conntections vol.4 no.1

connectionsFall 2011 Vol. 4, No. 1New York City College of Technology

connections

City Tech to Build Partnership with NASA

Iron Skillet Cook-Off Jr. Event

Chefs to Celebrate City Tech on October 4

City Tech Students Design Website for United Nations Agency

‘City Tech Writer’ Now Online

Connections is the online magazine of New York City College of Technology 300 Jay Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201-1909. © 2011. All rights reserved.

Dale TarnowieskiEditor-in-Chief

Jewel Escobar

Michele ForstenContributing Editors

Jamie MarkowitzGraphic Designer

The day dawned sunny with low humidity,perfect for an outdoor commencement. AtMunicipal Credit Union (MCU) Park in ConeyIsland, blue and gold flags – the colors ofNew York City College of Technology and,coincidentally, of the home team BrooklynCyclones – formed a circle around theinfield, waving in the breeze.

The Parachute Jump stood watch justbeyond the outfield as 2,000 City Techstudents received their degrees at theCollege’s 71st commencement exercises.Starting off the festivities, Brooklyn BoroughPresident Marty Markowitz broughtgreetings. “After years of having itscommencement in the outer borough of

Manhattan, welcome home, City Tech, to therepublic of Brooklyn!” he exclaimed, to wildapplause.

Lisa P. Jackson, U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency Administrator, and 2011Valedictorian Theresa Evans were among thefeatured speakers.

MORE

CITY TECH’S 2011 COMMENCEMENT AT MCU PARK HITS HOME RUN

http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/alumni | connections 1

As New York CityCollege ofTechnologycontinues theredesign of itsgeneral educationprogram for acollege oftechnology, thecontext for thestudy of thehumanities is

undergoing profound change, according to

Provost & Vice President for Academic AffairsBonne August.

Aspects of this change include theintroduction of digital tools and methods,promise new discoveries and knowledge, aswell as opportunities for new forms ofcollaborative work. At City Tech, a Title V granthelped fund the implementation of a digitalplatform, enabling students to represent theirown experience and understanding of theliberal arts and link their general educationmeaningfully and personally to their careerstudies. Faculty members are collaborating

across disciplines to redefine generaleducation in an institution that specializes inpreparing graduates for professional successin a wide range of technology-driven fields.

“The role of the liberal arts at City Tech,”Provost August noted recently, “is not simplyfoundational or instrumental; it is anessential facet of the education we offer ourstudents, who will be not only workers butalso parents, citizens, artists, innovators andleaders. They will need to make moralchoices, evaluate complex situations andtread turbid emotional waters.”

REDESIGN OF GENERAL EDUCATION FOR 21STCENTURY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY UNDERWAY

Bonne August

Photo credit: Al Vargas

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http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/aboutus/newsevents/2011sp/post-commencement/

City Tech was recently awarded $442,000in funding from the National Aeronauticsand Space Administration (NASA)earmarked for the College’s project,“Achieving Proficiency in EngineeringResearch and STEM Education throughNASA Initiatives.”

As a result, this summer six City Techstudents majoring in science, technology,engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields

worked with NASA and Goddard Institute forSpace Studies (GISS) scientists as full-timeinterns for eight to ten weeks on researchprojects at the New York City ResearchInitiative (sponsored by the NASA EducationOffice), the Goddard Space Flight Center inMaryland and the Marshall Space FlightCenter in Alabama. Before starting theinternships, the students received specialtraining to strengthen their research skills.

NASA is funding these researchopportunities through its CurriculumImprovement Partnership Award for theIntegration of Research (CIPAIR), with thegoal of attracting more minority students tocareers in science, technology, engineeringand mathematics. The project aims to helpincrease the transfer rate of STEM studentsfrom two- to four-year colleges, thegraduation rate from 20 to 50 percent, andthe retention rate from 44 to 65 percent, aswell as make the City Tech community moreaware of NASA’s mission.

With those goals in mind, City Tech iscollaborating with CUNY-LSAMP (Louis StokesAlliance for Minority Participation) and HostosCommunity College’s previously NASA-fundedProyecto Access Pre-Freshman EngineeringProgram (NYPREP). Four Hostos students willparticipate in the internships with NASA andGISS scientists.

This summer, project co-directors Dr. GaffarGailani (City Tech assistant professor,mechanical engineering and industrial designtechnology) and Dr. Nieves Angulo (associateprofessor of mathematics at Hostos) will workon research projects at NASA facilities. Alsoco-directing the project are City Tech’s Dr. SidiBerri (chair, mechanical engineering andindustrial design technology) and Dr. ReginaldBlake (associate professor of physics andcoordinator of the College’s Black MaleInitiative, BMI).

2 connections | http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/alumni

City Tech to Build Partnership with NASA to Prepare Students for Aerospace Careers

With approximately 30,000 cases of oralcancer diagnosed each year, the disease ismore prevalent than melanoma. So why is itthat only 20 percent of dental offices performoral cancer screenings on their patients?

“If your dentist does not routinelyexamine your mouth for oral cancer, it maybe time to find a new dentist,” says CityTech Dental Hygiene Professor Gwen Cohen-Brown, DDS. “Oral cancer screening saveslives and should be a routine part of yourannual dental visit. It is painless and caneasily be completed in a few minutes.”

A pilot project in the works at the Collegehas the goal of teaching the dangers of oralcancer and how to screen for it to City Techstudents majoring in the health professions.Students who enrolled this fall in oralpathology, nutrition, anatomy andphysiology, and physics courses offered bythe Schools of Professional Studies and Arts

and Sciences will benefit from case studiesand collaborative work related to oral cancerawareness.

The project is being led by BiologicalSciences Professor Laina Karthikeyan andincludes, in addition to Dr. Cohen-Brown,Physics Professor Boris Gelman andBiological Sciences Professor SanjoyChakraborty. All four were invited to

participate last year in a Summer Instituteoffered by the National Science Foundation’sScience Education for New CivicEngagements and Responsibilities (SENCER),which subsequently funded the pilot project.

Their initiative built on the annual, freeoral cancer screenings offered on campus byCity Tech’s Department of Dental Hygiene, incollaboration with the Russian DentalAssociation. During the visit, dental hygienestudents review a patient’s medical andbasic dental history, perform an initialclinical exam and then present the case tothe faculty or medical personnel involved.

Dr. Pamela Brown, City Tech’s dean of theSchool of Arts and Sciences, explains theproject’s purpose. “It improves scienceeducation by connecting course content inphysics and biology with the engaging andimportant topic of oral cancer awareness, areal-world problem.”

CITY TECH ADDRESSES IGNORANCE ABOUT ORAL CANCER

City Tech – in partnership with twoBrooklyn high schools – was awarded twoof just 16 state-wide Smart Scholars EarlyCollege High Schools (ECHS) grants fundedby Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NewYork State Legislature. Each of the twogrants was for $450,000 and covers athree-year period.

City Tech’s partners are City PolytechnicHigh School (City Poly High), launched in fall 2009 in Downtown Brooklyn, andthe brand-new Pathways in TechnologyEarly College High School (P-Tech),which opened its doors in Crown Heightsthis fall.

In announcing the awards, GovernorCuomo said, “Smart Scholars allows NewYork high school students to receivecollege credit, finish their degrees faster,and do it at a significantly reduced cost. Icommend my partners in government forworking together and delivering aprogram that is beneficial to so manyyoung New Yorkers.”

At City Poly High, the grant will enableup to 70 students to have their first yearof tuition at City Tech paid in full. This isin addition to the 78 students who arebeing supported by one of the initialECHS grants funded privately in 2009 inpart by the Bill & Melinda GatesFoundation. City Poly High students arerequired to meet one requirement foreligibility to qualify for the free first yearof tuition at City Tech – they mustcomplete their high school requirementsin three years.

P-Tech, a collaboration with IBM andthe New York City Department ofEducation, will be using the first year ofthe funding mainly for curriculumdevelopment. A team of City Tech andhigh school faculty worked together onan innovative plan of study for the 108students who began their studies thisfall. The remainder was targeted towardspaying the salary of a liaison to overseethe partnership.

CITY TECH WINS $900K IN GRANTSFOR TWO EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS

CITY TECH OPENS ITS FIRST PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH LAB

‘Tubman Legacy’ Was Theme of Black History Month Celebration

City Tech celebrated Black History Monthwith a series of events in February 2011,including African American StudiesProfessor Tshombe Walker’s examination ofthe legacy of Harriet Tubman as theembodiment of African cultural survivals.Sundog Theatre actress Christine Dixonperformed “Harriet Tubman Herself,” andDr. Sherrill Wilson, cultural anthropologistand founding director, Office of PublicEducation and Interpretation, NY AfricanBurial Ground, delivered a keynote address,“Celebrating Freedom.” The month’sactivities also featured a performance bythe City Tech Community Choir and anUrsula C. Schwerin Library exhibition,“African Cultural Survivals in the Americas:The Legacy of Harriet Tubman,” of posterscreated by Department of AdvertisingDesign and Graphic Arts students.


City Tech has inaugurated a new state-of-the-art psychology researchlaboratory, the first such facility in theCollege’s history. The new lab, fundedin part by The City University of NewYork Graduate Research & TechnologyInitiative and PSC-CUNY grants, isenabling students and faculty todevelop and conduct psychologyresearch projects and allows for theintegration of laboratory research andtechnology into the psychologycurriculum.

According to Assistant Professor ofPsychology Jean Kubeck, what sets this labapart from others is that “it is the only onewe know of that allows researchers tocombine state-of-the art immersive virtualreality (VR) technology – giving users thesense of ‘stepping’ into a 3D computer-generated world in a believable way – with

more traditional psychophysiology,behavioral and cognitive researchequipment and methodology.”

Donning a high-resolution head-mounteddisplay, lab users can immerse themselvesin a 3D stereoscopic virtual world wherethey are free to walk and explore naturally.Researchers can create controlled and

repeatable experimental setupsand manipulate the world in waysnormally impossible orprohibitively expensive in reality.An automatic motion trackingsystem, the PPT X2 by WorldViz,synchronizes movement in the realworld with movement in thevirtual world. The new lab isideally suited for research thatpresents stimuli in traditional ornontraditional formats like virtualreality and collects multiple kinds

of data at one time.The College’s School of Arts and Sciences

is exploring the creation of a technology-focused baccalaureate degree program inapplied psychology and an associatedegree track for students working towardsa two-year liberal arts or liberal sciencesdegree.

Photo credit: Al Vargas


The Black Women’sNetworking Committee(BWNC) at City Tech, inconjunction with the PSCProject on CUNY and Race,hosted a presentation byCarol Wright, PhD, VisitingScholar, MassachusettsInstitute of Technology’sInitiative on Faculty Race& Diversity, in February2011. An expert in thefield, Wright examined theways race shapes educational outcomesand the social experiences of studentsand faculty in American educationalinstitutions. According to Wright,underrepresentation of ethnic and racialminorities on U.S. faculties and in theacademic workplace continues despiteyears of affirmative action policies.Barriers exist to the full participation offaculty and professional staff of colorthroughout higher education.

PSC-CUNY haschosen to take on theimportant task ofbetter understandingthese issues byinvestigating racialdisparities in the careertrajectories of facultyand professional staffover a 10-year spanfrom 2000-2010. ThePSC will manage atwo-year research and

communications effort involving thecollection of information from a widerange of sources that include CUNYfirst,individual CUNY campuses, focus groupsand interviews. The project will documentexisting practices in recruiting, hiring,retaining, mentoring and promotingfaculty and professional staff, whileaddressing barriers faced as departmentsand work units make efforts to deependiversity and inclusiveness.

Patients with diabetes who follow a self-careregimen generally have success incontrolling their disease. But what aboutpatients whose other health conditions, suchas cognitive impairment and/or depression,create barriers to effective treatment?

It is those individuals facing suchobstacles to successful diabetesmanagement that City Tech NursingProfessor Kathleen Falk made the focus ofa year-long study. She provided acommunity-based care plan – followed bytesting and evaluation every three monthsto monitor disease markers – to see if sucha strategy could make a difference inhealth outcomes. Falk, chairperson of theAdult Day Health Council (ADHC) ResearchCollaborative Diabetes Management Study,obtained the participation of 104 clientsfrom 10 Adult Day Health Care Centers inNew York City, Long Island, upstate New

York and Buffalo.The study employed what are known as

the ABC’s of diabetes care: A1C blood teststo check blood sugar, blood pressurecontrol and cholesterol management. Ateach three-month assessment point, atleast 60 percent of participants, includingthose with depression or cognitiveimpairment, showed a statisticallysignificant decrease in A1C levels, whileapproximately 25 percent worsened. The

analyses demonstrated the program’sgeneral effectiveness in reducing the A1Clevels of participants.

Falk attributes the positive outcomes tothe way the centers conducted the clients’evaluation visits. Clients were able to getimmediate feedback about the A1C test,which reinforced their efforts and engagedthem in setting goals for managingdiabetes. She notes that whenever peopleparticipate in their own health caremanagement, they do better.

Falk wants to build on her study in orderto educate community nurses onidentifying depression among diabetics andmaking interventions on their behalf. Shebelieves that this work has the potential tobecome a national model. “It will be a lotof work, but worthwhile,” she says.“Nurses are on the frontline in pullingtogether management of care.”

SapphireHeadlined 30th AnnualLiterary Arts Festival

In April 2011, the Departments of Englishand African American Studies co-sponsoredthe College’s 30th Anniversary Literary ArtsFestival, featuring readings by bestsellingauthor and poet Sapphire, who wrote thenovel Push (1996) which was adapted intothe Oscar-winning 2009 film Precious. Pushwon the Book-of-the-Month Club’s StephenCrane Award for First Fiction, the BlackCaucus of the American LibraryAssociation’s First Novelist Award, and, inGreat Britain, the Mind Book of the YearAward. The film of her novel received theAcademy Award for Best Screenplay andBest Supporting Actress, in addition to theGrand Jury Prize and Audience Awards inthe U.S. Dramatic Competition at Sundance.English Professor George Guida coordinatedand hosted this year’s festival.

Professor Kathleen Falk

Professor’s Study Finds Nursing Case Management Affects Outcomes of High-Risk Patients with Diabetes

How Race Shapes EducationalOutcomes and Social Experiences of Students and Faculty

Carol Wright

In April, City Tech’s Department ofEntertainment Technology, in collaborationwith performance artist Phyllis Chen andvideo artist Rob Dietz, presented “LookingGlass Rewondered,” a multi-media showinspired by the themes and objects fromLewis Carroll’s prized novels. Professor SueBrandt coordinated the show’s threeperformances.

A whimsical and thought-provoking journeyinto the fascinating world of Lewis Carroll, theproduction was the newest multi-mediacreation from Chen, who in addition to beinga performance artist is also a toy pianist andcomposer. She has been praised by The NewYork Times for her “delightful quirkinessmatched with interpretive sensitivity.” Inaddition to “Looking Glass Rewondered,”Chen performed “Down the Rabbit-Hole,” aNew York State Council on the Arts-fundedcommission, also based on Carroll’s work andscored for toy pianos, music boxes, electronics,live and edited video and amplified objects.Rounding out the show was her earlier work“The Memoirist.”

The College’s entertainment technologyprogram educates students for careersbackstage at concerts, corporate and specialevents, cruise ships, film/televisionproductions, sports venues, theatres, themeparks and trade shows. The departmentaccepts beginners looking to break into theindustry, as well as seasoned professionalsand IATSE Union members who would like toupdate their skills to keep up with thedemands of new technology in this ever-accelerating market. City Tech also offers anew bachelor’s degree program in emergingmedia technologies.

CITY TECH PRESENTED ‘LOOKING GLASS REWONDERED’ IN APRIL

3RD ANNUAL IRON SKILLET COOK-OFF JR. EVENT

The 3rd Annual Iron Skillet Cook-OffJr. competition was held at New YorkCity College of Technology in May2011. The 30 students from Brooklynafterschool programs who attendedthe event were organized into severalteams and assisted by members ofthe New York City Fire Department.The cook-off was organized byMonique Russell, coordinator ofBrooklyn Afterschool, and thefirefighters in attendance were RobertDiaz (Ladder 166), Khalid Baylor(Ladder 14) and Sal De Paola (Engine60).

The teams prepared a variety ofpasta dishes, including AntipastoHearty Salad, Lasagna Verdi Al Forno,Pasta Halal St. Johns, Bed-Stuy Pastaand Lasagna Di Spezia Di Sole.

At the conclusion of thecompetition, five awards werepresented: 1st Place to Robert Diazand Red Hook Recreation Center’sAfterschool Program, 2nd Place toKhalid Baylor and Sunset ParkRecreation Center’s AfterschoolProgram, 3rd Place to Sal De Paoloand Brownsville Recreation Center’sAfterschool Program, 4th Place toRobert Diaz and St. John’s RecreationCenter’s Afterschool Program, and 5thPlace to Sal De Paolo and Von KingCultural Arts Recreation Center’sAfterschool Program.

Phyllis Chen


The City Tech Jewish Faculty & StaffAssociation honored DonnaRosenthal, alumni relations advisorin the Office of Alumni andDevelopment at Columbia Universityand a consultant in not-for-profitorganizational initiatives, at itsAnnual Passover DemonstrationSeder in March 2011.

Rosenthal was the executive vicechairman of CLAL–The NationalJewish Center for Learning andLeadership for fifteen years, administering all ofthe operations for this nationally recognizedleadership training institute, think tank andresource center. Prior to joining CLAL, Rosenthalserved as executive director of the NationalDown Syndrome Society, recognized for its

work in research, public educationand services for people withdevelopmental challenges. Shecame to the society after a decadeof work at United NeighborhoodHouses of New York, the federationof settlement houses, where shewas the assistant director,establishing employment, homecare and outreach programs whichhave been replicated nationwide.

Ms. Rosenthal created thevolunteer program, Project Child, which wasdesignated the 149th Point of Light by formerPresident George H. W. Bush. She is co-editor ofthe book, Down Syndrome: Living and Learningin the Community, and served as consultant tothe television show, “Life Goes On.”

Donna Rosenthal Honored at Annual Seder

Donna Rosenthal


FALL 2011 UPCOMING EVENTS:

JFSA Speakers Series to Feature ProfessorMenachem Z. Rosensaft on November 10

On Thursday, November 10, 2011, from 12:45-2:15 p.m., theJewish Faculty & Staff Association will feature a talk byProfessor Menachem Z. Rosensaft, general counsel of theWorld Jewish Congress, adjunct professor of law at CornellUniversity, Columbia University and Syracuse University, andthe son of two survivors of the Nazi concentration camps atAuschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. Rosensaft will speak in theCollege’s Atrium Amphitheater, 300 Jay Street (at Tillary),Downtown Brooklyn. JFSA will honor Rosensaft with ItsDistinguished Humanitarian Award and also bestow its

Distinguished Achievement Award on Sonia Beker, author of Symphony on Fire: A Story ofMusic and Spiritual Resistance During the Holocaust, the inspiring account of her parents,violinist Max Beker and pianist Fania Durmashkin-Beker, members of well-known Vilniusmusician families who perished in the Holocaust.

City Tech’s Department of HospitalityManagement will host a spectacularculinary event on Tuesday, October 4,2011, from 6:00-8:30pm, in the JanetLefler Dining Room, 300 Jay Street (atTillary), 2nd floor, Downtown Brooklyn.The evening, coordinated by celebrity chefand City Tech graduate MichaelLomonaco, managing partner of PorterHouse New York at Time Warner Center,will mark the grand opening of City Tech’snew state-of-the-art main teaching facilityand feature a round of tastings of thesignature dishes and desserts of a dozenof America’s most talented chefs. Ticketsare $100/$50 for students, with proceedsto benefit the department’s scholarshipfund and other activities. For tickets andsponsorship information, call718.260.5025.

CHEFS TO CELEBRATE CITY TECHON OCTOBER 4

VisitHauntedHotel,October20, 21,22, 27,28, 30and 31

Prepare to be scared if you dare toventure inside “Gravesend Inn: AHaunted Hotel” in October at VoorheesTheatre, 186 Jay Street (north of Tillary),Downtown Brooklyn. A whole new roomawaits your arrival, plus a newly marriedghost, Tina Terminal, who is foreversearching for her groom. New York CityCollege of Technology’s high-techhaunted hotel is a theme-park-qualityHalloween attraction that has beenthrilling children and adults alike since2000. General admission is $5 perperson, $4 per person for group sales.Not advisable for pre-school age children.Open to the college community andgeneral public. For more information,call 718.260.5588 during regularbusiness hours. For recorded information,call 718.260.5592 or visitwww.theatreworkscitytech.org.

SCHEDULEThurs, Oct 20 ............1:00-5:00pm

Fri, Oct 21 ................1:00-5:00pm Fri, Oct 21 ................6:00-9:00pm

Sat, October 22 ........1:00-5:00pm Sat, October 22 ........6:00-9:00pm

Thurs, October 27......1:00-5:00pm

Fri, October 28 ..........1:00-5:00pm Fri, October 28 ..........6:00- 9:00pm

Sat, October 30 ........1:00-5:00pm Sat, October 30 ........6:00-9:00pm

Mon, October 31 ......1:00-5:00pm


ACCESS Hosts International Delegation of Women

A delegation of women from around theworld gathered at City Tech in June 2011as part of a weeklong professional studytour designed to stimulate ideas on how toincrease the number of women in theircountries pursuing careers in science andtechnology. The tour was coordinated bythe U.S. Department of State’s InternationalVisitor Leadership program.

The women heard a presentation byNona Smith, director of the City TechDivision of Continuing Education’s ACCESSfor Women (AFW) program, supplementedby input from faculty, staff and studentsinvolved with the College’s STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)

initiative. AFW is designed to increase therepresentation of women of all ages intechnological education and careers –especially in the engineering technologiesand related fields.

The City Tech program was selected aspart of the delegation’s itinerary to addressone area of the group’s interest – the bestpractices, funding sources, success storiesand current work of programs like AFW.

Among the participants were Dr. JudithS. Satoguina (Benin), lecturer onimmunology, Department of Biochemistry,University of Abomey-Calavi Cotonou; Dr.Hassanata Millogo-Kone (Burkina Faso),general secretary, Ministry of Scientific

Research and Innovation (MSRI); Ms. FatouE. Bah-Baldeh (The Gambia), principallaboratory technician, Medical ResearchCouncil (MRC); Ms. Sherine Butros NabihRahil (Jordan) orthodontic consultant, self-employed; Dr. Baatar Munkhtsengel(Mongolia), associate professor, MongolianUniversity of Science and Technology; Dr.Ansam F. D. Sawalha (PalestinianTerritories), dean, faculty of pharmacy, An-Najah National University; and Departmentof State employees Tatiana Rodzianko(program officer) and Diane Fisch (Englishlanguage officer).

WHAT’S NEW INCONTINUING EDUCATION?

“Hitching a ride on an asteroid may be thesafest way for humans to travel to Mars,”according to former City Tech studentMonika Wilga and Adjunct AssociateProfessor of Physics and NASA consultantGregory L. Matloff in a paper published ina special March-April 2011 issue of ActaAstronautics. The two call this means ofinterplanetary travel “NEO-hitchhiking.”

Two dangers, in particular, confrontastronauts on what could be a three-yearround-trip voyage to the Red Planet byconventional, rocket-propelled means. Sucha trip would take nine months or so eachway, and the ship’s crew would have toremain on Mars for well over an Earth yearuntil the two planets were again in theproper relationship for the return journeyto their home world to commence.

The dangers to life and limb stem fromtwo significant barriers to long-durationtravel far from Earth. The least significantof these – although the one that hasreceived the most publicity – is bonedegradation stemming from prolongedweightlessness. Solving this probleminvolves spacecraft design, wherebyspinning an interplanetary craft to provideat least partial artificial gravity wouldalmost certainly lessen these damaginghealth effects.

A more significant impediment to rocket-propelled interplanetary travel wasexperienced by Project Apollo astronautsbetween 1968 and 1972. The first and onlyhumans to travel beyond the influence ofEarth’s magnetic field, to date, theyreported visible flashes when their eyeswere closed in a darkened spacecraft. Theseflashes were produced by the impact on theship of high-energy high-Z cosmic rays.

“At the present time,” say Wilga andMatloff, “little is known about the long-term health effects of exposure to these

particles. On a trip to Mars requiring ninemonths or more, it’s possible that galacticradiation might impair mental acuity orresult in life-threatening cancers.

“Two methods have been suggested toshield interplanetary voyagers or space-habitat dwellers from cosmic radiation,”they add. “The most technicallysophisticated utilizes magnetic fields onthe ship to simulate the shielding effects ofEarth’s magnetic field, but this ‘active’approach is not yet in an advanced stageof development.”

A second and far simpler “passive”approach is mass shielding. “Here,” say theauthors, “astronauts would be protected bylayers of water, sand, aluminum or othermaterial thick enough to sufficientlyattenuate the high-Z galactic cosmic-rayflux. But a lot of mass would be required.”According to one NASA study the papercites, about 5,500 kg/m2 of shieldingwould be needed to simulate Earth-surfaceradiation levels

According to the authors, the area ofassembly of a craft consisting of twojoined cylindrical modules with a diameterof 4 m and a length of 16 m (not countingthe end caps) is about 200 m2. The shieldmass would have to be a whopping onemillion kilograms!

“The projected costs of Mars expeditionswith ‘dry’ (unfueled) masses of 100,000 kg,give or take,” the authors note, “isapproximately $100 billion. So if we are tolaunch our Mars-bound astronauts withpassive cosmic ray shielding, trillion-dollarcosts per mission might be more realistic.”

Wilga and Matloff suggest that beforesticker shock sets in, “we might consider analternative to launching a fully shieldedinterplanetary mission. This approach makesuse of space resources located not too farfrom the Earth – those small celestialbodies dubbed NEOs or near-Earth objects.

“Most of those celestial icebergs we callcomets,” they say, “reside in two locationsvery distant from the sun in the Kuiper Belt

FORMER STUDENT CO-AUTHORS PAPER WITH PHYSICS PROFESSOR ON ‘NEO-HITCHHIKING’ TO MARS

MAKING THEIR MARK ON AND OFF CAMPUS STUDENT ACHIEVERS



and the Oort Cloud. Most of the rocky andstony minor planets or asteroids residebetween the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Inrecent decades, however, increasingnumbers of extinct comet and asteroid-likeobjects have been observed in orbits thatbring them close to the Earth.”

For use as stepping stones to Mars, Wilgaand Matloff add, it is necessary to locateNEOs near the ecliptic since Mars’ inclinationis about 2°. The perihelion of a candidateNEO should be about 1 AU, or the meandistance of Earth from the sun; its aphelionshould be about 1.5 AU, or Mars’ meandistance from the sun. A survey of NEOsknown prior to 1994 indicates that a numberof Apollo-class NEOs (those with orbits thatcross Earth’s orbit) satisfy this requirement.

The authors then suggest that the sizablenumber of NEOs that fit this requirementraises the possibility of a mode of travel toMars that would substantially reduce a crew’sexposure to galactic cosmic radiation. In thisapproach, a NEO is located that orbits closeto the ecliptic plane with a perihelion nearEarth and an aphelion near Mars.

After Earth escape, a velocity increment isapplied to the spacecraft which allows it torendezvous with the NEO within two tothree months. During the balance of theinterplanetary flight and after imbeddingitself within the NEO, the object’s material isused as a cosmic-ray shield. ApproachingMars, the spacecraft would emerge from theprotective cover of the NEO, alter course forthe Red Planet and decelerate upon arrivalby aerocapture, a process that would use thedrag created by the atmosphere of theplanet to slow the approaching object.During the ship’s return to Earth, a similarstrategy is followed.

In August 2008, there were approximately5,500 NEOs in the data base. Since this is

thought to represent only a smallpercentage of NEOs large enough to shieldan interplanetary spacecraft from galacticcosmic rays, many more candidate NEOs arelikely to be located as detection sensitivityincreases.

“There are many issues and opportunitiesto be considered regarding this approach tointerplanetary travel,” according to Wilgaand Matloff. ”First, is the obvious trade ofcosmic-ray shielding for flight time.Interplanetary trips using NEO-hitchhikingwill be longer in duration and considerablylonger in distance. For the approachconsidered here to be applied, the spacecraftwould have to be buried under 2∏ of NEOmaterial to provide adequate shielding.Unless massive mining equipment wascarried aboard the spacecraft, asteroidequivalents to iron meteorites wouldprobably be inappropriate for thisapplication. A volatile-rich NEO or one with athick regolith layer would probably servebetter. Moreover, in such a long-durationflight, microgravity will almost certainly bean issue. It might be necessary to place thespacecraft in a small crater near the pole of aslowly rotating NEO and spin [the craft]slowly to create partial gravity after coveringit with regolith, rubble or ice.”

Many asteroids are suspected to bevolatile-rich, according to the authors, orcomposed, that is, of chemical elements withlow boiling points. If water-ice-rich NEOswere used in the application described here,they conclude, water could be gathered bythe crew and stored aboard the spacecraft.Using solar-electrolysis equipment, hydrogenand oxygen could be separated for use asrocket fuel. This material could be appliedduring Mars approach after separation fromthe NEO or perhaps used during the returnvoyage to Earth.

MORE STUDENT ACHIEVERS

CITY TECHSTUDENT SIMEON COKER IS ONE CLUBCREATIVE BOOT CAMP MERIT AWARDWINNERThe One Club Creative Boot Camp is adiversity initiative with the goal ofrecruiting creative students frommulticultural backgrounds who were notaware of advertising and design as aviable career option. The purpose is tointroduce these students to the art ofconceptualizing and building a campaignfor a real client from the ground up.

The Boot Camp is a program that hasbeen created for future advertising anddesign “creatives” and is run by“creatives” currently working in theindustry. The 2010/2011 academic yearsaw nearly 80 CUNY students take partin an intense four-day simulation activityheld at the Macaulay Honors College,where they engaged in the actual workof producing and presenting advertising.Ad agencies provided actual productprofiles and support, and the students,divided into teams, created realcampaigns for presentation to agencyexecutives. City Tech student SimeonCoker entered the One Club Educationcompetition and was one of two CUNYmerit award winners.


MORE STUDENT ACHIEVERSSTUDENT’S RESEARCH CONCLUDES THAT MOST YOUNG PEOPLEAREN’T USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO IMPROVE THEMSELVES OR SOCIETY

CITY TECH STUDENTS DESIGN WEBSITE FOR UNITED NATIONS AGENCY

A survey of 2,000 young people, ages 15 to24, from countries around the world by CityTech student Nurudeen Busari supports theidea that few are using social media toenrich their own lives or the larger society.

Busari, a computer information systemsmajor born in Nigeria and now residing inCrown Heights, Brooklyn, represented CityTech and the Louis Stokes Alliance forMinority Participation (LSAMP) program atthe 2011 Emerging Researchers NationalConference in Science, Technology,Engineering and Math (STEM) held inFebruary 2011 in Washington, DC. At theconference, Busari presented the results ofhis study to student researchers andrepresentatives of the American Associationfor the Advancement of Science, Educationand Human Resources Programs, and theNational Science Foundation’s Division ofHuman Resource Development, Directoratefor Education and Human Resources.

Planning to becomea career networkadministrator, Busari,was not particularlysurprised by the resultsof his researchconducted under theguidance of City TechComputer SystemsTechnology ProfessorMarcos Pinto. “Youngpeople, 15 to 24, areat the age when mostare only just beginningto think about their

future and what they want to accomplish inlife. Social networks can be a tremendoustool in helping them make such criticaldecisions, but need to employ every meanspossible to put the idea in young people’sminds of using these tools for moreproductive purposes than they are currently

using them – purposes that serve to enrichtheir experience and promote their growththrough proper applications.”

Busari also believes that parents andteachers need to provide young people withbetter guidance in terms of their use ofsocial networks, and suggests that onlineadvertisers, as well, have a role to play inencouraging the young to put socialnetworks and all facets of the Internet tobetter use for learning and other beneficialpurposes.

“I’m not against social networks,”Bursari adds. “But I am for a more effectiveuse of them. They were created to enablepeople to rapidly interact, to share andgrow from one another’s experiences. Likeany tool, they can be used for positive andnegative purposes. Both my research andpersonal experience suggest that today’syouth are not putting this powerful tool tothe best possible use.”

Five City Tech students – Matthias Blonski,Nadia Saleh, Andre Burrell, Jenny Huangand Kathlyn Lam – recently took theirtalents onto the global stage byredesigning the United Nations Alliance ofCivilizations (UNAOC) website. The site islocated at http://www.unaoc.org/.The five students involved in this projectwere members of the Design Team courseoffered by the College’s Department ofAdvertising Design and Graphic Arts.

“UNAOC’s site needed to maximize easeof use and to simplify the contentdisplayed,” said their professor, DouglasDavis. “The students had to keep in mindthat the site had a truly global audience.The final design was a result of manyexplorations and revisions, sometimes inclass and sometimes directly with ourcontact at the UNAOC, Aaron Fineman,web and multimedia manager.”

Rearranging the order of the contentwas a key to the City Tech revitalization ofthe UNAOC site. “The students werechallenged to organize and simplifyplacement of essential items in such areasas the header and footer. Challenges likeintegrating social media and automatingregular updates were also solved,”Professor Douglas explained.

The team also created amodular main display space usedas a way to draw the viewer’seye to what is most important onthe page. A scrolling image waschosen to keep things simple, yetinteresting. The rest of the sitewas organized in a logicalmanner to stay consistent andeasy to understand. UNAOC wasgiven templates and style sheetsfor proceeding with future

updates and alterations.“Every student played a crucial role in

developing the UNAOC website, and it wasgreat to have one of the team membersintern at the organization to see itthrough,” Professor Davis said. KathlynLam was chosen to intern with the UNAOCto help finalize the redesign and launch ofthe site following graduation.

Nurudeen Busari



Pictured here are most of the 23 City Techstudents from five academic programs(mechanical engineering technology,electromechanical engineering technology,industrial design technology, computerengineering technology, and arts andsciences) who participated in the 1st AnnualMetropolitan Intercollegiate ASME(American Society of Mechanical Engineers)Design Competition held at Cooper Union inManhattan in April 2011. Other participantsincluded students from Cooper Union,Manhattan College and ColumbiaUniversity.

In the competition, a total of 14 teamssigned up to compete in separate events inthe Most Creativity and the Overall BestDesign Award categories. The competitionprovided a great opportunity for City Techstudents to meet and network with studentsfrom the other New York City engineeringschools participating.

In the first event, the goal was to build abridge that spanned a gap between twodesks and included a platform that couldwithstand weights without breaking. Thesecond event involved designing a catapultwith the ability to fire a ping pong ball,

without any assistance after it had beenprepped for launch. In the final event, theobjective was to construct a balloon car,with the balloon as the driving force.Therefore, the car could not float or bepushed, nor in any other way propelledafter the initial start.

City Tech was the only public collegeparticipating in the competition and two ofits six teams won three of six top prizes.Although, the competition was fierce, Team4 from City Tech demonstrated a high levelof ingenuity and won a Most CreativityAward for its balloon car. Team 4 also tookSecond Place in the Overall Best DesignAward, while Team 3 took Third Place.

Professor Andy Zhang, mechanicalengineering and industrial designtechnology, and Professor Iem Heng,computer engineering technology, served asadvisors for the six City Tech teams. AnnetteCarrington, computer engineeringtechnology CLT, and Gordon Chen, the CityTech Mechatronics Technology Center Club’sstudent reporter, served as photographersfor this event. Professors Zhang and Hengsalute all who participated in thiscompetition.

ASME Competition Group

TWO CITY TECH TEAMS TAKE THREE AWARDS ININTERCOLLEGIATE ASME DESIGN COMPETITION

DENTAL HYGIENESTUDENT TAKESTHIRD PLACE INADHA SESSIONTABLE CLINICPRESENTATIONS

City Tech dental hygiene student Toni-Ann Restivo won third place among 50participants in the student table clinicpresentations at the American DentalHygienists’ Association 88th AnnualSession held in Nashville, Tennessee, inJune 2011. She received a cash awardand the College received a matchinggrant.

Ms. Restivo made a science-basedposter presentation titled “AlternativeSmoking Using a Hookah or BidiCigarette: Implications on Oral Health.”Her presentation was based on aresearch paper she wrote thatinvestigated the historical usage of bothhookah and bidi, and misconceptionsand concerns related to health, oralhealth in particular. She was mentoredby City Tech Dental Hygiene ProfessorSusan Davide.

Toni-Ann Restivo

City Tech Provost Bonne August sang thepraises of 41 newly published student authorsat a reception in May 2011 hosted byPresident Russell K. Hotzler. The event markedthe publication of the sixth edition of CityTech Writer. In her remarks, Dr. August toldthe students that writing is both a greatchallenge and satisfaction, and reminded themto put this impressive credit on their résumés.

During the reception, President Hotzlercongratulated faculty members who hadassigned and inspired the writing selected for

this year’s edition of the annual publication, aforum for the best student writing produced incourses across the curriculum. The presidentcongratulated the writers, who this yearrepresented 12 different disciplines, andSvetlana Akhmadieva, the student whosedesign was chosen for the journal cover.

City Tech Writer is under the direction ofEnglish Professor Jane Mushabac, whocommended the exuberant crowd for the boldand memorable writing in the issue. She notedthat getting accepted for publication in thejournal is highly competitive with only 20percent of the professor-nominatedsubmissions winning acceptance. ProfessorMushabac invited the student authors to readaloud short excerpts from their works, and adramatic ‘sprint’ through the issue followedwith lively one-minute readings from eachwork.

Faculty, staff and others acknowledged fortheir assistance in the production of thepublication included Special Assistant to thePresident for Institutional AdvancementStephen M. Soiffer, Executive Assistant to the President Marilyn Morrison, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences PamelaBrown, Department of Advertising Designand Graphic Arts (ADGA) Professor LloydCarr, who is the journal’s art director, EnglishDepartment Chair Nina Bannett and ADGAChair Mary Ann Biehl.

READ THE ISSUE

SIXTH EDITION OF ‘CITY TECH WRITER’CELEBRATED AT PRESIDENT’S RECEPTION NEW

STUDENTPUBLICATION

9TH ANNUAL GIVE KIDS A SMILE DAYA group of Brooklyn youngsters visited City Tech’s Dental Hygiene Clinic inFebruary 2011 for an annual national event co-sponsored by the AmericanDental Association. Under the supervision of faculty, volunteer dentistsfrom the Second District Dental Society and senior dental hygienestudents provided dental screenings, prophylaxis, fluoride treatments andreferrals to participating kindergarteners, first and second graders. Thechildren also took part in a dental health education workshop whichincluded nutrition counseling, animation and hands-on homecareinstructions. Both alum and dental hygiene freshmen joined in making theoccasion a fun-filled learning event with all participating teachers andchildren. This annual activity is coordinated by Professor Anty Lam.

A new magazine, SMH, created byCity Tech Department of AdvertisingDesign and Graphic Arts Design Clubstudents inaugurated a new Societyof Publication Designers (SPD)website series earlier this year athttp://www.spd.org/student-outreach/2011/02/meet-smh-magazine.php. SMH is home to news,opinions and reactions to New Yorkstudent life and how it relates to theworld of design. The new SPD seriesfeatures some of the best magazine,yearbook, newspaper, literary journaland newsletter designs generated bycollege students.



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FACULTY & STAFF

PROFESSOR MARK NOONAN’SNEW BOOK EXPLORESMAGAZINE’S ROLE IN19TH CENTURY AMERICA

These days, it’shard toimagine apopularmagazinedevoid ofcelebritystories, fitnessadvice, recipesor sports, and,

instead, full of thought-provokingarticles on timely topics by majornames in American literature,sociology and politics, between

covers designed by well-knownartists.

In his new book, Reading theCentury Illustrated MonthlyMagazine: American Literature andCulture, 1870–1893 (Kent StateUniversity Press), City TechAssociate Professor of English MarkJ. Noonan explores just such apublication. Professor Noonan takesreaders on an adventure inAmerican history, from the post-Civil War era to nearly the turn ofthat century, through the pages ofAmerica’s leading cultural arbiter ofthe day.

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PROFESSOR MARTINGARFINKLE’S NEW BOOK LOOKSTO GREAT LEADERS TO MODELSUCCESS FOR CHILDREN ATRISK FOR DEPRESSION

Great leadersexhibitcourage, visionand charismathat make themrole models.City TechProfessorMartinGarfinkle is

more interested in a lesser-knowntrait common to several – clinicaldepression – to show how their

personal struggles could be used tohelp children at risk for thiscondition. That’s the focus of hisnew self-help book, The Lion’sRoar: Dealing with Life’s Ups andDowns Using the Wisdom ofWinston Churchill and Other GreatLeaders Week by Week (Park EastPress), which delineates howdespite early traumas, seriousillnesses, speech defects, lack ofconfidence, personal and politicalsetbacks, Churchill became one ofthe world’s most revered statesmenand orators.

Garfinkle believes that childrenat risk for affective disorders should

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DEAN PAMELA BROWN ACCEPTS ONE-YEARAPPOINTMENT WITH NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATIONPamela Brown, who has served as Dean of theSchool of Arts and Sciences at New York CityCollege of Technology since 2005, has acceptedan invitation to serve a one-year appointmentas a program director in the AdvancedTechnological Education (ATE) program for theNational Science Foundation (NSF). At NSF, shewill help to oversee the peer review process toassure that the most deserving initiativesreceive funding, as well as contribute todefining national science policy in the future.

“I see this as an opportunity to increasemy knowledge of U.S. and internationalscience, engineering and education,” saysDean Brown. “I will return to City Tech withnew contacts and insights that will be ofvalue for future grant opportunities anddevelopment of new initiatives.”

At City Tech, Dean Brown providesleadership for eight academic departmentemploying approximately 150 full-time and250 part-time instructors, plus support staff.Her responsibilities include support forcurricular development, coordination of

course offeringswith EnrollmentManagement,oversight ofdepartmentalbudgets, assistancewith accreditation,assessment andprogram review,support ofprofessionaldevelopment forfaculty, andoutreach to business and governmentagencies. Dean Brown has worked to promotestudent success through initiatives to increaseopportunities for undergraduate research,curricular innovations, civic engagement andpeer mentoring. She has served as theprincipal or co-principal investigator on morethan $3 million in National ScienceFoundation grants in her tenure as dean.

A chemical engineer by training, DeanBrown earned a PhD from Polytechnic

University, an SM from the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology and a BS inchemistry, summa cum laude, from SUNYAlbany. She began teaching at New York CityCollege of Technology in 1998. As a facultymember, her research interests includedmicrowave induced chemical reactions,crystallization, as well as development ofengaging curriculum.

Dean Brown has published in AmericanInstitute of Chemical Engineering Journal,Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research,American Laboratory, Chemical EngineeringEducation, Journal of Chemical Education,and Woman Engineer. She recently learnedthat an article she wrote with her daughterHeather, a Research Fellow in HealthEconomics at the University of Aberdeen,Scotland, titled “Lessons from the Past –Economic and Technological Impacts of USEnergy Policy” was accepted for publicationin the summer 2011 issue of ScienceEducation and Civic Engagement: AnInternational Journal.

Pamela Brown

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PROFESSOR JANE MUSHABAC NAMED 2011 SCHOLAR ON CAMPUS

Writer, historian and playwright JaneMushabac performed and discussed herSephardic short story, “Pasha: Ruminationsof David Aroughetti,” in her Scholar onCampus Lecture in April 2011.

Dr. Mushabac, associate professor ofEnglish at City Tech, specializes in Americanliterature, New York City history and Judeo-Spanish Ottoman-American culture. She wrote“Pasha” under the pen name Shalach Manot(which refers to the gifts of food given on theholiday of Purim to friends and family). It’sabout a Turkish Jew in the deterioratingOttoman Empire in the early 1900s who talkstough like a pasha, but it’s ironic because hehas neither status nor money.

Dr. Mushabac wrote the story in Judeo-Spanish – Ladino – and translated it intoEnglish for publication in the Jewish journalMidstream. Ladino is the language spokenby Spanish Jews for well over 500 years,since their 1492 expulsion from Spain andmigration to the Ottoman Empire. “Thelanguage includes many Turkish and Hebrewwords,” she explains. This July, SephardicHorizons, founded last year, published theoriginal Ladino version of “Pasha.”

“Pasha,” she says, “is a Turkish wordwhich means a high-ranking official andrepresents a kind of machismo. My fiction,based in this culture in Turkey and the U.S.,provides a way of exploring gender, identityand survival. ‘Pasha’ is a Spanish story, alsoa Turkish story, a Jewish story, an immigrantstory and an American story – but mostly itis a story about manhood.”

After a brief introduction to place thestory in the context of Turkish-Jewish culture,Dr. Mushabac, who teaches literature andwriting at City Tech, performed it rather thansimply reading it. “Just as I encourage mycreative writing students to get into theroles they read, I wanted to experience thefun of performance art,” she says.

This unusual work exemplifies Dr.Mushabac’s multidisciplinary approach. Shewas inspired to delve into her Sephardicculture, she says, because, “It was my life.From the songs my father taught me, fromstudying Spanish in high school, from mymother saying, ‘Let’s do a Sephardiccookbook,’ I was in the culture. I wanted tocommunicate what was distinctive.”

Dr. Mushabac’s works in print include thecritically acclaimed Melville’s Humor: ACritical Study(Archon) and(with AngelaWigan) A Shortand RemarkableHistory of NewYork City(FordhamUniversityPress), selectedas one of the “Best of the Best” universitypress books in 2000 by the AmericanAssociation of University Presses.

She also has published essays inperiodicals and scholarly journals, including“Notes on Teaching Moby-Dick,” in theModern Language Association’s Approachesto Teaching Melville’s Moby-Dick (1985). Herwriting has been translated into German,Russian and Bulgarian. “Pasha” and “New

Jersey” (a story that was published inChautauqua in May 2010) will soon beavailable in French.

As a historian, Dr. Mushabac appeared inthe television documentary, “Diamond at theRock: 75 Years of Radio City Music Hall,”which premiered on NBC-TV, and alsocreated a National Endowment for theHumanities (NEH)-funded podcast audiotour, “Civil War Stories,” on Walt Whitmanand the Civil War. As an NEH Faculty Fellowat City Tech, she participated in the facultydevelopment initiative “Retentions andTransfigurations: The Evolution and SocialHistories of Five New York CityNeighborhoods.” In February 2011, she wasa guest presenter at an Institute for JewishIdeas and Ideals-sponsored program on“Jewish Arts & Creativity” at CongregationShearith Israel in Manhattan.

As a creative artist, Dr. Mushabac haswritten a radio play, “Mazal Bueno: A Portraitin Song of the Spanish Jews”, which wasbroadcast on NPR and is available as a CD onWestern Wind Records. Her monologue “JoyaGormezano” is performed by Tovah Feldshuhin her one-woman show “Tovah: Out of HerMind!” seen by audiences in many cities hereand abroad, including at Lincoln Center.

Dr. Mushabac was selected as a2007–2008 Andrew W. Mellon Fellow forfiction at The CUNY Graduate School’sCenter for the Humanities for work on hernovel, The Hundred Year Old Man, anepisode of which is set in Brooklyn. She alsohas been awarded fellowships from theAmerican Association of University Womenand Harvard University as well as three PSC-CUNY grants for her fiction and essays aboutJudeo-Spanish characters and culture.

FACULTY & STAFF


Jane Mushabac

JUST AS I ENCOURAGE MY CREATIVE WRITINGSTUDENTS TO GET INTO THE ROLES THEY READ,I WANTED TO EXPERIENCE THE FUN OFPERFORMANCE ART

‘


be encouraged to develop skillsthat reward tenacity andsteadfastness, to try new things,even if they fear they will not begood at them, and to developage-appropriate goals. Herecommends meditation as afocusing technique to quiet themind and decrease anxiety. Ifthese children compensate fortheir weaknesses with hard work,they will develop self-confidenceand see their own progress.

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PROFESSOR BENJAMINSHEPARD SHOWS THATACTIVISM CAN BE FUN INTWO NEW BOOKS

Changing theworld can befun, accordingto BenjaminShepard,assistantprofessor ofhumanservices atCity Tech. His

two recently published books

explore the use of play as avaluable component of socialmovements and political activism,from the local to the national level.

In Play, Creativity, and SocialMovements: If I Can’t Dance, It’sNot My Revolution (Routledge),Shepard, a longtime activist whois president of the Mid AtlanticConsortium of Human Services,reviews how humor has beenused by Dadaists, Surrealists,Yippies and ACT UP (AIDSCoalition to Unleash Power),community garden, cycling and

public space activists to callattention to pressing social andpolitical problems. In The BeachBeneath the Streets: ContestingNew York City’s Public Spaces(State University of New YorkPress), Shepard and co-authorGreg Smithsimon examine the useof public space in New York Cityand the conflict between itsprivatization and public use.

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FACULTY & STAFFFulbright Award Takes Professor Caroline Hellman to University of AntwerpA Fulbright grant recently took AssistantProfessor Caroline Hellman from the Englishdepartment at City Tech to the University ofAntwerp, Belgium, where she got as muchof an education as she gave her studentsthere.

Hellman, who holds a BA from Wellesleyand a PhD from the CUNY Graduate Center,explains that “Considering Americanliterature in a foreign setting has providedme with new perspectives, combating theisolation that can limit the field. I now have a greater understanding of Americanliterature and American education, as well as the cultures that challenge andsustain them.”

At the University of Antwerp, Hellmantaught a graduate course on geography,archive and memory in the 20th and 21stcentury ethnic American novel. Along withthe readings in contemporary ethnicAmerican literature for the course, herstudents also were responsible for makingpresentations on local ethnic enclaves inBelgium or a neighboring country,comparing and contrasting them with theAmerican counterparts in their readings.

Hellman also taught an undergraduatecourse on alternative domesticconstructions in 19th century Americanliterature, examining issues of race, classand gender. The course was entitled“Upstairs, Downstairs,” alluding to theBritish television series, and students wentfar downstairs through a class trip toAntwerp’s sewer system.

Hellman believes that teaching abroadenhanced her ability to reach themultilingual, multinational student body atCity Tech, as the experience exposed her tosome of the challenges of communicatingwith college students in a foreign country.

Caroline Hellman

Professor Gaffar Gailani’sPaper Among Best inInternational Competition

A paper, “Determination of the Permeability ofthe Lacunar Canalicular Porosity,”co-authored by Assistant Professor GaffarGailani, Mechanical Engineering and IndustrialDesign Technology, and published in theAmerican Society of Mechanical EngineeringJournal of Biomechanical Engineering in 2009,was among the top seven of 53 paperssubmitted in the 2010 Zwick Science Awardinternational competition.

For more than 150 years, the name of ZwickRoell has stood for outstanding technicalexpertise, innovation, quality and reliability inmaterials and component testing.Headquartered in Germany, the firm is theworld’s leading manufacturer of static anddynamic materials testing systems and thedevelopment and use of new materials andtechnologies have always played acommanding role in the company’s success.Much of this research is done at universitiesworldwide and the development of newmaterials and technologies inspired by paperswritten by university professors. The ZwickScience Award recognizes the most innovativeuse of a materials testing machine for ground-breaking research. The competition isinternational and open to all scientists andother professionals.

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FACULTY & STAFFNASPAAM Honors Professor Emeritus JesseMcCarroll with Lifetime Achievement AwardThe National Association forthe Study and Performance ofAfrican-American Music(NASPAAM) recently honoredDr. Jesse McCarroll with itsLifetime Achievement Award atits Eleventh National BiennialConference in Houston, TX. Dr.McCarroll, professor emeritusof music at City Tech, currentlyteaches part-time at theCollege, where he hasinstructed students since 1970.

In announcing the award,NASPAAM President Ina R. Allen said, “JesseMcCarroll has proven himself to be anoutstanding music educator, enriching the livesof thousands upon thousands of students in hislong career. Moreover, he is a dedicatedsupporter of the arts who has made significantcontributions to the field of music in general andBlack Music in particular.”

Dr. McCarroll’s commitment to musiceducation is evident from the manyorganizations he has served in various capacities.He is a board member, treasurer and membershipcoordinator of the African American Jazz Caucusof the International Association of Jazz Education(IAJE). He is on the board of advisors of theLiving Encyclopedia of Global African Music, amember of the advisory board and secretary of

the Gateway Music Festival(located at the Eastman School ofMusic) as well as treasurer andboard member of the HarlemSymphony Orchestra.

Dr. McCarroll is the nationalrepresentative of the UnitedStates to the Pan African Societyof Musical Arts Education andserves as senior advisor to thePan African Society for MusicalArts Education. In addition, hewas chair for two consecutiveterms of the Multicultural

Awareness Commission, New York State SchoolMusic Association.

He has been honored by the Black MusicCaucus of New York and by the National BlackMusic Caucus (now the National Associationfor the Study and Performance of AfricanAmerican Music) of Music Educators NationalConference (MENC), of which he is a memberof the board of directors and one of twomembers at large.

Dr. McCarroll is co-author of Elementary MusicTeacher’s Almanack: Timely Music Lessons PlansFor Every Day of the School Year. He is acontributing author of Teaching Jazz: A Courseof Study and Making Music Fun: A completecollection of games, puzzles, and activities forthe elementary classroom.

Dr. James A. Goldman(Retired) Honored atBrooklyn Borough HallJewish Heritage NightSalute to Israel

New York City Collegeof Technology’sformer Acting Dean ofContinuing EducationJames A. Goldman(retired), at right inphoto, was one offour people honoredin March 2011 at aBrooklyn BoroughHall Jewish Heritage

Night Salute to Israel hosted by Borough PresidentMarty Markowitz.

Dr. Goldman was saluted for his many contributionsto the College, the Jewish community and the worldat large. For many years he has coordinated the CityTech Jewish Faculty and Staff Association’sDistinguished Speakers Series, bringing to campussuch luminaries as acclaimed columnist Pete Hamill,Ground Zero Freedom Tower designer DanielLibeskind, New York Times senior reporter on ethnicaffairs Joseph Berger, Macaulay Honors CollegeUniversity Dean Ann Kirschner, author of Sala’s Gift:My Mother’s Holocaust Story, and interactive designpioneer Edwin Schlossberg, among many others.

He also has been active in countless endeavors onbehalf of the New York City Jewish community.Brooklyn Jewish Heritage Committee Co-chair andformer Brooklyn Bar Association President StevenCohn, Esq., awarded the committee’s specialrecognition citation to Dr. Goldman. City TechPresident Russell K. Hotzler is pictured with Goldman.

NEW BOOK EDITED BYPROFESSOR AARON BARLOWRECOUNTS EXPERIENCES OF76 PEACE CORPSVOLUNTEERS

The Peace Corps is celebrating its50th anniversary this year, andAaron Barlow, assistant professor ofEnglish at New York City College ofTechnology, is providing the perfect

gift. He hasedited OneHand DoesNot Catch aBuffalo: 50Years ofAmazingPeace CorpsStories,Volume One-

Africa (Travelers’ Tales/Solas House),a hand-picked collection of 76

essays by Peace Corps volunteersfrom 31 countries in Africa.

Although not an officialpublication of the Peace Corps, thebook is the first of its kind to providean overview of 50 years of PeaceCorps service. The book just took thesilver award for travel essays in the2011 Independent Publisher (IP)Book Awards. The “IPPY” Awards,launched in 1996, are designed tobring increased recognition to “the

deserving but often unsung titlespublished by independent authorsand publishers,” the organization’swebsite proclaims.

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Jesse McCarroll

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An exhibition of works of art,“Portraits of an Intellectual andPolitical Landscape,” byProfessor Bernard Aptekar,Advertising Design and GraphicArts, opened at Galicia JewishMuseum, Krakow, Poland, onApril 19 and will run throughOctober 30, 2011. Fifty works byProfessor Aptekar’s werepreviously part of Poland’sobservance of the 70thanniversary of the outbreak ofWorld War II and the 20thanniversary of regaining itsindependence.

Assistant Professor HollyCarley, Mathematics, publishedan article, “A Note on FractionReductions through ContinuedFractions,” in the January 1,2011, edition of Mathematicsand Computer Education.

A personal essay by MicheleForsten, Communications,“Improv at the Altar,” waspublished in A Cup of Comfortfor Couples: Stories ThatCelebrate What It Means to Bein Love in February 2011. It wasthe only piece about a GLBTcouple out of 48 love storiesincluded in the book.

Adjunct Associate Professor andNASA consultant Gregory L.Matloff, Physics, gave aSaturday Science Lecture in May2011 on “Biosphere Extension”at the New Jersey StateMuseum in Trenton. The talkwas part of the museum’s “I Amthe Cosmos” exhibition, whichincluded works by artist andMatloff collaborator C Bangs,whose holographic images havebeen sent into space and somedonated to the College. Earlier,Matloff presented similar work

to amateur astronomers at theAmerican Museum of NaturalHistory in April 2011. Then, inJune 2011, Matloff and Bangs,who collaborated together withNASA administrator Les Johnsonon Paradise Regained: TheRegreening of Earth in 2010,presented a talk following aperformance of Galileo theMusical at the 3rd AnnualPlanet Connections TheatreFestivity in Manhattan, withpart of the proceeds benefittingthe East Coast Maine CoonRescue, an organizationdedicated to rescuing cats andplacing them in homes. Finally,Matloff presented on his latestwork involving the diversion ofnear-Earth objects at anInternational Academy ofAstronautics symposium in Italyin July 2011.

Assistant Professor RobinMichals, Advertising Designand Graphic Arts, was one of 11artists to participate in anexhibition, “AugmentedRealities for the Smartphone,”held April 16 through May 8,2011, at Ventana244 Art Spacein Brooklyn. Visitors to the showstarted at the Ventana244 ArtSpace, where they vieweddocumentation of the works inthe show and receive a mapand instructions fordownloading Junaio® andLayar® smartphone apps. Oncethese apps were downloaded,visitors used their smartphone’scamera to access the artworksthat were located within a 10-minute walk in the surroundingneighborhood. Also, a newphotoblog by Michals athttp://www.e-arcades.com/resources/images/photos/castles/

index.html documents New YorkCity’s waterfront beforeinevitable rising tides and stormsurges come to wipe it away.

Recent monotypes by AdjunctAssistant Professor LindaPlotkin, Advertising Design andGraphic Arts, whose works arein the collections of theMetropolitan Museum of Art,the Museum of Modern Art, TheLibrary of Congress, andnumerous other public andprivate collections, wereexhibited at the Walter WickiserGallery in Manhattan fromFebruary to April 2011. Inspiredby Renaissance choral music,the works express therelationship between harmonyin music and harmony in colorthrough a process of layeringonly the three primary colors tocreate the other hues of thespectrum.

Assistant Professor JennaSpevack, EntertainmentTechnology, gave apresentation, “Domestic Detox:Pollution is Personal,” at TheCommons Brooklyn in February2011. The talk was designed toraise awareness about thethousands of untested andunregulated synthetic chemicalsfound in everyday householdproducts. Spevack offeredpractical solutions to helpfamilies create a healthy toxin-free home.

Lecturer Claire Stewart,Hospitality Management, wasinterviewed for an article thatappeared in the May 1, 2011,issue of Women’s Worldmagazine, a warmheartedweekly national publication forbusy women. Stewart discussed

the best types of honey used incooking.

Assistant Professor ViviannaVladutescu, Electrical andTelecommunicationsEngineering Technology, andtwo of her students, AntonioAguirre and Agossa Segla,spent summer 2011 atBrookhaven National Laboratoryin an Observational FieldCampaign for the measurementof physical, chemical and opticalproperties of aerosols.

Former Student GovernmentAssociation President and Lawand Paralegal Studies studentTerrel Watson was one of 12student attorneys to receive anOutstanding Attorney Award inthe American Mock TrialAssociation RegionalTournament held at DrexelUniversity in Philadelphia, PA, inFebruary 2011. Watson was amember of the City Tech MockTrial Team, one of 28 teamsfrom schools in the NortheastRegion participating in thetournament.

Who’s News?

InMemoriam Joseph D. TarantinoAssociate Professor (retired)Department of HospitalityManagement

Rudolf BauerAdjunct Professor (retired)Career and TechnologyTeacher Education


On May 16, 2011, New York City College ofTechnology and the City Tech Foundationhonored Alan Aviles, president and CEO,New York City Health and HospitalsCorporation, Salvatore Cassano, a 1970 CityTech graduate and New York City FireDepartment Commissioner, and 1982 CityTech graduate Julia Jordan, acting directorof the College’s Faculty Commons, aprofessor of hospitality management, andfounder and president of Spoons AcrossAmerica. 1974 City Tech graduate JulianNiccolini, co-owner of The Four SeasonsRestaurant, served as Honorary Dinner Chairand celebrity chef Michael Lomonaco, a1984 graduate of the College and managingpartner of Porter House New York at TimeWarner Center, again served as Dinner Chairand Master of Ceremonies.

As president and CEO of NYC Health andHospitals Corporation, Alan Aviles leadsthe largest municipal healthcare system inthe nation. Before assuming his presentrole, he served in a series of increasingresponsible positions within HHC, includingas a regional network senior vice presidentand general counsel. Under Mr. Aviles’sleadership the city’s public healthcarefacilities not only rank among the best inthe city, but also are securing a nationalreputation for high quality medical care

and leadership in innovative patient-centered initiatives.

Salvatore Cassano, a graduate of CityTech’s associate degree program in FireProtection, was appointment the 32ndCommissioner of the New York City FireDepartment on December 21, 2009. Inmaking the appointment, New York CityMayor Michael R. Bloomberg praisedCassano as bringing “a lifetime ofunmatched experience to the task ofmanaging the world’s greatest firedepartment. We are choosing Sal not just onthe basis of that very impressive record, buteven more important, because of Sal’svision for the future of the FDNY.”

Professor Julia Jordan, recipient of the2011 Distinguished Alum Award is also agraduate of the College and currentlyserves as acting director of the FacultyCommons established in 2009 to provideprograms and other opportunitiesdesigned to enhance faculty developmentand support faculty research and otherefforts. In addition to her administrativeand teaching responsibilities on campus,Jordan is founder and president of SpoonsAcross America, a not-for-profitorganization dedicated to educatingchildren, teachers and families about thebenefits of healthy eating.

Bringing theCollege’s annualscholarshipfundraising dinnerto a close instirring remarks,City Tech StudentGovernmentAssociationPresident TerelWatson challenged

the audience “to join City Tech AlumniAssociation President Yvonne Riley-Tepie ofTD Bank as a provider of internships, to joinPorter House New York managing partnerMichael Lomonaco as a mentor, to join ConEdison’s Antonia Yuille in providing muchneeded grants for the environmentalprograms in which so many City Techstudents are involved, to join Pfizer’sCaroline Forte in providing corporatesupport for scholarships, and to join AndrewNamm, Martin Jaffe, Lorraine Beitler, GareyEllis and their families in providing suchgenerous support for the programs thatbenefit so many students in so many ways.City Tech students represent what this greatcountry is all about – family, hard work,dedication, commitment, service and all elsethat makes possible a better life for all ofus,” Watson concluded.

‘HERE’S TO YOUR HEALTH!’ WAS THEME OF 2011 BEST OF NEW YORK AWARD DINNER

FOUNDATION CORNER

Terel Watson

Alan Aviles Julia Jordan Salvatore Cassano


To ensure that the City Tech Foundation’svolunteer leadership capacity is replenishedas experienced board members and officersleave or retire, systematic planning isrequired for identifying and trainingqualified potential new members to succeedthose that are departing and to preparesitting members for leadership positions onthe board.

New York City College of Technologywill host a day-long workshop forInstitutional Advancement staff and

related professionals within The CityUniversity of New York. The workshop will be led by specialists in the field, andwill include representatives of all CUNYInstitutional Advancement, Development,Foundation and Alumni offices.

The workshop will include evaluation ofneed, analysis of sitting board members,preparing current members for leadershiproles, board recruitment, providing othervolunteer opportunities and an outline for afive- and 10-year succession plan.

CTF TO HOST BOARDDEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS FORCUNY COLLEGE FOUNDATIONS

FOUNDATION CORNER

2010-2011 CUNYCAMPAIGN

Twenty-eight years ago the CityUniversity of New York established asingle vehicle for CUNY employeesto direct their charitablecontributions through TheUniversity. Many employees weretired of repeatedly being asked tocontribute to individual charities atdifferent times of the year andencouraged The University to createa single charity drive. The CUNYCampaign for Voluntary CharitableGiving (CUNY Campaign) wasdesigned to provide the CUNYcommunity the opportunity todonate to various charities of choicethrough one vehicle.

All of the funds raised through TheCUNY Campaign come fromindividual employees, who contributethrough voluntary payroll deductionsor check donations at the workplace.The funds raised help support animmense array of services offered bycampaign-related agencies, includingindividual CUNY college foundations.

City Tech is proud to announcethat more than $22,000 of the$36,000 raised during the2010/2011 Campaign wasearmarked for the City TechFoundation and will assist it inproviding additional studentfinancial, research and internshipopportunities as well as emergencyloans for student awaiting financialaid approval.

The City Tech Foundation has received asubstantial grant to support students inhealthcare programs. The grant is from theJewish Foundation for the Education ofWomen (JFEW). In selecting JFEW Scholars,preference will be given to women, butreligion is absolutely irrelevant.

Through the JFEW Scholars Program,recipients will receive a grant of up to$2,500 per year, dependent upon financialneed, for their two years of participation.They will be expected to graduate withintwo years and to complete a paid summerinternship (up to $3,500) in the summerbetween their first and second years. Theprogram will include on-going facultymentoring and special assistance inpreparing for employment. All qualifiedradiological technology and medicalimaging, nursing and dental hygienestudents attended a special seminar todiscuss the particulars of the program andthe scholarship application process.

JFEW is a private, nonsectarianorganization that provides scholarships towomen with financial need who live in theNew York City area. It has been supportingwomen in attaining their educational goalsand becoming economically independent formore than 125 years.

NEW JFEWSCHOLARSHIPANNOUNCED


PHILANTHROPICSUPPORTPhilanthropic contributions through theCity Tech Foundation have totaled morethan $11,800,000 over the past 11 years,funds used to support areas that includescholarships, research internships, travel toconferences and international exchanges.Donations also have provided seed moneyfor scholarly faculty activities. Theprojected philanthropy target throughFiscal Year 2015 is $23,000,000. The CityTech Foundation is pleased to announcethat during Academic Year 2010/2011more than $135,000 was awarded to theCollege through the Foundation.

FOUNDATION CORNER

COMING SOON!Major GiftsCampaignand NamingOpportunities

Watch for details!

INVEST IN CUNYInvest in CUNY, Invest in New York, The Campaign for the Colleges is the most ambitiouscomprehensive campaign undertaken by a public urban university in the United States.The overwhelming response from alumni, businesses, foundations and friends in supportof CUNY colleges helped the campaign surpass its goal of $1.2 billion four years aheadof the 2012 target date. This unprecedented level of philanthropic investment nowexceeds $1.4 billion, including funds raised by each of The University’s 23 colleges andprofessional schools.

This investment in CUNY and the City of New York is providing:

n Student support in the form of endowments and scholarships to help attract topstudents, encourage diversity and educate the leaders of tomorrow

n Faculty support to assist in the recruitment and retention of eminent scholars, scientists, artistsand professionals as full-time faculty

n Program support to foster a research environment, promote interdisciplinary approaches,facilitate ground-breaking research, leverage connections to industry and lead the nationin creating the latest educational technologies

n Facilities and equipment to supplement implementation of the Master Facilities Plan, createan environment that supports the work of students and scholars, renovate buildings, equipnew scientific facilities and build strong and diverse communities within the commutercolleges

The success is driven by initiatives at the campuses. Colleges are strategically identifyingprogram priorities, determining their timelines and establishing targets. Invest in CUNYalso includes fund-raising to support University-wide initiatives.

The University’s leadership is embarking on a bold and ambitious second phase.Chancellor Matthew Goldstein, Chairman Benno C. Schmidt Jr., and the presidents of thecolleges have announced the launch of Invest in CUNY: Expanding the Vision, which sets anew total goal of $3 billion by 2015.

ALUMNI NEWS

City Tech hospitality managementgraduate Thalia Warner (front row right),owner of Cakes by Thalia and a formerpastry cook at the Ritz Carlton took thefirst place prize in The Cupcake Wars NYCin March 2011. Held at Katra Lounge inLower Manhattan, the competition washosted by A Young Mother’s Dream, Inc., anon-profit organization that assists youngwomen in completing their education.

This year’s Cupcake Wars NYCcompetition featured nine pastry chefs andbakers from the tri-state area. Eachpresented two flavors for the tastingjudges, in addition to tastings for theevent’s estimated 100 guests. ThaliaWarner’s winning cupcakes were DecadentChocolate Cake with Bailey’s butter creamand The Espresso Crunch and Red Velvetwith cream cheese butter cream. Both

were decorated with hand-crafted sugarpaste butterflies and flowers.

This year’s judges included City Techhospitality management graduate EbowDadzie, assistant pastry chef at theMarriott Marquis, Marco Lopez fromButter Lane Cupcakes, Jude Nwabuoku ofCake Ambiance in Brooklyn, Erick Wolitzky,pastry chef at Baked NYC and a contestanton Bravo’s “Top Chef Just Desserts.”

Alumna Thalia Warner Takes First Place in 2011 Cupcake Wars Competition


City Tech hospitalitymanagement graduateJessica Malavez ‘01has been named tohead the Office ofAlumni Relationsfollowing a six-monthnationwide search.

While a student atthe College, Ms.Malavez worked forthe City Tech Foundation and also with theAlumni Relations Office through the FederalWork Study Program. Following graduation,she worked as an event planner with Bear

Dallis Associates and as a transportationaccount manager, special events manager andfood service manager with the New York CityBoard of Education. She served for three yearsas secretary of the City Tech AlumniAssociation board of directors and helpedlaunch and later managed a mentoringprogram in collaboration with neighboringGeorge Westinghouse Information TechnologyHigh School.

“I have a true love for and commitment toCity Tech,” says Ms. Malavez. “I have a strongdesire to see the College grow and prosper atthe forefront of the nation’s colleges oftechnology.”

Alumna Jessica Malavez ’01Named to Head Office of Alumni Relations

ConstructionTechnologyGraduate andWife BuildLastingMarriageStaten Island natives Peter Angelo,a City Tech graduate who earned adegree in construction technology,and wife, Virginia, know how tobuild a lasting marriage. Theycelebrated their 50th weddinganniversary last year, capping thefestivities with a trip to Barcelonaand a Mediterranean cruise.

Over his career, Mr. Marotta, aprofessional store planner andmember of the Institute of StorePlanners, helped to design andbuild over 1,000 supermarkets inNew York, New Jersey, Pennsylvaniaand Connecticut. In 1975, hereceived an award for Barrier-FreeAccessibility from The Easter SealSociety of New Jersey and laterstarted his own company,Supermarket Technical Services, Inc.The company has been in businessfor more than 35 years.

Mrs. Marotta, the former VirginiaAnn Joy and a descendant ofMeriwether Lewis (of the Lewis andClark Expedition), studiedelementary education at WagnerCollege, while working as anassistant in the law library atMetropolitan Life InsuranceCompany in Manhattan. Afterraising a family, she briefly returnedto the work as an assistant in thestudent government office at theCollege of Staten Island. She hasbeen a member of the Staten IslandInstitute of Art and Science andserved as guild president.

ALUMNI NEWS

Photo Collection by Alumnus H. C.Solomon Captures Beauty of Caribbean


Class Act!Alumna Ijana Nathaniel ‘10Founds Dare 2 Dream Leaders, Inc.

It was about five years ago that Ijana Nathanielmade the decision to work towards starting herown nonprofit youth organization. A 2010human services graduate, it wasn’t until her finalyear of college, however, that she began to reallybelieve in her dream and herself.

Today, she runs her own nonprofit youthorganization, Dare 2 Dream Leaders, Inc., co-operated by a dynamic team of five boardmembers, including two other City Tech graduates,Oriel Best and Charise Nicole Smith. The team’smission is to empower youth to become dynamicfuture leaders. Dare 2 Dream equips young peopleages 11 to 18 years with life skills, self sufficiencyand entrepreneurial skills, and involves them incollaborative efforts aimed at community building.

“It feels great to go back to my community inEast Flatbush, Brooklyn,” says Nathaniel, “and toprovide such a needed program to our youth. Iam honored to collaborate with City Tech and theDepartment of Human Services in efforts aimed atrecruiting interns and volunteers to work with theDare 2 Dream program. Current students and othersinterested in working with the program can obtaininformation at www.dare2dreamleaders.org.”

Nathaniel is especially grateful to HumanServices Professor Marsha Powell for alwayspracticing tough love on her students and toOprah Winfrey for inspiring her with thesewords: “Do the one thing you think you cannotdo. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the secondtime. The only people who never tumble arethose who never mount the high wire. This isyour moment. Own it.”

City Tech Alumni/SGA Host GraduationCelebration for Class of 2011The City Tech Student GovernmentAssociation in collaboration with theCollege’s Alumni Association hosted anon-campus Graduation Celebration &Alumni Reunion Dinner Dance for morethan 200 graduating students, alumni,faculty and staff, retirees, academicadvisory commission members and othergood friends of the College In May 2011.

The fun-filled evening began with a VIPReception in the Atrium 1st Floor Gallery,followed by dinner, dancing and freecasino games. The event featured a lavishbuffet with both vegetarian and halaldishes included, a live DJ and free casino

games, including Roulette, Black Jack and Craps. The event concluded with aChinese Auction drawing for othersensational prizes.

Photo credit: Alvin Espinosa

THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION WANTS YOU!The City Tech Alumni Association iscurrently seeking graduates to serve asClass Agents and as members of theassociation’s Board of Directors.

Board membership offers rewardingopportunities to shape the direction ofthe Alumni Association, by promotingand strengthening relationships withCity Tech alum, assist with cultivation

and have fun. Led by the boardpresident and guided by the director ofalumni relations, the Board meetsseveral times throughout the year.

Please e-mail a letter detailing thereasons you are interested in joiningalong with your résumé [email protected]. Thank you for your interest.

City Tech alum H. C. Solomon,an accomplished photographerand sailing enthusiast whoseyacht, Bojendi, operates out ofTortola British Virgin Islands,recently published The 1994Explore Diving Calendar(Rosedog Books), a 68-pagecollection of spectacularphotographs of the Caribbeanand environs. A Kindle editionof the work is available throughAmazon Digital Services.

In 1972 Mr. Solomonproduced a film, SouthStreet, on the South StreetSeaport Museum. He andhis work have appeared onthe television series“Inside Travel,” hosted bytravel writer TheodoreFisher, and more recentlyin a one-man show at theUniversity of the VirginIsland’s Reichhold Centerfor the Arts.

ALUMNI NEWS


ALUMNI NEWSMAKERS

Anthony Barna, a ConEdison research anddevelopment engineer whoholds a degree in automotivetechnology from City Tech,received the Long IslandTechnology Hall of Fame’sPatent of the Year Award inMarch 2011 for his work on aHybrid Vehicle RechargingSystem and Method ofOperation.

Frank Eppinger, a graduateof City Tech’s mechanicalengineering technologyprogram, was appointed to aone-year term as a Village ofMonroe, NY, trustee in 2010and has served as primaryrepresentative to the Village’sDepartment of Public Works.

1984 graduate of City Tech’shospitality managementprogram MichaelLomonaco, former Windowson the World executive chefand now managing partner ofPorter House New York, islooking together with partnerKenneth Himmel to add twomore restaurants to hisportfolio – a more causaleatery in New York City and asecond Porter House in Italy orelsewhere in Europe.

In partnership with chef TomSchaudel, City Tech’shospitality managementgraduate and restaurantowner Adam Lovett opened

a new restaurant, A LureChowder House & Oysteria,located in Port of EgyptMarina in Southhold, LongIsland, in May 2011. The pair’sprevious collaborations includeA Mano in Mattituck,PassionFish in WesthamptonBeach and Jedediah Hawkinsin Jamesport. Lovett is also aco-owner of Ross SchaudelCatering and Events Planningon the North Fork.

Roland A. Rodriguez, a1973 graduate with a degreein drafting, recently let CityTech’s Office of AlumniRelations know how verypleased he is to be workingfor consulting engineering firmJaros, Baum & Bolles on theHVAC, electrical, plumbing andfire protection aspects of theCollege’s new academicbuilding, auditorium andathletic facilities to rise whereKlitgord Center now standsand what fond memories heholds from time spent inKlitgord Gym.

Rhonda Rondon, a graduateof City Tech’s award-winninghospitality managementprogram, was on campus inMarch 2011 as B.J. DenihanLecture Series guest speaker,recounting her years at theCollege where “a solideducation” provided her withthe tools needed for upwardmobility in the hospitalityindustry.

In April 2011, Eventi, aKimpton Hotel, hired City Techhospitality managementmagna cum laude graduateEugenia Simons as hotelmanager responsible forleading day-to-day operationsof the front office, facilities,banquets, security andhousekeeping departments.

Mark Straussman, agraduate of City Tech’shospitality managementprogram, prominent chef andrestaurateur, was the subjectof a feature article in theMarch 1, 2011, “Dining Issue”of Hudson Valley magazine.On weekdays, Straussmancaters to the “size two, Prada-Manolo crowd” at Fred’s, thechic eatery at Barney’s inManhattan. Weekends findhim at Agriturismo, hisrecently opened restaurant inPine Plains, where heartiereaters can tuck into the rusticItalian fare for which he wasknown at Sapore de Mare inthe Hamptons, Coco Pazzo onManhattan’s Upper East Side,and, more recently, atCompagna, his own raved-about restaurant in theFlatiron District.

Emilio Suarez, a 1970 CityTech drafting design programgraduate, and wife Yolandawere recently named theBensonhurst West EndCommunity Couple of the Yearin recognition of their many

outstanding contributions tothe betterment of theircommunity over much of thepast 20 years.

Maxine M. Townsend-Broderick, a 1964 graduateof City Tech’s advertisingdesign and graphic artsprogram, has learned toimmerse herself in art as away of reliving her and herfamily’s past. Among herworks are “The Dream Lives,”a series of paintings,sculptures and prints bymeans of which she painted aportrait of her cousin, MauriceBishop, the former primeminister of Grenada who wasassassinated in 1983 afterhaving ascended to power in1979 following revolutionarycoup.

In Memoriam

City Tech recently learned ofthe passing in late February2011 of Cyril Young, a 2007graduate of the College’sbaccalaureate program infacilities managementtechnology. Mr. Young waspursuing a master’s degree atColumbia University, where heserved as assistant director ofthe university’s power plant.

conntections vol.4 no.1

Documents

al vargas city tech

city techstudents majoring

new discoveries

wide range of technology

redesign of general

new forms ofcollaborative

welcome home

outdoor commencement