aims to understand and manage these complex issues threatening the lake—one of the world’s most pristine natural ecosystems and an economic cornerstone of the New York State tourism industry. The Jefferson Project research team includes more than 200 Rensselaer faculty, staff, and students in areas including biological sciences, earth and environmental sciences, engineering, and the arts; 20 IBM scientists and engineers; and The FUND’s staff, contractors, and science advisors. This powerful combination of multi-disciplinary researchers, new instrumentation and technology contained in floating sensor platforms, and innovative facilities like the Helen-Jo and John E. Kelly III ’78 Data Visualization Laboratory, and nearly four decades of environmental data already captured by the Margaret A. and David M. Darrin ’40 Fresh Water Institute is providing an unprecedented scientific understanding of Lake George. The Jefferson Project has set the global standard for demonstrating how a complex natural system can be studied with advanced technologies for the purpose of sustaining protection.
JEFFERSON PROJECT BY THE NUMBERS: Between the sensors and models, we are collecting enough data to fill up 5,250 16GB mobile phones annually—that’s 14 mobile phones daily.
51 sensor platforms
500+ sensors
9 terabytes of data/year from sensors
300+ million measurements to date
73+ terabytes of data/year generated by computer models
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YOU CHANGE THEIR LIVES, THEY CHANGE THE WORLD A hallmark of the Rensselaer paradigm, The New Polytechnic, is cross-disciplinary collaboration that produces solutions to global challenges. Two recent projects have earned accolades for not only creatively solving problems faced by underprivileged societies, but also redirecting tons of waste away from landfills. Donor-funded scholarships enabled several students to “pay it forward” by having a hand in both projects. After disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes,
Another full-scale structure, designed
empty plastic water bottles and other containers that
over a seven-year period, empowers
once held emergency supplies often end up in the
developing countries by offering
trash stream. Second Lives | After Bottles, involved a
a prototype for affordable tropical
partnership of students, faculty, the National Research
housing using by-products of
Centre in Cairo, Egypt, and members of the Rensselaer
coconuts.
Center for Architecture Science and Ecology (CASE) in New York City.
The ropelike fiber from coconut husks can be combined with a dust
Using patented plastic interlocking bottles of Friendship
from the pith, and pressed into a
Products LLC, the group created a prototype structure
board to form an alternative to costly,
that measured 15 square feet. Potential long-term
imported plywood. The husk also has the potential to
solutions could incorporate the bottles as part of
absorb water vapor, creating a drier and more comfort-
concrete sandwich walls and hollow block slabs. The
able environment without the expense of air-condition-
bottle structure was displayed on campus in May
ing. The concept may be patented.
2018, and then brought to Industry City in Brooklyn for the WantedDesign event.
A prestigious Rotch Foundation Travel Studio grant, and support from CASE partner Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill, enabled a team to travel to Ghana in 2016 to showcase their designs, “Old Accra: Upcycling of Agrowaste,” which were recognized among “The Best Student Design-Build Projects Worldwide 2017” by the architectural news website ArchDaily.
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The name “West Hall” is a nod to its location, as the western-most structure on campus, which is
A TRANSFORMATION OF WEST HALL
home to the Department of the Arts in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS).
This Victorian structure was designed as a hospital, not as a cauldron of creativity. Within its walls, we must create office space for the Music faculty we are adding—rehearsal spaces, practice spaces, and teaching studios—as well as social spaces, to foster the fruitful collaborations that The New Polytechnic intends to promote.” – PRESIDENT SHIRLEY ANN JACKSON, Ph.D. Through Transformative: Campaign for Global Change, we will again reinvent West Hall.
Originally built in the mid-19th century, as the Troy Hospital, the site was chosen because of its proximity to the prestigious Institute. The Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul sold the building to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany in the 1920s, for use as a school. When Rensselaer took ownership in 1953, the acquisition expanded the university’s academic facilities by 12 percent.
New and upgraded interior spaces will create an environment worthy of
Since then, West Hall has
a world-class music program, its brilliant faculty, exceptional students,
housed numerous academic and
and high-caliber instruments.
administrative offices, and in
An expanded music center will be the cornerstone of a world-class facility, while an essential endowment will ensure that the future needs of our pioneering faculty and students are met.
2004, an extensive renovation of its façade began. The historic exterior is unlike any other on the Troy campus, which is appropriate,
Improved visibility and connectivity between spaces will showcase the
given the groundbreaking new
School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences to visiting artists, scholars,
Bachelor of Science in Music
and prospective students. The proposed upgrades will bolster our capacity
degree program and nationally-
to support the Media Arts, Science, and Technology Signature Thrust;
recognized programs in Electronics
providing facilities in support of current arts programs (including
Arts that are housed within.
Art_X@Rensselaer); and supporting pedagogical innovation through competency-based teaching and learning in media-rich production, post-production, and dissemination.
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TRANSFORMATIVE PRIORITY:
BUILDING FOR THE THIRD-CENTURY: MODERNIZING AND EQUIPPING THE TROY CAMPUS
To be a magnet for the best and brightest students and faculty, our living and recreation spaces, academic facilities, and research centers must be state-of-the-art and contribute to a vibrant and engaged campus community. The success of Transformative: Campaign for Global Change will allow Rensselaer to undertake major infrastructure projects that will dramatically enhance our capabilities and the student experience, with an initial focus on: Natatorium Construction ‘87 Gym Renovation Jonsson Engineering Center Expansion Residence Halls Expansion and Upgrades Houston Field House—East End Modernization West Hall Transformation East Campus Athletic Village (ECAV) Phase II Expansion
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WORLD-CLASS ATHLETIC FACILITIES FOR WORLD-CLASS SCHOLAR-ATHLETES Our intercollegiate athletics and recreational programs are built upon a successful balance of academic and athletic excellence. Worldclass facilities, first-rate support services, and exceptional coaching and teaching ensure that students realize their full potential both as individuals and as members of teams.
DANIELLE SAUVE ’18 Women’s Varsity Swimming Livingston W. Houston Citizenship Award, 2018 Reunion Class of 1960 Scholarship, 2017-2018
East Campus Athletic Village (ECAV) Phase I created one of the top Division III facilities in the nation, and continues to pay dividends for our 23 varsity teams and more than 600 student-athletes. Initial upgrades to the baseball facility were recently completed. Also included in ECAV Phase II are an Olympic-quality swimming pool, outdoor tennis courts, practice and playing fields for field hockey and lacrosse, and an indoor field house for track and field, and tennis. These state-of-the-art facilities will enable Rensselaer to host regional, national, and international athletic tournaments. Potential enhancements to the East End of the Houston Field House include an educational area and hockey improvement room to enhance the student-athlete experience; four new corporate suites and event spaces;
GRANT O’CONNOR ’19
a complete renovation of stadium seating; upgrades to restrooms, and additional facilities; and renovations to visiting teams’ locker rooms.
NCAA Division III National Men’s Track Athlete of the Year, 2018
Athletics is a great force for community, for the spectators as well as for
Liberty League Runner of the Year, 2018
the players. In building Phase II of ECAV, we will unite our campus, and
Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year, 2018
deepen pride and passion for Rensselaer among our students, alumni,
National Champion, 5,000 meters, 2018
and the citizens of the Capital Region.
All-Academic honoree Helaine Miriam Falkson Scholarship, 2017-2018
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JEFFREY M. LIPTON ’63
A BRONX TALE I loved this school. It got me out of the Bronx and into the rest of the world – JEFFREY M. LIPTON ’63
After earning a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, he went on to Harvard University to obtain his MBA—as the youngest member of the entering class. “Harvard was
So sums up Jeff Lipton’s experience at Rensselaer.
just beginning to teach how to make business decisions under uncertainty,” states Jeff. “I had taken an excellent
Jeff wasn’t sure what path he wanted to pursue—he
course on just that subject at Rensselaer. My ability to
just knew that he liked math and science—specifically
handle an approach that was new to Harvard students
chemistry. After hearing this, Jeff’s high school counselor
and faculty helped me to fit in with my experienced
at the Bronx School of Science predicted, “I think you’re
classmates and cope with a pretty rigorous program.”
going to be a chemical engineer.” Growing up in a modest neighborhood, Jeff had the means to apply to only three schools. So, he researched and selected three of the country’s top engineering schools:
Jeff firmly believes his education at Rensselaer paved the way for his future success. He worked for the DuPont Company right out of Harvard, working his way up from a first line manufacturing job to a series of VP assign-
Rensselaer, Cornell, and MIT.
ments. After 29 years and 39 different assignments, he
Rensselaer offered the most generous scholarship
left DuPont for the Nova Corporation in Alberta, Canada
package. So, in the fall of 1959, at age 16, Jeff headed
as the CFO and then president. When Nova merged
to Troy, never having been outside of the Bronx. As a
with Trans Canada, Jeff became the first CEO of “spin
gang leader, Jeff was used to dealing with arguments
off” Nova Chemicals, and, in 2009, retired 10 years later.
physically. After three altercations during Freshman
During his career, he also was a board member of
Orientation Week, he was called into the freshman
Methanex, Trimeris, Hercules Chemicals, and US Steel.
dean’s office. “He told me that if I had one more fight, I would lose my scholarship, and of course, have to head back to the Bronx.”
Jeff now resides in Pittsburgh, PA, with his wife Shelly and their two teenage sons. Both boys want to be engineers—and Rensselaer is high on their list of
That transformative conversation was all Jeff needed to begin his educational journey that became the foundation of his successful career.
potential school choices. Jeff has continued to give back over the years through his support of Lets Go Red!, the Patroon Scholars Program
Jeff got involved in many activities that he may not
of the Rensselaer Annual Fund, and the athletic complex
have had the opportunity to at a larger school, such as
paver that bears the inscription that is quoted at the top
the baseball team. “Being a teammate and involved in
of the page. “I am beyond grateful for the opportunity
highly competitive sports helped develop me as a
Rensselaer gave me,” says Jeff. “Rensselaer’s financial
person,” Jeff states. “I learned how to win, lose, and
support through my scholarship allowed me to gain a very
work well with others—critical skills for life.” He also
high quality education that I could not have obtained any-
was actively involved in student government and editor
where else.” We are extremely grateful for his generosity.
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ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION
CLASS OF 1951 STUDENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARD,
Entrepreneurship and innovation are at the heart of all we do at Rensselaer. Students are exposed to both concepts early on in their curriculum, and are given a strategic pipeline to follow and an ecosystem to support them in their quests to become successful.
April 2017 Patrick Calhoun ’17, Robert Fopeano ’51, Jacqueline Curtsinger ’17
As home to one of the oldest incubation programs in the country, Rensselaer is well-poised to support new ideas from the discovery and imagination phases to the launch of a business venture. Programs and platforms like the Burt Swersey Inventor’s Studio, the O.T. Swanson Multidisciplinary Design Laboratory (the “Design Lab”), the Manufacturing Innovation Learning Laboratory (MILL), and the Douglas Mercer ’77 Laboratory for Student Exploration and Innovation enable students to work one-on-one with faculty members to come up with ideas and technologies that will change the world. Centered in the Lally School of Management, the Paul J. ’69 and Kathleen M. Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship lies at the core of our commitment to entrepreneurship, providing a broad-based platform for entrepreneurs to make the transition from concept to company. Students test their ideas in front of successful entrepreneurs and venture capitalists through participation in local, regional, and national competitions, including the New York Business Model Competition, the Change the World Challenge, and the Class of 1951 Student Entrepreneurship contest.
ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR AWARD, October 2014
Once a new venture has been vetted and transformed into a business
(Back Row) Thomas Begley,
plan and model, business development and support are provided by
Dean, Lally School of Management,
the Rensselaer Emerging Ventures Ecosystem (EVE).
Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, President, (Front Row) John Delbridge ’91, Jeffrey Stewart ’91, David Uyttendaele ’91 co-founders, Mimeo.com
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462 Full-Time Faculty Members
100,000 Living Alumni and Alumnae
7,600 Students
1,800 Staff Members
200 Student Clubs and Organizations
70 Majors
34 Research Centers
869 Students Dual-Majoring
33 Greek Life Organizations
23 Intercollegiate Teams
5 Schools
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JOSHUA BOSTICK ’18 and SWETHA SRIRAM ’18
KNOWLEDGE IN MOTION I hope to implement what I have learned in a career in manufacturing.” – SWETHA SRIRAM ’18 A team of Rensselaer students earned third place at the 2017 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Student Manufacturing Design Competition for their design, “Invisibell.” The bike bell is unique because it mounts on either side of a bicycle’s handlebars to accommodate both left- and right-handed riders. The team included students pursuing degrees in mechanical engineering, industrial and management engineering, and electrical engineering. In the Manufacturing Innovation Learning Lab (MILL) in the School of Engineering, experiential projects such as this one enable students to truly comprehend how engineering theory, individual manufacturing and assembly processes, people, budgets, customer requirements, and schedules are meshed into a functional system. The ASME design competition provides a platform for students to present solutions for a range of design problems from everyday household tasks to groundbreaking space exploration.
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ENHANCING THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE We are educating the kind of graduates that the world needs… inventive and enterprising problem solvers prepared to address great challenges, and to seize great opportunities.” – PRESIDENT SHIRLEY ANN JACKSON, Ph.D. Rensselaer recently introduced a requirement for all undergraduate students—the first of its kind in the nation—to propel all Rensselaer students beyond the current collegiate standard of “data literacy” to “data dexterity.” Students will complete two “data-intensive” courses; one to establish the foundations of data modeling and analysis, and a second within their academic discipline. They will learn to understand the difference between causation and correlation, between an ethical and unethical use of data, and methods of visualizing complex data in order to make better decisions. An optional data research capstone experience in the Data Interdisciplinary Challenge Intelligent Technology Exploration Laboratory—or Data INCITE—connects teams of students with industry partners to tackle data-intensive problems. Our Art_X @ Rensselaer initiative—which is infused across the curriculum and in co-curricular activities—encourages intellectual agility. Through Art_X, we will help students to see, and to understand, the science in and of art, and the art in and of science, by utilizing concepts such as the Golden Mean and Fibonacci series, and the role of aesthetics in functional design. Our most transformative experiential teaching and learning innovation is The Arch. Through The Arch, students remain on campus the summer after the sophomore year, for a full semester of junior-level classes. One semester of the traditional junior year is spent away from campus, on an internship, research, or other experience of interest. The Class of 2021 will be the first to fulfill The Arch requirement, which will take effect in summer 2019.
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REGIONAL NETWORKS: MAKING A DIFFERENCE
RENSSELAER SILICON VALLEY NETWORK AND EXECUTIVE COUNCIL In the Bay Area and Silicon
CHAIR
CO-CHAIR
JOHN CAPEK ’83, ’84G, ’85G,
PRABHAT HAJELA, Ph.D.
’87G, ’88 Ph.D.
Dr. Hajela, Provost at Rensselaer, is
Valley, over 4,000 Rensselaer alumni, alumnae, and parents are innovators, technology company leaders, venture capitalists, executives, and entrepreneurs, at companies such as Applied Materials, Cypress Semiconductor, Facebook, Google, Intel, Juniper Networks, and Salesforce.
As Executive Vice President, Ventures,
responsible for all academic portfolios
In response to this unique
Dr. Capek leads Abbott’s venture
at the Institute, and, in collaboration
population, Rensselaer recently
investment organization. Previously,
with the Vice President for Research,
created the Rensselaer Silicon
he served as Executive Vice
works to strengthen the research
Valley Network (RSVN) and
President, Medical Devices, and
missions of the Institute. An aerospace
Executive Council to provide
Senior Vice President, Abbott
engineer by training, Dr. Hajela has
robust connectivity programs for
Vascular, heading up global vascular
conducted research at NASA’s Langley
business development, recruit-
business. Before joining Abbott,
and Glenn Research Centers, and the
ment of students and alumni/ae,
Dr. Capek served in various manage-
Eglin Air Force Armament Laboratory.
and greater engagement
ment roles at Guidant Corporation
He also worked at The Boeing Company
opportunities among alumni/ae,
and Eli Lilly & Company. He holds
as the Boeing-A.D. Welliver Fellow in
corporations, foundations,
five degrees from Rensselaer.
1995. He received a B. Tech in
parents, and potential students.
Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, M.S.
For more information about the RSVN, contact Joseph Strodel at (518) 276-6095 or strodj@rpi.edu.
degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Iowa State University, and in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Stanford University.
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RENSSELAER GREATER NEW YORK NETWORK AND EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Nearly 40,000 Rensselaer alumni, alumnae, and parents call the Greater New York region home. The Rensselaer Greater New York Network (RGNYN) and Executive Council was created to facilitate connections among these groups. RGNYN offers opportunities for engagement around business development, graduate recruitment, and student placement, and seeks to strengthen partnerships among individuals, companies, foundations, government agencies, and the Institute. Executive Council members will foster connections among notable alumni/ae in the region through conversations and events that align with the Institute’s expertise in groundbreaking interdisciplinary research and innovative pedagogy. CHAIR
CO-CHAIR
ROY N. DAVIS ’78 was President of
JONATHAN S. DORDICK, Ph.D., is
several companies, including
Johnson & Johnson Development
Howard P. Isermann Professor of
EnzyMed (part of Albany Molecular
Corporation and the Corporate Vice
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Research, Inc.), Solidus Biosciences,
President of Business Development
and Special Adviser to the President
and The Paper Battery Company.
for all of Johnson & Johnson (J&J)
for Strategic Initiatives at Rensselaer.
from 2008 until his retirement in 2012.
Dordick holds joint appointments in
Previously, Davis was concurrently
Biomedical Engineering, Chemical
Company Group Chairman, J&J,
Engineering, Materials Science and
and Worldwide Franchise Chairman,
Engineering, and Biology. Previously,
Diagnostics.
he held chemical engineering
While at J&J, Davis founded Red Script Ventures, LLC (J&J’s business
faculty appointments at the University of Iowa (1987–1998).
accelerator), and Veridex, LLC,
Dordick’s research focuses on gaining
which produced award-winning
a quantitative understanding of
products in cancer diagnostics.
biological principles and applying
In retirement, Davis advises many organizations, including the Cleveland Clinic and the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Davis received his M.S. in Biology
Dordick has published over 370 papers and is an inventor/co-inventor on nearly 43 patents and patent applications. He holds a B.A. in Biochemistry and Chemistry from Brandeis University, and a Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from MIT.
them to advance bioengineering, nanobiotechnology, drug discovery, and biomanufacturing. He serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards for
For more information about RGNYN, contact Ursula Vesala at (518) 276-3827 or vesalu@rpi.edu.
several biotechnology companies and venture capital firms, and cofounded
from Rensselaer. 2018 EAST COAST SCHOLARSHIP GALA
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GLOBAL REACH, GLOBAL IMPACT: RENSSELAER’S REGIONAL ALUMNI CHAPTERS The Rensselaer Alumni Association is made up of nearly 100,000 alumni and alumnae, living and working all over the world. The global reach and global impact of the alumni network is evidenced by the growing number of regional chapters across the country and internationally.
Rensselaer has active alumni chapters in 38 different cities throughout the continental United
Connections to our alumni, wherever they are located, is essential as
States; including five chapters in
we work to expand Rensselaer’s reach in a globally interconnected
California, one in Hawaii, and one
world. The support of the members of these chapters, and others like
in Puerto Rico.
them around the world, is of vital importance as we approach our third century of leadership in education, discovery, and innovation. The Rensselaer Alumni Association, under the leadership of its president, Kareem I. Muhammad ’01, and the RAA Board of Trustees, looks forward to continuing to grow Rensselaer’s global presence in the coming year, to provide mutually beneficial connections between alumni/ae and the Institute.
Internationally, chapters have been recently created in China (Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong), Dubai, and Zurich, Switzerland. Take a look at www.alumni.rpi.edu to keep up to date with what alumni in your area are doing. If you do not see a chapter or an event for your area and would like to get involved, please contact us at alumni@rpi.edu or (518) 276-6205.
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Carla Vandermate, John Capek ’83, ’84, ’85, ’87, ’88, Madison ’20, Lisa, and Tom Capek ’86
FAMILY TIES Several trends are apparent among the historic 20,377
unique perspective based on decades spent in
applications received from high school students
leadership roles in the biomedical engineering and
seeking admission to the Rensselaer Class of 2022. In
materials engineering industries.
addition to an increase in international students and women, a significant rise in the number of Rensselaer “legacies”—students with relatives who attended the university—is worth noting.
Together, through the Capek Family Foundation, the Capeks also have lent financial support to student groups such as the Society of Women Engineers, the Biomedical Engineering program. Once fully-funded,
The Capeks are one such family, with a bond that
the newly-established Capek Family Scholarship will
surpasses their affinity for their alma mater; they
support worthy students from underrepresented
remain connected through their philanthropy and
groups, such as women, African American and/or
volunteerism on behalf of Rensselaer.
Hispanic students, in perpetuity. By leveraging
Lisa and Tom ’86, parents of Madison ’20, serving as co-chairs of the Society of Families, are invested in
employers’ corporate matching gift programs, they have directed additional support to Rensselaer.
increasing parent and family engagement with
The Capek family’s connection with Rensselaer began
Rensselaer, including gifts at a leadership level. As
in 1939, when Frank ’43—the uncle of Tom and
Chair of the Rensselaer Silicon Valley Network
John—enrolled as a mechanical engineering major.
Executive Council, Tom’s brother, John ’83, ’84, ’85,
He excelled until the end of his junior year, when he
’87, ’88, pursues engagement opportunities among
received an Air Force draft notice. Second Lieutenant
more alumni/ae, corporations, foundations, parents,
Capek served in World War II as an airman for two
and potential students.
years, but never had the opportunity to return to
Their roles as volunteers and ambassadors frequently bring the Capeks to campus, where they have
Rensselaer to finish his degree. In 1945, a memorial tribute was published in The Rensselaer Polytechnic.
repeatedly given the gift of their time to the engineer-
As the third-generation Capek to attend Rensselaer,
ing students they support through the Patroon
Madison’s pursuit of a degree in biomedical engineer-
Scholars Program of the Rensselaer Annual Fund.
ing—with a minor in management and a concentration
In addition to light-hearted reminiscing about shared
in biomedical engineering imaging/instrumentation—
Rensselaer experiences, the Capek brothers offer a
may be no surprise, given her proud heritage!
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THE SOCIETY OF FAMILIES
Ron Sit, Andrew Sit ’19, Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, Teresa Sit
As the first technological university in the nation, our historic mission and our core academic strengths are what make a Rensselaer education so relevant today. The educational opportunities available to our students will serve them not only during their years at Rensselaer but throughout their careers.
THE SOCIETY OF FAMILIES
Parents of current students provide priceless gifts to Rensselaer, by the
LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE
measure of confidence they express in sending their sons and daughters to study with us. In addition, each year more than 1,200 families lend financial support to the Rensselaer Annual Fund, which directly impacts each and every student. Rensselaer has established The Society of Families to recognize
Lisa C. and Thomas G. Capek ’86, P’20, Co-Chairs Beth Ellen Robie ’81, P’20 and
the generosity of families who support the mission of Rensselaer at a
Stephen B. Robie ’77, P’20
leadership level.
Natalie S. Walters-Casey P’20
A select few take this a step further, as volunteers tasked with the goal
Karen L. and Ronald L. Kammer P’19
of increasing parent and family engagement with the university. We offer them our sincere thanks for not only giving generously to Rensselaer, but also encouraging other families to do the same.
Karen B. and Robert C. May P’20 Teresa F. and Ronald D. Sit P’19
I really enjoy the challenge Rensselaer presents to its students. It keeps me engaged and offers a higher level of education through challenges I must overcome.” JONATHAN D’OLIVEIRA ’20 Naugatuck, CT Chemical Engineering Ann M. and Frank J. Conte ’34 Scholarship
For more information, contact Silvia Edmonds at (518) 276-6055 or edmons@rpi.edu. 2018 EAST COAST SCHOLARSHIP GALA | GIVING.RPI.EDU 2018 EAST COAST SCHOLARSHIP GALA | GIVING.RPI.EDU
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BOARD OF TRUSTEES We are grateful for the wisdom and partnership of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Board of Trustees, whose respected counsel and exceptional generosity have furthered the vision of The New Polytechnic, and positioned the university for success in its third century—transformative in the global impact of its research, in its innovative pedagogy, and in the lives of students at Rensselaer. TRUSTEES EMERITI
ACTIVE MEMBERS Arthur F. Golden ’66 Chair of the Board Wanda K. Denson-Low ’78 Vice Chair of the Board Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D. President Ex Officio
Nancy S. Mueller
Harlan E. Anderson
Daniel T. Pickett III ’90
Neil J. Barton ’58, ’63G, ’66 Ph.D.
Curtis R. Priem ’82 Secretary of the Board
Thomas R. Baruch ’60
Janet C. Rutledge ’83 Paul J. Severino ’69
Robert P. Bozzone ’55 John H. Broadbent, Jr. ’59 The Honorable Arthur J. Gajarsa ’62
George Campbell, Jr., Ph.D.
Paula L. Simon ’68
John W. Carr ’77, ’79G
Srinivasan Sivaram ’85G, ’86 Ph.D.
Gary T. DiCamillo ’73
Jackson P. Tai ’72
Edward E. Hood, Jr. Chair Emeritus
Frank M. Fischer ’64, ’65G
Theodore J. Wojnar, Jr. ’80
Robin B. Martin ’71, ’72G
Michael E. Herman ’62
Edward J. Zander ’68
Francis L. McKone ’63G
David M. Hirsch ’65
Ronald J. Zlatoper, Admiral, USN (Ret.) ’63
Linda S. Sanford ’75G
Linda Pitzi Jojo ’87, ’92G John E. Kelly III ’78G, ’80 Ph.D.
The Honorable Patrick Madden Ex Officio
Jeffrey L. Kodosky ’70 Mark M. Little ’82 Ph.D.
Mary L. Good, Ph.D.
G. Robert Tod ’61 HONORARY TRUSTEES Howard N. Blitman ’50 John J. Nigro Robert O. Swanson ’58
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Congratulations and sincerest thanks to tonight’s Presidential Lifetime Achievement Awards Honorees Helen-Jo Kelly and John E. Kelly III ’78G, ’80 Ph.D., Trustee AND
Gail Kodosky and Jeffrey L. Kodosky ’70, Trustee
For your great support of Rensselaer in so many ways over many years. From Beth and Arthur Golden ’66, J.D., Chair, Rensselaer Board of Trustees
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PRESIDENT’S CABINET AND DEANS’ COUNCIL The President’s Cabinet and Deans’ Council provide critical, supportive leadership essential to preparing Rensselaer for its third century of transformative education and research. Working together, we continue to strengthen the university, expand the global reach of our research, and graduate students ready to advance society and change the world. PRESIDENT’S CABINET Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D. President Craig A. Cook, J.D. Secretary of the Institute and General Counsel Jonathan S. Dordick, Ph.D. Special Adviser on Strategic Initiatives; Howard P. Isermann Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering Graig R. Eastin Vice President, Institute Advancement Prabhat Hajela, Ph.D. Provost Barbara J. Hough Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer Richie C. Hunter Vice President, Strategic Communications and External Relations Robert Hull, Ph.D. Senior Associate Vice President, Research John E. Kolb ’79, ’83G Vice President, Information Services and Technology and Chief Information Officer
LeNorman J. Strong Interim
DIRECT REPORTS TO THE
Vice President, Student Life
PRESIDENT
Jonathan D. Wexler Vice President,
Johannes Goebel Director, Curtis R.
Enrollment Management
Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center
DEANS’ COUNCIL
Bruce Hunter Executive Director of
Thomas M. Begley, Ph.D. Dean,
the Office of Intellectual Property,
Lally School of Management
Technology Transfer, New Ventures,
Curtis M. Breneman, Ph.D. Dean, School of Science Evan Douglis Dean, School of
and Emerging Ventures Ecosystem Karl Lampson Director of Rensselaer Technology Park
Architecture Stanley M. Dunn, Ph.D. Vice Provost, Dean of Graduate Education Shekhar S. Garde, Ph.D. Dean, School of Engineering; Elaine S. and Jack S. Parker Chair in Engineering Aric Krause, Ph.D. Dean for Academic and Administrative Affairs at Hartford Mary H. Simoni, Ph.D. Dean, School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
Lee A. McElroy Jr., Ph.D. Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Curtis N. Powell Vice President, Human Resources Claude D. Rounds Vice President, Administration 2018 EAST COAST SCHOLARSHIP GALA | GIVING.RPI.EDU
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THE GARNET D. BALTIMORE ENDOWED SCHOLARSHIP Garnet Douglass Baltimore was a member of the
Since our founding in 1824, Rensselaer has offered
Rensselaer Class of 1881—a distinguished civil and
an extraordinary education, one in which our students
landscape engineer—and the first African American to
further enhance their creativity, and learn to think for
graduate from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He was
themselves—which is why so many breakthrough
the son of an influential abolitionist, and the grandson
discoveries and innovations have been made by our
of a slave who fought in the Revolutionary War and
alumni and alumnae.
settled in Troy after escaping from slave owners.
Today, Rensselaer remains dedicated to educating
Garnet Baltimore was the embodiment of a Rensselaer
future generations of leaders like Baltimore to address
graduate—working on the design and construction of
the challenges facing our world. In order to do this,
bridges, railroads, roads, and waterways. His contribu-
we must attract, enroll, and retain the most talented
tions propelled him into important role, early on in his
students, regardless of socioeconomic background.
career, on the some of the largest construction projects
This goal will be realized through an enrichment of the
of the day. His professional legacy includes Troy’s
ethnic, gender, intellectual, and geographic diversity
Prospect Park, adjacent to the Rensselaer campus,
that exists among our student body, made possible by
and Oakwood Cemetery, the resting place of Samuel
increased financial aid resources for underrepresented
Wilson, or “Uncle Sam.”
minorities and women.
Intensely proud of his Rensselaer education, Baltimore
An investment in The Garnet Baltimore Endowed
remained active in civic activities and alumni affairs for
Scholarship will enable Rensselaer to further strengthen
many years, earning a place in the Rensselaer Alumni
the diverse composition of our student body for
Hall of Fame.
generations to come.
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PARTING THOUGHTS DEAR FRIENDS,
Thank you for the gifts of your time and support, as we celebrate student scholarship at Rensselaer, and the visionary philanthropy that makes it a reality. We very much look forward to these annual gatherings becoming vibrant Rensselaer traditions, from coast to coast. I look forward to sharing the 2019 Rensselaer Scholarship Gala arrangements with you soon. Please visit giving.rpi.edu/gala/ for updates. Events such as these will be essential to the success of Transformative: Campaign for Global Change as we enrich the resources needed to attract and empower the most talented professors, and to build out and modernize our campus, positioning Rensselaer for continued leadership in education and research in our third century. Although our capital campaign is multi-faceted, our students are at the heart of all we do. Therefore, enhancing available scholarship resources—in step with an always-evolving and transformative Rensselaer experience—will always be paramount. We are grateful for your interest in and support of Rensselaer, our exceptional students—such as those performing with the Rensselaer Orchestra this evening—and world-class faculty who will prepare them to answer the great Rensselaer question, “Why not change the world?” Enjoy the evening! GRAIG R. EASTIN Vice President, Institute Advancement
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