Posted on Jul 6, 2007

Charles T. “Tom” Male Jr. ’36, professor emeritus of civil engineering at Union, died July 5, 2007. A lifelong resident of Niskayuna, he was 93.

He joined Union in 1942, the first civil engineering professor at Union with a doctorate, then an unusual distinction in a field where a master’s degree and engineering experience were the norm, according to his longtime colleague, Professor H. Gilbert Harlow.

Male retired in 1984, but continued to teach, advise and attend department and campus gatherings long afterward.

Male came from a family with long ties to the College and its engineering programs. His father, Charles Sr., graduated from Union in 1913 and then taught surveying and engineering mathematics until 1954, when he founded a surveying firm.

He was perhaps most visible on campus as the instructor of a surveying course, which students sometimes referred to as “Fun in the Sun.” In nice weather, a dozen students would be spread around campus, clipboards in hand, as Male checked their progress on what was likely the most surveyed parcel in Schenectady.

Harlow recalled the day that Male’s students, with help from their instructor, lifted the rear end of a car and placed it on blocks so that its owner, a student, would find the wheels spinning in the air as he tried to drive. The next day, again with Male’s help, the students hid the car in the hydraulics laboratory.

Male sometimes cultivated a gruff persona which quickly gave way to a warm and jovial side and a keen interest in helping his students. As a partner in C.T. Male Associates, the surveying firm founded by his father, he offered internships and employment to a number of students and alumni.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in physics from Union in 1936, and master’s and Ph.D. from Cornell University.

His wife, Mildred Garrett Male, whom he married in 1937, died in 1997.

Survivors include three children: C. Thomas Male III of Bridgeport, N.Y.; Gary R. Male of Niskayuna; and Judith M. Henerey of Niskayuna.

Funeral services are set for Monday, July 9, at 11 a.m. at Niskayuna Reformed Church. Calling hours are Sunday, 4 to 8 p.m., at Light’s Funeral Home, 1428 State St., Schenectady.

Read More

Posted on Jul 6, 2007

Charles Gibson urges ethics and trust

ABC News anchor receives honorary degree at Union College's 2007 commencement.

Read More

Posted on Jul 5, 2007

A group of 16 middle-school students is learning the art of science this week at Union College.

The college is offering a handson introduction to the world of robotics at its 10th annual Robot Camp. But the Carpet Rover robots the students are learning to build and program during the five-day program are being designed as “drawing machines,” said camp director Fernando Orellana, assistant visiting professor of visual arts.

“I’m teaching them engineering skills and computer science skills, but my goal is really art, the expression of art,” he said. 

After a lecture introducing students to robotics and explaining its history and a lesson in soldering, students began building their own 8-inch by 8-inch robot, a three-wheeled vehicle with two small motors, a microprocessor and sensors to help guide its motion. Once the robots were completed, the microprocessors were then programmed to guide its motion to create shapes once drawing instruments are added.

“At this level, it’s really just, ‘This is what a robot is all about, this is what engineering is all about, here’s some electrical engineering, here’s some computer science, here’s some mechanical engineering, let’s see what happens.’ It’s a lot of fun,” Orellana said.

The resulting art will be demonstrated Friday, when the camp concludes with an exhibition at 3 p.m. at the Schenectady Museum, where the students will demonstrate their robots by drawing a collective 10-foot by 12-foot illustration.

“The goal will be to make the robots all draw together. … The goal is to make this giant collaborative drawing,” Orellana said.

While Orellana views the camp as a robotic art lesson, though, Valerie Barr, chair of the computer science department, sees it as a tool to fight an alarming 40 percent to 60 percent drop in enrollment in college computer science programs nationwide.

“We need students, so recruitment and retention is really important,” Barr said. “If you can get kids really excited when they’re this age, then they’re going to think about computer science when they get into high school and college, and we’ve got a chance at getting them.”

This year’s camp is especially important at Union, Barr said, because it coincides with a push by the college into the field of robotics. During the 2006-07 school year, the college added introductory and upper-level robotics classes, as well as hiring its first roboticist and opening a robotics lab, she explained.

And the response from the students has been exceptional, said Orellana, who is in his second year running the camp. As Orellana and four members of the college’s Robot Club roamed the two classrooms in Steinmetz Hall where students were working, they were peppered with questions from students programming their robots and requests to view some of the robots in action.

“They are totally attuned to what they are doing,” Orellana said. “They’re fully paying attention to the skills they’ve been assigned. It’s great because they’ve never done this kind of thing before.”

Brian and John Kowalski, 13-yearold twins from Altamont, worked side by side on their robots, sometimes sharing information and ideas.

“It’s really been fun. I got a lot out of it,” Brian said. “I successfully built a robot and programmed it.”

John attended a similar camp last summer, but said he was disappointed that he learned nothing he didn’t already know.

Read More

Posted on Jul 5, 2007

SCHENECTADY — Matt Nicoletta traces his interest in robots to a childhood playing with Legos and watching the television show "Battlebots."

These days, the 14-year-old Niskayuna youth is getting first-hand experience building his own robots.

"It's really fun but you've got to have an interest for robots, you can't just come in to camp and expect to enjoy it," said Nicoletta.

Nicoletta was one of 16 middle school students who recently participated in the ninth annual Union College robot camp where the students got to test their vehicle-like rovers. The camp was held last week.

"These kids are the future of the industry," said camp Director Fernando Orellana, a professor of art at Union.

The robots, which were built from scratch by the students, use infrared line tracking sensors that lie beneath the machine to keep them aligned. Bug-like antenna senors act as the robots' eyes, detecting any impact. The rover will automatically turn around if it makes contact with anything.

Orellana said that this is an exciting time for the industry and that Bill Gates compares the robotics industry to where the computer industry was 40 years ago.

"This stuff is going to explode," added Orellana.

Campers agree that building the machines from scratch is exciting but programming the robots can get difficult. Still, the hands-on experience of constructing a machine beats buying an already assembled remote-controlled toy, several students said.

Campers aren't the only ones getting something out of the week-long session. It was also a learning experience for counselors.

"The camp is really good. I knew about the building of the robots, but now I get to learn about the programming of them," said Christine Farrell, a camp counselor and engineering major at Union.

Union College is offering introductory and upper-level courses for robotics as part of its computer science curriculum.

"Hopefully, this will attract students to the computer science program and help with retention. Computer science is suffering a 40-60 percent drop in enrollment nationwide," computer science professor and department chair Valerie Barr said.

For camp director Orellana and foreign exchange student and camp counselor Ondrey Vrzal, this is just the beginning.

Vrzal plans to pursue a master's degree in Cybernetic Measurement back home in Prague.

"I like this experience because it makes me try the role of a teacher," Vrzal said.

As for the camp, Orellana hopes that there can be another camp created for high school and college students.

"My goal is for them to build bipedal humanoid robots in about five years. That would be the best thing ever," Orellana said.

Bipedal humanoid robots are made to mimic human actions and movements. But they cost about $1,000 each to build, which has the potential of halting future plans of the program.

Cost for the camp now is $350, which includes the robot kit, software, programming cables, a manual and a daily lunch.

Read More

Posted on Jul 3, 2007

 

Union College President Stephen C. Ainlay has been appointed to a new state commission charged with identifying ways of improving the quality of higher education in New York.

“I am both pleased and honored to have been appointed to the Governor’s Commission on Higher Education for New York,” said Ainlay, who recently completed his first year as president of Union. “It provides a vehicle for considering ways in which we can strengthen education in New York and, in the process, explore new initiatives, partnerships and opportunities. The governor has recognized the key role that education will play in the future of the state, and I look forward to working with my fellow members on what promises to be an important commission.’’

Gov. Eliot Spitzer signed an executive order in May creating the commission, which is chaired by Hunter Rawlings, the former president of Cornell University.

“Excellence in higher education is a key to our state’s future,” Spitzer said in announcing the commission. “The state’s network of outstanding public and private colleges and universities is essential to producing the highly skilled work force that will be a major driver of New York’s Upstate economy. This new commission will help identify innovative, cutting edge ideas and necessary improvements that will help improve the quality of education we deliver and make New York’s higher educational system a world class institution.”

 The commission will study the current higher education system and make recommendations about:

•  improving access to the state’s public higher education system;
• expanding its degree programs to reflect state and regional economic development objectives;
• preparing community college graduates for a smooth transition to four-year institutions and/or obtaining high value jobs upon graduation; and
• enhancing the capacity of the state’s university research centers to regain New York’s preeminent status in academic research while providing additional opportunities for high value employment.

 The commission also will make recommendations that address flexibility on the systems’ individual campuses to attract the best and brightest students and faculty and enlist them in the service of the economic, humanitarian and civic needs of their communities.

 The commission held its first meeting June 19 and is scheduled to present a preliminary report to Gov. Spitzer Dec. 1.

 The members of the Commission are:

 Hunter Rawlings, President Emeritus, Cornell University Chairman

Stephen C. Ainlay, President, Union College

Lee Bollinger, President, Columbia University

Don Boyce, Student, Rockefeller School of Public Affairs

Nancy Cantor, Chancellor, Syracuse University

John Clark, Interim Chancellor Nominee, State University of New York

Milton Cofield, New York State Board of Regents

Lois DeFleur, President, Binghamton University

John Dyson, Chief Executive Officer, Pebble Ridge Vineyards and Wine Estates

Peter Fishbein, Special Counsel, Kaye Scholer LLP

Hon. Deborah Glick, Chairwoman, Assembly Higher Education Committee

Matt Goldstein, Chancellor, City University of New York

Carl Hayden, Former Chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents

Elena Kagan, Dean, Harvard Law School

Marcia V. Keizs, President, York College of the City University of New York

Abraham Lackman, President of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities

Hon. Senator Kenneth LaValle, Chairman, Senate Higher Education Committee

Eduardo Marti, President, Queensborough Community College

Richard Mills, Commissioner of Education

Myron Mitchell, Faculty, State University of New York

Robert Paaswell, Faculty, City University of New York

Hon. Crystal Peoples, Member of Assembly

Bruce Raynor, President, UNITE HERE

William Scheuerman, President, United University Professions

Joel Seligman, President, University of Rochester

John Sexton, President, New York University

John Simpson, President, State University of New York at Buffalo

Tom Schwarz, President, Purchase College – State University of New York

Marc Shaw, Trustee, City University of New York

Lauren Talerman, Student, Queens College

Adam Urbanski, President, Rochester Teachers Association

 

Read More