Ten National Universities Receive $2 Million in Grants From Rensselaer's Center for Academic Transformation

Ten colleges and universities across the country will receive $2 million in grants from The Pew Grant Program in Course Redesign from the Center for Academic Transformation at Rensselaer. The grants wereannounced this week by Center Executive Director Carol Twigg. Full descriptions of the projects can be found at www.center.rpi.edu/pewgrant/rd2award.html.

This is the second round of a three-year $8.8 million grant by The Pew Charitable Trusts' Learning and Technology Program. The purpose of the program is to encourage colleges and universities to redesign their approaches to instruction using technology to achieve cost savings as well as quality enhancements.

The 10 institutions will receive grants of $200,000 each for course redesign projects that focus on large-enrollment, introductory courses with the potential to impact significant student numbers and generate substantial cost savings. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, for example, was able to reap cost savings of 86 percent.

For more information about how to apply for a third-round grant, go to http://www.center.rpi.edu/infoappl.html.

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TB Screening Scheduled

A grant from the national Centers for Disease Control is making it possible for Rensselaer Health Services to offer free and voluntary screening for exposure to tuberculosis Oct. 30-Nov. 3. The free screening will be available to all Rensselaer students, faculty, staff, and their families. Hours and locations will be announced soon.

The CDC grant provided funding to the New York State Department of Health, which has set up regional screening programs throughout the state, including the one being administered by the Rensselaer County Health Department at Rensselaer. The Institute is taking a national leadership position in offering universal screening, said Rensselaer Medical Director Dr. Robert Athanasiou.

The screening program is part of a national drive to eliminate tuberculosis in the United States. TB is the world's leading killer among infectious diseases. A report this year of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies urged added vigilance against the disease, despite an overall decline in the United States, because tuberculosis remains widespread in many parts of the world.

"Rensselaer's commitment to preventive medicine and the fact that large numbers of our faculty and students travel to and from foreign countries make it wise for us to lead the way in offering this free screening," said Athanasiou.

The two-step screening process is both painless and accurate in detecting latent TB infection. First, a small amount of test material is placed on the skin of the arm. Two days later, participants return to the screening location to have the test results read by a medical professional.

A positive reaction indicates only an exposure to TB, most often a so-called latent infection that does not make the person sick and that is not infectious. People who test positive receive a chest-X-ray and a physical exam to determine treatment. A person with a latent infection will most often be prescribed a course of medication that prevents the disease from becoming active.

"The good news is that TB, although dangerous, is very treatable. In this increasingly global world, we all owe it to ourselves, our families, and our friends to take advantage of this free screening," Athanasiou said.

For more on TB, go to http://www.who.int/gtb/ and http://healthlinks.washington.edu/clinical/ethnomed/tb/tb.html

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Lester Gerhardt, associate dean of engineering, has been named a fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). The status of fellow is conferred upon a member in recognition of outstanding contributions to engineering education or engineering technology education. Nominated by the ASEE membership, Gerhardt was one of only nine elected this year.

Gerhardt's technical work includes adaptive systems, pattern recognition, and digital signal processing. He has served ASEE as campus representative and chair of the Engineering Research Council, and he is a member of its board of directors.

Gerhardt joined the Rensselaer faculty in 1970, and chaired the department of electrical, computer, and systems engineering for 11 years. He served as founding director of Rensselaer's Center for Manufacturing. In addition, he played a key role in founding and developing Rensselaer's Global Engineering Education Exchange Program, which was established to promote international opportunities for undergraduate engineering.

The author of numerous papers and articles, Gerhardt holds several patents, the most recent of which won the Inventor of the Year Award for New York state in 1997.

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Kauffman Foundation Selects Severino Center for Pilot Program

The Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurial Leadership has selected the Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship in the Lally School of Management and Technology to lead a nationwide pilot program called Technology Enhanced Entrepreneurship Education (TE³).

In May, more than 30 professors from around the country will gather at Rensselaer for a three-day clinic designed to introduce entrepreneurship faculty to the "state of the art" in technology-enhanced learning.

Led by Jack Wilson, co-director of the Severino Center, the clinic will address topics such as mentoring students in a high-tech environment, distance learning, and Web-based learning environments and how to design the right approach to meet a university's needs.

Along with Rensselaer, the Kauffman program also chose two of the top entrepreneurship schools in the U.S-Stanford and Babson College-to lead pilot programs in entrepreneurship. Babson will lead a "General Entrepreneurship Education" program, while Stanford's will lead "Engineering Entrepreneurship Education."

Rensselaer's TE³ workshop will be led by a faculty team that includes Wilson and Mark Rice '71, co-directors of the Severino Center; John Altman, vice president of the Kauffman Foundation; Carol Twigg, executive director of the Center for Academic Transformation at Rensselaer; Mark Bernstein, vice president of business development at Mentergy Corporation; and other professors from Rensselaer, Stanford, and Babson College.

TE³is part of the Kauffman Foundation's Lifelong Learning for Entrepreneurial Education Professionals Program. For more information, go to: www.lallyschool.rpi.edu/lally/Entrepreneurship/Events/TE3-KauffmanLLEEP.htm

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Space Shuttle With Rensselaer Grad Aboard Lands Safely

The Space Shuttle Atlantis landed safely at Kennedy Space Center Sept. 20 to end its 11-day mission to the International Space Station. The Atlantis' seven-member crew included Richard "Rick" Mastracchio, who earned a master's in electrical engineering from Rensselaer at Hartford in 1987. Mastracchio served as mission specialist on the flight.

While in orbit, the team successfully prepared the International Space Station for the arrival of the first permanent crew. The five astronauts and two cosmonauts performed a space walk to connect power, data, and communications cables to the newly arrived Zvezda Service Module and the station. The crew also delivered more than 6,600 pounds of supplies and installed batteries, power converters, a toilet, and a treadmill on the station. STS-106, which launched Sept. 8, logged 4.9 million miles.
To learn more about the Atlantis flight, visit http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/index.html.

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