The Rensselaer Alumni Association presented the first of three $25,000 installments to support the RPIdeaLab, a new Rensselaer Incubator Center resource for students interested in starting their own companies. The RPIdeaLab provides a space for students to meet visiting experts and service providers, utilize computers, tap into a resource bank of information, and bounce ideas off staff, students, incubator companies, and alumni.

• Students who use the RPIdeaLab can participate in regular activities that include:
• Student-entrepreneur dinners, at which student business executives meet with fellow student-run companies to share experiences and advice.
• Business idea sessions, for students interested in starting a business to bounce ideas off a panel of incubator experts.
• Business plan presentations, where students can “practice” their business plan presentations.
• Regular sessions with outside service providers, such as marketing, legal, accounting, human resources, and venture capital professionals.

The RPIdeaLab gives alumni the chance to act as expert advisers or mentors in various areas, and to be available as a resource to students seeking advice.

If you’re interested in getting involved, contact Simon Balint, manager of operations for the Incubator Program, at (518) 276-6658 or balins@rpi.edu, or Jeff Schanz, director of volunteer programs, at (518) 276-6910 or schanj@rpi.edu. For more information on the RAA, visit its Web site at www.alumni.rpi. edu/RAA.

More than 100 students, faculty, and alumni attended the Intellectual Property Career Forum offered by the Technology Law and Commercialization Professionals affinity group (TL&C) Feb. 23. The event included a career fair featuring law schools, law firms, and companies; panel discussions; and breakout sessions. The Career Forum is the latest in a string of successful events planned by the TL&C affinity group, who recently received an international alumni programming award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. If you would like to network with alumni in the patent law and technology commercialization fields, contact Peter Pedone at pedonp@rpi.edu or (518) 276-6061.

The RAA sponsors tours to destinations around the world for alumni of all ages. For more information, contact program coordinator John Buckley ’49 at (518) 274-6562 or write to him c/o Alumni Relations, 1301 Peoples Ave., Troy, NY 12180.

RAA Back-to-Campus Speaker Series presenters Michael Farese ’68, John Cavalier, Gary Ide ’86, and Martin Schoffstall ’82 take questions from a standing-room-only crowd. [Photo: Fred Ricard]

The Future of Wireless Communications

A standing-room-only crowd on campus listened to a lively and multifaceted presentation of the future of wireless communications as part of the RAA Back-to-Campus Speaker Series on March 30.

The program featured executives of local and national firms involved in the growing field of wireless communications: John Cavalier, co-chair of MapInfo; Michael Farese ’68, president and CEO of the West Coast-based Tropian Inc.; Gary Ide ’86, partner at Accenture; and Martin Schoffstall ’82, co-founder of PSINet and now principal of Schoffstall Ventures. John Kolb ’79, chief information officer at Rensselaer, moderated the program. Panelists provided different perspectives on the direction of wireless technologies and communications systems and touched on many issues facing the wireless industry.

“This event provided wonderful exposure of Rensselaer alumni to students, staff, faculty, and local alumni, and gave the RAA great visibility as the sponsoring organization,” says David Bohan ’82, director of the Office of Alumni Relations. Bohan also notes that the program helped uncover a large number of alumni currently working in the wireless industry.

The RAA Speaker Series features talks by alumni who work in “hot” careers of interest to student and alumni audiences. Similar content-focused events are being planned for regional chapter areas across the country. Where is your area of expertise? What type of program would interest you? Contact Jeff Schanz, volunteer relations director, at (518) 276-6910 or schanj@rpi.edu.