RCNJ

SKNandy writes, "Kelyan Sarkar is the father of Kishan Sarkar, a recent Rensselaer graduate. He was on the 65th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center when the first plane hit."

"Mr. Sarkar communicated with his wife via cell phone that they had lost power and were on their way down. He was attempting to evacuate all residents of his office. According to the last known communication from him, he had made it to the 13th floor. No one has heard from him since and he is among the many missing from the tragedy."

"The Sarkar family has been living in Westwood, NJ for several years. Tommorrow, September 29, was to be Mr. Sarkar's birthday. A prayer service for his safe return has been planned at the Sarkar residence tommorrow evening."

"Please remember the Sarkar family in your prayers."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "I have been doing a lot of reading about the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and subsequent preparations for war. I posted a lot of the things I found on the CTDATA.com Web Site, which I also operate."

"Yesterday, I decided to consolidate all of this information into a special War on Terrorism section. If you are interested in taking a look at this, you can see it at http://www.ctdata.com/war_on_terror/."

"This is where I am posting anything I find about the war that does not directly relate to the RCNJ or RPI. Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions about this."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

D3football.com reports that Rensselaer quarterback Dan Cole threw three touchdown passes and ran for another, enroute to a 31-14 victory over WPI. This brings The Engineers' record to 2-0 for the season.

RPI captures the Transit Trophy again this year, bringing its overall record in the series to 13-8-1. This was the 95th meeting between Rensselaer and Worcester, dating back to 1894.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Julie Aiello pointed out that New York City and New York State are offering job placement assistance to those affected by the World Trade Center disaster. The Web Site is located at http://www.twintowersjobs.org/.

For some reason, they have decided that potential job applicants need to call them on the telephone before accessing detailed information on the Web Site. So, call them at 718-557-1332 to get started.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the process of determining the whereabouts of alumni, Rensselaer discovered that J. Nicholas Humber '63 was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11. This is one of the planes that was intentionally crashed into the World Trade Center. This news was posted on the Alumni Relations Terrorist Attack Discussion Board on Friday. Mr. Humber's name also appears on an Associated Press list of Attack Victims. This is the first alumnus to be confirmed dead in the tragedy.

The prayers of our community go out to the Humber family and their friends.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jackie Baker wrote, "We have heard from alumni letting us know that they were OK, or simply inquiring about alumni friends who worked in lower Manhattan or the Pentagon."

"The Office of Alumni Relations has set up a discussion board to pass on information and to allow alumni to communicate with each other and share thoughts regarding this horrific event."

"Please go to the special page Rensselaer has set up at http://www.rpi.edu/web/Campus.News/sept_01/special_edition/ and click on the 'discussion board' link for access. New users should just hit the 'New Users' button and fill out the basic registration information. After submitting this information, you should shortly receive your password and ID. Please read the Introductory Message when you access the discussion board."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 1:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

President Bush has declared today a national day of prayer and rememberance. Therefore, we pause to remember our fellow citizens who have died, and we pray that God will give strength to those engaged in the rescue and recovery efforts. May He have mercy on us all.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "In the course of contacting the alumni who were supposed to attend the NYC Phonathon yesterday afternoon, I found out that Mark Haies '58 had already gone to donate blood. Many of us have subsequently donated blood or are planning to donate blood today."

"If you want to help, you can simply go to a hospital or a regional blood center. Be prepared to wait in line for a long time, since many other people will be there. You can also call the American National Red Cross Blood Donation Program at 800-GIVE-LIFE or 800-448-3543 for more information. The Red Cross' Web Site has been overloaded since the disaster occured, but the blood donation information page is located at:"

http://www.redcross.org/services/biomed/blood/learn/

Posted by Dave Aiello at 4:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "Of course you know that a coordinated terrorist attack has destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City. We have no idea if any alumni have been killed or injured. I spoke to Kate Potvin on the telephone, and it is obvious that the New York City Phonathon, scheduled for tonight, cannot be held. We are in the process of calling all of the alumni who agreed to attend the Phonathon to make sure that they are OK. We will let you know if there are any further developments."

Update 09/11, 4:07pm: Many people have asked about two of our alumni who are key members of the New York Phonathon Team. Henry Scheuer is the Phonathon Chair. His office is in the World Financial Center, across West Street from the World Trade Center. He is OK, and is expected home around 5:00pm.

Ray Weisner, Past President of the RAA New York City Chapter worked on the 89th Floor of the World Trade Center. He contacted Dave Aiello around 2:00pm to report that he is OK. He was at the dentist this morning.

President Shirley Jackson announced that all Rensselaer facilities were being closed for the day, so that students and staff could have time to contact their families, donate blood, and attend services, if they chose.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "On Labor Day weekend last year, the Rensselaer Club of New Jersey relaunched its Web Site with a completely new architecture. Since then, we've published 164 stories about everything from a double dutch jump rope machine to the RCNJ's Chapter of the Year Award. We've used this site to promote RCNJ events, the Liberty Science Center Internship Program, and the college fair program. By any measure, it's been a great year."

"I would like to thank John Cloninger (who is co-editing the Web Site), Joe Pilaro (who has contributed a good number of story ideas), and the other members of the RCNJ Committee for their support and assistance during the redevelopment of this Web Site."

"We hope to roll out a set of new features in the next few weeks that take this Web Site to the next level. If you have any comments or suggestions on how we can improve our Web Site, let us know."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)