Rensselaer in the News Ing Biological Systems
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A SOLD-OUT CROWD ROCKED THE HOUSTON FIELD HOUSE for the 30th annual Big Red Freakout Jan. 20. The Engineers tied with St. Lawrence, 3-3, preserving their 17-game unbeaten streak in Freakout games (12-0-5). Rensselaer’s Red Army, a new student club on campus devoted to “promoting school spirit and energizing traditions,” helped turn the arena into a sea of red. www.rpi.edu/magazine VICE PRESIDENT FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS William Walker MANAGING EDITOR Tracey Leibach ART DIRECTOR Diane Piester S ALUMNI NEWS EDITOR ASAKI Meg Gallien A SSOCIA FEATURES EDITOR TES Clorinda Valenti Architect’s rendering of the proposed East Campus Athletic Village. See page 8. WEB DESIGNER Jeffrey Caron FEATURES CONTRIBUTORS 16 Pipeline to the Future Amber Cleveland Rensselaer programs inspire the next generation Jason Gorss Ellen Johnston to pursue careers in engineering, technology, math, Nancy Kelly and the sciences. Jessica Otitigbe PHOTOGRAPHERS & ILLUSTRATORS 22 Unraveling Proteins Gary Gold Two Rensselaer researchers team up to conduct ground- Lonny Kalfus Tom Killips breaking biotechnology research—and to attract more Mark McCarty young people to their fields. Kris Qua 28 Urban Pioneer ON THE COVER: Troy middle school Stephen Chung ’91 is bringing modern design students Meaghan Gallagher and to historic Boston—and architectural savvy to Sanghai Kamara. Photo by Mark McCarty. a television audience. Rensselaer (ISSN 0898-1442) is DEPARTMENTS published in Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter by the Office of Strategic 4 President’s View 34 Staying Connected Communications and External Relations, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180-3590. Periodicals postage is 5 Mail 35 Calendar paid at Troy, N.Y., and additional mailing An entrepreneurial culture. offices. 36 Class Notes Postmaster: send address changes to Rensselaer, 110 Eighth Street, Troy, NY 6 At Rensselaer In Memoriam 55 12180-3590. Rensselaer Polytechnic Making a Difference 8 Institute is an equal opportunity/affirma- In the News 9 tive action institution. 56 One Last Thing Research Roundup 13 Musical memories of Joel Dolven. Opinions expressed in these pages do not Focus On: Don Fry 14 necessarily reflect the views of the editors or the policies of the Institute. ©2007 K Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Please let us know your new address. Update it electronically on AlumServ, e-mail RIS us at [email protected], or write to: Rensselaer Magazine, Office of Strategic Q U Moving? Communications and External Relations, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, A NY 12180 or fax to (518) 276-3715. SNAPSHOT A Vexing Problem! In December, approximately 150 stu- dents from Rensselaer and three local high schools came together on campus to compete in an unofficial competition called “The Game,” which incorporated the Vex Robotic Design System. Vex is used by the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technolo- gy) organization in its competitions for high school students. FIRST, founded by inventor Dean Kamen in 1989 to inspire young peo- ple’s interest and participation in sci- ence and technology, sponsors a series of challenges and competitions for K-12 students involving LEGO and Vex robotic technologies. Nine teams—including four Rensse- laer teams that included students in Introduction to Engineering Design (IED)—took part in the competition, which required each team’s robot to retrieve balls from a loading station, negotiate one of several obstacle paths, and place the balls in a scoring contain- er. According to Paul Schoch, associate professor of electrical, computer, and systems engineering, the Vex event was set up to do two things: to give students in IED a fun challenge, and to give the high school teams a warm-up exercise to prepare for the FIRST Robotics Com- petition (FRC) later in the year. “In terms of complexity and difficulty there is a progression from FIRST LEGO League to Vex to FRC,” says Schoch. “There is also a progression in student ages. What we do is to extend that pipeline into college with our stu- dents being mentors for the LEGO and FRC teams,” he says. “We hope that when they leave Rensselaer, they will continue to mentor teams, helping to grow a bigger pipeline with larger num- bers of students excited about science, technology, engineering, and math.” To learn more about Rensselaer’s outreach efforts, see “Pipeline to the Future” on page 16. RENSSELAER/WINTER 2006-07 3 PRESIDENT’S VIEW | SHIRLEY ANN JACKSON, PH.D. activity. The agora provided a reli- technology to enable them to take gious and cultural center. It was the what they know and to apply it in seat of justice. The agora was the diverse arenas. Innovation needs societal nexus. this cross pollination. A global Our contemporary agora experience—either through includes these—and more: pro- semesters of study abroad or by fessional societies, unions, think utilizing the Internet for coopera- tanks, commercial marketing, the tive, collaborative projects—is media, the entertainment indus- becoming an essential part of a try—and science and technology. robust educational experience. As And of course, we have the Inter- for broader public education and net—an engine of information appreciation of science, the sci- and disinformation without equal. entific community itself, through Global in its reach, staggering in its its professional societies, must power, it is transforming the Age of engage the public and make sci- Information. The agora—then ence more accessible. and now—is where the public It can help people, not only to selects its “truth,” where society see the fun of science, but also to accepts what it will regard as “fact,” understand what science is, what where leaders make public policy a scientific theory is—as opposed decisions. to belief—how science is done, What happens when the agora that accepted scientific models or Science and the is populated with self-proclaimed theories are based on evidence, “experts,” with “authorities” sup- the testing of hypotheses by exper- Global Marketplace porting every view? The result is the iment, and that theories change as devaluing of information—the new evidence emerges. devaluing of science. The trend Science-rooted government he following is excerpted from contend that the changes and the undermines the scientist as the dis- agencies and businesses have an my keynote address “Science challenges—when fused with dis- passionate, objective voice of rea- educational responsibility, as well, T and Society: A Nexus of covery and innovation—will offer son, and weakens science as the to speak in plain language to sup- Opportunity,” which I delivered at the unmatched opportunities. I am an authority for sound public policy. port public understanding of sci- conference SCIENCE+SOCIETY: CLOS- optimist. On issues ranging from genetic ence and to support scientists ING THE GAP this January in Boston. But, how are we to get there? engineering and stem cell research, speaking about their work. This is The conference drew more than 1,500 How are we to think about the to the value of conservation and important in overcoming mistrust educators from 34 states and 20 coun- challenges before us? of science, distrust of tries to explore the importance of science How are we to close scientists, and a shift in national and international issues the gap between sci- On issues ranging from genetic engineering and stem cell away from under- and to consider strategies for improv- ence and society? research, to the value of conservation and the reality of standing the impor- ing science literacy among young Of course, there global warming, our public discourse abounds with con- tance of science to people and the general public. At the cannot be society troversy—and the volume and the passion of the rheto- modern life. It is conference I shared the stage with for- without science—or ric sometimes drowns the voice of science itself. important, also, that mer Vice President Al Gore, who deliv- vice versa. They are [ ] we address the ethics ered the other opening keynote address. integral. There should of the application of be no gap. Our challenge, today, is the reality of global warming, our science in key areas, and how it ties The world has undergone extraor- to think in new ways and map new public discourse abounds with con- to people’s core beliefs. It is a two- dinary changes within the lifetimes paths to erase the sense that there troversy—and, the volume and way street which needs to be trav- of everyone in this room—most is a gap. passion of the rhetoric sometimes eled more frequently to bring brought to us through science and For context, I pose a simple drowns the voice of science itself. light—and less heat—to issues. technology. The world has become metaphor—the marketplace, or How, then, are we to educate We must understand that the smaller, human societies bump what classical Greece dubbed the students for leadership in the glob- nexus of science and public policy, against each other, the global econ- “agora.” The agora was the heart al marketplace? How do we instill inherently, means its nexus with omy is expanding. of ancient Athens society. Inter- the capacity and the motivation to public values, meeting people The changes have brought actions occurred, there, between address the global asymmetries? where they live. Scientific per- unprecedented challenges to our people and all societal sectors— We want our students to spectives will not prevail in all are- nation and to our world—changes government leaders and legisla- acquire a multicultural sophisti- nas, at all times, but we must that demand the most potent inno- tors, commercial, administrative, cation, an intellectual agility, and engage, nonetheless. vation, if they are to be resolved. I political, academic, and social enough knowledge of science and 4 RENSSELAER/WINTER 2006-07 MAIL [email protected] While we wish miscarriage did without or in spite of the evidence.