Imagining the Future of Energy
April 3, 2006, 2 p.m. - Heffner Alumni House
Rising gas prices. Mounting evidence for global warming. No doubt about it, energy is front-page headlines. A national debate on the future of energy has been ignited. A panel made up of alumni at the forefront of energy innovation held a public discussion on this cutting-edge topic at the Heffner Alumni House. Panelists included:
William Acker ’83 – Acker is CEO and President of MTI MicroFuel Cells, Inc. a leading developer in the micro fuel cell industry.
Robert Hanfling '59—An energy policy expert, clean coal proponent, and proven business strategist, Hanfling is a highly placed energy policy expert, having served under three U.S. presidents. He is President and COO of KFx in Denver, a company which produces a clean energy solution called K-Fuel, derived from low-cost, low-grade coal.
Steve Percy '68—Former Chairman and CEO of British Petroleum and Senior Vice President of Conoco-Phillips, Percy served as a member of President Clinton’s Council on Sustainable Development as Co-Chair of its Climate Change Task Force. He is now a director of Resources for the Future, an organization devoted to understanding the future of energy for the worldwide economy. Percy is an expert in the future of the petroleum industry.
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Panel moderator was Nag Patibandla, director of Rensselaer’s Center for Future Energy Systems. He has an extensive background in energy policy, management, and research, having worked in a variety of positions at the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority, General Electric, and at Rensselaer.
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At the event, participants had the opportunity to see and learn about Honda's hydrogen fuel cell powered car, the FCX, provided by the NYS Office of General Services, Clean Fueled Vehicles Program. In the FCX, a hydrogen fuel cell produces electricity onboard the vehicle.
Click here to watch a Webcast of this event.
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X-treme Gaming: Vicarious Visions
April 4, 2005 - Heffner Alumni House
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This event was an opportunity for video game enthusiasts and those who are interested in video game development and design to meet and learn from the team of Rensselaer alumni who brought Doom III, Doc Ock, Crash Bandicoot, and more to life.
Karthik Bala ’97, CEO/Chief Creative Officer
B.S. Computer Science and Psychology
Bala has lead Vicarious Visions since its formation in 1994, and has over 40 published game titles to his credit.
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Tobi Saulnier ’84, Vice President for Product Development
Ph.D., M.S., B.S. Electrical Engineering
Saulnier has been responsible for delivering over 60 titles ranging from Blues Clues GBC to Doom III XBox.
Marc Janas ’04, Associate Designer
B.S. Electronic Media Arts and Communications
Janas was a member of the art team for Doom III for Xbox.
Jonathan Mintz ’04, Designer
B.S. Electronic Media Arts and Communications
Mintz was the lead designer on "Madagascar," a Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS game based on the upcoming DreamWorks movie.
Brian Osman ’99, ’02, Programmer
B.S., M.S. Computer Science
Osman has most recently been writing the graphics engine used in the Spiderman game for Sony's new Playstation Portable.
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Vicarious Visions, Inc., is known for pushing technical boundaries to deliver addictive gameplay and immersive art. They are home to the pioneering Intrinsic Alchemy® middleware technology and tools, used to power hit titles worldwide.
Over 250 guests came to hear how their amazing products were produced, and interacted with games like Crash NitroCart™ and the newly-release Doom III on various gaming systems.
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Three lucky winners of a raffle sponsored by the Rensselaer Alumni Association left with a new Xbox™, Playstation®, and a brand-new Playstation Portable®.
After the event, the Vicarious Visions team stayed for nearly an hour to talk and network with attendees, which included current students, faculty, staff, and other members of the Rensselaer community.
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PREVIOUS SPEAKER SERIES EVENTS:
There IS Intelligent Life on Mars!
March 29, 2004, 2 p.m., Heffner Alumni House
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Kobie Boykins ’96
Fred Serricchio ’94
Jason Suchman ’94
Chris Voorhees ’96
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These Rensselaer alumni are part of the team that designed and built the Mars Rovers, "Spirit" and "Opportunity." They came to campus to share the amazing machinery, show 3-D panoramics, and tell the remarkable stories of how they helped build the Mars Rovers. They spoke to a packed house of 250 alumni, students, and members of the local community. The visit generated much interest from the local press, as well, and the alumni were featured on local television and radio programs during their visit.The four were among more than a dozen Rensselaer alumni involved with the Mars Exploration Rover Mission. Read more about the alumni and their roles on the project in the Summer 2004 issue of Rensselaer alumni magazine.
Kobie Boykins is a Class of 1996 Rensselaer graduate, with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He is currently a staff mechanical engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Boykins worked as the cognizant engineer for the Rover Solar Array Structures and Mechanisms. He was responsible for the design and building of the rover Solar Arrays. He also worked on the assembly, test, and launch operations team, which was responsible for building and testing the flight hardware and delivering it to Cape Canaveral for launch.
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Fred Serricchio, Class of 1994, has a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. He is an attitude control system engineer at JPL. His role on both Spirit and Opportunity was to perform all turns (to keep the solar panels pointed at the sun, for power, and the antenna pointed toward earth, for communication) as well as all trajectory correction maneuvers required to successfully land and move the rovers on Mars. |
Jason Suchman is a Class of 1994 graduate, with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Currently he is a senior member of the technical staff at Northrop Grumman Space Technology. Previously, he worked as a cognizant engineer with JPL. Suchman served as the cognizant engineer for the Pancam Mast Assembly (PMA), the large white mast on top of the rover that points the four cameras as well as acts as a periscope. It is the pointing ability of this assembly that allows the cameras to take the panoramic images of the Martian terrain. In addition, Suchman worked on the sundial that sits on top of the rover's deck. This provides a calibration target for the cameras, as well as provides an educational outreach feature so kids may try to figure out what time it is on Mars if they know the direction the rover is pointed.
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Chris Voorhees, Class of 1996, with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, is a mechanical systems engineer at JPL. He was responsible for the design, development, assembly, and testing of the rover’s mobility system: its wheels, drivetrain, and steering actuators. Once the hardware was completed, he became the lead integration engineer for Spirit, responsible for the integration, test, and launch preparation. Since the launch, he has served on the operations team as a mechanical systems flight controller, responsible for mobility operations, rover deployment, and egress from the lander.
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Does it Take a Rocket Scientist to Figure Out Wall Street?
Dennis Tito '64 - Nov. 14, 2003
On Thursday, November 14, 2002, a standing room only crowd at the Heffner Alumni House enjoyed a conversation with Dennis Tito '64. The event was sponsored by the Rensselaer Alumni Association as part of the Back-to-Campus Speaker Series, and was hosted by Denis Fred Simon, dean of Rensselaer's Lally School of Management and Technology.
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The theme of the conversation was mostly about his experiences as an entrepreneur and innovator in areas of finance. Applying science to the art of money management, Tito and his team of 250 professionals utilize mathematical formulas to advise a wide variety of institutional and high net-worth investors worldwide. He talked about his successes and what he gained out of his ideas that were not so successful. He offered solid advice to those in attendance. He also shared great stories about his venture into space.
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Dennis Tito '64, a graduate of Rensselaer at Hartford, is the CEO of Wilshire Associates Inc. and the first civilian to travel to the International Space Station by serving as a crew member of a Russian Soyuz mission. Wilshire Associates Inc. is a leading provider of investment management, consulting, and technology services.
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Future of Wireless Communications
Panel Discussion - March 30, 2002
A standing-room-only crowd in a campus lecture hall listened to a lively and multifaceted presentation of the future of wireless communications as part of the RAA Back-to-Campus Speaker Series on March 30. (The Speaker Series is one of many programs that the RAA sponsors to connect current students with alumni. Click here to find out more about student programs.)
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The program featured executives of local and national firms involved in the growing field of wireless communications: John Cavalier, co-chair of MapInfo; Michael Farese '68, president and CEO of West Coast-based Tropian Inc.; Gary Ide '86, partner at Accenture; and Martin Schoffstall '82,co-founder of PSINet and now principal of Schoffstall Ventures. John Kolb '79, Rensselaer's chief information officer moderated the program.
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Panelists provided different perspectives on the direction of wireless technologies and communications systems, and touched on many issues facing the wireless industry. "This event provided wonderful exposure of Rensselaer alumni to students, staff, faculty and local alumni, and gave the RAA great visibility as the sponsoring organization," said David Bohan '82, director of the office of alumni relations. Bohan also noted that the program helped uncover a large number of alumni currently working in the wireless industry.
Thanks to the RAA for sponsoring the speaker series, which features the accomplishments of alumni in "hot" topical areas for student and alumni audiences.
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In addition to the Speaker Series, the RAA supports a wide range of programs. Click here for more information on RAA sponsored programs, including the RPIdea Lab at the Incubator Center.
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Circle of Excellence Award Winner:
Rensselaer’s Back-to-Campus Speaker Series
Council for the Advancement and Support of Education |
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