Campus News: Week of August 6, 2001

Design and Planning Moving Ahead for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies Building

Architect's rendering of West Elevation: Burt Hill Kosar Rittelmann Associates/Bohlin Cywinski Jackson

Click here for full size stackable floor plan (pdf)

Plans for the building of a center for biotechnology and interdisciplinary studies at Rensselaer call for a four-story building of about 200,000 square feet with a design that will mirror the nearby Quadrangle Complex residence halls along 15th Street.

The building remains in the schematic design phase, and changes may yet be made, but the latest plans call for a facility with nearly 113,000 total net assignable square feet, including about 36,000 square feet of laboratory space, 36,000 square feet of support space, and 40,000 square feet of office and other assignable space.

The center will be comparable in size to the George M. Low Center for Industrial Innovation.

The building will consist of four laboratory floors, plus a mechanical penthouse. The office wing along 15th Street will have three stories. The office wing parallel to a proposed new pedestrian walk will face south and have four stories.

The facility will be constructed on 15th Street, between the Low Center and Academy Hall. The expected occupancy is 60 faculty members, 333 researchers and graduate students, an administrative staff of 12, and a technical staff of 23, for a total occupancy of 427.

About two-thirds of these people will be new employees.

The cost of the building is estimated to total between $60 million and $70 million. Groundbreaking is expected early in 2002.

The design is a joint venture of two architectural firms with experience in biotechnology design—Burt Hill Kosar Rittelmann of Butler, Pa., and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson of Pittsburgh.

President Outlines Plans To Fill Key Leadership Positions

A search for a permanent Dean of Students has been launched. Mike Hanna, associate professor of biology, is chairing the committee.

Michael Shur, professor of electrical, computer, and systems engineering, has been named acting director of the CIEEM. Morris Washington, clinical professor, has been promoted to associate director. Don Millard, former CIEEM director, will continue to direct the Academy of Electronic Media, which has been designated as an independent Institutewide research center with R&D initiatives in electronic media. Toh-Ming Lu, professor of physics, is chairing a search committee for a permanent CIEEM director.

A search is being launched for a new leader for Rensselaer Hartford to replace Andrew Lemnios, who is retiring. The position will be titled vice president and dean. Lester Gerhardt, associate dean of engineering, is chairing the committee.

The search committee for a director for the new electronic media and performing arts center has formed a pool of candidates, and interviews will start mid-August. John Tichy, professor and chair of mechanical, aerospace, and nuclear engineering, is heading this search.

The board of trustees will form a new committee on research. Trustee Mary Good will chair that committee and remain a member of the academic affairs committee. Trustee James Mullen '80 will take Good's place as chair of the academic affairs committee; he also will hold a seat on the new research committee.

Glicksman Honored for Pioneering Work

Martin Glicksman '57, John Tod Horton Professor of Materials Engineering, has been awarded the ASM International Gold Medal for 2003. ASM is the professional society for materials engineers and scientists.

The Gold Medal, established in 1943, will be presented to Glicksman at the 2003 ASM Awards Dinner for his pioneering work toward "understanding basic solidification processes, especially dendritic growth, scaling laws, and microstructure development in the design of novel and advanced materials." He is also recognized for a lifetime of mentoring and training students in their pursuit of materials careers. Glicksman is the 60th ASM Gold Medalist, and the second recipient from Rensselaer. In 1959, the ASM medal was conferred on Matthew Hunter, founder of Rensselaer's Materials Science and Engineering Department in 1937, for his discovery of metallic titanium.

Glicksman's team made history when it sent the Isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment on three space shuttle flights and managed them with students from an on-campus NASA control room.

Glicksman received his bachelor's in metallurgical engineering in 1957 and his doctorate in 1961 in physical metallurgy, both from Rensselaer. He joined the Rensselaer faculty in 1975.

He is a fellow of the Metallurgical Society, the American Society for Materials, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and is a member of the American Physical Society and the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1996.

Campus Playschool Offers Experience in Diversity to Preschoolers

Tucked away in the basement of 285 Sunset Terrace is a preschool laboratory of multiculturalism that many parents call "the best-kept secret in Troy." The Campus Playschool is a haven for the children of Rensselaer's geographically diverse graduate students, faculty, and staff.

When Christine Koch became its new director and head teacher in May, she said she felt she'd "stepped into an oasis."

The usual gaggle of toddler activity takes on new meaning when the majority of children don't speak English. This summer, all but three of the children are Korean. Last fall the children hailed from Japan, Korea, China, Turkey, and Egypt, among others.

Communication isn't difficult, however. Relying on routines and non-verbal cues to enhance her words, Koch tells the children to wash their hands while rubbing her palms together in mock lather.

Kathy O'Bryan is a Playschool trustee and her husband, John, is a Rensselaer alum and area physician. Their son, Joe, attends the school.

"It is so refreshing to have this community right in our backyard," she said. "Joe learns as much from the kids he's around as he does from the arts and crafts, music, and story time."

The Playschool, which relies on donated equipment and word of mouth, is operated as a co-op by parents who play active roles as trustees, registrar and bursar, snack czars, and house cleaners.

The Campus Playschool is open 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. for two-, three-, or five-day sessions. Contact the Campus PlaySchool at ext. 6102 or Koch at hcoktcg@aol.com.

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