On Friday, September 21, eight alumni were inducted into the Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame. You may or may not be familiar with every one of them, but you can be certain that their accomplishments have touched your life in some way. As future Rensselaer alumni, you should be proud to be part of this elite group of individuals who have, and will continue to, change the world.
In 1995, the Rensselaer Alumni Association established the Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame to permanently preserve, celebrate, and widely communicate the long and exceptional heritage of Rensselaer’s distinguished grad-uates. A total of 41 individuals have been inducted to date. Their accomplishments are celebrated in etched windows that line Thomsen Hall in the Darrin Communications Center. If you haven’t already, take a few moments to look them over. From the railroad and bridge builders of the 19th century to today’s entrepreneurs of infor-mation technology, you will be amazed at the profound impact that our alumni have had on the world.
The eight most recently inducted Hall of Fame members are:
Ray Tomlinson, Class of 1963, wrote what has been called the "killer application" of the Internet. Credited with inventing network electronic mail, Tomlinson put the @ sign in e-mail. He earned his bachelor’s in electrical engineering.
Alan Voorhees, Class of 1947, a former Rensselaer trustee, undertook the first application of mathematical models for fore-casting traffic that became the foundation for traffic forecasting techniques used today. He grad-uated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.
Eben N. Horsford, Class of 1836, is considered "the father of American food technology" with the invention, development, and manufacture of baking powder.
John Flack Winslow, iron and steel magnate, helped to construct the ironclad warship, the Monitor.
Edwin Bryant Crocker, Class of 1833, is a transcontinental railroad pioneer.
Theodore Dehone Judah, Rensselaer student in 1837, is a transcontinental railroad visionary.
Frederick Grinnell, Class of 1855, created the first practical automatic fire sprinkler.
William H. Wiley, Class of 1866, is a premier publisher of scientific and technical books.
If you want more information on any of the inductees, visit http://www.rpi.edu/dept/NewsComm/sub/fame/.
Which one of you will have your face and accomplishments etched into a Hall of Fame window someday? We all look forward to finding out!
Editor’s Note: Rob McIntosh ’60 received a bachelor’s in management engineering from Rensselaer in 1960. He was senior vice president of Omni Hotels, and recently retired as managing director of Omni’s Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing, N.Y. McIntosh is a former president of the Rensselaer Alumni Asso-ciation, has served on numerous alumni committees and boards, and received the RAA’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, in 1998.
