McKinney speaker announced
Peter Carey has been selected as the speaker for this year’s McKinney ceremony. Carey is an Australian novelist and short story writer, and is one of only two writers to have won the Booker Prize twice. In May 2008, he was also nominated for the Best of the Booker Prize and has won the Miles Franklin Award three times. His novel Oscar and Lucinda is among his works that have been made into notable films.    
The McKinney ceremony will start at 8 pm in DCC 308 on April 7, 2009, during which Carey will present writing prizes to McKinney winners, read from his novels, and take questions. There will also be a book signing following the ceremony.
The McKinney Writing Contest is open until March 17. Information about prizes, categories, and submissions can be found at the following website: http://www.llc.rpi.edu/web/mckinney/.
New Center for Architecture Science unveiled
On Friday, November 14, RPI and architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill officially launched the Center for Architecture Science and Ecology. The event took place on the 52nd floor of Seven World Trade Center. President Shirley Ann Jackson and Carl Galioto, partner-in-charge of SOM/New York’s Technical Group, were joined by city and state officials, business leaders, environmental leaders, academics, and Rensselaer alumni to celebrate the beginning of the new collaboration. 
CASE is a collaboration that engages scientists, engineers, and architects from the professional and academic worlds toward a common goal of redefining how we build sustainable cities and environments. The idea is to tap and cultivate the talents of a new generation of architects, thinkers, and planners and turn out sustainable and energy-efficient solutions to today’s environmental challenges in the global building sector.
Air Force ROTC honors veterans
On Tuesday, November 11, Air Force ROTC Detachment 550 cadets stood in pairs all day protecting the U.S. flag in front of the Armory.
The Air Force ROTC unit on campus started its morning with the traditional sounding of “Reveille” and the raising of the flag by the honor guard while nearly 50 cadets looked on, saluting. Two cadets stood at attention at the base of the flag as a symbol of honor to our veterans. Every half-hour, these cadets were replaced by two new cadets, taking up the charge at the base of the flag. During the vigil, cadets stood at attention in honor of the veterans who served our nation.
