Posted on Apr 20, 2006

Ashraf M. Ghaly, professor of engineering, has authored two articles for “Concrete Today,” the monthly magazine of the Pre-Cast Concrete Association of America. “The Rion-Antirion Bridge Exemplifies Distinction in Engineering Design and Construction Innovation” appeared in the October 2005 issue; “Pointing Fingers Solves No Problem, Practicing Rather Than Preaching Does,” was published in November 2005.

Posted on Apr 20, 2006

Stephen Schmidt, associate professor of economics, and Karen Scott '08, an economics minor, have had a jointly authored paper accepted for publication in “Education Finance and Policy.” The paper, titled “Reforming Reforms: Changing Incentives in Education Finance in Vermont,” grew from work Scott did as a summer research fellow with Schmidt in 2004.

Schmidt completed the work while on leave at RPI that fall and presented the paper at American Education Finance Association meetings in spring 2005. The paper finds that Vermont was able to change from a politically unpopular system of equalizing education opportunities to a more acceptable system with only a small sacrifice of equality; however, it did require a large increase in the state sales tax.

Posted on Apr 20, 2006

Rebecca A. Koopmann, associate professor of physics and astronomy, gave a poster presentation at the January 2006 American Astronomical Society Meeting in Washington, D.C. It was titled, “The ALFALFA Undergraduate Workshop: Promoting Undergraduate Participation in a Legacy Survey Project,” and co-authors were M. P. Haynes, R. Giovanelli, B. R. Kent and S. Stierwalt, all of Cornell University; J. Alonso of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center; G. L. Hoffmann of Lafayette; and J. J. Salzer of Wesleyan.

Posted on Apr 20, 2006

Two-time Wimbledon tennis champion Venus Williams comes to campus this summer when her Philadelphia Freedom meets the New York Buzz in an indoor match at the Frank L. Messa Rink as part of the World Team Tennis. A portable tennis court will be placed over the Union hockey surface for the July 19 event, which marks Williams' first career appearance in the Electric City.

To protect against bad weather for the high-profile match, the Buzz wanted an indoor venue and worked with Schenectady city and county leaders to find the right site. The Buzz will host Williams and the Philadelphia Freedom at Union and in six other home matches, to be held in Schenectady's Central Park.

“The World Team Tennis matches are a signature event for Schenectady County, and we are pleased to provide a first-class venue,” said Bill Schwarz, the College's director of communications and public affairs. He praised “the strong collaborative effort among the College, city and county leadership” for the successful match-up.

Williams, 25, has won 33 career World Tennis Association singles titles and five Grand Slam tournament championships. Buzz owner Nitty Singh said the Messa Rink, which seats nearly 3,000, will “be a great opportunity… to enjoy fantastic tennis in a comfortable indoor setting.” Buzz summer tickets go on sale May 1.

For details: www.nybuzzwtt.com, or (518) 378-BUZZ.

Posted on Apr 19, 2006

At Union College in Schenectady, there's a new class on campus, and it's all set up by the students.

Union College Senior Emily Clark said, “There was a student committee put together, and we discussed different ideas for a course, bringing together professors from every discipline, and Globalization was the one that stood out the most as potentially being the most successful.”

Approximately 60 students are enrolled in the Globalization class. The focus of the Globalization course is “the study of moving beyond domestic markets to other markets around the world.” This particular class is held twice a week with rotating professors. It's a different approach, but it has its advantages.

Union College Freshman Lindsay Shelley said, “The great thing about this class is they're bringing professors from the Economics Department, the Anthropology Department, the Political Science Department, to get every different point of view.”

Political Science Professor Tom Lobe said, “I think the idea at the end of the class is not to be some type of expert on Globalization, but rather just start to feel comfortable seeing that different disciplines and different scholars and different policy-makers approach ideas and concepts in different ways.”

Students also get to know what it's like to actually design a class like this, by deciding the topics to picking the professors –making this, literally, a class all their own.

Anthropology Professor George Gmelch said, “It's best if you can kind of give them ownership, give them as much control of the curriculum and things we do as possible, so I'm trying to do that in this course.”

So now the question is, will this trend continue?

Clark said, “I think the students are getting a lot out of it this term, so hopefully it can continue with different subject matter and continue to grow next year.”