President Stephen C. Ainlay recently received the Sphinx award from the brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity for his contributions to the Union community. He received the award at the 19th Annual Black and Gold Ball in College Park Hall. The award was presented by Muhammad Djata ’09, president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
Brad Bruno, associate professor of mechanical engineering, received the Society of Automotive Engineers’ Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award. This national award is based on contributions to teaching and curriculum development, research, leadership in student activities and participation in engineering society activities. He received the award in a ceremony at the SAE World Congress in Detroit, which included a VIP tour of the Ford R&D center and an opportunity to drive a fuel cell vehicle. Bruno is an advisor to the College’s Baja team, which recently competed in the Society of Automotive Engineers’ Baja Competition at Oregon State University (see story, this issue).
An article by Rebecca Surman, associate professor of Physics, was recently published in the April issue of the journal Physical Review C. The article, “Neutron capture rates near A=130 that effect a global change to the r-process abundance distribution,” was co-authored with J. Beun and G.C. McLaughlin of North Carolina State University and W.R. Hix of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Surman gave invited seminars on her work at TRIUMF National Laboratory in Vancouver and at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at Michigan State University. This week, she also presented an invited talk on her work at the national nuclear structure conference, “Collective Motions in Nuclei under Extreme Conditions (COMEX 3),” in Mackinac Island, Mich.
An article about Chris Duncan, sculptor and professor of visual arts, appeared in the Sunday Gazette: Q & A: Chris Duncan says materials reveal the ultimate sculpture
David Brown ’10 was awarded a competitive NASA-funded summer internship position at the Lockheed Martin Systems Integration facility in Owego, N.Y. from a pool of applicants from New York Space Grant schools. The internship is associated with Project Blue Horizon, a Lockheed Martin/Cornell University near-space flight program that carries high technology payloads to the edge of space at altitudes of 60,000-100,000 feet+. Under the leadership of Lockheed Martin engineers, Brown will contribute to mission planning and payload definition for future Project Blue Horizon flights that will occur in the spring of 2010-2011.
The Kenney Community Center has elected its first Electoral Board of the inaugural Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter at Union. The board includes: President Cybil Tribie ’11, Vice Presidents Reshad Muhmad ’11 and Jordana Kozupsky ’12; Secretary Nathalie Marte ’12; Public Relations/Communications chair Ellen Blanchard ’12 and Treasurer Erin Osgood ’12. Chapter members are Alecia Pickett ’11, Andrea Meyers ’11, Catherine Kennedy ’12 Sarah Gagnon ’12 and Katherine Hughes ’12. Kenney Community Outreach Specialist Santos Avila ’08 is the group’s advisor.
Awards for the 2009 Senior Invitational Exhibition have been announced. The Union College Permanent Collection Purchase Prize went to Ian Brennan for “Eyes.” The Judith Gardner Ainlay Prize was awarded to Michael Bono for “Jon with the Wrench in the Billiard Room.” Curator’s Choice Awards went to Eleanor Hazlett for “The Forks” and Tobias Leeger for “Morning Sport by the Ganges River, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.” Two students, Megan Sisel (“The Tulip”) and Alexandra Lindsay (“Brak, Zama, and Morta”) received Honorable Mentions.