ESF Alumni News - Summer 2016

SUMMER

2016 SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 219 Bray Hall, One Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210-2785

✹ Save the Date : : October 18 ✹

Reunion/Fall Weekend : : October 7–9

See page 27, The Dale L. Travis Lecture Series

See pages 16 and 17 for more information!

Spread the Word….about ESF and the Alumni Ambassador Program! he Alumni Ambassador program, where alumni are trained to represent ESF at college fairs across the country, is a great way to get involved. Over the past year, our Ambassadors were able to assist the Admissions Office by participating in over 43 college fairs across the country. We would love to reach even more students this year, but we need your help to do it!

If you are interested in helping us spread the word about ESF, then we would like to invite you to become part of the growing Alumni Ambassador network.

All you need is a couple of hours once or twice a year, and a desire to share your love of ESF with high school students and their families. To prepare you for your new role, we offer comprehensive on-line training sessions throughout the year, and we are always available to answer any questions you may have.

As a result of our efforts, this year’s incoming freshman class is one of the most geographically-diverse in the College’s history! We have over 80 students coming from outside of New York State.

That’s over 25.5% of our incoming freshman class that decided NY and ESF were the perfect fit.

If you are interested in becoming an Alumni Ambassador, please visit www.esf. edu/alumni/involve.htm and complete the “Alumni Ambassador form.” Our next online training session is scheduled for August 18th at 7:30 p.m. EST. A special thank you to the following Alumni Ambassadors who represented ESF at college fairs during the past academic year – we couldn’t have done it without you!

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ALUMNI AMBASSADORS Daniele Baker ’08 – Austin, TX Betsy Bibla ’79 – NYC/Long Island David Blye ’83 – Southeastern PA Natalie Browne ’97 – Eastern PA Jennifer Caddick ’00 – Chicago, IL Frank Calovini ’84 – Cleveland, OH Hugh Canham ’60 – Central, NY P.J. Connell ’15 – NYC/Long Island Bob Cumella ’75 – NYC/Long Island Rocco Devito ’07 – Seattle, WA James Dooley ’12 – Seattle, WA Lester Facey ’06 – MD/DC Delfin Ganapin ’87 – NJ Ken Gifford ’71 – NY Capital Region Emily Handelman ’14 – NY Capital Region Quintaniay Holifield ’03 – MD Tom Hughes ’06 – Central, NY Peter Iacono ’14 – NY Southern Tier Michael Jacoby ’81 – NYC Sarah Lamagna ’06 – Denver, CO Barry LeClair ’79 – Tampa & Orlando, FL James Lemyre ’98 – NYC Scott Leroy ’92 – CT Jean Loewenstein ’80 – NY Capital Region David Macks ’81 – NY Capital Region Oliver Majewski ’10 – RI Meredith Massey ’01 – NJ Marisa Miller ’08 – NYC Robert Murphy ’12 – NYC/Long Island David Petendree ’01 – FL Lloyd Purdy ’06 – Portland, OR Cariann Quick ’09 – NY Capital Region David Stern ’82 – NYC/Long Island Jennifer Sun ’13 – NYC/Long Island Scott Thompson ’81 – Portland, OR Teresa Tyoe ’83 – Central NY Cambria Ung ’15 – MD Caroline Wheadon ’03 – Western, NY Melissa Young ’08 – NYC/Long Island

Pictured here is David Petendreeʼs ʼ01 excellent table set-up at the Miami National College Fair held in February. David is one of the Alumni Association’s Admissions Ambassadors.

THE INCOMING CLASS BY THE NUMBERS NEW YORKERS 236 freshman and 202 transfer students come to us from all areas of the state.

ACROSS THE U.S. 84 freshman and 29 transfer students come from 15 states outside of NY with the largest number, 33, coming from PA.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS There are 9 international students from 4 different countries entering as freshman this fall and 6 transfers from 3 countries.

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Number of freshman students entering the ESF Honors Program with a mean GPA of 98% and a mean SAT score of 1352.

Freshman Class Average SAT Score

Freshman Class Average GPA

Transfer Students Average GPA

1200

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3.29

2016 Calendar of Upcoming Alumni Events!

The Alumni Association has started hosting several events throughout the year for current ESF students. We are always looking for alumni volunteers to help us at these events! If you are a local alum who can give us a hand on any of the dates listed below, contact the Alumni Office. Thank you! For more information on any event, visit www.esf.edu/calendar/alumni.asp. If there is a specific event you are interested in receiving an invitation to, please contact the Alumni Office at 315-470-6632 or alumni@esf.edu.

Aug. 4

2016 ESF Golf Tournament Timber Banks Golf Club Baldwinsville, NY

2 | College President’s Message

Aug. 23 New Student Welcome

Centennial Hall

12 | Alumni Memorial Scholarships

Aug. 28 Ice Cream Social

ESF Campus

Your Vote Counts! 2016 is an

election year for the Alumni Association Board of Directors! All Alumni Association membersin-good-standing (paid your 2015–2016 or 2016–2017 dues or are a Life Member) have the right to participate in the election of Alumni Association officers for the coming term: 2016–2018. If you are a member-in-good-standing, you will receive a letter and e-mail shortly, with instructions for how to cast your ballot. Please take the time to complete this important task! The Annual Meeting of the Alumni Association at which the new officers will be announced is Friday, October 7th at 4:30 p.m. in Room 313, Bray Hall. We hope you will consider joining us that afternoon.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Aug. 5–7 Cranberry Lake Reunion

Cranberry Lake Biological Station

Oct. 7–9 Alumni & Family Fall Weekend and Reunions

Senior Alumni Reunion 2016

ESF Campus Oct. 22 ASLA Annual Meeting & Expo – Alumni Reception

New Orleans, LA Nov. 2

SAF National Convention Madison, WI

Nov. 12 ESF Alumni Football Reception

Alumni (Nifkin) Lounge,

Marshall Hall & Carrier Dome Dec. 7

Champagne Toast for December Graduates Gateway Center

Dec. 13 Pizza Party Study Break

Gateway Center Concourse

5 | Annual

Department Updates

13 | Shop the ESF College Bookstore 14 | ESF Event Photos 19 | Class Notes 27 | ESF Bookshelf INCLUDED MAY GRADUATION

Commencement Corner Page 3

LEADERSHIP

SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence Page 18

ALUMNI & FAMILY FALL WEEKEND

Registration Form & Lodging Info.

Page 28

2 Alumni News SUMMER 2016 www.esf.edu/alumni

College President’s Message | Dr. Quentin Wheeler

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND FORESTRY

❛❛ ESF is a very special place for a lot of reasons, most of

THE ESF ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, INC.

them in the form of students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

I love to see alumni on campus and be regaled with stories from your student days, all of which I cherish.❜❜

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2014–2016 PRESTON S. GILBERT ’73 President

JOHN K. BARTOW, JR. ’82 Secretary-Treasurer

ERNA BAUMANN ’68 TERRY L. BLUHM ’70 SANDRA BONANNO ’89/’92 MARY W. CLEMENTS ’82 MARGARET E. “PEG” COLEMAN ’79 LAURA M. CRANDALL ’05 ANNALENA K. DAVIS ’10 MICHAEL T. DUGAN ’00 ROBERT GERACI ’73 KENNETH T. HART, JR. ’82 STUART E. HOSLER ’52 THOMAS C. HUGHES ’06 ARNOLD H. LANCKTON ’61 GARY A. LIPP ’86 Second Vice President

THAYER A. MILLER ’71 First Vice President

FRANK H. MOSES ’01 LAURA A. NELSON ’04 WALTER G. NEUHAUSER ’71 THOMAS J. POWERS ’82 CARIANN R. QUICK ’09 KELLY E. REINHARDT ’95 WENDI M. RICHARDS ’86 GAIL ROMANO ’80 NORMAN ROTH ’74 A. CHRISTOPHER SANDSTROM ’75 ROBERT J. SCHUG ’85 HAROLD E. SCHUMM ’53 DAVID W. TESSIER ’68 GEORGE TREIER ’58 ELLEN B. WARNER ’78

EX-OFFICIO DR. QUENTIN WHEELER College President

BRENDA GREENFIELD Executive Director, ESF College Foundation

JOAN MACHOLL ’83 RS President, Ranger School Alumni Association

BENJAMIN TAYLOR President,Undergraduate Student Association

EXECUTIVE STAFF MEMBERS DEBBIE J. CAVINESS Director of Alumni Relations

JENNIFER CULLIVAN Assistant Director of Alumni Relations

NICHOLE DOUGHERTY Administrative Assistant

219 Bray Hall, One Forestry Drive Syracuse, New York 13210-2785 T: 315-470-6632 F: 315-470-4833 alumni@esf.edu ALUMNI NEWS EDITORIAL STAFF DEBBIE J. CAVINESS Co-Editor

JENNIFER CULLIVAN Co-Editor

here is so much progress and exciting news to share from the College! We will be hiring three new Development Officers to focus on increasing gifts to the College, a Chief Information Officer who will lead the growth and development of our information technology infrastructure and capabilities, and a Chief Diversity Officer who will make the campus more diverse, welcoming and inclusive. These actions are part of an initiative, led by interim Provost Valerie Luzadis ’97 and my Executive Cabinet, that is reviewing all sources of revenues and expenses annually, and making common sense recommendations to build a more secure and predictable financial footing for the future.

Three faculty searches will commence this Fall, increasing the size of our faculty over the 2015 baseline number. In addition, two new faculty will join us in August. Dr. Brian Leydet who studies disease ecology and epidemiology will join the Environmental & Forest Biology Department and our program in Environmental Health. Dr. Lemir Teron, who studies urban policy, sustainability planning, and environmental justice, will join the Environmental Studies Department.

We are working to increase national visibility of the excellent instruction and research at ESF. Such visibility expands tuition revenues through a growth in out-of-state students, increases the di-

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versity of perspectives on campus, and opens doors for new partnerships with institutions, organizations, and investors who share our concerns for the environment and a sustainable future. To this end, we are engaged in many activities. For example, the internationallyrecognized Bruce Mau Design group is helping us focus our branding platform.

Through our partnership with George Washington University’s Planet Forward initiative, students are empowered to use new media to communicate more effectively the issues that they are passionate about. Articles contributed by ESF to the online news outlet The Conversation have been seen by more than 50,000 readers and we have recently earned media coverage on NPR and in The Guardian, Huff ington Post, Newsweek, USA Today, Popular Science, and Smithsonian Magazine among others.

It is difficult to overstate the damage caused and opportunities missed due to political gridlock over environmental issues. ESF’s Center for A New American Environmentalism is working to challenge the current perceptions of environmental issues in the minds of politicians, citizens, and policy-makers, and return to focusing on the science behind the headlines. Environmental issues should not, and need not, be politically polarized. Solutions are very much in everyone’s interest. As programming for

the Center develops, it will lead public conversations on diverse environmental issues. For example, this coming semester, the Center will host an event focused on the pros and cons of divestment from fossil fuels as well as a workshop on unleashing the potential for nature-inspired solutions for a sustainable future.

We have a new five-year contract with Syracuse University to continue accessory instruction, recreation, and student activities vital to academic life; a new partnership with Crouse Medical Practice to provide a high level of health care for our students; we are opening a mental health counseling center on campus in September; and we are on schedule to break ground for the ARB (Academic Research Building) in April, 2017. The ARB project, combined with renovations of the Carrier Dome, promise to make navigating through and parking on campus challenging for a couple of years, but with spectacular results.

ESF is a very special place for a lot of reasons, most of them in the form of students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

I love to see alumni on campus and be regaled with stories from your student days, all of which I cherish. I hope that you will attend the Senior Reunion and Fall Weekend in October, or other alumni events this year and I look forward to seeing you. 1

www.esf.edu/alumni SUMMER 2016 Alumni News 3

Commencement Corner

Following are the addresses delivered during ESF’s Commencement exercises on May 14th at the SRC Arena in Syracuse.

Dr. Quentin Wheeler College President Commencement Address

There is no greater pleasure or honor for a College President than participating in the joyful day of graduation. Traditionally, ESF hosted a Convocation ceremony where our graduates were recognized individually as they processed across the stage in the presence of family and friends; however, their degrees were not officially conferred until the following day at a joint commencement event with Syracuse University. This year, ESF held its own Commencement instead. With a packed SRC Arena on the Onondaga Community College (OCC) campus on May 14th, with candidates presented to me by Interim Provost Valerie Luzadis ’97, I conferred degrees in our own ceremony.

Several people commented to me that they felt this was the best ESF graduation in memory. With only a couple of years under my belt, I must take their word for it, but I can testify that it was a splendid day by any measure. Partnering with OCC who had just held their own commencement event hours before, we shared expenses for more elaborate flower arrangements and two large TV monitors flanking the stage.

ESF grads and I still participated in the Syracuse University commencement on Sunday, but our students were a step ahead by having their degrees already in hand, and their tassels proudly displayed to the left.

This change sets us on a path of creating our own commencement traditions.

At our Spring events, I had the honor of presenting doctoral degrees honoris causa.

This year’s honoree was Chip Blake, editor of the leading environmental literary magazine, Orion. His speech was both thought-provoking and heartfelt, starting off with an explanation that he had ironically chosen a career as an editor in part to avoid public speaking. He then shared an alarming trend. Words pertaining to nature are being eliminated from the Oxford Junior Dictionary to make way for modern lingo, such as ‘buttercup’ being expunged to make room for ‘blog.’

We have adopted the practice of having the stage party remain in academic regalia for photographs following the ceremony, and are considering other ways to enhance Commencement. Among the possibilities under consideration is designing an ESF mace. Maces have been carried to open such events for centuries, today serving as symbols of institutional authority rather than weapons of defense for processing dignitaries. Another possibility is designing departmental banners or gonfalons, as well as adding a formal Commencement speaker. I would love to hear your ideas for Commencement traditions.

Alumni Association 1st Vice President Thayer Miller ’71 Commencement Address “Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You’re off to great places!

You’re off and away.”

This is the beginning of Dr. Suess’s book Oh, the Places You’ll Go!! I have given this book to many graduates in my family.

It speaks to the unlimited opportunities that exist in your futures, the need to be excited and willing to take risks in your journey forward. You never know where you may find yourself down the road. I came here as a transfer student in 1969 with an Associate Degree in Architecture. I graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor in Landscape Architecture, and a Bachelor of Science from SU. I worked for about ten years, had two children and returned to school. I completed two Masters’ Degrees, one in Library and Information Studies from SU, and one in Elementary Education from SUNY Cortland. I became a teacher and a school librarian, had another child and went back to school again, this time earning an Advanced Degree in School Administration from SUNY Cortland. I was a Director of Instruction for 12 years and retired in 2011.

You never know where life will lead you but the foundation that you have received here at ESF, no matter what other educational institutions you may attend, will provide you with the solid footing to get to those “Great Places.”

Welcome to an awesome group of people — the ESF alumni family. I am lucky enough to have two sisters who graduated in Environmental and Forest Biology, three in-laws, two in Forest Resource Management and one in Landscape Architecture, and my daughter in Landscape Architecture as part of my alumni family. But my ESF family is much larger than that.

We have alumni in all 50 states and in 88 countries. Now that you are graduates and joining this extraordinary family, remember to reach back and help those that are still students or help encourage new students to attend ESF. Do this through the ESF Connections and the Alumni Ambassador programs. No matter where life takes you, always keep ESF close to your hearts.

This is family and we will always be here for you.

“Today is your day!

You’re off to Great Places!

Your mountain is waiting So… get on your way!”

We’d like to hear from you... submit a Class Note for the winter issue!

The next issue of the Alumni News will have a deadline of Jan. 1, 2017.

Photos are always welcome. Please print notes legibly, especially e-mail addresses, and limit to 100 words. Ranger School graduates are welcome to submit notes. The Alumni News is sent to all graduates of the College, including those of the Ranger School. Your Class Note can be submitted one of three easy ways.

VISIT www.esf.edu/forms/alumni/classnote.asp E-MAIL alumni@esf.edu MAIL ESF Alumni Office

1 Forestry Drive, 219 Bray Hall, Syracuse, NY 13210

Each member of the Class of 2016 was given an ESF flag to take with them on their journeys.

We are hoping to see many photos of alumni with their flags on our Twitter feed using the hashtag #esfflags

An honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree was bestowed upon Howard Emerson “Chip” Blake Jr., editor-in-chief of Orion Magazine.

Class Speakers Rhea Joseph (left) and Fareya Zubair address their fellow graduates at the 2016 Commencement Ceremony on May 14th.

This happy member of the Class of 2016 is greeted with congratulations at the SRC Arena in Syracuse.

Alumni Association Vice President Thayer Miller ’71 welcomed the newest group of alumni!

ESF ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Mission Statement Adopted by the ESF Alumni Association Board of Directors on June 10, 2014.

The College of Environmental Science and Forestry Alumni Association is a group of individuals concerned with the promotion, achievements and heritage of the College.

The Association, working as a partner with the College, assists and promotes the College in the attainment of its objectives.

The Association serves to cultivate friendship and cooperation among the alumni and to assist them however appropriate within the capabilities of the Association.

The Association represents the alumni in the affairs of the College by acting as a facilitator between and among alumni, students, faculty, staff and administration.

The Association provides programs and services to benefit alumni, ESF students and the College.

4 Alumni News SUMMER 2016 www.esf.edu/alumni

Alumni Entrepreneurs This issue’s spotlight is on Dan Albert, who received his MLA in 2007.

Albert and his wife are the owners of Farmbox Greens, an urban, vertical farm specializing in microgreens and culinary herbs headquartered in Seattle.

Dan Albert (LA) ’07 and his wife, Lindsay Sidlauskas, are at the forefront of urban farming with Farmbox Greens, an urban farm located in their 600 square foot garage in Seattle, WA.

INTERVIEW Q&A

Q: Can you provide a little bit of background about where you grew up and what led you to ESF; especially to Landscape Architecture?

A: I grew up in small town in the Finger Lakes, south of Rochester. In high school I enjoyed art, design and math.

I went to SUNY Fredonia and graduated with a BA in Graphic Design. Having worked many summers for a local landscaper, I thought that maybe the combination of my love for design and the natural environment would mesh well and decided to go into landscape architecture. At ESF, I found that I really was interested in sustainable design and the engineering of ecological systems.

What was your f irst job after graduating from ESF and was your experience there a factor in your current position as an Urban Farmer? Before graduating I knew that there was a short list of places that I wanted to live and where the design work was progressive and exciting. Seattle was at the top of the list. As it happened we (my wife Lindsay Sidlauskas and I) arrived in November of 2007 and I quickly found a job with a local architecture firm that had a landscape architecture department. While there, I worked on a conceptual project called the Eco-Laboratory. While it was just a concept for a design competition, the project sort of took on a life of its own. It won a number of awards and people were genuinely interested in learning more about how the ideas could translate into real projects. One of these ideas was building integrated indoor agriculture. This type of urban food production was eventually coined “Vertical Farming.” By this time, the recession had hit Seattle hard. The firm I was working for cut a significant portion of their staff and it seemed that, overnight, projects dried up. I was fortunate to stay employed through the recession and I credit a lot of that to being flexible and applying skills I developed at ESF that enabled me to contribute on graphics, landscape, planning, and even architecture projects.

However, throughout this time period, I continued to explore urban agriculture to feed my interest. The challenging question of how to go from concept to implementation was intriguing and I decided to make a career change.

Can you talk a little bit about the early stages of Farmbox Greens – where and how you started the company. Initially after I left corporate life I dove deep into high-intensity controlled-environment agriculture and food production strategies. I wanted to be an expert in the design, growing, and systems that are needed to make an indoor farm operate successfully. In early 2011 I set up a prototype system and began to ex-

periment with growing crops. The system we purchased was deigned to grow leafy greens. What I soon realized is that we were spending too much money for this trial to just be an experiment, and that we needed to grow a crop and sell it to start to recoup costs. From there it was adding one customer at a time and slowly building up the equipment and processes to meet demand.

I know that sustainability is a major component of vertical farming. Can you explain to me how vertical farming works and discuss some of your sustainability efforts?

Vertical farming is the process of growing crops indoors with multiple levels stacked on top of each other. The advantage is that in a VF system, you can control all aspects of plant growth, including temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, water, nutrients, and lighting. We use hydroponics (nutrients dissolved in water) and LED lighting.

Benefits include using 90% less water than conventional farming, no agricultural runoff (we use a recirculating water system), space efficiency, and the produce is also close to the consumer, meaning it is fresher and more flavorful, with minimum food miles.

On a global scale it has become more evident that climate change and population growth are putting an increasing strain on scarce resources. How we grow food has a significant impact on our climate. Addressing the shortcomings of conventional agriculture is going to be the keystone of a sustainable future.

Indoor vertical farming with LED lights allows for a 10 day–2 week harvest time for a variety of micro-greens.

Why did you choose micro greens as your main crop? Microgreens are young plants cut at about 2" tall and 7-14 days from seeding. The fast crop rotations (every week) and higher price point made it an ideal product offering. Also, microgreens are traditionally shipped from California, New York and Ohio to Seattle. The resulting cost for overnight shipping, lag

Alumni Association

Outstanding Service Award

t the Central New York Dinner on April 7, 2016 the Alumni Association recognize David Tessier ’68 as this year’s Outstanding Service Award recipient. Each year we recognized an individual who has shown exemplary commitment and service to our alumni, the Association or the College.

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Throughout his life, Dave has worked tirelessly to continue to promote the values that the College instilled in him, and this is clearly evident through his commitment to the Alumni Association.

Throughout his career, Dave has continually demonstrated his commitment to the vision and ideals that embody ESF. During his 45 years of service to the CNY community, he has served a variety of municipalities in the area, including the City of Syracuse, and has played a key role in shaping the landscape of our region.

Dave was also instrumental in forming the Central New York Storm Water Coalition and served as the Coalition Chair until 2015. Although his career officially ended with his retirement in 2012, he continues to serve as President of the Onondaga County Planning Federation and as Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals for the Town of Pompey.

T hroughout his life, Dave has worked tirelessly to continue to promote the values that the College instilled in him, and this is clearly evident through his commitment to the Alumni Association. He has been a member of the Alumni Association for over 40 years, and actively involved with the Alumni Assotime from harvest to end consumer, and overall carbon footprint from transport, opened the door for a local supply of freshly cut greens.

Do you grow other crops or have ideas of branching out? Yes, we hope to expand our production area and also test out new crops. Currently, we’re focused on leafy greens and herbs, but are exploring fullsized produce. As the technology and systems become more sophisticated, vine crops like tomatoes and peppers are also a possibility. Currently, I’m helping another grower transition from flower production to lettuce. I think you’ll see more and more horticulture facilities transition to food production in the next few years.

Where do you sell your product? Currently we sell to about 50 local restaurants here in Seattle. We also participate in 4 year-round farmers markets and have branched out into retail with a local grocery store chain.

While farming and landscape architecture may seem like two very different paths, I can certainly see that they are related. Did your LA background at ESF prepare you for your new career and the challenges you have faced starting up your own business?

While they are very different, a design degree is really a degree in complex problem solving. In landscape you have to know the engineering, materials, plants and process for a successful project. The same is true with high capacity urban agriculture. I had a lot to learn, including plumbing and electrical, optimizing the growing environment, learning how to care for and manage plants, and perhaps most importantly,

Alumni Outstanding Service Award recipient David Tessier ’68 and his wife, Linda. ciation Board for almost 25 years, including 20 years as a member of the Executive Committee and 4 years serving as Alumni Association President. Dave’s passion and dedication to both the College and the Association are truly inspiring.

In addition to his continued involvement with the Alumni Association, he has also been very active with the Boy Scouts of America for almost 60 years, eventually serving on the BSA Longhouse Council as a member of Executive Board and Executive Committee. Dave also served as chairman of the Properties Committee for many years and continues to support the organization as a table host at the annual Boy Power Dinner.

As you can see, the education he received while at the College has been a driving force in everything that Dave has been involved with, and we are honored to have recognized his accomplishments.

Congratulations Dave, you truly are an outstanding alum! 1 how to run the business. On the business side I wish I had taken a class on entrepreneurship because the first few years were painful.

Do you have any advice to other entrepreneurs looking to take the leap into starting their own business? Take calculated risks. Because of the timing, we were launching our business into the teeth of the recession. We self-financed and didn’t take on investors (though we had offers) so the room for error was, and still is small.

At the time we were thinking about starting the business, I read a book called The Lean Startup which was very influential in how we incrementally bootstrapped our business. Because of our slow and steady growth, we’ve been able to manage issues and seize opportunities as they’ve come.

The other advice I can offer is, don’t quit your day job. In 2010 when I quit my job, I didn’t realize how bumpy and expensive the road ahead was. While we had success during that time, we were still on the bleeding edge. I went back to work for an architecture firm and later transitioned to a landscape-only firm while keeping the business running nights and weekends.

It wasn’t until early 2014 that we had built our customer base (working 60 hrs+ per week) that I felt comfortable stepping away from my day job. Even then it took another year for us to stabilize. It took about twice as long as I had projected and cost about twice as much as we budgeted to get where we are today but I wouldn’t change that learning process for anything. After all, education is expensive. 1

www.esf.edu/alumni SUMMER 2016 Alumni News 5

Annual Department Updates Chemistry pages 5–6 // Environmental and Forest Biology pages 6–7 // Environmental Resources Engineering pages 7–8 // Environmental Science page 8 // Environmental Studies pages 8–9 // Forest and Natural Resources Management page 9 // Landscape Architecture pages 9–10 // Paper and Bioprocess Engineering page 10 // ESF Outreach page 11 // Moon Library page 11

Chemistry

Dr. Ivan Gitsov :: igivanov@esf.edu Chair and Professor The Department of Chemistry continues to keep respectable number of undergraduate and graduate students (50 and 37, respectively), but the number of faculty and staff continues to shrink (15 and 3, respectively).

Over the past year Professors Paul Caluwe and William Winter ’66 retired after over 40 years and 28 years, respectively, as faculty members at ESF. Dr. Youxin Yuan ’87 (MS), a senior research associate with the Department, also retired after 24 years of service, but comes frequently to assist with the analyses of various polymer materials.

Emeriti Professors Johannes Smid and Anatole Sarko are frequent visitors to the Jahn Lab as they catch up on new developments in polymer chemistry and the Department.

The Department is preparing to meet its 100th anniversary in 2017 with different events and fundraising initiatives in the preparation. We would welcome all alumni, who are willing to join us during these celebrations and donate towards fellowships and endowments for the future generations of FCH students.

Dr. Neal Abrams currently teaches courses in general chemistry and renewable energy. Along with four undergraduate research students, he has developed new educational labs and is developing novel methods for synthesizing inorganic photocatalysis.

He presented work on integrated chemistry and biology courses at the SUNY STEM conference and a regional ACS meeting.

Hunter Gray completed his MS with both Dr. Abrams and Dr. Israel Cabasso as major professors. Dr. Abrams developed and published a series of video manuscripts on chemical education and developed a 7-week workshop on solar photovoltaic power for the NYS Master Teacher Program. He is also developing a set of online resources and courses for student and public use.

Dr. Greg Boyer’s group reports: “We have entered another hot and heavy season of cyanobacteria toxin monitoring. The lab looks a bit different with four undergraduate students (Chris Japinga, Matt Hartzheim, Matt Blake and Eric Kilbourn) working in the lab. When they are not working on the state monitoring program for HABs, they assist Mike Satchwell in the deployment of buoys around the region. Katherine Perri and Samantha (Sam) Weber – long time stalwarts of the field program are off writing their thesis with plans to graduate this summer or early this fall. Wish them luck!

Justine Schmidt ‘14 (PhD) is currently working at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Marci Savage ‘15 (MPS) is working for LUMCON down south, and Rachael Radicello ‘15 (MPS) has taken a job with NYS DEC. Karen Howard ‘07 (PhD) was promoted to the position of Assistant Director (Physical Sciences) in the Center For Science, Technology, & Engineering at the GAO in Washington DC. Juliette Smith ‘08 (PhD) is now an Assistant Professor at the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences (VIMS). I continue to work in China at Lake Tai with Steve Wilhelm. We are actually headed over there next week

where I will meet with one of my current PhD students (Bofan Wei) at the NIAGLAS field station. We have great plans to sample off the pier from sunrise to sunset to look at diurnal changes in toxin composition.

Hope we have a bloom! I have two other current PhD students; Zach Smith (2nd year PhD) has the Paralytic Shellfish Toxin analyzer up and humming as we have started a new project to look for cyanobacteria toxins in benthic algae. Dominique Derminio (1st year PhD student) is currently working on the age old problem of why Microcystis make the microcystin toxin. In other news, we received the Lake Tear of the Clouds award from the New York State Federation of Lake Associations last year and the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service last month. While I accepted the award, it was really a recognition of all the work done by the many students in the lab over the past years on HAB monitoring.

Good job all and please keep in touch.”

Dr. Avik Chatterjee has been designated a “Top Reviewer” for the Journal of Chemical Physics for 2015 placing him in the top 50 out of approximately 8000 experts who have reviewed manuscripts in the past year. Reviewer performance was based on number of reviews, timeliness, quality and reliability. Dr. Chatterjee continues to teach Physical Chemistry and graduate-level polymer courses.

Dr. Ted Dibble reports that he received funding from the NSF for his research on atmospheric mercury chemistry ($551,000).

The research is to find out what stable Hg(II) compounds are formed in atmospheric oxidation of Hg(0). Hg(0) is not efficiently transferred from the atmosphere to ecosystems, but (commercially available) Hg(II) compounds are. The research is focused on determining how to identity the Hg(II) compounds formed in the atmosphere.

Dr. Kelley Donaghy welcomed the second cohort of students to her current S-STEM grant, this class was the most diverse group of students to date. The students, along with President Wheeler, Interim Provost Luzadis and Chief of Staff Mark Lichtenstein, met at the College Residence for a “Blue Jeans and Pizza Party” and discussed a variety of topics such as the climate on campus for under-represented groups as well as global climate change. In the Spring of 2016, Dr. Donaghy received the Chugh University Faculty Senate Outstanding Service Award from the SUNY University Faculty Senate (the body representing all State Operated SUNY Colleges). This award came with a plaque and $500, but it is especially valued as it was given by community members who value service and often do more than what is expected. Four undergraduate students, Sarah-Marie Alam El Din, Jacob Kunz, Adrianna Palucci and John Swartzfager worked on several projects including turning lab sludge into jewelry, investigating glass reactions in art glass and dendrimer synthesis. Further, John was named Department Scholar and will be attending Pennsylvania State University in the fall pursuing a PhD in chemistry with funding for five years. Finally, after six years as Governance Executive Chair, Dr. Donaghy is stepping aside and looks forward to returning her attention to teaching general

chemistry I and II, Inorganic chemistry and to recruiting and retaining new graduate students.

Dr. Mark S. Driscoll (Research Associate and Director, UV/EB Technology Center and the Institute for Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing) was named President of the Council on Ionizing Radiation Measurements and Standards (CIRMS) in April.

CIRMS is an advisory to NIST on matters relate to radiation standards and measurement. For the past year, Dr. Driscoll has been serving as CIRMS’s first Vice-President. He gave 15 presentations last year…11 of them were invited or plenary, including the prestigious Tihany Symposium on Radiation Chemistry in Balatonalmadi, Hungary. Dr. Driscoll had 5 peer-reviewed publications last year. He is continuing his research on the effect of high energy electrons, x-rays and light on organic compounds.

Dr. José Giner reports: “I did science demonstrations for the 1st and 6th graders at Ed Smith School today. Naturally, chemistry, especially natural products chemistry, was a big component. The 6th grade demo focused on carbon dioxide—how it causes ocean acidification, how it can support the combustion of magnesium, and how capping a water bottle with dry ice inside can cause a big bang. As a hands on activity, they were allowed to dip flowers into liquid nitrogen and crush the brittle frozen petals (see photo). The 1st graders learned about acidity and basicity—how vinegar will turn red cabbage from violet to pink (and it still tastes good), how increasingly strong base will make red cabbage water turn sky blue and then green, and how putting vinegar and baking soda in a closed container will cause a splashy explosion. They were very excited about that! (see photo). Two undergrads, Mike McCarty and Mike Jorgensen, and one grad student, Rick Joseph, helped out.”

Dr. Ivan Gitsov’s group continues to work on the design, creation and characterization of novel macromolecular architectures. Xin Liu (in his third year) completed the synthesis of a new dendrimer family with very promising binding properties.

Together with Andrew Monnone (an honor undergraduate student in the group) he made a set of new Janus dendrimers capable of forming unique supermolecules with intriguing catalytic capabilities. Dieter Scheibel (also in his third year) succeeded with the immobilization of laccase (the working biocatalytic “horse” of the group) and achieved significant improvement in the recycling strategy of the enzymatic catalyst. He is also working with a group at the University of Buffalo on novel biomedical applications of the unnatural poly(tyrosine), synthesized by the former graduate student Lili Wang (currently a postdoc at SUNY Upstate Medical University). Both students presented posters at several conferences, most noteworthy being the ACS Graduate Symposium at the University of Akron. Us-

ing their data Dr. Gitsov presented seminars at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH-Zürich) and at the Institute for Polymers of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The achievements of the group on novel drug delivery systems (world-wide patent application) were also highlighted in the most recent annual report of The Research Foundation for The State University of New York.

Dr. John Hassett continues his work on organics in Upstate NY lake waters. He reports, “foam forming on the surface of some of the Finger Lakes and piling up on downwind shores has been observed for the past few years. Since this is a new phenomenon, local residents and water departments are concerned that the lakes’ ecosystems have changed, or that the lakes have become contaminated with foam-causing chemicals. Surprisingly little information is available in the scientific literature about the chemical composition of freshwater foam.”

Prof. Hassett and his students are examining the composition of foam samples collected from several Finger Lakes at different seasons, focusing on fatty acid and sterol bioindicator molecules, to determine if biological sources of the foam can be identified. Preliminary results indicate that fatty acid profiles typically lack the polyunsaturated fatty acids usually found in green algae, and that the profiles are different in different samples. Sample analyses are continuing in order to unravel this mystery. Among those cooperating by collecting samples for this volunteer effort are Professor Emeritus Robert Werner (EFB) and ESF alumni Kevin Olvany and Tim Schneider.

Dr. David Kieber has been on a sabbatical during the spring semester 2016 as a Fulbright scholar in Barcelona Spain at the Institut de Ciències del Mar. During his time in Spain, he has given invited presentations in Barcelona and Madrid, Spain, and in Banyuls, France. He has also initiated several collaborations with colleagues and the Marine Institute on several fronts to (1) study harmful algal bloom species that are an increasing problem in Spanish coastal waters; (2) examine the sunlight-driven production of isoprene in seawater (isoprene is an important gas in the atmosphere whose origin is mainly from terrestrial and marine plants); and (3) study marine snow (which is colloidal-like, particulate organic matter that is prevalent in marine waters) to ascertain the importance and potential interactions of acrylate with this colloidal material.

A fourth project is in the proposal stage.

It would involve Dr. Kieber’s participation on a multi-international research cruise in Antarctica in 2017 to study the importance of particles (aerosols) produced at the sea surface from breaking waves and bursting bubbles on the chemistry in the overlying atmosphere and on cloud formation. It is hypothesized that marine aerosols play an important role in climate on a global scale, and polar environments are thought to be particularly important in this regard. In September-October 2016, Dr. Kieber will be the chief scientist on multi-institutional 38day research cruise in the northwest Atlantic Ocean to study the source of the organic matter present in marine aerosols. In November he will participate on an NSF review panel for Chemical Oceanography.

Dr. Huiting Mao continues her work in atmospheric chemistry and reports the following: Ms. Ying Zhou presented one of her PhDresearch projects, “Baseline Ozone in the Northeast U.S. Over 2001–2010” at the 9th International Conference of Acid Rain, Rochester, NY, USA, 19–23 October, 2015, and won the Third Prize. This work was submitted to Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics and is under review. Co-authors include: H. Mao, K. Demerjian, C. Hogrefe, and J. Liu. Ms. Zhuyun (Julia) Ye’s paper, Please see DEPARTMENT UPDATES, Page 6

6 Alumni News SUMMER 2016 www.esf.edu/alumni Department Updates Continued from Page 5

“Investigation of processes controlling mercury cycling at midlatitudinal marine, coastal, and inland sites using a mercury box model”, has been accepted for publication in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. Co-authors: H. Mao, J.-T. Chen, and S. Y. Kim. Dr. Mao taught FCH 399 “Introduction to atmospheric science” in the Fall and FCH 796 “Regional air quality” in the Spring. FCH 796 has now become an official course, FCH 610 “Air Quality”.

Dr. Christopher Nomura’s group continues do state-of-the-art research in molecular microbiology and biopolymer production.

For the time period of this report, Dr. Nomura’s group published 8 peer-reviewed articles, delivered 29 poster and oral presentations, filed a continuation-in part patent application for producing new chemically modifiable PHA polymers. Dr. Nomura received four new grants funded by the RFSUNY Networks of Excellence, NIH, and, most recently, the RFSUNY Technology Accelerator Fund to commercialize technologies developed in his group. Dr. Nomura and one of his postdocs, Dr. Ata Pinto have started a company (Alba Solutions, LLC) to apply for SBIR funding to commercialize technologies developed in the lab. At the center of this company is technology summarized in our recent patent application and an article published in ACS Macro Letters describing the production of new PHA polymers with “click” chemistry enabled side chains. These new polymers are biosynthetically produced by our engineered bacteria and will enable us to decorate PHA polymers with a wide variety of new chemical functional groups.

Results of this research have been presented globally by Dr. Nomura at Hofstra, Syracuse University, Tokyo University, Nanjing University, and Hubei University.

Dr. Nomura has mentored numerous SUNY ESF undergraduate students from a broad variety of disciplines (Chemistry, Biotechnology, Biology, Environmental Science, Bioprocess Engineering, and Environmental Engineering) this year. SUNY undergraduates are engaged in a number of projects in the laboratory and continue to make an impact on research as evidenced by undergraduate co-authors on seven of the eight published articles this year.

In terms of teaching, Dr. Nomura has taken over duties for the Biochemistry Laboratory course. Dr. Nomura has worked with the TA for the course and with Instructional Support Specialists Joy Logan and Jordan Brinkley to organize the lab area for the course. Dr. Nomura has worked diligently to streamline the course while remaining true to the contents and lab concepts that are essential to be functional in a working biochemistry laboratory.

Dr. Nomura has also worked with Prof.

Greg Boyer, Prof. Fran Webster, and Prof.

Ted Dibble to develop a new Biochemistry undergraduate major. Biochemistry is the most rapidly growing area within Chemistry and it is anticipated that this new major will result in attracting a large and enthusiastic student base within the department because of the high interest in this subject.

In terms of service to the college, in addition to his work as a member of the college-wide Committee on Research, Dr. Nomura was an active member in the recent faculty search for an epidemiologist to teach within the Environmental Health major. This was a successful search with Dr. Brian Leydet set to arrive for Fall 2016. Dr. Nomura is also serving on the search committee for the Provost and Executive VicePresident for the College.

Dr. Art Stipanovic ’74/’79(FCH) co-organized a 2-day symposium entitled “Progress Toward a Wood-Based Biorefinery” held in conjunction with Pacifichem 2015

in Honolulu, HI in December. Pacifichem is held only every 5 years and is organized by a consortium of Pacific Rim Chemical Societies. The co-organizer of this event was Dr. Anjani Varma who received his PhD in polymer chemistry at ESF in 1978 under the direction of Professor Smid. In addition to teaching Analytical Chemistry I (FCH 380), Career Skills for Chemists (FCH 232) and Polymer Properties and Technology (FCH552), Dr. Stipanovic has been active with the CNY Biotechnology Accelerator, the ESF Biofuels Pilot Plant at the Syracuse Center of Excellence and he was a member of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee in 2015–16 which completed an update to the VISION 2020 Strategic Plan for ESF. He is a co-investigator on a multi-million dollar DOE grant (Dr. Tim Volk, FNRM, Principle Investigator) entitled Improved Advanced Biomass Logistics Utilizing Woody and Other Feedstocks in the NE and Pacific Northwest. Dr. Stipanovic is responsible for feedstock compositional characterization using Near IR Spectroscopy and his share of the project is $443,000 over 3 years. Over the past few years, he has initiated studies on algal bio-oils synthesized from wood-based sugars, the isolation of wood-degrading microorganisms and enzymes from Red Panda poop obtained at the Syracuse Zoo, and process improvements in ethanol fermentation from woody feedstocks using electron beam pretreatment technology. Grad student Scott Bergey is nearing completion of his thesis!

Dr. Mark Teece expanded his research program on Fayetteville Green Lakes investigating the rare microbialites that live within the lake. Dr Teece and his graduate students, Jesse Crandall and Ben Estes and an undergraduate, Jess Ciesla, published a paper on using chemical techniques to understand the growth and feeding behaviors of deep sea corals. With colleagues from Syracuse University, Dr. Teece’s group published work on carnivorous pitcher plants from the Adirondack Mountains that can gain more than 90% of their food from eating insects! Dr. Teece taught the introductory Survey of Chemical Principles class and also the associated labs for an upper division Marine Biogeochemistry class. 1

Environmental and Forest Biology

Donald J. Leopold :: djleopold@esf.edu 315-470-6760 Chair and Distinguished Teaching Professor Only a few of the many exciting activities and accomplishments within EFB the past academic year can be included in this brief summary, so everyone is invited to review the 100+ page annual department report on the web, available through the Department’s website link (available later this summer): http://www.esf.edu/efb/annualreports.htm.

We have hired Dr. Brian Leydet to support the growing Environmental Health undergraduate major at ESF, including teaching Epidemiology beginning this fall semester. His research examines the ecology of Lyme disease, including the role of ticks. Brian has a PhD in Veterinary Medical Sciences from Louisiana State University, M.P.H. from the University of North Florida, and B.S. in Community Health from Old Dominion University.

John Castello continues to teach Forest and Shade Tree Pathology and the senior synthesis in Forest Health; co-teach (with Stephen Teale ’90) “Peoples, Plagues, and Pests” and Forest Health, and serve as coordinator of the Forest Health major. Jonathan Cohen has been very busy on the research front, now advising or co-advising five PhD students and three M.S. students and man-

aging $2.6 million in grants and is co-PI on another $2.9 million. Stew Diemont received the ESF College Foundation Award for Exceptional Achievement in Teaching, was promoted to Associate Professor and awarded Continuing Appointment (effective September 1, 2016). Martin Dovciak was invited to speak to the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI), a group of researchers working in mountain regions across the U.S. and globally, held in conjunction with the American Geosciences Union Fall Meeting in San Francisco to present his research on “Monitoring Changing Forests in Mountain Regions.” John Farrell ’91 secured a new five-year contract with the NYS-DEC for $1.4 million for research on novel population of and habitat restoration initiatives to support St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes fisheries, and was an author on the cover issue for Fisheries magazine in a feature article on muskellunge ecology and management.

Shannon Farrell has a number of funded research projects on the ecology and conservation of bats, and is developing a pilot project to study the ecology and population dynamics of American robins, as well as their prospective role as a reservoir for Lyme disease and potential agent of geographic dispersal of both Lyme disease and infected ticks. Danny Fernando served as EFB’s Graduate Program Director for his 9th year, gave two invited research presentations (a NSRC webinar and talk at Cornell), and was awarded the 2016 Jewett Prize from the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University for his work on the hardy kiwi. Melissa Fierke taught over 300 students in General Biology last fall, was instrumental in co-developing and releasing EFB’s first ever Graduate Handbook, and has received additional funding to build her research program on the emerald ash borer. Beth Folta taught four interpretive courses and co-taught one additional course that focused on interpretation and ecotourism, and was part of two faculty teams that were awarded grants (an EPA Environmental Education grant focused on stewardship education using the Haudenosaunee’s “Thanksgiving Address” as a lens to look at the natural world and The National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant to design a new graduate program at ESF that will focus on integrating indigenous and scientific knowledge).

Jacqui Frair was honored with a research collaboration award (Wings Across the Americas) from the USFS for her part in a large collaborative project assessing potential resistance to white-nose syndrome in bats in the central US, and worked with the College Foundation and Camp Fire Club of America to secure $685,000 towards a $1 million endowment for a new wildlife faculty line to the department. James Gibbs’ publication in PLoS describing a new species of giant tortoise and a field expedition in November to harvest hybrid tortoises of purportedly extinct species from Volcan Wolf garnered significant media attention.

Among other highlights, James received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Scholarship and Creative Activities for 2016 and continued his work as Co-Director on the $1.2 million Galapagos Tortoise Restoration Initiative (effort between the Galapagos Conservancy and the Galapagos National Park Service Directorate). Hyatt Green taught EFB 303 (Environmental Microbiology) and EFB 505 (Microbial Ecology) for his first time and has interesting research emerging in his lab including receiving funds to study the “microbial dark matter” in Green Lake, hypothesized to play a role in the methylation of mercury.

Tom Horton published his book Mycorrhizal Networks (Springer’s Ecological Studies Series) and was awarded a McIntireStennis grant to conduct a research project on the role of mycorrhizal fungi and fire in plant succession at the Albany Pine Bush

Preserve. Robin Kimmerer ’75 became CoDirector (with Melissa Fierke) of the Cranberry Lake Biological Station, gave over 32 public presentations, was awarded two new grants (totaling over $700,000) as principal investigator, and continued as Director of The Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. Don Leopold finished his tenth year as Chair of the Department; a highlight of his career (?) was giving an invited bourbon lecture on a private bus trip that started in New York City. Karin Limburg was a co-organizer and featured speaker of the Dale L. Travis Lecture Series, became a Visiting Professor at two different universities in Sweden, is part of a multi-million dollar project involving five different countries, and has become increasingly engaged in international research coordination efforts involving the “collision course” of human activities on continental margins and the worsening problem of the loss of oxygen in the world’s oceans.

Mark Lomolino has begun new lines of research on Soundscape Ecology and on Palaeo-biogeography, which are emerging disciplines focusing on the spatial and temporal variation in the sounds of nature, and patterns in geographic variation of life before the impacts of human activities. In addition to his teaching and research activities, Greg McGee ’93 continued as EFB’s Undergraduate Curriculum Director and Curriculum Coordinator for the Environmental Biology major, responsible for the coordination of undergraduate advising for the Department; providing departmental orientation to freshmen and August/January transfer cohorts; pre-registration of all transfer students; representing EFB at two end-of-semester Academic Standards meetings; organizing and participating in two departmental open houses and five accepted student receptions, and maintaining EFB program catalog descriptions, plan sheets and directed elective offerings for all seven majors. Stacy McNulty ’97 solicited and edited manuscripts for, and assisted with, managing publication of a special volume of The Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies, including over a dozen peer-reviewed articles about ornithological topics.

Lee Newman continues to lead ESF’s Environmental Health programs (including the undergrad major), her NASA-funded research on hyperspectral imaging of plants to detect stress and contaminant exposure, and her significant community work on using horticultural therapy to improve quality of life for veterans and seniors. Dylan Parry stepped down as coordinator for the Department’s Conservation Biology major, then assumed the role of Director of the Graduate Program in Environmental Science; additionally, Dylan continues his collaboration with other scientists to examine the effects of climatic shifts on invasive insects. Gord Paterson taught Toxic Health Hazards, cotaught the Adaptive Peaks Graduate Seminar course and Tropical Ecology, recruited two graduate students to work on projects in the Finger Lakes and Lake Ontario, and was invited to present a research proposal to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission’s Board of Technical Experts. Bill Powell’s (with FNRM colleague, Chuck Maynard) American chestnut research program led to 38 news articles in some of the most prominent outlets including The New Yorker, National Geographic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Smithsonian. Beyond his many duties as Vice Provost for Research, Neil Ringler finished four graduate students who were supported on grants from NY Sea Grant and Honeywell.

Rebecca Rundell was an invited panelist and speaker for the “The Tree of Life: State of the Art” discussion at Ithaca’s Darwin Days 2016, served as proofreader and reviewer for the third edition of Brusca et al.’s Invertebrates (Sinauer Associates), asked

www.esf.edu/alumni SUMMER 2016 Alumni News 7 to serve as Associate Editor for Malacologia, and invited to speak at the American Malacological Society Annual Meeting at the University of Michigan Biological Station.

Kim Schulz taught Limnology and Marine Ecology, directed the new CIRTAS facility in Illick, chaired the Department’s Course and Curriculum Assessment Committee, and published six manuscripts. Steve Teale and his lab have been very productive, publishing a paper in PLoS One on the identification of a pheromone of the citrus longhorned beetle (a potential invasive from China that is significantly more threatening than the Asian longhorned beetle), developing a synthetic lure for Philornis downsi (a parasite of Darwin’s finches in the Galapagos), and publishing a paper on self-medication with the endemic plant, Psidium galapageum, by Darwin’s finches that repels parasites.

In collaboration with others from BenGurion University of the Negev, National Museum of Namibia, and Gobabeb Desert Research and Training Centre, Namibia) Scott Turner launched a new hybrid online/ field course, “Biophysical Field Methods,” a course that has an online component, which culminates in a capstone field research experience at the Gobabeb Desert Research and Training Centre in Namibia. Alex Weir was promoted to Professor, offered a new class on the biology of lichens, and is coordinating a huge effort involving 6 undergraduates and one graduate student to digitize the microfungal collections in the ESF Mycological Herbarium. Chris Whipps was invited to serve as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Parasitology, chaired the successful Disease Ecology/Epidemiology search, and continues to chair ESF’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).

Among the over 600 undergraduates in EFB, seniors Margaret Foley and Fareya Zubair distinguished themselves by receiving the SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Student Excellence. Seamus McKenney was named the Environmental and Forest Biology Departmental Scholar. The ESF Chapter of The Wildlife Society (team members Allison Smith, Kim Savides, Heather Swenson, and James Lee) beat 13 other teams to win the Northeast Conclave Quiz Bowl of TWS. Thomas Evans (K. Limburg, major professor) was selected by the faculty as the department’s outstanding doctoral student.

After over seven years of regular meetings, the groundbreaking for the Academic Research Building, home for about onethird of the EFB faculty and adjacent to Illick Hall, is set to take place at the end of the spring 2017 semester, with completion about two years thereafter. As part of this construction, the quad will be landscaped to better integrate the buildings with campus plantings, and provide numerous examples of green infrastructure and a sustainable landscape.

The Dale L. Travis Lectures continue to be very successful. On Halloween, Karin Limburg gathered a group of scientists, artists, and filmmakers to discuss fish conservation. In March, about 400 people attended Neil Ringler’s presentation on decades of Onondaga Lake research and the importance of collaboration.

Undergraduate and graduate enrollments and quality, external funding to the Department, and worldwide attention in the media have never been better. I hope that you agree after reading this brief summary that the Department of Environmental and Forest Biology is doing well, because of its excellent students, successful alumni, fine faculty, and dedicated staff. Please let us know how you are doing, and visit us during the annual Fall Weekend/Senior Reunion on October 7 to 9. 1

Environmental Resources Engineering Ted Endreny :: te@esf.edu Chair and Professor

It is a privilege to summarize some achievements of the Department of Environmental Resources Engineering (ERE) for the 2015-2016 academic year. In late August of 2015, ERE matriculated 40 new freshman, 6 transfer, and 8 new graduate students with outstanding academic experience and potential. In May 2016, ERE graduated 42 undergraduates and 6 graduate students. Our students have been excellent ambassadors for the ERE program, and the passion in which they engage in engineering activities that improve our world clearly connects them to the rich experiences, vision, and accomplishments of our ERE alumni.

This academic year, we implemented curricular changes to the ERE B.S. degree. As you may recall, changes were necessary in order to accommodate new environmental engineering program criteria from ABET, transfer and sequencing requirements mandated by SUNY Seamless Transfer, changes to the environmental engineering Fundamentals of Engineering exam, and recommendations by the Na-

tional Academy of Engineering (NAE) on best practices in engineering education.

The ERE capstone experience, Engineering Planning and Design, was taught this year by Dr. Neil Murphy, ESF President Emeritus, and alumnus Brian Platt ’01, P.E. who earned a graduate degree from Cornell University, and is a lead engineer with O’Brien and Gere. These two also developed and taught a 1-credit hour fall pre-requisite for this course, Engineering Project Management, which acted as a catalyst for the launch of the spring P&D experience. Dr. Murphy delivered several public lectures, including one for the Adirondack Research Consortium in Lake Placid (“Water—The Most important Compound in the Biosphere”), and one at the Society for College and University Planning in Chicago (“Towards Campus Carbon Neutrality: SUNY ESF Gateway Center”). He also served as Co-Chair for the CNY Commission for Modernization of Government, investigating the feasibility and limits of a merger between the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County.

During the fall semester, Dr. Giorgos Mountrakis took his first sabbatical. As he reports, it was spent investigating novel image analysis methods based on deep neural networks. He and his PhD student, Reza Khatami, conducted a meta-analysis of

more than 15,000 manuscripts to provide a statistical assessment on the methods and data manipulation techniques that work best for pixel-based image classification.

The results of this work were published in Remote Sensing of the Environment. This recent publication has already attracted attention and Giorgos was invited to present the results at the IEEE meeting in Rochester, NY. Doug Daley ’82, P.E., was on sabbatical for fall and spring, using the time to work at Saint Francis University in Loretto, PA as a Visiting Scholar. In this capacity, Doug helped the SFU Engineering Department improve the rigor and delivery of their senior capstone design course. In late January 2016, I took leave of the ESF campus to pursue a Fulbright sponsored sabbatical and serve as Distinguished Chair in Environmental Sciences at Parthenope University in Naples, Italy. The focus of my sabbatical was to develop new courses and research projects in tree-based restoration of urban systems, building on our i-Tree tools with international cities. Some of my experiences were reported in our ERE blog, found here: https://erengineering.wordpress.com/ To cover for the sabbatical leaves and our low faculty number, as well as to enrich instruction with professors of practice, we had several talented visiting instructors join Please see DEPARTMENT UPDATES, Page 8

8 Alumni News SUMMER 2016 www.esf.edu/alumni Department Updates Continued from Page 7

our ERE team, many of whom are alumni of our program. Chris Somerlot, P.E. (1999 B.S., 2002 M.S.) taught Numerical and Computing Methods and GIS-Based Modeling; John Dunkle, P.E., taught Stormwater Management; Garth Werner, P.Eng., taught Mechanics of Materials; Allison Muehe, P.E., taught Humanitarian Engineering; Matt Marko, P.E. (and ESF Trustee) taught Ecological Engineering and co-taught our Introduction to ERE with Site Visits; Greg Mosure, P.E., taught Basic Engineering Thermodynamics; alumna Meghan Platt, P.E. (2001, M.S.) taught Solid and Hazardous Waste Engineering; Dr. Yuxin Schiffres taught Sustainable Engineering; and alumnus Michael Amadori (2012 M.S.) taught Engineering Decision Analysis. Instructional Support Specialist (ISS), and alumnus Mark Storrings ’02 taught the Principles of Remote Sensing course in the spring, and delivered the fall ESF course, Introduction to Geospatial Technologies, when during the 1st month of classes the instructor had to take leave. Mark and ERE alumnus Paul Szemkow ’02 provided strategic instructional support to keep these and other courses running smoothly.

Dr. Lindi Quackenbush served as Acting Chair for ERE for most of the spring semester, until my return from sabbatical leave on July 10. She focused her research activities on NYView, which is a consortium to facilitate application of remote sensing data and products within New York State, as well as to foster collaboration between members of the consortium. Lindi worked to secure NYView funding for the upcoming year, and oversaw the delivery of several benefits, e.g. supporting graduate and undergraduate students, but also enhancing collaboration with researchers across NYS and the country by coupling with the AmericaView program. Lindi reports that her primary service activity during the spring semester was as Acting Chair for ERE, saying that it engaged her in activities she valued and became an incredible learning experience.

Dr. Steve Shaw achieved exciting results from his research grants with the National Science Foundation and the US Department of Agriculture. These results were published in 6 manuscripts, with some examining how climate change affected local water resources, and others on how the global climate change models should be tested against local water resources data.

Steve developed new research ideas in response to a federal initiative to find innovations at the nexus of food, energy, and water resource crisis, and in response to a NYS request for an assessment of reliability of electrical power generation facilities between now and 2050. Steve successfully mentored and graduated one MS, one MPS, and one PhD student, as well as taught all of our undergraduates in Statics and Fluid Mechanics. Dr. Chuck Kroll was active in research and teaching, which included leading the ERE Ecological Engineering in the Tropics course to Costa Rica over spring break. He also developed a new course that is a fusion of cooking, systems engineering, and sustainability, three of his passions.

Dr. Wendong Tao, P.Eng., hosted 2 assistant professors this year, published collaborative papers in high-impact journals, and has filed a patent application on ammonia recovery using vacuum thermal stripping and acid absorption. His industrial partner and the SUNY Technology Transfer Office are actively seeking industrial users and investors for this technology. Some of the potential users include anaerobic digestion plants, landfill operations and wastewater treatment plants. Wendong had 7 of his 8 graduate students funded by Fulbright Scholarships, research assistantships,

and graduate assistantships, and he hired 3 ERE undergraduate students to work in a wetland sampling program, from which they gained industrial experience. Wendong also provided professional services in an Environmental Protection Agency review panel, in the July 2016 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting, and as Executive Editor for the Journal of Forest Research.

We are proud to report that ERE is excelling, with excellent students, faculty, staff, and friends. To learn more about our activities contact me (te@esf.edu), the ERE Advisory Council chair Meghan Platt (meghan. platt@gmail.com), or connect with ERE students, alumni, faculty and staff through our LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, WordPress, and other channels, all reachable from the ERE homepage www.esf.edu/ere.

Environmental Science

Dr. Russell Briggs :: rdbriggs@esf.edu Director of the Division of Environmental Science and Professor Memorial Day weekend provides a convenient point to reflect on the accomplishments of the Division of Environmental Science during the 2015-2016 academic year. The Division oversees the B.S. in Environmental Science, the B.S. in Environmental Health, and the Graduate Program in Environmental Science (MPS, MS and PhD). Two hundred and forty-three students were registered in the fall 2015 semester. Enrollment during spring 2016 (167 undergraduates, 74 graduate students) was consistent with fall 2015 numbers. At the time of this writing, fall semester deposits for the undergraduate programs have been received from 11 Environmental Health and 42 Environmental Science students, placing us on a trajectory slightly ahead of the previous year. Final numbers will not be available until registration concludes at the end of August.

Graduation 2016, the culmination of the academic experience, was celebrated in the early afternoon of May 14th in the SRC Arena in Syracuse. The graduation ceremony was preceded by a lunchtime reception in 408 Baker Lab. We enjoyed the opportunity to share good food and conversation with the parents and friends who joined us to send off our graduates (a group that included a number of ESF alums). At the graduation ceremony, Nicole Harbordt was presented with a plaque honoring her as our Environmental Science Scholar. She will be working in Namibia with the Peace Corps for the next two years. This next generation of environmental scientists and managers brings promise to the future.

One of our more important tasks is faculty recruitment. Following the successful conclusion of a search, we welcome Dr. Brian Leydet, who will teach Epidemiology for the Environmental Health program. Dr. Lydet, formerly a postdoctoral research associate at Southern Research Institute in Birmingham AL, has expertise in ticks and the diseases that they carry. The new areas of expertise that Dr. Lydet will contribute to the current curriculum expands opportunities for our students to participate in undergraduate research. Dr. Lydet will be located in 207 Illick Hall.

The Division continues to evolve to meet current and emerging societal needs for environmental professionals and scientists. We are working to provide a stronger thread that will guide students through the undergraduate program as a cohort with a sense of a shared experience. This idea is common to the Departments (such as FNRM, EFB) which require the majority of students to take a common core of courses in addition to a summer program. There

is significant interaction among students within each cohort. The number of options in the Environmental Science program minimizes the likelihood that our students will have any courses in common, so we therefore continue to work on a strategy that will enable development of a shared experience.

Every undergraduate enrolls in the Freshman/Transfer Seminar (ENS132 and EHS132) which is intended to provide an overview as well as a professional foundation during the first semester at ESF. One approach that we are planning to use in order to maintain the shared sense of experience is to stretch this course across two semesters, meeting every other week. The first semester will focus on student life issues; the second will focus on professional instruction and activity.

At the conclusion of the course, it is possible that students may not interact as a group again until the end of the sophomore or beginning of the junior year when they enroll in Technical Writing (EWP407).

The absence of any formal interaction during that intervening year is problematic; we ‘lose touch’ and students may lose impetus towards the senior synthesis experience.

Consequently, we are working to develop a required course for the second year that will bridge the gap and provide focus for development of a senior synthesis experience; the challenge is scheduling. Ideally, such a course would provide a seamless connection to the third year technical writing course, followed by the fourth year capstone seminar.

One of our major accomplishments during this past year has been expanded internship opportunities. Ann Moore successfully increased student opportunities for internships, drawing on a strong professional network in both the public and private sectors.

In addition, she has drawn in professionals from the ranks of ESF alumni to assist in critiquing oral presentations and improve job seeking skills. Under Ann’s leadership, the capstone course has developed into an excellent culminating educational experience.

The BS program in Environmental Health (EH) is gaining momentum; we welcome our third incoming class this fall, bringing us closer to the graduation of our first cohort. The administrative team (Dr. Lee Newman, EH Curriculum Coordinator, and Ann Moore) continue to work towards accreditation, with the intent of submitting the application simultaneously with the graduation of our first class.

The Graduate Program in Environmental Science continues to evolve. The increasing complexity of environmental issues at the intersection of physical, biological and social sciences appears to drive a strong pool of applicants for the GPES program.

Dr. Dylan Parry has taken on the role of GPES Director, replacing Dr. Ruth Yanai. As a team, we (Cariann Linehan, Russ Briggs, and Dylan Parry) continue to oversee the areas of study and navigate a systematic allocation of GPES GA positions, one of the more time-consuming tasks.

This year, GPES is pleased to announce the inaugural Outstanding Graduate Scholars award recipients. Ms. Wiesye Pelupessy, 2016 MPS Scholar in the Environmental Community Land Planning Area of Study, returns to Maluku, Indonesia to resume her work as a land planner in the Department of Public Works. Mr. Tim Koch, MS Scholar in the Wetland and Water Resources Area of Study, will be completing his thesis in the fall under the direction of Dr. Philippe Vidon. Dr. Xialoian Yang, PhD scholar in the Environmental and Natural Resources Policy Area of Study, returns to Beijing, China to work with World Resources Institute. Dr. Yang was recently appointed to a two-year term on the federal National Coal Council, an advisory panel of the United States Secretary of Energy. When you find yourself on

campus, be sure to visit the Division office in 202 Baker and see the plaque on which the recipients’ names are displayed.

As noted above, the Division continues to evolve, responding to societal needs and scientific developments in the realms of Environmental Science and Environmental Health. We invite our alumni to become involved with our current students. There is no better advertisement for their potential futures than direct contact with professionals who have benefitted from their ESF experiences. If you are interested in sharing details of your professional responsibilities with students (who are in a frame of mind that you have already experienced) please let me know. Perhaps you would be interested in presenting a professional seminar. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to share them with me. I can be reached by email at rdbriggs@esf.edu.1

Environmental Studies

Benette Whitmore :: bwhitmor@esf.edu Interim Chair The Department of Environmental Studies, which is comprised of the Environmental Studies Program and the Writing Program, experienced leadership transitions for the 2015-2016 academic year. After six years of serving as Environmental Studies Chair, Dr. Valerie Luzadis ’97 was promoted to Interim Provost and Executive Vice President of ESF. Dr. Benette Whitmore, who served as Writing Program Director for six years, was appointed Interim Chair of Environmental Studies.

Two new faculty members joined Environmental Studies in 2015–16. Dr. Mary B. Collins focuses on the interdependence of social and ecological systems, particularly related to issues of equity and justice in the context of human health. Dr. Elizabeth Vidon focuses on the ways in which diverse groups of people come to value particular landscapes (specifically wilderness), and how values find material expression in those landscapes (see Dr. Collins’ and Dr. Vidon’s bios below for more information).

Other highlights in Environmental Studies included the award of a new faculty position associated with a successful proposal to the highly competitive SUNY Diversity Program, designed to advance diversity and inclusive excellence by encouraging outstanding scholars from groups who have been historically-underrepresented in higher education. Dr. Lemir Teron was selected as one of three candidates chosen from submissions from the entire SUNY system. He will join ESF and Environmental Studies this fall and will teach courses in environmental justice, and environmental and energy auditing (see Dr. Teron’s bio below for more information).

Environmental Studies offers the opportunity to earn a Certificate in Environmental Decision Making with plans to begin offering the program in an online format. The focus of this certificate is on environmental decision-making, the processes by which stakeholders seek solutions to environmental problems. The Certificate is currently designed for graduate students at ESF, and those enrolled in law, management, public administration, or information studies programs at Syracuse University. It provides exposure to specialized environmental study that is relevant to students with related professional interests.

T his year, Environmental Studies launched a Colloquium Series to inspire a more robust, intellectual community in the Department. Ten guest lecturers, including professors and graduate students, delivered research talks during the academic year to audiences consisting of ESF faculty, gradu-

www.esf.edu/alumni SUMMER 2016 Alumni News 9 ate students, and colleagues from neighboring institutions. Examples of colloquium talks were: “The Rise of Science-Based Activism in China,” “Vietnamese American Fishers on the Gulf Coast: Stakeholder Science and Engagement with Resource Agencies,” and “The Changing Role of Information in Arctic Marine Governance: Examples from the Tourism Sector.”

Faculty Accomplishments

Mary B. Collins just completed her first year on the Environmental Studies faculty. She taught classes in the Environmental Health Science Program and also a course in environmental justice. Her publication, “Linking ‘Toxic Outliers’ to Environmental Justice Communities,” first published in Environmental Research Letters, was mentioned in Fortune Magazine, Huffington Post Science, and The Washington Post, among others.

The article has been downloaded more than 7,000 times.

Andrea Feldpausch-Parker is co-author of a book entitled, Environmental Communication and Community: Constructive and Destructive Dynamics of Social Transformation, published by Routledge. She served as President of the Environmental Communication Division for the National Communication Association. Dr. Parker is on the Tully Mudboils Technical Advisory Panel which is tasked with recruiting and convening a group of technical experts in the fields of hydrology/geology, stream ecology, engineering, and system health to participate in a scientific panel to provide recommendations for remediation of Onondaga Creek due to mudboil activities in the Tully Valley.

Paul Hirsch designed meeting structure, served as lead facilitator, managed co-facilitators, and developed reports for a series of meetings integrating community values, scientific monitoring, and environmental planning as part of the Onondaga Environmental Institute’s Reviving Place Project.

Dr. Hirsch relocated to Washington, D.C. this year, where he is fostering connections that will leverage opportunities for ESF students, faculty, and ESF. He also developed a graduate certificate in Environmental Decision Making.

Jack Manno was part of a delegation of environmental scholars and activists under the project, “Sustaining All Life,” which created opportunities for people attending climate change negotiations in Paris. His book, Ending the Fossil Fuel Era, was published by the MIT Press.

Sharon Moran helped to advance graduate programs at ESF, specifically with respect to the Sustainable Enterprise Program, as well as a new food studies certificate. She completed a major grant proposal to the National Academy of Science’s Gulf Program. Her forthcoming book with Environmental Studies Professor Emeritus Richard Smardon focuses on revitalizing urban waterway communities and will be published by Routledge.

Theresa Selfa continues her robust research in three areas: 1.) socio-ecological impacts of land use change to energy crops in the US and Latin America, 2.) household livelihood impacts of payments for ecosystems services programs in Latin America (especially Mexico), and 3.) role of non-state governance and sustainability certification and labeling around GMOs in food. Dr. Selfa will be on sabbatical leave for 2016-17 where in the fall she will be a scholar at UC Berkeley affiliated with the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, and the Berkeley Food Institute. In the spring she will be a visiting scholar with Universidad Austral in Valdivia, Chile.

David Sonnenfeld continues to serve as Editor-in-Chief for the publication, Society & Natural Resources, which is the official journal of the International Association for Society and Natural Resources. Dr. Sonnenfeld also continued his appointment as

Founding Editorial Board Member of Environmental Sociology, which is the journal of the International Sociological Association’s Research Committee on Environment and Society.

Lemir Teron will join the Environmental Studies faculty starting in fall 2016. Dr. Teron was hired in association with our successful proposal to SUNY’s Faculty Diversity Program, designed to encourage recruitment, retention, and promotion of outstanding scholars from historically-underrepresented groups. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the NOAA-funded Environmental Cooperative Science Center with the Florida A&M University School of the Environment, where his work evaluated human dimensions related to coastal sustainability. He also taught at FAMU’s College of Law. His research broadly examines urban policy, sustainability planning and environmental justice. This includes projects that have evaluated the interface between legacy pollution and extreme weather events, coastal sustainability & disaster planning/management, and the prevalence of environmental justice strategies in urban planning. Dr. Teron has also advised and worked with numerous municipal planning offices and departments. His PhD is in Energy & Environmental Policy.

Elizabeth Vidon completed her first year as assistant professor in Environmental Studies. Her article, “The Call of the Wild: Power and Ideology in the Adirondack Park” was published in Political Ideology and Tourism. She received a SUNY-ESF Seed Grant for her proposal, “The Price of Wilderness?

Exploring the Relationship Between Wilderness and Community Well-Being in the Central Adirondacks.” She will teach a graduate course in “Nature, Recreation and Society” this fall. 1

Forest and Natural Resources Management

David H. Newman :: dnewman@esf.edu Chair and Professor This has been a year of change for the Department.

This past year, the Construction Management degree program merged into FNRM, bringing an additional 80 highachieving students. With this addition, plus continued increases in our other programs, enrollment in the Department rose in the fall to 345 undergraduate students and 71 graduate students at the main campus, and 63 students at the Ranger School. The presence of the Construction Management major, along with the Sustainable Energy Management major, is truly exciting and opens up tremendous opportunities for our students. We also created two new Graduate Programs in Sustainable Energy and Natural Resources Management.

A sampling of some of the accomplishments and changes in the Department this year include: • Six FNRM faculty, staff, and students received significant awards this year. Dr. Eddie Bevilacqua received the Chancellor’s award for Excellence in Teaching, Ms. Debbie Sovocool received the Chancellor’s award for Excellence in Classified Service, and Ms. Heather Carl, an undergraduate NRM student, received the Chancellor’s student-athlete award; Dr. Steve Stehman received the Exemplary Researcher Award; Ms. Mary Thompson received the Undergraduate Student Association’s Special Teaching Award; and Mr. Paul Crovella received the ESF College Foundation Award for Exceptional Achievement in Teaching.

• Four FNRM faculty announced that they will be retiring in the coming months: Dr. Ralph Nyland, Distinguished Service Professor of Silviculture will retire this coming

January after 50 years of teaching, research and service with the College, along with first being a student at the College (Class of 1956); Dr. George Kyanka, Professor and Director of the Renewable Materials Institute, will retire this fall after 48 years with the College; Dr. Chuck Maynard, Professor and Director of the American Chestnut Research and Restoration Center, will retire this fall after 40 years with the College; Ms. Jacqueline La Vie, Lecturer in Mathematics, will retire this fall after 13 years teaching calculus to students at the College. All four will be greatly missed and we wish them well in the future.

• Dr. Colin Beier led the design and execution of a large-scale, community-based recreation and land use planning exercise of unprecedented scope, scale and level of public engagement in the history of the Adirondack Park, known as the Great South Woods Complex Planning project, with support from the NYS Environmental Protection Fund. He also delivered a stateof-the-art web mapping application to support climate change adaptation in New York State, as part of the NY Climate Change Science Clearinghouse project (www.nyclimatescience.org).

• Dr. Russ Briggs, will work with the USFS in Washington DC for 5 weeks this summer as a Senior Policy Analyst and will take a sabbatical leave there next spring.

• Drs. Tristan Brown, Marie-Odile Fortier, and Tim Volk received a USDA Biomass Research and Development Initiative grant for more than $900,000. The project is titled “Development of stochastic techno-economic and life cycle models for quantifying the economic and environmental costs of cellulosic bioenergy.”

• Mr. Paul Crovella will be defending his doctoral dissertation this fall. During the summer, he will present results from this research at a conference in Puerto Rico.

• Dr. Diane Kuehn co-led a service-learning course, Ecotourism Abroad, in Nicaragua this past spring. Last year, she led a similar course in Panama and will lead a course in Costa Rica next year. She also completed a large research project on maple syrup producers’ perceptions of climate change.

• Dr. Bob Malmsheimer made a number of presentations in the UK and to the European Union in Brussels on biomass energy policy. In addition, the USDA and State of Virginia designated him as the “scientific advisor” for forest carbon accounting and US forest sustainability for a three-person team from the Netherlands’ government that visited Virginia and Alabama to investigate and report on the sustainability of wood pellets from the Southeast US. • Dr. Chuck Maynard and Dr. Bill Powell (EFB) were honored to have the 100th volume of the “Empire Forester” dedicated to their American chestnut research.

• Dr. David Newman presented a talk to the SAF Board in Washington on “Changes in Forestry Education: Where Are We Headed?”

• Dr. John Stella returned from a leave of absence with the Nature Conservancy in California where he was deeply engaged in water issues in the state.

• Dr. Ralph Nyland’s 3rd Edition of Silviculture: Concepts and Applications was released this past spring. He also helped organize two riparian ecosystem conferences, one in Davis, CA and the other in Lyon, France.

• Dr. Tim Volk was awarded a $3 million research grant from the US Department of Energy on biomass production and transformation.

• Dr. John Wagner will be taking a sabbatical this coming fall in order to complete the second edition of his book, “Forestry Economics: A Managerial Approach”.

• Dr. Ruth Yanai returned from a spring sabbatical in New Zealand where she was working with colleagues to clarify the meth-

ods for propagating uncertainty in the regression models used to estimate forest biomass and thus carbon and nutrient contents.

As in past years, the Department along with the Alumni Association will hold receptions at this year’s SAF convention in Madison, WI, and the NYSAF meeting in Syracuse. We look forward to seeing alumni there. 1

Landscape Architecture

Doug Johnston :: dmjohnst@esf.edu Chair and Professor

Student Accomplishments

In May, the Department of Landscape Architecture graduated another class of extraordinary students into what is looking like a very bright career environment. Both undergraduate and graduate students have reported offers and acceptances of jobs around the country, and in an informal survey of all students in the BLA and MLA programs, 79% of respondents indicated they are employed part-time or full-time, including permanent positions and internships. Thanks to the many different firms who have been able to offer internships to our students!

Students have also received many recognitions from the professional community.

Graduating BLA student Kate Chesebrough, was selected in a national competition as one of three finalists in the Landscape Architecture Foundation (LAF) National Olmsted Scholar program. The press release from the LAF explained that “an independent jury of leaders in the landscape architecture profession selected the winners and finalists from a group of 45 graduate and 32 undergraduate students who were nominated by their faculty for being exceptional student leaders.” Rachelle McKnight, MLA 2016 is our Graduate Olmsted Scholar. Olmsted Scholars, finalists, and winners will be recognized at the 2016 LAF Gala held in conjunction with the National ASLA Conference next fall.

Six students nominated by the faculty for ASLA Honor/Merit Awards presented their work to New York Upstate ASLA Chapter President Nick Schwartz ’93, Natalia Cagide-Elmer of Parsons, Inc. ’14, and Professor Robin Hoffman ’82 in April. In the BLA program, Kate Chesebrough and Marshall Secord received the Honor Awards, with Mark Warfel and Amy Allen receiving Merit Awards. In the MLA program, Rachelle McKnight received the Honor Award and William (Bill) Elliot earned the Merit Award.

Third-year BLA Student Alden Morris’s project for the Elevating Erie Ideas Competition was named as a finalist in the Boulevard competition. The competition sought proposals that consider our current global biodiversity challenges in urbanized regions by developing solutions specific to the Erie Canalway Trail along Erie Boulevard East in Syracuse, NY. The competition received a total of 70 submissions from 16 countries.

Details of the competition can be found at www.elevatingerie.com.

Next year, thanks to the generosity of alumni and supporters of our department, 45 students in the program will receive scholarships to support their studies, on and off-campus. Over $70,000 in department scholarships are helping us recruit and retain the best students. Even though we offer one of the most affordable programs in the country, your support has helped sustain the department’s long and proud legacy.

Classes

Faculty in the Department of Landscape Please see DEPARTMENT UPDATES, Page 10

10 Alumni News SUMMER 2016 www.esf.edu/alumni Department Updates Continued from Page 9

Architecture are serious about engaged learning between students and communities. During the fall semester, Professors Margaret Bryant and Richard Hawks ’72, as well as the third-year students worked with the NYS Department of Parks and Historic Preservation on envisioning design solutions to Denning’s Point in Beacon, NY for site of historic farms, brickworks, and other uses. Students in the fourth-year studio worked with a design firm and local developer to come up with alternatives to the rehabilitation of the “Chain Works” industrial complex, which commands the high grounds between Ithaca College and residential neighborhoods in the City of Ithaca. Taught by Professor Isabel Fernandez and Instructor Jocelyn Gavitt ’07, work from this studio received recognition by the NY Upstate ASLA chapter and was presented at a SUNY Undergraduate Research exhibition at the Capital in Albany. In the MLA program, Professor Robin Hoffman and second year students worked with the NYS DOT on alternative roadway and green infrastructure improvements planned for the downtown of Clayton, NY and Professor Emanuel Carter led third-year studio working with the Town of Tupper Lake on economic development opportunities focused around “The New Forest Economy,” an initiative led by Preston Gilbert ’73 and ESF faculty member Tom Amidon ’68 along with Alfred State College and other partners to take advantage of advances in biorefining of wood products to provide clean production of numerous elements from wood and potentially reinvigorating many community economies across the state.

Our fifth-year students spent the fall semester participating in the Off-Campus Program. The Department had student groups in Kyoto, Japan; Christchurch, New Zealand; Auckland, New Zealand; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Barcelona, Spain; and London, England. Students presented their studies in an exhibition on campus and, of course, through the 42nd Annual Festival of Places.

In the spring semester, Professor Margaret Bryant traveled with her studio all the way to Jackson, Mississippi to collaborate with Downtown Jackson Partners on a series of neighborhood studies. Student teams developed a detailed analysis of three downtown streets/neighborhoods: Town Creek, West Capitol Street, and Farish Street, examining options for complete streets, stormwater management, use of vacant properties, urban forest, walkability, lighting and many other factors. The class spent spring break in Jackson meeting with community members and visiting the neighborhoods.

Professor Emanuel Carter continued his long standing work with the Niagara Riverkeepers organization, examining urban ecological restoration and community development opportunities in the Buffalo, NY region. Professor Matt Potteiger’s thematic studio focused on “productive ecologies” examining opportunities for local food production within the context of urban ecological settings.

Faculty Updates

DLA faculty continue to be busy outside the classroom, although links between teaching, research and scholarship keep course content current and fresh. Professor Tim Toland ’98 was granted a sabbatical leave for the past academic year to reengage in practice working with the Buffalo Riverkeepers and others to move projects toward realization. He has also continued regular activity to improve the ESF campus’ environment.

The publication of Visiting Professor Martin Hogue’s book “39 Campgrounds” is imminent, and Professor Isabel Fernandez’s manuscript on plazas in Puerto Rico

is nearing completion. Faculty have presented their work at many national and international conferences and meetings within the past year.

Next year promises to be a year of change.

Enrollments in both the BLA and MLA programs are up (relative to recent years), the Center for Community Design Research and the Center for Cultural Landscape Preservation have undertaken strategic planning initiatives to strengthen and expand their impact on communities and the profession, and the Department, in parallel with the College, is also sharpening its mission and vision for our second hundred years. 1

Paper and Bioprocess Engineering

Gary M. Scott :: gscott@esf.edu Chair and Professor; Director, Division of Engineering; Assistant Provost for Assessment and Academic Initiatives The Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering continues to be strong, maintaining our undergraduate enrollment at near 100 students and graduate enrollment near 45.

We had an exceptionally large graduating class this year with a total of 28 students crossing the stage. These students included 5 Paper Engineering students, 15 Bioprocess Engineering students, 2 Master of Professional Studies students, 5 Master of Science students, and 1 Doctor of Philosophy student. Our incoming undergraduate class for the Fall 2016 currently includes 26 students evenly split between Paper Engineering and Bioprocess Engineering.

The PBE Department expanded this year by merging with part of the Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering department on campus. This merger brings together most of the materials education and research with our continuing efforts in the area of process engineering.

With this merger, we are now also the home for wood science graduate education and research on campus, as well as microscopy education. The merger also brings four new faculty members to the department: Dr. Susan Anagnost ’82, Dr. Rafaat M. Hussein, Dr. Robert Meyer ’67 and Dr. William Smith ’76.

While the department name will remain the same, look for our new tag line defining the expanded scope of the department:

staff members in PBE received awards over the past year for their contributions to the department, the college, and the broader community. Ms. Lynn Mickinkle, our department secretary, received the President’s Quality of Worklife Award. This award is given to a current employee who shows exemplary performance of duties beyond ordinary expectations or requirements and demonstrates involvement in campus activities consistently during their employment.

She is always willing to help students with whatever they need for both their academic and personal endeavors. She provides advice, encouragement, emotional support and doubles as a stand-in mother. Lynn is a key member of the PBE department with respect to many of its operations. She is instrumental in the efficient operation of PBE’s own placement program for both internships and permanent positions by scheduling interviews and working with recruiters while they are here, and making sure the students are ready for their interviews. Whether Lynn is lending emotional support, guidance, advice or going above and beyond her normal work duties, she is a true asset to the ESF community.

Mr. Raymond Appleby received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service. This is a SUNY-wide award that recognizes consistently superior professional achievement within and beyond the position. Mr. Appleby is a key member of the Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering and is very active in the wider College Community. The award acknowledges his leadership within the department especially in terms of facilities, equipment, the operations of the pilot plant, and the development and implementation of instructional, research, and service projects. The strong reputation of the pilot plant amongst our industrial cooperators is mainly due to Mr. Appleby’s experience, training, and his ability to provide scientifically sound data and results to external clients. In addition to his many other responsibilities, Mr. Appleby is a key person in department outreach to the community. Each year he hosts several hundred ESF in the High School students on tours of the PBE Pilot Plant, advocating for the educational programs in the Department. During Mr. Appleby’s 33 years at SUNY ESF, he has been a key player in the success of the Department and the College and has touched the lives of many students.

Paper, Wood, and Biochemicals: Engineering Sustainable Materials for the 21st Century

The expanded department also brings with it new educational opportunities. We will continue to offer our two engineering programs within the department: Bioprocess Engineering and Paper Engineering.

In addition, a new program in Renewable Materials Science has been approved at the campus level and state approval is expected over the summer. Reflecting the broader scope of the combined department, the new program will have options in Paper Science, Wood Science, and Polymer Science; the third option is being offered in conjunction with chemistry.

Our expanded exchange program with the Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT) started this year. In this program the students will spend their first three years at BUCT and finish with their senior year at SUNY ESF, receiving B.S. degrees from both institutions. With this program, faculty from ESF will also teach some of the courses in Beijing. Over spring break, Dr. Gary M Scott spent a week teaching the Introduction to Process Engineering courses and Dr. Siddharth Chatterjee and Mr. Sergiy Lavrykov are currently in Beijing teaching Principles of Mass and Energy Balances and Computing Methods, respectively.

We are pleased to announce that two

PBE students participated in at least two student-focused professional conferences over the past year. Fifty ESF students travelled to Portland, Maine for the TAPPI Student Summit. This annual event is an opportunity to network with industry professionals and other students interested in the pulp and paper industry. There are companies interviewing to fill internships, co-ops and full-time positions and the days hold seminars, engineering competitions, and plant tours. The technical presentations centered on the book by Bill Coplin, “10 Things Employers Want You to Learn in College.” Speakers covered each of the 10 topics in the book, relating their talks to the skills needed by students to be successful in their careers. About ten PBE students also attended the 2015 Annual Student Conference of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) in Salt Lake City, Utah. The conference, held in November 2015, included four days of career information, social events, competitions, and networking for students from more than 150

schools. With each year, our involvement with AIChE increases as the student chapter becomes more active. The students appreciate the support of the Syracuse Pulp and Paper Foundation that helps them participate in these events.

We are looking forward to celebrating the 100th anniversary of Pulp and Paper Education at SUNY ESF in 2020.

While the planning is just starting, we are discussing a number of activities and outreach events. Be sure to be looking for the 100th anniversary logo on future correspondence from the Department. As we move towards the anniversary, we are planning a historical timeline for the 2nd floor of Walters Hall (and virtually online) as well as creating 10 Top 10 lists for the Department. If you have historical pictures and stories of your time in the department, please feel free to start sending them in.

We always appreciate alumni visiting especially to talk with students. Three alumni now working at Knowlton Technologies in Watertown, NY visited this spring to speak with the PBE Club (formerly the Papyrus Club). With Davi’eel Stewart ’16 (BS), President of the PBE Club are John Connor ’99 (BS), Jessica Colasanto (former employee of SUNY ESF), and Genevieve Nordmark ’15 (MPS).

I always look forward to hearing from alumni so please keep in touch and stop by to visit if you are in the area. Please keep up-to-date with the happenings within the department through our blog, Words from Walters (https://wordsfromwalters. wordpress.com/) or through our ESF Paper & Bioprocess Engineering group on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/grp/ home?gid=8125586). We are looking forward to another exciting year at SUNY ESF.

Key Dates in Pulp and Paper Education at SUNY ESF

1911 Establishment of the College of Forestry at Syracuse University 1914 Pulp and paper program approved by the Board of Trustees 1915 Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI) established 1916 Pulp and paper short course taught 1917 Department of Forest Chemistry (precursor to our current department) established 1920 Pulp and Paper Manufacture program begun (first in the US) 1923 First program graduate 1932 Department of Forest Chemistry renamed to Department of Pulp and Paper Manufacture 1945 Empire State Paper Research Institute (ESPRI) established 1960 Syracuse Pulp and Paper Foundation (SPPF) established 1995 Paper Science and Engineering celebrated its 75th anniversary 2002 Paper Science and Engineering (Engineering Option) accredited by ABET 2006 Bioprocess Engineering program started 2010 Bioprocess Engineering program accredited by ABET 2015 Paper and Bioprocess Engineering Department merges with Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering 1

www.esf.edu/alumni SUMMER 2016 Alumni News 11 ESF Outreach

peer collaboration.

As part of this institutional commitment, we have initiated a SUNY-facilitated Institutional Readiness self-assessment process in order to identify gaps in our online I’m honored and enthused education resources and ways to address to share with our alumni them. friends an update on some Think Summer – Think ESF SCIENCE! of ESF’s new and ongoing ESF SCIENCE (Summer Camps Investigateducational outreach ef- ing Ecology in Neighborhood and City Enforts. Outreach, in its many forms, is inte- vironments) was established as part of our gral to the College’s mission. I believe that first NSF GK12 grant in 2003. With subseoutreach and service profoundly enhance quent support from a Congressional ear the educational, professional and personal mark grant administered through the U.S. growth and development of our students, EPA, we were able to “kick it up a notch” faculty, and collaborators, and inspire every- and develop SCIENCE into a highly regardone involved. On behalf of our faculty, staff ed opportunity for Syracuse city students. and students who proudly represent ESF We are enthused that, again this sumthrough numerous outreach programs and mer, a full week will be devoted to students initiatives, I welcome your thoughts and from New York City through a partnership questions. We look forward to working with with Sponsors for Educational Opportuniyou! ties (SEO) Scholars Program.

Dr. Chuck Spuches :: cspuches@esf.edu 315.470.6810 :: www.esf.edu/outreach Assistant to the President for Outreach

Competitive Grant Awarded to Increase Diverse Student Participation in STEM

I am proud to announce that ESF will be part of a new SUNY-led initiative to train graduate students who will mentor middle school students in STEM. The Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) recently announced that “AEOP, in collaboration with Battelle, has awarded grants to eight organizations and technical associations to expand student participation in enriching science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) exploration and learning, particularly for underserved students. AEOP offers students and teachers Army-sponsored programs that effectively engage, inspire, and attract the next generation of STEM talent.”

SUNY is planning to scale-up the highly successful AEOP eCYBERMISSION initiative in which teams of middle school students explore how STEM thinking and approaches can solve a challenge in their community. This competitive program culminates in virtual science fairs and recognition at the state, regional, and national level.

Selected SUNY colleges and universities, in collaboration with the New York Academy of Sciences, will use the infrastructure established through a previous similar project to train SUNY graduate students in STEM programs who will then mentor middle school teams in three New York regions: New York City, Syracuse, and Utica.

This new effort extends a strong culture established at ESF that includes, among other endeavors, two National Science Foundation G-12 grants (Graduates in K-12 Education), the ESF Science Corps, the ESF SCIENCE summer program and, most recently, the NSF-funded SUNY/New York Academy of Sciences STEM Mentor Program: Service Research in Urban Schools.

Each of these programs are examples of a deep commitment to have ESF’s research and academic expertise complement K-12 teacher STEM professional development, and enrich K-12 student academic and career engagement in STEM. I look forward to sharing more about this important and exciting initiative this fall.

Announcing the ESF Open Academy and Teaching & Learning Collaboratory

ESF has been awarded a SUNY Extended Improvement Performance Fund grant that will, in part, help us to create an innovative integrated approach to online learning. The Academy will enable us to extend our distinct mission-based leadership within and on behalf of SUNY. • The ESF Open Academy will be a vehicle for providing online-enabled courses and certificates (with an eye toward a degree program), and will include non-credit and informal learning experiences.

• The ESF Teaching and Learning Collaboratory will provide faculty professional development support for this online-enabled education, and will be a venue for peer-to-

We have another great ESF Science Corps team this year:

ers who participated in the annual Environmental Summit on June 2, 2016. Additional thanks to ESF faculty, staff and students who were judges, chaperones and more.

The Environmental Summit is a research symposium designed to bring together high school scientists to present and discuss their original research with their peers, high school and college faculty, graduate and undergraduate students.

The research is conducted as part of the ESF in the High School Global Environment course. The Summit enables participating high school students to not only gain knowledge but to actively engage in the process of science!

The 2016 Environmental Summit program with a complete list of participants is available on the web at http://www.esf.edu/ outreach/esfhs/summit/ (click on the “2016 Winners and Program”) link.

NYS DEC Convenes at ESF!

Archives and Special Collections Jane Verostek ’92, Associate Librarian formally assigned to the SUNY ESF Archives and Special Collections has recently created and made available an online collections database of SUNY ESF related archival items. Currently, 3-dimensional archival items are in this database and users can see phot ographs and information about each object. To search and view the items in this new database, visit http://esfmoon.pastperfectonline.com/. If you have SUNY ESF related 3-dimensional items, memorabilia, etc. that you would like to donate to the SUNY ESF Archives, please contact Jane Verostek at jmveros@esf.edu. 1

ESF proudly hosted the NYS DEC Division of Lands and Forests, under the leadership • Jake O’Connell, Program Coordinator, of Rob Davies, for their second Statewide ESF Outreach (ESF ’15 and former Science Public Lands Supervisors Meeting. It was no Corps member), Syracuse, NY. surprise that nearly half the folks gathered popular collections with nearly 4,500 full• Tim Pede (Team Leader), PhD student, here were ESF alumni! Congratulations to text downloads just in the last year.

Environmental Resource Engineering, Mi- the DEC for their leadership and service. 1 Jessica Clemons was invited to speak noa, NY. about embedded librarianship at the New • Lauren Ness, Junior, Environmental BiolYork Library Association’s 125th annual conogy, Bay Shore, NY. F. Franklin Moon Library ference in Lake Placid, NY. • Kim Oswald, Sophomore, Environmental Jessica Clemons ’06 :: jclemons@esf.edu So much of what we can do in the library Studies, Geneva, NY. Interim Director of College Libraries is made possible by our student workers. We • Lawrence Vedilago, Senior, Environmenhave work-study students and interns who tal Studies, Massapequa, NY. When you visit the library work hand-in-hand with our librarians and Rick Beal Will Serve as a during your next trip to staff. Our growing collection of The Knothole Fulbright U.S. Scholar campus, you will notice a has been scanned, described, and uploaded Dr. Rick Beal, Assistant Dean in the ESF few significant changes. to Digital Commons @ ESF (http://digitalcOutreach Office, has been recognized as Stephen Weiter left ESF in ommons.esf.edu/knothole/) completely by a Fulbright U.S. Scholar. Rick will be in September 2015 for a different position after our student workers. We invite you to take a residence this fall at the Royal University of six years of service as the Director of College few minutes and peruse this growing collecPhnom Penh in Cambodia. Rick previously Libraries. Jessica Clemons ’06 is serving as tion. You might see yourself or your college served in the Peace Corps (Eritrea, Assab) the Interim Director of College Libraries. peers, familiar events, and charming prose and has a distinguished record at ESF, all of She has been a librarian at ESF since 2012 in those pages. The collection is searchable which certainly contributed to Rick receiv- and has a strong background in science li- and readable to the public. ing this honor. I’m very proud of Rick and I brarianship and scholarly communication.

As Cranberry Lake Biological Station invite you to join me in congratulating him Libraries continue to serve a vital role in prepares for its Centennial Celebration this and wishing him success in this exciting campus life. Not only are we a central hub summer, we encourage you to look at some endeavor. of social and scholarly activity, we share our of the research that students undertake at Professional Education spaces with some essential student support the station. Since 201, the library has been Programs Thrive services and departments. Students can publishing student abstracts and selected An important dimension of the College’s find quiet and collaborative space, tutoring presentations. You can view this open-acoutreach commitment entails organizing services, presentation areas, faculty offices, cess collection at (http://digitalcommons. and delivering successful faculty-driven and of course, an abundance of information esf.edu/clbs/). Many more documents and faculty-partnered local, state, national, resources. from 2016 will join this celebration of our and international professional education Ruth Owens is part of the OCM BOCES students’ work. conferences, workshops, and contract train- “Bridging the Gap” conversation which The library has become an official passings. Again this year, well over 1,000 partici- helps to connect school and academic librar- port acceptance facility. This service helps pants hailed from over 50 NYS Counties, 20 ians to support information fluency in our our students, faculty, and staff who study States, and several countries. Programs of- K-12 and college students. Ruth holds office and travel abroad. We offer the convenience ten carry professional development credits in the Upstate New York Special Library As- of scheduling appointments and photograthat serve relicense of NYS-licensed archi- sociation as the treasurer. Ruth has been phy services to anyone in need of a passport. tects, landscape architects, and engineers. promoted to Senior Assistant Librarian, The Friends of Moon Library are celeMoreover, these programs have a positive effective July 2016. She has an upcoming brating their 30th anniversary this year. The economic impact in Syracuse and around publication as part of an ongoing collabora- Friends help support the College Archives the State. In 2015, for example, programs tion with some of our ESF chemistry fac- through fundraising activities, and we are held in Syracuse and at the Brookhaven Na- ulty entitled: “Integrating information literacy thankful for all of the individuals and famitional Laboratory (Long Island) generated and research strategies into a sophomore college lies that have named one of the study carrels additional revenue for Onondaga County chemistry course: a new collaboration.” tucked away in the stacks. If you are interand for the Upton, Long Island community.

Jane Verostek ’92 has been revitaliz- ested in naming a carrel and helping supCurrent and past programs include ing the College Archives and Special Col- port Moon Library, please contact, contact the Sustainable Use of Renewable Energy lections (see boxed article). Working with Betsy Elkins, President of FOML, or Brenda (SURE) Symposium hosted by ESF in col- some of our most important collections, T. Greenfield in the ESF College Foundalaboration with the Sustainable Enterprise such as the Fletcher Steele Landscape Ar- tion. You may also help the Library and ColPartnership (Syracuse University’s Whit- chitecture Collection and the William M. lege Archives by joining the Friends group. man School of Management and L.C. Smith Harlow Time Lapse Film collection, she has Your donation will contribute to recognition College of Engineering and Computer Sci- been prioritizing the needs of preservation events for our student workers and study ence), New York State Green Building Con- and use. She has received several grants to breaks for the campus. If you are interested ference, New York State Biotechnology use technology to bring the college archives in volunteering your time or memorabilia, Conferenced, SUNY SPARE (Solar Power towards a modern future. If you use so- please contact Jane Verostek. Contact inforas Renewable Energy), the American Eco- cial media, check out her #tbt (throwback mation may be found here: http://www.esf. logical Engineering Society National Con- Thursday) posts on ESF social media chan- edu/moonlib/foml/ ference, the International Phytotechnology nels. She was invited to give a presentation Many of our alumni have fond memoConference, and more!

The Adirondack Mountains: Preservation and ries of the libraries at ESF, especially F. High School Students Engage Activism: The Marshall Family of NY—their Franklin Moon Library. I invite you all to in the Process of Science! history and legacy at the Researching New stop by and see us in person during your With appreciation to the Outreach Office York Conference. next visit. We will have an open house event team, especially Maura Stefl, Jake O’Connell Jo Anne Ellis ensures that our honors in the fall during the barbecue weekend, and Rick Beal, congratulations to all of the students’ theses are available in Digital and our growing online resources are availESF in the High School students and teach- Commons @ ESF. This is one of our most able anytime. 1

12 Alumni News SUMMER 2016 www.esf.edu/alumni

Alumni Memorial Scholarships Remembering our alumni who lost their lives serving our country

The Alumni Memorial Scholarships are awarded annually in memory of those alumni who lost their lives while serving their country.

Plaques with the names of these honored alumni can be seen in the Rotunda of Bray Hall. These awards are based not only on scholarship, but also on extracurricular activities and character. The Alumni Memorial Scholarships are handed out each year at the Central New York Alumni Dinner. Below are excerpts from the awards presentation during the CNY Alumni Dinner on April 7. Funds for these awards are made possible via the ESF Golf Tournament. Congratulations to the 2016 recipients!

INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE STUDENTS

Carolyn Chang

Fish and Wildlife Biology and Management Carolyn Chang is a Canadian citizen and is currently a PhD candidate in Fish and Wildlife Biology and Management. Prior to attending ESF, she completed a MS degree in Applied Science at St. Mary’s University.

Her doctoral thesis research involves enhancing the understanding of a prevalent pathogen in zebrafish research facilities.

Her work was presented at the Zebrafish Husbandry Workshop at Aquaculture America 2016 and was accepted for publication in a special disease-management issue of the Zebrafish journal. Carolyn is currently co-teaching a graduate-level seminar on Host-Pathogen Interactions with her advisor, Dr. Chris Whipps. She also supervises several undergraduate lab volunteers, interns, research assistants and senior thesis students.

YunYun Bi

Wood Products Engineering YunYun Bi is originally from China and and will be graduating in May with a PhD in Wood Products Engineering from the Paper & Bioprocess Engineering Department. Prior to attending ESF, YunYun studied at the Tianjin Univeristy of Science and Technology. There, she received the National Scholarship Award from China’s Ministry of Education, as well as an Excellent Undergraduate Student Award.

YunYun’s doctoral research on visiblelight curing processes will be presented at the RadTech 2016 Technology Expo & Conference and was previously presented on campus at the Spotlight on Research Poster Session. She has volunteered with numerous campus and community organizations including the Westcott Community Center and the Green Campus Initiative.

YunYun has also served as President of the Chinese Student and Scholars Association, the Graduate Student Association’s International Committee, and organized the very first campus-wide Chinese cultural celebration – “Chinese Lantern Festival Cultural Night.” She is a teaching assistant, and interned with the Research and Development Department of Rapid Cure Technologies.

GRADUATE STUDENTS

Sara Velardi

Environmental and Natural Resources Policy Sara is a PhD candidate in Environmental and Natural Resources Policy and will be graduating next May. Sara’s research on GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) will be presented at the International Rural Sociology Association Conference in Toronto, as well as at the Biotechnology Symposium at ESF. She is currently a Graduate Ambassador for ESF’s Graduate School, and also assists the Office of Instruction and Graduate Studies in administering degree requirements for graduate students, reviewing & editing theses and

dissertations, as well as scheduling and leading campus tours for prospective graduate students. Sara has been a Teaching Fellow for the Graduate Assistant Colloquium on Teaching and Learning for the past three years. She organizes interactive sessions focusing on best teaching practices for new TA’s. She is also an Adjunct Instructor at Onondaga Community College where she teaches introductory biology. Sara is highly involved in outreach activities. She has worked with ESF’s Department of Outreach on a summer camp called Science Corp. where science programs are brought to the Syracuse City School District. She was also invited to attend the New York Academy of Sciences Conference on Outreach and STEM Mentoring.

Terra Ann Rentz

Fish and Wildlife Biology and Management Terra will be graduating in May 2017 with a dual MS in Fish and Wildlife Biology and Management, and an MPA from SU’s Maxwell School. She was awarded the Edna Baily Sussman Foundation Fellowship for graduate research. Last year she served as the Department Representative for Environmental & Forest Biology to the ESF Graduate Student Association. Terra has served in many capacities for The Wildlife Society. Currently she is President of The Northeast Section…she is responsible for moving forward initiatives to streamline operations, and increasing member services, among other duties. In the past, she has served as Vice-President for The Northeast Section, and as a Member of various Wildlife Society committees. Prior to attending ESF, Terra was Deputy Director for Government Affairs & Partnerships for The Wildlife Society in Bethesda, MD. At ESF, she is currently Program Coordinator for the Roosevelt Wildlife Station, and last spring served as a Visiting Instructor in the Applied Wildlife Science course. She is currently conducting an independent, selfdeveloped research project assessing the management effectiveness for State Fish and Wildlife agencies. Terra has produced approximately 15 publications, including a book chapter in Becoming a Wildlife Professional, and numerous lectures.

HONORABLE MENTION GRADUATE STUDENT

Congratulations to the 2016 Alumni Memorial Scholarship Recipients! Front row (L to R): Samantha Hollister, Hélène Rainville, Sara Velardi, Kacy Smith, Terra Ann Rentz, and Kristina Macro. Back row (L to R): Nathan Kiel, Hannah Roden, YunYun Bi, Carolyn Chang, and Haley Canham. lyst and Guest Lecturer. She is also a Firefighter-EMT for the Sackets Harbor, NY Fire Department and has served as their EMS Coordinator, and as a member of the Family Readiness Group for the 82nd Airborne, US Army at Ft. Bragg, NC. SENIORS

Haley Canham

Environmental Resources Engineering Haley is currently the Upstate NY Representative for Engineers Without Borders, and last year served as the organization’s Northeast Region Conference Head Coordinator. In that role, she led the planning and organization of all aspects of the EWB’s regional conference. Haley is also currently serving as the President of Engineering for a Sustainable Society, where she leads weekly meetings, fundraises, and works with individual project leaders to ensure effective projects in Peru, Haiti, and locally. She is a member of several organizations including the New York Water Environment Association, and the Provost’s Student Advisory Council, and was a presenter at the 2016 National Science Foundation’s Emerging Researcher’s Conference.

This summer, Haley will be taking on a research position through the NOAA Hollings Fellowship at the National Weather Service Station in Fairbanks, Alaska where she will be working with the NWS hydrologist on flood prediction in the central Alaskan region.

Kristina Macro

Environmental Resources Engineering Kristina a member of the Honors Program, the National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenges Scholars Program, Alpha Xi Sigma, and has been on the President’s List since 2013. She is active on campus as a Student Assistant in ESF’s Outreach Office, and has also been a Peer Tutor, and a Teaching Assistant for General Chemistry and General Biology. Kristina is a member of the 2016 Biomimicry Global Design Challenge Team, the Environmental Resources Engineering Club, and the New York Water Environment Association. She serves as Vice President of Engineers Without Borders where she is currently collaborating with EWB’s Syracuse Professional Chapter on developing a sustainable latrine project in Las Majadas, Guatemala. Kristina is the SUNY ESF Liaison for the Society of Women Engineers, and a Team Leader for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.

JUNIORS

Hélène Rainville

Samantha Hollister

Fish and Wildlife Biology and Management

Conservation Biology

Hélène will be graduating this coming December with an MPS in Sustainable Energy Management (Bioprocess Engineering).

She currently serves as a Senator for both the ESF Graduate Student Association and the Syracuse University Graduate Student Organization. She is a member of the Bioprocess Engineering Club, the NY Academy of Sciences, and serves on the SUNY ESF Engagement Task Force. Hélène is the recipient of the Herman L. Joachim Endowment Graduate Assistantship, has been a Teaching Assistant, Research Ana-

This is the second year in a row that Samantha has been chosen as a recipient of this award! Samantha used last year’s scholarship funds to study tropical ecology in Panama. In her own words, Samantha writes, “This experience changed my life….

ESF does a great job at making sure its students are exposed to real world applications of their knowledge…I was proud to represent ESF on my travels abroad; my education here does a great job of preparing me for the real problems faced in conservation.” Samantha is the Student Repre-

sentative for The School for Field Studies (an organization that creates study abroad experiences through field-based learning and research), a member of the ESF Track & Field team, and an active member of F.O.R.C.E.S., which is an unofficial volunteer organization associated with New York State Parks. She volunteers her time with the Food Recovery Network, the Utica Road Runners, and Spring Farm CARES. She also works as a Desk Assistant in Moon Library.

Kacy Smith

Environmental Biology Kacy is an Environmental Biology major with an impressive 3.98 GPA. Prior to attending ESF, Kacy graduated from Northwestern University with a BS in Communications with fields of study in Economics, Theatre, and Integrated Marketing Communications. She has been highly involved with theatre arts, including the Northwestern Student Theatre Coalition, the Northwestern Theatre and Interpretation Center, Purple Crayon Players and numerous regional productions including The Sound of Music and Grease. When not consumed with studies, Kacy enjoys trail running with her partner, Richard, who served in Afghantistan in the Marine Corps Infantry. She recently completed her first marathon (finishing in the top 4.5% of females), and is a skilled aerial circus artist.

SOPHOMORES

Hannah Roden Wildlife Science

Hannah is majoring in Wildlife Science and is currently a member of the ESF Music Society and the jazz band. During her summers, she has worked at Camp Rotary—a Cub Scout camp where boys are taught about teamwork, responsibility, and the value of nature. She has balanced a number of other jobs while being a student, including working at Jimmy John’s sandwich shop, and playing the piano at the Seward House Museum during their candlelight holiday tours. Before coming to ESF, Hannah was president of her school’s National Honor Society, ran her school’s store, and was a member of a number of student groups, including Odyssey of the Mind, Math League, the Envirothon Team, and several instrumental groups.

Nathan Kiel

Conservation Biology Nathan is majoring in Conservation Biology and, in addition to being on the President’s List for the Fall 2015 Semester, was awarded a Presidential Scholarship. He is also a member of the Society for Conservation Biology and the Bob Marshall Club.

Nathan has served as an Adirondack Mountain Club Trail Crew Member where he worked on trail maintenance throughout the High Peaks Wilderness. Nathan currently holds two jobs: on campus he works as a Lab Assistant for one of Dr. McGee’s graduate students. Off campus, Nathan works as an Assistant at Carpenter’s Brook Fish Hatchery.

www.esf.edu/alumni SUMMER 2016 Alumni News 13

SHOP THE SUNY-ESF COLLEGE BOOKSTORE 1. Kids Contest T-Shirt

2. Small Nalgene Bottle

3. Terrill Sweatshirt

This great design is the product of our 2016 T-Shirt Design Contest. Our winning design was produced by Olivia Pinner and features a detailed tree with “ESF” spelled out in the roots. Made of 100% pre-shrunk cotton.

Why waste plastic bottles when you can reuse an ESF Nalgene bottle?

Our BPA-free Nalgene bottle holds 16 oz. of liquid and has the ESF logo screen printed in white.

Available in sparkle pink or smoke gray.

This sweatshirt incorporates screen printing, embroidery and a custom-made patch into the most popular sweatshirt the Bookstore has ever sold! The fabric is 55% cotton/45% polyester and it is available in chocolate brown.

Sizes: XS (youth 2–4)

S (youth 6–8)

M (youth 10–12)

L (youth 14–16)

$10.00

$15.00

Sizes: S–XXL $47.00

4. Mighty Oaks Hat

5. Compact Umbrella

Made of 100% cotton, this lightweight hat has the Mighty Oaks logo embroidered in full color. A metal buckle secures the back. One size fits most.

Available in black only.

This compact green umbrella features the college logo in white on one of the panels. A perfect size to tuck into any backpack or under the seat of your car.

$20.00

$15.00

6. Culver City Crew Sweatshirt

7. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

This ultra-soft women’s crew neck sweatshirt is made of 100% cotton brushed terry and features a front pocket, princess seams and thumb holes in the cuffs. Available in heathered green or heathered burgundy.

Soft-cover edition of Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s latest book. Each copy is signed by the author!

8. Moose Our 10" high seated moose wears a white ESF hooded sweatshirt. $18.50

$18.00

Sizes: S–XXL $40.00

9. Hudson Travel Mug

10. Sprout Pencils

This 16 oz. stainless steel mug has a black plastic liner and a slide closure lid. Available in green or graphite. Shipped in a white gift box.

Most pencils, once sharpened down to a stub, serve no further use. Our Sprout Pencils solve that issue! A pencil with a water activated seed capsule, Sprout can be planted when it becomes too short to use. What was once a writing utensil soon grows into a plant! Allow us to choose your Sprout from a variety of seed types – planting instructions included.

Our athletic team logo comes in a vibrant 4-color decal! This weather and fade resistant decal will adhere to any smooth glass, metal or plastic surface and will remove with no residual effect.

Why not let everyone know that ESF athletics are going as strong as the “mighty oak!” Measures 3.5 x 4.25"

$2.25 ea.

$4.50

$13.00

11. Mighty Oaks Decal

SUNY ESF College Bookstore Order Form

Color

Size

Qty.

Price per item

This t-shirt is made of 100% polyester interlocking jersey and will wick away moisture. Perfect for any outdoor activity.

Available in green only.

Sizes: S–XXL $25.00

Billing Information

Shop online at www.esf bookstore.com or complete this form and mail it, along with a check payable to ESF Alumni Association, money order, or credit card information to SUNY ESF College Bookstore, 136 Gateway Center, Syracuse, NY 13210. You may also fax your order to 315-470-6994 or call us at 315-470-6559.

Item

12. Outside Performance T-Shirt

Total

Name Address City

State

Daytime Phone

Email

Zip

Shipping Address (if different from above) Name Address City Clothing subtotal $ Shipping & Handling Orders up to $7.99...........$3.00 $8 to $19.99..........$5.00 $20 to $39.99....... $7.00 $40 to $59.99.......$9.00 $60 to $79.99..... $11.00 $80 and up.........$13.00

Add $2 for each XXL size ordered / Add $4 for each 3XL size ordered $ Clothing total $ Non-Clothing total $ Shipping and handling based on Clothing and Non-Clothing total $

State

Zip

Method of Payment

0 Check/money order enclosed payable to ESF Alumni Association Charge my: 0 Visa 0 MasterCard 0 Discover 0 American Express Card Number

Non-Clothing items and S&H total NY State residents, please add sales tax.

4% tax on Clothing items total $ 8% tax on Non-Clothing item and S&H total $

Grand Total $

Expiration

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Signature * This is a 3 digit code on the back of Visa, MasterCard, and Discover and a 4 digit code on the front of American Express.

14 Alumni News SUMMER 2016 www.esf.edu/alumni

ALUMNI EVENT PHOTOS CNY Dinner

The 2016 CNY Dinner included an exclusive behindthe-scenes tour of the William H. Seward House in Auburn. Here, a tour guide leads a group of alumni through the Seward family’s dining room.

Alumni Board Members Tom Hughes ’06 (left) and Frank Moses ’01 (center) catch up with Geoff Christoff ’73 at the CNY Dinner in Auburn. This year’s dinner was held at the historic Springside Inn on the shores of Owasco Lake.

Alumni Board Members volunteer their time to serve on the Memorial Scholarship Selection Committee. Here, Board Member Gary Lipp ’86 (center) presents scholarships to the Sophomore Class recipients, Nathan Kiel and Hannah Roden.

Jerrie and Neil Brownell ’64 attended the annual CNY Alumni Dinner at the Springside Inn in April.

Pizza Study Break

The 23rd ARC meeting in Lake Placid.

Photo courtesy of Ken Rimany.

Alumni and students mingled at the CNY Dinner. Seated at this table were (left to right): Daria Lebduska ’76, Carol Glenister ’76, Ray Burger ’80, Board Member Peg Coleman ’79, Ed Neuhauser ’73, and Alumni Memorial Scholarship recipients Terra Ann Rentz and Kacy Smith.

Alumni Basketball Reception Alumni Association Board Members volunteer to hand out pizza to students at the annual “Pizza Study Break” during finals week. Here, Sandy Bonanno ’89/’92 (left) and Laura Crandall ’05 (ESF’s Director of Student Involvement and Leadership) greet the hundreds of students who showed up for free pizza and soda!

The Gateway Center was decked out in Syracuse University’s colors at the annual ESF Alumni Basketball Reception.

An exciting feature of this year’s CNY Dinner was a special performance by The Ecotones, ESF’s very own a cappella vocal group. This talented group of students entertained the crowd both during the cocktail hour and after dinner. The Alumni Association is making an effort to introduce different groups of students to alumni via the CNY Dinner…last year, it was student athletes.

Chicago Gathering

The Loewenstein Family (left to right: Rick ’78, Jenny ’12, Julie, and Jean ’80) enjoy a pizza party prior to the SU vs. Pittsburgh basketball game in February.

This group of alumni gathered in Chicago for cocktails at Uncommon Ground’s unique “roof farm” in June.

Taking a study break! Members of the Ecotones (ESF’s a cappella vocal group) took a break from studying for finals to attend the Alumni Association’s “Pizza Study Break” in the Gateway Center.

Annual NYSAF Meeting Everyone lends at hand at ESF alumni events! Here, College President Dr. Quentin Wheeler helps to sell 50-50 raffle tickets to attendees at the basketball reception.

In January, students from the Ranger School attended the NYSAF meeting and reception in Syracuse.

ESF’s Chair of the Department of Forest & Natural Resources Management, Dr. David Newman, addresses the crowd at the annual NYSAF meeting and reception in January.

Over 100 students and faculty from ESF and the Ranger School attended the NYSAF meeting and reception at the Doubletree by Hilton in Syracuse.

This group of young alumni gets together every year for the ESF Alumni Basketball Reception prior to an SU basketball game. This year’s event was held in February before the Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh game.

www.esf.edu/alumni SUMMER 2016 Alumni News 15 Champagne Toast – Cheers!

Congratulations to the Class of 2016!

Welcome to the alumni ranks!

The Alumni Association hosts the Champagne Toast twice a year (December and May) to congratulate ESF’s newest group of alumni.

A new feature of the Champagne Toast is the live Twitter wall, where the Class of 2016 can view congratulatory messages submitted by family, friends, faculty, and staff.

In May, over 100 messages were submitted to the wall!

NY Upstate Chapter ASLA

The New York Upstate Chapter ASLA annual awards dinner was held in the beautiful Sky Armory in downtown Syracuse.

Numerous ESF alumni, faculty, and students were in attendance.

From left, Professor George Curry, Nick Schwartz ’93, and Professor Richard Hawks ’72 at the New York Upstate Chapter ASLA annual awards dinner in February. Richard received the Distinguished Senior Practitioner, Academic Practice Award that evening.

Each year at the Champagne Toast for May Graduates, the Alumni Office raffles off an ESF diploma frame for students who fill out a “New Alumni Contact Information Form.” This year’s winner was Nichole Byron, who is joined by College President Dr. Quentin Wheeler, and Alumni Association Vice President Thayer Miller ’71.

Activities at the Alumni/Student Career Networking event included group informational sessions, resume reviews, and mock interviews. Here, Daniel Biggs ’06 speaks with a group of current students about his career at Weston & Sampson.

SUNY ESF Career Fair

Alumni representatives from the landscape architecture firm Appel Osborne attended the 2016 Career Fair.

There is always a strong showing of alumni representatives at the Career Fair each year!

Here, Rich Centolella ’85 of EDSA, Inc. greets a student.

Alumni Trip to NC

The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC was the site of a special alumni group trip in March. If you have any suggestions for future alumni group trips, please let the Alumni Office know! The North Carolina excursion was a great success and we are looking to host similar events in the future.

Alum P.J. Connell ’14, of D&B Engineers & Architects, advises a current ESF student at the 2nd annual Alumni/Student Career Networking event, held on the eve of the Career Fair in February.

Biopharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb was one of over 85 companies who participated in the annual Career Fair held in the Gateway Center.

At center is alumnus Ted Smith ’02.

Alumni who attended the North Carolina trip learned about the rich history of forestry in America, including a background of The Biltmore Forest School founded by Dr. Carl Schenck in 1898…America’s first School of Forestry!

The ESF Alumni Trip to North Carolina in March included a tour of the Biltmore Estate. A wonderful group of alumni traveled far and wide to attend this special event!

Landscape Architecture Class of 1976

A unique part of the alumni trip to North Carolina was an exclusive visit to the “Cradle of Forestry in America” Interpretive Center at Pisgah Forest. Interpretive Center staff led the ESF group on tours of the local trails, and screened the movie, “America’s First Forest: Carl Schenck and the Asheville Experiment.” Here, Devin Gentry (Director of Programming and Partnerships at the Center) speaks to the alumni group about local fish.

Alumni-Hosted Events

The Landscape Architecture Class of 1976: Then & Now! In May, the Landscape Architecture class of 1976 gathered in New York City for the 40 th anniversary of their graduation. Over half of the class of students made the journey to reconvene on the site of one of their class design projects from 1975: Grace Plaza in midtown Manhattan.

Our alumni-hosted regional events are becoming more and more popular! In early June, a group of nearly 40 alumni gathered at TRATA in Rochester for an informal gathering. Are you interested in hosting a Happy Hour-type event in your city? Contact the Alumni Office at alumni@esf.edu!

16 Alumni News SUMMER 2016 www.esf.edu/alumni

October 7–9, 2016 Senior Reunion and Alumni & Family Fall Weekend There is no better time to come “home” and catch up on all that has been going on since you left, not only at the College, but with your fellow classmates. oin your fellow ESF alumni as well as current students and their families for our annual Fall Weekend, packed with activities and plenty of opportunities to mingle and reconnect.

There is no better time to come “home” and catch up on all that has been going on since you left, not only at the College, but with your fellow classmates. We have changed some of the programming this year, and extended the weekend’s activites into Sunday for the first time ever. So get in touch with your old friends and make plans to come to Syracuse for a weekend full of fun!

J

ALL Senior Alumni

We begin the celebration on Friday as we welcome our “senior alumni” to campus. First up will be a special behindthe-scenes visit to the ESF Archives with Jane Verostek ’92, Associate Librarian. Following the Archives, we will be hosting a “Golden Anniversary Luncheon” for anyone who graduated in 1966 or before. We are not limiting the programming this year strictly to those classes ending in “1” or “6.”

We encourage all senior alumni, regardless of your class year, to come to campus and learn all about where ESF is today, and where it is headed in the future. Senior alumni who attend the “Golden Anniversary Luncheon” will be joined by College President Dr. Quentin Wheeler, along with several Department Chairs who can answer all questions about the College today. After lunch, we’re very excited to announce that Environmental & Forest Biology Chair Dr. Donald Leopold will be taking all senior alumni on an exclusive “Dendro-Walk” around campus and through Oakwood Cemetery.

The Opening Reception is a great place for alumni, faculty, students, and families to meet & mingle during Fall Weekend.

Events that will include our younger alumni (those celebrating 45 years or less) will begin with the Alumni Association Annual Meeting at 4:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon. Join us as we review the activities from the previous year and talk about some of the new initiatives for the current year. We will also be welcoming our newest members of the Alumni Board.

Exciting Programs

Our “Welcome Reception” for alumni will start at 5:30 p.m. in the scenic Gateway Center—the first hour of the reception will be just for our returning alumni and their guests. It is a great time to meet up with your fellow classmates, get your class photos taken and reminisce a bit. Then at 6:30, our current students and their families will join in the celebration. The Reception will feature heavy hors d’ouevres (really a meal) and beverages. As an added bonus, members of the Ecotones, ESF’s very-own a cappella vocal group, will be on hand to entertain us with their musical stylings. Along those lines, be sure to check out the “Coffee Haus” talent showcase in the Alumni Lounge following the Reception. You will be amazed at the talents of our students and faculty. Please note that

Dr. Don Leopold leads a group on the alwayspopular “Dendro Walk” around campus. alumni are strongly encouraged to participate in the “Coffee Haus!” If you have a talent that you would like to perform, please plan on doing so!

Saturday brings another full day of activities (featuring some of our brand new programming) starting with a 5K Fun Run/Walk around campus and Oakwood Cemetery at 8 a.m. We’ll be selling special Fun Run t-shirts to benefit the ESF Athletics Program. The Fun Run will be followed by a continental breakfast with Dr. Wheeler in Marshall Hall, and then a variety of opportunities to meet and mingle with students and faculty throughout the day. Activities will include tours of the ESF greenhouses, the Gateway Center, Centennial Hall, and the Roosevelt Wildlife Collection. We’ll also be offering the dendro-walk with Dr. Don Leopold, ESF Athletics games and demons, a chance to learn about the groundbreaking American chestnut project at our Lafayette Road Experiment Station, an Activities Fair, the BBQ, and so much more. Be sure to check out the full schedule of events on-line at www.esf.edu/alumni/fallweekend.

Finally, to wrap up Saturday’s activities, the annual “Taste of CNY” will be held in the Gateway Center. The “taste”

will feature snacks, beer, wine and hard cider (non-alcoholic beverages will also be provided) produced right here in New York State. This is a great way to cap-off your day, or to make plans to get together with fellow alumni on Saturday evening.

NEW – Sunday Activities

For the first time ever, we are pleased to be able to offer more activities on Sunday! Make plans to join us in the Gateway Center for a “bon voyage” Pancake Breakfast featuring ESF’s very-own maple syrup produced at Heiberg Forest. Afterwards, we have arranged for several exciting programs for you to participate in before you head home, including an up-close look at the Onondaga Lake Cleanup project, a birding tour at the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge, a nature walk through the Clark Reservation, and a service project at the Syracuse Inner Harbor Creek Walk.

All alumni are encouraged to check out the back page of the newsletter for lodging and reservation information.

Please pay special attention to the various deadlines for hotel reservations. This is an extremely busy weekend in the Syracuse area and hotel rooms will be sold out quickly. Please note that our “Senior Alumni” reunion years and our alumni celebrating their Class Reunions (every 5 years) have already been mailed a special reservation form and information packet. If you are in one of these groups and did not receive one and are interested in attending, please contact us directly.

If you have any questions or comments, please call 315-470-6632 or email alumni@ esf.edu. All reservation and lodging information along with a full schedule of events is available on-line at www.esf.edu/alumni/ fallweekend. Hope to see you back on campus in October for a great weekend and a chance to create new memories! 1 Questions / Comments Contact the Alumni Office 315-470-6632, alumni@esf.edu, or visit www.esf.edu/alumni/fallweekend/

Alumni Grant Program Helping Students Improve Their World One of the Alumni Association’s initiatives is to fund worthy student projects and activities through an Alumni Grant Program. Twice per year, students can submit proposals for review by the Alumni Board. This past winter, the Alumni Grant Program was able to help fund over 25 ESF students on a service trip to Ecuador. Following are notes and photos from the participants.

Dear Alumni Association, On behalf of all the ESF students and volunteers at Global Student Embassy, we would like to say thank you! Thank you so much for all of your financial, emotional, and moral support this year in helping send us to Ecuador. Your donations helped send a group of incredibly hard-working volunteers to work with their Ecuadorian peers in the coastal Manabi region of Ecuador. Your donation also supports our year-round program with more than 300 participants. We are shooting for a goal of planting 25,000 trees this year!

At the Peñon Del Sol reforestation site in San Clemente and at Finca Marcos in Bahía de Caraquez, our students planted over 1,000 trees! The volunteers worked with Ecuadorian high school students in 2 local schools. There, they helped prepare the compost, bottles, and saplings for fu-

Hiking in Cajas National Park in the Andes Mountains. Preparing trees for planting. ture trips. Our students and staff have reforested more than 50,000 trees over the past 5 years in one of the most degraded forest habitats on the planet, and have learned about the power to make positive environmental change in the process.

After working very hard to plant loads of trees, the students then went to the beautiful city of Cuenca in the Andes Mountains to go hiking and enjoy the city for a couple days.

T hroughout our 10- day journey around Ecuador, our volunteers were able to build leadership skills, collaborate on projects with locals, restore the tropical dry forest, and gain cultural awareness. They also had a lot of fun! Check out some pictures of the amazing students you helped send to Ecuador this winter break. Thank you again for all of your support!

Sincerely, ESF Students and Global Student Embassy

Letters from students

“I knew going to Ecuador was going to be great, but I’ve come to realize that I had no idea of how truly amazing it would turn out to be. We all signed up for the trip because we love the environment and want to travel; but it wasn’t until we were lugging gallons of water, post-hole diggers, compost bags and tiny trees up and down hills on the reforestation sites that we finally realized why we all came to Ecuador. The dry tropical forest region along the coast has the potential to be so beautiful and full of life; and it is just that in certain areas. But unfortunately there are many areas along the coast where deforestation is still occurring. Organizations like GSE are putting so much of their time and effort into not only reforestation, but other proactive things like implementing change among the locals, who heavily rely on the health of their environment. As a group of 30+ students, we were moved so

Working at Oceano Pacifico with Ecuadorian students in EcoClubs. much by our experience in Ecuador that many of us would love to return and help GSE with all of their projects. The positive impact that each student has when they go on this trip is mind-blowing. I wouldn’t trade this wonderful experience for the world and will have the many great memories with me forever.”

Kylie O’Driscoll, Wildlife Science Junior “Dear ESF Alumni, Thank you so much for your generous donation toward my trip to Ecuador with 29 other students through GSE! I can speak for everybody when I say it was a great experience. We ended up planting around 1,000 trees in total. It was amazing to learn about another culture and help them in their community. I will cherish this trip forever.

Thank you again for making it possible for me to go!”

Taylor Hendrickson

www.esf.edu/alumni SUMMER 2016 Alumni News 17

Schedule of Events Alumni & Family Fall Weekend Information can also be found at www.esf.edu/alumni/fallweekend.

For special Senior Reunion events, visit the above website.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7

Get your 2016 Alumni & Family Fall Weekend T-shirts now and tie-dye them on Saturday of Fall Weekend!

ESF College Bookstore Open | 1:00–8:00 p.m. | Main Floor, Gateway Center ESF Alumni Association Annual Meeting | 4:30 p.m. | 313 Bray Hall

Join the Alumni Association Board members and alumni as they review the past year, talk about what’s next for the Association and welcome new members. All are welcome to attend.

Available through pre-order only!

Alumni/Opening Reception and Class Reunions | 5:30–8:30 p.m. | Gateway Center

Mingle with alumni classes celebrating their reunion years and meet current faculty members. Class photos will be taken starting at 5:45 p.m. At 6:30 p.m. we will be joined by current students and their families. Heavy hors d’oeuvres, beer, wine, assorted juices and soda will be served. ➻ advanced tickets required

Coffee Haus and Campus Talent Show | 8:30 p.m. | Alumni Lounge

Be sure to attend the “Coffeehouse” in the Alumni Lounge. Be entertained by the many talents of ESF students, faculty and staff. Coffee and munchies will be served. Families and alumni are encouraged to participate.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8

White shirt with Forest Green silk-screening.

Available in sizes S–XXL. See back page to order your shirts and for a complete registration form for the Alumni & Family Fall Weekend.

5K Fun Run/Walk | 8:00 a.m.

Start your day off right with a 5K run/walk around campus and Oakwood Cemetery. T-shirts to benefit the ESF Athletics program will be available for purchase!

ESF College Bookstore Open | 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. | Main Floor, Gateway Center Coffee with the President | 9:30 a.m. | Alumni Lounge

Join the College President, Dr. Quentin Wheeler, students, alumni and others for coffee and conversation.

Moon Library Open House | 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Stop in any time and chat with the library staff or take a tour!

Tour of the ESF Archives | 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Learn about SUNY ESF’s rich history and learn about the Archives from the Friends of Moon Library group.

Student Affairs Meet and Greet | 10:00 a.m.–1:30 p.m. | Gateway Concourse

Join the Office of Student Affairs staff and the Dean for Student Affairs in the concourse to learn about the resources and services available to assist students.

Guided Tour of Campus | 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 1:30 p.m. | Front steps of Bray Hall

Join our student tour guides for a tour of our campus buildings and facilities.

Trees and Shrubs Walking Tour | 10:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. | Leaves from Marshall Hall steps

Join Dr. Don Leopold, Environmental and Forest Biology Chair, as he takes you on a walk around campus and Oakwood Cemetery for a quick dendrology (tree identification) lesson.

Student and Young Alumni Networking Event | 10:00 a.m. | 110 Moon Library

Students, families, and alumni are welcome to attend the Young Alumni Networking Event hosted by the Career Services Office. A panel of young alumni will share their career paths and current accomplishments in the environmental career field. The Q&A session will be followed by an opportunity to mingle with the guest speakers. Sponsored by the Betsy and Jesse Fink Foundation.

Tie Dye your Alumni & Family Fall Weekend T-Shirt | 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. | ESF Quad

Tie-dye materials will be available to help you participate in a long-standing ESF tradition. See reservation form to order your Fall Weekend t-shirt. ➻ t-shirts must be pre-ordered, see reservation form

Activities Fair Carnival | 10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. | ESF Quad

Learn about the many student organizations on campus through a variety of displays and demonstrations. Hang out on the Quad, take a family picture in the photo-booth, ride a Segway or check out the Birds of Prey.

ESF Athletics Games & Demos | Ongoing

View the Mighty Oaks in action! See our various athletics teams (including the Woodsmen’s Team) compete in events throughout the weekend.

FOUR SPECIALTY TOUR SESSIONS | 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. and 2:00–3:00 p.m Roosevelt Wildlife Collection | 12 Illick Hall

Learn about the College’s fascinating collection of wildlife.

Centennial Hall

ESF’s residence hall

Gateway Center

ESF’s groundbreaking LEED Platinum Certified building!

2017 DUES CAMPAIGN

DON’T FORGET TO PAY YOUR DUES!

T

he ESF Alumni Association is in the midst of our 2017 Dues Campaign. Your annual dues payment or Life Membership is what allows the Association to keep you connected to the College and fellow alumni.

From the publication of the Alumni News and the various sources of electronic media, to the many events and activities that we host for our alumni and students (our future alumni), the Association continues to serve as your link to the College’s past, present and future. Without your continued support, we would not be able to do all that we do, so “Thank You.”

Did you know that you can pay your dues online? It’s quick, easy and

secure. Just visit www.esf.edu/forms/alumni/ dues.asp, submit the completed form and then follow the PayPal link to pay by PayPal, credit card or debit card. It’s that easy!

There are benefits to paying your dues! Not only are you helping to

support your alumni association, but you are also eligible for the following exclusive benefits: • 10% discount for dues payers in the ESF College Bookstore on any orders throughout the fiscal year (7/1/16–6/30/17).*

Explore the brand new greenhouses on the roof of Illick Hall.

Greenhouse Tour | Illick Hall roof top

• 15% discount for Life Members in the ESF College Bookstore on any orders for life.*

BBQ Session 1 | 12:00 p.m. | Gateway Center BBQ Session 2 | 1:00 p.m. | Gateway Center

• Exclusive local & national coupons and discounts throughout your birthday month.

Lafayette Road Experiment Station Tour: Return of the American Chestnut | 1:30 p.m.

• Priority for SU football & basketball tickets (in conjunction with the annual alumni events only).

Lunch will be served in two seatings and will feature barbecue chicken, hotdogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers, salt potatoes, salads, dessert and beverages. ➻ advanced tickets required Drive yourself, maps provided—located approximately 15 minutes from campus. Take a tour of the Lafayette Road Experiment Station and hear about ESF’s 23 years of re-search to bring back the American chestnut.

A Taste of Central New York | 3:00–5:00 p.m. | Gateway Center Concourse

Wind down the day with us as we sample New York State beer, wine, and hard cider. Non-alcoholic beverages and snacks will also be served. ➻ advanced tickets required

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9 ESF College Bookstore Open | 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | Main Floor, Gateway Center Bon Voyage Pancake Breakfast | 9:30–11:00 a.m. | Gateway Center

Fill up on pancakes, sausage, coffee, and juice before setting out for the day’s activities. We will be featuring ESF’s very own real maple syrup...pick some up to take home with you in the ESF College Bookstore! ➻ advanced tickets required

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: You are responsible for your own transportation Birding Tour | 7:30 a.m. | Montezuma Wildlife Refuge Service Project | 11:00 a.m. | Inner Harbor Creek Walk Onondaga Lake Cleanup Discussion/Visit | 12:00 p.m.

Nature Walk | 12:00 p.m. | Clark Reservation

• Annual thank you gift • Annual special offer for Bookstore merchandise • Annual “Members-Only” Maple Syrup Sale • Special discounted pricing for ESF Alumni Events • The opportunity to rent the Masten House and Huntington Lodge at a reduced rate • Alumni-Hosted receptions in your region *Discount may not be used on special dues offer memorabilia or maple syrup purchases.

Thank You!

18 Alumni News SUMMER 2016 www.esf.edu/alumni

Mighty Oaks Athletics Update Daniel Ramin Coordinator of College Athletics isted here are some of the highlights of another tremendous year for the Mighty Oaks.

In eight short years, we have accomplished some exceptional achievements.

We have over 200 student athletes on campus, and last year, we competed in more than 80 intercollegiate events.

L

Mighty Oaks Highlights

• The Men’s Cross Country team won the HVIAC Conference Championship and finished second at the 2015 USCAA National Championship in Lakeland, Florida.

• The Women’s Cross Country team won the HVIAC Conference Championship and finished a strong third at Nationals.

• T he Men’s Soccer team won the Barkeater Cup and qualified for Conference playoffs. The team closed the season ranked in the USCAA Top 15.

• The Women’s Soccer team made it to Conference playoff finals and qualified and competed in the USCAA National tournament making it to the final four.

• The Golf team finished second at the ESF Invitational and had a solid showing at Nationals.

• The Men’s Basketball team had a solid year winning 8 games and qualifying for Conference playoffs.

• The Track and Field program had an

Men’s Cross Country at USCAA National Championships

excellent second year showing great timed improvement in several events and Invitationals.

• Our oldest intercollegiate team, the Woodsmen Team, had another great fall and spring, winning several meets including the women’s team, who won our home meet at the Tully field station.

Women’s Cross Country at the USCAA National Championship

Student Athletes

Most impressively, there were 26 USCAA Academic All Americans this year.

These are student athletes with a GPA of over 3.5…at an academically-rigorous school like ESF, this is excellent!!

Men’s Soccer vs.

Onondaga Community College

Soccer Field at Tully field station

On the horizon, ESF Athletics has some great news: the design and construction of a soccer field at the Tully field station.

The project is a collaboration between ESF’s Athletics, Forest Properties and the Landscape Architecture Department.

I would like to thank Bob Davis, head of Forest Properties, and Emanuel Carter, from the LA Department, for their vision and support. The project is slated to begin this summer with design drafts due in the fall. The goal is to have the first event take place in the fall of 2017. If you are interested in supporting the project, please contact Dan Ramin at dwramin@ esf.edu or 315-470-4933.

Dr. Robert French

In closing, I would like to recognize a friend, mentor, and colleague: Dr. Robert French. Without his leadership and support, one wonders if athletics would

An event at the Woodsmen’s Team home meet. even be here at ESF. His motivation and dedication to the Athletics Department was tremendous. At the Alumni Association-supported year-end Athletics Banquet, Bob was affectionately referred to as “the grandfather of athletics at ESF.” His leadership helped shape the countless positive experiences that our student athletes have today competing and being on a team. It is not often in life where one can create something that can have such a positive influence on so many people. Bob was instrumental in doing just that. He will be missed very much and on behalf of our student athletes, coaches and staff, we thank him. 1

Two ESF Students Earn SUNY Chancellor’s Award by the ESF Office of Communications

wo 2016 ESF graduates — Margaret Foley and Fareya Zubair — were honored this spring with the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence.

The award is the highest honor bestowed upon students by the State University of New York.

Both Foley and Zubair graduated from ESF in May. Together, they served as class marshals during Commencement ceremonies May 14.

The SUNY Chancellor’s Award is the highest honor bestowed upon students by the State University of New York.

T

Margaret Foley

Foley, an environmental and forest biology major from Fredonia, New York, was described in the awards program as “a bright and extremely hard-working student who possesses a seriousness of professional purpose, a passion for the study of environmental biology and rare leadership skills.” She was cited for serving “her fellow students and the entire college with vision and determination.”

Foley was a member of the Undergraduate Student Association (USA) throughout her ESF career. She served as first-year class senator and USA director of campus life before taking on the role of president this past year. She was a resident assistant and served as an undergraduate teaching assistant for dendrology and biology laboratories.

She was the recipient of the ESF Alumni Association Memorial Scholarship and the Phyllis Roskins Award for the Department of Environmental and Forest Biology’s (EFB) Outstanding Female, and a participant in the ESF Honors Program. She was a member of Alpha Xi Sigma. In addition, Foley served as student representative on the ESF Col-

lege Foundation Board of Directors and the ESF Alumni Association Board of Directors, and as a member of the SUNY Student Assembly. She served on the ESF Strategic Planning Steering Committee and was an ESF Student Ambassador.

Her community service includes volunteering with the Free Bread Program, Canadaway Creek Conservation Project, Page Wildlife Center, Carpenter’s Brook Fish Hatchery, Adopt-AStream, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Syracuse Inner City Hoops for Peace, Lake Street Elementary School and Fredonia Middle School’s backpacking program. She has worked as an intern with Baltimore Woods Nature Center, Jamestown Audubon Nature Center and Friends of Recreation, Conservation and Environmental Stewardship.

Fareya Zubair

Zubair, a biotechnology major from Manlius, New York, was described at the awards ceremony as “a hardworking student dedicated to making a change in the lives of youth and her peers.”

Zubair served as a research assistant on ESF’s American Chestnut Research and Restoration Project and was a teaching assistant in a statistics class.

She tutored students in chemistry at a community college. She was an active member of the Undergraduate Student

Association, serving as junior and senior class senator before taking on the responsibilities of director of student affairs and diversity. She also served on the planning committees for Earth Week and the annual December Soiree.

Zubair was a committee member for the ESF Red Cross Blood Drive and a founding member of “Unearthed,” ESF’s environmental literary journal.

Her community service includes serving as co-founder and program assistant for Empathy Matters at Syracuse University, an academic associate research volunteer at Upstate Medical University, head judge for the Science Olympiad and a volunteer with the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology. In addition, she was a program assistant with Science Horizon, an assistant instructor with Kumon and an employee with Lune Chocolat.

The Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence acknowledges students who have received recognition for distinguished achievements. This year, 248 students from 64 campuses received the award. Nominations are sought for students who have best demonstrated and been recognized for their integration of academic excellence with other aspects of their lives including leadership, campus involvement, community service, arts (creative or performing), athletics and/or career achievement. 1

Women’s Soccer

ESF’s Jared Bard in action vs. Pratt

Class of 1951 Scholarship Recipients for 2016 The Class of 1951 Scholarship was initiated by Gabriel Buschle, Jay McConnell, and Carl Miller in 2002 in anticipation of their 55th reunion in 2006. This scholarship, endowed by members of the Class of 1951, is awarded annually to undergraduate students based on financial need, academic merit, and strength of character. We thank the Selection Committee for diligently reviewing the numerous applications: C. Duane “Whitey” Coates ’51, Jay McConnell ’51, William Duggleby ’51, Erna Baumann ’68, Thayer Miller ’71, Bob Geraci ’73, Gary Lipp ’86, Kelly Reinhardt ’91, Amanda Cummings ’09, and Annalena Davis ’10.

JOSEPH MAIOLI Walworth, NY Sustainable Energy Management JULIA WILLIAMSON Cicero, NY Biotechnology NATHAN MOONEY Cedarville, NJ Wildlife Science KIRSTEN SCHERRER Niagara Falls, NY Environmental Resources Engineering MIKAYLA WARREN Chaumont, NY Wildlife Science CONNOR TERRY Weedsport, NY Environmental Resources Engineering

www.esf.edu/alumni SUMMER 2016 Class Notes 19

Class Notes These class notes were received by the Alumni Office before June 30, 2016. The next issue of the Alumni News will have a deadline of January 1, 2017. Photos are always welcome. Please print notes legibly, especially e-mail addresses, and limit to 100 words. Ranger School graduates are welcome to submit notes. The Alumni News is sent to all graduates of the College, including those of the Ranger School. Please send your photos and news!

Please submit your Class Note: Online www.esf.edu/forms/alumni/classnote.asp Email alumni@esf.edu Mail

In Memoriam The Alumni Office reserves the right to edit Obituaries for spacing purposes. If you would like more information on a deceased alum, please contact the Office and we will do our best to accommodate your request. Thank you.

Please send obituaries to: Nichole Dougherty ESF Alumni Office 1 Forestry Drive, 219 Bray Hall Syracuse, NY 13210-2785

ESF Alumni Office 1 Forestry Drive, 219 Bray Hall Syracuse, NY 13210

CHE DUA EFB ENSCI ERE ES/EST ES/LA FEG FOR FORECON FORZOOL FRM LA PSE RM RS or W WPE

1950

1952

1954

Otto Berggren (PSE) celebrated his 88th birthday with all 3 children at home in Vancouver, WA.

Howard Rothe (PSE) writes, “I have been retired and living on a golf course in Palm City, Florida for the past 26 years and still play golf 3-4 times a week. I worked my whole career in the paper industry, mostly in paper machine manufacturing. I’ve lived in 6 states and spent 4 years in Canada and the last 7 years of my career in Brazil, where I was President and Managing Director of Beloit Brazil which was a partnership between Beloit (a Finnish machinery builder) and a Brazilian financial holding company. We sold, engineered and manufactured pulp and paper-making machinery for companies in North, Central and South America. So far, it’s been a pretty good ride and it all started in Syracuse.”

George Rosenfield (FRM) writes, “The article by Arnie Lanckton ’61 (FRM) in the Winter 2016 edition brought back a memory to me. I met Arnie in about 1967/68 at Griffis AF Base in Rome, NY. I was sent there by Autometric Opn. of Raytheon Corp. (of Alexandria, VA) to discuss a contract. Arnie was there, working with Al Stringham ’57 (FRM) and others I knew. We enjoyed talking as he was enrolled at ESF and also teaching there, and I was a graduate.

Out of the discussions of the three of us birthed the Analytical Photogrammetry Section of the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, so it was well worth my trip. We met now and again in later years at the Society Annual Meetings.”

1953

Roy Swenson (PSE) writes, “I spent my entire career in R&D with Great Northern, St. Regis and International Paper Co. in process development producing 9 patents along the way.

Actively participating in The Technical Association of the pulp and paper industry, Canadian Pulp and Paper Association and the International Association of Scientific Papermakers was a great experience in working with engineers around the world and sharing information, which was of great interest as papermaking grew from an art to a science. Raising a family of 4 boys and a girl on numerous sail boats was also a great experience. In 1989, my wife and I took early retirement to sail our 40-foot ketch south, on an open-ended cruise of more than 18,000 nautical miles.

We lived off the grid using wind, solar, p.v. and diesel fuel for energy. In 1999, we sailed into Fort Pierce, Florida and dropped anchor. We purchased a house with a 80-foot dock, and the hurricanes of 2004 gave us the opportunity to rebuild GREEN installing solar thermal and electrical energy equipment, planting greenery native to Florida and to build an art studio on the roof for Ada. I started a consulting business, Solar Energy Solutions, and working with a local solar company, we recently installed a solar Cool Air Conditioner system. Our house has a vacuum tube heat exchanger on the roof used to add superheat to the AC liquid freon system resulting in ‘The hotter it gets, the cooler it gets’ and a 50% savings in electricity. The Nissan Leaf is an EV entirely charged by the PV panels on the South facing roof. We now have a 34 foot motor boat and continue to enjoy the Florida and Bahama waters.

My current interest is in utilizing solar energy to distill salt water for potable use, and agricultural waste waters for

1951 reunion year This is a reunion year for your class!

We have a great slate of events planned for the 2016 Senior Reunion/Alumni & Family Fall Weekend on October 7–9.

The events begin on Friday morning and last all the way through Sunday.

Reservation materials have already been mailed to reunion classes, so be on the lookout! You can also access a reservation form online by visiting www.esf.edu/alumni/fallweekend, or calling the ESF Alumni Office at 315-470-6632.

Calvin Reynolds (LA) writes, “I am in contact with Marshall Smith, Ken Arnold, and Tom McCartney. These gents are from the L.A. Dept. under Prof. Sears and Prof. Albrecht.”

Edwin Vonderheide (FRM) writes, “When I was a U.S. Forest Services smokejumper between my junior and senior years at Syracuse, many of you thought I was crazy. Now even children and older adults jump for the fun of it! A few really crazy jump without a ‘chute opening for thousands of feet! No, I have no interest to do it at age 88. Better to read a book about environmental changes!!”

Congratulations to the 2016 Class of 1951 Scholarship Recipients! Learn more about the recipients on the opposite page.

From left, Julia Williamson, Kirsten Scherrer, Mikayla Warren, Joe Maioli, and Nathan Mooney. Missing from photo: Connor Terry

Robert Thatcher (FRM) writes, “My wife, Harriet H. Thatcher, passed away in Asheville, NC on May 24, 2014. We were married on Sept. 10, 1949. We have 4 grown children—Thomas who lives in Alvin, TX, Richard who lives in Hamilton, TX, Susan who lives in Grand Island, NE, and Tracy who lives with me in Asheville, NC. We have 6 grandchildren and 2 greatgrandchildren. My grandson, Corey, also lives with me in Asheville.”

John Vimmerstedt (FRM) writes, “Mary and I live in an Urban Forest, with Norway Spruce, Pin Oak, Hybrid Chestnut, Norway Maple, Flowering Dogwood, other Dogwoods, and an invasive mix of exotic and native flowering wetland species. If we do not mow, we get a forest of green ash sprouts, a clover of sour cherry, and all kinds of seedlings from our neighbor. Red cedar has enriched our asphalt driveway such that a clover and a mat of roots have formed under a native red cedar that seeded in. Dan Houston ’63 (FRM) lives a block away. He and his wife, Linda, have a beautiful, serene back yard in the midst of a developing business area. One feature of the back yard is a giant Pin Oak, growing in a wet, upland soil. Dan, Linda, and I get together to talk Syracuse, memories, forestry and politics.”

Chemistry Dual Forestry / Biology Environmental & Forest Biology Environmental Science Environmental & Resource Engineering Environmental Studies Environmental Studies / Landscape Architecture Forest Engineering Forestry Forest Economics Forest Zoology Forest Resource Management Landscape Architecture Paper Science Engineering / Pulp & Paper Resource Management Ranger School Wood Products Engineering

recycling irrigation use, and I am working with a German company who builds the vacuum distiller. This is a very interesting project that I am in need of help and if at all possible, would like to talk with someone at SUNY about technical issues. I enjoyed the 50th ESF reunion and look forward to the next one.”

1956 reunion year This is a reunion year for your class!

We have a great slate of events planned for the 2016 Senior Reunion/Alumni & Family Fall Weekend on October 7–9.

The events begin on Friday morning and last all the way through Sunday.

Reservation materials have already been mailed to reunion classes, so be on the lookout! You can also access a reservation form online by visiting www.esf.edu/alumni/fallweekend, or calling the ESF Alumni Office at 315-470-6632.

James Davis, Jr. (FRM) writes, “On June 9, 2016, sixty years and five days after graduation from the College of Forestry, Syracuse University and being commissioned in the US Army, my wife and I celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary.

During those years we were blessed with 2 daughters and son-in-laws, 3 grandchildren and a granddaughter-in-law, and 2 great grandchildren. Most of those years we lived on the west coast in Central Oregon, NW Washington, and Northern California. In 1993, I retired from the US Forest Service after 37 years of government service. At retirement I was the Forest Supervisor of the Six Rivers National Forest headquartered in Eureka, CA. I had also served 26 years in the US Army Reserves, retiring in 1987 with the rank of Colonel. Since retirement, I have been active in senior programs, serving for 6 years on the Board of Directors for Humboldt and Del Norte Counties Area Agency on Aging (2 years as President). I was then appointed to the California Commission on Aging, by Gov. Schwarzenegger, serving 7 1/2 years (2 years as President). Currently I’m on the Board of Directors of the Humboldt Senior Resource Center and Alzheimer’s

20 Class Notes SUMMER 2016 www.esf.edu/alumni Class Notes, continued Center and was just elected Board President. Shirley has also been very active in community service organizations: The American Cancer Society, PEO, and we both are active in our Community College (College of the Redwoods–CR).

I’m the CR Foundation President since the mid 1980s, and Shirley is a founding member of the CR Foundation League serving for many years as the League President. This spring, in honor of Syracuse University’s outstanding basketball team, I remade our ‘Redwood Gnome’ into our ‘Orange-man gnome’ who resides in his Redwood House in one of the 23 giant Redwood trees in our backyard in Eureka.”

able to establish an endowed scholarship with the ESF College Foundation for Paper Engineering students.”

Odvard Dyrli (WPE) writes, “ESF classmate Dale Travis ’59 (WPE) and I made a friendly wager on the 2016 NCAA Women’s Division final, when Syracuse played Connecticut for the National Championship. Dale Travis is founder of the Dale Travis Associates architectural signage company in New York, and I am Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Connecticut, and the agreement was that the winner and spouse would be treated to dinner in a local restaurant in Manhattan or Connecticut.

When undefeated Connecticut won the championship with the final score of 82 to 51, Dale and his wife Sigrid Freundorfer, drove to Connecticut, and graciously bought dinner for my wife, Karen, and I at Geno’s Grille, a restaurant adjoining the UConn campus, owned by the winning coach Geno Auriemma. Get your bets ready for next year!

Karl Blixt (WPE) has moved from Central New York and is now residing permanently in Gilbert, Arizona.

Timothy Smith (WPE) writes, “I moved to Southbury, CT 18 months ago. I am still active in local nature conservancy with the Southbury Land Trust and work with two foresters in advising local land owners on managing their timber resources.

Nice to be able to use my Ranger School training again.”

Nicolas Tipple (WPE) writes, “In 2003, I sold Tipple Logging and Lumber to the Metz family who named my enterprise Ghent Wood Products. Ghent Wood Products has subsequently been quite successful and I still work for Ghent part-time.”

George Treier (PSE) and his wife, Ronna, celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on May 30th.

1959 John Dean (PSE) writes, “Jan and I recently celebrated our 55th anniversary.

Jan (Janet Kay Smith, SU ’61) was the SU marching band’s twirler in ’100 men and a girl.’ Residing now in Columbia, Missouri, I’m active in the University of Missouri College of Engineering advisory board and Chair of the VA hospital Foundation Board. Was pleased to be

This is a reunion year for your class!

We have a great slate of events planned for the 2016 Senior Reunion/Alumni & Family Fall Weekend on October 7–9.

The events begin on Friday morning and last all the way through Sunday.

Reservation materials have already been mailed to reunion classes, so be on the lookout! You can also access a reservation form online by visiting www.esf.edu/alumni/fallweekend, or calling the ESF Alumni Office at 315-470-6632.

Paul Redner (FRM) is raising Wagyu cattle in Eastern Colorado.

John Piston (WPE) writes, “I moved back to Syracuse from Chicago about two years ago, reconnected with an old friend and we were married (in Stowe, VT) on December 5th. I’d love to hear from any old school friends efrog22@gmail.com” William Winter (CHE) writes, “If any ’66 friends show up for the 50th this fall, look me up (315) 470-6876 or 215 Jahn Lab. Happy to show you the Chem. Dept. from an insider’s outlook. Just retired last August.

1967 Bob Kinstrey (PSE) writes, “My work on restoring my 1966 Corvette has paid off. The National Corvette Restoration Society awarded the car a ‘Top Flight,’ having achieved 95.5% of the 4,510 judging points.”

1962

1957 1958

1961 reunion year

Raymond Raushi (FRM) writes, “My wife passed away on May 30th. She is missed by many people.”

1960 James Coufal (FRM) writes, “My wife, Carol, continues to teach at Cazenovia College and run her fabric business.

I continue to be active in the Society of American Foresters, prodding the profession, including forestry education.

Our health is good and we love to get out and about. We attend the Church of the Holy Coffee Cup every Sunday at classmate Fred Wheeler’s place. His wife, Nan, makes wonderful pastries, enabling me to keep my weight up.”

Walter Kehm (LA) writes, “I just revisited the campus and remain impressed with the growth of SUNY/Syracuse. I am hoping my grandson will attend. Very active with consulting with the new Ontario Place Park under construction. Grand opening in 2017.”

Joseph Wray (CHE) writes, “After 52 years in Columbus, Ohio my wife, Maryanne, and I moved to Virginia Beach, VA last August. We moved from a 4 bedroom family home to a condo in an over-55 community. The greatest incentive to the move is that we are now within 2 miles of our youngest son, Chris, and his 3 children. So I had a chance to see lots of soccer games this past fall and spring.

It also puts us much closer to our older son, Joe, in Charleston, SC and daughter, Suzanne, in West Chester, PA. One of the more difficult aspects to the move was leaving behind all of the trees I planted over a period of 40 years, and then moving to a condo property that discourages any kind of initiative in landscaping. I hope all is well with other members of the Class of 1960.”

Ken Laffend (PSE) writes, “My granddaughter Hannah Laffend is a member of the Class of 2020 at SUNY ESF. Jane and I still live in Media, PA and Ocean City, NJ. Long retired from Scott Paper Company. We’d be happy to see any former classmates. My email is klaffend@ verizon.net and I am on Facebook.”

John Tripp (PSE) writes, “My wife and I celebrate our 50th anniversary this year with a riverboat trip from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Our grandchildren, Ryker and Nadja, stayed home in Houston. I celebrated with my new Corvette purchase. Life is good.

1968 Russell Breiner (LA) writes, “Hope to attend the golf tournament this August during a trip planned to tour Central New York and the Finger Lakes. Still golfing in Miami and Miami Beach.”

David Paul (WPE) writes, “After 15 years of working on and producing spinning wheels, I’m beginning to think about cutting back. Last spring, I was called back to teach middle school math/science for the final marking period. After several years with no livestock, I turned the sheep shed into a lounge area with a full sauna. Bring a little firewood and you’re good to go.”

Peter Schay (FOR) and friends visited the Adirondack Interpretive Center and toured the recently renovated Northern Forest Room.

1963 Doug Bartow (LA) and wife Mary Ellen took a 15-day Viking Cruise throughout Europe in August 2015 and had a wonderful time.

1966 reunion year This is a reunion year for your class!

We have a great slate of events planned for the 2016 Senior Reunion/Alumni & Family Fall Weekend on October 7–9.

The events begin on Friday morning and last all the way through Sunday.

Reservation materials have already been mailed to reunion classes, so be on the lookout! You can also access a reservation form online by visiting www.esf.edu/alumni/fallweekend, or calling the ESF Alumni Office at 315-470-6632.

1969 Earle Layser (EFB) has published his fifth book, Darkness Follows Light. It is a memoir of his and his late wife’s life in the northern Rockies and their involvement with freelance writing and conservationrelated travels for endangered species.

It also deals with bereavement and the miracle of love. Available on Amazon. com

www.esf.edu/alumni SUMMER 2016 Class Notes 21

THEN & NOW PROFILE

1971 reunion year This is a reunion year for your class!

Frederick Gerty ’63 THEN

Hometown / Highschool Huntington HS, Huntington, LI Major Forest Resource Management ESF Degree B.S. Activities while at ESF... Kappa Phi Delta, Empire Forester and Camp Log Photographer, Intramural Rifle Team, Robin Hood Jr. Honorary Soc., St. Thomas Moore Exec. Council.

NOW

While working for DEC back in the late ’70s or early ’80, Fred (2nd from left) and a few other DEC staff stood on the raised walkway on the very apex of WTC Tower One. He shares, “After the new tower was completed, I wanted to return once more, but was confined to the enclosed observation floors. Still a magnificent view, highly recommended to anyone wishing a grand look at the City.”

Residence... Gardiner, NY Family... Spouse, Carol Ann, two daughters, two grandchildren.

Your career... Retired. Formerly Regional Forester with Region 3 NYS DEC, New Paltz, for 35 years.

Hobbies... Gardening, photography, our horses, writing. Just completed the sixth science fiction novel of a double triology, “The Saxon Saga,” published as an e-book on Amazon. com. (Several events depicted take place at ESF or SU, major characters attended the College or University.)

Professional Distinctions...

Appalachian National Scenic Trail Silver Service Award; NY-NJ Trail Partner Award; Certificates of Appreciation from The Catskill Center for Conservation and Development, The Region 3 Forest Practice Board Fred Gerty ’63 displays an ESF flag on and The NY-NJ Trail Conference. the Observation Deck of One World What does ESF mean to you? ESF Trade Center in NYC. prepared me for the opportunity to work in the forestry environmental field, not only with the science, but with the people, too. My professional career with DEC provided challenges and opportunities to see the vast vista of lands in NYS, and I can say no two days were ever the same. The education from ESF opened many doors--the reputation of the College preceded me, and always gave me confidence and credibility.

1970 Donald Fulton (EFB) writes, “Retired now from Teachers College, Columbia University, The New York Botanical Garden, Mercy College, and the NYC Department of Education. Live seven months in Florida, five months in the Berkshires, Massachusetts. Recent travels: Romania, river cruise—Budapest to Amsterdam, Grand Canyon, and Fort Lauderdale to Seattle via the Panama Canal.”

Jamieson Steele (EFB) writes, “Hello Alumni Office. I have included a few pics of myself and classmate Bob Howard (FRM). We are both volunteers at the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, NY. I am the Director of Displays and Collections and I also give guided tours.

Bob actually works on the aircraft as a mechanic, and ‘keeps em flying.’ One of the planes had some wood elements that needed to be replaced and we used our ESF skills to determine what kind of wood it was, mostly he did, as I did not take the ‘blocks’ course. The others were very impressed with our knowledge when we both proclaimed it to be genuine tree wood! We have a lot of fun volunteering, and flying in, vintage aircraft. Come on down and visit us. Our website, www.

Nationalwarplane.org, has pictures of some of what we have to see. All the uniforms, pins, wings, and small displays are on loan to the museum from my private

collection. Our focus is WWII and Korea, and anyone who served our country. It is fun, but also an honor to be there.”

We have a great slate of events planned for the 2016 Alumni & Family Fall Weekend on October 7–9. The events begin on Friday morning and last all the way through Sunday. Reservation materials have already been mailed to reunion classes, so be on the lookout!

You can also access a reservation form online by visiting www.esf.edu/alumni/ fallweekend, or calling the ESF Alumni Office at 315-470-6632.

1972 Clifford Albertson (FRM) writes, “Anne and I just moved to Asheville, NC. Retired four years ago and looked around and decided on Asheville—milder climate than Suffern, NY and lots of golf and all the trout fishing anyone could want. Looking forward to the event at Biltmore Forest in March and seeing other alums.”

George Hoffman (ERE) writes, “Thank you Bob Brock ’58 (FRM), my undergrad/ grad advisor, Lee Bender ’59 (FRM) and Tom Lillesand. You provided me, and I’m sure many other grads of your program, with the underlying skills to build a 40-year career in the geospatial industry. The ESF relationship with SU in those days opened many opportunities to pursue course work in math not available at ESF. I will always remember Dr. Paul Gilbert (SU), and his grad students, who took me under his numerical analysis wing as an ‘outsider.’”

Norman Roth (LA) and his uncle, Leonard Miller, recently revisited the New York City Botanical Garden and checked in on ESF’s American Chestnut Trees. They both attended the planting in 2012.

Roy Hopke (FRM) writes, “I am semiretired, still managing woodlots, doing my thing with the Chestnut Foundation and enjoying family affairs. The forest is still drop dead gorgeous. We are in good health!”

1973 Steve Levine (LA) writes, “I have been living in the San Francisco Bay area (Mill Valley, Marin County) since 1980. I recently retired from working 40 years in the property and facility management profession for 2 major financial institutions.

Through the assistance of the Alumni Office, I was able to locate and reach out to my best friend during my Syracuse days, Rick Benas ’68 (LA), who I hadn’t spoken to or seen in almost 43 years.

Ironically, I had a trip planned to visit my sister who lives in Hartford, NY, only to find that Rick and his wife Jeanne, lived only an hour away. We met again over breakfast and re-established our friendship! It was though we had seen each other only yesterday! Thank you, Alumni Office! Greetings to all my Landscape Architecture classmates of 1973.”

1974 Lew Cutler wears his ESF hat in Skagway, AK on the way to the Yukon, CA.

1976 reunion year This is a reunion year for your class!

We have a great slate of events planned for the 2016 Alumni & Family Fall Weekend on October 7–9. The events begin on Friday morning and last all the way through Sunday. Reservation materials have already been mailed to reunion classes, so be on the lookout!

You can also access a reservation form online by visiting www.esf.edu/alumni/ fallweekend, or calling the ESF Alumni Office at 315-470-6632.

Dennis Carmichael (LA) writes, “On May 21, members of the Landscape Architecture class of 1976 gathered in New York City for the fortieth anniversary of their graduation. Over half of the class of 41 students made the journey from places as far away as Arizona, California, and Scotland to reconvene on the site of one of their class design projects from 1975: Grace Plaza in midtown Manhattan.

The class was joined by two professors, George Curry and Tom Paulo ’75 (LA), who noted that this reunion was the first of its kind for an individual school or department. Over dinner and drinks, the group shared stories and laughter for a memorable evening. The event was an unqualified success as it renewed the bonds of friendship and camaraderie that so marked our time at ESF.” Donald Salvesen (FRM) writes, “Hello all from the land of enchantment (NM).

I have been busy since moving here in 2010. I have been involved with the Valles Caldera National Preserve as a volunteer for 4 years now. I have worked on biomass studies and how cattle, deer and elk browsing have effected the vegetation of Caldera. I have also been involved

22 Alumni News SUMMER 2016 www.esf.edu/alumni Class Notes, continued with the biologists doing studies on the effects of the Los Conchas fire in 2011.

At the time, it was the largest fire in NM state history. My last effort was working with the group Los Amigos De Valles Caldera in 2015 taking down cattle fence to improve elk and deer habitats. I plan to continue volunteering for the NPS since they took over management of the Caldera in 2015. The preserve is located in the Jemez Mountains west of Los Alamos, NM. I encourage anyone who is retired to get out and volunteer for any organization that works to preserve our natural treasures for all to enjoy.

Thanks.”

1977 Bryan Swift (EFB) retired from NYSDEC after 32 years in the Bureau of Wildlife, leaving behind classmates John Ozard (EFB) and Chuck Dente (EFB) to pick up the slack. Bryan was the head of the Game Management Section for the last 6 years of his career. He received the Neil Murphy Award this spring, a new award named for the former ESF President given annually to a DEC employee who demonstrates leadership within the agency. Bryan’s retirement was spurred by a battle with bladder cancer but after successful surgery in March, he is feeling good again and back into the full swing of things—hiking, volleyball, travel, etc. He sends regards to all of his classmates and invites anyone dealing with bladder cancer to contact him anytime for information or support.

1980 Larry Hromowyk (FRM) writes, “I have been working 25 years as a career firefighter…love my job. Would love to hear from Paul Gugg (FRM), Dan Dunn (FRM), or Mark Klinke (FRM): laredo14120@gmail.com.”

Phil Hertzog (FRM) teaches Biology and advises the Green Club at Stadium High in Tacoma, WA. He has also served as a volunteer for Mount Rainier’s Nordic Patrol since 2008. He spends his winter weekends marking or resetting the safest routes for the skiers and snowshoers.

He also assists with educating visitors on safe terrain and appropriate and necessary gear. If a search or rescue is needed, the patrol is there to assist park rangers.

Manager. There are two other ‘Stumpies’ in my office, and they are excellent field people and very sharp scientists.”

1981 reunion year This is a reunion year for your class!

We have a great slate of events planned for the 2016 Alumni & Family Fall Weekend on October 7–9. The events begin on Friday morning and last all the way through Sunday. Reservation materials have already been mailed to reunion classes, so be on the lookout!

You can also access a reservation form online by visiting www.esf.edu/alumni/ fallweekend, or calling the ESF Alumni Office at 315-470-6632.

Lisa Cannellos-Weber (EFB) writes, “A warm thank you to all the ‘stumpies’ who worked for my father, George Cannellos at Cosmos. George passed away 3 years ago in January and we miss him dearly. Cosmos closed in May, 2014.

The Daily Orange has run various articles about the fifty years my father owned and operated Cosmos, and currently the Onondaga Historical Society has a nice article in the fall/winter edition of their History highlights magazine. Thank you to his employees and customers.”

1978 Jean (Torrance) Brown (EFB) has moved to Saratoga Springs, NY. She and her husband, Gary (retired professor, Farmingdale State College), have moved closer to their Adirondack camp and Friends Lake. Now they will only have an hour commute to the Adirondacks instead of the 5 hours from Long Island.

Rich Weber (EFB) and members of his family cheered on the SU Orange at the Final Four in Houston this past March.

George Cannellos, the longtime owner of the popular Marshall Street pizzeria, Cosmos, with two of his granddaughters (Rachel and Marina Weber) before his death in 2013.

Mark Somerville (EFB) writes, “The Somerville family forayed out of Alaska for one last family vacation before the kids start to scatter. We drove 3,700 miles through Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Montana and Idaho to visit family and friends. Along the way, we checked out the redwoods, Fort Rock (OR), the Snake River gorge, Little Bighorn, Grand Coulee Dam, Dry Falls, northern Nevada mining and cowboy museums, and every mountain pass we could. We even hit Reno for two nights of WAY TOO MANY people.”

From left, Lisa Cannellos-Weber ’81, Christopher Weber, Alyssa Weber, and Rich Weber ’81.

Scott Willis (ERE) writes, “Susan and I are now in our 16th year living in Western New York. In May, we officially became ‘empty nesters’ and are pleased to say both kids are gainfully employed and ‘off the payroll.’ Our daughter is getting married in the fall—very exciting!

Hi to all of my stumpy buddies, hard to believe that this year makes 35!”

1983 Mary (Kenney) Binder (FRM) and John Gibbs (EFB/FRM) write, “We are proud to say that our son, Ken Binder ’16 (FRM) has become the newest ESF alumni in the family. John and I met at Huntington Forest and married in 2012.

All three of us were taught silviculture

by Dr. Ralph Nyalnd ’58 (FRM). It was great to see Dr. Nyland at graduation and he was kind enough to pose for a photo.”

1982 Alison Brown (EFB) recently returned to Huntington Wildlife Forest for the first time since working there as a field tech in the summer of 1981. She is currently a science teacher at Beekmantown High School north of Plattsburg, and she came with a program set up by her colleague Kerry Burdo, an English teacher at Beekmantown, and Paul Hai ’00 (EFB), Program Coordinator for the Northern Forest Institute for Conservation Education and Leadership Training. Paul writes, “we created an interdisciplinary science and humanities trip that ran from a Wednesday evening through a Friday afternoon and included a wide range of conversations and trips.”

The photo here shows Alison (left), Kerry (right) and all of their students at Great Camp Santanoni, where they hiked in (10 miles round trip) on Thursday morning for a program exploring natural, social, public policy, and architectural history.

Ken Binder ’16 (far left), Mary Binder ’83, Dr. Ralph Nyland ’58, John Gibbs ’83 and Eric Binder pose together at graduation.

1985 Reba Herndon (CHE) writes, “We are enjoying our new empty nest in Horseheads, NY with our youngest teaching music in Brooklyn and our oldest teaching museum studies and elementary math in Alexandria, Virginia. I received my Doctorate in Education last fall from Capella University and participated in the graduation ceremony this Spring.”

1986 reunion year

Jane Offringa Rowan (ES) writes, “I have recently moved to East Coventry in Chester County, PA to a property that borders on the Schuylkill River. It is a wonder to see a river that was so terribly polluted now supporting a healthy fish, reptile, and amphibian population, as well as crayfish. We are delighted and humbled to live near the shoreline of the great, historic river. I continue to work for Normandeau Associates, Inc., a top notch scientific consulting firm as a Senior Pricipal Scientist and Group

This is a reunion year for your class!

We have a great slate of events planned for the 2016 Alumni & Family Fall Weekend on October 7–9. The events begin on Friday morning and last all the way through Sunday. Reservation materials have already been mailed to reunion classes, so be on the lookout!

You can also access a reservation form online by visiting www.esf.edu/alumni/ fallweekend, or calling the ESF Alumni Office at 315-470-6632.

Neil Nowak (FEG) and family are still enjoying Colorado and the Rocky Mountains after 18 years. Neil writes, “Much of my consulting engineering work brings me to Wyoming, where driving seven hours in wide open country is not uncommon.”

www.esf.edu/alumni SUMMER 2016 Class Notes 23

Accolades & Professional News

Class Notes, continued

1991 reunion year

2016 reunion year

1954

1977

This is a reunion year for your class!

We have a great slate of events planned for the 2016 Alumni & Family Fall Weekend on October 7–9. The events begin on Friday morning and last all the way through Sunday. Reservation materials have already been mailed to reunion classes, so be on the lookout!

You can also access a reservation form online by visiting www.esf.edu/alumni/ fallweekend, or calling the ESF Alumni Office at 315-470-6632.

Brian Carson visited Ihlabela, Brazil after graduation.

Ernest A. Schwab (WPE) was inducted into the Delaware Aviation Hall of Fame on October 10, 2015. He is a Marine Corp Pilot; Pilot and Flight Instructor for the Delaware National Guard; a Commercial Airline Pilot for Pan American World Airways and an Instructor for Flight Safety International. He graduated from the Forestry College in 1954. In 1961 he obtained a Masters in Chemistry and was chosen as a member of the Chemistry Honorary. At the University of Delaware, he earned a Masters in Business Administration in 1968. He is a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity.

David R. Hampson (EFB) recently received the Pfizer/Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada Award for Research Excellence.

1996 reunion year This is a reunion year for your class!

We have a great slate of events planned for the 2016 Alumni & Family Fall Weekend on October 7–9. The events begin on Friday morning and last all the way through Sunday. Reservation materials have already been mailed to reunion classes, so be on the lookout!

You can also access a reservation form online by visiting www.esf.edu/alumni/ fallweekend, or calling the ESF Alumni Office at 315-470-6632.

2001 reunion year This is a reunion year for your class!

We have a great slate of events planned for the 2016 Alumni & Family Fall Weekend on October 7–9. The events begin on Friday morning and last all the way through Sunday. Reservation materials have already been mailed to reunion classes, so be on the lookout!

You can also access a reservation form online by visiting www.esf.edu/alumni/ fallweekend, or calling the ESF Alumni Office at 315-470-6632.

2005 Rachel Tidd (ES) recently moved to Newfield, NY with her husband Leo Tidd ’04 (ES) and their 2 boys.

2006 reunion year This is a reunion year for your class!

We have a great slate of events planned for the 2016 Alumni & Family Fall Weekend on October 7–9. The events begin on Friday morning and last all the way through Sunday. Reservation materials have already been mailed to reunion classes, so be on the lookout!

You can also access a reservation form online by visiting www.esf.edu/alumni/ fallweekend, or calling the ESF Alumni Office at 315-470-6632.

Congratulations, Class of 2016! The ESF Alumni Association welcomes the 2016 graduates as alumni! We’d like to hear from you…please send us your Class Note. Photos welcome! Your Class Note can be submitted one of three easy ways.

Online www.esf.edu/forms/alumni/classnote.asp E-mail alumni@esf.edu Mail ESF Alumni Office 1 Forestry Drive, 219 Bray Hall Syracuse, NY 13210

1970 Brian Skinner (FRM) writes, “I was honored and humbled in 2015 to have been awarded the Utility Arborists Association’s “Utility Arborist of the Year.” With retirement from National Grid this summer, this was quite the surprise and a nice recognition after 45 years in the profession. So I guess those 2 very wet weeks at summer session in the ‘Daks have a reward after all!”

1973 Anthony Harvish (FRM) writes, “Started a new career as a procurement forester for Greene Lumber Co. of Davenport, NY. Cover half-a-dozen counties around the eastern side of NY, a couple Southwestern Vermont counties, and western-most MA. Buying standing timber, enjoying the great outdoors, and getting in better physical condition.

Great company with lots of good people to work with. Part of the Baillie/Wagner group of hardwood lumber mills in NY.” Alan Will (FRM) writes, “I retired in November after a long stint as the Director of the NNSA Remote Sensing Laboratory in Las Vegas. Now doing national security consulting as AJWILL Consulting and catching up on all those things I meant to get done over the years!”

1975 Gerald Blum (LA) received the Judges Choice Award in the Long Island Nursery and Landscape Association design/build competition for the Schlick Design Group’s project, ‘On the Bay’.

The project also won Gold in its category.

2011 reunion year This is a reunion year for your class!

We have a great slate of events planned for the 2016 Alumni & Family Fall Weekend on October 7–9. The events begin on Friday morning and last all the way through Sunday. Reservation materials have already been mailed to reunion classes, so be on the lookout!

You can also access a reservation form online by visiting www.esf.edu/alumni/ fallweekend, or calling the ESF Alumni Office at 315-470-6632.

Edward Klein (FRM), a family physician in Slate Hill, NY, has retired. Previously, in 1994, Ed also retired from the United States Air Force after achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Ed will remain in Middletown, NY, where he lives with his wife, Amy. Paul Wenner (FRM) writes, “After thirtyseven plus years as a state land forester with the DEC, I am finally hanging up my paint gun and Biltmore stick. If anyone from the Class of 1977 is passing through the Western Catskills, feel free to look me up in Stamford. I’ll be working in my garden and playing with the grandkids.”

Last September, Marc Zeppetello (FRM) began serving as Chief Counsel of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), a state agency with permitting and enforcement authority over activities in San Francisco Bay and a 100-foot shoreline band around the entire perimeter of the Bay. BCDC also engages in regional planning for shoreline resiliency and adaption to sea level rise. As Chief Counsel, Marc is involved in reviewing and commenting on a wide range of land-use and restoration projects, bringing administrative enforcement actions, and advising the Commission about legislation and policy issues. After almost 30 years in private practice, Marc is finding it both rewarding and challenging to represent and counsel a state regulatory agency as part of an interdisciplinary team charged with protecting San Francisco Bay.

1978 Richard J. Zahnleuter (EFB) has been appointed General Counsel at the New York State Department of Health, where he recently served as Acting General Counsel. Mr. Zahnleuter has held multiple roles at the Department of Health over the past 15 years, including Director of the Bureau of Litigation and associate counsel for the Bureau of Professional Medical Conduct. Mr. Zahnleuter was a trial attorney in the private sector between 1989 and 1999, served as Deputy Special Counsel to Governor Mario Cuomo for four years, and was an attorney with the Department of Health from 1981 to 1985. Mr Zahnleuter holds a B.S. in Biology from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and a J.D. from Albany Law School.

1979 1976 Bruce Gilman (FRM) received a 2016 Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Bruce is a member of the Department of Environmental Conservation and Horticulture at Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua, New York, where he specializes in field botany, limnology and glacial geology.

The Oneida Lake Association, Inc. has honored Frank Flack (EFB/FRM) as its 2016 Conservationist of the Year. Flack, who is the Fishery Manager in DEC Region 6, was presented the award for his leadership and hands-on work to protect Oneida Lake’s fisheries. Flack has made a longstanding personal and professional commitment to Oneida Lake which is reflected in several programs and initiatives currently underway.

According to OLA President Scott Shupe ’72 (FOR), the Conservationist of the

24 Class Notes SUMMER 2016 www.esf.edu/alumni Accolades & Professional News, continued Year selection committee recognized three key attributes of Flack’s work: 1. his support of cormorant counts and harassment has been hands-on and dedicated; 2. throughout his career, Flack has been a strong proponent of angler access, and he continues to do diligent, creative work in a partnership to open up a new boat launch at the east end of the lake, and 3. Flack has been a chief proponent of bass in his region and he has fought the sometimes difficult challenges that face that fishery, including on Oneida Lake.

Professionally, Flack has been a friend of Oneida Lake for more than 26 years, first as a DEC biologist and since 2003 as Region 6 Fishery Manager. His career with DEC goes back to the early 1980s.

1982 Mike Ingersoll (LA) is the Vice President and part owner of The LA Group, Landscape Architecture and Engineering, P.C., a 38-person firm based in Saratoga Springs, New York.

The LA Group recently announced acquisition of HMH Site & Sports design, an expansion that brings a new office to Ithaca, New York and will focus on resorts and recreation, including a niche in athletic fields. The firm also employs a number of younger ESF alums and is happy to set up interviews with recent graduates to discuss growing opportunities in the field.

William Havener (WPE) writes, “I have completed my 11th year as the Public Health Engineer for the Environmental Division of the Oswego County Health Department. Very proud to serve my community and New York State as a licensed engineer.”

1985 Barry LeClair (FRM) earned a Best and Brightest Scholarship from the Florida Department of Education as a highly effective teacher for the 2014-2015 school year. Barry teaches high school sciences, including Physical Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry, as well as Information Technology/Computer Science at a charter high school in Clearwater, Florida.

This is his third career, after 15 years in the private sector for land surveying/ planning/engineering consulting firms, and 15 years in the public sector for local government planning and zoning, development services, housing and community development, and natural resources teams. Barry also represented ESF at the fall 2015 college fair in Orlando and the spring 2016 college fair in Tampa as an Alumni Ambassador.

1981 Louis Fusco (LA) has been awarded the 2016 Connecticut Cottages & Gardens Innovation in Design Award for Landscape Design. Visit the website www.louisfusco.com.

The International Research Group on Wood Protection conferred its highest honor, the Honorary Life Membership Award, ‘in recognition of valuable service over many years,’ on Jeff Morrell (EFB). Jeff received the award at the group’s Annual Meeting, held this year in Libson, Portugal. Luckily, Tisha Drozdowski Morrell (’78, EFB) and their son, Ian, were there to see it, otherwise they’d never know because Jeff would be too humble to ever share the news!

David Bauer (FRM) writes, “In January, I retired from the National Park Service after 30 years as a Park Ranger. I moved back to NY State for the first time in decades and am living in Saranac Lake.

I am now working part-time as the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for Adirondack Health and spend the rest of my time hiking the Adirondack Mountains!”

1988 Richard Capozza (ES), a partner in Barclay Damon’s Environmental Practice Area, was a featured panelist at the 63rd General Assembly of the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation ‘CIC’ in Brussels, Belgium. The event’s theme was ‘hunting is conservation.’ Richard was the North American representative on a panel who addressed the question, ‘what if we stop hunting?’ The panel discussed the environmental, social, and economic impacts of hunting bans. The aim of the assembly was to provide a forum to promote global sustainable hunting wildlife management policies, to create awareness of wildlife problems, and to motivate commitment at the highest levels to solve these problems. The event was attended by 400 participants from 36 countries around the world. Richard is the chair of Barclay Damon’s Energy Practice Area and primary point of contact for the firm’s largest energy and utility clients. His practice is focused on energy and environmental issues. He has niche experience in federal and state laws and regulations applicable to wildlife resources, including the Endangered Species Act, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the Lacey Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. He also holds leadership roles in several wildlife-related organizations, including chair of the honorary advisory council for the Roosevelt Wild Life Station.

1995 Michael Rubbo (EFB) has been appointed the new Executive Director of Woodcock Nature Center in Wilton, CT.

1990 Sandie Lipsky-Charlack (LA) has recently joined Schlick Design Group as a designer. Her art is also currently featured in an exhibit at the Port Jefferson Community Center in Port Jefferson, NY.

1983 The NYS Senate confirmed the nomination by Governor Cuomo and appointed Chad Dawson (FRM) to the Adirondack Park Agency Board. His four-year term starts in July 2016. The APA is a New York State governmental agency with an eleven-member board and a staff of 50 people.

NY. My family and I moved back to the Buffalo area in 2015 and are enjoying the green grass and woods again!”

2002 As of March 2016, Chad DeVoe (EFB) took over as teacher of the OCM Boces New Visions Environmental Science Careers program at Lime Hollow Nature Center in Cortland, NY and welcomed second daughter, Lyra Mae, with partner, Courtney.

2003 Steve Stein’s (ES) firm, Environmental Resources Planning, along with the William S. Richardson Law School and Keep America Beautiful will present a symposium in Honolulu this fall on using Hawaii’s environmental court system to address litter and illegal dumping.

This symposium will be provided for law and code enforcement officials, prosecutors and justices. The role of each in litter abatement will be described. Sessions will explain how litter-related problems negatively impact Honolulu as a community and the vitality of its tourism industry. It will also show that addressing these issues effectively improves community quality of life. Local, state and federal laws related to litter, illegal dumping, marine debris and stormwater trash will be examined. Educational and enforcement training materials along with actionable recommendations addressing Hawaii’s unique challenges will be provided to all attendees. Steve has been recognized as a subject-matter expert in the field of litter-related issues.

His work has been covered by ABC’s Good Morning America, NPR, National Geographic magazine, the New York Times and Time magazine.

David Steen (EFB), a professor at Auburn University, was named ‘Best Biologist on Twitter’ by Slate.com. Follow him for all things snake related @alongsidewild.

David also researches wildlife ecology and conservation biology, and blogs about his work at www.livingalongsidewildlife.com.

2006 Marty Barry (LA) received the national ASLA Award for Community Service.

He writes, “I am so humbled to receive the ASLA award for community service.

Such a surprise and cool honor. Thanks so much Barbara Wilks, Adrian Benepe, Michael Sorkin, Alexandros Washburn, Adrian Geuze (West 8), and Nette Compton for the nomination and support. You all rock.”

Roseana Burick (ES) attended the White House Reception for the “Every Kid in a Park Initiative” on March 28, 2016 for her work on the initiative with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

1991 Aaron Gagne (ES) was recently appointed the Regional Director for Community Planning and Development of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in Denver, Colorado.

1993 In July 2016, Andrianna Natsoulas (EFB), accepted a position as the Executive Director of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York (NOFA-NY). Additionally, her book Food Voices: Stories From the People Who Feed Us will be released by Ig Publishing in the spring of 2017. (see www.foodvoices.org)

1994 Tim Jachlewski, Jr. (LA) writes, “I am excited to announce that we expanded our San Diego firm (In-Site Landscape Architecture, Inc.) to also serve Western,

From left, Brooke Linford, Hilary Maxworthy, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Roseana Burick ’06.

Desiree Narango (EFB) is a PhD candidate at the University of Delaware and is working at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. She works in their ‘Neighborhood Nestwatch’ program, a citizen science program that crowdsources the observation of native birds in urban habitats to help scientists solve critical questions regarding the survival of backyard bird populations. To learn more visit http://desireelnarango.weebly. com/ and http://nestwatchfoodweb. weebly.com/

www.esf.edu/alumni SUMMER 2016 Class Notes 25 Accolades & Professional News, continued

Weddings/Engagements

Births

2008

2001

2013

2005

Elizabeth Fossett (NRM) has been awarded the credential, ‘Certified in Volunteer Administration,’ by the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration. The credential, which entitles Fossett to use the designation ‘CVA,’ is the only one in the field that is recognized internationally. It is awarded after a rigorous process that includes an extensive self-evaluation and preparation of a performance-based portfolio. A panel of professionals who are certified in volunteer administration judges the portfolio. In addition to the portfolio, Fossett sat for a two-hour examination testing knowledge, application and analysis of skills related to volunteer resources management. Successful CVA candidates must prove they have a clear philosophy of volunteer administration, pledge to work within the professional code of ethics, and demonstrate their knowledgein-use in the core competency areas of organizational management, human resources management, accountability, leadership and advocacy. Fossett joins a select group of over 1,600 individuals who have attained this sought-after international credential as demonstration of their professional excellence in mobilizing and managing volunteers.

Frank Henry Moses (ES), Citizen Engagement Manager for F.O.C.U.S. Greater Syracuse, is to be married on August 19th to Kelly Lara Regan, a librarian at Marcellus Central School District. Frank is originally from Marietta, NY and Kelly grew up in Liverpool, NY. Frank is an alumnus of the Environmental Studies program with a concentration on Policy, Management, and Environmental Law. Kelly is a graduate of SUNY Oswego and Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies. Kelly and Frank are both residents of Syracuse in the Tipperary Hill neighborhood. Frank is still actively involved as a member of the ESF Alumni Association board as well as the Onondaga Audubon board while dedicating time to the Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps. Kelly is active in inspiring young minds and providing them with opportunities to connect to well-known authors in the literary community. Before summer comes to a close, Kelly and Frank will be celebrating their honeymoon as they tour the coast of New England and New Brunswick, Canada. Wish them well if you see them at an upcoming alumni event.

Danielle (Kaveney) Miles (FEG) and Mike Miles ’12 (FEG) were married on October 24, 2015.

Emily (Leckvarcik) Archer (LA) writes.

“My family tree grew this year! We had a daughter, Margot Grace Archer.”

Jennifer Sun (EFB) and Jiashen Wang (SU, ’12) were married on December 22, 2015. The couple now resides in New York City.

2010

Tim Porter (FRM) has been selected as Chief Arborist for the City of Charlotte.

Porter has worked for the City for six years in both the Land Development Urban Forestry group and the Landscape Management Division. He previously worked for the US Forest Service, Urban Ecology Institute and Cornell Cooperative Extension. Porter’s knowledge of urban forestry, tree canopy management and tree risk assessment is matched by a strong vision for the strategic management of our urban forest. Working with the Council-appointed Tree Advisory Commission and the City’s nonprofit partner TreesCharlotte, Porter will lead tree planting and care efforts, tree ordinance compliance and fulfillment of the Council’s goal to have 50 percent tree canopy by 2050. Porter recently said, “It’s an honor to be named City Arborist. I’m excited about working with the community and all stakeholders to protect and manage our urban forest, which is Charlotte’s most valuable natural asset.”

Lizette (Bonenfant) Sliter (LA) and her team at Garden Life have been working on rejuvenating and reworking the gardens at a private residence for five years and the work has paid off. The home was recently featured on the cover of New Hampshire Home Magazine Beautiful Garden Edition.

2011 Meryl Corsun (ES) and Kevin Gordon ’10 (FRM) are delighted to announce their marriage on May 21st, 2016 at Meryl’s family farm in Ghent, New York. Meryl and Kevin met at ESF in 2010 through a shared love of Ultimate Frisbee. Kevin popped the question at Chittenango Falls after a beautiful Fall hike. The couple currently resides in Syracuse.

2014 Melisa Keskin (ERE) and Neil Kohan (current PhD student) married in Saratoga Springs on March 21, 2015.

Lisa (Gerstenberger) Strauss (EFB) and her husband, Luke, welcomed their son, Bentley Carroll Strauss, on January 21, 2016. Bentley weighed 7 lbs., 2oz. and was 20.5 in. long.

WE WANT YOUR PHOTOS! Did you celebrate any milestones this year?

Attend any ESF alumni weddings? Did your family tree grow? We are looking for photographs to feature in the Winter 2017 issue of the Alumni News! If you have any images from your life’s events over the past year, please send them to us!

Digital files can be e-mailed to us at alumni@esf.edu.

Hard copies can be mailed to the Alumni Office (219 Bray Hall, Syracuse, NY 13210). We will scan them & return them to you.

26 Class Notes SUMMER 2016 www.esf.edu/alumni

In Memoriam Robert Williams, 1938 Nathan Golub, 1939 Julien Boesinger, 1940 Edward Littlehales, 1942 Charles Witter, 1942 John Schumacher, 1943 D. William Baird, 1949 Victor Jarm, 1949 Julius Eckert, 1950 James Sabin, 1951 George Fecke, 1952 Edward Liszewski, 1952 Roy McCready, 1952 Robert Denny, 1957 Donald Brown, 1958 James Grey, 1958 Donald Potter, 1959 Alex Satkowski, 1960 Tom Ryan, 1961 David Franke, 1966 Gwilym Owen, 1967 John Cesar, 1969 Bruce Reid, 1969 Paul Mehne, 1970 Elizabeth Platt, 1976 Frank Scala, 1978 Charles Stephens, 1979 Stephen Smith, 1986

1930s Nathan B. “Nate” Golub ’39 (FRM) died on Oct. 8, 2015. He was 97.

Born, reared, and educated in upstate New York, he received his degree in Forestry Management in 1939 from State University of NY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and his Engineer’s License in 1948. A veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corp in World War II, he served most of his professional career in the National Park Service as a civil engineer, first in the Eastern Office of Design and Construction, where he was involved in design and project supervision of utility projects in many parks in the Eastern U.S. In 1961, he became Regional Chief of Maintenance in the Northeast Region Office and subsequently the Associate Regional Director for Park Operations and Management of the Mid-Atlantic Region of the NPS. Earlier in his career, in addition to working the family farm, he was variously employed by the US Forestry Service, the US Army Corp of Engineers, the Lummus Co., and the Scarbourough Corp. of NJ. Nate was a charter member and past president and Paul Harris Fellow of the Washington Crossing Rotary Club.

He was a commission member of the Washington Crossing Historic Park, member of the alumni associations of the College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse University, and the Employee and Alumni Association of the National Park Service. He was a member of Friends of the Delaware Canal, Nature Conservancy, Audubon Society, Wilderness Society, and a number of other environmental and historic organizations. He was husband of the late Miriam Golub. He is survived by 2 daughters, a son, a grandaughter, a great-grandson, and a brother.

1940s Edward F. Littlehales ’42 (FRM) died on February 5, 2016. He was born in Syracuse, NY, and spent summers on Skaneateles Lake. Ed made his first visit to the family cottage via trolley and steamboat at the age of six weeks, and last summer celebrated his 95th birthday on the cottage’s lakefront porch with family and friends. Ed, an environmentalist before that word was fashionable, graduated from the NY State College of Environmental Science and Forestry. His thirty-year career with the US Forest Service included forest economic research and National Forest administration. He served in Washington DC, Atlanta and Denver. In Denver, he was Director of Information and Education for the Rocky Mountain Region, and represented the Forest Service at various international forestry conventions. Ed was proud of his military service. He was drafted into the US Army as a Private during WWII, was recalled to active duty during the Korean Conflict, and served in the Reserves, resigning as a Major. He is survived by his wife Susan, a daughter, three grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife of 64 years, a son, a daughter-inlaw, and a grandson. Ed was a friend and mentor to many. He advocated for women in the workplace. He nurtured cooperation between private business, local governments and the National Forest Service. He had a laugh and a heart as big as the outdoors that he passionately loved. If he ever met you, you were his friend for life. Memorial donations may be made to the Littlehales Scholarship Fund at the NY State College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Office of The President, 224 Bray Hall, One Forestry Drive, Syracuse NY 13210.

D. William Baird ’49 (PSE), 92, died on February 19, 2016. He was born in Philadelphia, PA on September 4, 1923, son of Walter Baird and A. Elizabeth Baird. Bill attended schools in Pennsylvania and New York.

After graduation from Watkins Glen High School, he enrolled at the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University. He enlisted in the Army in early 1943, and was assigned to the 76th Division, which fought across northern Europe. After hostilities in the European Theatre concluded, he spent some time in England at the Army College at Shrivenham, and returned home and was discharged in June of 1946. He returned to Syracuse to complete his degree in pulp and paper technology. There he met Iris M. Wilcox, whom he married after she graduated from Syracuse University. They both had strong ties to the outdoors and were active in the Outing Club at the College.

After working in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maine, the pair found their ideal situation in northern New Hampshire. Bill worked at Groveton Papers in various supervisory capacities.

Here they raised their three children. Bill and Iris were involved with the Scouts, the Appalachian Mountain Club, and the Lancaster Ambulance Corps. They led summer and winter hiking trips, cut and cleared trail, especially that on the west side of Percy Peak. Bill and his Scouts

laid out and cleared the alternate ‘Notch’ route up the mountain, avoiding the worst of the steep rock slabs. For over three decades, Bill was responsible for updating the North Country section of the AMC White Mountain Guide, which involved measuring trail distances, clearing blowdown and generally monitoring trail conditions. After he retired, Bill and Iris traveled widely, in the United States and Canada, and with various groups overseas. By his count, they visited twenty-two countries, mostly in Asia, Africa and South America. Bill is survived by his wife of sixty-four years, and his three children and five grandchildren.

1950s James Schuyler Sabin, Jr. ’51 (FRM), passed away on December 29, 2015.

He was born in Rome, NY on February 15, 1927 to James Schuyler Sabin, Sr. and Adah Louise Sabin and was an only child. With the demand for help during WWII, he enlisted in the Navy and served as a radarman on the USS Madison, spending most of his time in the Pacific. He was on board the Madison when it responded to the call for help to recover the crew from the USS Indianapolis which took part in the bombing of Japan, and then later was on board and present during the surrender of Japan. After the Navy, he finished high school and then attended the School of Forestry, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in forestry. In 1948, he married his best friend and the love of his life, Alice Louise Peltier. They enjoyed 63 years together before her death in 2011.

Jim joined the USDA Forest Service in 1951 and moved to California with his wife and Robert, their first-born. His Forest Service career spanned 32 years and after California, took the family all over the South as he was promoted to various positions. Starting as forester in California, Tennessee, and Mississippi, he became a District Ranger and then a Staff Officer in Virginia. From there, he moved to a Deputy Forest Supervisor in Hot Springs, AR and then Forest Supervisor in Russellville, AR. He was promoted again to the Regional Office in Atlanta, GA as the Director of Timber and Wildlife. Following that, he was made the Deputy Regional Forester for Natural Resources. He ended his career in 1983 as the acting Regional Forester for the Southern Region. Following his retirement from the Forest Service, he and another Forest Service retiree joined together and started a landscaping business which they enjoyed for years. Jim and Alice belonged to the Presbyterian Church their entire adult lives. Jim, especially, was very involved in serving as church officers (Elder and Deacon) and as a Boy Scout master. Both were active as youth group leaders and Sunday School teachers.

Donald Potter ’59 (LA), 85, passed away from kidney and heart failure.

Don is survived by his wife of 62 years, his children, a granddaughter, a sister, nieces, nephews, step-grandchildren, and Hawaiian Ohana.

1970s Frank Scala ’78 (EFB) passed away on April 30, 2016 at home. He was 62 years old. Born on April 26, 1954 in Brooklyn, NY, he was the son of the late Neil and Angela (DiNicola) Scala. Frank attended SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry and achieved a B.S. Degree in 1978. Frank was a New York State Corrections Officer at Mid-Orange Correctional Facility in Warwick. Frank loved to be in his garden and tend to his beautiful flowers, it was his passion. He is survived by his sister and niece.

Charles Stephens ’79 (EFB) passed away on January 1, 2016, while on vacation in Panama with his son. Son of the late William Ellsworth Stephens and Barbara Walsh Stephens Nelson Hansen, Charles “You can name him whatever you want but I’m going to call him Chuck” Stephens was born in Kearny, New Jersey in January of 1950. Chuck graduated from Saugus, Mass. High School in 1968, and attended SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry for most of the 70’s. He was an avid member and chair of the Syracuse University Outing Club, leading caving, canoeing, and hiking trips all over the country.

Chuck loved the outdoors, and was very active in the Boy Scouts for most of his life, achieving the level of Life Scout. Later, as a Scout Master of Troops 105 and 501 of Otschodela Council, he mentored countless scouts, including his son, Eagle Scout Ben Stephens. This past year, Chuck was awarded the prestigious Silver Beaver award, in recognition of his lifelong contributions to scouting. He worked for the NYS Department of Civil Service as a database programmer/analyst for over 35 years. He was a voracious reader, a fierce supporter of science and reason, and he always voted Democrat.

He could be cranky and taciturn, but was the most quietly caring and generous person you could ever meet. Chuck was always up for everything, whether it be a camping trip with his grandsons on short notice, or adventurously deep frying a turkey for his children. He knew absolutely everything, and once fixed a broken down car in a blizzard with a bra strap, just like MacGyver. Chuck was a caring father and a loving grandfather. He is survived by his children, grandsons, and siblings. He will be deeply, deeply missed by his family and community.

www.esf.edu/alumni SUMMER 2016 Alumni News 27

The ESF Bookshelf

The Dale L. Travis Lecture Series Save the Date – October 18 at 7:30 p.m. in ESF’s Gateway Center. Dr. James Gibbs will speak on the Galapagos Island Tortoises.

Lecture Series Beginnings

T

he ESF Bookshelf features books written by (or about) alumni and other members of the College community. If you’re an author and would like to be included in a future issue, please send us the title of the book as well as the ISBN number.

THOMAS BALSLEY ’68 Uncommon Ground ISBN-10: 1943532079 ISBN-13: 978-1943532070 Thomas Balsley ’68 is a renowned American landscape architect whose New York City based studio is responsible for some of the most notable and awarded spaces internationally and throughout the United States. Thomas Balsley: Uncommon Ground is a collection of selected projects that display the sweeping range of his work over the past 25 years.

Public and private parks, plazas, campuses, and waterfronts attest to the extraordinary level of design excellence that has defined his international reputation and that of his studio, Thomas Balsley Associates.

Working within the margins of the city grids on scraps of land and post-industrial waterfronts, his unique fusion of nature, culture, and process have produced vibrant public spaces, urban miracles both large and small, provocative and sublime, and have established him as a leader and champion of the sustainable and livable urban environment. Balsley Park on Manhattan’s 57th Street has been named in his honor, a testament to his substantial work in metropolises around the world. Along with popular and cultural acclaim, Balsley has also recently been selected to become the thirteenth recipient of the coveted ASLA Design Medal, in recognition of exceptional design work at a sustained and professional level.

BRIAN CYPHER ’81, ET AL Urban Carnivores: Ecology, Conflict, and Conservation ISBN-10: 0801893895 ISBN-13: 978-0801893896 With over half of the world’s human population now living in cities, humancarnivore interaction in urban areas is a growing area of concern and research for wildlife managers, conservationists, urban planners, and the public at large. This volume brings together leading international carnivore researchers to explore the unique biological and ecological issues associated with mammalian carnivores in urban landscapes.

Carnivores in urban areas are fascinating from an ecological standpoint.

They elicit great passions—positive and negative—among humans and present difficult challenges for wildlife conservationists and managers. The first section of the book discusses the field of urban ecology and the many potential roles of carnivores in urban ecosystems, details the general behavior and ecology of this group of mammals, and addresses the

human side of potential conflicts between people and carnivores in cities. The second section provides species accounts of the most common urban carnivores, including raccoons, coyotes, foxes, skunks, and mountain lions. A separate chapter examines the very specialized place of domesticated cats and dogs. The last section compares how various carnivore species fare in cities, looks at the utility of existing conservation and conflict management efforts, and suggests directions for further research and future management initiatives.

This thorough examination of the conflicts and complications surrounding urban wildlife is the first to focus specifically on carnivores. It includes an extensive bibliography and is an essential reference for wildlife biologists, mammalogists, and urban planners.

RONALD LANNER ’52 The Piñon Pine, A Natural and Cultural History ISBN-10: 0874170664 ISBN-13: 978-0874170665 Man, impressed by power, judges trees by their size. We name our giant Sequoias after generals and praise our redwoods, firs, and tall pines as stately or majestic.

Trees that live more modestly and that do not attain great heights are thought poor and humble, objects of pity. The pinon pine, “a broad tree with a round head, similar in size and form, but not in ramification, to the cultivated Apple-tree”, is regarded as lowly, a pygmy, a dwarf, a scrub conifer.

But a tree is what you make of it, and once, much was made of the pinon. This little tree produced the fuel, building materials, food, and medicines that enabled pre-historic Indians to establish their cultures on the Colorado Plateau—and to survive into the present as Hopi, Zuni, Pueblo, and Navajo. It was the pinon that made the Great Basin the coarse-grained Eden of the pine-nut eaters who picked their winter sustenance from the treetops: the Washo, the Shoshones, the Paiutes.

Pinon country, where these trees grow, is sprawling country. It stretches from trans-Pecos Texas to the Santa Ynez Mountains of southern California, and from the south of Idaho deep into Mexico.

It lies between the deserts and the high places.

Our story traces a wavy line through time: geological, prehistoric, historic, and current. It documents a changing relationship between man and woodland, from one in which man’s fate was determined by the bounty of the ecosystem to one in which man modifies, even destroys, that ecosystem for immediate profit.

Dale Travis ’59 had a dream. Impressed by the research conducted in all quarters of the ESF campus, he wanted to find avenues to make the public more aware of this work. About five years ago, he approached Environmental & Forest Biology Department Chair Don Leopold, and they discussed a lecture series to be held at the College that would showcase ESF’s best work to a wider audience, particularly the public. Thanks to Dale’s generous financial support, the Dale L. Travis Public Lecture Series began at SUNY ESF. The result has been very successful, contributing to public knowledge as well as recognition for the school.

ESF launched the series in March 2013 with internationally-recognized scientist and EFB professor Dr. James Gibbs speaking on snow leopard conservation in Russia. Both the public and the ESF community (including faculty, students, staff, and alumni) turned out, in a standing-room-only crowd, to hear Dr. Gibbs.

The favorable response boded well for the lecture series idea, and more events were planned.

The next talk featured Dr. William Powell and his ground-breaking work on restoring the American chestnut. Powell’s lecture was followed first by Dr. Donald Stewart speaking on fish species in the Amazon, then Landscape Architecture Professor George Curry discussing the Roosevelt Estate. In a presentation that was as much poetry as it was science, Dr. Robin Kimmerer shared her revolutionary work on the Honorable Harvest before a packed audience. When Dr. Karin Limburg spoke, she invited four “fishy” friends (including artist James Prosek, and National Geographic photographers David Doubilet and Jennifer Hayes) to join her in creating a most memorable “underwater” afternoon. Most recently, Dr. Neil Ringler discussed his 30 years of research on Onondaga Lake fishes and aquatic systems.

For those of you who were unable to attend these fascinating past lectures… you’re in luck! More detailed information,

including video recordings of the lectures, are available online at http://www.esf.edu/ efb/travislecture/past.htm Besides the caliber of speaker, and the timeliness of the topics, several factors make these events unique. Following the lecture, attendees enjoy a generous reception where they can meet and greet one another and, if they wish, interact with the speaker. With their white tablecloths and striking floral displays, the receptions themselves become focal points for informal encounters between ESF and the public. Parking is available on campus, eliminating the chance of getting a ticket as price for one’s attendance. In fact, thanks to the generosity of Dale Travis, the events are entirely free of charge.

Next Lecture Series: October 18

We hope you can join us for the next lecture in this series on October 18, 2016 (7:30 p.m.) when Dr. James Gibbs will speak on the Galapagos Island tortoises. The talk will occur in ESF’s Gateway Center, so please save the date. You can learn more about Dr. Gibbs and his work on the ESF website (http://www.esf.edu/EFB/gibbs/), and also be kept up-to-date on this and future lectures via the Dale L. Travis Lecture Series webpage (http://www.esf.edu/efb/travislecture/). 1

For more information about the

Dale L. Travis Lecture Series visit www.esf.edu/efb/travislecture

GO PAPERLESS! The Alumni News is Online Do you enjoy reading the ESF Alumni News but wish to decrease the amount of paper mail that you receive?

Go paperless! Complete issues of the Alumni News are available online and are typically posted within 1–2 weeks of our mailing. If you would like to cease receiving printed copies of the Alumni News and switch to our “online only” option… e-mail us at alumni@esf.edu! As soon as an issue has been posted, we will notify you via e-mail. In the meantime, did you know that back issues of the Alumni News are available for you to peruse online (dating back to 2009)? View them by visiting the following site: http://www.esf.edu/alumni/alumninews/ www.esf.edu/alumni/alumninews/

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND FORESTRY

ASSOCIATE EDITORS Jennifer Cullivan, Debbie Caviness CLASS NOTES Nichole Dougherty PHOTOS Bob Beary, Debbie Caviness, Jennifer Cullivan, Liz Fossett, Preston Gilbert, Danielle Miles, Wendy Osborne LAYOUT CLP Design Studio, Ballston Spa, NY PRINTED BY Benchemark Printing, Schenectady, NY The Alumni News is published two times per year by the ESF Alumni Association and is made possible by the payment of annual dues from alumni.

219 Bray Hall SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry One Forestry Drive Syracuse, New York, 13210-2785 www.esf.edu/alumni ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

RESE RVAT I O N F O R M

Alumni & Family Fall Weekend, Oct. 7–9, 2016 New this year…make your reservations online at www.esf.edu/alumni/fallweekend

In order to receive the group rate, you must mention the group name associated with your hotel of choice.

Mail this completed form with your check to ESF Alumni Office, 1 Forestry Drive, 219 Bray Hall, Syracuse, NY 13210-2785.

Reservation Deadline: Wednesday, September 14, 2016 Advance Sale Tickets Required for ALL Events

ESF/UNIVERSITY AREA The Crowne Plaza Syracuse 315-479-7000 ∙ 701 East Genesee St, Syracuse $119/night with group name “SUNY ESF Fall BBQ Weekend” Reservation Deadline: September 6, 2016

CONTACT INFORMATION Name

Class Year

Major

Sheraton Syracuse University 1-800-395-2105 ∙ 801 University Ave, Syracuse $145/night with group name “SUNY ESF Fall BBQ Weekend” Reservation Deadline: September 6, 2016

Address City

State

Daytime Phone

Email

Zip

DEWITT AREA / EASTERN SUBURBS

Guest Name(s)

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7

Cost per person

Number attending

Total Cost

$15.00

Coffee Haus & Campus Talent Show Coffee and munchies served

FREE

FREE

5K Fun Run T-shirts will be for sale at the event to benefit ESF Athletics!

FREE

FREE

Coffee with the President Includes continental breakfast

FREE

FREE

$

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 8

BBQ Lunch

Adults: $20.00 Ages 6–12: $12.00 Ages 5 & under: FREE

# of Adults: # of Youth: # of Kids:

$

BBQ Lunch ESF STUDENTS

FREE

FREE

Lafayette Road Experiment Station Tour

FREE

FREE

Taste of CNY Includes samples of NY wines, beer, hard cider, cider and a variety of appetizers.

Adults: $10.00 Under 21: $6.00

Tie-Dye Your Alumni & Family Fall Weekend T-Shirt T-shirts are available through pre-sale only. White with Forest Green Silk-screen only. Please indicate quantity of each size needed.

S, M, L, XL: $6.00 XXL: $8.00

# of Adults: # Under 21: Size(s)

$

$5.00

FREE

Service Project –Inner Harbor Creek Walk – 11 a.m.

FREE

FREE

Onondaga Lake Cleanup Discussion – 12 p.m.

FREE

FREE

Nature Walk – Clark Reservation – 12 p.m.

FREE

FREE

Total Amount Due: (Please make checks payable to the ESF Alumni Association) $

Dietary Restrictions

ESF Alumni Office, SUNY ESF 1 Forestry Drive 219 Bray Hall Syracuse, NY 13210-2785

Number of Vegans

Aloft Syracuse Inner Harbor 315-422-1700 ∙ 310 W. Kirkpatrick St, Syracuse Room Rate: $169–$189/night with group name “SUNY ESF College Alumni” Reservation Deadline: September 6, 2016

$

FREE

Please note, we will do our best to accommodate dietary restrictions:

ARMORY SQUARE / DOWNTOWN AREA

Courtyard by Marriott @ Armory Square 315-422-4854 ∙ 300 West Fayette St, Syracuse $189/night with group name “SUNY ESF Alumni & Family Fall BBQ Weekend” Reservation Deadline: September 6, 2016

Birding Tour at Montezuma Wildlife Refuge – 7:30 a.m.

Please make checks payable to ESF Alumni Association and mail it with this completed form to:

Embassy Suites by Hilton Syracuse 315-446-3200 6646 Old Collamer Road South, East Syracuse $149/night (includes complimentary hot breakfast) with group name “SUNY ESF” Reservation Deadline: September 6, 2016

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Holiday Inn Express East Syracuse/Dewitt 315-373-0123 ∙ 5908 Widewaters Pkwy, East Syracuse $149/night (includes complimentary hot breakfast) with group name “SUNY ESF” Reservation Deadline: September 6, 2016

The Jefferson Clinton Hotel 315-425-0500 ∙ 416 South Clinton St, Syracuse $149/night with group name “SUNY ESF” Reservation Deadline: September 6, 2016

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9 Pancake Breakfast Includes pancakes, ESF’s real maple syrup, sausages, coffee and juice.

The Craftsman Inn 315-637-8000 ∙ 7300 East Genesee St, Fayetteville $109/night with group name “SUNY ESF” Reservation Deadline: September 23, 2016 Doubletree by Hilton Syracuse 315-432-0200 ∙ 6301 State Route 298, East Syracuse $129/night with group name “SUNY ESF” Reservation Deadline: September 8, 2016

Alumni Reception & Opening Reception Includes beer, wine, soda, carving station, mashed potato bar, a variety of appetizers, desserts, and door prizes

Includes BBQ chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers, veggie burgers, salt potatoes, salads, dessert, and drinks.

Lodging Suggestions

Parking Passes

0 YES! Please send me a parking pass (at no extra cost), for Fall Weekend events.

Number of Vegetarians

Number of Gluten Free Other

Questions? Please visit www.esf.edu/alumni/fallweekend or call the Alumni Office at 315-470-6632.

The Marriott Syracuse Downtown (formerly known asThe Hotel Syracuse) 1-888-236-2427 ∙ 100 E. Onondaga St, Syracuse $129/night with group name “SUNY ESF Alumni Relations” Reservation Deadline: September 7, 2016 7TH NORTH STREET / LIVERPOOL AREA Hampton Inn Syracuse North 315-457-9900 ∙ 417 Seventh North St, Liverpool $119/night (includes complimentary hot breakfast) with group name “ESF Reunion” Reservation Deadline: September 6, 2016 Holiday Inn Syracuse/Liverpool 315-457-1122 or 1-888-HOLIDAY 441 Electronics Pkwy, Liverpool $149/night with group name “ESF” Reservation Deadline: September 6, 2016 Super 8 Motel Syracuse 315-451-8888 ∙ 421 Seventh North St, Liverpool $91.80/night with group name “SUNY ESF” Reservation Deadline: September 6, 2016