Clarkson University 2020 President's Report/Alumni Magazine

2020 PRESIDENT’S REPORT / ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Golden Knights Rise Strength, Perseverance and Solutions

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Golden Knights Rise As our nation faced adversity and unprecedented challenges in 2020, Clarkson faculty, staff, students and alumni rolled up their sleeves another fold and went to work with renewed purpose and urgency. The Clarkson community sought answers and solutions to problems — often beyond the technical — that at times required difficult conversations. The can-do attitude of Golden Knights during this time displayed our values for the world to see and gave us the inspiration to rise as an even stronger Clarkson.

In the spirit of Thomas Clarkson, we sought out the real needs of the American people. We pivoted research to address the global pandemic; we innovated and adapted technology to protect frontline workers; we came together to grow and reimagine education; we engaged with each other to listen and evolve our actions on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging; and we ensured the resilience of our local communities by dedicating our workforce to the greater public good.

For example, faculty and researchers in Clarkson’s Center for Air Resources Engineering and Science quickly deployed aerosol and fine particle expertise to lead COVID-19 detection solutions now at the forefront of world health dialogue. In what became a nightly series to our Golden Knight network, our alumni and community shared numerous stories of building the nation’s capacity to support frontline workers and progress on pandemic prevention platforms. And our long-term commitment to a resilient and inclusive community became the foundation with our corporate and alumni partners to move from awareness to action to support our Black, Indigenous and People of Color community members impacted by world events.

As we begin our plans to celebrate Clarkson’s 125th anniversary in 2021, there is much to gain from reflecting on 2020 as a marker of the values that differentiate Clarkson as a technological institution that prepares leaders to advance the public good. Beyond the Golden Knights featured in the pages that follow, this 2020 edition of the annual President’s Report and Alumni Magazine is a tribute to the resilience and accomplishments of all members of our community who continue to come together to make a difference and show that when faced with a challenge, Golden Knights Rise.

President Tony Collins

CONTENTS

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Committed to Making a Difference, Together The Clarkson community is working together to support our BIPOC students and improve their Clarkson experience.

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Clarkson Names Lewis School of Health Sciences Founding Dean Clarkson is poised to strengthen and expand a growing portfolio of programs in the health sciences.

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Detecting COVID-19 on Campus: Can Wastewater Provide Early Warning Signs?

Professor Shane Rogers leads noninvasive, cutting-edge research on the Hill Campus.

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Golden Knights Are Makers Highlights from Clarkson Ignite, our campus-wide innovation ecosystem.

2020 PRESIDENT'S REPORT / ALUMNI MAGAZINE

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The COVID-19 Virus Can Spread Through the Air Clarkson researchers share what it takes to detect the airborne particles.

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Discovering COVID-19 Hot Zones Clarkson and Arizona State researchers develop an algorithm to detect trouble spots.

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Aerosols Are a Bigger Coronavirus Threat Than WHO Guidelines Suggest Clarkson engineering professors share what you need to know.

COVID-19 May Challenge Rural Healthcare, but Clarkson Is Ahead of the Curve Clarkson establishes the Lewis School of Health Sciences and collaborates with local healthcare systems to alleviate COVID-19 concerns.

Teaching in a Coronavirus Hotspot A first-year New York City teacher shares her experience.

Good Knight A feel-good series of stories highlights how the Clarkson community is facing COVID-19 challenges head on.

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Clarkson Alumni Association The Alumni Association welcomes Clarkson’s 2020 graduates and celebrates the 2020 alumni award recipients.

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Clarkson’s Flight Simulator Mirrors Air Force’s COVID-19 Pilot Prep As the pandemic evolves, the remote instruction concept is being replicated across other Air Force basic training command levels.

ALSO INSIDE

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Class Notes Board of Trustees Financial Report

ON THE COVER:

Visit Clarkson Online

The Clarkson Golden Knight shows off a new piece of armor as a reminder to mask up and stop the spread of COVID-19.

Go to clarkson.edu/magazine to view the digital version of this and previous issues of Clarkson magazine.

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Committed to Making a Difference, Together Whether on a corporate or college campus, the time is now to address race within our organizations. While diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging have long been priorities of the University, Clarkson faculty, staff, students, alumni and our corporate partners recognize that there is real work to be done. We are committed to making a difference, together. This includes coming together in the last year to hold the difficult conversations as national events accentuated issues of racial biases, both conscious and unconscious, that impact our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) community members. Clarkson’s remarkable network of alumni and industry partners provide an added worldview to move from awareness to action that supports change in our communities and prepares our future alumni for jobs and leadership in the global workforce.

Making an Impact at Her Alma Mater

Bria Cole ’16 works to increase inclusivity and support and strengthen relationships among Clarkson faculty, staff, students and alumni.

Bria Cole ’16 found herself back at Clarkson last year when she accepted a position as the training specialist in the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Office. A Potsdam native who recently earned her master’s in higher education administration from Georgia Southern University, she applied for the position at Clarkson to help improve the experience of minority students, particularly those in the BIPOC community.

In this role, Cole works with colleagues in the D&I Office at Clarkson and colleagues across the four colleges in the region to provide resources for Black, Indigenous and People of Color community members. She also designs and delivers training

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sessions and facilitates opportunities for all students, faculty and staff to create awareness of inequities and biases and to ignite the difficult, yet necessary, conversations that help promote a culture shift.

Such a shift requires building community trust and understanding. To accomplish this, Cole leads various groups, including Campus Safety & Security, academic departments and student groups, through reflection activities to examine how perceptions and unconscious bias can impact decision-making.

Her goal is to reverse trends, increase inclusivity and support, and strengthen relationships among faculty, staff and students — and increase alumni engagement.

SPOTLIGHT SPOTLIGHT

SUPPORT AND OPPORTUNITIES As a staff member and alumna, Cole is in a unique position to make an impact. Over the summer, students Hawa Drame ’21, Ornella Brown ’21, Seth Onyukwu ’21 and Grace Brown ’21 approached Cole for guidance as they co-founded BLAC, or Black Leaders Advocate for Change. The studentled caucus is working to improve issues of concern to minority students — particularly those in the African American community.

BLAC connects underrepresented students with alumni mentors who offer support with personal, academic and career-centered issues. Alumni leaders include Lateefah Morse ’14 and Domonique Powell ’15, MS’20, with Reh School of Business Professor Bebonchu Atems as a faculty advisor and Cole as the staff liaison.

“BLAC is dedicated to advocating for an increase in the diversity of the Clarkson student body and ensuring the inclusion of minority students in discussions of issues and implementation of policies that impact all students,” Drame says.

The group strives to not only protect and enhance the well-being of African American students but to also enrich experiences within the University.

Drame recently organized BLAC’s first career expo, with the help of Clarkson’s Career Center, to increase the number of African American professional partners participating in Clarkson’s career networking

activities and to stimulate new relationship development with corporate hiring partners.

Drame said the career expo, which was virtual due to COVID-19, garnered the attention of 50 companies, including Northwestern Mutual, Lockheed Martin, Consolidated Edison, National Grid, Estée Lauder Companies, Target, EBI Consulting, Consigli, Johnson & Johnson, General Electric and Whiting-Turner. It was also open to all Clarkson students and included invitations extended to members of higher education opportunity programs across the Associated Colleges of the St. Lawrence Valley.

“BLAC also serves as a support group for students and as a forum in which minority and nonminority students can engage in productive discussions that foster respect for and understanding of cultural differences, and act upon issues relevant to those differences,” Drame says.

Cole is excited to see University and student-led initiatives in action.

“Clarkson is a great institution that opens a lot of doors to success.

Employers want to see graduates from a diverse community,” Cole says. “Increasing support for BIPOC students will elevate their experience and strengthen engagement with us while they are here and beyond graduation. This support is deserved; these student leaders will inspire generations of young Black, Indigenous and other People of Color to follow.”

Black Leaders Advocate for Change (BLAC) cofounders Seth Onyukwu ’21 and Hawa Drame ’21.

Thomas L. Kassouf ‘74 and Lynn T. Kassouf ‘76

Multiple Donor Funds Support BIPOC Community In solidarity with many of the nation’s businesses, professional organizations, colleges and universities that have amplified coming together to bring support for the Black, Indigenous and People of Color community, multiple Clarkson donors have launched scholarship aid programs.

This summer, Clarkson Board Chair Thomas L. Kassouf ‘74 and his wife, Lynn T. Kassouf ‘76, endowed a new tuition-free scholarship to invest in young Black and Native Americans poised and ready to lead our nation professionally in demanding racial justice and endeavoring to make a positive impact on the world. Many others have given to existing scholarship aid programs established to support underrepresented students, like the Coulter Scholars program.

“Through the generosity and leadership of many alumni and corporate partners, we have increased the scholarship aid available,” said President Tony Collins.

“More important than the gifts, it is the symbolism these represent that also helps us attract the next generation of employees for corporate America and new venture start-ups. We are grateful to our donors who have been inspired by the honest dialogue and listening forums that have taken place.”

Community members who want to make a donation to add to existing endowed funds or start their own should contact Matt Draper, vice president of development and alumni relations, at mdraper@clarkson.edu.

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After a nationwide search, Clarkson has named Lennart D. Johns the founding dean of the Earl R. and Barbara D. Lewis School of Health Sciences.

Johns, who starts on Jan. 1, 2021, will lead the Lewis School through a pivotal period that will strengthen and expand a growing portfolio of programs in the health sciences. Such programs assure the highest quality of education for students and advance careers, research and innovation, with an emphasis on meeting rural and distance-challenged healthcare needs.

Johns is known among his peers as an innovative and collaborative leader with an extensive research portfolio.

He also has significant practical experience in building an outcomebased curriculum and a nationally sustainable clinical education program that connects students to the world of work. His work has been published in a wide variety of journals, including Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the Journal of Athletic Training, Brain Research, Cytokine, Immunology, Physical Therapy and Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.

“Having grown up in a rural farming community in northwestern Pennsylvania, what attracts me to Clarkson is the opportunity to impact the access to and quality of healthcare in rural communities — and not just here, but also where students go to build rewarding careers and personal lives,” says Johns.

Johns earned an undergraduate degree from Lock Haven University,

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Clarkson Names Lewis School of Health Sciences Founding Dean

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a master of science in biology from Bucknell University and a PhD in cellular and molecular biology from the University of Vermont. He has held many previous positions in his career and served 18 years in academic leadership roles. Most recently, Johns was the founding director of the athletic training program at Quinnipiac University. He also served as the chair of athletic training/sports medicine and as the director of general education at the institution.

CLARKSON TODAY Founded in 1896, Clarkson is a leader in technological education and sustainable economic development through teaching, scholarship, research and innovation. We ignite personal connections across academic disciplines and industries to create the entrepreneurial mindset, knowledge and intellectual curiosity needed to innovate world-relevant solutions and cultivate the leaders of tomorrow. With our main campus located in Potsdam, New York, and additional graduate program and research facilities in Schenectady, Saranac Lake, Beacon and New York City, Clarkson educates 4,800 students across more than 91 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, the arts, education, sciences and health professions. Our alumni earn salaries that are among the top 2% in the nation and realize accelerated career growth. One in five already leads as a CEO, senior executive or owner of a company. Globally, we connect with more than 40 international university exchange partners and have more than 44,000 alumni living in 87 countries.

SPOTLIGHT SPOTLIGHT

President Collins, Rivera and Conklin Named to NY Reimagine Education Advisory Council

Clarkson President Anthony G. Collins has been named to New York’s Reimagine Education Advisory Council. Gov. Cuomo named the council in May amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Made up of educators, students, parents and education leaders, the Reimagine Education Advisory Council helped districts reimagine schools as they prepared to reopen while also protecting the health and safety of students, faculty and staff.

The Council is working in collaboration with other experts and stakeholders, including the state and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to develop a blueprint for reimagining

education in the new normal. Specifically, it will answer key questions about what education should look like in the future and how new technologies can be used effectively to bridge the gap and supplement face-to-face education.

Also named to the advisory council was Seema Rivera, president of the Guilderland Central School District Board of Education and assistant professor in Clarkson’s education program, and Adjunct Instructor Stephanie Conklin, who was named to the Council for her role as a Master Teacher at South Colonie Central School District. Both teach at Clarkson’s Capital Region Campus.

From left to right: President Tony Collins, Prof. Seema Rivera and Master Teacher Stephanie Conklin

Pettit ’21 Is Clarkson’s First Udall Scholar Lilia Pettit ’21 is one of 55 students this year to be named a 2020 Udall Scholar. The awards are given to sophomores and juniors across the country for exemplary leadership, public service and commitment to Native American or environmental issues.

Pettit, a New Hampshire native, is the first Clarkson student to receive this prestigious award. She is pursuing a degree in environmental and civil engineering.

Pettit is passionate about environmental remediation, especially in marine environments. Through her underwater experiences as a scuba enthusiast, she has seen firsthand the powerful negative impacts that humanity has had on our planet’s health.

She hopes to raise awareness in an effort to help restore the coral reefs and ecosystems we have destroyed and plans to launch an environmental consulting firm.

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COVID-19 and the Impact on Moods and Lifestyles Clarkson Associate Professor of Physical Therapy Ali Boolani is conducting a surveybased study to understand how COVID-19 affects people’s moods and lifestyles.

The study, entitled “COVID-19 and Health Study,” aims to determine the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on a person’s moods and lifestyle. Boolani, who is working with Joel Martin and Nelson Cortes, researchers at George Mason University, is administering a series a series of surveys to determine how people are coping with the pandemic, along with weekly follow-up emails.

The first set of surveys asked about the characteristics of a person’s life, diet, sleep, physical activity level and mood, and weekly follow-up emails will determine how each subject is feeling and whether anything has changed in their life.

“Our eventual hope is that these data can be used to design interventions to help people all around the world better navigate these challenging times,” Boolani said. “We also intend to share our findings with policymakers.”

Students Build E-Commerce Solutions to Help Small Businesses Impacted by COVID-19 Clarkson’s Shipley Center for Innovation, the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) and the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Center for Businesses in Transition, have unveiled revamped and new websites for area businesses, which are helping the companies withstand the COVID-19 pandemic and build resilience for the future through e-commerce solutions.

As part of this development team, Clarkson students built full websites for North Country businesses that are new to e-commerce. The first round of website improvements was funded by a generous ANCA member, an Adirondack

Foundation Special and Urgent Needs grant and the Shipley Center.

“This project is really a win-winwin,” says Eric York, professor of communication, media and design.

“It’s a win for local businesses who get the technical assistance they need, it’s a win for the nonprofit organizations that can further their missions and it’s a win for students that get authentic learning experiences and a real sense of accomplishment.”

Of the nine websites the development team is working on, sites for the following six businesses launched in June: Circle Court Motel in Ticonderoga (circlecourtmotel. com), McLane Power Equipment

Clarkson students created a new website and online storefront for Bookburgh Books, which launched in June.

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Jada Flanagan ’21 works on the website for the Circle Court Motel.

in Plattsburgh (mclanepower.com), Bookburgh Books in Plattsburgh (bookburghbooks.com), Chicken Fried Quilter in Burke (chickenfriedquilter. com), Underwood Herbs in Plattsburgh (underwoodherbs.com) and Snipe Clan Botanicals in Hogansburg (snipeclanbotanicals.com).

The development team also provided website and marketing consultations to 18 small businesses and supplemental financial support for e-commerce projects.

ANCA and the Shipley Center hope to build on the program’s success and create more websites for local businesses with urgent needs.

SPOTLIGHT SPOTLIGHT

TerrApparel Helps Local Heroes TerrApparel founders Matt Hawthorne ’19, MS’21 and Maura Maguire ’20 launched the Help for Heroes campaign to bring together the North Country community and help provide some comfort to doctors and nurses on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis.

After receiving praise for their sustainable wicking shirts from a local customer and certified nurse assistant who had been wearing the shirts under full personal protective equipment for eight-hour shifts, Hawthorne and Maguire wanted to do more to support healthcare heroes at St. Lawrence Health System (SLHS).

For every $15 donated on the Help for Heroes page, TerrApparel provided one long-sleeve shirt, a $35 value, to healthcare workers at SLHS. Commercial Press, of Canton, New York, also joined the effort by volunteering to screen print the donated shirts with the SLHS logo.

TerrApparel founders Maura Maguire ’20 and Matt Hawthorne ’19, MS’21

Clarkson Community Steps Up to Help Students and Staff Cover Up

Volunteer Camryn Peets ’21 models one of the masks she made for Clarkson essential workers and students who remained on campus.

When New York state directed all people in the state to wear masks or face coverings in public whenever social distancing is impossible, Clarkson community volunteers got out their sewing machines and answered the call.

Patricia Lane, who works in the University’s Marketing and External Relations Department, spearheaded the efforts. Her team of volunteers made more than 275 masks by the initial state deadline for Clarkson’s essential workers and the students who remained on campus. Sewists included current and retired faculty and staff and their spouses, two grandmothers of Clarkson first-year students and several members of a local quilt guild.

Those who received the masks were very appreciative of the efforts.

Additionally, Clarkson’s Army ROTC Administrative Assistant Susan Hart and her friends and family donated fabric and supplies to create masks for Canton-Potsdam Hospital healthcare workers, Potsdam Central School District staff, Clarkson students who remained on campus and local community members. She has plans to continue the task until masks are no longer needed.

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Detecting COVID-19 on Campus: Can Wastewater Provide Early Warning Signs?

By Alison Power

Wastewater may hold the key to discovering the presence of the SARSCoV-2 virus on Clarkson’s Potsdam Hill Campus — before anyone even suspects they are infected.

Under the direction of Shane Rogers, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, the University is conducting cutting-edge, wastewater-based epidemiology — in other words, analyzing sewage samples for trace amounts of the coronavirus.

“Detection in sewage provides an indicator of potential new cases on campus and is another layer of security in the network of protective measures we have employed,” Rogers explains.

In collaboration with local government and school districts, the project is expanding across the North Country to provide a key earlywarning system for communities, public schools and higher education

Prof. Shane Rogers explains the wastewater monitoring process to undergraduate students in his wastewater engineering course while setting up sampling equipment in early September.

Post-doctoral research associate Hema Ravindran recovers RNA from wastewater samples to test for SARS-CoV-2.

institutions in St. Lawrence County and beyond.

Rogers is just the scientist for the job.

He received his BS in civil engineering and his MS and PhD in civil and environmental engineering from Iowa State University and has been at Clarkson since 2007. His research has included exploring disease-causing substances in contaminated natural and engineered systems and developing techniques to detect pathogens in agricultural watersheds. He has long been intrigued by how pathogens move through communities and may be transmitted in waste.

In the beginning days of the pandemic, Rogers noticed that references to wastewater testing “kept popping up in the literature.” He realized, “we could do that here.”

“That” meant developing a comprehensive plan for the Potsdam campus, procuring equipment to supplement existing instrumentation and involving student researchers.

The system became operational in September.

HOW IT WORKS An automated surveillance network has been installed in seven sewers across campus that service dormitories 8 / 2020 PRESIDENT’S REPORT / ALUMNI MAGAZINE

and residences. In 15-minute intervals over 24 hours, twice a week, the system at each sewer pulls up wastewater from the sewer line into 2.5-gallon bottles housed in an above-ground station. The stations are temperature controlled so that any virus present won’t be killed by extreme heat or cold.

The bottles are collected, often by students, and then it’s off to the lab.

There, the sewage is placed in an ultracentrifuge and subjected to a force about 300,000 times that of gravity to capture the solid waste in a process that Rogers calls “turd reconstitution.”

To test the genetic makeup (RNA) of the waste, thousands of droplets are assayed by a droplet digital PCR (polymerase chain reaction) system.

Laser beams shoot through the droplets and emit specific wavelengths of light that indicate if the virus is present.

The non-invasive process is a way to quickly and routinely test for the presence of COVID-19 in a discrete population — a dorm, for example — or a larger community and get a jump on the disease to prevent further spread.

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SPOTLIGHT SPOTLIGHT

Faculty Achievements

Douglas Bohl

Çetin Çetinkaya

Douglas Bohl, associate professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering, was elected a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). In his area of expertise, experimental fluid mechanics, he researches the application of particle-induced velocimetry techniques. Çetin Çetinkaya, professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering, was named the Michael E. ’78 and Janet D. Jesanis Endowed Chair. He directs the Photo-Acoustic Research Laboratory and co-directs the Center for Metamaterials at Clarkson.

His work explores additive manufacturing-centered questions, which range from the acoustic monitoring and characterization of materials’

Michelle Crimi

mechanical properties to micro- and nanoparticle work-of-adhesion and motion characteristics of these materials.

He holds nine U.S. patents for methods and systems for monitoring and characterizing materials in additive manufacturing.

Michelle Crimi ’95, professor and director of engineering and management, was named the inaugural David M. Spatz ’68 Endowed Chair. Her research focuses on developing in situ treatment technologies for groundwater contamination, determining the impact of groundwater technologies on aquifer quality and integrating treatment technologies for optimized risk reduction.

Her recent work has focused on the treatment of per- and

Three Receive Goldwater Scholarships

From left: Ashwin Ajit TCS’19, Isabella Grasso ’21 and Rebecca Meacham TCS’18, ’21.

Kathleen Kavanagh

Selma Mededovic Thagard Charles Robinson

polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other emerging contaminants.

Kathleen Kavanagh, professor of mathematics and associate director of STEM education, was named the Robert A. Plane Endowed Chair. Her research is centered around applications from hydrology, including simulation of groundwater flow and transport, adaptive temporal integration for a nonsmooth, nonlinear partial differential equation that models unsaturated groundwater flow and optimal design for water resource management and groundwater remediation problems.

Selma Mededovic Thagard, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, was named the Richard J. ’50 and Helen March Endowed

Professor. She is a renowned expert in electrical discharge plasma processes, with a focus on theoretical and experimental investigations of fundamental plasma chemistry in single and multiphase plasma environments.

Charles Robinson, professor of electrical and computer engineering and the Herman L. Shulman Endowed Chair, was appointed to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 2020 Awards Board. Robinson, a 2001 IEEE Richard M. Emberson Award winner, is a life fellow of the IEEE and has served in many positions, including Institute director, society president, editor and chair of the membership development committee.

Isabella Grasso ’21, a double major in computer science and data science, and Honors students Ashwin Ajit TCS’19, a double major in computer science and mathematics and Rebecca Meacham TCS’18, ’21, a chemical engineering major, were named 2020 Goldwater Scholars.

Including this year’s scholars, 44 Clarkson students have received this highly coveted award since the scholarships were first awarded in 1989. This is the 21st consecutive year that at least one Clarkson student has received a Goldwater Scholarship.

Morgan McGrath TCS’19, currently a sophomore at Fordham University, was also one of 396 students nationwide to receive the prestigious award.

44 GOLDWATER SCHOLARS SINCE 1989, INCLUDING THE LAST 21 YEARS IN ROW. CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 9

GOLDEN KNIGHTS ARE MAKERS Clarkson’s innovative spirit continues to shine Reflecting on this challenging year, it has become abundantly clear: Clarkson is a community of unrelenting creators, makers and innovators.

Throughout the 2019-20 academic year, we continued to build innovation capacity and foster a culture of collaboration through Clarkson Ignite — our innovation ecosystem that drives critical thinking, hands-on learning and open-ended problemsolving. Although the pandemic forced the campus to close in the spring, momentum prevailed. Student collaboration and projects continued and creativity flourished as the Ignite team found ways to stoke the innovative spirit that continuously permeates the University.

For more information on Clarkson Ignite, visit clarkson.edu/ignite.

ALIGNING ACADEMICS AND INNOVATION The year kicked off with an intentional emphasis on connecting Ignite resources to classroom learning. Students from 14 courses across the Coulter School of Engineering, the Reh School of Business and the School of Arts and Sciences focused on creating and making relevant and aligned projects to demonstrate their learning. Using the Dorf Makerspace, the Digital Making Suite and the Studio, students spent hours passionately pursuing hands-on innovation projects.

IGNITING REAL-WORLD RELEVANCE Engineering Science 110: Engineering and Society — Students created wind-powered vehicle prototypes in the Dorf Makerspace for their semester project.

History 365: Technology and the Modern State — Students used the Digital Making Suite to record a podcast on the history of a specific technology.

Civil and Environmental Engineering 490: Senior Design — The Studio was used for an interactive design course on Clarkson’s greenhouse. (dedicated studio course)

THIRD ANNUAL PRESIDENT’S CHALLENGE The goal of the 2019-20 President’s Challenge — a unique annual competition — was to think, make and ignite passions through innovation. Students were tasked with identifying and pursuing personal passions and using their education and Ignite facilities to create digital or physical prototypes.

Through the lens of accelerating their careers and creating societal value with their innovations, 23 teams consisting of 85 students participated. The overall winner was team MAGLET, which developed and pitched a voltage-controlled magnetic smart outlet. Team members included Jonathan Burbank ’21 (engineering & management), Luke Dixon ’20 (mechanical engineering) and Elizabeth Roberts ’22 (engineering & management).

Maglet

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Communication 219: Introduction to Social Media — Design thinking resources were used to create Ignite social media strategies. (dedicated studio course)

Maglet is a voltagecontrolled magnetic smart outlet designed with safety and accessibility in mind.

It reduces costs and emissions and allows for internet control of appliances.

The Dorf Makerspace

MASTERCLASS SERIES

Prof. Kocho-Williams Wins First President’s Challenge Faculty Award

Trustee Simoon L. Cannon ’97 and Chief Inclusion Officer Jennifer L. Ball debrief after the Innovation Mindset Masterclass.

Students learned that by fostering innovative mindsets within diverse, inclusive teams, young leaders become empowered with the multidimensional perspectives needed to solve complex challenges.

“War and Pieces,” A fresh take on the study of World War II through the lens of games

IGNITE SPACES The Dorf Makerspace is run by student Maker Mentors who, despite the shortened spring semester, provided training and support for nearly 800 members of our campus community, including 100% of first-year engineering and engineering & management students. New equipment, such as a Markforged Mark Two Carbon Fiber 3D printer, a Formlabs Form 3 Low Force Stereolithography resin printer, two soldering stations and a sewing and embroidery machine, was brought online throughout the year.

The Digital Making Suite is dedicated to the capture, production and editing of audio and video content. This space provides access to software, equipment, training and support for students working on individual projects, as well as access for faculty who have assigned digital making projects within their courses.

The Cube, the student business accelerator launched by The Shipley Center for Innovation, serves as the business incubation ecosystem element for Clarkson Ignite. The Cube provides enhanced support to Clarkson’s most motivated entrepreneurs. More than 30 teams have applied and pitched to get into this program, and nine teams have secured a spot. The Cube has provided more than $30,000 in capital to these ventures.

The Studio provides a unique space for student teams to collaborate on team projects. Equipped with whiteboard walls, moveable furnishings and easily accessible technology and software, this space has quickly become a go-to location for effective team collaboration.

The Studio served as a classroom for several team-based courses, allowing faculty to seamlessly transition between lecture, discussion and groupfocused activities.

The Cube

The Digital Making Suite

When Ignite challenged the faculty to identify ways to teach creatively and innovatively, and to harness the resources available on campus, Alastair Kocho-Williams, professor of history and chair of humanities and social sciences, answered the call.

While students were presented with lecture material and primary source materials and engaged in discussion, they also played, reviewed and created board games in groups that communicated aspects of World War II history, with the creation of a board game the main assignment for the course.

This departure from the norm of course design and assessment was envisaged as a means of getting students to be engaged and think creatively, and of leading them to the creation of a tangible product made on equipment in the Dorf Makerspace. Despite limited access to campus-based prototyping resources due to COVID and the option to complete the project as a “design journal,” students continued to pursue the physical development of their games, with several teams expressing interest in continuing the work to pursue commercial development.

Professor Kocho-Williams’ project received funding for a Walsh Miniconference on the use of games in the classroom and was awarded the first Ignite President’s Challenge faculty award to continue pursuing innovation in the classroom.

"War and Pieces"

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This article was originally published in The Conversation at theconversation.com on August 14, 2020 and republished under the Creative Commons license.

The Covid-19 Virus Can Spread Through The Air – Here’s What It’ll Take to Detect the Airborne Particles By Suresh Dhaniyala, Bayard D. Clarkson Distinguished Professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering Hema Priyamvada Ravindran, research associate, Center for Air and Aquatic Resources Engineering and Sciences Shantanu Sur, associate professor of biology

Dhaniyala

Ravindran

Sur

About The Conversation The Conversation is an independent, nonprofit publisher of commentary and analysis, authored by academics and edited by journalists for the general public.

Articles featured in The Conversation are regularly republished in large national outlets, such as The Washington Post, Time, Newsweek, CNN and Scientific American. Through partnerships with The Associated Press and Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., articles are also picked up in local newspapers.

Learn more at theconversation.com.

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growing body of research shows that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can spread from person to person through the air. Indoor spaces with poor ventilation in areas where the virus is prevalent are particularly hazardous.

In the fictional world of “Star Trek,” public health officials and first responders would be able to determine instantly if a space had a dangerous concentration of airborne virus, and any other pathogen, by simply waving around a tricorder.

That technology, imagined 60 years ago, is still firmly in the realm of fiction. However, devices that can rapidly detect particular airborne pathogens — including SARS-CoV-2 — are in the works in various research laboratories.

The air we breathe Detection of the presence of airborne virus particles is complicated by the mixture of other particles in the air. The atmosphere includes a large number of floating particles, a significant fraction of which are biological. Typically, with each breath, you inhale about a thousand biological particles.

These bioaerosols include live and dead organisms, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, pollen and plant and animal debris. Viruses are the smallest of these particles. They range in size from 10 to 300 nanometers, or millionths of a millimeter. In contrast, red blood cells average about 6 to 8 microns, or 6,000 to 8,000 nanometers, in diameter. Bacteria range from 1 to 4 microns and fungi 5 to 10 microns.

Plant and animal debris is generally larger than 10 microns.

Most of these biological particles are not a health concern, because most are bits of plants and animals, including humans. However, it only takes a small number of dangerous microbes to produce a pandemic.

IDing bad news microbes To understand the potential threat from bioaerosols, it’s important to identify the small fraction of problematic or pathogenic microbes from among all the bioaerosols present. Bioaerosol identification begins with capturing biological particles from the air, typically by collecting particles on a filter, in a liquid vial or on hydrogels.

Often, researchers transfer the collected bioaerosols to a culture

Laser-induced fluorescence is a method of using lasers to cause specific substances to emit light. Photo: Jan Pavelka/Wikimedia Commons

medium that is designed to support microbe growth. How the microbes respond to a specific culture medium — the size, shape, color and growth rate of the microbe colony — can indicate the microbe species.

This process can take several days to weeks, and is often ineffective.

It turns out the scientists can only identify about 1% of airborne microbes with this approach.

The atmosphere includes a large number of floating particles, a significant fraction of which are biological. Typically, with each breath, you inhale about a thousand biological particles.

Increasingly, scientists are relying on gene-based analyses to map viruses and other microorganisms collected in air samples. One popular technique for gene-based analysis is polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which uses an enzymatic reaction to make many copies of a specific gene or portion of a gene so that the genetic sequence — DNA or RNA — can be detected in a sample. A PCR test can be designed

to spot gene sequences specific to a microorganism so that detecting the sequence equals identifying the microorganism.

This technique is currently the goldstandard for detecting the presence of SARS-CoV-2 from nasal swab samples. PCR-based methods are very accurate in identifying pathogens.

Next generation sequencing technology makes it possible to rapidly sequence organisms’ whole genomes.

Using these techniques, researchers now have the ability to understand the entire population of microorganisms — their diversity and abundance — in the air.

Rapid detection Despite these advances, there is still a lot of work to be done to be able to instantaneously identify the presence of pathogens in air. Current techniques for identifying microbes are expensive, require specialized equipment and involve long processing steps. They also can’t detect a species from small amounts of genetic material.

Recent advances, however, provide some promise for the development of sensors that can provide quick information about bioaerosols.

One approach uses laser induced florescence. In this technique,

particles are illuminated with light of a particular color or wavelength, and only biological particles respond by fluorescing, or emitting light. This technique can be used to identify and quantify the presence of biological particles in air in real-time but it doesn’t differentiate between a safe and a harmful microbe.

Another advance is using mass spectrometry for bioaerosol detection.

In this technique, a single bioaerosol particle is blasted apart with a laser and the molecular fragments are immediately analyzed to determine the molecular composition of the particles.

Researchers are also using Raman spectroscopy-based sensors. Raman spectroscopy can identify molecular composition from light reflected off of samples without destroying the samples.

Big challenge in a small package These techniques are advancing instant detection and identification of airborne bacteria and fungi, but they are less efficient in detecting viruses, including SARS-CoV-2.

This is primarily because viruses are very small, which makes it difficult to collect them with air samplers and CONTINUED ON PAGE 42 > CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 13

This article was originally published in The Conversation at theconversation.com on July 10, 2020 and republished under the Creative Commons license.

Aerosols Are a Bigger Coronavirus Threat Than WHO Guidelines Suggest — Here’s What You Need to Know By Byron Erath, associate professor of mechanical engineering Andrea Ferro, professor of civil & environmental engineering Goodarz Ahmadi, professor of mechanical engineering

Erath

Ferro

Ahmadi

W

hen someone coughs, talks or even breathes, they send tiny respiratory droplets into the surrounding air. The smallest of these droplets can float for hours, and there is strong evidence that they can carry live coronavirus if the person is infected.

Until this week, however, the risk from these aerosols wasn’t incorporated into the World Health Organization’s formal guidance for nations. The WHO instead suggested that the coronavirus was primarily

14 / 2020 PRESIDENT’S REPORT / ALUMNI MAGAZINE

transmitted by coughing or sneezing large droplets into someone’s face, rather than being a longer-term threat that can float in the air.

It took pressure from scientists to start to change that.

More than 200 scientists published an open letter to the WHO on July 6 warning about airborne transmission of COVID-19 via aerosols and urging the organization to recognize the risks. The WHO responded Thursday afternoon with an update in which it acknowledged the growing evidence of airborne spread of the disease, but it did so with hesitation.

As professors who study fluid dynamics and aerosols, we believe it is important for people to understand the risks and what they can do to protect themselves.

What is an aerosol and how does it spread?

Aerosols are particles that are suspended in the air. When humans breathe, talk, sing, cough or sneeze, the emitted respiratory droplets mix in the surrounding air and form an aerosol.

Because larger droplets quickly fall to the ground, respiratory aerosols are often described as being made up of smaller droplets that are less than 5

microns, or about one tenth the width of a human hair.

In general, droplets form as a sheet of liquid breaks apart. You’ve probably experienced this phenomenon by blowing soap bubbles. Sometimes the bubble doesn’t fully form, but instead breaks apart into many droplets.

Similarly, in humans, small sheets and strands of liquid — mucus — often stretch across portions of the airway. This most often occurs in locations where the airway opens and closes again and again. That happens deep within the lungs as the bronchioles and alveolar sacs expand and contract during breathing, within the larynx as the vocal folds vibrate during speech, or at the mouth, as the tongue and lips move while talking.

The airflow produced by breathing, speaking and coughing breaks apart these sheets of mucus, just like blowing the soap bubble.

The size of the droplets varies based on how and where they are produced within the airway. While coughing generates the largest quantity of droplets, research has shown that just two to three minutes of talking can produce as many droplets as one cough.

Droplets that are smaller than 5 microns can remain suspended in the

air for many minutes to hours because the effect of air drag relative to gravity is large. In addition, the water content of virus-carrying droplets evaporates while they are airborne, decreasing their size. Even if most of the fluid evaporates from a virus-laden droplet, the droplet does not disappear; it just becomes smaller, and the smaller

Aerosols are particles that are suspended in the air. When humans breathe, talk, sing, cough or sneeze, the emitted respiratory droplets mix in the surrounding air and form an aerosol. the droplet, the longer it will stay suspended in the air. Because smaller diameter droplets are more efficient at penetrating deep into the pulmonary system, they also pose a much greater infection risk.

The WHO guidelines suggested that the virus RNA found in small droplets wasn’t viable in most circumstances.

However, early research on the SARSCoV-2 virus has shown that it is viable as an aerosol for up to three hours.

Do masks protect from aerosol transmission?

Is staying six feet away enough to stay safe?

Face coverings and masks are absolutely necessary for protection against aerosol transmission. They serve a twofold purpose.

First, they filter the air expelled by an individual, capturing respiratory droplets and thereby reducing the exposure risk for others. This is particularly important as they are most effective at capturing larger droplets that are more likely to have larger quantities of viruses encapsulated within them. This prevents the larger droplets from directly affecting someone or evaporating down to a smaller size and circulating in the air.

They also reduce the speed of the puff of air that is produced when sneezing, coughing or talking.

Decreasing the velocity of the expelled air reduces the distance that droplets are initially transported into the person’s surroundings.

It is important to realize, however, that the protection provided by masks and face coverings varies depending on the material they are constructed from and how well they fit. Nevertheless, wearing face coverings to decrease airborne exposure risk is critical.

The recommendation to maintain a 6-foot separation is based on a study

by W.F. Wells in 1934 that showed an expelled water droplet either falls to the ground, or evaporates, within a distance of roughly 2 meters, or 6 feet.

The study did not, however, account for the fact that following evaporation of the water in a virus-laden droplet, the droplet nuclei remains, thereby still posing a risk of airborne infection.

Consequently, while staying 6 feet from other people reduces exposure, it might not be sufficient in all situations, such as in enclosed, poorly ventilated rooms.

How can I protect myself from aerosols indoors?

Strategies to mitigate airborne exposure are similar to strategies for staying dry when it’s raining. The longer you stay in the rain, and the harder it’s raining, the wetter you will get. Similarly, the more droplets you are exposed to, and the longer you stay in that environment, the higher the exposure risk. Mitigating risk is therefore based on decreasing both aerosol concentration levels and exposure time.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 42 >

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 15

16 / 2020 PRESIDENT’S REPORT / ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Route 11

Route 11 is a two-lane blacktopped highway that runs parallel to a patchwork of farms and a busy train track hustling freight daily. As one of the major arteries of rural Northern New York, the corridor moves residents and visitors in and out of Potsdam, weaving past Clarkson's main entrance.

In March, traffic on Route 11 and other local roadways thinned out as #quarantinelife became a common thread and essential workers, particularly those on the frontlines in hospitals and COVID-19

Through a transformational gift from the Lewises, Clarkson is establishing the Earl R. and Barbara D. Lewis

COVID-19 May Challenge School of Health Rural Healthcare, but Clarkson Sciences to advance careers, Is Ahead of the Curve

By Kristen A. Schmitt

research and testing centers, became the sole commuters. The coronavirus tossed a new challenge on the nation’s already overwhelmed rural healthcare system — a system that has faced the closure of 120 rural hospitals over the past 10 years, according to the Chartis Center for Rural Health, and is designed for primary care and surgery (not pandemics).

Fortunately, Clarkson already had an action plan in progress even as the world began to tilt: the new Earl R. and Barbara D. Lewis School of Health Sciences.

innovation that emphasizes meeting rural and distancechallenged healthcare needs.

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 17

CLARKSON ON THE FRONTLINES

Long-time Clarkson donors Earl and Barbara Lewis provided the endowment to found the new Lewis School of Health Sciences. Students will have access to the highest quality education and hands-on experiences — including those that address a variety of rural-specific healthcare needs.

The Lewis School will provide three fully accredited graduate-level programs in physical therapy (PT), physician assistant studies (PA) and occupational therapy (OT) and give students a unique grounding in providing healthcare in a rural setting. The Lewises are longtime Clarkson donors; however, a personal family experience brought the unique challenges of rural healthcare to their attention, resulting in their engagement in Clarkson’s health sciences programs.

“We have seen firsthand the need for more rural healthcare options and know that the expansion of these programs at Clarkson can positively impact the quality of life for the many friends, neighbors and relatives we have in the North Country,” said Barbara Lewis.

“By ensuring resources in the health sciences for expanded educational offerings and practical research at the University, we can leverage Clarkson’s location and leadership in the North Country to continue producing health professionals whose education spans all boundaries,” said Earl Lewis ’66.

Students enrolled in the Lewis School will gain hands-on experience addressing a variety of rural-specific healthcare needs, like farming or industrial injuries, as well

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as helping with other region-specific issues, such as treating competitive athletes who use Lake Placid’s Olympic facilities.

The School will also connect Clarkson’s expertise to distinct local communities within the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe at nearby Akwesasne and the U.S. Army installation at Fort Drum.

“The Lewis School will help further our expertise in robotics, computer science and biomedical engineering,” says Provost Robyn Hannigan. “We’ll also be using our digital arts and sciences groups to develop new ways of providing telemedicine, as well as new ways of using the data and analyzing the types of data that you get through those systems, to determine what other healthcare support you can provide through telemedicine technologies.”

“Clarkson was already moving in this direction, but the recent pandemic provided an impetus to keep going and keep investing in the innovations we were already planning for,” says Hannigan.

“And, now, we have a much clearer understanding of where the challenges and opportunities are.”

With an anticipated rise in virtual physician visits as the pandemic continues, Clarkson’s focus on health sciences will prepare graduates for the future of telemedicine and the ever-evolving needs of rural healthcare.

The healthcare industry thrives on teamwork, such as bringing experts from a variety of fields together to find solutions that combat issues like pandemics and infectious diseases. Clarkson graduates are already on the frontlines locally at the Canton-Potsdam Hospital and regionally within New York state and the entire Northeast.

Teams within the campus community have also been hard at work.

William Jemison, dean of the Wallace H. Coulter School of Engineering, Tony Collins Professor of Innovative Engineering Culture and an electrical engineer, took the lead on modifying positive air pressure respirators (PAPRs) to operate from batteries that are more readily available than their original specialized batteries. A PAPR is an important personal protective equipment (PPE) device that helps protect healthcare providers from COVID-19 while interacting with patients. With the modification, St. Lawrence Health System (SLHS) can better utilize their PAPR supply.

Once Jemison obtained a physical PAPR, he was able to create a modified prototype within three days. Then, he worked with Jacob Weller, Clarkson’s supervisor of Technical Support Services and the engineering shop, to demonstrate the working prototype to Kylie Broughal MS’18, a physician assistant at SLHS with expertise in infectious disease. Broughal showed the Clarkson team how to test the units for proper airflow, and the modified prototype passed a 13-hour test to ensure that the flow rate could be maintained over a full 12-hour shift.

“A lot of hospitals are using similar respirators with dead or unhealthy batteries,” says Jemison. “We’re trying to get the word out that we have a solution for three different models of respirators and, to the extent that somebody comes to us and wants a solution, we can help them.”

Since that initial prototype, Jemison has turned around an additional five PAPR units for SLHS. “We’ve also made six for Elizabethtown Community Hospital,” says Jemison, “four for Adirondack Health in Saranac Lake and six for Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown.”

And there are other PPE solutions in the works.

“We have manufactured plexiglass boxes to protect doctors in the unlikely or unpleasant event they have to perform an endotracheal intubation,” says Jemison, referring to the procedure in which someone must be intubated to use a ventilator. Because the virus can be transmitted through coughing, doctors must be protected in this type of situation.

“We’ve built two boxes where they can put the box over the patient’s head and torso,” explains Jemison. “The doctors can put their arms through holes in the box and do the procedure behind the protective cover of this plexiglass box.”

For this particular project, Jemison worked with Dr. Julie Vieth ’02, head of emergency medicine at SLHS. Based on information provided by Dr. Vieth, who had materials detailing research that was done in China using this box, Weller and Mark Hebel, engineering machinist, created Clarkson’s working prototype.

Jemison is also assisting Douglas Bohl, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering, in determining how to reuse N95 masks without degrading the material and masks, which happens when UV light is used to clean them.

“Doug is working on building a frame that goes around the outside of the mask

with a secondary set of bands, kind of like a suspender system, to hold the mask on,” says Jemison. “He took the lead on that by making a clay model around a mask that’s one of the brands the hospital is widely using.”

Once the clay model was finalized, Jemison worked with Alex Kupin ’21 in the Dorf Makerspace to complete a 3D scan, followed by a 3D print. Bohl and Colin Stutz ’16, MS'20 finalized the geometry based on the prototype. Because the prototype is now in demand and large quantities are needed, they partnered with Clarkson’s Shipley Center for Innovation to have Evolution Prototypes, one of its incubator tenants, do the manufacturing.

Using protocol from the University of Nebraska, Bohl is also working on a system to sterilize the masks with UV light for the local emergency ambulance squad. “I’ve helped Doug modify some UV detector circuits. As an EMT who works with the squad, Doug has an amazing passion for the project,” says Jemison.

While faculty have been primarily involved with these initial projects that will help solve coronavirus-related issues, Jemison is hopeful that community involvement and support will continue as the pandemic continues and after it ends.

“People who have never collaborated are now working together. You can see how impactful it can be when we start to focus our university expertise on solving real-world problems,” says Jemison. “I’d love to see it continue. I’m sure there are other problems in the hospitals that aren’t related to COVID-19, and we could do a lot of good.”

Learn more on how Clarkson and the St. Lawrence Health System have been collaborating and innovating during the COVID-19 crisis.

Left: SLHS Physician Assistant Kylie Broughal MS’18 (left), Dean William Jemison (center) and Supervisor of Technical Support Services Jacob Weller (right) collaborating on the modified PAPR system while socially distancing.

Above: Broughal demonstrates the modified PAPR unit.

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 19

Clarkson’s Flight Simulator Mirrors Air Force’s COVID-19 Pilot Prep

By Kristen A. Schmitt

H

eadset on, the cadet dispatches his parameters to the control tower.

“Potsdam traffic. Cessna 5, Juliet Charlie.” He pauses, noting the exact location of his approach on his instrument panel before he speaks again. “Three miles northeast of the field for landing.

Runway 23. Potsdam.”

The directions are similar to those any pilot would communicate while flying into a local airport. The difference? This cadet is training in a classroom at Clarkson. What’s more, Clarkson is the first university to provide real-time remote flight instruction to ROTC cadets.

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to evolve in the U.S. and social distancing remains for the foreseeable future, the remote instruction concept that Clarkson cadets initiated is being replicated across other Air Force basic training command levels. Remote instruction allows training to continue with limited interruptions, since the trainee and the trainer can be in two different rooms — or even two different planes.

“It allows the training to continue while complying with social distancing,” says the commander of Clarkson’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 536, Lt. Col. Wesley Nims, who spearheaded the project.

“The Air Force is actively figuring out how to do it on a larger scale, and Clarkson and our Air Force ROTC were at the leading edge of this whole movement.”

Maj. Gen. Timothy LaBarge with Clarkson Air Force ROTC cadets Michael Maynard ’20 and Marc D’Amore ’21 as they receive realtime instruction from a fully qualified Air Force instructor pilot, remotely.

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FLYING 101 Using new flight simulator software and virtual reality (VR) headsets, cadets can experience militarygrade flight training remotely, from a fully qualified Air Force instructor pilot, without ever leaving the classroom. They use a flight simulator donated by Lockheed Martin to the Department of Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering.

“We had the flight simulator to begin with,” says Nims. “None of this would have been possible without that key component already here.”

Working with professors Kenneth Visser and Brian Helenbrook, Nims, along with Michael Maynard ’20, an aeronautical engineering major, updated the simulator last summer, making sure the computer was compliant with the remote-training software needs.

In January, Maynard and fellow cadet Marc D’Amore ’21 flew the first pilot training missions in the flight simulator. They received realtime instruction from an Air Force instructor pilot who sat in an airport in

Clarkson’s Cadets “Zoom” Through Commissioning Ceremony

“The Air Force is actively figuring out how to do real-time remote flight instruction on a larger scale, and Clarkson and our Air Force ROTC were at the leading edge of this whole movement.”

— LT. COL. WESLEY NIMS

Louisiana. Since that initial, groundbreaking “flight,” the simulator has been used by the cadets for further pilot training, as well as during University recruiting events.

While students may be on the ground and in front of a computer, their immediate location vanishes as soon as they put on their VR headsets.

The flight simulator screen and settings closely resemble an actual cockpit.

Students can manipulate the controls just like they would on an actual airplane, learning how to maneuver the plane through various training environments with the assistance of an instructor from the Air Force’s Pilot Training Next program, which is headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio in Randolph, Texas.

“Going forward, this will allow cadets or other Clarkson students to potentially get flight instruction right from the start without any experience,” says Nims.

A recent report by Military.com found a shortage of military pilots, which makes this innovative program even more pertinent. It reimagines the pilot training pipeline and attempts

to create a training environment prototype that integrates various technologies to produce pilots in an accelerated and learning-focused manner. And, of course, it also allows flight training to continue while honoring social distancing guidelines and other necessary precautions during the current pandemic.

“Old-school flight training for the Air Force was done mostly in the air, with a little bit of time in a simulator,” says Nims. “Now they want to go to mostly in a simulator with only a little bit in the air, essentially looking at a ratio of three hours of flight simulator time to one hour in a plane. They’ve found that does still produce a quality pilot afterward.”

Nims adds that once the flight simulator training is complete, future pilots will still need to acclimate to other aspects of in-person flying, like air sickness, motion control and the smell of fuel; however, “in terms of how you manipulate the controls, what airspeeds you need to be at to keep it safe … all of that can be learned in the simulator before getting into a physical airplane.”

Eleven of Clarkson’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 536 and Class of 2020 graduates participated in a virtual commissioning ceremony on May 12, 2020. With fellow graduates watching over Zoom, they pinned on their gold bars as they became commissioned officers in the United States Air Force. It was a milestone moment that included another momentous achievement for 2nd Lt. Michael Gagnon ’20, a biology major; he will be joining the United States Space Force (USSF) as one of just 100 members in the newest branch of the Armed Forces.

During the event, Gen. John W. Raymond, USSF chief of space operations, offered guidance to Gagnon and the other first-ever virtually commissioned officers, “Be bold. You will build this service from the ground up ... you are the future of the United States Space Force.”

In addition to Gagnon, the following Clarkson graduates were also commissioned: 2nd Lt. William Bruce ’20 (chemical engineering), 2nd Lt. Alice Cochran ’20 (civil engineering and history), 2nd Lt. Tyler Eddy ’20 (electrical engineering), 2nd Lt. Emily Fearnside ’20 (chemistry), 2nd Lt. James Meeker ’20 (computer science), 2nd Lt. Jesse Peterson ’20 (aeronautical engineering), 2nd Lt. Matthew Ress ’20 (aeronautical engineering), 2nd Lt. Alissa Satterfield ’20 (mechanical engineering), 2nd Lt. Cullen Scheer ’20 (aeronautical engineering) and 2nd Lt. Jack Tremblay ’20 (electrical engineering).

2nd Lt. Michael Gagnon ’20 takes the oath of office virtually via Zoom.

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 21

Clarkson and Arizona State University Develop Algorithm to Assess Areas of Concern

Discovering COVID-19 Hot Zones

We have all had to learn new ways to navigate the world in the age of COVID-19.

For many, just deciding to leave home for essential needs has become a more thoughtful and planned process. But as we slowly resume a sense of normalcy and get back into our routines, could we be entering viral hotspots?

Researchers from Clarkson are working with their counterparts from Arizona State University (ASU) to empower communities with this knowledge.

Leading the project is Mahesh Banavar, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Stephanie Schuckers, professor and director of the Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR) joins Banavar in collaborating with ASU researchers Andreas Spanias and Cihan Tepedelenlioglu to develop the technology that will use data collected from cell phone towers, WiFi and Bluetooth traces 22 / 2020 PRESIDENT’S REPORT / ALUMNI MAGAZINE

and a specialized algorithm to help detect potential COVID-19 hotspots. The algorithm will then alert users of potential dangers.

The collaboration brings together the capabilities of two IndustryUniversity Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC): CITeR at Clarkson and the Sensor Signal and Information Processing (SenSIP) Center at ASU. The National Science Foundation awarded the inter-university team close to $200,000 in Rapid Response Research funding, also known as a RAPID grant. The NSF awards RAPID grants to projects deemed urgent, including quick-response research on natural disasters or unanticipated events like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Banavar and Schuckers have been developing signal localization software platforms. Similarly, their counterparts at ASU have been working on sensor technologies that incorporate node counting and network size estimation using consensus-based methods. These patented methods have several applications, including

cellphone network area estimation.

The COVID-19 Hotspot Network Size and Node Counting Using Consensus Estimation project will use advanced consensus-based methods for estimating network area/size, node locations and node counts in a network based on minimal transmit-receive data. Studies show that COVID-19 can spread in places where many people are congregated in close proximity.

Using the assumption that several appconnected smartphones in a given area corresponds to more people gathering, the algorithm can help assess the increased potential for viral spread.

In practical terms, an application on a user’s phone will estimate their location, using traces such as WiFi, Bluetooth and cell-tower data, and also evaluate other non-personal information to determine if certain areas have a large number of people in close proximity. Nearby users will be lumped together to form an ad hoc network, allowing the algorithm to limit data collection from devices in this specific user group.

From left: Mahesh Banavar, Stephanie Schuckers, Andreas Spanias and Cihan Tepedelenlioglu are working under an NSF RAPID grant to develop data collection technology to detect COVID danger zones.

Other users in the same network who are also running the mobile application will transmit similar data to the algorithm, which will refine the estimates of network size, number of users in the area covered by the network and network location. With this information, the app would send an alert to a smartphone user who is about to enter a densely populated risk area.

Consumers are becoming increasingly wary about access to their personal data, so the research team has put user privacy at the forefront. Each user will choose how much data they transmit in a tier-based system.

For one set of users, only basic location information is gleaned from a

ping on a cell tower or open Bluetooth and WiFi access points, letting the algorithm know approximately where they are without using GPS. Other users can give more permissions to allow mild sharing of some additional information, including precise location but not the user’s identity or personal information. Obtaining more data will improve the algorithm performance and provide refined location and network information.

The team hopes to have the algorithm in the testing phase by January 2021. When rolled out to the public, the application will be available for any smartphone type.

The data parsed by the algorithm

will also be available on the web.

Implications for the Clarkson-ASU team’s solution go far beyond the user level. Businesses in or nearby hot zones will be able to use the technology to decide when and how to safely open. Beyond COVID-19, communities and relief agencies can use the data from the algorithm during natural disasters to determine where to send resources.

While nothing short of a cure or a vaccine for COVID-19 will subdue some people’s concern about the virus, rapid response research like this innovative effort may offer peace of mind by providing smartphone users information about highly populated areas.

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 23

CLARKSON CONFIDENT

Teaching in a Coronavirus Hotspot A firsthand account from a first-year teacher

By Amélie G. Obas MAT’19

Amélie G. Obas MAT’19

L

ast year, I graduated from Clarkson’s Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program. I secured my first teaching job in New York City and was excited to begin the rewarding career I had worked so hard to realize. I knew my first year of teaching would be challenging, but never could I have imagined that a pandemic would force a rapid shift to a new way of schooling.

Living and working in New York is not new to me. I was born in Brooklyn and grew up on Long Island, just outside of Queens. Before I decided to be a teacher, I was a professional in the architecture/interior design field.

But after the financial crisis of 2008, I decided to continue my education, first at the University at Albany and later at Clarkson’s Capital Region Campus.

While student-teaching at Cohoes High School, in Cohoes, New York, I became passionate about educating students and preparing them for the future.

Moving back downstate and becoming a high school math teacher, however, stirred up a lot of emotions.

I was anxious, nervous and excited.

But despite these feelings, I also felt well-prepared to enter the school year with all the tools and experiences that I had gained in my full-year residency and Clarkson’s MAT program. It also helped that I would be working at a school that was a good fit for me.

Cristo Rey New York High School checked all the boxes on my list: a small, independent school; close-knit faculty; and students with a genuine willingness to learn.

During the first two weeks in September, I was juggling a lot of new tasks: starting my days early to commute from Westchester County to the city via Metro-North train, getting to know the students and faculty, familiarizing myself with Cristo Rey’s policies and curriculum, creating lesson plans and adjusting to my schedule and the school’s schedule.

An average school day consisted of teaching three to four classes, attending meetings, preparing lessons for the week, grading assessments and providing further academic support after school. I initially felt overwhelmed, but as time passed, I found my groove. I became more confident and comfortable with my teaching skills and in building relationships with my students.

Fast-forward six months to the coronavirus outbreak. The city that never sleeps fell quiet while the virus took its toll on New Yorkers.

While not hit as hard as New York City, Westchester County was greatly impacted by COVID-19. A task as simple as going to the grocery store or running errands has turned into an obstacle course. Trying to protect myself and my loved ones by social distancing has been mentally draining.

I’ve also had friends and relatives — nurses on the frontlines — contract

“Teaching through this experience has forever shaped my view on the resiliency of teachers

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the disease and, thankfully, recover.

It has certainly been a scary time.

This situation is far from normal, but as humans, we learn to adapt to change. And like others in various roles within the workforce, teachers across the U.S. have faced rapidly changing demands amid the pandemic.

Teaching through this experience has forever shaped my view on the resiliency of teachers and how they can make a difference in any situation — even during a global health crisis.

The shift from classroom to online instruction was an adjustment at first.

It was similar to my first two weeks at Cristo Rey. I had to adapt to the online scheduling, find my groove and keep students engaged and on task remotely, despite all that was happening in the world. My students had to adapt, too. Some students did not have access to the tools needed for remote learning. Some of them come from low-income families, and they didn’t have a laptop or even internet access at home. After conducting a survey of the student body, Cristo Rey provided Chromebooks and internet service to those who needed it, so they would not be left behind.

Amélie Obas teaching high school math remotely from her home in Westchester County, New York.

I thought teaching in a classroom setting was challenging and a lot of work, but teaching remotely requires more innovative approaches and increased critical thinking. I easily put in twice as many hours teaching remotely as I did on-site. But the bigger challenge was trying to keep my students engaged. Not only did they have to adjust rapidly and keep up with schoolwork from other classes, but most of them had increased responsibilities at home, such as watching their siblings and helping their families. Some of my students’ parents and relatives contracted the virus, which took an emotional toll and impacted their studies.

However, the relationships I had fostered with my students earlier in

the year were critical to successful learning at home — against the odds.

In addition to the video and virtual classes I provided, I incorporated group activities for students to interact with each other, using real-world situations that reinforced what they had learned from a chapter or a lesson.

We adapted together and finished the year strong.

Despite the workload and the myriad unknowns, my first year of teaching was a rewarding experience. Though remote learning was required — and has continued into the new school year — I can’t wait to get back to my classroom. Online learning cannot replace the important face-to-face interactions among students and faculty, no matter how well-equipped we are with tools to teach from home.

and how they can make a difference in any situation — even during a global health crisis.”

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 25

GOOD KNIGHT RESPONSE TO COVID-19

AMY JENKINS ’02:

Creating COVID-19 Antibody Defense for Frontline Workers

A “forcefield” for frontline workers that would provide immediate protection is in the works and could be ready in a matter of months. Amy Jenkins ’02 heads up the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Pandemic Prevention Platform, which is developing an antibody therapeutic that acts as a “temporary vaccine” to prevent infection in individuals exposed to COVID-19. This innovative therapy essentially creates immunity upon injection that lasts for several months, making it an essential tool for frontline responders during the pandemic.

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By Kristen A. Schmitt “The Pandemic Prevention Platform is a way for us to very quickly deploy medical countermeasures to those who may be deployed around the world in places that have diseases we don’t encounter every day,” says Jenkins.

In fact, this type of technology has been used in previous infectious “hot zones,” like West Africa during the Ebola outbreak in 2014. Then, the Department of Defense deployed 3,000 soldiers to assist with diseaseprevention efforts.

“Where these types of outbreaks occur,” continues Jenkins, “we want to develop these platforms so that we can protect people we’re essentially putting in harm’s way.”

And, with the current pandemic, every place is, unfortunately, now a hot zone for infection, making Jenkins and her team’s research applicable and necessary on a global scale.

HOW DOES IT WORK? Vaccines introduce a small amount of a virus or bacteria into your body.

Your body is required to recognize the foreign pathogen and build up a memory against it in order to create immunity. For vaccines to be effective, you likely have to receive multiple inoculations, but once you do, you have immunity for the rest of your life, like with the polio vaccine, or at least for 10 years minimum, like with the tetanus vaccine.

Antibody therapy differs in that it works within hours after it’s injected, but doesn’t create a lengthy immunity. In fact, for the one that Jenkins is working on, the therapy platform can only protect you for a few months at a time.

“It’s only going to last for maximally a couple of months, but it’s that immediate — what we call a firebreak,” says Jenkins. “If you have a frontline healthcare worker, and

they know they’re going to be treating coronavirus patients all summer, you could give this to them in June and they would be covered for June, July and August.

“They may have to come back in September and get another shot, but for those months, they’ll be protected.”

The antibody therapy also buys time, protecting important frontline

“Where these types of outbreaks occur, we want to develop these platforms so that we can protect people we’re essentially putting in harm’s way.”

workers while vaccines are developed and clinical trials are completed.

Jenkins anticipates it will be ready in a few months.

A PASSION FOR INFECTION For Jenkins, her interest in infectious diseases started as an undergraduate at Clarkson, where she majored in chemistry and biomolecular science. Two classes — one on

medical microbiology and another on immunology — spurred her to independently research the role of infectious diseases and why they make us sick.

“I was also reading books like The Hot Zone [The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus by Richard Preston], as well as more popular science books about infectious disease threats,” says Jenkins. “I became very, very fascinated with infectious diseases.

“I think they’re fascinating little organisms because they’re these tiny little things that really take us down,” adds Jenkins, who went on to earn a PhD in chemistry and chemical biology from Cornell University. She also served as a National Research Council postdoctoral fellow at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases and also as a senior scientist at Gryphon Technologies Inc., where she contributed to developing programs that targeted infectious disease threats within DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office.

Jenkins acknowledges her focus on chemistry — specifically protein chemistry — during her undergraduate years helped inspire her career trajectory. She currently spends her time at DARPA investigating, understanding and developing innovative platforms to combat infectious disease threats and novel manufacturing methods to enable rapid responses to confirmed threats.

“It is fulfilling to be able to say that we’re making an impact,” says Jenkins.

“And my hope is that we’ll be able to use some of these technologies during this pandemic to both treat and prevent: treat patients who are sick and prevent frontline healthcare workers and others who work closely with infected individuals from getting sick.”

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 27

GOOD KNIGHT RESPONSE TO COVID-19

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR JACK KOPLOWITZ:

Professor 2.0: Old School ‘Chalk and Talk’ Professor Excels at Online Education

By Kristen A. Schmitt n January, Associate Professor Jack Koplowitz armed himself with paper and pencil, prepping for another spring semester of teaching Digital and Data Communications to a classroom full of students. Fast-forward barely three months, and Koplowitz — like the rest of Clarkson’s faculty, staff and students — was home due to mandated quarantining measures from the state. With the smell of chalk dust still fresh in his mind, Koplowitz — a 47-year veteran of university teaching — had to pivot quickly from in-person to online instruction.

“I didn’t panic at first,” says Koplowitz.

“My students were extremely bright and hard-working and really wanted to learn.”

While many of the Coulter School of Engineering professors routinely used online course management systems and integrated technology into their classrooms before the pandemic, Koplowitz fell into the small percentage who didn’t. William Jemison, dean of the Coulter School of Engineering, worried that professors like Koplowitz would have difficultly transitioning to that type of technology in only a week. However, Koplowitz’s quick shift showed there was no need for any concern.

“I was very fortunate,” says Koplowitz, “because that first week, they had to work on things we had learned in class before the break.”

But after? Well, Koplowitz got to work reorganizing his lectures into an easyto-follow video format, which took time to create because the material had to be presented differently than if he were teaching in-person.

I

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“I didn’t panic at first; my students were extremely bright and hard-working and really wanted to learn.”

“I saw that a 50-minute lecture took less than 30 minutes,” says Koplowitz, acknowledging it was due to the lack of discussion, student interaction, extra explanation and general classroom interruptions that were a consistent part of his pre-pandemic teaching expectations.

Yet, while a different medium of delivery may have resulted in more time for Koplowitz, he used that time to check in with students daily, answering questions as quickly as he could to continue their learning in virtual “real-time.”

“I looked at each student’s homework, trying to see what principles they

didn’t understand based upon the errors they made,” says Koplowitz. “Then I communicated one-on-one with them to go over what they may have missed in my online lectures.”

And, in a matter of weeks, Chair of Electrical & Computer Engineering Paul McGrath reported to Jemison that students were referring to Koplowitz as an “online rock star.”

Koplowitz credits the success of his first foray into remote instruction to the students in his classes, pointing out that their determination in learning the material and getting through the coursework made the experience easier than he anticipated.

Students also benefited from being able to re-watch the lectures in order to grasp the information rather than having to rely on handwritten notes scribbled during an inperson lecture.

“There are a lot of portions of the material that are difficult to understand,” said Koplowitz, “but I was able to break it down and explain each step in a way that was easy for them to follow.”

Koplowitz is hopeful that the technology will evolve further to meet the growing needs of both students and faculty.

However, according to Koplowitz, when it comes to being able to teach well, “it boils down to knowing your subject really well and being adaptable to how the topic is taught, while communicating with students to ensure that they understand the topic well enough to move on.”

ALISON BRUYN ’09, MBA’10:

Ensuring a Steady Stream of Frontline Healthcare Workers

By Kristen A. Schmitt mploying enough doctors and medical specialists to ensure quality care for local communities is always important, but during a pandemic? It becomes essential. That’s where Alison Bruyn ’09, MBA’10, a physician recruiter for MelroseWakefield Healthcare in Boston, Massachusetts, comes in.

“I work for a community hospital system where I employ physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants across primary care and medical-surgical specialties,” says Bruyn, whose recent recruits include doctors and medical professionals on the COVID-19 frontlines.

“We weren’t really sure what was going to happen, knowing that people still needed care in hospital and medical settings — and different care than we have ever provided,” explains Bruyn.

Routine care, while initially on pause, remained a major focus for her and her job. While her time at Clarkson prepared her to think outside the box, figuring out how to do her job during a pandemic was a new learning curve — especially since, on the recruitment side, it was just as busy as it was pre-pandemic.

In fact, she now had to concentrate efforts on finding physicians with infectious disease and epidemiology specialties, which she

E

“The physician recruitment field is a great fit for me, and having that next level of education has paid off, both personally and in my job.”

Bruyn's healthcare recruits issue a "Code Happy" to celebrate patients being discharged from its units designed specifically to treat COVID-19.

succeeded at, even in the middle of the mandated quarantine. Bruyn used video software for interviews and virtual tours to show doctors what they could anticipate once they were hired.

Originally from the Adirondacks, Bruyn didn’t plan on going into physician recruitment during her time at Clarkson.

In fact, she originally majored in premed before switching to a dual degree in psychology and communication & media.

“I’ve always been interested in healthcare, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” says Bruyn. “I felt like going to medical school and completing a residency were really big commitments, but I wasn’t sure if I was passionate enough about it to spend the time it required.”

Fortunately for Bruyn, she found a unique career field in the healthcare industry that didn’t require a medical degree. After relocating to the Boston area upon completion of her MBA, she worked at several organizations before finding her current position. Now, six years into her role, she still finds herself applying things she learned from her classes at Clarkson, especially those from her MBA. “The physician recruitment field is a great fit for me,” says Bruyn. “And having that next level of education has paid off, both personally and in my job.”

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 29

GOOD KNIGHT RESPONSE TO COVID-19

GOOD

KNIGHT

Across the country, as many of us hunkered down into quarantine or served on the frontlines, students, staff and alumni longed for a way to stay connected during a time of uncertainty.

Enter Good Knight, an evening email series highlighting members of the Clarkson community as they demonstrate the values we all share — caring, service, teamwork, diligence — and a commitment to making the world a better place. Read on for a selection of stories from the series.

Good Knight John Gaus ’89, chairman and CEO of Agbotic Inc., saw business at his organic greenhouse in Sackets Harbor, New York, come to a halt as restaurants the company serviced were forced to close. Rather than stop production, Gaus increased production to distribute fresh products to food banks — for free.

Good Knights from Clarkson’s biology and chemistry departments gathered supplies from their laboratories and donated them to Canton-Potsdam Hospital. Four vanloads of personal protective equipment and medical items — which quickly became difficult to acquire during the crisis — were donated to local medical care providers.

Eric Burch, St. Lawrence Health System chief operating officer, and Rob Worden, certified registered nurse anesthetist, receive the donation.

Good Knight Matthew Perra ’03, president of Tampa-based Tent Renters Supply, led his tent manufacturing and vinyl creations company through a shift to produce high-demand items like surgical masks and face shields during the COVID-19 crisis. The shift allowed the company to keep moving forward while also fulfilling a moral purpose. In addition, Perra’s company provided tents used to set up a temporary hospital at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

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When things turned upside down for many large corporations, Veritas Prime, founded and led by Good Knights Nick Begin ’03, Jessie Pappis ’04, Mike Pappis ’03 and Raj Sharmacharya, stepped up. The fast-growing company asked their team (which includes 23 Clarkson alumni) to shift focus from supporting clients with the functionality and migration of SAP human resources enterprise software to helping them adapt to the new normal of managing a remote workforce. Veritas Prime assisted several Fortune 500 companies while also keeping a Clarkson workforce engaged in making a difference.

Lu-Ann Tanton, executive director; Michael Petrucelli and Lisa Domer, operations director.

Good Knight Michael Petrucelli ’85, owner of the Goddard School for Early Childhood Development in Darien, Illinois, sprang into action to operate his school as a licensed emergency childcare center for children of designated essential workers during the mandated shelter-in-place orders.

Good Knight Robert DeMarco ’97 is president of AgroChem Inc., in Saratoga Springs, New York. The company was founded by his father and manufactures EPA-registered sanitizers, FDAapproved veterinary drugs and other cleaning and hygiene products required for dairy farms, food processors and industrial laundries. Recognizing that area hospitals, first responders and others on the frontlines were having difficulty acquiring critical supplies, DeMarco quickly shifted the company’s production capacity to produce hand sanitizer gel.

Good Knights at Kerry Bio-Science in Norwich, New York, supported its production team to ensure a material component of COVID-19 test kits got produced and shipped on time.

Brandon Woodcock ’05, production supervisor; Sara Mele ’00, environmental supervisor, and Andrea Chadwick ’99, engineering manager, are proud Clarkson graduates who are proud to be helping with a solution for identifying the virus.

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 31

CLARKSON ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

CLASS OF 2020

EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS

Ron Ayers ’02...........................President Monica Young ’00....................Executive Vice President Kathryn Campbell ’03..............Past President Eric Democko ’02....................Chapter President Liaison Juan Martinez ’95...................Communications Liaison Sue Bynum ’79.........................Alumni Admissions Liaison Al Winegard ’63.......................Reunion Liaison Eric Carney ’01.........................Graduate Alumni Liaison Lisa Jeffers ’03........................Affinity Group Liaison Gabrielle Piraino ’19................Career Center Liaison Dan Horn ’15............................Student Life Liaison VACANT...................................Clarkson Fund Liaison VACANT...................................Faculty Liaison

UNDERGRADUATE

AFFINITY MEMBERS/MEMBERS AT LARGE

Bill Jeffers ’01.........................Member at Large Cindy Dowd Greene ’78...........Golden Knight Affinty Liaison Peter Gordon ’81.....................Golden Knight Affinty Liaison Sam St. John ’03.....................Honors Program Affinity Liaison Aaron Tandy ’07.......................Greek Alumni Association Liaison Brett Gobe ’03..........................Pep Band Alumni Association Liaison Sidney Spiers ’21.....................Student at Large Adam Bifulca ’22.....................Student at Large

Number of Graduates

704

CHAPTERS PRESIDENTS

VICE PRESIDENT

Top Majors

LOCATION

Jill Gaffigan ’92.................................................................... Atlanta Michele Gauger ’01............................................................. Bay Area Chaz Adams ’07......................Jim Touchette ’10............... Boston Steve Davis ’01........................Graziano Spagnolo ’14....... Buffalo Bill Atkinson ’98.......................Dylan Lozier ’04.................. Burlington Andrea Riedman ’14............................................................ Capital District Beth Monaco ’07 & Tim Monaco ’07......................Jessica Radley ’03............. Central New York Alicia Cabrera ’15................................................................ Charlotte Craig Rose ’07..................................................................... Chicago Bri Murphy ’19..................................................................... Connecticut Jon Green ’11..........................Melanie Waldman ’11........ Denver Matt Rem ’06...........................Ali Wall ’94.......................... Houston Claudine McCormack ’94.................................................... Long Island Luke Dionne ’14 & Michael Guethle ’11............................................................ Maine VACANT............................................................................... Manchester, NH Mike Hayduk ’17.................................................................. Mohawk Valley VACANT............................................................................... New Jersey VACANT...................................Mark Bayer ’13.................... New York City Ashley Sweeney ’15............................................................. North Country VACANT............................................................................... Philadelphia VACANT............................................................................... Rhode Island Matt (JFK) Keil ’09..................Riley Brennan ’18................ Rochester Brynn Matkoski ’06.............................................................. Seattle Katelynn Karekos ’16.......................................................... Southeast Florida Laura Fahey ’00................................................................... Southern California Dusty Rhodes ’78................................................................ Southwest Florida VACANT...................................Paul Miles ’02..................... Washington, DC

1 78 72 70 52 41 38 36 35 29 27

Mechanical Engineering Civil Engineering Engineering & Management Chemical Engineering Electrical Engineering Global Supply Chain Management Biology Aeronautical Engineering Computer Science Financial Information & Analysis

Top 5 States

Represented by the Class of 2020

New York 491 New Hampshire 33 Vermont 32 Massachusetts 30 Connecticut 17

Out of Country: 18 / In State: 491 / Out of State: 195

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QUICK FACTS GRADUATE

Number of Graduates

444 Top Majors

87 69 33 33 29 24 21 20 17 17

Engineering Management Business Administration Adolescence Education 7-12 Mechanical Engineering Physician Assistant Studies Data Analytics Healthcare Management Physical Therapy Electrical Engineering Occupational Therapy

Top 5 States

Represented by the Class of 2020

New York 286 California 13 Vermont 13 New Jersey 12 Connecticut 10

Dear Fellow Clarkson Alumni, We are fortunate to have so many wonderful alumni who tirelessly volunteer their time and energy to Clarkson. Our Leadership Board is as strong as ever, connecting our alumni with students, staff, faculty, organizations and our 35 chapters across the country. I can’t say enough about the difference each and every volunteer makes in creating a stronger Clarkson community.

As your new Alumni Association president, I’m pleased to welcome Monica Young ’00, our recently elected executive vicepresident. I’d also like to thank our immediate past-president, Katie Campbell ’03, and out-going past president, Mark Greene ’77, for all of their efforts in growing the Alumni Association and strengthening its relationship with Clarkson. Thanks to their efforts, along with our partners in Alumni Relations, the Career Center and the Office of Student Life — all engines that help power us — we have seen a record increase in engagement between our alumni and the Clarkson community.

While COVID-19 has prevented alumni chapters from meeting in-person, the Alumni Association is actively working to identify opportunities for alumni to stay engaged virtually.

We hope rising to this challenge will provide new and unique opportunities for Clarkson alumni to stay connected and reach out to each other in the years to come.

During these unprecedented times, I’m heartened by the contributions of our alumni to their communities. Our engineers, scientists and medical professionals are directly combating COVID-19. Clarkson teaching graduates are transforming the way they work with students and providing our children with distance-learning plans and needed stability. Our business leaders are transforming their businesses to support efforts locally and globally. Thousands of Clarkson alumni are contributing, whether by sewing masks, donating blood or simply checking in on their neighbors. As a Clarkson alum, I’m absolutely convinced that we are making a difference in meaningful ways. Thank you to all who have made contributions, large or small.

In hopes of returning to a “normal” pattern of life in 2021, I want to note that Clarkson has two historic milestones: Clarkson’s 125th anniversary and the 100th anniversary of Clarkson hockey.

As we work through the current crisis together, I look forward to celebrating both of them with you.

When it is safe to do so, we look forward to inviting you back to campus to see all of the wonderful improvements being made.

When you return, please be sure to connect with our faculty, staff and students. They have done an amazing job at such a difficult time and truly exemplify what it means to be a Golden Knight.

Be safe and healthy, and Let’s Go Tech!

— Ron Ayers ’02

Countries Represented: 22

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 33

ALUMNI AWARDS

Camarco

Cunningham

Devlin

The Clarkson Alumni Association Awards recognize and reward alumni for outstanding service to Clarkson and build pride among our powerful network of 44,000+ alumni.

The Golden Knight Award The Alumni Distinguished Service Award, better known as the “Golden Knight Award,” was established in 1962 to recognize alumni who have distinguished themselves as Clarkson’s best representatives and ambassadors.

Kenneth V. Camarco ’85 Camarco received a BS in mechanical engineering from Clarkson in 1985. He is the founder and president of Boundless Breakthroughs LLC, a startup producing an innovative, multipurpose cargo carrier and mobile workstation.

Camarco has developed and manufactured products for many industries and worked for large multinational companies, where he has led all facets of global manufacturing. He holds three patents, with others pending.

Camarco is a member of the Board of Trustees of Clarkson University, where he serves on the Academic Mission and Finance & Budget committees.

Kevin T. Cunningham ’90 Cunningham received a BS in management information systems in 1990.

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Grant

He recently recently joined Virtustream, where he is helping to grow the emerging healthcare cloud practice. Over his career, he has worked at Arthur Andersen as manager of business consulting, at Expanets as a senior systems architect, and at IBM. Cunningham has developed a second career serving his alma mater. He received the Woodstock Award in 2000 and has held many service and leadership positions, including Greek Alumni Council president and Alumni Association president (past).

Peter J. Devlin ’80 Devlin received a BS in electrical and computer engineering in 1980 and a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University in 1985.

Devlin was president and CEO of Fish & Richardson P.C. from 2000 to 2020. Under his leadership, the firm solidified its position as the premier global intellectual property law firm. He was admitted to the bar in Massachusetts and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Devlin is a member of the Board of Trustees of Clarkson University, where he serves on the Audit Committee and People Priorities Committee.

April L. Grant ’95 Grant received a BS in business administration in 1995, an MBA with a concentration in healthcare management from Southern New Hampshire University in 2018 and a healthcare leadership certificate from Cornell University in 2019.

Grant spent 20 years of her career working at Clarkson before being appointed the executive director of the CantonPotsdam Hospital Foundation in 2015. She

Howland

Cerro

serves the community in various volunteer positions, including as a member of the Development Committee for GardenShare and vice president of the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce.

Jennifer P. Howland ’85 Howland received a BS in electrical and computer engineering in 1985 and an MS in manufacturing systems engineering from RPI. She retired in December 2019 from a 35year career at IBM that spanned engineering, management and executive roles. She created the IBM Tech Re-Entry internship program, which assists women in returning to the workforce, and, in March 2020, joined iRelaunch as managing director.

Howland serves on Clarkson’s Honors Program Advisory Council. Her accolades include the 2019 Society of Women Engineers Advocating Women in Engineering award.

The Woodstock Award This award was created in 1986 to recognize young alumni.

Given at the 5th-20th reunion years, candidates demonstrate a unique combination of career accomplishment, service to Clarkson and service to their community.

Kirsten A. (Hanson) Cerro ’00 Cerro received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Clarkson in 2000 and an MBA from the University at Buffalo in 2005.

Gray

Horn

Cerro is a service group manager with C&S Companies in Syracuse, New York, where she leads a team of design and construction professionals that currently serves airports throughout the Northeast.

Cerro has been a guest lecturer at Clarkson on several occasions and has participated in STEM education initiatives at the scholastic level throughout her career.

Angela M. Gray ’00, MS’01 Gray received a BS in accounting in 2000 and an MS in management systems in 2001.

She is a certified public accountant licensed in New York.

Gray has almost 20 years of accounting experience and is a partner in Gray & Gray and Associates Certified Public Accountants, P.C. She serves her community in a variety of volunteer roles, including as Seaway Valley Prevention Council president, Greater Massena Chamber of Commerce treasurer, New York Council of Nonprofits board member and Canton-Potsdam Hospital Foundation board member.

Daniel J. Horn ’15 Horn received a BS in chemical engineering in 2015 and an MS in chemical engineering from North Carolina State University in 2018.

After completing GE’s Edison Engineering Development Program, he accepted his current position as a plant and accessory systems design engineer for GE Gas Power.

He is also the lead engineering recruiter with the GE-Clarkson recruiting team for the GE Power businesses.

Minkler

Zullo

Horn has been active with the Clarkson Alumni Council since graduating, serving first as an alumni chapter president and now as student services liaison.

Christina M. Minkler ’05 Minkler earned dual bachelor’s degrees in civil and environmental engineering and interdisciplinary engineering & management in 2005. She has two master’s degrees in management from the University of Maryland, University College.

Minkler is a licensed professional engineer and serves as a vice president and the transportation section head in JMT’s Latham, New York, office.

She is active in the Clarkson University community, recruiting for interns, full-time hires and applicants for scholarships and serving as a First-Year Seminar volunteer.

Amanda J. Zullo UGC’05 Zullo received a BA in organizational communication with a pre-medical studies minor from SUNY Geneseo and an MA in education from Union Graduate College (UGC) in 2005.

She became a chemistry teacher and was the first teacher in the Adirondack Park to obtain National Board Certification.

In 2016, she was presented with the 2015 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

Zullo serves on various boards, including the National Board Council of New York and New York State Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Karekos

Pirrone

The Stub Baker 1927 Service Award This award was established in 1998 to recognize the importance of leadership and service by alumni to Clarkson’s regional alumni chapters.

Peter M. Karekos ’80, MBA’81 Karekos received a BS in civil engineering in 1980 and an MBA in 1981.

In the late 1990s, Karekos became president of Paramount Engineering Group in Boca Raton, Florida. To find hardworking and qualified employees for his fast-growing company, he worked with the Career Center to recruit Clarkson graduates.

Karekos continually finds opportunities to give back to Clarkson. His daughters, who also attended Clarkson, say he truly embodies and represents the University. He wears his Clarkson hat everywhere, with the hope of engaging in a conversation about his alma mater.

Cesaera (Ce’) Pirrone Pirrone earned a master’s in education and is dual-certified in social studies and English.

She is a nationally board-certified teacher in a high-need school in Schenectady, NY. With her dog, Nina, a registered service dog, Pirrone acts as a mentor and teacher in Clarkson's MAT program.

Pirrone also volunteers in the community, coordinating food distribution to low-income families, working with Islamic Circle of North America Relief, helping students and others start self-sustaining gardens and distributing books with First Book.

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 35

Class Notes

Accomplishments 1950s

Remington B. Brown ’79 (CEE) has joined the board of directors of Meals on Wheels in Polk County, Florida, where he is a volunteer driver for the program.

John Munter ’59 (Ph) received the 2020 Joseph Dalton Community Service Award from the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce. The award recognizes individuals who have served the Saratoga community for more than 25 years.

1960s Shelton James ’61 (BA), owner of C. Shelton James and Associates, has been listed in Marquis Who’s Who in recognition of his accomplishments in accounting and management.

1970s Ronald A. Freund ’73 (ECE; MS,EE) was a Brooks III resident freshman year. After completing his undergrad, he continued graduate school at CCT, finishing in February 1975. He then immediately moved to California to avoid further chills.

Blaine P. Dunn ’70 (ID), currently on the Frederick County Board of Supervisors in Virginia, campaigned to receive the Republican nomination to run for the U.S. Senate in November elections.

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Michael E. Jesanis ’77, ’79 (Ma; MS,Ma) has been appointed to the board of directors at El Paso Electric.

Daniel C. Heintzelman ’79 (ID), along with his wife, Terese, have established the Heintzelman Scholars Program for highachieving high school students who wish to attend Clarkson. The program will provide students from the Cape Cod area with a $50,000 scholarship — $12,500 per year — for up to four years of undergraduate study.

Richard J. Dewey ’89 (ECE) is the president and CEO of the New York Independent System Operator and has been with the company for almost two decades.

Michael J. Harris ’89 (ECE) is the vice president of engineering at Atom Power Inc., a start-up that is focused on digitizing circuit breakers.

Richard K. Johnson ’89 (ME), corporate vice president and chief information officer at Sonoco, has been elected to The Marvin Companies’ board of directors.

1980s David K. Heacock ’83 (ID) has been appointed to the board of directors of The Detection Group Inc. Andrew J. Watts ’83 (ChE), who works at GLOBALFOUNDRIES, ran as an Independent to represent Vermont’s Chittenden 8-3 District in the House of Representatives.

Steven F. Lepkowski ’84 (ME), founder and chief executive officer of Body Align, has been exploring how to mitigate the negative effects of electric and magnetic field radiation on humans.

Marlene S. Natale ’84 (ME) was promoted to quality manager at Indium Corporation’s Clinton facility.

Steven H. Kasok ’87 (FIA) has joined the board of directors of Cognate BioServices Inc. as an independent non-executive member.

William Leacock ’84 (ID) has retired from Wellington C. Mepham High School after 30 years of teaching physics.

Donald C. Kerwin III ’86 (ECE) is the proud father of Greta Kerwin ’23, who became a thirdgeneration Clarkson student in fall 2019, following in the footsteps of her father and her grandfather, Donald C. Kerwin Jr. ’61. Greta studies physics and chemical engineering. She is also active in the Chem-E Car SPEED team and sings with Clarkson’s a cappella group, Understaffed.

Daniel M. Lux ’92 (Mkt, MIS) has been appointed media supervisor at Mower.

1990s Diana Dreher ’90 (MBA) has been appointed quality engineer with the quality team at Mack Molding.

Andrew T. Haldane ’95 (CE) has been appointed to the National Wireless Safety Alliance board of governors.

Volker Treichel ’90 (MBA), who has spent his career working for financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group and International Finance Corporation, has been listed in Marquis Who’s Who. Michael J. Hayduk ’91 (ECE), the acting director of Rome Lab, has been appointed to the New York State Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Automation Commission.

Sean T. Bennett ’92 (EE) has been appointed vice president for diversity and inclusion at Salem State University.

Ralph M. Ford ’87 (ECE), chancellor at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, received an honorary degree from Brno University of Technology in the Czech Republic, where he previously taught as a Fulbright Scholar.

Todd Musterait ’95 (ME,CE) has been named senior vice president of strategy and growth for AECOM’s Design and Consulting Services, Americas, environment practice.

Marlene A. Crawley ’96, ’98 (IE&M; MBA) recently released a new book, Journey Through the Night: The Rescue.

Chad W. Hutton ’99 (CE), who works in the solid waste practice area at Barton & Loguidice, has been promoted to vice president.

Randell J. Denton ’92 (E&M) has been appointed executive director of Liberty Affordable Housing Inc.

Kevin H. Gardner ’92 (MS,CEE; PhD,CE) has been selected to lead innovation research at the University of Louisville.

2000s Cory J. McDowell ’00 (CE; MS,CE), who works in the solid waste practice area at Barton & Loguidice, has been promoted to associate.

Michael R. Roy ’00 (CE), a senior civil engineer, has joined Sevee & Maher Engineers Inc. Nathan I. Strong ’00 (IE&M) has been appointed vice president of energy at Loureiro Engineering.

Thomas L. Monks ’02 (CS) is putting his coding and project management skills to work for the Farm Foundation by helping connect farmers who have extra food with people who need it.

Beth A. Weigel ’93 (Ac) has been promoted to chief operations officer at the Sanibel Captiva Trust Company.

Lisa W. Hershman ’96 (ID) has been confirmed as U.S. Department of Defense chief management officer.

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 37

Sheri K. Bryant ’95 (ChE) recently ran a marathon to raise money for the Raish Peavey Haskell Children’s Cancer and Treatment Center, where her son was treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2015. While the original marathon was cancelled, she ran her own in honor of her son, who remains healthy.

Elizabeth E. Testani ’02 (BA), director of operations for physician practice management at Canton-Potsdam Hospital, has been elected to the Ogdensburg City School District’s board of education.

Arthur J. Michalek ’03 (ME; MS,ME) has been promoted to associate professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering and granted tenure at Clarkson.

Nicholas M. Borton ’04 (CpE), the lead firmware engineer at SRC Inc., has joined the Sensor Open Systems Architecture Consortium steering committee as vice chair.

Stefanie Walsh ’08, ’12 (Py; DPT) joined the medical staff for Team USA U.S. Figure Skating. As a physical therapist, she is part of a network of providers who care for the nation’s top figure skaters.

Most recently, she traveled to Las Vegas for 2019 Skate America, the first event in a series of seniorlevel international invitational competitions.

Walsh with two-time world champion (2018, 2019) and 2018 Olympic bronze medalist Nathan Chen.

2010s Jeremiah J. Crowe ’10 (IE) has been named director of scouting for the Buffalo Sabres ice hockey team.

Mark T. Borowiecki ’12 (PS) has decided to end his time with the Ottawa Senators ice hockey team and join the NHL’s free agent market.

Bethann K. Parmelee ’12 (EnvE), who works in the solid waste practice area at Barton & Loguidice, has been promoted to senior project engineer.

Madeline J. Twiss ’12, ’17 (By; MSPAS) has joined St. Lawrence Health System’s Canton-Potsdam Hospital as a hospitalist.

Jennifer L. Zanghi ’12 (ME), captain in the U.S. Army, was recently recognized for her military service, which has included numerous deployments — the most recent in support of Operation Resolute Support. Her decorations include the Bronze Star Medal and the Army Commendation Medal.

Michael Giacomo ’04 (ChE), a chemical engineer at Markem-Imaje, has collaborated with Keene Young Professionals Network in New Hampshire to set up a system for delivering groceries to people during the pandemic.

Akanksha Vyas ’12, ’16 (CS; MS,CS), chief technology officer at Eichiba Inc. and design technology teacher at NMIMS School of Design in Mumbai, India, was the stage manager for Haiku in a Bun, a digital theater project by Theatre Jil Jil Ramamani.

38 / 2020 PRESIDENT’S REPORT / ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Elizabeth E. Cadwell ’14 (CE,EnvE), (far right), an engineer-in-training at The Chazen Companies, has been honored as one of six women named “Women on the Rise” by the Albany Business Review for showing outstanding leadership and progress as a woman in her field.

Michael J. Garlasco ’14 (IE), assistant superintendent of port operations at Canadian Pacific, was named one of Railway Age’s 10 Under 40 honorees.

Dylan J. Keyser ’14 (CE) has been hired by Colantonio Inc. as assistant project manager.

Jack C. Harlander ’17 (IE&M) has been hired

by G.A. Braun Inc. as project manager on the Inside Sales & Project Management Team.

Hunter Gillett ’18 (ChE) is a process engineer in the Green End Division engineering group at Corning Incorporated.

Valerie A. Tuttle ’19 (IE&M) was hired

by Blueline as a construction inspector for public works projects.

Pierre Nzuah ’16 (MS,EE), a substation design engineer near Syracuse, New York, recently released a memoir, Persist and Pursue: Breaking Barriers to Achieve a Dream.

2020s Nicholas LaScala ’20 (CE) has developed DackMap, a map-based app that helps guide users through the Adirondacks and connects them to local businesses.

Lee A. Myers-White ’20 (MSPAS) was recognized by Traditional Bank as an Unsung Hero for his work in AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps.

Megan M. O’Brien ’20 (MSPAS) has joined the Canton-Potsdam Hospital’s Emergency Department as a certified physician assistant.

Zachary R. Willis ’20 (MSPAS) has joined the Canton-Potsdam Hospital’s Emergency Department as a certified physician assistant.

Tammy M. Rotonde ’19 (MSPAS), who recently joined Canton-Potsdam Hospital as a certified physician assistant, has returned to her alma mater to provide healthcare at Clarkson’s Student Health and Counseling Center.

How to Submit a Class Note

Renata Y. Spinosa ’18 (EnvE) works as an environmental engineer at AECOM.

Claire Kershko ’19 (MBA) has been appointed head of Killington Mountain School in Killington, Vermont.

Gary T. Sniffen ’20 (MSPAS) recently joined CantonPotsdam Hospital as a cardiovascular physician assistant.

To submit a class note for inclusion in the monthly electronic newsletter or next Clarkson magazine, please visit clarkson.edu/milestones.

Questions can be directed to alumni@clarkson.edu.

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 39

Marriages Jill L. Thiemann ’90 (Ec) and Vincent F. North Jr., September 29, 2019.

Eric M. Avis ’03 (MIS; MBA) and Erin O’Brien, May 18, 2019.

Andrea M. (Barberi) Oliver ’03 (IE&M) and Jason Oliver, September 28, 2019.

Aaron N. Farney ’06 (BMS) and Marianne Munson, August 10, 2019.

Melanie L. Waldman ’11 (IE) and Shawn P. Doolen ’09 (GSCM), April 4, 2020.

In Memoriam

Elliott C. Carter ’12 (GSCM) and Grace Cao, December 4, 2019.

1930s

Cody A. Rosen ’13 (IE) and Mary K. Gleason, September 6, 2020.

1940s

Trevor M. Derby ’14 (EE) and Andrea M. Walsh ’12 (ME), August 17, 2019.

William W. Turner ’37 (CE), 2015.

Emmett E. Dusharm ’42 (CE), 2020.

Joseph H. Mason ’43 (BA), 2015.

William C. Platt ’44 (EE), 2020.

Edwin C. Meilun ’45 (ChE), 2020.

Elmer A. Meilun ’45 (ChE), 2020.

Paul H. Mehne ’47 (ChE), 2020.

Richard A. Dando ’48 (ChE), 2020.

John D. Davidson ’48 (ChE), 2019.

Gustav A. Diezemann ’48 (CE), 2019.

Robert Roughsedge ’48 (EE), 2020.

Thomas A. Tuety ’48 (ME), 2020.

John J. DeGouff ’49 (ChE; MS,ChE), 2019.

1950s

Waldman – Doolen

Barberi – Oliver

Thiemann – North

Munson – Farney

Gleason – Rosen

Cao – Carter

Walsh – Derby

40 / 2020 PRESIDENT’S REPORT / ALUMNI MAGAZINE

O’Brien – Avis

Gordon R. Bowker ’50 (BA), 2018.

Charles E. Campbell ’50 (EE), 2002.

Donald M. Davis ’50 (EE), 2019.

Thomas A. Dulmage ’50 (BA), 2020.

Edward J. Lewis ’50 (EE), 2017.

William R. Schmalz ’50 (ME), 2020.

Henry E. Diggelmann ’51 (EE), 2020.

Leonard A. Hall ’51 (ME), 2020.

Glenn A. Hider ’51 (ME), 2020.

Daniel T. Kelly ’51 (CE), 2019.

Howard C. Miner ’51 (CE), 2020.

George A. Schiavone ’51 (EE), 2020.

Frank Zuckerman ’51 (ME), 2019.

Edward D. Cornish Sr. ’52 (CE), 2020.

Rolland M. Favre ’52 (EE), 2011.

Irving C. Fisk ’52 (EE), 2020.

Anthony C. Mangos ’52 (EE), 2008.

William J. Seibold Jr. ’52 (BA), 2020.

John A. Stevens ’52 (ME), 2020.

Charles M. Cogan ’53 (EE), 2020.

William R. Fairbanks ’53 (ME), 2020.

Abbott C. Fisher ’53 (BA), 2020.

Thomas M. Pappas ’53 (CE), 2020.

Rockwood T. Roberts ’53 (BA), 2019.

Ronald I. Rudolph ’53 (CE), 2019.

Charles E. Ulrich ’53 (EE), 2020.

Don Allan ’54 (BA), 2020.

Robert Cole ’54 (ChE; MS,ChE; PhD,ChE), 2019.

Louis A. Dindo ’54 (ME), 2019.

Edward W. Kershaw ’54 (CE), 2020.

Richard G. Seibert ’54 (ME), 2020.

William H. Swart ’54 (ME), 2020.

Charles F. Wilcox ’54 (BA), 2020.

Gerald L. Arffa ’55 (ChE), 2020.

Howard W. Hermann ’55 (EE), 2017.

Roger W. Kober ’55 (ME), 2020.

Miles R. Stray ’55 (ME), 2019.

Richard J. Stys ’55 (ME), 2019.

Richard T. Ashcroft ’56 (EE), 2020.

SPECIAL FRIENDS OF CLARKSON

Virginia "Ginny" Clark Clarkson H’89 1926–2019

Clarkson received an honorary doctorate in 1989 for her dedicated service and support of the institution, as well as for the good humor, patience and unflagging optimism with which she participated in the life of the University.

Wallace H. Downs ’56 (ME), 2020.

Arnold Gosewich ’56 (BA), 2019.

William R. Gragg ’56 (BA), 2019.

Fred Joels ’56 (Cm), 2019.

John M. Porter ’56 (BA), 2020.

Melvin W. Redmond Jr. ’56 (ME), 2020.

James F. Wake Sr. ’56 (EE), 2020.

Don L. Cooper ’57 (BA), 2020.

Richard E. Downing ’57 (CE), 2020.

Melvin Prager ’57 (EE), 2019.

William M. Przybycien ’57 (ME; MS,ME), 2020.

Thomas W. West ’57 (CE), 2020.

Edward G. Macdonald ’58 (CE), 2020.

Gary R. Signor ’58 (EE), 2020.

Loron E. Silliman Jr. ’58 (ME), 2020.

Richard A. Uderitz ’58 (ID), 2020.

Guido Vecchiarelli ’58 (ME), 2020.

Theodore H. Baker ’59 (Ph), 2020.

Kenneth F. Kittelberger ’59 (ChE), 2019.

1960s

Robert C. Alvord ’60 (CE), 2018.

Thomas C. Jebo ’60 (ChE), 2020.

George E. Powers ’60 (ME), 2020.

Richard H. Schroeder Jr. ’60 (CE), 2020.

Walter E. Stewart ’60 (ME), 2020.

Douglas Cameron ’61 (EE), 2020.

James W. Rogers ’61 (Cm), 2020.

Paul G. Weitz Jr. ’61 (ChE), 2020.

Verne G. Wells ’61 (EE), 2020.

Martin Rosenzweig ’62 (EE), 2019.

Glen E. Van Valkenburg ’62 (ME), 2020.

Walter L. Robb 1928-2020

Herman L. Shulman H’86 1922-2020

Robb, a former GE R&D executive and philanthropist, served as a Clarkson trustee from 2016-19 after the Union Graduate College merger. His death marked the first confirmed COVID-19 fatality in New York’s Capital Region.

Shulman is among the members of the greater Clarkson family to have fallen ill with COVID-19. He started at the University as an assistant professor of chemical engineering in 1948 and worked for 40 years, retiring in 1988 as executive vice president.

Joseph G. Grizzuto ’63 (BA), 2019.

Allen D. Grossmann ’63 (BA), 2020.

John T. McIlwaine ’63 (InD), 2019.

Stephen J. Orzell ’63 (ID), 2019.

Bruce Bates ’64 (ID), 2020.

Robert G. Kettles ’64 (Ac), 2019.

Terrence J. Kistner ’64 (ChE; MS,ChE), 2019.

Michael A. Koral ’64 (CE), 2020.

David E. Brown ’65 (InD), 2020.

Charles P. DeGrace ’65 (EE), 2019.

Eugene P. Gibbons ’65 (Ac), 2019.

Norma J. Wagner ’65 (Ma), 2020.

Patrick Drexel ’66 (ID), 2019.

Floyd O. Herrick Jr. ’66 (CE; MS,CE), 2020.

Robert L. Basile ’68 (EE), 2020.

Robert W. Gardner ’68 (Ac; MS,Ac), 2020.

Christopher Shafer ’68 (ME), 2020.

Fred Silver ’68 (ID; MS,IM), 2019.

Jefferson H. Barker ’69 (ID), 2019.

John E. Youngdahl ’69 (CE), 2020.

William Meier Jr. ’72 (CE), 2020.

Warren E. Miesegaes ’72 (MS), 2019.

John P. Whitton ’72 (CEE), 2020.

Richard H. Brezinsky ’73 (Cm), 2019.

Tomas P. Ozahowski ’73 (Mgt), 2020.

Stephen A. Tyrrell ’73 (CEE), 2020.

Nicholas P. Cheremisinoff ’74, ’75, ’77 (ChE; MS,ChE; PhD,ChE), 2020.

Jerome J. Daigle ’74 (MS,ES), 2020.

William J. Gates ’74 (ID, ChE), 2019.

Roupen L. Keusseyan ’76 (MS,Ph), 2019.

Kevin J. Shields ’76 (ChE), 2018.

Elliot M. Sussman ’76 (ECE), 2019.

Edwin H. Lighthall ’77 (CEE), 2019.

William F. Mitchell ’77 (Ma; MS,Ma), 2019.

Anthony C. Blaney Jr. ’78 (ID), 2019.

Brian P. Mandryck ’78 (CEE; MS,CE), 2020.

Richard J. Miller ’78 (PhD,ES), 2020.

Jefferson S. Mitchell ’79 (ECE), 2019.

1970s

Peter S. Lefkarites ’80 (ME), 2015.

Joseph R. Maloney ’80 (MS,MS), 2019.

Mayne D. Marvin ’80 (ChE), 2020.

Frank J. Picco ’80 (ID), 2020.

Tovey Barron ’81 (ECE), 2019.

Sandy Hamilton ’81 (ID), 2019.

Ann M. Martinson ’81 (ECE), 2020.

John G. Menkart ’81 (Ec), 2020.

Meegada Eswara Prasad ’81 (MS,ME), 2019.

John F. Haley ’82 (Bus), 2019.

David A. Brady ’70 (ChE), 2020.

David L. Holt ’70 (EE; MS,ECE), 2019.

David W. Tuttle ’70 (Mgt; MS,MS), 2019.

David M. Geel ’71 (Ph), 2019.

Ronald Miecznikowski ’71 (MS,Cm), 2019.

Douglas A. Newman ’71 (ME), 2020.

Allan J. Raphael ’71 (ChE), 2020.

Barbara B. Taylor ’71 (ChE), 2020.

Richard E. Aiken ’72 (ID), 2019.

1980s

Bruce W. Knowlton ’82 (ECE), 2020.

Martin Nodine ’82 (Mkt), 2020.

Jeff M. Wilkins ’82 (ID), 2019.

David K. Richards ’83 (CEE), 2019.

Barbara Schwartz ’83 (Ec), 2019.

Sigrid M. Bailey ’84 (ChE), 2020.

Lawrence R. Kirby ’84 (ECE), 2020.

James J. Casper ’85 (ECE), 2020.

Daniel M. Newman ’85 (Ph), 2020.

Jon F. Van Deusen ’86 (CEE), 2020.

Peter F. Lindley ’86 (ME), 2020.

Ellen M. Magee ’86 (MS,Ma; MS,CS), 2020.

Craig M. Marti ’86 (CEE), 2019.

Scott J. Zygadlo ’86 (ID), 2019.

Peter W. Giancola ’88 (CEE), 2020.

Robert P. Martin ’88 (ECE), 2020.

1990s

William R. Summa ’90 (ME), 2019.

Carlos Perez-Albuerne ’91 (ID), 2019.

Christopher J. Regruit ’93 (IE&M), 2019.

Kevin R. Talty ’94 (MBA), 2020.

Gregory B. Schultz ’97 (Cm), 2017.

Junshan Su ’98 (PhD,CEE), 2019.

2000s

Nicholas J. Chwalek ’00 (ME), 2020.

Andrew C. Palmer ’07 (HD), 2019.

2010s

Nathaniel F. Hess ’10 (CE), 2020.

Jordeana Clayton-Snipe ’18 (By), 2020.

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 41

COVID-19 Airborne Particles > CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

difficult to perform PCR analysis given the small amount of DNA/RNA. Researchers are working to address the limitations of detecting airborne viruses.

In our lab at Clarkson University, we have developed a low-cost bioaerosol sensor and collector for wide-scale bioaerosol sampling. This battery-operated sampler uses a micro-sized high-voltage source to ionize airborne viruses, bacteria and fungi and collect them on a surface. Ionization gives the biological particles an electrical charge. Giving the collection surface the opposite charge causes the particles to stick to the surface.

Samples from our collector can be analyzed with new portable DNA/RNA sequencers, which allows for near real-time bioaerosol detection with low-cost, handheld equipment.

Wastewater Testing > CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

ALL HANDS ON DECK Rogers has pulled together individuals from throughout the Clarkson community to work on the project: post-doctoral Research Associate Hema Priyamvada Ravindran, graduate lab technicians, undergraduate interns and engineering students, as well as students and faculty from the Geographic Information System course, to assist in mapping sewer and sampling networks.

Alexander Kupin ’21, a computer science major, has even developed sensors that track how often toilets are flushed in specific dorms so that the wastewater collection systems can be programmed to do their thing at peak times. Data is collected on specific locations so that any virus that shows up can be isolated down to the dormitory floor or apartment.

Clarkson is also testing samples from the villages of Potsdam and Canton, as well as nearby St. Lawrence University, SUNY Canton and the North Country School in 42 / 2020 PRESIDENT’S REPORT / ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Where’s my tricorder?

Aerosol Threat

These advances could soon make it possible to detect a known pathogen, like SARS-CoV-2, with a portable device. But they’re still far from being a tricorder.

For one, they require relatively high levels of a pathogen for detection. Being able to identify a virus like SARS-CoV-2 at lower levels that are nonetheless sufficient for disease transmission will require developing sensors with lower detection limits. Additionally, these sensors can only be tailored to detect specific pathogens, not scan for all possible pathogens.

Though the equivalent of the tricorder in “Star Trek” isn’t around the corner, the need for such a device has never been greater. Now is an opportune time for the emergence of new sensing techniques piggy-backing on the dramatic advances being made in the fields of electronics, computing and bioinformatics. When the next new pathogen emerges, it would be nice to have a tricorder handy.

Aerosol concentrations can be reduced with increased ventilation, although recirculating the same air should be avoided unless the air can be effectively filtered prior to reuse. When possible, open doors and windows to increase fresh air flow.

Decreasing the number of emission sources — people — within a space, and ensuring that face coverings are worn at all times can further decrease concentration levels.

Methods of deactivating the virus, such as germicidal ultraviolet light, can also be used.

Finally, reducing the amount of time you spend in poorly ventilated, crowded areas is a good way to reduce airborne exposure risk.

This article has been updated with the WHO response.

Amir Mofakham ’20, a research associate in mechanical engineering at Clarkson University, contributed to this article.

Lake Placid. The program has received input and support from the St. Lawrence County Public Health Department and Board of Health, along with New York Sen. Joseph A. Griffo.

“Wastewater testing is a really good way of being ahead of the curve, of determining if there’s an outbreak, even a small one, on campus before it gets out of hand,” SUNY Canton President Zvi Szafran says. “It allows you then to divert your resources right where they’re most needed very, very promptly.”

Clarkson President Anthony G. Collins began his career in Potsdam in 1982 as an assistant professor of civil and environmental

engineering. Naturally, he says, Rogers’ program is “near and dear to my heart.”

About $300,000 in University funding has supported the purchase of the highly sensitive lab equipment, with an additional estimated $200,000 invested in the sampling equipment and lab staffing, he says.

“It’s a very significant investment, but we believe it’s worth it because of the immediate impact it can have,” he explains.

“Clarkson is known in the environmental engineering world for cutting-edge technology and innovation, and this just adds to that quiver of arrows of success.

This is a point of pride for us and for the North Country.”

Prof. Shane Rogers (right) teaches Alexis Kimble ’21 (left) and Abigail Searles ’22 (center) how to program equipment to collect composite sewage samples for campus SARSCoV-2 testing.

> CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

Clarkson University Trustees OFFICERS

Thomas L. Kassouf ’74 Chair

Anthony G. Collins University President

Stephen D. Ryan ’87 Vice Chair

Simoon L. Cannon ’97 Founder & President Melanina Organics, LLC

Lauretta M. Chrys UGC’98

Executive Vice President & COO, Distribution Consumer Banking Citizens Bank

Bayard D. Clarkson Jr., MD

Christina A. Dutch ’91

Partner PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

David K. Heacock ’83

Sr. Vice President & Manager (Ret.) Texas Instruments Silicon Valley Analog

Thomas L. Kassouf ’74

Bayard D. Clarkson Sr., MD, H’74

Private Practitioner

Georgia Keresty ’83

Member, Molecular Pharmacology/Chemistry Sloan-Kettering Institute-MSKCC

Global Head, Medical Sciences & Development Operations Takeda Pharmaceuticals R&D

Kathleen H. Cline ’85

Lawrence D. Kingsley ’85

Distinguished Vice Chair Secretary

Kelly O. Chezum ’04 Assistant Secretary

Robert A. Cree Treasurer

TRUSTEES

Kenneth V. Camarco ’85

Founder & President Boundless Breakthroughs, LLC

Robert A. Campbell ’61

CEO, Asia Pacific Region (Ret.) Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd.

Bayard D. Clarkson Sr., MD, H’74

President (Ret.) Snap-on Tools Group

Georgia Keresty ’83

President KTC Construction

Director Berkshire Partners

Anthony G. Collins

Sanjeev R. Kulkarni ’84

President Clarkson University

Charles R. Craig

Dean of the Faculty Professor, Electrical Engineering Princeton University

Sr. Vice President Science & Technology, Administration & Operations Corning Incorporated

Kenneth S. Lally ’79

Peter J. Devlin ’80

Chairman of the Board Flir Systems Inc.

President & CEO (Ret.) Fish & Richardson PC

Owner & Director SimuTech Group

Earl R. Lewis ’66

Robert A. DiFulgentiz ’76 President & COO (Ret.) Koch Chemical Technology Group

G. Michael Maresca, MD P’18 Interventional & General Radiologist President St. Lawrence Radiology

Technology Business Strategy Consultant Summit Associates

W. Ashley Twining ’82

Jody A. Markopoulos ’93

Principal JA Markopoulos Consulting, LLC

John S. Mengucci ’84 President & CEO CACI International Inc.

President Viking-Cives Group

David A. Walsh ’67

Executive Vice President & COO (Ret.) United Therapeutics

Dennis G. Weller ’71

Rajan Raghavan ’82

Chairman of the Board Structural Associates Inc.

Founder, President & CEO The Fabric

James F. Wood ‘64

Nancy D. Reyda ’81

Managing Director & COO of Technology Bank of New York Mellon

Cody A. Rosen ’13

Executive Vice President Kimco Steel

Stephen D. Ryan ’87

Raymond L. Skowyra Jr. P’11

Director Energy Institute Director U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center, Advanced Coal Technology Consortium, West Virginia University

Robert R. Ziek, Jr. ‘78

Sr. Vice President, Wealth Management, The Ryan Group Merrill Lynch Private Banking and Investment Group

President ZSource, Ltd.

Frank R. Schmeler ’64, P’91, P’93

Chairman (Ret.) Albany International Corp.

NEW TRUSTEES

Christina A. Dutch ’91 Dutch is a partner at PwC, primarily serving higher education and healthcare institutions. She brings her experience in helping clients evaluate internal controls and systems and leading audits to the Audit Committee.

G. Michael Maresca P’18 Maresca is a board-certified radiologist and president of St. Lawrence Radiology Associates. He was chief of staff at the Canton-Potsdam Hospital for 18 years and served on its board. Maresca will serve on the Financial Affairs Committee.

James F. Wood ’64 Wood is director of the Energy Institute and director of the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center, Advanced Coal Technology consortium at West Virginia University.

In his third term on the board, he will serve on the Academic Mission Committee.

Robert R. Ziek Jr. ’78 Ziek is the president of ZSOURCE Ltd., an innovation and new product development consulting firm. He is also on the boards of several startups.

In his third term, Ziek will serve on the Financial Affairs and Academic Mission committees.

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 43

Clarkson University Financial Report Balance Sheet as of June 30, 2020

2020 2019

Assets Cash and equivalents $1,218,026 $12,345,318 Accounts receivable, net 8,304,534 8,219,930 Pledges receivable, net 11,115,196 5,126,321 Investments 200,502,202 205,373,199 Notes receivable — students, net 6,295,960 7,514,208 Other assets 3,169,103 3,307,879 Property, plant and equipment, net 220,023,616 203,479,060 Total Assets

$450,628,637

$445,365,915

Liabilities and Net Assets LIABILITIES

Accounts payable/accrued expenses Other liabilities Outstanding debt Total Liabilities

$17,849,057 43,872,564 73,022,039

$22,227,458 40,918,134 74,107,512

$134,743,660

$137,253,104

NET ASSETS

Without donor restriction With donor restriction

$142,396,745 173,488,232

$138,185,558 169,927,253

Total Net Assets

$315,884,977

$308,112,811

$450,628,637

$445,365,915

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS

Volume MMXX / Number 2 / December 2020 Printed in USA Marketing & External Relations 315-268-4483 PUBLISHER AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS

Kelly O. Chezum MBA’04

EDITOR AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS

Kris Ross

DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE SERVICES & PROJECT MANAGEMENT

David Homsey

PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Steven Jacobs

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS

Patricia Lane Kris Ross

Jennifer Sampson Kristen A. Schmitt

clarkson.edu CLARKSON is published two times per year by Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY 13699. Circulation: 45,000 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Development Operations, Clarkson University, Box 5510, 8 Clarkson Avenue, Potsdam, NY 13699 email: developmentops@clarkson.edu EQUAL OPPORTUNITY POLICY Clarkson University does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, color, creed, religion, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran or marital status in provision of educational opportunity or employment opportunities. This policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation does not apply to the University’s relationships with outside organizations, including the federal government, the military, ROTC and private employers. Clarkson University does not discriminate on the basis of sex or disability in its educational programs and activities, pursuant to the requirements of Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the American Disabilities Act of 1990, respectively.

The President’s Report issue is sent annually to international colleagues in higher education, alumni and other friends of the institution.

PHOTOGRAPHY CONTRIBUTORS

Special thanks to all who submitted photos that illustrate exceptional work being done by our Clarkson community during these unprecedented, challenging times.

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clarkson.edu/social 44 / 2020 PRESIDENT’S REPORT / ALUMNI MAGAZINE

COVID-19 STUDENT EMERGENCY FUND

When we needed you the most, you were there.

You raised

$674,153 You joined

246 donors Food Costs

Housing & Living Essentials

Emergency Situations

Scholarship/ Financial Aid

Technology

You helped

380 students A Message from President Tony Collins

“ When Clarkson asked for your support during the COVID-19 crisis, many of you have responded. Your overwhelming generosity is proving to be exceptionally meaningful right now as students face various financial challenges. Because of the level of support we have received, we are now able to expand aid beyond food services and basic living needs, to offering significant financial assistance to our students in the form of scholarships recognizing that the income to so many families has been negatively impacted.

Your donation ensures our students will have the ability to continue their education, which might not have otherwise been possible. Karen and I thank you for being such a caring member of the Clarkson community during this uniquely difficult time.�

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 45

DEVELOPMENT OPERATIONS Box 5510, 8 Clarkson Avenue Potsdam NY 13699

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID POTSDAM, NY PERMIT NO. 78

Clarkson students Maximus Powers ’23 (l) and Selorm Bruce ’23 (r) have launched allgoodthings.news, a website they hope will combat a constant flow of bad news. The pair work daily to curate stories from a variety of sources to deliver relevant news articles that are positive, clear and factual to allow optimistic readers to stay informed about what is happening in the world.

46 / 2020 PRESIDENT’S REPORT / ALUMNI MAGAZINE