Lt. Ted Essenfeld ’99 reported for duty as executive officer of the USS Guardian, a mine countermeasures ship forward-deployed to Sasebo, Japan, in January. In addition to managing his regular duties, he is preparing to be the first surface warfare officer to “fleet-up” to commanding officer on the same ship. “Since I first submitted my commissioning program application, my desire has always been to lead sailors,” said Essenfeld, a former machinist’s mate who has more than 16 years of Navy experience, both enlisted and officer, in varied warfare areas. Guardian serves under Task Force 76 along with USS Patriot, whose executive officer is Dustin Demorest ’96. Also serving in the area with Essenfeld is Ivan Villescas ’96, chief engineer of the USS Tortuga.

Chauncey Starr ’32, Ph.D. ’35, pioneer of the nuclear power industry and founding president of the Electric Power Research Institute, died April 17. He was a former vice president of Rockwell International and president of its Atomic International Division.

While he was dean of the UCLA School of Engineering and Applied Science, his landmark work launched the field of modern risk analysis. Starr was the recipient of numerous honors, including the National Medal of Technology. In 2005, he was inducted into the Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame. At 95, the lifelong visionary was still working six days a week, developing plans for a “SuperGrid.”