Posted on Jun 2, 2005

When you first think about lasers, visions of Star Wars-like intergalactic fight scenes may come to mind or even something a bit more mainstream such as laser surgery or laser printers. A lesser-known but just as exciting use of lasers in art restoration is currently underway in a project involving Union College and Olana, the former home of landscape painter Frederic Church in Hudson, N.Y.

Union Art History major Christina Muir and Physics Professor Seyfollah Maleki have been working with staff from the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to test clean and restore intricately painted stencils at Olana using laser technology. The Persian-style house, built between 1870 and 1891, was purchased by the state in 1966 and later designated a State Historic Site and National Historic Landmark. It has been maintained by the state and with the help of a private group called Olana Partnership.

However, the stenciled walls of Olana's Court Hall have become stained and dirty over the years, and traditional cleaning and restoration techniques are not working. Maleki, who has been researching the use of lasers for cleaning art for the past four years, learned of the Olana quandary from Joyce Zucker, a painting conservator with the State Parks office on Peebles Island in Waterford. The hope is that using the technique of laser ablation will adequately clean the paint while leaving the stencils undamaged.

 “The traditional method of cleaning using solvents has been unsuccessful on these highly elaborate stencils,” said Zucker, who has been a conservator with the state for more than 30 years. “Church was the master of color, and our paint tests suggest that he used various substances in the paints, possibly including oils, protein and gums. There isn't much documentation on these stencils, so we are really learning as we go.”

Muir, who is graduating from Union this year, had taken very few science courses in her first two years but has since immersed herself in physics and chemistry to learn the science behind this art, as well as the technical features of testing paint samples and operating lasers.

“At first I was a bit intimidated by the lasers, microscopes and other tools that I needed to use for this independent study,” said Muir. “But once I started doing the work on a regular basis, I felt very comfortable.”

Muir, who is from Barre,Vt., plans to continue working in the field and is now applying to the few graduate schools in the world that offer advanced degrees in art conservation.

Also involved from Union are Chemistry Professors Mary Carroll and Joanne Kehlbeck.

The melding of the arts, sciences and technology is something increasingly familiar and useful to Union College students like Muir. The initiative, officially dubbed “Converging Technologies,” is providing students with experience in emerging, cross-disciplinary fields of study such as bioengineering, nanotechnology, digital art, and neuroscience.

“Interdisciplinary studies linking engineering and the liberal arts are becoming more important in understanding the increasingly technology-driven world,” said CT Director Doug Klein. “CT distinguishes Union. It is one thing to be a liberal arts college with engineering; it is something else completely to be a small college that allows students to see the world in fundamentally new ways by participating in interdisciplinary programs that combine the two.”

For Muir, Union's focus and encouragement on bridging the arts and technology has given her future a clear direction. “This project has been just great. It's given me the experience I need to apply to very competitive grad schools.”

Muir's experience included trips to Olana to collect paint samples and observe conservators Zucker and Adele de Cruz “spot clean” small sections of the stencils using the lasers. She has been using lasers on test paintings in the labs at Union and on Peebles Island.

The use of the laser – which cleans using short bursts of concentrated light  – on the actual walls in Court Hall yielded visible improvement, according to Zucker. “This is a very significant project, using cutting-edge technology on extremely delicate and valuable paintings,” she said.

In the 1980s, vinyl erasers were used on the walls in an attempt to remove the grime. Since that time, Zucker said she has attended conferences and worked with de Cruz, the painting conservator who has helped to develop the instruments that enable the cleaning of paintings with lasers. “Olana is a very rare jewel, and the fact that we are improving and restoring the home of such a renowned artist with such a brilliant eye for color is so important. The color relationships are crucial,” she added.

Muir, who will graduate on June 12, will be spending the summer at Union to continue working on this project.

Posted on Jun 1, 2005

Union College's Alumni Council honored three of their alumni and one faculty member during the college's recent reunion weekend.

Charles E. Roden '60, Peter K. Smith '70 and Patricia L. Seftel '80 were granted Alumni Gold Medals.  Peter Tobiessen, professor of biology was given the Faculty Meritorious Service Award. The awards, presented at the Alumni Convocation by Alumni Council President Jason Oshins and Union President Roger Hull, cited the trio for their support and leadership as alumni.

The citations for each read as follows:

Charles E. Roden '60

It's wonderful when an alumnus who has gone on to a successful career comes back to show the next generation of students how to follow in his footsteps.

When you signed on to the Eliphalet Nott society to counsel students, faculty and graduates about entrepreneurial initiatives, it was only the latest in a series of commitments you have made to make Union stronger.

An economics major and treasurer of your fraternity, Phi Sigma Delta, it was clear early on that you were destined for a distinguished career in the financial field. Since your days as an undergraduate you have been affiliated with a number of brokerage houses. With a master's in economics from New York University, you have risen to the top management level of several firms including your present position as managing director of fixed income for Josephthal, Lyon and Ross.

You have worked tirelessly as class president, ReUnion chairman, and class agent. You have been an ambitious recruiter of promising students — including your stepson Roger Smith '94 — and you and your wife, Leslie, have welcomed a number of new Union students and families into your home for freshman sendoffs.

Finally, you have generously supported the College with a number of gifts including the Sam and Roslyn Roden Endowed Scholarship in honor of your parents. And fortunately for Union, you have not been shy about suggesting to classmates that they follow your example.

Charles, it is a pleasure to recognize you for all that you have done for Union College. The Alumni Council is proud to present you with this Alumni Gold Medal, citation and certificate.

Peter K. Smith '70

Peter, it's easy to take the campus chimes for granted. Their beautiful sound ringing out across campus is as much a part of the place as the Nott Memorial. Few of us – campus veterans and newcomers alike – actually realize that the chimes, the soundtrack of our campus, don't just happen.

Which is where you come in. You have dedicated much of your student and alumni careers to ensuring that the chimes are a part of the Union campus. You have climbed the narrow stairs to the cramped belfry to provide special music for dozens of campus milestones. And you have helped to cultivate the next generation of chimers to carry on the tradition.

Your role with the chimes is typical of much of your involvement with the College. You go about your business, often out of public view, to make sure that the traditions that your father, Alanson Page Smith '27, enjoyed live on.

You have served as past president of the Alumni Council and a member of its various committees. You were integral to the Bicentennial celebration of the College, serving on both the planning committee and the committee for external relations. An active alumnus who organized the Fulton-Montgomery Club, you have also found time to work on the Terrace Council and a number of phonathons. You also have been a key player in keeping alive the traditions of your fraternity, Sigma Phi.

Your energy has helped the Johnstown-Gloversville area as well. As a prominent attorney, you have contributed greatly to your community. The Johnstown Planning Board, First Presbyterian Church, Wells Nursing Home, United Way, Fulton County Arts Council, Foothills Youth Services – all have benefited from your time and expertise.

Peter, we owe you a debt of gratitude for years of providing Union's soundtrack and keeping our traditions alive. Thank you. The Alumni Council is pleased to present you with this Alumni Gold Medal, citation and certificate.

Patricia L. Seftel '80

Pat, if we had to find the quintessential alumni volunteer, we would have to look no farther than Patricia L. Seftel of the Class of 1980.

Never more than a phone call away and happy to take on any task, your list of involvements reads like a chronicle of Union College alumni activities: Bicentennial celebration volunteer, Class and ReUnion volunteer, executive committee member and first and second vice president of the Alumni Council, executive committee member of the Schenectady Alumni Club, member of the Sarasota (Fla.) Alumni Club, and ad hoc committees galore.

Typical of your ambitious lifestyle, you pursued your bachelor's in psychology while your three kids – Laura, Suzanne and Joshua – were still in school. But you always made it a point to be there when your kids got home from school. And you did your studying late at night and on weekends while your supportive husband, Leroy, took the kids skiing. It took you eight years to get your degree, but you clearly enjoyed the experience as much as your professors enjoyed having your … well, experience, in the classroom.

A registered nurse with years of experience, a master's in health counseling from Post College plus a degree from Union is a rare person indeed. Ellis Hospital was fortunate to have you join them as a counselor after you graduated from Union. Before you “retired” you helped untold numbers of people in ways you can only imagine.

Of your tireless commitment to the College, you once said, “It's not an effort, it's more of a pleasure. I've done well by Union.”

Union College, Pat, has done very well by you.

Pat, in recognition of all that you have done for Union, the Alumni Council is proud to bestow upon you this Alumni Gold Medal, citation and certificate.

Peter Tobiessen, professor of biology

Peter Tobiessen, professor of biology at Union College was given the 2005 Faculty Meritorious Service Award from the college's Alumni Council.

Peter, since joining the faculty in 1970, you have been known as a popular and energetic professor with a keen interest in introducing the wonders of biology to your students.

Besides all your work in the classroom, you have long been active in promoting undergraduate research. You are a frequent mentor to students during the academic year and in summer research projects. You have hosted a number of students for research – and a little fishing — at your Adirondack camp.

You have also cultivated a passion for bringing math and science to youngsters, women and minorities, work for which you received the Community Service Award from the Hudson-Mohawk Association of Colleges and Universities.

With your colleague and fishing buddy Tom Werner, you have done a great deal to advance clean water, doing extensive testing of local waterways with Union students.

You have been a frequent teacher of the popular Illustrated Organism course, which integrates biolgy and art. You were the administrator of the College's first Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant in 1993, which created programs to attract students to careers in science. So successful was that program, that it helped to set the stage for a second HHMI grant that is having a great impact at Union today. You have been co-director of a summer institute to expose teachers and students to advanced research and enrichment programs.

Finally, Union has been doubly blessed by the Tobiessens. We suffered a loss a few years back when your wife, Joanne, retired as director of the Career Development Center. Thankfully, you have chosen a longer route to retirement.

Peter, it is a pleasure to recognize you for all that you have done for Union College over the years. The Alumni Council is proud to present you with this Alumni Gold Medal, citation and certificate.

Posted on Jun 1, 2005

Out of bloom, out of mind. I'm shamelessly fluid when it comes to choosing a favorite flower. In March, I was quite certain that hellebores were No. 1. Then I changed my mind and was taken with tulips, then the lilacs and now peonies, especially the tree peony.

Recently, I drove to Cricket Hill Garden in Thomaston, Conn. for its annual peony festival. It's about a 2 1 /2-hour drive from the Capital Region, but if you love peonies, it is worth it. The beauty will leave you breathless.

If venturing to Connecticut is just too far, Union College in Schenectady has a wonderful collection of peonies in Jackson's Garden, eight acres of formal gardens and woodlands. I visited earlier this week and several peonies were in bloom and more were about to explode with color. There were single flower tree peonies in deep purple/magenta and smaller doubles in shades of pink. And, the scents ranged from spicy to sweet.