A memorial service for Valter Ennis Pilcher Jr., professor of physics emeritus and author of a comprehensive history of early science at Union, will be held Saturday, Feb. 6, at 2 p.m. at the Unitarian-Universalist Society, 1221 Wendell Ave., Schenectady. Pilcher died Dec. 20 at his home in the Glen Eddy in Niskayuna. He was 84.
A native of Savannah, Ga., he earned a doctorate of engineering science from North Carolina State College. He specialized in nuclear physics, doing doctoral research at Brookhaven National Laboratory, where he later worked as a staff physicist. In 1956, he joined the Union College Physics Department, where he worked for 30 years. He was very involved in identifying, protecting and cataloguing Union’s collection of antique physics apparatus. Survivors include his wife, Edith (Bendow) Pilcher, two children, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
In memory of Pilcher, the family suggests contributions to Special Collections at Schaffer Library or Community Hospice of Schenectady, 1411 Union Street, 12308.
Darcia Datshkovsky Saenz ’10 of Wells House lost no time in getting involved. When she heard that thousands of people in Haiti were dead after a devastating earthquake crippled the country Jan. 12, she began collecting donations in Reamer Campus Center.
“As a native of Mexico City, a place that has endured many earthquakes, I understand how much help Haiti – the poorest country in our hemisphere – needs,” Datshkovsky said.
Helping out at Reamer were Cybil Tribie ’11, a native of Port Au Prince, Anthony Perez ’11 and representatives of Circulo Estudiantil Latino Americano, World Around U and the Black Student Union.
Erin Delman ’12, a member of Geology Club and Ozone Cafe, has been leading a number of efforts. The Geology Club raised funds at last weekend’s Union hockey game, and together with Ozone House, Wells House and Theta Delta Chi, the club organized fund-raising luncheons at Hale House Thursday, Jan. 21.
Relief efforts for Haiti –
There are two dinners scheduled for this evening – at 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Admission is $5. Proceeds will go to Oxfam International.
Also this week, Phi Iota Alpha, Union’s Latino fraternity, organized a fundraiser in Bronner House, and English Professor Judith Lewin hosted a Skype session with representatives from Partners in Health for several classes.
The Union effort intends to collect $4,400, which equates to a little more than $2 per Union student. Two dollars is the average Haitian’s daily salary.
“We may not raise a million dollars,” said Minerva Programs Director Thomas McEvoy, “but together, these small actions will undoubtedly impact people in desperate need.”
An estimated 200,000 people are dead from the earthquake, and more than 1.5 million are homeless. A massive aftershock rocked the country Wednesday, inflicting more heartache and damage.
John Martin, senior project manager for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, will discuss “Developing Shale Gas Resources: An Energy Bridge to the Future,” on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. in the Nott Memorial.
Marcellus Shale
Martin’s talk opens the 2010 Environmental Science, Policy and Engineering Winter Seminar Series at Union, “Drilling in the Marcellus Shale: Toward Energy Independence or Environmental Devastation?”
All talks are free and open to the public. (See the complete schedule below.)
The expansion of natural gas drilling in New York has triggered controversy over the Marcellus Shale, a black shale formation extending deep underground from Ohio and West Virginia northeast into Pennsylvania and southern New York.
Although the Marcellus Shale is exposed at the ground surface in some locations in the northern Finger Lakes area, it is as deep as 7,000 feet or more below the ground surface along the Pennsylvania border in the Delaware River valley, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Web site. Drilling activity is expected to focus on areas where the Marcellus shale is deeper than 2,000 feet.
Environmental advocates are concerned about a drilling technique in which liquid is shot down the well hole to release the reserves. They say that process - called fracking – has poisoned wells and spilled toxic chemicals in other states. The gas industry, however, says the technique has been used safely for decades.
The DEC is reviewing comments submitted on its draft natural gas drilling guidelines.
Other talks in the series:
Feb. 3: Dr. Kenneth Medlock III, James A Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Rice University: “The Shale Revolution and What It Means for North American Energy Markets and Policy.”
Feb. 9: Stuart Gruskin, executive deputy commissioner, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation: “Drilling in the Marcellus Shale: Toward Energy Independence or Environmental Devastation?”
Feb. 17: Walter Hang, president of Toxics Targeting, an environmental database firm in Ithaca, N.Y.: “Trillion Dollar Payday or Bust? Grassroots Activism Versus Marcellus Shale Gas: How Toxics Targeting is Shaping the Future of the Largest Natural Gas Reservoir in the Nation.”
The Union College Department of Music presents an evening of Latin jazz with Triple Play, featuring Bill O'Connell on piano, Dave Valentin on flute and Richie Flores on percussion, Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. in Emerson Auditorium, the Taylor Music Center. The event is free and open to the public.
O'Connell has played with some of the leading names in jazz, including Chet Baker, Sonny Rollins, Mongo Santamaria, Gato Barbieri and Randy Brecker.
His numerous recordings have received critical acclaim, and his original compositions can be heard on bandstands around the globe. On four separate occasions, O'Connell has received the "Jazz Writer of the Year" award from SESAC, the performing rights organization.
For three decades, he has collaborated with Dave Valentin, one of the top jazz flutists working today. Valentin has released more than 20 albums, received several Latin Grammy nominations and won the 2003 Grammy for "Best Latin Jazz Album" with the Caribbean Jazz Project's album "The Gathering." He appears in the 2001 documentary “Calle 54.”
A gigging musician since he was eight, percussionist Richie Flores has played with a Who's Who of Latin music, including Eddie Palmieri, Hilton Ruiz, Israel "Cachao" Lopez, Dave Samuels and the Fania All Stars.
For more information, contact Professor Tim Olsen, olsent@union.edu; ext. 6785.
