RCNJ

On Friday August 6, several RCNJ leadership committee members were treated to a special behind-the-scenes tour of the
world's busiest bridge, the George Washington Bridge. Approximately 300,000 cars travel over the bridge each day.

The RCNJ tour group consisted of RCNJ President Sandeep Nandy '94, Vice President John Cloninger '96, Chairman Ken DeGhetto '50, Treasurer Phil Lurie '74, Past President Dave Aiello '89, Henry Rosenblatt '54 and Nabil Nahra '82. The tour guides from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey were John Drobny, Mike Degidio and Kevin Vesely. Each of three gentlemen were very knowledgeable, patient and friendly.

The morning began with breakfast at the Port Authority Headquarters in Fort Lee, NJ. After this, the tour group was escorted to the East tower of the bridge (New York side). Through the use of special elevators and ladders, the group climbed to the top of the tower. This was approximately 600 feet above river level and 400 feet above deck level. The views were amazing and the experience can be labeled as "once-in-a-lifetime."

Following this, the group returned to road level and had lunch at Napoli's restaurant in Fort Lee, NJ. After lunch, the RCNJ group was permitted to see the communications/control room. RCNJ President Nandy '94 is currently in negotiations with the Port Authority for a future tour in April, 2005 of the bridge for a larger group. This tour would be different than the one described here. Please continue to visit RCNJ.org for further details about the April, 2005 tour.

Special thanks to Ken DeGhetto '50 for making all the arrangements with the Port Authority which allowed the RCNJ tour group to attend.

Posted by John Cloninger at 6:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Wednesday August 11, the RCNJ interns who worked at Liberty Science Center (LSC) this summer held their closing reception. This reception in Jersey City, NJ was attended by approximately 15 people, including RCNJ Vice President John Cloninger '96, RCNJ chairman Ken DeGhetto '50, RCNJ Treasurer Phil Lurie '74, RCNJ member Henry Rosenblatt '54 and several LSC staff members including Deborah Steiner and LSC President Emlyn Koster.

One of the interns, Bao Nguyen, did a project on recombinant DNA. The other intern, Patrick Farrelly, presented his findings on why the World Trade Center collapsed. Patrick's father and brother are Rensselaer graduates. Both interns also participated in a microgravity experiment with Dickinson High School in Jersey City. NASA was also a collaborator on this experiment. With their participation in the LSC/RPI internship program, Nguyen and Farrelly were able to understand the workings of an interactive science museum.

Through fundraising and dues, the RCNJ has been able to support this internship program since 1993. The Liberty Science Center opened in January, 1993 and has been visited by over nine million guests. This makes it one of the most popular tourist and educational destinations in the metropolitan New York area.

For more information on the LSC, please visit lsc.org.

Posted by John Cloninger at 5:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Sunday, August 15th, the RCNJ sponsored a trip to the Somerset Patriots minor league baseball game. The Patriots, a member of the Independent Atlantic League, hosted the Nashua Pride.

The RCNJ attendees for this game were Henry Rosenblatt '54, Yolanda Rosenblatt, Harry Rosenthal '60, Amy Rosenthal, Bruce Pudwal, Sandy Silverman, RCNJ President Sandeep Nandy '94 and Sudeshna Nandy.

It is interesting to note that Dante Bichette, who had played in the major leagues for the Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, and Cincinnati Reds, started at first base for the Pride in this contest. Bichette hit a solo home run in the third inning.

The Pride raced out to a 9-0 lead in the game, and coasted to a 9-3 victory. For more details on the game, please visit the Somerset Patriots website.

Posted by John Cloninger at 5:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)