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Competition in the Works to Establish EMPAC Design

An international competition to select an architect for the proposed Electronic Media and Performing Arts Center will begin next month, the EMPAC task force reported during a recent public meeting.

In addition, the task force, chaired by John Tichy, professor and chair of mechanical engineering, aeronautical engineering, and mechanics, has identified a consultant to assist with the architect selection process.

An international competition to select an architect for the proposed Electronic Media and Performing Arts Center will begin next month, the EMPAC task force reported during a recent public meeting.

Roger Schluntz, dean of architecture at the University of New Mexico, will work with the task force in hammering out the final details for the formal design competition. Schluntz, who reports directly to President Shirley Ann Jackson, also will assist in the selection of a jury to judge the participants in May.

Schluntz has served as the consultant for a number of significant architecture and urban design competitions throughout the United States. He has twice served as a panel member for the National American Institute of Architects Honor Awards Program, and was appointed a member of the Design Competitions Task Force for the national AIA Committee on Design. He also was an adviser to the Design Arts Program of the National Endowment for the Arts in the early 1980s.

The EMPAC task force has invited more than 20 architectural firms from around the world. The competition, which establishes the basic framework for the building design, begins on March 12.

Several members of the task force also have visited various universities around the country to gain an understanding of how performing arts centers operate and how they impact campus life. Task force members met on Feb. 13 with nationally known individuals who have run centers that combine arts and technology.

The task force continues to welcome comments, questions, and suggestions. For more information, contact chair John Tichy at tichy@rpi.edu.

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3Com Helps Connect Troy's Kids

The 3COM Corporation, in collaboration with the United States Conference of Mayors, recently awarded the City of Troy a $100,000 Urban Challenge Grant. The grant is part of a $1 million program to help 10 U.S. cities integrate technology into their communities and enhance education and public communications systems.

The award will fund the Connected Kids Project, which was developed by the city in 1999 in partnership with Rensselaer. Connected Kids is a citywide effort to create an online, self-service database that will enhance youth programs throughout Troy. —Teri Harrison—

The award will fund the Connected Kids Project, which was developed by the city in 1999 in partnership with Rensselaer. Connected Kids is a citywide effort to create an online, self-service database that will enhance youth programs throughout Troy, according to Teri Harrison, professor of language, literature, and communication, who heads the team of Rensselaer faculty integral to the program's birth.

Through the grant, 3COM will provide wireless networking equipment to facilitate technology training for school teachers and program staff, and expand technology-focused education. The City of Troy will administer the grant and is currently working with community partners to determine the best use of the network hardware and equipment.

Harrison, Sibel Adali, assistant professor of computer science, and Jim Zappen, associate professor of communication and rhetoric, are seeking further funding for software development through the National Science Foundation's Digital Government Program.

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New Engineering Learning Assessment Program Launched

A new engineering research project launched last week will increase learning effectiveness in the core engineering courses by using the existing information technology infrastructure to help faculty better account for different student learning styles.

"We are in the silent-movie era of educational technology. Rensselaer saw the technological breakthrough of studio classrooms, but we know we can push the technology even further." — Gary Gabriele—

The initiative is funded by a two-year $300,000 Learning Excellence in Engineering grant from the General Electric Fund. Rensselaer faculty will supplement the studio model with new curricula design and interactive modules developed to address diverse cognitive and learning styles.

"We are in the silent-movie era of educational technology," said Gary Gabriele, vice provost and one of the leaders of the initiative. "Rensselaer saw the technological breakthrough of studio classrooms, but we know we can push the technology even further. The GE Fund has been a strong supporter of many of our education initiatives, including our new O.T. Swanson Multidisciplinary Design Lab, and we're grateful for their help in this truly groundbreaking effort."

In conjunction with the engineering faculty, the Anderson Center for Innovation in Undergraduate Education, and the Academy of Electronic Media, course materials will be developed that will allow students access to course materials, lectures, instructional modules, and assessment materials through their own computers. At the end of the two-year project, a "Next-Generation Studio Classroom" model will be investigated that will combine distributed learning with enhanced classroom experiences.

Joyce Hergenhan, president of the GE Fund, noted, "Every day we see the tremendous changes and opportunities brought about by technology, globalization, and other forces that require creativity and the ability to think in a boundaryless fashion. The Learning Excellence grants support the same kind of transformation of the teaching and learning process, with clear results in terms of student learning."

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President Jackson Receives George Washington Carver Award

Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson was one of three outstanding Americans honored at the 15th Annual Black History Makers Awards ceremonies Thursday, Feb. 7, in New York City.

Host Bill Cosby presented Jackson with the George Washington Carver award on behalf of Associated Black Charities, sponsor of the event.

Fellow educator Ruth J. Simmons, president-elect of Brown University and currently the chief executive at Smith College, received the Mary McLeod Bethune Award. Surgeon Benjamin S. Carson Sr., M.D., received the Dr. Charles Richard Drew Award.

"Drs. Benjamin Carson, Shirley Ann Jackson, and Ruth Simmons, three outstanding African-Americans, have blazed new trails and left enduring imprints for American youth to emulate." —Rayton Gerald—

Since 1987 the Black History Makers Awards have honored outstanding Americans such as Maya Anjelou, Thurgood Marshall, Marian Anderson, and John Hope Franklin.

President Jackson was honored for pioneering achievements in science, education, and government.

"Drs. Benjamin Carson, Shirley Ann Jackson, and Ruth Simmons, three outstanding African-Americans, have blazed new trails and left enduring imprints for American youth to emulate," said Rayton Gerald, chairman of the board of directors of Associated Black Charities.

Associated Black Charities promotes educational improvement to prepare children for the technology-driven Information Age and seeks to strengthen black philanthropy as an ideal and practical obligation.

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