The office of the dean of the School of Science was a neatly appointed room located on the first floor of the Science Center. The office had a nice view of the Voorhees Computing Center and the academic region of campus. Opposite the vista was a chalk board and an adjoining small meeting table. It was at this table that I sat down with Joseph Flaherty, dean of the School of Science and Amos Eaton Professor of Science.
Flaherty is originally from Brooklyn, NY. Because of an early interest in airplanes, he attended Polytechnic University (then named Brooklyn Polytechnic). Flaherty studied aeronautical engineering at Polytechnic University and was a brother of Pi Kappa Phi. “It was the Sputnik era and the space era,” Flaherty said, in reference to his choice of major. “The space program was in operation, and the [nation’s] goal was to put a man on the moon.”
After receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1964, he remained at Polytechnic University and moved into the field of mechanics, receiving his Ph.D. in 1969. “I liked more mathematical activities . . . [They] appealed to me,” Flaherty remarked.
After graduation, Flaherty was hired as an assistant professor of mathematics at New York University and remained there until NYU decided to sell its engineering campus. He actively pursued positions at other universities but ended his search when he received an offer from Rensselaer.
“The others became less interesting. Rensselaer had the type of mathematics department that I was [involved in] at NYU. When they were interested in me, I was certainly interested in them,” said Flaherty. He taught mathematics and computer science from 1973 to 1984. “It was explosive. Computer science was a growing program. [There were] more students than we could handle,” he explained. Then, in 1984, RPI’s administration became interested in creating a full-sized computer science department, and Flaherty was asked to become the chair of the new department.
“It was an exciting change,” Flaherty remarked. “It was an opportunity to build. At the time, we had eight faculty members, and we grew into about 18 before I left.” From its conception until 1991, he served as the founding chair of the computer science department. After stepping down as chair to focus more on teaching and research, Flaherty was named the Amos Eaton Professor of Science. He has retained that title, despite serving as dean of the School of Science since 2001.
Observing positive changes in the school and hiring new faculty have given Flaherty satisfaction as dean of the School of Science. He commended those faculty in the School of Science who have recently earned awards and hopes that he can raise the international rankings of the school’s academic programs.
Flaherty had some advice to give to the student body: “Be broad and try to understand [a wide range of academic subjects]. In the working world, engineering and science are operating between traditional disciplines. The more you learn about what goes on in other disciplines, the better opportunity you are going to have.”
Although he has little free time these days, Flaherty is a licensed pilot and enjoys flying airplanes, hiking, and spending time with his two children (who enjoy watching Puckman at RPI hockey games). “I really love it here. I’ve been [at RPI] a long time, and through good and bad times the people have always been good. Students, faculty, and staff make it a pleasure to be here,” remarked Flaherty.
Flaherty can be reached at flahej@rpi.edu.
Next Week: Arthur Sanderson, Vice President for Research
