Tuskegee Airmen, 1940's

Sixty-two years after their legendary World War II exploits, the members of America's first all-black fighter squadron, the Tuskegee Airmen, were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on March 29, 2007.  In 1940, at a time when Blacks were barred from serving in the U.S. Military flight training program, Charles Edward "Chief" Anderson, who would later become a 1948 alum of  the polymer chemistry program at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, started the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) at the Tuskegee Institute of Alabama.

Anderson's CPTP and its military follow-on, which he also directed, were responsible for training the pilots who became the famous Tuskegee Airmen. "Chief" Anderson is widely acclaimed as the father of Black Aviation.  A self-taught pilot, Anderson was the first African American to receive a pilot's license in 1929.

Renowned for their squadron's achievements, the Tuskegee Airmen flew more than 15,000 sorties over North Africa and Europe during World War II and destroyed more than 250 enemy aircraft on the ground and 150 in the air. The squadron never lost a bomber to enemy aircraft fire during their escort missions. No other escort unit could claim such a record.  In recognition of their outstanding service to the nation, the entire squadron is now being honored as a group with the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Eleanor Roosevelt and Charles E. Anderson

When Eleanor Roosevelt visited Tuskegee Army Air Field in 1941, she insisted on taking a ride in an airplane with a black pilot at the controls. The First Lady's pilot was "Chief" Charles Anderson.  Mrs. Roosevelt, a pioneering Civil Rights Activist, insisted her flight with Anderson be photographed, and immediately developed the film so she could take pictures back to Washington to persuade FDR to activate the Tuskegee Airmen in North Africa and in the European Theater.

Credited with the training of over 900 airmen at the Tuskegee Institute, Anderson's flying squadron helped persuade President Harry Truman, in 1948, to end segregation in the U.S. military, thus opening America to a new social order.  That same year, Anderson received a Masters of Science in Chemistry from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, and went on to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to become the first African American man to receive a PhD in Meteorology in 1960, with a dissertation entitled "A Study of the Pulsating Growth of Cumulus Clouds.

From 1965 to 1966 Anderson worked in Washington, D.C., as the director of the Office of Federal Coordination in Meteorology in the Environmental Science Service Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. In this position Anderson established the first World Weather Watch program.

In 1966 Anderson began a 20-year career at the University of Wisconsin when he became the University's first tenured African-American professor. At Wisconsin, Anderson was professor of space science and engineering, professor of meteorology, chairman of the Contemporary Trends course, chairman of the Afro-American Studies Department, and chairman of the Meteorology Department. In 1978 he was appointed associate dean of the University.

Charles E. Anderson '48

In 1970 Anderson participated in the Northeast Hail Research Experiment where scientists were first able to use satellite data in their research.  Having earlier worked with IBM computers at Douglass Aircraft Missiles and Space Systems Division, where he built upon the work of Joanne Simpson to produce the first moist cloud model on a computer, Anderson took full advantage of the satellite data and the growing field of computer science to study storms and tornadoes.

Using remote sensing technology that had been designed for oceanography, Anderson revolutionized the field by introducing new analytical schemes and high-powered statistics, and gained national recognition for storm forecasting. In particular, Anderson discovered ways to identify tornadic storms by the way they spin, which led to scientists' ability to predict severe storms and tornadoes up to an hour before they arrived in populated areas.

As a research professor, Anderson challenged fellow faculty members to strive for high quality research and to be truly productive members of the research community. Anderson continued working until his death on October 21, 1994, from cancer. In 1999 the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) established the Charles Anderson Award to honor his contributions to meteorology. According to an NCAR news release in 2000, the award was established "to recognize individuals or organizations for outstanding contributions to the promotion of educational outreach, educational service, and diversity in the atmospheric science community."

In the search for sustainable energy, Polytechnic researchers have bioengineered a fuel-latent plastic that can be easily converted into biodiesel. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded NYU-Poly $2.34 million to research this innovative technology and transfer it to industry. Commercialization of this technology can lead to a new source of green energy for households worldwide.

Professor Richard Gross, director of Polytechnic Institute of NYU’s Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing of Macromolecules (CBBM) developed the new bioplastic-fuel using vegetable oils. CBBM partnered with DNA 2.0, a biotechnology company specializing in gene synthesis, to develop enzymes that synthesize the fuel-latent plastic, and break it down into biodiesel. “We showed DARPA that we could make a new plastic from plant oils that has remarkable properties, which includes being tougher and more durable than typical polyethylenes. Additionally, the bioplastic can be placed in a simple container where it is safely broken down to liquid fuel,” said Dr. Gross. “Polytechnic Institute of NYU has a long history of innovation, and we are confident Professor Gross” research will revolutionize how we produce and consume biofuels,” noted Polytechnic President Jerry M. Hultin.

Converting bioengineered fuel-latent plastics into biodiesel is of interest to DARPA because of potential deployment benefits this technology offers troops in the field. “Military units generate substantial quantities of packaging waste. If we can turn this waste into fuel, we will see a double benefit—we will reduce the amount of waste we have to remove, and we will reduce the amount of fuel that we must deliver to the units,” explained Khine Latt, program manager for DARPA's Mobile Integrated Sustainable Energy Recovery program.

The next phase of the research will entail engineering more efficient, low-cost processes for manufacturing the bioplastic and converting it into biodiesel. Economic generation of biodiesel, and onsite conversion into fuel is an important step in developing this green technology and reducing waste.

Dr. David Fairhurst at Poly's Westchester Campus

Polytechnic's Westchester Campus hosted a meeting of the Westchester Chemical Society where Dr. David Fairhurst, of Colloid Consultants Ltd., presented a discussion on, "Formulating Semi-solid Topical Delivery Systems: Development of a Microbicide for HIV." Dr. Fairhurst's work is part of the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM), a non-profit product development partnership (PDP) established in 2002 to prevent HIV transmission by accelerating the development and availability of a safe and effective microbicide for use by women in developing countries. The IPM is supported by the numerous governmental agencies, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, pharmaceutical companies, and other institutions.  This lecture was presented at NYU-Poly in the interests of developing synergistic relationships between academia, government, foundations and private interests.

• "The Biosoma Paradigm and Environmental Engineering," Environmental Engineering Science, Vol. 24, Number 3, 2007.
• "Transportation Systems Interfacial Vulnerabilities," at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Urban Security of the U.S. National Academies and Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, March 2007.

• recently spoke on Optimal Sobolev norms at the following venues
  
  • in the Differential Geometry Seminar at University of Pennsylvania on March 15, 2007,
  • in the Mathematics Colloquium at Indiana University at Bloomington on March 9, 2007, and
    
  • at the 10th Annual Southeast Geometry Seminar held at Emory University on December 13, 2006 as one of six invited speakers
    

• spoke on Valuations on convex bodies in the Geometry Seminar at Universität Magdeburg on November 13, 2006.
• "Intersection bodies and valuations," American Journal of Mathematics 128, 1409 - 1428 (2006).
• (with C. Haberl) "A characterization of Lp intersection bodies, " International Mathematical Research Notices 2006, Art ID 10548, 29 pages.
• (with M. Reitzner) "Elementary moves on triangulations," Discrete and Computational Geometry 35, 527 - 536 (2006).
• "Valuations in the affine geometry of convex bodies," Proceedings Of The Conference on Integral Geometry And Convexity, Wuhan 2004, World Scientific, Singapore, 49 - 65 (2006).
• (with C. Schütt and E. Werner) "Approximation of the Euclidean ball by polytopes, " Studia Mathematica 173, 1 - 18 (2006).

• (with F. H. Lin) "Energy Splitting, Substantial Inequality, and Minimization for the Faddeev Model and Skyrme model," Communications in Mathematical Physics 269 (2007) 137--152.
• spoke on Some elliptic problems in mathematical physics as one of ten invited speakers at the Conference on Geometric Analysis and Non-linear Elliptic PDE's held at Johns Hopkins University on October 27-29, 2006
• spoke on Knots, Existence of Knots, and Universal Growth Laws in the Partial Differential Equations and Applied Mathematics Seminar at Ohio State University on October 19, 2006.
• (with F. H. Lin) "Faddeev Knots, Skyrme Solitons, and Concentration-Compactness," Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Differential Geometry Methods in Theoretical Physics, pp 313--322 (2006).
• (with N. Sakai) "Moduli Space of BPS Walls in Supersymmetric Gauge Theories," Communications in Mathematical Physics 267 (2006) 783--800.
• (with F. H. Lin) "Static Knot Energy, Hopf Charge, and Universal Growth Law," Nuclear Physics B 747 (2006) 455--463.
• (with X. Q. Wang) "Existence of Static BPS Monopoles and Dyons in Arbitrary (4p-1)-Dimensional Spaces," Letters in Mathematical Physics 77 (2006) 249--263.

Professor Charles Tapiero, Department Chairman and Morton Topfer Distinguished Endowed Chair, delivered a lecture at the Polytechnic Institute of NYU in Hong Kong, entitled “Market Pricing Mutual Insurance.”  For the last few years, academic professors at this institution, which focuses on Maritime Insurance, have been using Professor’s Tapiero research to access financial risk in the insurance sector.

Dr. Fletcher H. (Bud) Griffis

 Professor F. H. (Bud) Griffis was received the 2007 Golden Eagle Award from the Society of American Military Engineers on March 31 for contributions to the engineering profession. Griffis joined Polytechnic in 2000 as a tenured professor in the Department of Civil Engineering. While at Polytechnic, Dr. Griffis established the Center for Construction Management Technology and oversaw a $130-million construction and renovation program on the University's MetroTech campus in downtown Brooklyn. Dr. Griffis has served as department head for Civil Engineering since 2001, and served as vice president and dean from 2002 through 2006.   A 26-year Army veteran, Griffis was the area engineer and contracting officer for the design and construction of the Ramon Air Base in Israel and commanded the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Construction and Combat Units in the United States, Korea, Vietnam and Germany. He retired from the corps with the rank of colonel in 1986 after serving as commander and district engineer of the New York District.   A graduate of the U.S. Army War College, Col. Griffis has two master’s degrees and a doctorate from Oklahoma State University and is the author of two textbooks, with a third due to be published in 2007.

Dr. Eli Pearce

Dr. Eli Pearce '58, university research professor and former president of the American Chemical Society, has been named an Honorary Member of the Academia Gioenia delle Scienze, founded 1824. As the former director of Polytechnic's Polymer Research Institute (PRI) from 1981 to 1996, and head of Polytechnic's Chemistry department from 1976 to 1982, Dr. Pearce has built an international reputation across a wide range of polymer research topics. He holds a PhD in organic and polymer chemistry from Polytechnic.

The Gioenia Academy focuses on the promotion of studies in the natural phenomena, with special regard to Sicily, in order to contribute to the progress of sciences. The role of the Academy is to the spread scientific culture and relationships in support of the evolution of science. The Academy is divided into three sections: the Natural Sciences, the Physical Sciences, and the Chemistries and Mathematics of Applied Science. Academy members are specifically interested in formative structures that use survey methods to promote effective interdisciplinary collaboration. The academy's activities are intended to enhance and extend scientific acquaintances among the professional community and promote the importance of sharing scientific survey information. The daily operations of the Academy are intended to promote public assemblies, conferences and seminars.

Ellen Daniels of the ECE Department received the 2007 Excellence in Academic Advising for New York State at the Regional Meeting of NACADA. Polytechnic Institute of NYU is in the Northeastern Region #1 of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA).  The region is comprised of the following  NY, NH, VT, RI, Conn, Mass, Maine and the northeast portion of Canada. Only one award is given per state at the regional meetings.

Kurt Becker, center, at Leopold-Franzens University, Innsbruck, Austria.

Kurt Becker, Associate Provost for Research and Technology Initiatives, and Dean of Sciences and Arts, was one of three honorees to receive the title of Honorary Professor at the Leopold-Franzens University (LFU) Innsbruck, Austria in a ceremony held on March 6, 2007. The LFU Innsbruck is one of the top three universities in Austria and was recently ranked among the top 200 universities worldwide (Shanghai ranking). According to the by-laws of the LFU, “the title Honorary Professor at the Leopold-Franzens University Innsbruck may be awarded to an individual of outstanding scholarly achievements who has made significant and sustained contributions to the university over a period of at least ten years”.

The Polytechnic Fund is the University's principal fundraising appeal to all alumni.  These unrestricted gifts are essential to Polytechnic's financial standing, and have a direct influence on the University's U.S. News & World Report College rankings.  Although the Polytechnic Fund constitutes a relatively small portion of the University's fundraising efforts, it is responsible for attracting the vast majority of Polytechnic's donors.  One-half of the total $1.1 million unrestricted support the University has received so far this fiscal year has been generated by the Polytechnic Fund.

Having retooled the Fund’s structure to improve alumni segmentation, develop a more aggressive telephone solicitation strategy, and increase the frequency of follow-up on pledges, there has been a marked improvement in the Fund's performance. Recently, Donald Ivanoff, director of alumni relations, and Natalie Blake, associate director for annual and anniversary giving, reported that total donations received and the number of donors for FY’07 has surpassed last year's efforts.  In FY '06, the Polytechnic Fund received a total of 2,605 gifts.  As of the first week of April, the Fund reports a total of 2,699 donors, and more gifts arrive daily.  Most importantly, the Polytechnic Fund is attracting new donors.  Over 200 gifts have been received from first time donors, with an average donation of $93.91.  In addition, online giving has brought in nearly 3% of the Fund’s value, with an impressive $218.31 average donation.

Dr. Iraj Kalkhoran

In this role Dr. Kalkhoran will be responsible for our undergraduate students' academic educational experience, including progress and achievement.  He will also be coordinating activities and opportunities outside formal classroom learning that take advantage of Polytechnic's intellectual enterprise. These include new opportunities for undergraduates of all levels to participate in research, internships and other experiences that emphasize invention, innovation and entrepreneurship. Prof. Kalkhoran will lead Poly's commitment to improve advising and participation in professional activities and competitions.

Professor Kalkhoran has had a distinguished career of teaching and research in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering where he has also been an active advisor on academic and career matters.  As we establish new cornerstones of the undergraduate experience, Dean Kalkhoran will work with faculty and students to develop suitable recognition awards and events celebrating achievements of our current and future PolyThinkers.

As Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, Dr. Ann Lubrano will be responsible for managing and monitoring progress on the Strategic Plan and other strategic initiatives.  In this role, Dr. Lubrano will also serve as the principal liaison to the Board of Trustees and the Committee on Trustees.

Moreover, NYU-Poly is currently nearing completion of a national search for a Vice President of Development and plans to fill the position in June or July 2007.  Until a candidate is in place, Dr. Lubrano will work with President Hultin in leading and managing the Development Department. In this capacity, Dr. Lubrano has accepted a very important role as the senior leader of the 2007 Promise Fund Dinner, Poly's largest single fund-raising event of the year.

Professor Barry Blecherman has joined the department of Finance and Risk Engineering, assuming responsibilities for core courses in Economics, and the development of additional elective courses in: The Economics of Contracts; Behavioral Economics and Finance; and, the development of a minor in Finance and Risk Engineering, for all Polytechnic undergraduates. Dr. Blecherman is also a co-participant in developing the department’s forthcoming Ph.D. program.  The addition of Professor Blecherman, the developer of Poly's BSTM and MSTM programs in Management, provides a significant resource that will help diversify the departmental programs and outreach.

Robert J. McLaughlin

Robert J. McLaughlin has twenty years of Information Technology experience.  Prior to joining Sungard Higher Education, Rob was involved with several consulting projects for various agencies of the City of New York and has served as Director of Application Systems for Random House Inc.,  where he directed the PeopleSoft Shared Service support teams.  Rob is an expert in HRIS systems including: technical development; requirements analysis; and, project management. Rob is also a former employee of Peoplesoft Inc., where he gained insight, knowledge and experience by supporting various application and technical issues. Rob holds a Bachelor of Science degree from St. John’s University.