Posted on Apr 3, 2009

Zach Barash ’09 got more than good food when he visited Café Ozone Friday afternoon; he also got a key to a brightly painted cruiser bicycle.

His key allows him to unlock and ride any of the 20 communal bikes now available with the launch of a bike-sharing system called Free Cycles for U.

“I’m looking forward to having a bike on campus,” Barash said.

With the support of the Minerva houses and Student Forum, Reed Olsen ’09 and Jake Shaffren ’09 spearheaded the effort to bring the program to Union. The pair gave out 100 keys Friday.

“It’s great,” Shaffren said. “I think we’re going to need more keys.”

Individuals who paid the $1-deposit to secure a key can use any of the bikes to get to class, to the library or even to downtown Schenectady for lunch.

“The program’s designed to give everyone the opportunity to travel on and off campus in a sustainable manner,” Olsen said. “It’ll help reduce greenhouse gas production and generate a different kind of community.”

“When you travel in cars, you’re kind of closed off from everything,” he added. “But with bikes it’s direct, you’re very aware of your environment and the community around you.”

Similar programs are in place at other schools, including Emory University, the University of Washington, the University of New England and Duke University.

Participants in Union’s program can return their keys at the end of the year and their deposits will be refunded. During the course of the year, bikes needing repair can be taken to the bike shop in the basement of Richmond.

To learn more about Free Cycles for U, contact Olsen at olsenn@union.edu or Shaffren at shaffrej@union.edu.

Posted on Apr 3, 2009

Martin L. Perl, winner of the Nobel Prize in physics, will receive an honorary doctorate of science at commencement.

Perl was nominated for the honor by Jay Newman, the R. Gordon Gould Professor of Physics, and Michael Vineyard, the Frank and Marie Louise Bailey Professor of Physics.

A year after graduating in 1948 from Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, Perl became a chemical engineer for the General Electric Co. in Schenectady.

Working in the electron tube production factory led him to what he considers a major turning point in his life – taking atomic physics and advanced calculus at Union to deepen his understanding of electron vacuum tubes.

“I got to know a wonderful physics professor, Vladimir Rojansky,” Perl writes in his official biographical statement. “One day he said to me ‘Martin, what you are interested in is called physics, not chemistry!’ At the age of 23, I finally decided to begin the study of physics.”

Perl received his Ph.D. in 1955 from Columbia University, where he studied under professor I.I. Rabi, winner of the 1944 Nobel Prize in physics. Perl spent eight years teaching physics at the University of Michigan before joining the faculty at Stanford in 1963, where is now a professor emeritus.

In 1975, while working with a research team at the Stanford Positron-Electron Asymmetric Ring, Perl discovered a new elementary particle, which he named the “tau.”

The tau lepton is a superheavy cousin of the electron, the carrier of electrical current in household appliances. The two particles are identical in all respects except that the tau is more than 3,500 times heavier than the electron and survives less than a trillionth of a second, whereas the electron is stable.

In 1995, Perl equaled the achievement of his mentor Rabi when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for his discovery of the tau lepton.

When asked about the usefulness of such discoveries, Perl said, “The use of the discovery of basic particles is indirect. We have found that everything of a complicated nature is made from three basic families of particles. Eventually, this will lead to an improved understanding of energy and time. From that we hope will come new ideas that lead to applications like a source of cheap energy which is truly safe.”

Paul A. Volcker, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve and current leader of President Obama’s economic advisory panel, will deliver the keynote address at commencement.

Approximately 500 students in the Class of 2009 will receive their degrees during the ceremony, scheduled for 10 a.m. Sunday, June 14, on Hull Plaza.

This year will mark the College’s 215th Commencement.

Posted on Apr 2, 2009

Friday, April 3, 8 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Chamber Series Concert / Albers String Trio

Saturday, April 4, noon / Union Boathouse / Men’s and women’s crew vs. Hamilton                  

Saturday, April 4, 1 p.m.  / Bailey Field / Men’s lacrosse vs. St.Lawrence                     

Saturday, April 4,  1 p.m.  / Central Park / Baseball vs. Rochester (doubleheader)            

Saturday, April 4 – Tuesday, April 7, 7 and 10 p.m. / Reamer Campus Center Auditorium / Film: There Will Be Blood,” a story about family, greed, religion, and oil, centered around a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business

Sunday, April 5, 9 a.m. / Union Boathouse / Men’s and women’s crew vs. RPI  

Sunday, April 5, noon / Central Park / Baseball vs. Rochester (doubleheader)             

Tuesday, April 7, 7 p.m. / Bailey Field / Women’s Lacrosse vs. Skidmore

Wednesday, April 8, 12:50-2 p.m. / Old Chapel / U Sustain meeting 

Wednesday, April 8, 4 p.m. / Bailey Field / Men’s lacrosse vs. Hamilton

Thursday, April 9, 4:15 p.m. / Bailey Field / Women's lacrosse vs. Middlebury

Thursday, April 9, 4:30 p.m. / Reamer Campus Center Auditorium / “Dynamic Equilibrium” exhibit lecture on “Physics and Art” by Thomas B. Greenslade Jr.

Thursday, April 9, 5:30 – 7 p.m. / Nott Memorial / “Dynamic Equilibrium” artists’ reception and gallery talk

Friday, April 10, 2 p.m. / Central Park / Baseball vs. Skidmore

Saturday, April 11, 2 p.m. / Women’s lacrosse vs. University of Rochester

Saturday, April 11 – Monday, April 13, 8 and 10 p.m. / Reamer Campus Center Auditorium / Film: Cloverfield,” about a monster attack in New York, as told from the point of view of a small group of people

Sunday, April 12, 3 p.m. Classic film: “Casablanca”; in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II, an American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications

Monday, April 13, 7 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Lecture by Howard Dean, former Vermont governor and Democratic presidential candidate. Doors open at 6 p.m. Free and open to the public, but seating is limited, with priority for members of the campus community.

Posted on Apr 2, 2009

Posted on Apr 2, 2009

With mentor support from Union students, faculty and staff, three teams of Schenectady students participated in the 11^th annual Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) science competition in Albany last weekend.

One Union team took home a second place award for a project that compared the effectiveness of leading mouthwashes, while another garnered third place for its study of germs in public places.

More than 40 higher education institutions took part in the statewide poster competition at the Albany Marriott. The more than 65 science projects accepted were judged on abstracts, oral presentations, research methods, knowledge of subject matter, lab reports, handouts and poster displays.

Sponsored by the state Department of Education in partnership with Union, STEP prepares historically underrepresented or economically disadvantaged secondary students for entry into college, with a focus on science, technology, math and licensed-professional fields.

One of 10 community outreach programs operated out of the Kenney Community Center, STEP hosts Saturday workshops and a summer program.

“Three mentors, Andrew Camden ’09, Chris Vargas ’10 and Rayanna Johnson ’11, and STEP Coordinator Don Austin have been coaching and preparing our STEP participants for the past several weeks,” said Kenney Director Angela Blair Tatem.

"Most students don't have an opportunity to experience an event like this until they reach the collegiate level," Tatem noted. "We're very proud of all of our participants. This conference encouraged them to pursue the program with a renewed passion."

As part of last weekend’s event, students attended a science bowl and talks by education leaders. Workshops relating to financial aid, the college application process and internships also were offered.

The Union STEP program submitted three abstracts, all accepted. Carol Weisse, director of the Health Professions Program, assisted a team that won third place in the Biological/Life Sciences Division for high schools.

Geology Professor Kurt Hollocher, Biology Associate Professor Barbara Danowski and Life Science Specialist Peg Angie helped the team that took second place in the Biological/Life Sciences middle school division.A third abstract that compared tap and bottled water received support from Assistant Professor of Chemistry Laura MacManus-Spencer. 

Posted on Apr 2, 2009

Through April 13
Wikoff Student Gallery
Nott Memorial
Drawn to Print

A selection of prints and sketches created by some of the 17 Union students who studied at the Louvre Museum during their winter mini-term in Paris. Professor David Ogawa taught an art history class, and Professor Sandra Wimer taught studio printmaking. The visual artists observed and sketched sculpture, architectural elements and other spaces in and around the Louvre, and worked in L’atelier de l’Orme on the outskirts of Paris, where they transferred their sketches into etchings. Employing a technique called drypoint, they used a scribe to scratch the surface of a zinc, copper or Plexiglas plate, which was then inked and printed.

Through May 10
Mandeville Gallery
Nott Memorial
Dynamic Equilibrium

Show explores the intersection of art and science and features artists who explore science and scientists who explore art. Related events: Thursday, April 9, 4:30 p.m., “Physics and Art” lecture, Reamer Campus Center Auditorium, by Thomas B. Greenslade Jr., professor emeritus of physics at Kenyon College; Thursday, April 9, 5:30-7 p.m., artists’ reception and Gallery Talk, Nott Memorial; and Monday, April 20, 6 p.m., lecture by Ken Rinaldo and Amy Youngs, “Parasite to Symbiont,” F.W. Olin Center Auditorium; reception to follow.

Through September 2009
Schaffer Library Atrium
Union Notables

A rotating show of extraordinary people from the College; features U.S. President Chester Alan Arthur, Class of 1848; hospice leader and advocate Philip DiSorbo, Class of 1971; and Robert Holland Jr., Class of 1962, who has made valuable contributions to sustainability in businesses.