RCNJ

On Saturday, February 1st, we will be gathering at our usual spot, the Sportz Bar and Grill, in East Hanover, NJ for this year's Satellite Broadcast. The Engineers face the Clarkson Golden Knights from Cheel Arena in Potsdam, NY.

We will have ample space and screens for all to watch the game. The admission fee is $10 per person to cover production costs. If you have any questions, do feel free to email me or call me at (908) 578-3673.

Sportz Bar and Grill is located on Route 10 Westbound, about three miles west of the Livingston Circle. Refer to a prior RCNJ article for directions to the site.

I hope to see you there! LET'S GO RED!!

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Howard and Melissa Ackerman are hosting an informal gathering of alumni at their home near Princeton in order to watch the RPI-Clarkson hockey game Saturday night, February 1 at 7:00pm. For alumni in the Central New Jersey and Bucks County, PA areas, this is an alternative to travelling to East Hanover, NJ, Philadelphia, or New York City to watch the game.

The Ackermans have more limited space at their home than at the bars and restaurants where the Satellite Hockey telecast is typically hosted. Therefore, they ask that you send them an email at rsinj@aol.com to ensure that there is room for you, and to get directions to their home.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This past weekend, the men's hockey team lost two games in explosive fashion. On Friday, Vermont scored five consecutive goals in 18 minutes and survived a late Engineer rally, to win 5-3. The Catamounts have now won 3 of their last 4 games. Kevin Kurk and Nathan Marsters had frustrating nights, saving only 15 and 11 shots, respectively.

On Saturday, Dartmouth broke a five game losing streak by rolling to a 7-3 victory over RPI. The Big Green scored three consecutive goals to break the game open early in the third period. This was Rensselaer's fourth consecutive loss, bringing their record to 8-16-2 overall, 2-8-2 in the ECAC.

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

Dave Aiello wrote, "Many of you who follow the Internet business are aware of the massive attack mounted on Internet servers that began at midnight Saturday, Eastern Time. All of the servers hosted by CTDATA were affected, including RCNJ.org. Our servers were down from about 3:00am to 1:00pm, Eastern Time."

"If you are interested in reading more about the problem, check out CTDATA Servers Temporarily Knocked Off-Line by Massive Internet Server Attack over on CTDATA.com."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Howard Deutsch pointed out that the RCNJ Mid-Winter Dinner will take place on Thursday, February 13, at The Grand Summit Hotel in Summit, beginning at 6:00pm. Bud Baeslack '78, Rensselaer Dean of Engineering, and Teresa Duffy, Dean of Enrollment Management, will be joining us to highlight:

The Role of Education in Meeting the Challenges of the Changing World: The Process of Academic Transformation

Guidance counselors from some of New Jersey's leading public and private high schools will be joining us for this event. They will be attending to hear about Rensselaer's pioneering work in applying radical education techniques like studio learning, student teamwork, and applied information technology to the undergraduate education process.

Alumni are urged to attend to learn how much instruction has changed, for the better, since they graduated.

Read on for more information about attending this fascinating event, including the order of the program, cost, and sponsorship opportunities....

The evening will begin with a networking cocktail reception at 6:00pm, followed by dinner and presentations at 6:45. Entree selections will be made tableside from the following choices: sliced chateaubriand and sauteed breast of chicken.

The cost of this event is $35.00 per person. Spouses and guests are welcome. Please make your reservation by Friday, February 7. Send your check made payable to "Rensselaer Club of New Jersey" along with your name, class year, mailing address,email, and phone number to:

RCNJ
P.O. Box 461
Paramus, NJ 07653

If you would like to sponsor a high school guidance counselor's attendance at this event please include an additional amount with your check.

Directions to the Grand Summit Hotel may be found on their website at http://www.grandsummit.com/directions.htm.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last week, the RPI Men's hockey team made news for some off ice activities. Rensselaer announced that head coach Dan Fridgen has received a three year contract extension, keeping him in Troy through at least through the 2005-2006 season.

In another happy development, the team Grade Point Average in the Fall Sememster reached 3.019, up from 2.658 in the Spring Semester last year. The GPA of RPI varsity athletes as a whole is now 3.142, with 357 of 520 student-athletes on the Dean's List.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 4:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This weekend, Colgate and Cornell travelled to Houston Field House and handed the men's hockey team two losses. On Friday night David Cann made 28 saves to lead Colgate to a 3-0 victory. This was Cann's third career shutout. Kevin Kurk also made 28 saves for RPI.

Rensselaer reportedly dominated the action in the second period, but was unable to break through for a goal. Colgate scored all three of its goals in the third period. RPI coach Dan Fridgen said, "I thought we played really, really well too. I thought we played a solid game and the opportunities were there. You know, again it comes down to a bounce here or there, and they got one off a faceoff. And the puck went through a couple of legs on the second goal."

Saturday, RPI battled back from a 3-1 deficit after two periods, but still fell short of #4 Cornell, 3-2. Nick Economakos and Kirk MacDonald scored for the Engineers. Nathan Marsters made 21 saves in the net for Rensselaer.

Cornell coach Mike Schafer said, "It was a real good win for us without being 100 percent healthy. I thought RPI played real well, they did a good job for the game."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Campus.News reports that Jonathan Dordick, The Howard P. Isermann '42 Professor of Chemical Engineering at Rensselaer, is investigating the use of naturally occurring pigments as indicators of bioterror attacks. He hopes to be able to develop a means of manipulating enzymes "to prepare uniquely pigmented compounds that could be implanted into any materials to indicate the presence of biological and chemical agents, such as anthrax, smallpox, and mustard gas."

This might allow the production of bio-engineered plants in the future that would turn un-natural colors if exposed to biological and chemical agents. They could be of major assistance if such plants were placed around government and industrial facilities, and a terrorist attack subsequently occurred.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Friday night, RPI and Union met for the second time this season. This game featured a pre-game victory guarantee from Union captain Nathan Gillies and a delay of game penalty on Union as a result of spectators repeatedly littering the ice with navel oranges. In the end, Union paid for both of these mistakes, tying Rensselaer 2-2.

Achilles Rink at Union College is notorious for spectator control problems, such as the two orange-throwing incidents. But, such outbursts don't always have a direct impact on the scoreboard. For some reason, officials have a tendency to warn spectators after the "traditional throwing of oranges" that accompanies Union's first goal, rather than proceed directly to a delay of game penalty.

However, Union was penalized after their second goal. According to USCHO:

After the goal, Union was penalized for delay of game after a couple of oranges were tossed on the ice. Scott Basiuk scored on the two-man advantage, tying the score at 2-2.... "I was thoroughly disgusted by that," Union coach Kevin Sneddon. "That's zero respect not only for our own team, but zero respect for college hockey."

You said it, Coach.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rensselaer Professor Linda Layne has written a major new book on the effect of miscarriage and stillbirth on families and American society. In
Motherhood Lost: A Feminist Account of Pregnancy Loss in America, Layne "challenges society and women's movements in particular to publicly discuss the topic and to offer more helpful support to 'would-be' parents."

According to a Rensselaer press release:

About 15 to 20 percent of pregnancies in the United States end in miscarriage or stillbirth each year, according to Williams Obstetrics. In Motherhood Lost, Layne explains that the losses are seldom acknowledged or rarely discussed. "Grief for a dead loved one may be both inevitable and necessary, but the additional hurt that bereaved parents feel when their losses are dismissed and diminished by others is needless and cruel," she says. "It is high time we recognize pregnancy loss and offer our support."

Layne is a Professor of Anthropolgy in the Science and Technology Studies Department of the Rensselaer School of Humanities and Social Sciences. This book, which was published by Routledge in November, is now featured on the home page of RPI.edu.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer Men's Hockey Team took on Minnesota-Duluth in non-league action this past weekend and split the two game series. On Friday night, Nolan Graham and Kevin Croxton led RPI to a 5-2 victory. Graham had one goal and four assists in the game; This was the first time an Engineer had scored five points since Matt Murley did it in November 2000.

In the game on Saturday, T.J. Caig scored a breakaway goal with 16 minutes to go in regulation, leading UMD to a 3-2 victory. Kirk MacDonald and Ben Barr had power play goals for Rensselaer in defeat.

The Friday game had the lowest actual attendance for a men's varsity game at Houston Field House in most people's memory. Reportedly, only 464 spectators made it to the game. This was because of the huge snowstorm that hit Upstate New York that evening.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)