Benjamin Miles ’10, dressed in a crisp white shirt, waited in the basement of Social Sciences with his parents, Suzanne and Cliff Miles of Mountain Lakes, N.J. A Physics and Mathematics Major, Miles would shortly be unveiling his “Physicaid,” a program to help make introductory physics courses more appealing to students who find the subject “scary, hard and boring.” In one hand, Miles clutched a white tie – he’d need it later, when he’d be doing the tango at the Nott.
Down the hall, meanwhile, Allison Perse ’08 was explaining the role of art in personal and ethnic identity, based on her work with an afterschool program at Schenectady’s Hamilton Hill Community Arts Center.
And Ross Wheeler ’08 stood with his father, Keith, who came from State College, Pa., to hear his son present on advanced rocket and aerospace technology in the mid-19th century.
Welcome to Steinmetz 2008, where Union students spent the day trumpeting their research, scholarship and creative pursuits in classrooms and performance spaces throughout campus.
About 400 students participated in the 18th annual research celebration, which began Friday.
Ten students reported on their entrepreneurial efforts in everything from turbines to Italian wines: Brittany Adam ’08, Margaret Callahan ’09, Cara Gallivan ’09, Shane Hubbell ’08, Jenna Monaster ’08, Allen Piekara ’09, Jay Shah ’08, Nirav Shah ’08, Stephen Votto ’08 and Stephen Walker ’08.
A centerpiece of Friday’s activities was the Steinmetz dance recital in the Nott Memorial. Some 70 dancers performed in 16 pieces, among them, Carly Aimi ’08’s high-energy “Another Brick in the Wall,” Dance Program Director Miryam Moutillet’s elegant “Atom Heart Mother,” and Joey Hunziker ’08’s existential “Is There Anybody Out There?”
Rusere presented as part the 2008 Steinmetz Symposium.
Benjamin Miles and a partner joined six other Ballroom Club couples in the tango number, “Come Closer.”
Dazzling the overflow audience with their live music were Jacob Klein ’09 on drums, Paul Amy ’08 on guitar, bassist William Wilkins ’09 on bass and Tristan Allen on keyboard.
The 2008 Edward Villella Fellowship, announced at the end of the show, went to Amelia Patten Whitney ’09, Kira Moldow ’10 and Nozomi Sakata ’09, who will be pursuing dance projects in New York, France and Japan next year.
The new Hedda Hainebach Memorial Prize in Music and Theatre went to Richard Leahy ’08.
The Steinmetz Symposium, which continues through Saturday, is named for Charles Proteus Steinmetz (1865-1923), who taught Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics at Union and was also a leading General Electric engineer.
The Steinmetz Symposium coincides with Prize Day, which recognizes student achievement.
Student art is on view in the Burns Arts Atrium Gallery in the Visual Arts Building.
For more pictures from the symposium, check out our photo gallery.
For a complete schedule, visit http://www.union.edu/Steinmetz/.
For a complete list of Prize Day winners, click here.