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Campus
News: Week of Feb. 26, 2001
Jackson, Tien Honored by the National Academy of Engineering
President
Shirley Ann Jackson and James Tien '66, professor and chair of
decision sciences and engineering systems, have been elected to
membership in the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).
Election
to the NAE is one of the highest honors accorded an engineer.
Academy membership recognizes those who have made "important
contributions to engineering theory and practice, and those who
have demonstrated unusual accomplishment in the pioneering of
new and developing fields of technology," said NAE President
William A. Wulf.
 Jackson
was elected for her contributions to industry research, education,
and the formation of the International Nuclear Regulators Association.
Tien was elected for his contributions to the development and
application of systems engineering concepts and methodologies
to improve public services and engineering education.
"Rensselaer
is extremely proud to be led by a president whose achievements
in research, teaching, industry, and government service have been
recognized internationally. This latest honor, election to membership
in the National Academy of Engineering, again affirms Dr. Jackson's
extensive contributions to scholarship, education, and global
cooperation," said Samuel F. Heffner Jr. '56, president of
the board of trustees.
 Rensselaer
Provost G. P. "Bud" Peterson praised the Academy's choice
of Tien. "We are extremely pleased at Professor Tien's election
to the National Academy of Engineering. This is well-deserved
recognition of the many contributions he has made and continues
to make toward engineering and engineering education," Peterson
said.
"I
am honored to be among so many distinguished colleagues, including
Dr. Tien," said Jackson. "The prestige of our Institute
and its excellence in research and teaching is further demonstrated
by the fact that we now have 11 faculty who are members of this
esteemed Academy."
Another
newly elected NAE member, Benjamin F. Montoya, is a 1960 graduate
of Rensselaer with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. He
is chairman and chief executive officer (retired), and member,
board of directors, Public Service Co. of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
The Academy honored Montoya for environmental and organizational
leadership in both the U.S. Navy and public power sector while
maintaining total dedication to societal values.
For
complete biographies on Jackson and Tien, please go to http://www.rpi.edu/web/News/press_releases/2001/nae.html
New
Trustee Named
 The
Rensselaer Board of Trustees elected James C. Mullen '80, president
and chief executive officer of Biogen, as a new active trustee
at its February meeting over the weekend. Mullen will serve
a four-year term through December 2004.
"I
am honored to be named to the Board of Trustees. I am looking
forward to being a part of the changes that are taking place
under the Rensselaer Plan. President Jackson is a new energy
for the Institute and her goal of establishing a strength in
biotechnology overlaps nicely with my professional focus,"
said Mullen.
Mullen
was appointed president and chief executive officer of Biogen,
a global biopharmaceutical company and the world's oldest independent
biotechnology company, in June 2000. He is also a member of
the board of directors. Mullen joined Biogen as director, facilities
and engineering, in 1989 and was named vice president, operations,
in 1992. From 1996-1999, Mullen served as vice president, international,
with responsibility for building all Biogen operations outside
North America. He was named president and chief operating officer
in January 1999.
"President
Jackson is a new energy for the Institute and her goal of
establishing a strength in biotechnology overlaps nicely
with my professional focus."
— James C. Mullen '80—
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During
his 11-year tenure at Biogen, Mullen has been credited with
significant accomplishments. As vice president, operations,
he laid the manufacturing and distribution groundwork to launch
AVONEX® (Interferon Beta-la), Biogen's flagship product
for treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, and
he successfully oversaw the creation of Biogen's manufacturing
capability in both Cambridge, Mass. and Research Triangle Park,
N.C. As vice president, international, Mullen was the key Biogen
executive responsible for the successful registration and launch
of AVONEX® throughout Europe. Mullen is credited with creating
Biogen's direct sales organization in Europe, the largest in
the biotechnology industry.
From
1980 to 1989, Mullen held a variety of manufacturing and engineering
positions at SmithKline Beckman (now SmithKline Beecham), including
director of engineering. He holds a B.S. in chemical engineering
from Rensselaer and an M.B.A. from Villanova University.
Knowledge
of Protein Formation May Lead to Disease Cures
Two researchers have found a way to predict from scratch how
a protein will begin to form. That knowledge moves us closer
toward treating-and perhaps curing-juvenile diabetes, congenital
obesity, and other diseases.
 Using
a sophisticated model, called HMMSTR (Hidden Markov Model for
Local Sequence-Structure Correlations in Proteins), Chris Bystroff,
assistant professor of biology at Rensselaer, and David Baker,
professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington, have
created algorithms for predicting how a strand of amino acids
will begin to take shape, or "fold," into a protein.
If
researchers know the structure of a protein, they can identify
its biological function, and therefore its specific role in
disease. By going a step further in discovering how proteins
form, medical science moves closer toward treating and perhaps
curing such illnesses in which the causative genes are known
but the functions of their proteins are not, says Bystroff.
HMMSTR
takes the first how-to step by predicting exactly where on the
amino acid chain a protein begins to take form. Baker's program,
Rosetta, then attempts to assemble the pieces.
"No
one has been able to write a successful algorithm for protein
folding. What we want to do is to be able to predict where the
folding process begins," Bystroff says.
Bystroff's
HMMSTR server was included in a presentation delivered by other
scientists at a meeting called "Critical Assessment of
Protein Structure Prediction 4" or CASP4, which took place
in December 2000. Hundreds of molecular biologists have already
used the server, located in the Rensselaer's Materials Research
Center.
Internet2-Distributed Musical Premieres at Rensselaer
 The
Technophobe & the Madman, a 40-minute performance seen
simultaneously at Rensselaer and at NYU last Tuesday evening,
has been hailed as the first Internet2-distributed musical,
combining music, video, and interactivity using artists performing
collaboratively at both locations. Neil Rolnick, chair of Rensselaer's
arts department, produced the piece with Robert Rowe, associate
director of the Music Technology Department at New York University.
The work was supported by a grant from the New York State Council
on the Arts. High-bandwidth versions and a video of the entire
musical can be viewed at
http://www.academy.rpi.edu/projects/technophobe.
Read
more about the performance in the Feb. 20 Wired News,
"Ready
For the Fiddler,"
or in the Feb. 19 New York Times, "The
Staging of Multisite Arts Performances Online".
Recent
Grad Dies in Skiing Accident
Orley Kantz '00 died as a result of a skiing accident on Feb.
18. Kantz had graduated in December from Rensselaer with a Master
of Science in Environmental Management and Policy, and had immediately
secured a job in her field in New York City.
Kantz was buried in Israel Wedneday.
"Shock, sadness, and grief merely skim the surface of our
feelings," said Frank Mendelson, acting director of the
environmental management and policy program.
Mendelson said that a memorial service is being arranged, and
friends, colleagues, professors and the extended Rensselaer
community will be invited. A charitable donation, in lieu of
flowers, also is being arranged.
Alumnus
Nominated for Innovator of the Year Award
Casimer DeCusatis '90 has been recognized by EDN magazine
as one of three finalists for the Innovator of the Year Award.
This award has been presented annually for the past 11 years
by EDN, a leading design magazine of the electronics
industry. A panel of judges selected DeCusatis and two other
engineers from hundreds of nominees submitted in various fields
of electrical engineering. Judging included an evaluation of
the nominee's patents, technical publications, and service to
the profession.
EDN magazine is conducting an online ballot where voters
can log on and cast votes for one of the finalists. The person
receiving the most votes will be allowed to select a college
or university to receive a $10,000 scholarship grant.
Cast your vote by logging on to http://www.ednmag.com
during the first two weeks of March. Results will be announced
in the April 26 issue of EDN and on their Web site.
All three finalists will be recognized and presented with individual
plaques at an awards banquet to be held at the Pan Pacific Hotel
in San Francisco on Monday, April 9, 2001.
DeCusatis is a senior engineer for IBM Corporation, in Poughkeepsie.
He was the recipient of the 1999 Outstanding Young Electrical
Engineer award from Eta Kappa Nu and IEEE. He is co-inventor
of 32 patents and co-author of more than 100 technical papers,
and serves as editor or co-editor on numerous technical publications.
DeCusatis received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Rensselaer in
1988 and 1990, respectively. His doctoral thesis on acousto-electro-optic
signal processing received the Allan B. DuMont Award for exceptional
thesis work in electrical engineering. He is a member of the
Optical Society of America, IEEE, SPIE, Sigma Xi Research Society,
Mensa, and 10 academic honor societies including Tau Beta Pi
and Eta Kappa Nu.
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