Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to speak at Poly November 4
 Prominent entrepreneur, philanthropist and alumnus Joseph Jacobs dies
 NYU-Poly alliance discussed at Town Hall
 Fall enrollment stats now online at new website
 CIS hosts Cyber Security Awareness Week in November
 Take a chance for 10 grand; get close to Ali, Woods, JLo: November 6, 11
 Poly in the news
 Publications and presentations
 New grants
 New hires and promotions
 Jobs at Poly
 This month in history

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON TO SPEAK AT POLY NOVEMBER 4

Sen. Clinton

Following Clinton’s talk, Dr. Richard L. Garwin, one of America’s top nuclear scientists, will speak on today’s national security issues. His lecture is titled “Space Weapons: Good for Us or Bad?” [CLICK HERE to read a profile on Garwin, published in the October issue of ePoly Briefs.]

New York City Council Member Bill de Blasio (Brooklyn District 38) will introduce Clinton at the lecture.

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PROMINENT ENTREPRENEUR, PHILANTHROPIST AND ALUMNUS JOSEPH JACOBS DIES

In 2000, to the accompaniment of a standing ovation, Dr. Joseph J. Jacobs took to the stage in Dibner Auditorium, where he told the audience: “Today represents the accomplishment of my great dream: to see Polytechnic prosper, and to give students a stepping stone to the American dream.” The occasion was the groundbreaking for a new academic and athletic facility to be named in honor of Jacobs and his wife, Violet.

Dr. Jacobs, at Poly in 2000

Born the youngest of seven children to Lebanese immigrants in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, Jacobs went on to a successful career, first as a chemist at Merck, where he worked on the mass production of penicillin and the development of the pesticide DDT, and then as an entrepreneur, founding Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. in 1947. He grew the company from a one-man consulting firm into an international engineering and construction company with more than 35,000 employees. At the time of his death, he was chairman of the board.

A Polytechnic alumnus with four degrees, Jacobs entered the University in the fall of 1934, at the tail-end of the Depression. He worked 40 hours a week while attending school full time to pay for tuition and living expenses. He went on to earn three degrees in chemical engineering, in 1937, 1939 and 1942, and an Honorary Doctorate of Science in 1986. His involvement as a leader of his alma mater started in the mid-1970s. He twice served as chairman of Polytechnic’s Board of Trustees and was a lifetime trustee. He and his wife gave more than $30 million to Poly, including a $10 million matching gift in 1999 to the Campaign for Polytechnic. In 1988, Poly named the University’s administration building on the MetroTech campus in his honor. In 1994, the engineering and science departments were collectively named the Joseph J. and Violet J. Jacobs College of Engineering and Science. The University also established the Joseph J. and Violet J. Jacobs Chair in Chemical Engineering (currently open). In addition, the Jacobs Family Foundation annually funds Polytechnic’s F.M. Jabara Scholarship program (named after Violet Jacobs’ father) to students of Middle Eastern ancestry.

Jacobs authored numerous articles on chemical engineering and economics, and held patents in various fields of chemical engineering. He also made substantial contributions to the study of a number of social issues; one study resulted in a highly praised PBS program, aired in 1986, on “The Problem of Aging Parents of Adult Children.” In 1983, President Regan presented him with the Hoover Medal, which recognizes the civic and humanitarian achievements of professional engineers. He published two autobiographies, Anatomy of an Entrepreneur: Family, Culture and Ethics and The Compassionate Conservative: Assuming Responsibility and Respecting Human Dignity.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years; three daughters, Dr. Linda Jacobs, an archaeologist and Polytechnic trustee; Margaret Jacobs, a social worker; and Valerie Hapke, a family therapist; and two grandchildren.

In lieu of cards and flowers, the family has requested donations to St. Nicholas Home for the Aged, 437 Ovington Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11209.

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NYU-POLY ALLIANCE DISCUSSED AT TOWN HALL

“Polytechnic and NYU Are in Talks on Alliance,” read the headline in the October 8, 2004, issue of the New York Times. [CLICK HERE to read the article.] Response was swift with statements from the NYU president and Poly board chairman to their respective communities.

To a capacity-filled Silleck Lounge on October 12, VP Richard Thorsen addressed the issue of the Times piece. He began by saying that Poly had long sought alliances with other institutions to undertake programs the University could not undertake on its own, and gave Poly’s current agreement with SUNY Downstate’s medical program as example. For the past eight months, he said, “David Chang had been talking with John Sexton, president of NYU, about such an alliance, to create faculty relationships to build up research, and cross promote courses to graduate students, as well as what more can be agreed upon. But the discussions have not progressed, yet, to what that ‘more’ can be,” he said.

“There is no proposal on the table as to what the next step might be,” he added. “But, I believe we can influence those next steps,” whether that be, he explained, different affiliations or an outright merger, although, he emphasized, “There is no proposal at this time for a merger.”

He then opened the floor to questions:

Will the search for a new president continue, and continue at the pace previously announced?
“Yes, although not everyone thinks it’s wise,” replied Thorsen.

[Editor’s note: In an October 25 e-mail to the Poly community, Poly Board Chairman Stewart Nagler wrote, “The Presidential Search Committee has recommended that the search be suspended until these discussions have been completed. We anticipate that a decision on this matter will be reached by the end of November, at which time we will clarify our future direction.”]

Who told New York Times reporter Karen Arenson about the Poly-NYU discussions?
Arenson told Thorsen that it was a Poly trustee who first told her.

What did John Sexton say to the NYU community regarding the Times piece?
Sexton sent an e-mail message to staff, faculty and students the night before the article ran. Nagler sent two e-mails—one to faculty and staff and a slightly modified one to students—the day the article ran. [CLICK HERE to read their e-mails.]

Where did the word “merger” come from?
Thorsen said he did not know, but could only speculate that Karen Arenson first used that word as “bait” when talking with the two presidents.

Do these discussions between Poly and NYU have anything to do with NYU’s publicly known desire to purchase space in Brooklyn for academic use (as reported in a recent Crain’s New York Business article)?
“It may,” said Thorsen. NYU had expressed interest for a number of years in buying space in Brooklyn, and had been recently looking into purchasing waterfront property.

How are students being informed?
As earlier said, all students received an e-mail message from Nagler. In addition, Thorsen was to talk at a Student Council meeting (on October 13). [Timothy John, student council president, was in attendance at the Town Hall.]

During the 1973 merger between Poly and NYU’s School of Engineering and Science, wasn’t there an agreement decreeing that NYU was not to have an engineering program?
Yes, said Thorsen, the agreement is for 50 years. However, NYU may pursue an engineering program if Poly does not object. Therefore, an amiable alliance between Poly and NYU would not violate the agreement.

Did Poly object when NYU formed an alliance with Stevens Institute of Technology? [Under the joint agreement, undergraduates may take their first two years at NYU and finish at Stevens.]
Poly did object, said Thorsen, but with no success, because Stevens, not NYU, is the institute offering the engineering degree.

What is the timeline for closure in this discussion?
Thorsen said the objective was to have a decision by mid-November to see if a more serious alliance merits further consideration. After that, it is open ended in terms of a schedule. As an example of a timeline, Thorsen harkened back to the 1973 merger and the closing of NYU’s science and engineering school. When it was announced in early 1972 that the school would close, it took 18 months to accomplish the task. “But whatever option we may choose to pursue with NYU,” said Thorsen, “I can’t tell you a timeline right now. At the end of the day, it only matters if [the decision and timeline] are mutually beneficial to both parties.”

What is Polytechnic University’s definition of “mutual benefit”?
“There are big, big issues and levels of definition that have to thrashed out,” he replied. In 1973, the issues were non-tenured faculty, then tenured faculty and, finally, benefits for all employees. One example he gave: At the time, NYU had a 10-percent matching rate for retirement plans, while Poly had five percent. It was decided to go to 10 percent for all. “That’s the level and detail you have to go into in this type of situation,” explained Thorsen. “There are not many examples of academic institutional alliances out there.”

What does Poly get out of this?
An alliance with NYU, said Thorsen, would afford Poly “an experienced and successful student-recruiting machine, a [desired] pool of student applicants, collaboration among faculty and a richer array of course offerings.”

One audience member had the suggestion that the Board and administration should look into the recent merger between Fordham University and Marymount Tarrytown, and explore how it benefited both schools.

How does Poly’s rather large debt play into this?
“NYU will be looking at both Poly’s assets as well as its [$90 million] debt,” answered Thorsen. But, this issue has to be taken into context: NYU, currently undertaking a $2.5 billion capital campaign, is on a “totally different scale” than Poly. Poly may have a debt; it also has intellectual capital [as well as a physical plant, added an audience member].

Because of our debt, aren’t we primed for a hostile takeover? If the deal with NYU doesn’t work out, will the Board put us back on the selling block?
Thorsen said that he and President Chang do not attend the Board’s executive sessions and, therefore, are not privy to the extent of the Board’s agenda. But he did disclose that “the Board is not of one mind at this time.”

Is it true as written in the Times article that Poly’s enrollment is up, and we have a $1 million budget surplus?
“Neither statement is totally accurate,” said Thorsen. But they are true in the sense that enrollment is up against the administration’s estimates (but level to last year’s numbers), and “at this point in time, we have a shot at a budget surplus.” Thorsen explained that all this was said during President Chang’s interview with Karen Arenson [Thorsen was there, so he can attest to the accuracy of Chang’s statements], but Arenson shortened quotes, which took many statements out of context.

Has the speaker of the faculty been involved in the planning stage of these discussions?
Replied Thorsen: “There has been no formal discussion between faculty and the executive committee of the Board regarding this matter.” There is no formal committee for this initiative, he added. It is an ad hoc group comprising only President Chang and a Poly trustee and John Sexton and a NYU trustee.

Has the Board appointed President Chang to lead the discussions?
Thorsen said that it is more accurate to say that “President Chang has been part of these discussions, and the Board has encouraged that these discussions continue.”

If the New York Times article hadn’t appeared, when would we have learned of these discussions?
Thorsen said that Tuesday of last week [three days before the article was published], “we were putting together an informational package release for the internal constituency.” After learning about the planned Times piece, we tried to control the story so as not to be damaging to Poly. Two days before the article appeared, administrators met to discuss the issue. Unfortunately, he said, “it got out of our control with the piece being published on Friday [instead of in the weekend edition, as was originally believed]. Please accept in good faith,” he added, “that it was our intention to let people know.”

Will you be creating a more organized body to be part of the discussions?
The Board and President Chang would like to see a collection of people in the next step to make suggestions as to a viable match.

Faculty would like representation in the discussion. Will that happen?
“We would like it to happen,” said Thorsen. “At the end of the day, there will be dozens of mechanisms that will need to be part of these negotiations.”

The Polytechnic board probably didn’t want this news to come out this way. Yet, a Poly trustee leaked the information. How are we to know that they have our best interest at heart?
“I share your concern and disappointment,” said Thorsen. “One trustee behaved irresponsibly.”

What about talks with SUNY?
“There are no mature talks with SUNY,” said Thorsen, “either at a branch campus or with central. There is no SUNY discussion on the same level as the discussion with NYU.”

Will David Chang stay on past his contract expiring on June 30, 2005?
Thorsen said he can’t speak for the president, but Chang has publicly stated he will not stay on as president past that date.

Will this news impact our recruiting efforts?
Admissions Dean Jonathan Wexler said that all his recruiters are out in the field and, so far, nothing has come in to say that this news is making an impact among prospective students. “We think this story has no traction in the outside world,” added Thorsen. “Time will tell, but it is institutionally beneficial to keep it this way.”

One audience member said that considering how Poly is turning the corner—including the hiring of a new president and new blood in administration and on the board—“the timing of these talks is just shameful on the part of the Board and the administration.” She urged staff and faculty—to applause from the audience—“to keep plugging away and forget about this.”

What should we be telling people about this?
Thorsen said that staff and faculty should tell the truth: “NYU and Poly have had discussions for the past eight months about how to collaborate in research. We are exploring what other things might be done that would be fruitful to faculty, staff and students at both institutions.”

If the NYU deal doesn’t happen, will Poly look for another suitor?
“We will continually look for opportunities to collaborate,” said Thorsen. However, “we are not looking for a suitor as such.”

Is Poly in trouble?
“Define trouble?” Thorsen asked back. “It’s not a simple thing.” If the question is, are we in good shape, then “we are in better shape than a couple of years ago.”

Will a merger affect fundraising?
“We will lose certain support,” Thorsen acknowledged. “The rank and file alumni are likely to react negatively to the news (believing that their Brooklyn Poly has morphed into something else). But the major donors are different. They are motivated [to give] by other things.”

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FALL ENROLLMENT STATS NOW ONLINE AT NEW WEBSITE

You’re finishing up a grant proposal when you realize you need to know how many chemical engineering degrees Poly awarded in the past 10 years. You’re preparing for a conference and you wish to include information in your talk about the gender and ethnicity of Poly’s student body. You’re meeting with peers from other science and engineering universities and you want to be up on the most popular disciplines in which Poly freshmen enrolled this past fall.

Poly’s Office of Assessment and Institutional Research has created a website to answer those questions and more. The site currently provides various statistical profiles for fall 2004 for both new-student and University-wide enrollment. These profiles include ethnic distributions, full-time/part-time enrollment, FTEs (Full Time Equivalency) and number of Poly degrees awarded. The website will be updated each semester.

The site can be accessed directly at http://survey.poly.edu or through Poly’s homepage, click on Administration and then click on either Assessment or Institutional Research. Once at the site, click Statistics, then click Poly Community.

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CIS HOSTS CYBER SECURITY AWARNESS WEEK IN NOVEMBER

Do you have what it takes to be safe in cyber space?

Polytechnic’s Department of Computer and Information Science hosts Cyber Security Awareness Week, from November 8 to 10, open to all enrolled students in the tri-state area.

Cash prizes of $500, $200 and $100 will be given out to winning individuals and teams, as well as prizes of Apple iPods, PDA’s, digital cameras, hard drives and video cards.

CLICK HERE to learn more about event and to register.

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TAKE A CHANCE FOR 10 GRAND; GET CLOSE TO ALI, WOODS, JL0: NOVEMBER 6, 11

On Saturday, November 13, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Athletics hosts its annual Homecoming, a fun-filled day of sports, music and games, as part of Poly’s sesquicentennial year-long celebration. The schedule includes the following:

Judo (men's varsity vs. alumni), 11 a.m., Fitness Center
Volleyball (varsity vs. alumni), 11 a.m., Jacobs Gymnasium
Cross Country (varsity vs. alumni), 12 p.m., Van Cortland Park (Bronx)
Volleyball (students vs. faculty/staff), 12 p.m., Jacobs Gymnasium
Basketball (students vs. faculty/staff), 1 p.m., Jacobs Gymnasium
Stickball (varsity vs. alumni), 2 p.m., MetroTech Commons
Wiffleball (varsity vs. alumni), 2 p.m., Jacobs Gymnasium
Women's Basketball (varsity vs. alumni), 3:30 p.m., Jacobs Gymnasium
Men's Basketball (varsity vs. alumni), 5 p.m., Jacobs Gymnasium

For more information on the events, contact Maureen Braziel at ext. 3453 and mbraziel@poly.edu.

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POLY IN THE NEWS

George Bugliarello, president emeritus and project director of the Urban Security Initiative, was profiled in an American Scientist (November-December 2004) article “Honoring Mentors: Bugliarello, Silberman and Straub.” The article is part of a series on donors to the Sigma Xi Center building fund, and whom they have chosen to honor with their gifts. Bugliarello gave his gift to the fund in honor of his graduate school adviser Edward Silberman. Silberman, in turn, gave his gift in honor of his mentor, Lorenz G. Straub. “The legacy of Straub, Silberman and Bugliarello is the quintessence of the ethics and honor of science being passed from one generation to the next,” Sigma Xi Executive Director Patrick D. Sculley is quoted as saying. “It’s highly appropriate that their names should be linked together in the plaza of the Sigma Xi Center.”

David Goodman, professor of electrical and computer engineering, was quoted in a Daily Texan (October 21, 2004) article, “UT Group Shows Industry Its Wireless Research.” The article focused on a wireless networking symposium at the University of Texas at Austin, where Goodman was a featured speaker. Goodman told the audience that his main research is to “clean up the act of cell phones,” he is quoted as saying. “They’re meant to keep us safe, and if you’re in a place where your phone doesn’t work, what good is it to you?”

Richard Gross, the Herman F. Mark Professor of Polymer Science, and his research on plastics-to-fuel conversion was featured in a Renewable Engergy Access (October 4, 2004) article “U.S. Military Bioengineering Plastic Fuels.”

Ramesh Karri, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, and his research on scan chains was featured in an EEdesign (October 25, 2004) article, “Scan Design Called Portal for Hackers.” He was quoted in a TechSpot (October 25, 2004) article—“Security Based on ‘Scan Design’ Is Not Secure at All?”—as saying: “We want to get to the design and test communities and tell them that scan is a terrible thing to do. Scan is a very bad design-for-test methodology. It is a very good design-for-hacking methodology.”

Jonathan Soffer, assistant professor of history, was mentioned in a Newsweek (October 18, 2004 ) article, “A Clean Count?” for his plans to work in Florida on election day for the non-profit, non-partisan Election Protection Coalition.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony to open Poly’s new incubator, Brooklyn Entrerprise on Science and Technology (BEST), was featured on the front page of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (October 4, 2004), “Polytechnic’s New Incubator Combines Entrepreneurship, Jobs and Technology,” with a photo of President Chang cutting the ribbon with Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz; Mack Tham, a director for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce; and James Sanford of the Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation.

Polytechnic’s research was prominently featured in a Crain’s New York Business special supplement (2004) called “Research New York.” The four-page glossy spread on Polytechnic details the University’s research in plastics, cyberspace security, urban security, microorganism detection and corporation technology needs. Contact John Kelly at ext. 3792 and jfkelly@poly.edu to receive a copy of the magazine.

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PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

INTRODUCTORY DESIGN AND SCIENCE
Valdimir Ostrovsky, presentation, “On Nonlinear Dynamics of Spin Systems,” 89th Symposium of American Physical Society, New York Section, New York City (October 15, 2004)
Vladimir Tsifrinovich (with G.P. Berman, D.I. Kamenev), article, “Analytic Solutions for Quantum Logic Gates and Modeling Pulse Errors in a Quantum Computer with a Heisenberg Interaction,” International Journal of Quantum Information (Vol. 2, No. 323, 2004)
_____ (with G.P. Berman, D.I. Kamenev), article, “Minimization of Nonresonant Effects in a Scalable Ising Spin Quantum Computer,” International Journal of Quantum Information (Vol. 2, No. 379, 2004)
_____ (with D.I. Kamenev, G.P. Berman, R.B. Kassman), article, “Modeling Full Adder in Ising Spin Quantum Computer with 1000 Qubits Using Quantum Maps,” International Journal of Quantum Information (Vol. 2, No. 323, 2004)
_____ (with G.P. Berman, V.N. Gorshkov), article, “Reduction of Magnetic Noise in Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy,” Physical Review B (Vol. 69, No. 212408, 2004)
_____ (with G.P. Berman, V.N. Gorshkov), article, ”Random Spin Signal in Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy,” Physical Letters A (Vol. 318, No. 584, 2003)

MECHANICAL, AEROSPACE AND MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING
Vikram Kapila (with Sang-Hoon Lee ’02ME), article, “Science and Mechatronics-aided Research for Teachers,” IEEE Control Systems Magazine (October 2004)
George Vradis (with Hagen Schempf), “Robotic System Inspects Live Gas Mains,” Gas Industries (August/September 2004)

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NEW GRANTS

CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING
Kalle Levon, “A Detector for Bio-Organisms," Center for Port Authority (SUNY Stony Brook and Maritime College), $50,000

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NEW HIRES AND PROMOTIONS

Vanessa Adames

Carlo Bonilla

Nikhil Gupta

Cathy Hood

Job Moves
Juliette Acker has moved from project coordinator of the Urban Security Initiative to program assistant in Financial Engineering and editorial associate for the journal Technology in Society (editors George Bugliarello and A. George Schillinger). Her number and e-mail remain ext. 3082 and jacker@poly.edu. She splits her time between RH 517 and LC 401.

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JOBS AT POLY

The following positions are currently open:

Administration
• Administrative Director, Management (non union) JOB # MGM007
• Academic Adviser, Academic Success (non union) JOB # DAS004
• Administrative Aide, Undergraduate Admissions (union) JOB # ADM012
• Budget Director, Financial Operations (non-union) JOB # FNO020
• Director, Financial Aid (non-union) JOB # FAD007
• Senior Generalist, Human Resources (non-union) JOB # HRS001
• e-Learning Curriculum Design Specialist, Graduate Center (non-union) JOB # GRC012

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THIS MONTH IN HISTORY

Mount Vesuvius erupts, burying the city of Pompeii (0079) . . . Christopher Columbus notes first recorded reference to tobacco, writing of West Indies natives “drinking smoke” (1492) . . . King’s Majesty’s Players present William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Othello,” (called “The Moor of Venice”) (1604) . . . Samuel Pepys reports first blood transfusion, between dogs, by Royal Society (1666) . . . Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon hired by Lord Baltimore and William Penn to settle boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania. Mason and Dixon’s line later used for separating slave from free states (1763) . . . Thomas Edison demonstrates hand-cranked phonograph to Scientific American staff in New York City (1877) . . . with motormen on strike, substitute operator loses control of NYC subway train on Brooklyn’s Brighton line, killing 97 and injuring 200 (1918) . . . Slaughterhouse-Five author Kurt Vonnegut born in Indianapolis, Ind. (1922) . . . Vatican II reforms replaces Latin Mass with “new order” Mass, given in language of country (1964) . . . “Love Child,” somewhat controversial tune sung by the Supremes, hits No.1 on music charts (1968) . . . ABC-TV begins broadcasting nightly specials on Iran hostage crisis with Ted Koppel as anchor (1979) . . . South and North Korean relatives, separated for half a century, reunite in North Korean capital, Pyongyang (2000)

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