Rensselaer Magazine, June 2003: Milestones

	Photo by Mark McCarty

Focus On...
Claude Rounds

As a kid growing up in Troy, Claude Rounds played baseball on Rensselaer’s Anderson Field (behind the North Lot). Little did he know that on the other side of campus, at the height of his career, he would be heading up one of the Capital Region’s most ambitious construction projects in recent memory.

As vice president of the Division of Administration, Rounds is executing Rensselaer’s comprehensive $255 million South Campus Development Project. So far, work continues apace on the 218,000-square-foot biotechnology center, the experimental media and performing arts center (EMPAC), and a 500-car parking garage. The biotechnology center’s foundation is complete, structural steel has been erected, and the steel supporting the glass atrium is in progress. The center is expected to open in fall 2004. The parking garage, with the foundation already in place, is expected to be complete by spring 2004. The design of EMPAC is in progress with early site work scheduled to begin this winter.

Implementing this enormous effort requires not only coordination with designers, builders, and other contractors, but also a large dose of public-relations skills, and the ability to listen and be proactive.

“This is a major undertaking for any university in any community, and we must do everything we can to make sure that our campus community and surrounding neighbors fully understand what is being done,” Rounds says.

Since last year, Rounds has headed monthly public meetings at the Heffner Alumni House to provide the opportunity to update the campus community and local residents on the project’s activities and schedules, as well as to solicit comments and questions about the overall project.

“The public information meetings have been very successful,” he says. “We have received positive feedback and demonstrated Rensselaer’s commitment to the community.”

The South Campus Development Project is only part of how Rounds’ division is implementing The Rensselaer Plan. Seventy-five other new construction projects, facilities improvements, and other renovations also are earmarked, representing an additional $66 million in capital investments to enhance the physical and information technology infrastructure, and to improve safety and the quality of campus life.

In addition to the campus planning, design, and construction activities, Rounds’ division also oversees a host of other services, which include public safety, environmental and site services, and physical plant services—to name just a few.

“In a nutshell, the administration division provides essential services that support the living, learning, and working experiences for the Rensselaer community,” Rounds says.

It’s a tall order, but Rounds’ professional background as a skilled engineer, administrator, strategic planner, and communicator allows him to get the job done. Before joining Rensselaer in 2001, Rounds had a 22-year career at Albany Medical Center. He served 15 of those years as vice president for plant management.

Rounds’ experience also comes from his years of public service and his ability to connect to his own community. The East Greenbush resident has served as president of the board of directors of Rouse RPC, a nonprofit agency that builds, operates, and manages affordable housing for seniors in Rensselaer County. A former chair of the East Greenbush Planning Board, Rounds also served as project planning consultant for the town.


	William W. Shuster, who earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from Rensselaer, died March 20. He served Rensselaer for more than 40 years as associate professor, professor, chairman of bio-environmental engineering, and director of the Environmental Engineering Program, which he helped to establish. Shuster was named emeritus professor of chemical and environmental engineering in 1983. He received numerous professional honors during his career, including being named a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineering, a diplomat of the American Academy of Environmental Engineering, and membership in Sigma Xi honorary research society and Phi Lambda Epsilon. At Rensselaer, he was a recipient of the Distinguished Faculty Award, Demers Medal, and the RPI Silver Bowl Award. He served as class correspondent and executive secretary for the 50 Year Club. Shuster was a member of many societies and was involved in numerous civic organizations.
	Robert Linhardt, a world-leading carbohydrate chemist, has been appointed a senior constellation chair in biocatalysis and metabolic engineering at Rensselaer. Linhardt is internationally known for his research on the study of bioactive carbohydrates, particularly the complex polysaccharide heparin. Heparin is a major clinical anticoagulant with more than 500 million doses used worldwide each year. Heparin and related molecules exhibit a large number of newly discovered biological activities and have great therapeutic potential.
	Omkaram “Om” Nalamasu, director of Rensselaer’s Center for Integrated Electronics (CIE), received a $1 million grant from the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR) Faculty Development Program. The funding will be used to help institutions of higher education in New York state recruit and retain leading entrepreneurial research faculty in science and technological fields that have strong commercial potential. Nalamasu, an international expert in micro- and nanoelectronics, has made seminal technical contributions to nanofabrication technology.
	Murat Arcak, assistant professor of electrical, computer, and systems engineering, was awarded a Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the National Science Foundation. The CAREER Award is the most prestigious award given to junior faculty members. Arcak will use the award’s $400,000 grant to advance his study of nonlinear control systems, and to apply them to fuel cells. His research could lead to affordable fuel cell technologies for a range of applications.
	Richard Radke, assistant professor of electrical, computer, and systems engineering, has been awarded a Faculty Early Career Development Award (CAREER) from the National Science Foundation. The CAREER Award provides a grant of $400,000 and is the most prestigious honor presented to junior faculty. Radke will use the award to develop a new framework for “distributed computer vision.” This mathematical system, he says, will someday allow thousands of video cameras to automatically work together to map distant or inhospitable areas, or track potential enemies or criminals.
	Brian Dominguez has been named the assistant dean of students and director of Greek life. Dominguez previously worked at Northern Arizona University, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Delhi College of Technology, Lake Superior State University, and most recently Muskingum College. His background includes experience in such student affairs areas as residential life, the African American Cultural Center, and Greek affairs.
	E. Bruce Watson, Institute Professor of Science, is listed on ISIHighlyCited.com, a free Web site that gives research professionals working in a variety of occupations a tool to identify individuals, departments, and laboratories that have made fundamental contributions to the advancement of science and technology in recent decades. ISIHighlyCited.com includes people in 21 broad subject categories in life sciences, medicine, physical sciences, engineering, and social sciences.
	Audrey Bennett, assistant professor of language, literature, and communication, was elected to the board of directors of the American Institute of Graphic Arts, Upstate New York Chapter, for a two-year term from 2002 to 2004.
	William Luddy Jr. ’74 and Peter Schroth ’88, professors in the Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer at Hartford, were named co-editors-in-chief of the Journal of Legal Studies in Business, a blind-peer-reviewed journal with a national circulation and over 700 subscribing libraries.
	James Tien ’66, the Yamada Corporation Professor in the Department of Decision Sciences and Engineering Systems and professor in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering, has been elected vice president of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Educational Activities Board. The IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional society, with more than 380,000 members in more than 150 countries.
	Robert Klancko, adjunct lecturer for the Department of Engineering and Science at Rensselaer at Hartford, was reappointed as a member of the Connecticut Emergency Response Commission by Connecticut Governor John Rowland. The commission implements the provisions of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act and designates local planning districts.
	B. Wayne Bequette, professor and acting chair of chemical engineering, has published a textbook titled Process Control: Modeling, Design and Simulation (Prentice Hall, 2003).
	Arthur Bergles, the Clark and Crossan Professor of Engineering, Emeritus, was recently elected a foreign member of the Italian National Academy of Sciences. With 58 regular members and 21 foreign members, the Italian National Academy of Sciences is one of the most exclusive academies in the world.
	John Harrington, dean of humanities and social sciences, was named to the Executive International Committee on Irish Theatrical Diaspora, an ongoing scholarly organization that is planning the centenary of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, in 2004.
	Suvranu De, assistant professor of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering, has been appointed to the editorial board of Computers & Structures, an international journal, published by Elsevier, for researchers and practitioners in academic, governmental and industrial communities.
	Susan Bray, assistant dean, and Kim Scalzo, director, both of the Office of Professional and Distance Education, were honored at the American Society for Engineering Education’s Conference for Industry/Education Collaboration. They received the “Best Paper” award for a paper and presentation at last year’s conference titled “Evolution vs. Revolution: Integrating and Migrating Technologies for Distance Learning.”
	Sidney Fleisher, School of Architecture woodshop manager and adjunct faculty member, was honored at the annual Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture conference with the 2003 ACSA Honorary Award for his outstanding contributions to architectural education through teaching and design. For the past 22 years, Fleisher has directed the school’s woodshop, teaching courses in Material Explorations and Fabrication and Furniture and Design Making, as well as providing instruction for the safe use of woodworking hand tools and machinery. “His subtle guidance has been the common thread to students’ explorations and appreciation of craft and has had an immeasurable influence over a generation of students," said Alan Balfour, dean of architecture.

Rensselaer Magazine: June 2003
President's View	Your Mail	From the Archives	Hawk Talk	Class Notes Features

Front Page	At Rensselaer	Milestones
In Memoriam	Making a Difference	Staying Connected

Rensselaer Home Page | RPInfo | AlumServ Home Page

Rensselaer (ISSN 0898-1442) is published in March, June, September, and December by the Office of Communications.	Opinions expressed in these pages do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or the policies of the Institute.
© 2003 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. All rights reserved worldwide.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 110 8th St., Troy, NY 12180. (518) 276-6000 Web site design by the Rensselaer Office of Communications. Contact Jane Van Ryan, Assistant Vice President, Office of Communications. Questions? Comments? Please contact us.