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At Rensselaer—Milestones
JOHN SCHUMACHER
'66 
John Schumacher ’66, professor and chair of science and technology studies, died Nov. 18 after a long struggle with cancer. Known for his unbounded willingness to devote time and thought to students, colleagues, and friends, Schumacher was a beloved presence on campus.
“There are two people
at Rensselaer who have been icons. One is Dean [Thomas] Phelan. The other
is John Schumacher. They hold places in the community unlike anyone else.
I would call John the conscience of the community,” says Doyle Daves Jr.,
interim provost.
In 1966, Schumacher
graduated cum laude from Rensselaer with a degree in mathematics. Over
the next three years, he earned master’s degrees from Rensselaer in mathematics
and philosophy. In 1974, he received his Ph.D. from the University of
Oxford and started teaching at Rensselaer.
“I’m deeply saddened by John’s death,” says Langdon Winner, professor of science and technology studies. “He was a man of vision and relentless creativity, a wonderful person, friend, and colleague. His legacy shines all over this campus in the novel educational programs he created and in the lives of hundreds of people fortunate enough to have known him.”
Schumacher’s academic interests were far-ranging, and included theories of knowledge, philosophy of natural and social science, and philosophy of education. In 1989, he published his only book, Human Posture: The Nature of Inquiry.
“He never accepted what was,” Daves says. “He always wanted better. He was rough on his colleagues but never on the students. He wasn’t a man you could ignore. He didn’t have a need for facades. The way he dressed and the way he was were a deliberate statement. Here was a man who was a tenured professor, a department chair, and he was an anarchist. If ever there was an oxymoron...”
Schumacher is survived by his wife and three daughters. He once told a newspaper reporter, “We need to do some caring in the workplace, to make it possible to work happily and live happily at the same time.”
The Department of Science and Technology Studies set up a Web page that featured personal remembrances of Schumacher.
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Arthur
G. Schultz, William Weightman Walker Professor of Chemistry, died
Jan. 20, four days after suffering a stroke. Schultz, 57, was internationally
recognized for his research in synthetic organic chemistry and the application
of photochemistry to organic synthesis. “He was probably our premier chemist
here, and the most universally respected person in our department. He
was a caring, selfless man. We could bring a Nobel Prize winner in to
replace him, and we’d be the less for it,” said Tom Apple, chair of the
chemistry department. Schultz earned his doctorate from the University
of Rochester in 1970, and did postdoctoral work at Columbia University.
He taught for six years at Cornell University before joining the Rensselaer
faculty in 1978. In 1988, he assumed the William Weightman Walker Professorship,
the oldest chaired professorship at Rensselaer. Schultz was also the recipient
of the prestigious MERIT award from the National Institutes of Health.
He mentored 45 graduate students, 47 postdoctoral associates, and 50 undergraduates
in his laboratories. He published almost 200 journal articles and presented
more than 200 seminars at universities and corporations. In 1997, Schultz
was appointed adjunct professor of pharmacology and neuroscience at Albany
Medical College.
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Arthur
Sanderson has been named vice president for research, responsible
for advancing the research enterprise across the full range of academic
disciplines and interdisciplinary activities at Rensselaer. As vice president
for research, Sanderson will work closely with the president and provost
in the development and implementation of policies and practices relating
to all aspects of the research mission of the campus. Sanderson joined
the Rensselaer faculty in 1987 as professor and head of the electrical,
computer, and systems engineering department. He served as chair until
1994. Sanderson played a major role in the founding of Rensselaer’s New
York State Center for Advanced Technology and was co-director 1988 to
1990. He has also served as co-principal investigator at the school’s
Agile Manufacturing Research Institute. Most recently, Sanderson has been
on leave while serving for two years as director of the National Science
Foundation’s Division of Electrical and Communications Systems, where
he managed a staff of 20 professionals and was responsible for a $50 million
budget for research. Sanderson received his bachelor’s degree in electrical
engineering from Brown University in 1968, graduating magna cum laude.
In 1972, he earned his doctorate in electrical engineering with a concentration
in biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a fellow
of the IEEE and AAAS and served as president of the IEEE Robotics and
Automation Society from 1989 to 1990.
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Stewart Stabley
has been appointed director of development for Rensselaer. Stabley
most recently was interim associate vice president for development at
the University of Delaware, where he helped plan the school’s first comprehensive
capital campaign. Prior to that position, Stabley was director of development
for the College of Engineering at the University of Delaware. He served
as vice president for institutional advancement at Cabrini College in
Radnor, Pa., from 1992 to 1994, and held the same title at Illinois State
University 1990 to 1992. Stabley has a bachelor’s in journalism from Penn
State and a master’s in public relations and communications from Syracuse
University.
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Alan
Balfour, dean of Rensselaer’s School of Architecture, has been awarded
the prestigious Topaz Medallion of the American Institute of Architects
(AIA) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA).
The Topaz Medallion honors lifetime achievement in teaching, creative
work, and service in the advancement of education. Hailed by the AIA as
“an internationally acclaimed author, lecturer, and architectural researcher,”
Balfour was honored for work that “tends to transcend boundaries within
and outside the conventional field of architecture,” according to Theodore
Garduque, who chaired the selection committee. At Rensselaer, Balfour
has introduced post-professional programs in sonics, informatics, building
conservation, and urban systems. His leadership has also included the
networking of architecture studios and the creation of a new multimedia
lab. He is the author of award-winning books on the architecture of Berlin
and a landmark study of Rockefeller Center. J. Wiley and Sons will publish
his latest work, New York: World City.
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Wilfredo “Freddie”
Colón and Julie Stenken, both assistant professors of
chemistry, have received National Science Foundation (NSF) Career Awards,
aimed at young faculty members actively engaged in research and education.
Col’ on received a $450,000, four-year grant to study the mechanism of
protein folding. The results of his work may have practical applications
in medicine and biotechnology, and could include insight into disease-causing
genetic mutations that result in “mad-cow” disease and familial amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Stenken received a four-year,
$300,000 award to research in vivo sensing devices, used to perform microdialysis.
Stenken hopes to overcome two obstacles faced by in vivo sensors: rejection
by the body’s own defense system, and faulty sensor calibration. Sometimes,
the presence of a probe in the body changes the way the sensor reacts,
thus giving the doctor inaccurate information about chemical concentrations
at the tissue level.
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David
Haviland ’64 has been appointed interim vice president for institute
advancement. Haviland, who has served as vice president for student life
since 1994, also served as dean of the School of Architecture from 1980
to 1990. He was director for the Center for Architectural Research from
1969 to 1977. Haviland is the recipient of the James L. Haecker Distinguished
Leadership Award in Architectural Research and also earned an Institute
Honor from the American Institute of Architects. Haviland replaces Robbee
Baker Kosak, who has been named vice president for development and
alumni advancement at Carnegie Mellon University. As vice president for
institute advancement at Rensselaer, her work included the creation of
the Institute’s first integrated markSeting unit, which has greatly increased
international awareness of the Institute’s reputation in research and
teaching. Under Kosak’s leadership, university fund raising reached a
record annual high of $35.5 million for 1998-99.
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George List,
professor and chair of civil engineering, has been named a fellow of the
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). List has been developing tools
to analyze highway capacities for unsignalized intersections and roundabouts
and tools for forecasting and analyzing freight flows in major metropolitan
areas. He also helped create the Hazardous Materials Uniform Transport
Act, the regulatory framework by which hazardous materials are now shipped.
List joined the Rensselaer faculty in 1984 and is active in numerous professional
organizations.
Charles Carletta
has been named secretary of the Institute and general counsel. He
has been Rensselaer’s principal attorney for more than five years, as
a partner in the law firm of Pattison Sampson Ginsberg and Griffin. Carletta
has devoted most of his professional career to issues in higher education.
He has lectured and written widely on university legal issues and is the
author of a chapter in a new book on the administration of campus discipline.
Carletta received a bachelor’s degree from Manhattan College in 1966 and
a degree of Juris Doctor from the Albany Law School of Union University
in 1969. He is admitted to all courts in the state of New York, the United
States Court of Military Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
Sheila
Talton was appointed to a four-year term on the Rensselaer Board of
Trustees. Talton is president and chief executive officer of Unisource
Network Services Inc., which provides network integration consulting.
She founded the company in 1986. Today, it serves Fortune 500 companies,
major educational and health-care institutions, and public agencies. Talton
has bachelor’s degrees in marketing and speech communications from Northern
Illinois University and has taken graduate courses in the master’s of
information systems technology program there. She is on the board of directors
at the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind and is vice chair of the Information
Technology Senior Managers’ Forum.
Thomas Zimmie,
professor of civil engineering, has been named a fellow of the American
Society of Civil Engineers, one of the highest professional recognitions
a civil engineer can achieve. An expert in geotechnical engineering, Zimmie
was one of the early researchers to apply geotechnical engineering to
the solution of environmental problems. His research has focused on the
recycling of waste paper sludge and its use as cover material for landfills.
Zimmie, who joined the Rensselaer faculty in 1973, is a registered professional
engineer.
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