Committees enacted
As part of the execution of the directives outlined in The Rensselaer Plan, search committees have been created to fill positions in constellations in information technology and biotechnology.
The two search committees report directly to the provost, who is responsible for the coordination of their work.
According to Dr. Jackson, each includes a chair, a nucleus of faculty experts in respective relevant fields of study, additional external advisors, who can assist in bringing a national perspective on ideas, and a supplementary contacts network.
Members of the IT Constellation committee include Joseph Flaherty ( CSCI), chair; Selmer Bringsjord (PP&CS); Shiv Kalyanaraman (ECSE); Pawel Kebelinski (MS&E); James Modestino (ECSE); Saroj K. Navak (PHYS); Leo Schowalter (PHYS); Mark Shephard (CIVL); Michael Shur (ECSE); and Chuck Stewart (CSCI).
The external consultants to the committee are Larry Smarr, University of Illinois-Urbana, and Peter Freeman, Georgia Tech.
The Biotechnology search committee includes members Georges Belfort (CHME), chair; Chris Bystroff (BIOL); Wilfredo Colón (CHEM); Jonathan Dordick (CHME); Ivar Giaever (PHYS); David Isaacson (MATH); Jane Koretz (BIOL); Chip Lawrence (CSCI); Badri Roysam (ECSE); Richard Siegel (MS&E); Bob Spilker (BMED); Michael Zuker (MATH); Natacha Depaola (BMED);
External consultants to the committee are George Whitesides, Harvard University, Joshua Lederberg, Rockefeller University, and Marlene Belfort, New York State Health Department.
Art Sanderson, vice president for research, serves as an ex-officio member of both committees.
Award record reached
According to a recent announcement by the National Science Foundation, Rensselaer tied with Cornell University for the most Faculty Career Development award winners in New York State with eight by each.
The eight CAREER award winners, a record number for RPI for any year since the inception of the CAREER award’s program in 1995, helped New York state to climb from fifth in the country in 1999 to second this year in total CAREER award winners. Only the state of California had more NSF CAREER award winners.
Rensselaer Provost G.P. "Bud" Peterson said, "In selecting these eight individuals from Rensselaer, The National Science Foundation is recognizing not only their contributions to date, but more importantly their tremendous potential for future contributions."
As NSF’s most prestigious honor for junior faculty members, the award was presented to Wilfredo "Freddie" Colón, assistant professor of chemistry; Wesley Huang, assistant professor of computer science; Kenneth Jansen, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; James "Chip" Kilduff, Kodak assistant professor of environmental engineering; Ganapathiraman Ramanath, assistant professor of materials science and engineering; Julie Stenken, assistant professor of chemistry; Thomas Pok-Yin Yu, assistant professor of mathematics; and Mourad Zeghal, assistant professor of chemical engineering.
Nationwide, 409 junior faculty members in science and engineering were honored, including eight from both Stanford and Carnegie Mellon, five from the University of Michigan and Harvard, and 10 from MIT.
For the complete list of N.Y. state’s NSF CAREER winners go to the web page, http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/career/ state0.htm#ny.
Library licenses SD
Loretta Ebert, director of libraries, recently announced that the Rensselaer Libraries have reached reasonable conditions and terms to license Science Direct, a provider of online access to a significant collection of international technical, science, and medical literature.
Science Direct also provides a service for online delivery of full-text periodicals from Elsvier and an expanding list of other academic publishers. In addition, a searchable database, which includes 1.8 million abstracts, links from Science Direct to other publishers’ electronic resources, and personalized features will be available.
Implementation of the Science Direct services is scheduled for this month.
