2019 President’s Report
Innovation for a Better Future The Clarkson Legacy
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Innovation for a Better Future: The Clarkson Legacy To see the future for Clarkson, we have looked to the past and tried to answer one simple question: “Why have so many Clarkson graduates been so successful in their lives?” How do we then scale those educational attributes to provide all of our students with the enhancements needed to accelerate their careers and attain their aspirations? Prospective students who want to lead with purpose and create sustainable solutions now choose Clarkson to get what no other university is delivering in the same way, at the same scale, to all students: a transformative learning and research ecosystem that stretches the boundaries of business, engineering, science and technology to drive innovation for a better future. Throughout the 2019 President’s Report, we highlight examples of the ongoing legacy of Clarkson faculty, students and alumni. Their collaborations across academic disciplines, cultures and industry sectors impact the quality of life in our local, national and global communities. To further demonstrate how Clarkson’s legacy of innovation endures, we are again inserting with the 2019 President’s Report a reprint of our Ignite Annual Report. This publication reflects the University’s renewed momentum in the evolution of how we prepare every Clarkson graduate with an entrepreneurial mindset and an innovation skill set to explore, create and understand that there is a better way to achieve what’s next. Coupled with the new Innovation Hub, located in the heart of the Potsdam hill campus (see page 22), #ClarksonIgnite supports the next generation of innovation leaders who will continue the extraordinary legacy to add economic and societal value that creates a better future for all. Tony Collins President
Contents 7
2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
10
12
23
Clarkson Awarded Nearly $1 Million NSF Grant to Reduce Bias in STEM Clarkson implements the STEM Leadership, Equity and Advancement of Faculty project, designed to effect positive institutional change.
16
Elevating Teacher Education through Innovative MAT Programs Clarkson proves its commitment and adaptability to new ideas and technologies for teacher education.
27
20
36
22
38
26
42
10
Practical Rigor: Shaping Tomorrow’s Innovators When faculty ask students to solve real-world problems, classroom learning shifts to application.
12
Engineering Healthy Water Solutions Clarkson and SUNY ESF partner to combat complex and emerging challenges.
Clarkson’s Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries: Igniting STEM for All Ages The water research hub supports collaboration and creativity through citizen science, user-inspired R&D and K-12 education programs. Clarkson in Space From NASA to the Conrad Foundation, Reunion weekend showcases Clarkson's connections to space.
Igniting Creativity and Supporting Innovation Ignite provides the Clarkson community with ways to explore, challenge, innovate, design and accelerate within our ever-evolving world.
Home of Champions Cheel Campus Center and Arena renovations are underway.
34
Clarkson’s Golden Knights: Where Community Involvement Goes Into Overtime The men’s and women’s hockey teams stand out — on and off the ice.
Paul M. Grant ’60: The Early Days of Clarkson’s Legacy of Innovation IBM executive says Clarkson gave him the chance to succeed when other colleges looked the other way. Campus Collective: Smart Housing, VR Dome and Greenhouse Innovation is central to living and learning on Clarkson's Potsdam campus.
32
Clarkson Hosts 2019 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Clarkson plays host to the competition and other events that show off the North Country to hundreds of anglers and fans.
Clarkson Helps Lake Placid Go Green to Get Gold Professor Erik Backus ’97 and a group of Clarkson students help the Olympic region gain its LEED Gold certification.
ON THE COVER:
Visit Clarkson Online
Professor Thomas Holsen and postdoctoral researcher Fiona Mosely collect samples on the Raquette River on Clarkson’s Potsdam campus.
Go to clarksonmagazine.com to view the digital version of this issue of Clarkson magazine and access multimedia extras and more information. CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 1
Ken Solinsky ’71: Innovation Legacy Begins With Skates?
May 27, 1971 clipping from the Toronto Globe and Mail
Gas-powered roller skates were just the beginning for Ken Solinsky ’71, but what an interesting beginning they were. After affixing a differential mechanism to the heels of roller skates, Solinsky ran a flexible shaft to a gasoline engine mounted to a backpack, essentially allowing the gas to power a gear mechanism that turned the wheels of the skates. It was a spur-of-the-moment pre-SegwayTM invention that garnered Solinsky international accolades when this Clarkson story hit the AP Wire. While a fun invention, he deemed it more an undergraduate project that allowed him to gain a bit of notoriety before heading down a different path—one that he couldn’t have predicted he’d take, but was thankful he did. After graduation, Solinsky went onto a rewarding career at the U.S. Army’s Night Vision Laboratory as production engineer and project manager for military night vision image intensifiers and thermal imaging systems. Later, he went into private industry, creating a company that would become the nation’s leading developer and producer of night vision and electro-optical systems for the individual warfighter. Most recently, Solinsky used his expertise to design a unique GPS-style containment and tracking collar for dogs (SpotOnCollar.com) featured as a Top 5 product in WIRED’s Best Tech and Accessories for Your Dog and a Consumer Electronic Show (CES) honoree award winner.
President Collins Named to Higher Education Power 50 Clarkson President Anthony G. Collins was honored as one of the 50 most powerful New Yorkers working in higher education by City & State New York. The inaugural Higher Education Power 50 list focuses on the achievements of institution leaders, their influences in policymaking and their connections to key city and state government officials. Collins is Clarkson’s 16th president and a wellknown regional and national advocate for higher education.
CLARKSON TODAY
4,300 CLARKSON STUDENTS
2 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
95+
UNDERGRAD AND GRADUATE PROGRAMS
5
NEW YORK LOCATIONS + ONLINE
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 4,300 students across 95 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 CLARKSON AWARDED NEARLY $1 MILLION NSF GRANT TO REDUCE BIAS IN STEM Clarkson University recently received a $999,934 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to reduce bias in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) through the STEM Leadership, Equity and Advancement of Faculty (STEM LEAF) project. STEM LEAF is designed to effect positive institutional change by reducing implicit or unintentional bias associated with gender, race, ethnicity, country of origin, sexual orientation and disability. The project also aims to implement sustainable, systematic changes across the University in support of these goals. Funds will be used to support academic leaders and female STEM faculty in developing inclusive leadership skills, as well as to train female STEM faculty in self-advocacy, negotiation strategies and other areas. The grant will also fund oral history interviews with Clarkson female STEM faculty as part of a larger research project. “We should see more success for our faculty as a whole as they are supported in advancing
their careers and, if seeking such, in moving into leadership positions within and external to the institution,” says Clarkson Provost Robyn Hannigan. “Because of the success and diversity of our faculty, students will see role models and will gain confidence in remaining in STEM, whether by earning a PhD and joining the faculty at Clarkson or another university or by supporting and mentoring others who are entering STEM.” The NFS grant was secured by a team comprising Hannigan and Paynter-Krigman Endowed Professor in Engineering Science and Director of the Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR) Stephanie Schuckers; Dean of the Wallace H. Coulter School of Engineering and Tony Collins Professor of Innovative Engineering Culture William Jemison; Associate Professor of History Laura Ettinger; and Associate Professor of History and Social Documentation, Chief Inclusion Officer Title VI, IX, ADA and 504 Coordinator Jennifer Ball.
OO L
ERING • ISE • O INE TH ER G EN
ARKSON SCH
ENGINEERING — 58% | SCIENCES — 15.5% | BUSINESS — 13.25% | CLARKSON SCHOOL — 8% | OTHER — 3.25% | LIBERAL ARTS — 1% | INSTITUTE FOR A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT — 1%
BU
• CL
FIRST-YEAR MAJORS:
LIBERAL A RT S•
SS
CLASS SIZE — 790 FEMALE — 30% | MINORITY — 18% | UNDERREPRESENTED — 13%
SC
ES • NC IE
NE SI
•
Class of 2023 Profile
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 3
Academic Achievements
Ruth Baltus
Evgeny Katz
Ruth Baltus, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, received the American Chemical Society (ACS) Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences, sponsored by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Inc. The award recognizes significant accomplishments by individuals who have stimulated or fostered the interest of women in chemistry, promoting their professional development as chemists or chemical engineers. Evgeny Katz, the Milton Kerker Chair in Colloid Science in the Department of Chemistry & Biomolecular Science, was
Rebecca Martin
awarded the International Society of Electrochemistry’s Katsumi Niki Prize for Bioelectrochemistry 2019 for his outstanding contribution to the fields of bioelectrochemistry, biosensors, bioelectronics, biofuel cells and biocomputing. This is the first time a Clarkson faculty member has received this highly competitive international award and only the third time a United States-based professor has won it. Rebecca Martin, clinical associate professor of physical therapy, has been selected as chair-elect for the Degenerative Diseases Special Interest Group of the Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy. Martin will serve in this
Goodarz Ahmadi
Jan Scrimgeour
Paolo Bollella
position until July 2020, when she will become chair. Goodarz Ahmadi, Robert H. Hill Professor of Mechanical Engineering, was elected fellow of the American Society of Thermal and Fluids Engineers, which promotes the science and applications of thermal and fluids engineering and related disciplines. Paolo Bollella, a postdoctoral fellow research associate in the Department of Chemistry & Biomolecular Science, was recently awarded the prestigious Minerva Prize for the Scientific Research – Merit Mention for the achievements made during his doctoral
thesis based on the study of “Mediated/Direct Electron Transfer of Redox Protein for Biosensors and Biofuel Cells Applications,” which focuses on self-monitoring technology. Jan Scrimgeour, assistant professor of physics, was awarded a CAREER grant from the National Science Foundation. The $541,591 will be used for his project, “CAREER: Understanding the Structure and Function of the Endothelial Glycocalyx Through Single Molecule Visualization,” which focuses on the role of flowing fluid in defining the structure and function of the blood vessel wall.
Two More Receive Goldwater Scholarships Honors students Michael Chirgwin ’20, a chemical engineering major, and Margaret Dedloff ’20, a biology and history double major, were named 2019 Goldwater Scholars. 2019 marks the 20th consecutive year that Clarkson Honors Program students have received Goldwater Scholarships. Since the first award was given in 1989, 41 Clarkson University students have received this highly coveted award. No college or university in New York has had more Goldwater Scholars in the past three years than Clarkson. And, of more than 4,000 institutions nationwide, Clarkson is in the top 1% of institutions with the most Goldwater Scholars in the years over past five years.
41
Goldwater Scholars
Michael Chirgwin ’20 and Margaret Dedloff ’20
4 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
20
SPOTLIGHT
Provost Robyn E. Hannigan
Hannigan Joins Clarkson as Provost New provost Robyn E. Hannigan does not accept the phrase, “It’s impossible.” With three successful startups and nearly two decades of higher education experience, Hannigan knows that if she doesn’t have the exact answer to a problem, her students definitely do. “In all sectors, we need people who are willing to take risks,” says Hannigan. “Clarkson has a reputation in STEM for being innovative, being entrepreneurial and training a different type of student — one with the confidence necessary to take a risk.” That “venturesome” confidence is exactly what led Hannigan and her teams in prior roles to develop patents and technologies to solve real-world problems. The first technology to be developed fixed an analytical chemistry instrument communication issue and resulted in Hyphenated Solutions. Her second startup, GeoMed Analytical, developed medical application technologies geared toward solving issues like infertility. Both startups (and their accompanying patents) were sold to major international corporations. “Both began because we had a research project that needed an analytical solution, such as a new tool, to be able to do something, so we invented the technologies,” says Hannigan. “That’s why I love higher education. There is so much freedom to decide that, today, I’m going to work on this problem, but, tomorrow, I’m going to tackle this other one.” Before coming to Clarkson, Hannigan was the founding dean of the School for the Environment
at the University of Massachusetts Boston. An active and prolific researcher and mentor, she has garnered over $30 million in external funding and produced over 100 peer-reviewed publications. Her previous positions also include program officer for the National Science Foundation, as well as several faculty appointments at UMass Boston and Arkansas State University. And, while she’s taking on a major leadership role at Clarkson, she plans to still interact with students through the student government or other groups, or maybe teach a class. As a first-generation college student, Hannigan is excited to continue her academic career at Clarkson. She has plenty of areas she wants to focus on, including the Center of Excellence in Healthy Water Solutions, Clarkson’s collaboration with SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and other health initiatives. “I’m also really passionate about health sciences because of the intersection between engineering and health,” says Hannigan. “That intersection is a place where Clarkson has the ability to compete and lead. Our nation needs us to move in this direction because no other institution has the type of talent we have in this combination.” Other plans include supporting overall research growth and helping elevate the exposure Clarkson students and faculty have to the global arena. “I also plan to work with faculty to propel Clarkson forward with its academic programming,” says Hannigan. “The capacity is already here. Let’s harness it!”
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 5
Elevating Teacher Education Through In
6 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
MASTER OF ARTS IN TEACHING
novative MAT Programs By Kristen A. Schmitt
Over the last few decades, classroom technology has evolved from the simplicity of chalkboards to the complexity of online discussions and mobile apps. That evolution is critical to meeting the needs of current and future students, which is why Clarkson’s Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program is built on change. The commitment and adaptability to new ideas and technologies puts the MAT program — and Clarkson — at the forefront of teacher education. The MAT program, which is based at Clarkson’s Capital Region Campus (CRC), is licensure-endorsing and geared toward New York state teacher certification at the secondary level (grades 7-12) in biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, technology (K-12), mathematics, business (K-12), English to Speakers of Other Languages (K-12), English, social studies, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Latin, Russian and Spanish. The program also offers additional coursework for extended foreign language teaching certification for firstgrade teachers and certification in other disciplines for fifthgrade teachers. Clarkson is one of two schools to offer Chinese language teaching certification in the state. This year, Clarkson became the first university in New York to receive the full seven-year
accreditation from the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) for the MAT, MAT in English to Speakers of Other Languages and the Certificate of Advanced Study in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages programs. “Because of the uniqueness of our programs, we found we were a round peg in a square hole,” says Catherine Snyder MAT’96 (UGC), chair of Prof. Catherine Snyder MAT’96 (UGC) education. “AAQEP allowed us to identify our own framework for accreditation “We modeled our and to be evaluated based extended full-year upon those standards.” residency after similar That framework incorporates National Board Certification pathways that lawyers, standards, which are the doctors and other standards for teachers in the nation. In fact, according to professionals take into Snyder, only 1% of New York their fields, providing state teachers are nationally students with a really board-certified, and 15 faculty within Clarkson’s MAT intentional, mentored program have this certification. experience.” “The National Board PROF. CATHERINE SNYDER standards are integrated into the Clarkson program and have become our standard of excellence,” says Snyder. “Nationally, only about 30% of teachers who pursue this rigorous certification achieve it,
(l) Clarkson faculty bring energy and excitement to students in the MAT program. CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 7
and, among our alumni, those who do are successful.” And the MAT program is continuing to grow — thanks to its reputation as a leader in teacher education and its distinct residency-based program, which requires students to complete a yearlong internship in the classroom and prepares future teachers in a way other programs in the country do not. “We modeled our extended full-year residency after similar pathways that lawyers, doctors and other professionals take into their fields, providing students with an intentional, mentored experience,” says Snyder, who works to build and maintain strong relationships with 18 area schools to provide this benefit to MAT students. Alumni also play a critical role, with many serving as mentors to students during their residencies.
Clarkson graduate student Tatiana Johnson teaches students at Troy Middle School in Troy, New York, where she started her residency. She will finish in a full-time paid position with Schenectady City School District, Schenectady, New York.
Chuck Smith MAT’07 (UGC) with mentee Tatiana Johnson.
100%
18
school partnerships for internship placement
15
NATIONAL BOARD-CERTIFIED FACULTY
8 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
job placement rate in the last 3 years
OVER
$3 MILLION in scholarship grants over the last 10 years
MASTER OF ARTS IN TEACHING
“Since Union Graduate College merged with Clarkson, we’ve grown steadily, adding faculty, administrative support, a recruiter,” says Snyder. “We’ve really benefited from the commitment that Clarkson makes to supporting teacher education, and, because of the Clarkson name, we’re getting more recognition, attention and interest in the Northeast, and nationally as well.” A second career in teaching STEM can be rewarding. Learn more at clarkson.edu/education.
Clarkson graduate student Yao Xu (r) with mentor Sophia Hsia MAT’14 (UGC).
Yet, while advantageous for teacher preparation, residency-based programs boast proven benefits over other types of programs in terms of certification and retention results. “We have a 93% retention rate in the industry, which means that, after five years, 93% of our alums are still in the classroom,” says Snyder, pointing out that the national average ranges between 50% for high-need schools and 80% for low-need schools. “And our grads are going into every kind of school imaginable.” The average first-time pass rate on the New York State Teacher Certification Examinations for Clarkson MAT program alums is 90% to 95%, and, for the past three years, 100% of MAT graduates have been hired by the September following graduation. Snyder anticipates that the program will only get better.
Yao Xu teaches a Chinese language class during her full-year residency at Tech Valley High School in Albany, New York.
95%
pass rate on New York State Teacher Certification Examinations
1st
UNIVERSITY IN NEW YORK to be accredited by the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation
93%
RETENTION IN THE LAST 5 YEARS
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 9
A group of Clarkson students brainstorm ideas for their entrepreneurship class in the Innovation Hub.
Practical Rigor: Shaping Tomorrow’s Innovators
Prof. R. John Milne
10 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Taking one class can really change your life — especially at Clarkson. Students in R. John Milne’s invention development and protection course learn how to solve real-world problems that go beyond textbook case studies or university lectures. Instead, Milne prepares students to think outside the box and apply classroom knowledge. “Our students can solve these problems individually as well as anybody,” says Milne, Neil ’64 & Karen Bonke Associate Professor of Engineering & Management. “However, many realworld problems have
contexts that don’t match the textbook. A good solution may require creativity and involve multiple disciplines.” Milne, who has filed over 40 patents, uses the classroom as a place to learn and strategize, pulling expertise from his 26-year career at IBM and developing and applying operations research methodologies to complex decision problems in supply chain management. During his course, students work in teams to decide what problems they want to solve. From there, Milne guides them through refining their ideas with research and brainstorming, project planning, prototyping and patenting. Teams then work with individuals in the Clarkson community — faculty, staff and alumni — who can offer specialized expertise.
STUDENT-LED INNOVATION
“I thought the process was really cool — how you take an idea, then develop it into something and file a patent for it.” – CORDELL SZOT ’19,
co-inventor of Bow Holder
“John Milne’s class taught me so much about invention, including the importance of protecting those inventions.” – MARLEY MORRILL ’19,
co-inventor of Water Vessel Protection System
“Be bold! Take chances. And if it doesn’t work, fix it!” – NEIL BONKE ’64,
former CEO of Electroglass
(l-r) Marley Morrill ’19, Matt Hornak ’19 and Jake Elliott ’19 invented a water vessel protection system that includes automatic deployment and retraction of fenders to protect a boat.
“For some problems, the necessary expertise is even beyond our campus,” says Milne. “Prior teams have contacted and received helpful information from a Cornell professor of dairy physiology, the director of the Tennessee Aquarium and a person who wrote a book on avalanche survival.” 37 undergraduates For these projects, Milne filed 15 patents acts as facilitator and mentor, — U.S. PATENT OFFICE setting expectations and advising on roadblocks students may encounter, much like a senior engineer or R&D manager would in the corporate world. “My favorite questions to ask students are, ‘Why?’ ‘Why not?’ and ‘If your life depended on [blank], what would you do?’” says Milne.
2019
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 11
s n o i t u l o S r e t a W y h t l a e H g n i Engineer
MISSION
To generate solutions that help protect and improve waters for sustainable natural environments, healthy populations, resilient communities and sound economies. VISION
To ensure a healthy and sustainable future through the protection and conservation of water resources. 12 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
s
HEALTHY WATER SOLUTIONS
nce
le l e c x E f o r e t n e C S son Launches NY
Clark
By Kris Ross
WATER: In the U.S., it’s a natural resource often taken for granted. When we turn on our taps, we expect clean, healthy water to meet our basic needs. However, declining water quality is an escalating problem, both domestically and globally. Industrial waste, agricultural runoff and population spikes along waterways and coastal areas are among the many culprits endangering our water resources. Clarkson University’s sustained focus on healthy world solutions, combined with world-class technical, innovation and engineering expertise in healthy water systems, is the foundation essential to counteracting these issues. And we stand poised to do just that — with great impact through an unprecedented group of partners. Clarkson and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) launched New York state’s new Center of Excellence (CoE) in Healthy Water Solutions in 2019. Clarkson’s technical
Early morning water quality investigation on the Raquette River on Clarkson’s Potsdam campus (opposite page). Prof. Michael Twiss, graduate student Faith Isowamwen and postdoctoral researcher Fiona Mosely (below left). Prof. Selma Mededovic and graduate students work in the plasma lab in CAMP (below right).
expertise, combined with ESF’s extensive experience in monitoring, watershed ecosystem management and natural solution development, creates a unique alliance that positions the CoE to build and leverage partnerships across public-private sectors. Clarkson and ESF are developing a collaborative model to deploy experts and students to deliver technology innovations and research-based solutions to local partners. The students and experts will take on complex challenges like emergent issues related to climate change in local aquatic systems and water infrastructures. “Climate change is wreaking havoc on our lakes and waterways in Central New York,” says New York State Senator Rachel May, who helped to secure state funding for the CoE. “The increased presence of harmful algal blooms, coupled with
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 13
“Climate change is wreaking havoc on our lakes and waterways in Central New York. The increased presence of harmful algal blooms, coupled with our aging infrastructure, endangers the future health of our waters. It is critical that we invest in practical and innovative solutions to these complex problems.” – RACHEL MAY, New York State Senator
(l-r) Postdoctoral researcher Fiona Mosely and graduate students Rui Li and Faith Isowamwen collect algae for analysis. 14 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
our aging infrastructure, endangers the future health of our waters. It is critical that we invest in practical and innovative solutions to these complex problems.” The CoE will work with state government agencies and affected municipalities to address problems related to both emerging and traditional contaminants, as well as aging water management systems ill-equipped to handle our changing needs around water quality. Focusing on minimally disrupting the natural environment, researchers will work to develop early warning systems to monitor, model, predict and avoid threats before they become issues. The CoE will also fine-tune management practices and ecosystem design to improve the resilience of New York’s water assets. “New York state — and especially our Central New York region — has abundant water resources to manage and safeguard,” says Assemblyman Al Stirpe. “The recent designation of the Clarkson-ESF Center of Excellence in Healthy Water Solutions will bring innovation and momentum to advancing publicprivate collaboration across sectors to address critical water infrastructure and aquatic systems protection that is needed here and around the nation.” New York-designated CoEs, administered through Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR), foster collaboration between the academic research community and the business sector to develop and commercialize new products and technologies, promote critical private sector investment in emerging high-technology fields throughout the state and create and expand technology-related businesses and employment. This program was created to enhance and accelerate CoE operations, facilitating joint university-industry research and development, product commercialization and workforce training. “We appreciate the tremendous bipartisan support from Gov. Cuomo, his executive team and our senators and assembly representatives to advance healthy water solutions with partners across the state through a Center of Excellence,” says Clarkson University President Tony Collins. “The national and statewide sense of urgency to protect our valuable water resources has never been greater. This opportunity is a testament to Clarkson’s sought-after thought leadership, best practices for sustainable, healthy water and impactful solutions that lie within the expertise of our renowned faculty.”
HEALTHY WATER SOLUTIONS
Making Waves in Water Research New Viability-Based Control Method and Early Detection Tools for Invasive European Water Chestnut (Trapa natans) in New York State
Engaging Communities to Advance Hydrologic Science
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
Ben Galluzzo
Shane Rogers STUDY AREA: Hudson River near
Beacon, New York Using aerial and underwater photography, Professor Shane Rogers is establishing growth rates, nutrient uptake dynamics and the life cycle of chestnuts. The goal is to make recommendations for the timely removal and effective management of invasive chestnuts to support recreation and restoration of ecology. Clarkson’s Beaconbased staff are coordinating a citizen science effort to support this research. In September, staff and volunteers collected several dozen end-season samples of plants and seeds in various growth stages. Rogers and his undergraduate research assistant, Caitlyn McAfee ’22, will analyze the plant matter and seeds for nutrient content absorbed from the Hudson River. Using Clarkson’s anaerobic digester, Rogers is also conducting experiments to stabilize chestnut seeds. Based on data from these samples, a comprehensive observation, data collection and sampling plan will be developed for the 2020 season.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
Tyler Smith CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: CO-INVESTIGATORS:
Seema Rivera, Asher Pacht STUDY AREA: Hudson River near Beacon, New York
Nicknamed HydroComm, this project is a collaboration across Clarkson’s Potsdam, Capital Region and Beacon campuses. Led by Professor Tyler Smith, an interdisciplinary team of partners includes students from the Master of Arts in Teaching program, a graduate lab assistant and K-12 and public community members. The group aims to develop community engagement in hydrology through citizen science and participatory modeling, which has been shown to enhance scientific impact. The goal is to improve hydrologic models and motivate STEM education through community engagement across the Clarkson footprint. Planning will continue throughout 2019, with training and fieldwork beginning in early 2020.
Fishkill Creek, New York
Experimental Investigation of Carbon Dioxide-Induced Acidification on the Physiological Performance of the Invasive Mystery Snail (Cipangopaludina chinensis) From Northern New York PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
Andrew David STUDY AREA: Raquette River and Fishkill Creek, New York
Professor Andrew David is studying the effects of future climate change scenarios on the health of representative specimens of the invasive Asian mystery snail and comparing it with that of native species from New York state waterways. The goal is to predict specific climate change impacts on stream ecology, to identify management strategies for invasive snails and to make recommendations for sustaining native snail ecology and populations.
In Situ Groundwater Remediation of PFAS PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
Michelle Crimi ’95 Professor Michelle Crimi is focusing on eliminating toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in groundwater — a major source of drinking water. PFAS, which includes perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), are synthetic chemicals used in food packaging, nonstick cookware, water-repellent clothing and stain-resistant carpets. To help remove PFAS compounds from underground water, Crimi is developing an in situ technology that uses ultrasound waves to break down or neutralize contaminants. She and her team are using horizontal wells to capture water — eliminating expensive and energy-intensive pumping — and funnel it into a treatment reactor. CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 15
1
2
3
Clarkson’s Beacon Institute: Igniting STEM for All Ages By Kris Ross
16 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
1) Students participate in River of Words, a nature-based workshop designed to increase English language arts and science proficiency. 2) Education Program Manager Brigette Walsh MAT'19 teaches a lesson to students from the Newburgh Enlarged City School District. 3) The Beacon Institute's Water Ecology Center on Denning's Point.
Nestled in the trees on the banks of the Hudson River, Clarkson’s Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries is a multidisciplinary resource for academic programs, user-inspired research, citizen science and public education helping to advance science, promote environmental literacy and inform long-term public policy. Working closely with the New York State Center of Excellence in Healthy Water Solutions team (see page 13), the Beacon Institute — led by President and CEO Michael Walsh ’03, MBA’09 — specializes in the study of rivers and estuaries, which are unique ecosystems where fresh and saltwater meet. “Our goal lies in developing transformative and sustainable solutions to ensure healthy freshwater and estuary ecosystems throughout the Hudson Valley, across New York state and beyond,” says Walsh. One study out of the Beacon Institute seeks to solve the vexing problem of nutrient management in coastal and freshwater systems.
“Nutrient-related problems, such as harmful algae blooms and invasive water chestnuts, threaten the security of our public and private water resources, aquaculture and agriculture productivity and natural water ecosystems,” says Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering Shane Rogers. “Nutrient problems are intimately tied to agricultural pollution, runoff from urban environments and both distributed and municipal human waste management, among other sources. “Current solutions are expensive and energy-intense,” he continues, “leading to reduced social welfare and promotion of greenhouse gas emissions and associated global warming.” However, nutrients are a valuable resource that can be recovered from waste. The location of the Beacon Institute’s research and education facilities on Denning’s Point — the 64-acre peninsula where the Institute’s Water Ecology Center is located — provides a perfect
test bed. Standing patches of invasive water chestnuts interface on one side of the peninsula with discharge from the City of Beacon’s wastewater treatment plant and, on the other side, with the confluence of the Fishkill Creek, which carries both urban and agricultural runoff to the Hudson River. Based on measurements conducted by Rogers’s research group, more than four metric tons of nitrogen and over a halfton of phosphorus can be recovered from these water chestnuts each year. Through anaerobic digestion, they can yield more than 22,000 m3 of methane gas that can be used for combined heat and power. “We are faced with the great challenges associated with mitigation of global climate change, maintenance of healthy water systems and improvement of food, water and energy security for our growing population,” says Rogers. “Reimagining solutions that are regenerative, economically sustainable and beneficial to social opportunity requires a shift in how we approach civil infrastructure. We must also cultivate creative thinking in STEM disciplines because it fills an urgent need for the scientific community, society at large and tomorrow’s workforce.” Prof. Shane Rogers
Asher Pacht working with students during A Day in the Life of the Hudson and Harbor Program.
EARLY EXPOSURE TO STEM IS KEY TO THE FUTURE The Beacon Institute, which became part of Clarkson in 2011, is not only a research hub, but also an education center that is providing early exposure to STEM. Through K-12 outreach and community programs, the Beacon Institute bridges the gap between the scientific community and the general public. It ignites citizen science, user-inspired research and development, and education through collaborative and creative innovation via robust programming for both children and adults. “New York and the U.S. face a shortage of millions of STEM workers,” says Asher Pacht, director of environmental programs. “We aim to inspire young people to enjoy, pursue and stay in the sciences by
integrating enrichment programs with realworld experiences and the arts.” Through partnerships with local school districts, Clarkson offers several hands-on learning experiences that are grounded in fieldwork and research methods and are aligned with K-12 New York state learning standards. Younger students, through the River of Words program, learn about Hudson Valley ecology and natural resource protection, while gaining proficiency in English language arts and science. High school students participating in the Watershed Education Through STEM program spend one day in the field using equipment and gathering samples and data and one day in the lab analyzing the samples, collating data and publishing results. Students from the Oakwood Friends School, Poughkeepsie, New York, participating in fieldwork at Denning’s Point.
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 17
“Through these programs, we are leveraging earlier interaction with prospective students,” says President Tony Collins. “By engaging them in STEM-focused activities and giving them a signature Clarkson experience, we hope to pique interest and strategically grow our student body to fill jobs in these high-need fields.” As Next Generation Science Standards roll out in school districts across the Hudson Valley, Pacht’s team focuses on supporting real-world, project-based learning opportunities in and out of the classroom. They also connect Clarkson faculty with K-12 teachers to help build the skills necessary to meet the new standards through professional development programs like Hands-On, Minds-On: Modeling Across STEM Disciplines. In this teacher training program funded by the New York State Education Department, Clarkson faculty train science and math teachers to use modeling effectively in their lessons.
GROWTH DEMANDS EXPANSION In addition to K-12 education-focused programs, Clarkson’s Beacon Institute also offers community programming and houses the Master of Science in Engineering Management (MSEM) program. Overall increased interest in the Beacon Institute’s programs means a need for more space to accommodate its initiatives. “We are fortunate to have a solid, long-standing partnership with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, which allows us to house our research facility steps away from the Hudson River,” says Walsh, executive director of the MSEM program. “What’s more, we have the opportunity to expand our facility and make an even greater impact.” With a new capital project, set to break ground in the coming year, Clarkson is poised to achieve a fully operational campus and vastly expanded learning opportunities
in the Hudson Valley and beyond. Upon full build-out, an adjacent abandoned paper clip factory will be transformed into 40,000 square feet of modern classrooms, meeting and office spaces, advanced lab facilities for water-related research and a new welcome center with hands-on exhibits for park visitors — all overlooking the park and the Hudson River. Beacon’s proximity to corporate partners and New York City makes it a strategic location to enhance Clarkson’s reach by expanding our geographical presence. “The Beacon Institute will have further opportunities to provide expanded citizen science and environmental and educational programming for all ages, as well as more K-12 STEM-focused public programming,” says Walsh. “In addition, the University will be able to offer more graduate programs for professionals and grow the current MSEM program, with hopes of offering undergraduate programs in the near future.”
Future water research labs at the Beacon Institute. Exterior drawing of the new Clarkson facility on Denning's Point with the solar array parking structure (bottom).
18 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Expanding Clarkson’s Footprint in the Hudson Valley
$1 Million Grant to Address STEM Teacher Shortage
• A technically advanced classroom.
The shortage of workers in STEM fields isn’t just affecting industry; throughout the country, high-need schools are facing a shortage of STEM secondary teachers. To help address this shortage, a team of five Clarkson professors has been granted more than $1 million through the National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program. Over the next five years, the grant will be used to help 20 high-achieving science and math undergrad students become science and math teachers in high-need districts, with a focus on developing cultural competence to better serve students in urban and rural areas. Under the direction of Professor Seema Rivera (STEM education), Professors Katie Kavanagh (mathematics), Michael Ramsdell ’97, MS’98, PhD’04 (physics), Jan DeWaters PhD’11 (engineering) and Ben Galluzzo (mathematics/STEM education) are working to better prepare future teachers and retain a talented and effective STEM education workforce through their program, STEM Up NY. Scholars receive $20,000 to fund their undergraduate senior year and an additional $20,000 to apply toward completing their Applications for Master of Arts in Teaching. In addition, they will receive extensive this scholarship support in preparing for and securing their first teaching are currently being positions. In return, the students will commit to spending four accepted; this years teaching in a high-need district. The first cohort of Noyce award is expected scholars includes Kaylee Turner ’19, Luke Moore ’19 and Meghan to end in 2024. Whitehead, who are pursuing certification to teach mathematics, and Emily Holodak, who will teach earth science. “We know there’s a shortage of teachers in high-need urban and rural schools, where they also tend to have high turnover rates,” Rivera says. “We also know that many Clarkson students stay in STEM fields, but some realize that they also love working with people and want to become teachers. Those are the students this program was created for.” Rivera is based in Schenectady at Clarkson’s Capital Region Campus and holds an appointment with the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries. She specializes in equipping education graduate students with multidisciplinary, 21stcentury teaching and learning practices to ensure K-12 students are prepared for success in future careers. Her research includes developing effective pedagogy for K-12 STEM education and increasing watershed education and other STEM enrichment programs offered through the Beacon Institute.
• A new welcome center that will feature historical and ecological exhibits.
(l-r) Professors Katie Kavanagh, Jan DeWaters PhD’11, Seema Rivera, Michael Ramsdell ’97, MS’98, PhD’04, and Ben Galluzzo.
Several portions of the Beacon campus capital project have already been completed, including the Denning’s Point Road Bridge rehabilitation and Shoreland Trail improvements. Next, a solar array, parking garage and public pavilion will be constructed, along with the renovation of an abandoned twostory, 40,000-square-foot former paper clip factory. This building will transform into the new Hudson Valley Clarkson University campus, home to our Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries. This capital project is twofold. Upon full buildout, Clarkson students will have access to a world-class learning environment and the highest caliber of faculty, staff and facilities. In addition, a state-of-the-art laboratory will serve as a central hub for advanced research to support the New York state-designated Center of Excellence in Healthy Water Solutions (see page 12). Research will center around emerging contaminants, invasive species, best practices for resilience planning and more. Phase I will create: • Administrative offices and workspace for staff, faculty and researchers.
Phase II will complete the campus with: • Two additional classrooms. • A flexible field station/research space. • A multipurpose space for conferences, events and expanded programming. • Technology and equipment for each space.
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 19
2019 REUNION SPEAKERS
CU in Space
Michael Sarafin ’94
20 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Reunion weekend is always a popular event wellattended by Clarkson alumni. This year’s highlight was “CU in Space,” the keynote presentation by Clarkson graduates and friends connected to NASA. A standing-room-only crowd heard from Meyya Meyyappan PhD’84, chief scientist for exploration technology at the NASA Ames Research Center; Michael Sarafin ’94, NASA Artemis mission manager; and Nancy Conrad, founder and chair of the Conrad Foundation, which is named in honor of her late husband Charles “Pete” Conrad Jr., commander of Apollo 12 and the third man to walk on the moon. The Conrad Foundation has recently partnered with Clarkson to offer a unique scholarship opportunity for high school students passionate about innovation and entrepreneurship. Finalists from the Foundation’s Conrad Challenge will be offered a Conrad Challenge Scholarship at Clarkson, valued at $60,000 over four years. Finalists who enroll and pursue their degrees at Clarkson will have special access to Clarkson’s university-wide innovation ecosystem, Clarkson Ignite, and scholarship recipients will be able to access Clarkson’s award-winning network of resources for entrepreneurs and new ventures. They will also receive the Foundation’s support in advancing the most promising projects presented by Challenge finalists each year. Clarkson will offer this scholarship to the 2018-19 Conrad Challenge finalists. All other participants in the Conrad Challenge can apply to Clarkson to receive a Spirit of Innovation Scholarship, valued at $12,000 per year for four years. Learn more about the Conrad Challenge by visiting conradchallenge.org/conrad-challenge.
NASA/REUNION
SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COUNCIL Clarkson has established a Scientific Advisory Council to advise Clarkson’s President and to ensure that long-term research investments are both wise and strategic. Sanjeev R. Kulkarni ’84, MS’85, Dean of Faculty and William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Electrical Engineering, Princeton University (Co-Chair) Robyn E. Hannigan, Clarkson University Provost (Co-Chair) Meyya Meyyappan PhD’84, Chief Scientist for Exploration Technology, NASA Ames Research Center (Nanotechnology)
Kenneth S. Solinsky ’71, Managing Member, Rochester Precision Optics (Optics) Bruce W. Stillman H’18, President and CEO, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (Molecular Biology and Genetics) Gregory L. Verdine H’19, Erving Professor of Chemistry, Harvard University; President and Chief Executive Officer, FogPharma and LifeMine Therapeutics (Biomedical))
EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS
Lisa A. Napolione ’87, Senior Vice President, Global R&D, The Estée Lauder Companies Bayard D. Clarkson Sr., MD, H’74, Member, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Anthony G. Collins, President, Clarkson University
Lawrence J. Delaney ’57, MS’58, President, CEO and Chairman (retired), Areté Associates (Aerospace)
2019 Reunion speakers Nancy Conrad (l) and Meyya Meyyappan PhD ’84 (r).
Thomas Zacharia PhD‘88
Thomas Zacharia PhD’88 was recently elected a full member (Academician) of the International Academy of Astronautics in the Engineering Sciences section. He received his PhD in mechanical engineering from Clarkson and presented the first New Horizons in Engineering Distinguished Lecture. He currently serves as the director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), leading 5,000 staff members, scientists and engineers in physical sciences, computational sciences,
energy and engineering sciences. ORNL is actively engaged in space power systems, producing Pu-238 and iridium cladding for deep space missions. He led the team that established U.S. leadership computing facilities and is currently leading the U.S. Exascale Computing Project. He also stewards ORNL’s role in ITER, one of the most ambitious energy projects in the world today. He serves on a number of advisory boards, is the co-author of more than 100 publications and holds two patents. CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 21
Igniting Creativity and Supporting Innovation
22 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
At the Potsdam campus, Clarkson recently opened the doors to its brandnew Innovation Hub, which is open to all students and faculty for creative collaboration and innovation. Located at the heart of campus, the Innovation Hub will function as a social and academic meeting space where brainstorming, prototyping, collaboration and general creativity can flourish. The goal? To equip each student with an entrepreneurial mindset and innovation skill set that will prepare them for the future. Innovation occurs where business, engineering, science, technology and creativity intersect. Clarkson Ignite, which is the catalyst for exploring, creating and achieving what’s next, produces graduates who can connect across all disciplines to create extraordinary economic and societal value that will keep communities — and businesses — thriving.
IGNITE
“Clarkson Ignite gives Clarkson students a significant advantage when they graduate, preparing them for a lifetime of achievement. We are opening new spaces and adding new high-impact programs to ensure that we continually improve student — and faculty — success.” – ERIN DRAPER ’03, MBA’14 Managing Director
The Innovation Hub is centrally located so that students, faculty and staff have easy access to its resources. CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 23
Second Annual President’s Challenge The goal of the 2018-19 President’s Challenge — an annual competition to ignite innovation among the Clarkson student body — was to envision how the Internet of Things (IoT) could make our communities better. Students were challenged to design and demonstrate a physical product prototype or a compelling conceptual design that incorporated IoT functionality while improving the community. Professors Michelle Crimi ’95 and Jan DeWaters PhD’11 incorporated the challenge into their first-year classes, encouraging students to come up with innovative ideas to create community change.
“Iggy: The Telepresence Robot” was the winning solution in the inaugural President’s Challenge. Designed by Kati Murphy ’21, Jacob Merritt ’21 and Matthew Hawthorne ’19, Iggy is an autonomous robot that allows users to “attend” tours, meetings and more from the comfort of their home or business. Iggy has been used by alumni and prospective students for meetings and mentoring.
Members of the second annual President’s Challenge winning team: (l-r) Managing Director Erin Draper, David Russell ’20, Nikolas Lamb ’19, Damon Gwinn ’19, Adam Romlein ’19 and President Tony Collins. Clarkson Community category — Out of the Ether
Global Community category — TraffickStop
North Country Community category — ChemoSense
Clarkson Community category — Smart Housing
24 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
IGNITE
Ignite Research Fellowship Program Collaboration can happen at many levels. Through the Ignite Research Fellowship Program and generous donations from alumni, Clarkson professors compete for research funding for projects aimed at impacting society nationally and internationally. Successful teams use the funding to recruit and support highly talented PhD students for up to five years. During the second consecutive year, 50 faculty members from 17 academic departments entered 23 separate proposals. Out of the 23, 12 made it to a “Shark Tank” style competition, and, ultimately, five teams won.
Bob ’78 and Marcy Ziek – Ignite Research Fellowship winners:
Taeyoung Kim (CBE & ISE), Stefan Grimberg (CEE) and Shane Rogers (CEE) — Healthy World Solutions: “Harvesting Valuable Resources During Food Waste Anaerobic Digestion Using an Electrochemical Ammonia Separation Process” Karel Czanderna ’77 and Dan Shirkey ’80 – Ignite Research Fellowship winners:
Silvana Andreescu (CBD), Stefan Grimberg (CEE) and Dhara Trivedi (Physics) — Advanced Materials Development/Healthy World Solutions: “Advanced Materials Design for Preventing Water Eutrophication” Sitaraman Krishnan (CBE), Taeyoung Kim (CBE & ISE) and Dhara Trivedi (Physics) — Advanced Materials Development/Healthy World Solutions: “Solar-EnergyDriven Water Deionization Using Photoactive Conjugated-Polymer Nanocomposite Electrodes”
2019
RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
23 proposals 50 faculty 17 departments
2019 Ignite Research Fellowship-funded collaborative teams
Lawrence ’57 and Antoinette Delaney – Ignite Research Fellowship winners:
Sumona Mondal (MATH) and Shantanu Sur (BIO) — Healthy World Solutions/Data & Complex Systems Analytics: “Rheumatoid Arthritis in the Rural Setting: Elucidating the Impact of Comorbid Conditions, Socioeconomic Factors and Access to Health Care on Disease Outcome” Rajan ’82 and Ragini Raghavan – Ignite Research Fellowship winners:
Amir Mousavian (E&M), Lei Wu (Stevens Ins. Tech) and Golshan Madraki (Reh) — Data & Complex Systems Analytics: “GraphTheoretic Cyberattack Propagation Modeling & Robust Prevention & Mitigation Approaches in Interconnected Power & Electric Transportation Systems”
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 25
26 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
CHEEL CAMPUS CENTER & ARENA
Home of Champions Cheel Renovations Support Tradition of Excellence On and Off the Ice
larkson’s zeal for continual innovation has spread to the Cheel Campus Center & Arena, home of NCAA Division I (D-I) hockey champions, the Golden Knights, and the front door for the University’s community outreach. The 4,000+ capacity multipurpose arena looks a bit different this fall, as construction crews have worked hard all summer to give the nearly 30-year-old rink a major facelift.
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 27
CHEEL CAMPUS CENTER & ARENA
The reception area and D-I weight room in the Cheel Campus Center & Arena.
“Updating the arena helps Clarkson provide the best possible facilities for its leading hockey teams while also creating an updated, energy-efficient space for students and the rest of the local community to use.” – MATT DRAPER ’02, MBA’03
Vice President for Development & Alumni Relations
28 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Thanks to hundreds of generous donations from alumni and friends — and a $3.45-million 3:1 matching grant from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York through the NYS Higher Education Capital Matching Grant Program — phase one of the multiphase project began in July. “The rink will have a brand-new floor and new mechanicals for ice production so it’s more energy efficient,” says Matt Draper ’02, MBA’03, vice president for development & alumni relations. The project, which will be implemented over several construction phases to ensure the space is partially functional at all times, is expected to be fully completed by April 1, 2020. The newly renovated arena will be one of the venues for the Adirondack North Country Global Sports Committee in the 2023 World University Games. Phase one expands the front to encompass athletic and wellness facilities — including a climbing wall sponsored by John '59 and Rosemary Munter as an extension activity of the Munter Trails. The upper level of Cheel will be renovated to include a dedicated space for a new Student Professional Development Center, where students will have the opportunity to acquire hands-on construction engineering
management experience. A portion of the facilities department will move to the upper level, freeing up space at the downtown campus for further economic development. Cheel’s large conference rooms will also be upgraded so that students and community members can more efficiently use the space to host meetings and events. On the main level, a state-of-the-art collegiate fitness facility, for use by the entire campus community, is being built. It will serve approximately 4,000 students, faculty and staff. Nearly 50 studentathletes from the men’s and women’s hockey teams will also have access to cutting-edge training facilities and fitness equipment on the basement level. “Updating the arena helps Clarkson provide the best possible facilities for its leading hockey teams,” says Draper, “while also creating an updated, energyefficient space for students and the local community to use.” The renovation is an ongoing project and includes additional plans to upgrade the scoreboard, seating and Main Street. Interested in adding your name to Cheel and showing your Clarkson pride? You can name a seat, a stall — or even a locker room. Contact Director of Athletics Scott Smalling at ssmallin@ clarkson.edu for more information.
ATHLETICS
Yianoukos Retires as Clarkson University Athletic Director Steve Yianoukos ’72, a constant within Clarkson’s athletics department since 1984, retired this June as one of the longestserving collegiate athletic administrators in the country. At Clarkson, he had the unique role of serving both D-I and D-III sports. During his tenure as director of athletics (200519), the department saw unprecedented growth, most notably in women’s sports, with three national championships in women’s hockey and four Elite 8 appearances in women’s volleyball. He was also
instrumental in adding softball to the list of varsity offerings at Clarkson. Under his direction, the athletics department has had 26 NCAA tournament appearances, hosted five NCAA volleyball regional tournaments and three NCAA women’s hockey tournament games, and won five United States Collegiate Ski & Snowboard Association (USCSA) national championships in Nordic and Alpine skiing. Since 2005, the men’s and women’s hockey programs have won five regular-season ECAC championships and
three ECAC tournament championships. Cheel Arena hosted two ECAC women’s hockey tournament championships in 2017 and 2018, and Clarkson won the past three, in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Over the past 15 years, both the D-I and D-III programs have produced 34 student-athletes who achieved All-American status — some with multiple honors — and Loren Gabel ’19 won the 2019 Patty Kazmaier Award for women’s hockey. Best of luck, Steve, on your retirement! Let’s Go Tech!
Long-time Athletic Director Steve Yianoukos ’72, pictured here with his wife, Joyce, and President Collins, will always be a Golden Knight.
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 29
Golden Knights Hockey
1
Winners of three NCAA championships (2014, 2017, 2018) in the last six years, Clarkson has secured a place among the most dominant programs in the history of NCAA D-I women’s hockey. The Golden Knights closed out another impressive season in the 16-year history of the highly successful program with a 30-8-2 record, including a 16-5-1 ECAC Hockey mark this winter. The Green and Gold won their third straight ECAC Hockey tournament championship title, hosted their fourth NCAA postseason game at Cheel Arena, defeated Boston College 2-1 in overtime and advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four for the fourth consecutive year. Six Knights — Loren Gabel ’19, Elizabeth Giguere ’20, Michaela Pejzlova ’20, Josiane Pozzebon ’19, Kassidy Sauve ’19 and Ella Shelton ’19 — were selected to the ECAC Hockey All-Star team. Gabel and Giguere were also named FirstTeam All-Americans. Giguere, a top-10 finalist for the
2
3
4
1) Ana Witkowski ’19, 2) Charlie Maitland ’19, 3) Thomas Daigle ’21 and 4) Sarah Duclos ’19
NORDIC AND ALPINE TEAMS SKI TO VICTORY During the 2018-19 season, the Golden Knights Alpine and Nordic ski teams dominated in the USCSA. The Clarkson women’s Nordic skiers won their third team title in the past four years, and a fifth overall championship this winter, while the men — after five straight years in third place — edged up to second overall in the Nordic skiing championship. Clarkson’s men’s Alpine skiers earned a fourth-place showing in the USCSA championship slalom event. Thomas Daigle ’21 on the Alpine team and Ana Witkowski ’19, Sarah Duclos ’19 and Charlie Maitland ’19 on the Nordic team earned national honors. Maitland and Witkowski were named Google Cloud/CoSIDA Academic All-Stars, while Duclos was awarded the prestigious Frederica Clarkson Award, which is presented to one of the two top students in Clarkson’s graduating class.
Nordic skiing photos by Connor Koehler; Alpine photo provided by Clarkson Athletics
30 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Loren Gabel ’19
Photo by Jim Meagher
ATHLETICS
2014 | 2017 | 2018 Women’s Hockey
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
The women’s hockey team celebrates their 2019 ECAC hockey championship.
Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, was also selected as USCHO.com’s Player of the Year. Gabel, who also earned ECAC Hockey Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive season, became the second Knight to be awarded the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award as the nation’s top player in women’s hockey and joined Jamie Lee Rattray ’14 on the prestigious list. Meanwhile, Clarkson men’s hockey skated to its 74th winning season in 2018-19 with a 26-11-2 overall record, including 13-7-2 th CHAMPIONSHIP in the ECAC. The Golden Knights, Men’s hockey team ranked 8th who have earned in the nation by 10 conference — USA TODAY/USA HOCKEY MAGAZINE COLLEGE HOCKEY POLL
6 ECAC
regular-season crowns during the program’s illustrious 97-year history, won their sixth ECAC Hockey tournament championship and made their second straight — and 22nd overall — showing in the NCAA tournament this season. Clarkson was ranked eighth in the country in the final USA Today/ USA Hockey Magazine College Hockey Poll. Four Knights — Haralds Egle ’20, Jake Kielly ’19, Aaron Thow ’19 and Nico Sturm ’19 — were named to the ECAC Hockey All-Star team. Devin Brosseau ’19 was honored as ECAC Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year, and Casey Jones was named ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year. Kielly was a top-5 finalist for the Mike Richter Award, presented to the nation’s top goaltender. For the second consecutive season, Sturm was selected as a First-Team ECAC Hockey All-Star and the league’s Best Defensive Forward; she was also named a First-Team All-American and a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Sturm, with the Minnesota Wild, and Kielly, with the Vancouver Canucks, signed NHL contracts after the conclusion of their junior seasons.
2019 ECAC men’s hockey champions show off the Whitelaw Cup.
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 31
CLARKSON HOSTS
2019 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series In June, Clarkson hosted the final stop in the 2019 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops. Over 300 collegiate anglers took to the St. Lawrence River from June 19 to 21 to compete during the warm summer days for some of the best fishing in the world and a chance at advancing to the national championship. Two Golden Knights — Clarkson Bass Fishing Club founder Ben Seaman ’19 and member Dante Piraino ’21 — reeled in seventh place in the Northeast Ben Seaman ’19 and Dante Piraino ’21 with Regional Competition and President Tony Collins after taking 7th place. continued on to the national championship, where they finished among the top 50. The Northeast Regional Competition drew 149 teams from across the country, filling the St. Lawrence River with fishing boats in the nearby town of Waddington.
32 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Before and after the day’s fishing, teams headed to Clarkson’s Potsdam campus for informal social gatherings, food and presentations by faculty from Clarkson and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, who are conducting long-term research on the St. Lawrence River. The St. Lawrence River, which was recently named the best bass fishery in the nation by Bassmaster Magazine, left many of the competitors awestruck at the size of local smallmouth and largemouth bass in the large freshwater river. “The St. Lawrence is not only healthy right now, but seems to be showing off,” said James Hall, editor of Bassmaster Magazine. “There have been years where a spirited internal debate was required to assign the top spot in the rankings. This year was easy after looking at the unbelievable weights being produced at the upper St. Lawrence River. And on top of that, the scenery is stunning. If you are looking for the best angling experience in the country right now, the St. Lawrence River should be your next destination.”
Bass 2.0 A trio of Clarkson University bass anglers claimed victory in an inaugural collegiate bass fishing tournament hosted by the University at Buffalo in Sodus Bay on Lake Ontario. David Crandall ’20, Nate Perrotta ’20 and Dante Piraino ’21 claimed first place in the University at Buffalo 2019 College Open, while a second Clarkson team of Hunter Stone ’21 and Jarrett Phinney ’22 finished seventh in the competition. A first-of-its-kind college competition, the July tournament was a trial run for a possible New York collegiate tournament trail. “This tournament was a resounding success for the club,” said Crandall, vice president of Clarkson’s Bass Fishing Club. “Not only were we able to compete and win a tournament on a body of water that none of the teams had fished before, but we were involved with the creation of this new tournament trail.”
Clarkson’s Commitment to Community Clarkson continues to positively influence the North Country through its annual economic impact of more than $344.7 million, which involves institutional operations and jobs related to supporting student success and commercializing research. The University also brings renown visitors from around the world to our campuses and community by hosting events like the 2019 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series and ice events for the upcoming World University Games in 2023. All of these things help to keep New York’s North Country thriving!
“As a private, nationally ranked technological research university and innovation incubator, our expanding corridor of academic, research and community influence stretches from Potsdam to New York City,” says President Tony Collins. “We focus on bringing research, thought leadership and innovation together to create tangible commercial value and entrepreneurial growth and to benefit society at large.”
clarkson.edu/best-bass
TOP BASS FISHING SPOT
Although founding member and president Ben Seaman graduated in 2019, other members, like Crandall, are working toward an ambitious club future, especially following recent successes that have garnered national attention for both Clarkson and the Bass Fishing Club members. “The spotlight is still on us, but we need to strike while the iron is hot and continue this success. This fall, we have a busy tournament schedule; we are hoping to bring as many anglers as possible out on the water and to continue representing our club well,” Crandall said. “Throughout the winter, we will be planning various seminars to continue to inspire and educate our anglers, as well as to host community events promoting the sport of fishing.”
THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER says Bassmaster Magazine after record weigh-ins at the 2019 collegiate tournament hosted by Clarkson CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 33
SKATING IT FORWARD
Clarkson’s Golden Knights: Where Community Involvement Goes Into Overtime By Kristen A. Schmitt
Lil’ Knight
Skates laced tightly, Devin Brosseau ’19 (MBA candidate) carefully wields his hockey stick, making a perfect tape-to-tape pass to a fellow Golden Knight with practiced skill. As captain of Clarkson’s men’s hockey team, Brosseau understands the importance of his role: leading the team to victory — both on and off the ice. Like his fellow hockey players, Brosseau divides his time between athletics, academics and community service — a practice that’s become synonymous with Clarkson University. “We try to get involved especially in K-12 schools,” says Brosseau of the men’s hockey team. “We participate in the Positivity Project at Potsdam Elementary School,
speaking to groups of students about positive qualities and presenting ourselves as good role models.” For Brosseau and his teammates, a natural extension of their commitment to Clarkson and the Golden Knights is being active in causes that benefit both the community and their fellow students. However, it’s unusual to have a D-I team be so visible in the community. “When we recruit potential studentathletes, we look at who they are beyond the ice,” says Matt Desrosiers, head coach of Clarkson’s women’s team. “We want our players out there, becoming role models for everyone — not just the girls, but the boys, too.” For the women’s team, some of those activities are organized through the Lil’ Knights Club, which is geared toward children aged 12 and under and incorporates regular interaction between elementary
Taylor Sawka ’22 (l) and Ella Shelton ’20 (r) with two Lil' Knights Club members in Halloween costumes.
“We want our players out here, becoming role models for everyone.” – COACH MATT DESROSIERS
Photo by Jim Meagher
34 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
COMMUNITY SERVICE
“We are setting an example of what Clarkson should be and what it looks like on and off the ice and in the classroom. For us, it’s showing that example in everything we do.” – JOSH DUNNE ’22
Devin Brosseau ’19 skating with future Golden Knights.
school-aged kids and the women’s hockey team. Ella Shelton ’20, a junior defense on the women’s team, has participated in many communitybased events, both in Potsdam and the surrounding communities, during her time at Clarkson. “Interacting with the community is incredibly important to me,” says Shelton. “They’re so supportive of what we do that it makes it that much more important to be out there in the schools, at the events, interacting with the kids. They’re looking up to you.” And, with three NCAA championships (2014, 2017, 2018) for the women’s team and 10 conference regular-season crowns for the men’s — along with countless other accolades for individual players — there’s plenty for the next generation to emulate. Dedicating time to helping others in the community brings paying it forward to another level — a golden level.
“Community service is part of the Clarkson culture,” says Casey Jones, head coach of Clarkson’s men’s team. “We vet the process with character at length. Once they check the boxes on the ice, we look at what they’re like off the ice.” And the players are just as visible on-campus as they are off. Josh Dunne ’22, a sophomore center on the men’s team, and his fellow Golden Knights make a point of helping firstyear students move in: carrying boxes and bags into residence halls and answering questions. “We’re really humbled and fortunate that we have support from our classmates, from the community,” says Dunne. “We are setting an example of what Clarkson should be and what it looks like on and off the ice, in the classroom. For us, it’s showing that example in everything we do.”
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 35
Paul M. Grant ’60: The Early Days of Clarkson’s Legacy By Kristen A. Schmitt
Paul M. Grant
“My boyhood heroes were Albert Einstein and Joe DiMaggio. ... It turned out, my talents in math and science superseded my skills ‘at bat.’” – PAUL GRANT
36 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
At an early age, Paul M. Grant ’60 learned how to ask questions. He didn’t necessarily want to know why things worked, but how. This curiosity paved the way toward an impressive career, first with IBM and, later, with EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute), but it almost didn’t happen. While Grant had the highest IQ in his grammar school and spent his early teens breadboarding oscillator and amplifier instruments under the guidance of his father, an IBM technician and ham radio pioneer, he lost his academic focus during his last two years of high school, choosing to concentrate on his hobbies instead. “My boyhood heroes were Albert Einstein and Joe DiMaggio,” says Grant. “I grew up as an only child in a working class family with a very tough Irish mom and a talented father who were both interested in how things were made and used. Because of this, I was driven to focus on both hard work and science for a long, long time in my life. It turned out, my talents in math and science superseded my skills ‘at bat.’” Grant, who originally hails from Poughkeepsie, New York, was expected to follow in the family footsteps of his cousin/ godfather Richard Whalen ’44 and attend Clarkson University, known as the Clarkson College of Technology back then. However, because of his poor academic performance during his junior and senior years in high school, his application was rejected — not only by Clarkson, but by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Union College, too. Fortunately, Grant had a plan B: getting hired at IBM. Back in 1948, IBM had a
different hiring philosophy than it does now. In order to apply for a job at the growing tech giant, first, you had to quit your other job. Grant says the company specified that anyone who wanted to work for IBM couldn’t be working at any other local place. Thanks to connections with some of his father’s ham-radio-operator colleagues, Grant was hired at age 17 during the last month of his senior year in high school. “Back then, everybody in the midHudson Valley wanted a job at IBM,” says Grant. “It was the paradigm of an ideal humanistic company where, if you worked hard, were loyal to the company and helped make profits, you had a job for life, and you were taken care of for life.” While he initially worked as a pinsetter in the bowling alleys of the IBM employee country club, once he graduated from high school in 1953, he was transferred to the mailroom of the Poughkeepsie Project High Laboratory, which housed the development effort for the first SAGE/NORAD parallel computer. Then, in 1954, at only 19 years old — and without a college degree — Grant was trained by IBM to become one of the first electronic technicians and system programmers on the Project SAGE XD-1, the world’s first supercomputer and prototype for NORAD. Grant transferred to the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, where he was recognized as an outstanding employee. Around 1956, one of Grant’s early managers pushed him to apply for IBM’s employee educational leave of absence to earn an engineering degree from one of New York’s universities. Grant reapplied to Clarkson, RPI and Union, but was, once again, rejected by all three. That is, until Clarkson’s Dean of Students F. Gordon Lindsey decided to take a chance on Grant — and made a phone call that changed the course of Grant’s life. Because Clarkson had lowered its admission standards to help veterans of the Korean War under the GI
y of Innovation Bill — and Lindsey recognized that Grant was by now of a similar age — he was offered the chance to attend Clarkson as a late admittee. “Dean Lindsey agreed to wave my former rejection if I could pass a trig test on the fly,” says Grant, “because I was about the same age as the veterans they were admitting.” Grant passed the test, and the rest is history. During his sophomore year at Clarkson, Grant got married and had his son, Geoffrey Paul — an interruption during his junior year — a year later. Yet, even those life milestones didn’t slow him down. A dedicated and focused student, Grant continued to work at IBM during the summers, conceiving a magnetoresistive device at IBM Poughkeepsie/Kingston between his sophomore and junior years, which resulted in his first patent and later morphed into the giant magnetoresistance read head in every hard drive on the planet today. He graduated from Clarkson with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (summa cum laude), leading his class in grade point average and receiving the Levinus Clarkson Award upon graduation. He went on to earn AM and PhD degrees in applied physics from Harvard University — all while continuing his research and development activities at IBM. “It’s hard to actually quantify what I owe Clarkson for giving me a chance,” says Grant, “and accepting me under the bar, given my miserable last two years of high school.” Throughout his post-Clarkson (and Harvard) career, Grant authored 15 U.S. and international patents and patent publications and more than 130 papers in peer-reviewed scientific and technical journals. He also discussed his research in over 250 presentations — many invited — at scientific conferences and academic institutions worldwide. He has been interviewed frequently on national and international TV networks worldwide on the subject of superconductivity and
future energy scenarios, appearing on Nova (PBS), Horizon (BBC) and 60 Minutes (CBS) and has been interviewed by major media such as The New York Times and The Times. Grant frequently contributes commentary, editorial and review articles to Nature and Physics World. He has advised members of Congress, as well as government officials in Japan and China, on energy policy. Among the most recent of his many honors was the first American Physical Society Distinguished Lectureship on the Applications of Physics and his appointment to the Clarkson Honors Council Advisory Board. Now, at the end of his career, Grant notes that being inquisitive helped lead him toward it all — toward continual innovation and the forthcoming rewards. He points out that innovation can’t happen if you sequester yourself away in your office or lab and encourages everyone to get out onto the factory floor and find the problems your skills can help solve. “To not do so limits your life contributions,” says Grant. “At IBM Research, whether in management or not, while we still had to carry out an independent research project, we were encouraged — and rewarded — for collaborating with our applied division colleagues to seek innovation in product development and manufacturing. “That’s what made IBM unique among its competitors — and what differentiates you from your colleagues at other competitive industrial institutions like AT&T Bell Labs … which now no longer exists and IBM Research does.”
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 37
Waste Not, Want Not Students Become Energy Savvy Living in Clarkson’s Smart Housing
38 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
CAMPUS CAMPUS COLLECTIVE COLLECTIVE
If you’ve ever wondered how much water you use when you shower or how much electricity you waste, you’re not alone. Measuring your resource consumption can be tricky. But, if you live in Clarkson’s Smart Housing project in Woodstock Village, you can actually calculate your usage, thanks to technological innovation that allows students to gauge their resource use and decrease their overall energy footprint. Working together, professors and students installed sensors and other elements that calibrate this type of data. Stephen Bird, associate professor of political science, and Kerop Janoyan, dean of the Graduate School, are two of the professors behind the project, which uses
feedback and monitoring systems to help students keep tabs on their energy usage. A digital dashboard tracks their electric and water consumption to motivate Smart Housing residents to consume less and conserve more. “Thanks to these sensors,” says Janoyan, “everyone will be able to tell at a glance how much water and electricity is being used in the residence hall. We can also measure the air quality and overall environmental comfort in the building.” “We want the students to identify what works for them,” adds Bird. “It’s not Big Brother watching over them. Rather, it’s helping them understand why they want to conserve, because people decide to conserve energy for a lot of different reasons.”
“If we can show students how much energy they use, if they see the impact of turning up the heat in winter or spending 15 minutes in the shower instead of five, we expect their behavior will change, dramatically.” — PROF. STEPHEN BIRD
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 39
VR Dome Brings Virtual Reality to the Clarkson Campus Virtual reality (VR) is often an individual experience, but not at Clarkson. While 360 video and animations are usually viewed through head-mounted displays like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, a new 360-projection VR dome now allows VR to be a collective experience — one that intertwines the physical and virtual worlds together and opens up new ways to share it. “This could take the form of immersive cinematic experiences or physicsdefying, theme-park-style virtual rides,” says Steven Pedersen, associate professor in communication, media & design, “but it’s also a way of creating compelling interactive visualizations to aid in scientific research and understanding.” The inflatable structure is entirely portable, allowing faculty to exhibit student projects on and off campus and bringing the VR projects produced by the digital arts and sciences program to a wider audience. “We’re only just starting to imagine what the potential is for these technologies, and it’s incredibly exciting that our students are part of this process,” says Pedersen. “The students are navigating and creating new modes of experience that will impact our understandings of art, entertainment and scientific enquiry.”
40 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
CAMPUS COLLECTIVE
Designed for ease of use, year-round growing and low cost while using best practices for sustainability and energy conservation, the plans for a new greenhouse were created by students in the Interdisciplinary Senior Capstone design class.
Clarkson’s Greenhouse Gets a Reboot for Students In the southwest corner of campus, near Cheel Campus Center & Arena, a small greenhouse is tucked away, awaiting revival. Built to house aeroponic plants in 2008, the structure is ready for new technology that students and faculty have been steadily innovating. Now, the student-driven restoration project, coordinated by Susan Powers ’83, MS’85, associate director of sustainability, director of the Institute for a Sustainable Environment and Jean ’79 and Robert ’79 Spence Professor in Sustainable Environmental Systems, has reached its denouement. “Our goal was to take it down to the foundation and use as much of the materials from the deconstruction process as possible and rebuild,” says Powers. The greenhouse design will lend itself to student collaboration.
Because the original structure was plagued with a nonfunctioning heating system — and a leaking rain collection system, and needed updated functionality in general — the process of getting to actual reconstruction was lengthy and incorporated many phases. Clarkson students diligently researched building materials and methodology to create a more resilient structure for North Country winters. They also polled student clubs, like the gardening and beekeeping clubs, to make sure that the renovated structure would meet their needs. They also consulted with faculty in the biology and engineering departments about many technical aspects. Actual deconstruction of the existing structure began in the summer of 2019, and the new design will no longer be divided into three or four different rooms, as it was for aeroponics. Instead, one large room will feature a large south-facing glass wall, so anyone curious can take a peek inside.
“The beekeeping club is going to have observational bee hives in there,” says Powers. “You’ll be able to go inside the greenhouse and see the bees. They’ll be in the wall like in a window.” While the reconstruction phase has taken a bit longer than was anticipated — the current structure is four walls with studs — Powers is hopeful that the roof and the first layer of Tyvek® will be added soon so they can start insulating the structure. She anticipates that reconstruction, including the installation of new efficient heating and lighting systems, will continue through the fall. The interior work is being completed as students return to campus, and students are assisting in figuring out tables, soil containers and more for the inside of the structure. As for when it will be available for student use? “We hope it will be useable this year,” says Powers, adding that the first year will be considered a test year, “to see where tweaks and improvements need to be made.”
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 41
The Lake Placid project began as an integrated research project for the Clarkson Adirondack semester in fall 2018.
Clarkson Helps Lake Placid Go Green to Lake Placid is adding green to its regular roster of red, white and blue. The Olympic village recently teamed up with Clarkson University to become LEED-certified. The U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED for Communities (LFC) program reached out to the village because it will be a host of the Winter World University Games in 2023. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a globally recognized certification process for sustainability achievement. LEEDcertified organizations commit to creating healthy, highly efficient and cost-effective green buildings through 42 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
the use of solar panels for renewable energy. They also incorporate water-efficient bathrooms, as well as strategically placed rooms and windows that utilize natural light and reduce the need for electricity. To help Lake Placid with the process, Mayor Craig Randall P’93 reached out to Clarkson’s Erik Backus ’97, the Howard E. Lechler Endowed Director of Construction Engineering Management and executive officer in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. Backus is the co-chair of the Market Leadership Advisory Board for USGBC New York Upstate and has
extensive experience in green building. He regularly coordinates student-led LEED Green Associate workshops, teaches courses on sustainability topics and encourages students and faculty to study and research topics across the spectrum of sustainability. This is the first time a university has helped a community achieve LEEDcertified status. “The Lake Placid project started as the cornerstone, integrated research project for the Clarkson Adirondack semester in the fall of 2018,” says Backus. “Since then, it’s continued to grow in different ways. For example, some students created a new business
SUSTAINABILITY
as a result with help from The Shipley Center for Innovation [see sidebar], and, this semester, students in Clarkson’s Honors Program will continue the work undergraduates began last year.” The New York Olympic Region (NYOR) Partnership is the first LFC program centered in a rural touristand Olympics-based economy, incorporating strong environmental policies from the Adirondack Park and combines four unique jurisdictions into a single partnership entity. “The Olympics have a strong eye toward sustainability, and becoming LEED-certified by one of the foremost green building groups in the world is something the village couldn’t pass up,” says Backus. Throughout the process, Clarkson students and Backus completed an analysis of NYOR’s sustainability efforts. They worked directly with the Village of Lake Placid, the Lake Placid Central Schools, the New York
Get Gold
Photo by Shaun Ondak
Downtown Lake Placid
By Kristen A. Schmitt
Prof. Erik Backus ’97
State Olympic Regional Development Authority and the Town of North Elba to achieve the steps necessary for the certification to be approved. The entire process is rigorous and can take six to nine months before the LEED-certification is either awarded or denied; however, Backus was optimistic that the village would achieve its certification, making it a great contender as the future host of Olympic sports. And he was right — Lake Placid recently received Gold status from USGBC. “This has been a sincere and truly rewarding experience for everyone
involved,” says Backus. “Clarkson enables faculty, staff and students to merge their passions with their professional vocations, academic careers and experiences to serve the greater good — not only for the institution, but also for the community. It’s the ultimate win-win-win opportunity.”
The Beehive team: (l-r) COO Paul Barber ’20, CFO Megan Flory ’21, CEO Louisa UlrichVerderber ’20 and President Ben Buck ’20.
Student Business Helps Create Sustainable Planning Programs Inspired by their involvement with Lake Placid’s LEED-certification, four Clarkson students have created a new business with help from The Shipley Center. Beehive Community Sustainability Consultants, comprising Louisa Ulrich-Verderber ’20, Ben Buck ’20, Megan Flory ’21 and Paul Barber ’20, helps rural and smalltown communities create pathways to sustainability through community engagement, data-driven planning and policy adoption. While many programs (like LEED-certification) are already in place to assist larger urban areas, Beehive concentrates their efforts on finding funding, implementing sustainability planning programs and identifying ways to make them accessible to all — no matter location or economic status — to improve the quality of life for their community members. Learn more by visiting their website at beehivecsc.com. CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 43
“I Chose to Live in a Nursing Home.” An Innovative and Intergenerational Learning Experience By Rebecca Brogan, graduate student It’s been almost two years since I began pursuing my master’s in occupational therapy. My experience has been unconventional, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Upon entering Clarkson’s Master of Science in Occupational Therapy program, I began looking for housing. One night, my mom told me about a segment she saw regarding a graduate student living in a nursing home. If there is anything anyone knows about me, it is my love for working with geriatrics. So, when I heard my mom explain this program, I had a gut feeling that this could work in my favor. An intergenerational program of this kind has never happened before in New York, making me wonder if this was even a possibility. After sending a letter to nursing homes in the area, I got a call from United Helpers in Canton. They had received my letter and were interested in implementing a program like this within their facility. We agreed I would spend 20 to 30 hours a month
doing activities with the residents in exchange for room and board. Living in a nursing home has allowed me to incorporate what I am studying in school into real-life interactions with residents. When learning new material, I can make connections between what my professor is teaching and things I have seen among the residents. Being able to incorporate that into my interactions with residents has helped me build strong connections. So, what does my average day look like? Well, I usually wake up pretty early to go to the gym on campus prior to class. Then, I attend class for a good portion of the day, usually making it back in time to have dinner with the residents. I catch up with the residents during dinner and then stay for an hour after dinner doing activities with them, like puzzles, ScrabbleTM, nail painting or just conversation. I end the day with a couple of hours of homework before I can finally relax, and then I wake up
and do it all over again the next day. I lead group activities throughout the week, focusing on both physical and cognitive aspects and incorporating both during the activities. It is a personal goal of mine to introduce new activities each month. Being able to hear feedback from the residents and staff makes me realize how important an intergenerational program is. I have had residents say that when they see my name on the calendar for an activity, to expect them there; that truly is the greatest thing to hear. This experience has taught me to take life day by day, to listen and let others vent without giving my own opinion, to value relationships with family members, to learn from my elders, to treat this population how I would want to be treated when I am that age, to find joy in little things and to always greet others with a welcoming smile.
“I lead group activities throughout the week, focusing on both physical and cognitive aspects and incorporating both during the activities. It is a personal goal of mine to introduce new activities each month. Being able to hear feedback from the residents and staff makes me realize how important an intergenerational program is.” 44 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Photos by Christopher Lenney/Watertown Daily Times
Graduate student Rebecca Brogan talks with a resident at Maplewood Health Care and Rehabilitation Center in Canton, New York
CLARKSON CONFIDENT
The Science of Sports: Optimizing Athletic Performance with Data As a record-setting swimmer during her time at Clarkson, Kristen Larsen ’08, MS’10, knew it was important to find a career that merged her passion for athletics and technology. Fortunately, thanks to a myriad of classes that ranged from engineering, to biology, to neuroscience, to kinesiology, as well as professors “who truly moved my needle,” Larsen has done just that. Today, she’s an applied sports scientist with Athos, a sports performance technology company that merges biometric sensors with high performance clothing to capture muscle activity and help coaches make impactful training decisions. “A sports scientist’s job is to interpret and then translate the data in the context of the sport, timing of the season, position, injury history, practice type, etc.,” says Larsen, who holds a bachelor’s in biomolecular science with a physical
“I believe Clarkson grads are extremely valuable in the workplace as we can put our brains on really hard problems and don’t give up when the answers don’t come easily (in fact, that motivates us even more.)” – KRISTEN LARSEN ’08, MS’09
“The more classes I took, labs I worked in and mentors I spoke to, the more I realized the potentials that were out there,” says Larsen. “By the end of my four years, I had honed in on the experiences that helped me actually understand what I liked doing and how this little passion for innovation and the human body could come together in the real world.” She particularly found her time working in the CREST (Center for Rehabilitation Engineering Science and Technology) lab during grad school rewarding. “Through my lab experience in grad school, I got to think about what problems really mattered and to focus on the ones that we believed could make the biggest impacts,” says Larsen. “This experience taught me how to ask the right questions, have strategic focus, create short and long-term goals and think about problem-solving at a whole new level.”
Kristen Larsen (center) and team at Athos.
therapy concentration and a master’s in biomedical/ medical engineering. “As a group, we are a mix of people with backgrounds spanning strength and conditioning, math, data science and biomechanics and more who work to interpret data collected from the body, more specifically around training and competition.” Larsen’s time at Clarkson prepared her well for this position. While she selected Clarkson so she could continue her competitive swimming career — Larsen still holds the swim team record in the women’s 200 breast stroke event — she was equally enamored by the full range of academic opportunities in which she could engage.
While her career has taken her across the country to San Francisco, lessons Larsen learned during her time at Clarkson still hold true. Knowing how to frame a problem, use critical thinking and stay motivated were all skills that she gained during her time at Clarkson, and that she still applies daily. “I believe Clarkson grads are extremely valuable in the workplace as we can put our brains on really hard problems and don’t give up when the answers don’t come easily (in fact, that motivates us even more),” says Larsen. “Anyone who can tread through the snow to get to the Bagelry (in downtown Potsdam) has to be determined, have some master plan and feel humbled each freezing step of the way.” CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 45
Clarkson University Trustees
BACK ROW, FROM LEFT: Raymond L. Skowyra Jr. P’11, W. Ashley Twining ’82, Kathleen H. Cline ’85, Robert A. DiFulgentiz ’76, David K. Heacock ’83,
Cody A. Rosen ’13, Charles R. Craig, Kenneth S. Lally ’79, Lawrence D. Kingsley ’85, Dennis G. Weller ’71, John S. Mengucci ’84, Earl R. Lewis ’66
MIDDLE ROW, FROM LEFT: Stephen D. Ryan ’87, Peter J. Devlin ’80, Sanjeev R. Kulkarni ’84, Robert R. Ziek Jr. ’78, Lisa A. Napolione ’87,
Lauretta M. Chrys UGC’98, James W. Ransom ’88, Kenneth V. Camarco ’85, Robert A. Campbell ’61, Michael Maresca P’18
FRONT ROW, FROM LEFT: Simoon Cannon ’97, Judith J. Foster, Thomas L. Kassouf ’74, Bayard D. Clarkson Sr. H’74, Jean E. Spence ’79,
Anthony G. Collins, Frank R. Schmeler ’64, P’91, P’93, Amy E. Castronova ’04, Jody A. Markopoulos ’93
NOT PICTURED: Carolyn A. Brandsema ’80, Bayard D. Clarkson Jr., Daniel C. Heintzelman ’79, Georgia Keresty ’83, Rajan Raghavan ’82, Nancy D. Reyda ’81, David A. Walsh ’67
NEW TRUSTEES
Simoon Cannon ’97 Cannon, an entrepreneur, chemical engineer, publisher and logistics expert, is the founder and president of Melanina, LLC and a senior associate at Stillwater Associates, a transportation fuels consulting firm. She will serve on the Academic Mission and People Priorities committees. 46 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Kathleen H. Cline ’85 Cline is the founder and president of KTC Construction and the founder of Cline and Co., a real estate development and construction company. She will serve on the Academic Mission and Financial Affairs committees.
John S. Mengucci ’84 Mengucci is president and CEO of CACI International Inc., a global provider of expertise and technology, serving enterprise and mission defense, intelligence, and federal civilian customers. He will serve on the Financial Affairs Committee.
Vision of a Clarkson Education
OFFICERS
Thomas L. Kassouf ’74 Chair
Anthony G. Collins University President
Stephen D. Ryan ’87 Vice Chair
Bayard D. Clarkson Sr., MD, H’74 Distinguished Vice Chair
Georgia Keresty ’83 Secretary
Kelly O. Chezum ’04 Assistant Secretary
Robert A. Cree
Anthony G. Collins President Clarkson University
Charles R. Craig
Rajan Raghavan ’82
Peter J. Devlin ’80
President & CEO Fish & Richardson PC
Managing Director & COO of Technology Bank of New York Mellon
Robert A. DiFulgentiz ’76
Cody A. Rosen ’13
President & COO Koch Chemical Technology Group
David K. Heacock ’83
Treasurer
TRUSTEES
Daniel C. Heintzelman ’79
Vice President, 737 Engineering (Ret.) The Boeing Company
Kenneth V. Camarco ’85
Founder & President Boundless Breakthroughs, LLC
Robert A. Campbell ’61
CEO, Asia Pacific Region (Ret.) Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd.
Simoon Cannon ’97
Founder & President Melanina Organics, LLC
Lauretta M. Chrys UGC’98
Executive Vice President & COO, Distribution Consumer Banking Citizens Bank
Vice Chairman (Ret.) General Electric Co.
Thomas L. Kassouf ’74 President (Ret.) Snap-on Tools Group
Georgia Keresty ’83
Global Head, Medical Sciences & Development Operations Takeda Pharmaceuticals R&D
Lawrence D. Kingsley ’85 Director Berkshire Partners
Sanjeev R. Kulkarni ’84
Dean of the Faculty Professor, Electrical Engineering Princeton University
Kenneth S. Lally ’79
Bayard D. Clarkson Jr., MD
Owner & Director SimuTech Group
Bayard D. Clarkson Sr., MD, H’74
Earl R. Lewis ’66
Private Practitioner
Member, Molecular Pharmacology/Chemistry Sloan-Kettering Institute-MSKCC
Kathleen H. Cline ’85 President KTC Construction
Sr. Vice President, Global Research & Development The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
Sr. Vice President Science & Technology, Administration & Operations Corning Incorporated
Sr. Vice President & Manager (Ret.) Texas Instruments Silicon Valley Analog
Carolyn A. Brandsema ’80
Lisa A. Napolione ’87
Chairman of the Board Flir Systems Inc.
Jody A. Markopoulos ’93
Chief Transition Officer Baker Hughes, a GE Company (BHGE)
John S. Mengucci ’84 President & CEO CACI International Inc.
Founder, President & CEO The Fabric
Nancy D. Reyda ’81
Executive Vice President Kimco Steel
Stephen D. Ryan ’87
Sr. Vice President, Wealth Management, The Ryan Group Merrill Lynch Private Banking and Investment Group
Frank R. Schmeler ’64, P’91, P’93 Chairman (Ret.) Albany International Corp.
Raymond L. Skowyra Jr. P’11 Technology Business Strategy Consultant Summit Associates
Jean E. Spence ’79
Executive Vice President (Ret.) Research, Development & Quality Mondelēz International Inc.
W. Ashley Twining ’82 President Viking-Cives Group
David A. Walsh ’67
Executive Vice President & COO (Ret.) United Therapeutics
Dennis G. Weller ’71
Chairman of the Board Structural Associates Inc.
The Clarkson University educational experience is designed to provide talented and ambitious students with the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve positions of leadership within their chosen profession. The combination of Clarkson’s strong, technologicallyrich curricula and state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities, coupled with an unparalleled commitment to a friendly learning environment and to students’ personal development, uniquely prepares Clarkson graduates to excel in their chosen professions and to lead rewarding and creative lives. In addition to attaining mastery of the core knowledge within his or her field, a Clarkson education is designed to enable students to: • solve real-world, open-ended problems with creativity and risk-taking to obtain solutions that are practical and sustainable, including those they encounter in state-of-the-art research under the direction of distinguished faculty; • develop and refine exceptional communication skills with an awareness of potential cultural differences; • lead effectively and work productively within disciplinary and multidisciplinary teams composed of members with diverse interests and backgrounds; • excel in using computing and information technologies; • learn through instruction and guidance by nationally recognized faculty whose commitment to both teaching and research has made Clarkson a nationally ranked university. A Clarkson student’s education is greatly enhanced by a personal and friendly learning environment, within a small, residential, nationally recognized University, which: • places students at the center of the educational process and where all employees have a commitment to creating an environment that contributes positively to students’ overall educational experience; • draws undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and staff together into a cohesive and stimulating learning community, wherein an atmosphere of scholarship and spirit of research is cultivated; • uses our campus as a living laboratory to improve learning and uses the wider region to broaden and extend Clarkson’s outreach and service; • provides personal advising and interaction with faculty and staff as well as supportive relationships among students; • offers many leadership opportunities through cocurricular groups and activities; • respects and learns from its community of diverse people, backgrounds and cultures. Together, these provide a unique educational experience that is directed toward developing the whole person. CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 47
Clarkson University Financial Report Balance Sheet as of June 30, 2019 2019 2018
Assets Cash and equivalents Accounts receivable, net Pledges receivable, net Investments Notes receivable — students, net Other assets Property and equipment, net Total Assets
$12,345,318 $14,262,519 8,219,930 8,991,223 5,126,321 4,062,374 205,373,199 200,342,109 7,514,208 8,784,577 3,307,879 4,803,007 203,479,060 192,572,793 $445,365,915
$433,818,602
Liabilities and Net Assets LIABILITIES
Accounts payable/accrued expenses Other liabilities Outstanding debt Total Liabilities
$22,227,458 40,918,134 74,107,512 $137,253,104
$19,650,795 49,564,694 73,848,118 $143,063,607
NET ASSETS
Without donor restriction With donor restriction
$138,185,558 169,927,253
$118,588,826 172,166,169
Total Net Assets
$308,112,811
$290,754,995
$445,365,915
$433,818,602
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS
Volume MMXX / Number 1 / January 2020 Printed in USA Marketing & External Relations 315-268-4483 PUBLISHER AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Kelly O. Chezum MBA’04 MANAGING EDITOR
Kristen A. Schmitt
DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE SERVICES & PROJECT MANAGEMENT
David Homsey DESIGNER
Renée Holsen EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTORS
Michael P. Griffin MS’00 Patricia Lane Kris Ross
PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY
Steven Jacobs
Jennifer Sampson Kristen A. Schmitt Alison Power
clarkson.edu CLARKSON is published two times per year by Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY 13699. Circulation: 46,500 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. FOLLOW US:
PHOTOGRAPHY CONTRIBUTORS
Shannon DeCelle Stephen Langdon Christopher Lenney
Jim Meagher Shaun Ondak Anna Sirota
48 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
clarkson.edu/social
Total giving FY19 to Clarkson
$21,600,669
3,756
+1,000 alums returned to campus between Reunion and COGO
Loyal Supporters
652 living members in Annie Clarkson Society
Class of 2019 Leadership Level Total/ Increase over 2018
131
+18%
Total giving to Clarkson Fund
Number of donors in FY19
$3,600,000
7,714
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY / 49
DEVELOPMENT OPERATIONS
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID POTSDAM, NY PERMIT NO. 78
Box 5510, 8 Clarkson Avenue Potsdam NY 13699
Honored for his steadfast commitment as service dog to Brittany L. Hawley ’19, Griffin received an honorary diploma during the commencement ceremony, proving that sometimes Golden Knights can be golden retrievers.
50 / 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Clarkson is committed to sustainability. PrintReleafTM provides a way to measure, offset and verify the successful reforestation of the paper consumed in the printing of this publication.