Gary Gold

Focus On... Joseph Flaherty

A teenager with big dreams when Sputnik launched the Space Race and sparked a revolution in U.S. science education, Joseph Flaherty already knew he would be a scientist while still a student at Brooklyn Technical High School.

Now, as Rensselaer’s new dean of science and with 28 years of teaching and research experience at the university under his belt, Flaherty is reaching for loftier grounds with a more diversified mission.

“This is an exciting time to be dean. So much is happening on campus, and President Jackson has set some very high goals. I’m very pleased to be a part of it,” says Flaherty, the Amos Eaton Professor of Computer Science.

In accordance with the Rensselaer Plan, the mission of the School of Science is being broadened to include the thriving information technology program as well as ambitious new initiatives in biotechnology. Regarding information technology, says Flaherty, “We all have to work hard to preserve the interdisciplinary spirit of both the teaching and research programs, and I intend to ensure that the five schools will have an active and exciting role to play.”

When Flaherty joined the faculty in 1973, Rensselaer had no computer science department, and graduate degrees in computer science were awarded through the mathematics department. Flaherty taught classes in computer science and numerical computing. He bought his first personal computer in 1978.

Like the rest of the world, but with a greater level of understanding and appreciation, he lived through the microcomputer revolution, followed by the proliferation of the Internet.

“I have always thought of computers as very practical tools. I enjoy scientific computation—that blend of physical problems and solving problems on a computer. I like the practical link between the world and the computer,” says Flaherty, citing the work he has done on nuclear safety, biomaterials, and fluid flow problems.

Flaherty graduated from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn with a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering and a master’s degree and doctorate in applied mechanics. In the early 1970s, he taught mathematics at New York University—home of what was probably the most powerful computer in the world at that time.

“It was a CDC (Control Data Corporation) 6600, and it filled up whole rooms. It was enormous, and yet it was capable of doing only a small fraction of what my laptop can do. I was attracted to computer science right from the start,” Flaherty says.

In 1984, he became the founding chair of the Computer Science Department at Rensselaer. Flaherty’s research specialty is the development of automatic adaptive techniques and software for solving partial differential equations, which, he says, “describe many phenomena in science and engineering.”

He has published 13 books and monographs and more than 140 articles in professional journals. Recently, his research has focused on the simulation and modeling of biological materials. Of biotechnology he says, “that is the next revolution.”

Asked how he would advise an incoming freshman who was contemplating a career in science or engineering, Flaherty drew upon the lessons of his own lifetime: “Think broadly about what’s possible. We are now entering an era when tremendous, unimaginable things are going to be possible.”

Student orientation left an indelible impression on many of you. During those first few days of college life, you learned about Rensselaer’s traditions and got to know each other.

Silver Bay also was home to Rensselaer’s “frosh camp” during the 1950s. We’d like to learn more about that era. If you attended student orientation at Silver Bay, and have stories or photos to share, send them to Rensselaer Magazine, Office of Marketing and Media Relations, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, or e-mail alum.mag@rpi.edu.