Renowned pianist Grigory Sokolov will present the final concert of this
year's Schenectady Museum-Union College chamber series on Saturday, May 16, at 8 p.m.
in Memorial Chapel.
The program is to include Rameau's Suite in G from “Nouvelles
Suites de Pieces de Clavecin,” Beethoven's Sonata No. 16 in G major, Op. 31, No.
1, and Brahms' Sonata in C major, Op. 1.
For more information, call 372-3651.
Read MoreJohn Rand, a polar engineer with the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and
Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) in Hanover, N.H., will give a talk titled “The Spirit
of Inquiry: Engineering at the South Pole” on Monday, May 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the
Nott Memorial.
Rand, one of the foremost authorities on extreme cold-weather
engineering challenges, is the National Science Foundation's project engineer for the
redevelopment effort of the New South Pole Station, now under way.
His appearance is made possible by collaboration between the mechanical
engineering department and the 109th Airlift Wing of the New York Air National Guard at
Stratton Air Base, Scotia, the sole provider of flight support for NSF polar research.
Thanks to some Union students, residents of Schenectady's Hamilton
Hill can participate in a Latino Festival that will be fun for kids and educational for
their parents on Saturday, May 16, from noon to 6 p.m. at Hispanic Outreach Services, 801
Craig Street, Schenectady.
The festival is free and open to the public.
Union fraternity Phi Iota Alpha, in conjunction with Hispanic Outreach
Services, is sponsoring the festival, the theme of which is “You Can Always Do
More.”
The idea for the festival came two years ago when members of Phi Iota
Alpha participated in a similar event which, while informative, offered little in terms of
entertainment, said Greg Van Holt '99, fraternity vice president. “We brought
dominoes and started playing and a lot of young people got interested,” he recalls.
“This time, we wanted to do something that would get more people involved.”
Activities for children include basketball, dominoes, dance contests,
carnival games and face painting.
While the kids are enjoying the games, adults can visit the information
booths of non-profit organizations to learn more about community resources. Among those to
be represented are the League of Women Voters, who will sponsor voter registration; and
Schenectady Health Services, which will offer information on health care options.
Friday, May 15, 9:30 p.m., West Beach. Outdoor showing of film, Scream,
presented by film committee as part of Springfest events. (Other events will be posted
on campus.)
Saturday, May 16, 8 p.m., Memorial Chapel. Pianist Grigory
Sokolov presents the final concert of this year's Schenectady Museum-Union College
chamber series. (see story)
Monday, May 18, 12:15 p.m., Humanities 019. Committee on Teaching
presents “Interdisciplinary Discourse.”
Monday, May 18, 7:30 p.m., Nott Memorial. John Rand, of U.S. Army
Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory on “The Spirit of Inquiry:
Engineering at the South Pole.” (see story)
Wednesday, May 20, between 11:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. Silliman Hall.
Start of Healthy Heart Program's community fitness walk. (see story)
Wednesday, May 20, 4:30 p.m., Raymond Coffeehouse. Prof. Tony
Rubonis of psychology speaks on “Paradoxical Powerlessness: Does Alcoholics Anonymous
Really Work?” Supported by the Intellectual Enrichment Program.
Wednesday, May 20, 8 p.m., Yulman Theater. “The Persecution
and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat As Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of
Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade.” by Peter Weiss, directed by
Prof. William Finlay. Run ends May 31. (see story)
Thursday, May 21, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Reamer Campus Center. Health
Fair sponsored by Health Services. (see story)
Through June 5, Mandeville Gallery, Nott Memorial. Nikon Small
World Exhibition: Photographs Through the Microscope featuring first prize photo by
Barbara Danowski of Union's biology department.
Have a few old tires you want to get rid of? How about chopping them up
and using the rubber pieces to reinforce your slopes?
According to senior James Cogan Jr., it's not a bad idea.
Cogan, a civil engineering major, has completed an independent research
project that suggests this might be a viable solution to disposing of old tires. He
recently presented his findings at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research at
Salisbury (Maryland) State University, and at Union's Steinmetz Symposium. His
advisor was Ashraf Ghaly, assistant professor of engineering.
Cogan said he got the idea from an engineering journal he read, but
tried implementing their idea with smaller scraps of rubber. He used scrap rubber pieces
approximately three millimeters in diameter, mixing them with 90 percent sand to optimize
the stability of the earth slope and safety factors.
“It's really just another way to use scrap tires, rather than
sending them to a landfill,” Cogan said, adding that we send about 250 million tires
to landfills each year. Cogan hopes we might reduce that number. “We already recycle
bottles and cans successfully – this is just another way to expand upon
recycling.”
A 1984 graduate of Colonie High School and a resident of Albany, Cogan
recently returned to college to earn his bachelor's degree.