RCNJ

For the first time since March 2000, the Engineers posted two shutouts in one weekend, raising their record to 3-3-0 on the season.

Friday night's game in the Houston Field House was against the Iona Gaels. After an uneventful first period, Ryan Shields scored the first goal of the game, four minutes into the second period. Freshman Brad Farynuk netted an insurance goal in the middle of the final period. Read the USCHO summary of the game.

On Saturday, the Engineers traveled West Point to take on Army, a regular non-conference rivalry renewed after a short hiatus. Mikael Hammarstrom, Danny Eberly, and Nolan Graham were credited with the goals in a 3-0 shutout of the Cadets.

The weekend was notable in many ways, not only in that two shutouts were posted. Whereas RPI managed 84 shots on the weekend, scoring five, goaltender Kevin Kurk saved all 30 shots he faced. Curiously, his partner Nathan Marsters did not dress for either game. Freshman Brad Farynuk was a presence in both games, seeing a lot of ice time and getting involved in many of the important plays of the weekend.

The Engineers play a pair this weekend at St. Cloud State University, then return home to open the conference season against rivals St. Lawrence and Clarkson.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a game that was marked by a number of record-breaking performances RPI Football beat Hartwick 39-38 to keep its NCAA playoff hopes alive. RPI Quarterback Dan Cole set a new school record for total offense in a game: 509 yards. This included completing 30 of 42 passes for 440 yards and five touchdowns, as well as 69 yards rushing.

According to D3football.com, "...the Engineers' point-after-touchdown unit came up with a last second, game-winning stop.... Hartwick... lined up to attempt a game-tying point-after kick but a Rensselaer surge forced Pincelli, the holder, to pick up the ball and throw it. His two-point conversion pass sailed over Hipsman's head and fell incomplete. A Hartwick onsides kick was unsuccessful and Rensselaer ran out the clock for the victory."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rensselaer reports that U.S. News and World Report has again ranked RPI as one of the Top 50 universities in the nation in its America's Best Colleges issue, which was published in September. The Undergraduate Engineering program was ranked 15th in 2003, up from 17th last year. In the rankings of Best Values in the National Universities category, Rensselaer ranked 34th, an improvement of 8 places from 2002.

The RPI press release lists a number of significant achievements accomplished recently that contributed to the improvement in ratings: 41 new faculty members hired, 22 in engineering, a complete student union renovation, a new fitness center, and $35 million in residence hall renovations.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer Club of New Jersey announces the events associated with the Mens' Varsity Ice Hockey Game between Rensselaer and Princeton University on Saturday, November 16, 2002. The RCNJ will make a limited number of game tickets available to its members and their friends for the face value of $9.00 each. There will also be an optional pre-game dinner at the Yankee Doodle Tap Room in The Nassau Inn in Princeton.

Read on for a description for event details and directions to the sites....

Game Information and Ticket Availability

We offer the tickets to our alumni and friends at face value, $9 each. If you're interested, please contact John Cloninger '96 by phone at 908-578-3673 to ensure that tickets are still available. Mail your payment to:

Phil Lurie '74
Rensselaer Club of New Jersey
P.O. Box 461
Paramus, NJ 07653-0461

Please make checks payable to Rensselaer Club of New Jersey.

Pre-Game Dinner Information

The RCNJ has reserved a large table in the Tap Room for us to share.

Directions to the Nassau Inn

Parking is available at one of the garages in Palmer Square that adjoin the Nassau Inn. The Nassau Inn is a five minute walk from Baker Rink if you want to park your car and leave it in one place. (Please confirm that the parking facility that you use will be open until at least 10:30 pm if you leave your car in Downtown Princeton before the game.)

Directions to Baker Rink

Mass Transit

Once at Princeton Junction, change to the shuttle for the Princeton Station. Passengers connecting from Amtrak will probably be required to pay an additional fare. Ticket vending machines are available.

The Princeton Station is within walking distance of The Nassau Inn and Baker Rink. Consult a street map of Princeton (PDF format) for directions. (Train station is labeled as "Dinky Station").

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

Campus.News reports that President Shirley Ann Jackson has been named one of the 50 Most Important Women in Science by Discover magazine. The report is contained in the November 2002 issue of the magazine, on newsstands now.

According to the Campus.News report, "Jackson is one of only two university presidents to be named in the story, the other being Princeton President and molecular biologist Shirley Tilghman."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sandeep Nandy '94 writes, "The RCNJ 2002 Phonathon was held on September 30, 2002.
The event was held in the offices of Langan Engineering Associates. Special thanks to George Derrick '67, for the use of his office space."

"John Zoeller '62 and I served as co chairs for this year's phonathon. The volunteer callers were compromised of Dave Aiello '89, Ken DeGhetto '50, Gerald Hulit '54, Phil Lurie '74, John Markert '74, Joe Pilaro '55, Henry Rosenblatt '54, Mark Sammit '84, and Henry Scheuer '69. A big round of thanks and gratitude to callers for their participation and efforts."

"For the evening, the RCNJ raised $42,966, with $11,100 being raised in the corporate match field. Henry Scheuer was the top fundraiser, garnering $13,195 in 38 pledges and $3,750 in corporate match. Mark Samitt was the leader in recaptured donors."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

USCHO reports that the Lowell Riverhawks got up on RPI 4-2 after one period on Friday night and breezed to an 8-4 victory. Rensselaer didn't look great in the home opener, giving up a goal on the first shot of the game, and consistantly being beaten to loose pucks by their opponents.

Kevin Kurk played the first 20 minutes and gave up four goals on 13 total shots. Nathan Marsters finished the game, giving up four goals on 22 shots.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sandeep Nandy writes: "The Rensselaer Engineers are taking on the Cadets of Army at Tate Rink at West Point on Saturday October 26, 2002. The opening faceoff is set for 7pm. This will be a joint alumni event as the RCNJ will be attending with the Rensselaer Club of Westchester."

"The RCNJ has been given a limited block of seats for this game. Please contact Sandeep Nandy immediately at Sandeep.Nandy@verizon.com if you would like tickets."

"In addition to the game itself, the Rensselaer Club of Westchester has organized a pre-game meal at the Thayer Hotel on the West Point campus. The meal will be a buffet and it costs $35. Please also let Sandeep know if you are interested in attending the pre-game meal. The payment for the dinner will be accepted at the door.

"Directions to the Rink can be found on Army's main web site,

http://www.usma.edu/directions/
."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jackie Baker asked us to point out that The Lally School of Management & Technology and The Severino Center for Entrepreneurship are sponsoring two major on-campus biotechnology talks in November. On November 6, James Mullen '80, CEO of Biogen, will speak. His presentation is entitled, "The forest and the trees: My perspectives on the biotechnology industry". This will be followed on November 20 by Bioethics for entrepreneurs, engineers and executives, a presentation by Rahul Dhanda of Interleukin Genetics. Dhanda is the author of the recent book Guiding Icarus: Merging Bioethics With Corporate Interests.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a Sunday night 4-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Mighty Ducks Center Adam Oates '85 accidently shot the puck into his team's goal from the other end of the ice during a delayed penalty situation. As a result, Brendan Shanahan of the Red Wings was credited with a goal and a two minute penalty on the same play.

The real reason the puck traveled 185 feet into the Ducks' goal was, as the Orange County Register said, "{Oates} sent a pass toward wide-open defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski near the blue line. At nearly the same instant Oates released the puck, Vishnevski turned toward the bench, intent on letting a more offensive-oriented defenseman replace him. The puck sailed past Vishnevski and all the way down the ice into the vacated Ducks net...."

Crediting the penalized team with a goal in a delayed penalty situation is one of the rarest circumstances in ice hockey at any level.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Saturday, Rensselaer met Union in football for the one hundredth time. Union defeated RPI 32-14 to win the Dutchman's Shoes Trophy. Rensselaer turned the ball over six times in the game, including four interceptions. Joe King, RPI's Head Coach, is quoted in the Times Union as saying, "Those turnovers are not RPI football. But take nothing away from Union. They were just too physical for us. They shut us down on offense and they showed us that our defense isn't that good."

Evan Cochran scored one of the touchdowns for Rensselaer, on a pass from Dan Cole. With that touchdown, Cochran becomes the all-time leader in TD receptions with 18.

RPI and Union first played football in 1886, and this is the oldest college football rivalry in New York State.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the season opening Ice Breaker Tournament in Madison, Wisconsin, Rensselaer won its opening game 5-1 over Wisconsin, scoring five unanswered goals after trailing 1-0. Kevin Kurk made 30 saves for the win. Scott Basiuk led RPI scorers with one goal and two assists.

In the championship game of the tournament, Boston University beat RPI 5-1, jumping out to a 3-0 lead after one period and never looking back. Nathan Marsters made 36 saves and Danny Eberly scored the lone goal. Both games were attended by over 10,000 spectators.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "I am a little embarassed to report that it took me until October 8 to publish the RCNJ Event Calendar for the 2002-2003 academic year. But, planning for most of the events has been done for a while now. The complete calendar may be found in the Events box on the RCNJ Home Page. The RCNJ Leadership Committee hopes that you will save these dates on your calendar and plan to join us at as many of these events as possible."

"This year, we have a total of three hockey-related events, live games at West Point and Princeton, as well as the traditional Satellite Hockey Game."

"We are also planning two dinners: On November 5, Eddie Knowles, RPI VP of Student Life, and Ken Ralph, Rensselaer's new Athletic Director, will join us. On February 13, our guests will be Bud Baeslack, Dean of the School of Engineering, and Teresa Duffy, Dean of Enrollment Management."

"We are also planning events at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and High Point Wheat Beer Company, as well as another entrepreneurship event in March. We'll close the year with a barbeque that will also serve as our chapter elections. Hope to see you soon at an RCNJ event near you!"

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer Club of NJ has proposed "Night at the NJPAC" featuring the New York Philharmonic Orchestra on Friday, January 10, 2003. The Philharmonic's newly crowned Musical Director Lorin Maazel will conduct. Julia Fischer will be featured soloist in the Violin Concerto of Jean Sibelius. The program is rounded off by Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet Overture and Stravinsky's Petrushka.

The NJPAC listing of the event can be seen here.

If you are interested in attending this event, please contact John Cloninger '96 via email or by phone at (908) 578-3673. While details remain undecided at this time, we plan on having a group dinner prior to the concert. Total event cost is expected to be approximately $90 per person. For those wishing to attend the concert only, cost is expected to be approximately $55 per person.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

D3Football.com reported that RPI travelled to Rochester on Saturday and beat the Yellowjackets 31-19. The Engineers are now 4-0 on the season.

Rochester actually had the lead at halftime, 19-7. But, RPI scored two touchdowns in the first 3:09 of the second half to put the game away. Quarterback Dan Cole completed 18 of 34 passes for 264 yards and two TDs. Flynn Cochran caught one touchdown and one two point conversion, but also fumbled once early in the second quarter.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On September 29, The Times Union reported that RPI beat WPI 33-13 to win The Transit Trophy for the sixth consecutive time. The score ended up being nearly identical to last year, which will seem odd once Google has re-indexed our website.

RPI Quarterback Dan Cole completed 18 of 31 passes for 279 yards, one touchdown,and one interception. Cole also ran for three touchdowns himself.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)