stevens indicator fall 2011

Features

6Presidential InaugurationCelebrate a milestone as we commemorateDr. Nariman Farvardin’s inauguration as theseventh president of Stevens. The three-dayfestivities were captured in photos and sto-ries—from the research and academic collo-quiums to the ceremony to the InaugurationGala—and you have a front-row seat to allthe action. For alumni in attendance duringthe three October days, reminisce about thehistorical days on campus. For those whowere unable to attend, let this special sectioncapture the spirit of the events as Stevens wel-comes Dr. Farvardin to his new home.

22Athletics Hall of FameMeet the newest class of the Stevens AthleticsHall of Fame as five young alumni take theirplace among the annals. Learn about theseincredible Ducks and their notable athleticachievements.

On the Cover—Stevens President Dr. Nariman Farvardin delivers his speech at hisPresidential Inauguration ceremony on Oct. 14, 2011, inside Canavan Arena.

PHOTO: JEFFREY VOCK PHOTOGRAPHY

The Stevens IndicatorThe Magazine of the Stevens Alumni Association Fall 2011

Fall 2011 1

2011Volume 129Number 4

Executive DirectorAnita Lang

EditorBeth Kissinger

Associate EditorLisa Torbic

Published quarterly by theStevens Alumni Association,member of the Council forAdvancement and Supportof Education.

Third-class postage paidat Burlington, VT. Printedat The Lane Press, Inc.,Burlington, VT.

© 2011 Stevens AlumniAssociation

Indicator correspondenceThe Stevens IndicatorStevens Alumni AssociationCastle PointHoboken, NJ 07030Phone: (201) 216-5161Fax: (201) 216-5374

Indicator e-mailLetters to the Editor:[email protected]

Class log submissions:[email protected]

General SAA inquiriesContact the Alumni OfficePhone: (201) 216-5163Fax: (201) 216-5374E-mail: [email protected]

2 The Stevens Indicator

To Our ReadersTo mark the historic occasion of the inauguration of Dr. Nariman Farvardin this

fall as Stevens’ seventh president, we have created this commemorative inauguration issue.The Indicator’s regular features—including Class Logs—will return in the next issue. Enjoy!

Departments4 Presidents’ Corner

26 Grist From the Mill

27 Three brothers call Castle Point home

28 Dr. Ronald Besser receives two topteaching awards at Convocation

32 Laura Barito ’11 garners national honorsfor swimming, track

34 Ten years later, Castle Pointremembers 9/11

35 Stevens takes honors in maiden visitat Solar Decathlon

36 Alumni Business Directory

40 Looking Back

28

27

Dr. Ronald Besser has been teaching chemical engineering at Stevens since 2002. He was honored withtwo top teaching awards at Convocation this fall. Page 28

The Coyle brothers are part of a Stevens legacyfamily. Page 27

The Stevens IndicatorThe Magazine of the Stevens Alumni Association Fall 2011

Fall 2011 3

is commemorative40-page iue of

e Stevens Indicatorhighlights e inauguration

our seven esident,Dr. Nariman Farvarn


Presidents’ CornerDear Fellow Alumni and Friends,

I hope that you enjoy this very special commemorative issue of The StevensIndicator celebrating Stevens and the inauguration of our seventh president, Dr.Nariman Farvardin. For those of us who were lucky enough to be present for theinauguration of President Farvardin this October, we witnessed an amazingevent unlike anything that has ever happened at Stevens.

The three-day inauguration celebration was filled with amazing displays of allthe great things at Stevens, which kicked off with the student research colloqui-um. This open forum showcased undergraduate and doctoral students’ summerresearch findings, and it was fascinating to see their work. Also fascinating wasthe tremendous outpouring of support for Dr. Farvardin, as visitors from gov-ernment, universities across the globe and alumni and friends came from nearand far for these historic inauguration festivities.

At the inauguration ceremony itself, I had the unfortunate luck of following an amazing speech from future alumnusRichard Sanchez, Class of 2012, who called on President Farvardin to “Embrace, Empower, Inspire” all of us—and itis clear that this is already happening. I watched as so many of the people who attended the events truly embraced allthat was happening at our alma mater and wanted to get involved. President Farvardin and our Board of Trustees arealready empowering the university to define and reach the next level by supporting the strategic planning initiative,and by launching the President’s Initiative for Excellence.

President Farvardin has called this “The Stevens Decade,” and as we move toward our 150th anniversary, we are goingto see more and more amazing things happening with our university. In my remarks at the inauguration, I commit-ted all 30,000 of us alumni to President Farvardin’s initiatives in whatever way he needs us, and I know that you areall behind this commitment. Anyone who wants to participate, please reach out to the Alumni Office, and we willhelp you get involved. While we are certainly asking everyone to financially support the school’s campaign, we alsoneed lots of hands and minds to realize the initiatives.

In the spirit of great things, this issue highlights our future members of the Class of 2015 and their Convocation. AtConvocation this year, we presented our Stevens Alumni Association Outstanding Teacher Award to ChemicalEngineering Professor Dr. Ronald Besser—a truly deserved honor. This issue also covers the Stevens Athletics Hall ofFame inductions, where some amazing alums were honored, and we document the remarkable rise of athletics atStevens, which recently culminated in Laura Barito ’11 being named the NCAA Woman of The Year.

You’ll also read about the recent Solar Decathlon competition in Washington, D.C., where Stevens’ team, along withthe New School, received significant press for designing and building a solar-powered house for subsequent use byHabitat for Humanity. The students involved with this project truly made us proud, and for those of us who were ableto tour the house, the engineering that went into this project was nothing short of revolutionary.

I am very excited for all that is to come for our Stevens family over the next several years, and I know that all ofyou are, too.

P.S. Class logs and other regular sections will return in our next issue!

Mark I. LaRosa ’93President, Stevens Alumni [email protected]

Fall 2011 5

Remembering the inauguration, with deep thanks

Dear Alumni and Friends,

The entire Stevens family participated in a remarkable and historicseries of events on campus this fall, when I was inaugurated as theseventh president of Stevens Institute of Technology. The events ofOctober 13, 14 and 15, 2011, will linger in my memory forever, asmy family and I experienced some of the most moving andpoignant moments of our lives, and as the Stevens family came to-gether to celebrate its collective accomplishments and to prepare foran exciting journey toward its 150th anniversary.

The alumni and friends who visited the campus during that timehave told me that they, like I, were extremely moved by the displayof spectacular events. I was so grateful for their presence, and for thegreat efforts of everyone who made these three days of joyful re-unions, gala celebrations and brilliant scholarship possible. Indeed,the affection and sense of shared purpose that I experienced overthose days may be my most enduring impression.

These inauguration events also created a great sense of pride inthe Stevens community and elevated the image of the Universityoutside of its borders. This commemorative issue of The StevensIndicator, which highlights the Presidential Inauguration, coversmany of these exceptional events, including the Academic Colloquium, which featured distinguished speakers suchas the U.S. Secretary of Energy and Nobel Laureate Dr. Steven Chu and Dr. Jeong Kim, executive vice president ofAlcatel-Lucent and president of Bell Labs and Corporate Strategy. The Inauguration ceremony was unforgettable, fromthe profound thoughts shared by our speakers to the students who lined the procession path with their shining faces andspecial radiance. And the Presidential Gala offered a lovely and uplifting conclusion to the weekend, as more than 400strong Stevens supporters gathered for dinner, dancing and much shared camaraderie. We also honored two outstand-ing alumni that evening for their many professional achievements: John G. Puente, M.S. ’60, a pioneer in the satellitecommunications industry, and J. Scott Swensen ’74, who has had a trailblazing career as an investor in Latin America.

During the Gala, we also provided some excellent news. Stevens Vice President of Development Edward Eichhorn ’69announced that Stevens has launched a three-year, $30 million fundraising effort known as the President’s Initiativefor Excellence, and more than $12 million has been raised in the first three and a half months of this three-year effort!The Initiative will focus on improving the student experience and will be used to expand scholarship programs,upgrade infrastructure and technical capabilities and boost the University’s ability to support outstanding faculty,among other pressing priorities. I am deeply grateful for the strong support that many of you have already shown forthe President’s Initiative, and I ask you all to support this endeavor that will greatly benefit our fine students.

This issue of The Stevens Indicator brings other very good news. This fall, Stevens’ Solar Decathlon team, in its first ap-pearance in the international Solar Decathlon competition in Washington, D.C., tied for first place for affordability,and first place for hot water for the solar-powered home that they built. Overall, Stevens, who worked with the NewSchool, placed 13th, and we are so proud of their efforts. But what makes us even prouder is that a family in need fromWashington, D.C., will live in this home, thanks to a partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

This fall, we also welcomed the extraordinary Class of 2015. This freshman class is the most competitive in the Uni-versity’s history, with a 40 percent selectivity—a new Stevens record. We expect great things from this class, as many ofthem bring not only a strong talent in engineering, science and technology, but also a special gift for activities outsideof the classroom, from athletics to the arts.

Please enjoy this special inauguration issue. Again, from the bottom of our hearts, my wife Hoveida, daughter Tandiceand I thank all who came out this past October to celebrate the University and my journey with Stevens. Mostly, wethank the many alumni and friends who have welcomed us so warmly and who have pledged to join us on our path tofurther elevate this wonderful University to ever greater heights of distinction and achievement.

Sincerely,

Nariman FarvardinPresident, Stevens Institute of Technology

[email protected]

phone(201) 216-5213

postal mailStevens Institute of TechnologyWesley J. Howe Center1 Castle PointHoboken, NJ 07030


Photos by Jeff Vock,Amy Hand and

Max Pasion

A Day to Remember—(Clockwise from top) Dr. Nariman Farvardin receives a warm standingovation during his inauguration, attended by more than 1,000 guests; the capacity crowdwatches a Jumbotron as New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno speaks; Dr. Farvardin greetsalumni and others at a reception; Dr. Farvardin is officially installed as Stevens’ seventh presi-dent, with the assistance of Stevens Board of Trustees Chairman Lawrence T. Babbio, Jr. ’66,far left, Stevens Provost George Korfiatis, far right, and Dr. Farvardin’s wife, Hoveida.

ctober 13, 14 and 15, 2011, was an historic weekend for Stevens Institute ofTechnology, ushering in a new era of leadership with the inauguration of Dr.Nariman Farvardin as the seventh president of the university.

The entire Stevens community of faculty, staff, alumni, students, families and friendsofficially welcomed Dr. Farvardin with a series of academic, ceremonial and celebratoryevents to commemorate the occasion.

The Student Research Colloquium opened the festivities on Oct. 13, showcasing under-graduate and doctoral students’ summer research findings from the Stevens Scholars program,the Technogenesis Summer Scholars Research Program and the Innovation & Doctoral Fel-lowship Program. An impressive display of 88 undergraduate research projects adorned theatrium in the Babbio Center, and students and faculty were on hand to present the researchand speak with the community. A special reception for graduate students, where they got tomeet Dr. Farvardin, followed the event.

Inauguration events continued through the morning of Oct. 14 with an Academic Collo-quium, “Excellence Through Innovation,” that featured U.S. Secretary of Energy Dr. StevenChu and Dr. Jeong Kim, executive vice president of Alcatel-Lucent and president of Bell Labsand Corporate Strategy, as guest speakers. Stevens Professors Ron Besser and Frank Fisher alsoco-presented a brief history of innovation at Stevens and highlighted current research initia-tives. A round-table discussion including all of the presenters followed.

The weekend’s main event occurred during the afternoon of Oct. 14, with the official instal-lation of Dr. Farvardin as Stevens’ president. About 1,000 well-wishers and distinguished guests,among them New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, official-ly welcomed President Farvardin to campus. Guadagno and Zimmer were joined in speaking byLawrence T. Babbio, Jr. ’66, chairman of the Stevens Board of Trustees, Stevens Provost Dr.George P. Korfiatis, Dr. Dilhan M. Kalyon, chairman of Stevens’ Faculty Council, Dr. Kim, stu-dent Richard Sanchez ’12 and Stevens Alumni Association President Mark I. LaRosa ’93.

The ceremony began with a complete academic processional and included performancesby the Stevens Inauguration Orchestra, the Stevens Choir and renowned soprano CarmenBalthrop, who has performed at the White House and at major venues throughout the world.

Immediately following the ceremony, the entire Stevens community greeted Dr. Farvardin, hisfamily and invited guests at the Babbio Center patio for a reception which included a live jazz band.

The festivities concluded on Oct. 15 with Homecoming activities on campus and the Pres-idential Inauguration Gala that evening at The Westin in Jersey City, N.J. Five alumni wereinducted into the Stevens Athletics Hall of Fame during a brunch on campus. Other on-cam-pus activities commemorating Homecoming included a community barbecue, men’s andwomen’s soccer games and swim meets, a cross country meet, and field hockey and women’svolleyball games. The action-packed day also featured Greek open houses and a reception foralumni and freshman parents with Dr. Farvardin in the afternoon.

The Presidential Inauguration Gala, a formal dinner dance celebrating Dr. Farvardin,capped off the inaugural events. At the gala, John G. Puente, M.S. ’60, was presented with the2011 Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. Entrepreneur Award and J. Scott Swensen ’74 was recognizedwith the 2011 Stevens Honor Award. —Stevens’ Office of News andMedia Relations

O

Fall 2011 7

Stevens Makes History withInauguration of Seventh President

Three Festive Days Celebrate Installationof Dr. Nariman Farvardin

For more information and videos, visit www.stevens.edu/inauguration.


r. Nariman Farvardin’sInauguration ceremonytook place in a trans-

formed, breathtaking CanavanArena. The walls were swathed inStevens red and gray, a plush redcarpet covered the floor and theStevens Inauguration Orchestraplayed.

You could feel the excitementand energy as student ambassadors,lined up along the walkway, cheeredon the academic procession leadinginto Canavan. At the start of theceremony, Dr. Dilhan M. Kalyon,professor and chair of the FacultyCouncil, welcomed guests and thenthe audience watched the presenta-tion of the American flag by Ste-vens’ ROTC students and thesinging of the national anthem, ledby the Stevens Choir.

Master of Ceremonies Dr. Maureen P. Weatherall ’78,Stevens’ vice president for University Enrollment and chiefadministrative officer, introduced an impressive roster ofspecial guests, including New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Gua-dagno, Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, delegates from 37sister universities, and the friends and family of Dr. NarimanFarvardin.

Lawrence T. Babbio, Jr. ’66, chairman of the Stevens Boardof Trustees, offered an official welcome.

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome the entire communi-ty to this historic event as we inaugurate the seventh presidentof Stevens Institute of Technology,” Babbio said. “This is a greatday for the university. I assure Dr. Farvardin of the full supportof the Board of Trustees, and the entire community.”

After a musical interlude, distinguished guests were invitedto the stage to offer words of congratulations and good wishesto Dr. Farvardin.

“The Governor and I are pleased to welcome you,” Guadag-no said. “A hallmark of our administration has been being boldand innovative and that is what we need from you: bold inno-vation. The State of New Jersey is happy to help Stevens, how-ever, whenever we can.

“You have done so much for the people of New Jersey, andmy pledge to you is that the Christie Administration is commit-ted to helping you continue the 141-year legacy you’ve alreadyestablished,” she said.

Zimmer told the audience that the university is in “very, verycapable hands” with Dr. Farvardin.

“I look forward to continuing to work together with theStevens community on many projects and strengthening ourpartnership,” she said. “The City of Hoboken and I are here foryou whatever you need.”

Stevens Provost Dr. George P. Korfiatis said that this inau-guration is a defining moment for Stevens for two reasons.

“First, Dr. Farvardin joins our community officially, bring-

With Pomp and Circumstance ...Dr. Nariman Farvardin ushers in new era at Stevens

D

Students line the walkway outside the Schaefer Athletic and Recreation Center as the aca-demic procession began. The students volunteered their time during Inauguration Week-end to escort guests around campus and help any way they could.

Soprano Carmen Balthrop performs during the InaugurationCeremony. Balthrop, who has performed at recitals in theWhite House, Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center, is aprofessor of voice in the School of Music at the University ofMaryland.

Fall 2011 9

ing with him an extensive background and commitment toour future. But also this is the time that this country needsuniversities to help maintain its development of great leaders,”Korfiatis said.

Faculty Council Chairman Kalyon expressed a sense of op-timism from the Stevens faculty.

“On behalf of the faculty, I want to express our strong,heartfelt belief that Dr. Farvardin will lead Stevens to newheights: Only from the heart can you reach the sky,” he said.“We recognize that it will not be easy to achieve all our goals,but it is our pledge to work closely with Dr. Farvardin to helpthe University meet its challenges.”

Dr. Jeong Kim, Executive Vice President of Alcatel-Lucentand President of Bell Labs and Corporate Strategy, spoke as acolleague and friend of the new Stevens president.

“All of the positive things being said about Dr. Farvardin are

true. He is a very special person; a true changeagent,” Kim said. “He doesn’t expect anything lessthan the best. Embrace change because as great asthis university is, when I come back in a few years,it will be even better.”

The event’s student speaker, Richard Sanchez’12, offered the student body’s support for Dr.Farvardin.

“We ask you to embrace, empower and inspireus, and we pledge the same to you,” Sanchez said.

“Our campus is not a destination but a startingpoint on our life-long journey. We welcome you toour home, and now yours.”

Stevens Alumni Association President Mark I.LaRosa ’93 also offered a warm welcome.

“When we launched our search for a newpresident, I thought we may be asking too muchto find in one person. Then we found Dr. Far-vardin, whose entire journey echoes our motto—‘per aspera ad astra.’ Dr. Farvardin, on behalf of

our 30,000-plus living alumni, you have our support.”The warm tributes continued via a video welcome from var-

ious members of the Stevens Community. Soprano CarmenBalthrop, who has sung at major opera houses throughout theworld and the White House, performed a moving musical ded-ication to Dr. Farvardin, accompanied by pianist Lester Green.In one of her songs, she sang of new beginnings.

The Investiture was next, with Babbio; Steven Shulman ’62,chairman of the Stevens Presidential Search Committee; Dr.Korfiatis; and Hoveida Farvardin, Dr. Farvardin’s wife, partici-pating in the official installation of Dr. Farvardin as Stevens’ sev-enth president.

Thunderous applause and a standing ovation accompaniedDr. Farvardin as he made his way to the podium to make his In-augural Address.

“I am grateful for your trust; aware of the responsibility ofthis; mindful and respectful of the vision and mission set out forme; and humbled and honored to be the Seventh President ofStevens Institute of Technology,” he said.

His heartfelt and moving speech was filled with gratitudeand reverence, personal messages for friends and family, andpledges to all members of the Stevens community, whom he ad-dressed individually and with sincerity.

Just before the Inauguration Ceremony concluded with thesinging of the Stevens alma mater and the recessional, Dr. Far-vardin concluded his address.

“I stand here today to accept this role and pledge to do what-ever is required,” he said. “I am grateful for the privilege of thisservice. I have unbridled optimism for what we will accomplishtogether.” —Stevens’ Office of News andMedia RelationsTo read the full text of Dr. Farvardin’s inauguration speech,

please visit www.stevens.edu/inauguration.

Stevens Welcomes a New President

Stevens President Dr. Nariman Farvardin delivers his inauguration speech onOct. 14, with his wife, Hoveida, right, and Dr. Maureen Weatherall ’78, Stevens’vice president and chief administrative officer, also enjoying the moment.

Richard Sanchez ’12 addresses the inauguration crowd.

fter the inauguration ceremony, the heavy rain came—a sign of good luck for the new Stevens president, somesaid. Guests hurried under umbrellas to the Babbio

Center atrium, where several hundred people greeted Dr. Far-vardin and his family at a reception.

The mood was joyful and optimistic, even giddy, as Dr. Far-vardin greeted guest after guest who waited to speak with himand shake his hand.

Guests called the inauguration ceremony a “first-classevent” and praised everything, from the magically transformedCanavan Arena to the Stevens Inauguration Orchestra andStevens Choir to Dr. Farvardin’s speech.

Stevens Trustee Rick Roscitt ’73 and his wife, Michelle,seemed simply dazzled by the historic day.

“It was the most inspiring event I’ve been to in a long time,”Mr. Roscitt said. “I thought Dr. Farvardin’s speech was extreme-ly well done and very rich in content.” It was a speech that heplanned to further absorb and ponder.

Another striking fact about the day was how so many peo-ple from different walks of life—Dr. Farvardin’s friends and col-leagues from far away, in particular—came out for him.

“They didn’t need to come,” Roscitt said. “It shows thecharacter of the man.”

Mrs. Roscitt found herself watching Dr. Farvardin’s motherand father during the inauguration ceremony. “You could seethe pride in his parents’ faces,” she said. His father looked as ifhe struggled between tears and wanting to stand up and cheer.

“His face spoke a thousand words,” she said.Dr. Edward Friedman, emeritus professor of technology

management, joined Stevens in 1963 and has seen manychanges. This day, he said, he felt hopeful and inspired after this“splendid event.”

“He’s my fourth president,” Friedman said of Dr. Farvardin.“This has really been inspiring for me. I feel like I want to behere another 48 years.”

For Friedman, the “totality” of the experience and Dr. Far-vardin’s vision for Stevens that he articulated through his speechwere most memorable. “I was very moved, I have been deeply con-cerned about the direction this country is taking” and how it doesnot value the important role science and technology must play tokeep the country competitive, Friedman said. But Farvardin getsit, he said, and he gets why the Occupy Wall Street protesters are


By Beth KissingerEditor

After the Swearing-in, a Rush ofGood Will and Excitement

Guests gather to greet the new Stevens president

Dr. Nariman Farvardin chats with Stevens Alumni AssociationPresident Mark LaRosa ’93 and other alumni and guests atthe Babbio Center reception.

Hoveida Farvardin, wife of Stevens President Dr. NarimanFarvardin, speaks with guests at a reception in her husband’shonor following his inauguration.

A

demonstrating in Lower Manhattan in New York City.“This man is paying attention to it, he communicated what

needs to be done in this country and he wants Stevens to play arole in it,” Friedman said. “That, to me, was inspirational.”

Alan Drozd ’06 has made very few trips back to campus sincehe graduated, except to see his girlfriend, Ph.D. student MarySchurgot ’06. But for this inauguration day, he was inspired tocome back to Stevens and even took the day off from work.

“I kind of got back into being an alumnus. I realize that thiswas a big part of my life and I want to be involved,” Drozd said.“We’ve only had seven presidents. It’s not an everyday thing thathappens.”

He praised Dr. Farvardin for being understated, down-to-earth and for having an easy connection with people. Schurgotechoed his enthusiasm.

“As an electrical engineer (like Farvardin), I’m personallyvery excited to have him as a leader for our institute. It soundslike he has great things to offer with his technical ability andleadership,” she said.

Frank Roberto ’76, accompanied by his wife, MargaretRose, was in from Texas recruiting on campus for ExxonMobiland also visiting their son, Frank, a freshman at Stevens. Hecalled the inauguration ceremony “absolutely fantastic” and Dr.Farvardin’s speech inspiring.

Roberto was particularly moved when Dr. Farvardin re-called Davidson Laboratory’s important research role in the

fight to win World War II. “I think that the university is beingcalled on again,” Roberto said, to meet new global challenges.“It makes you very proud to be part of this institute.”

Stevens Industry Professor Ed Blicharz, like several otherguests interviewed, praised the student speaker Richard Sanchez’12 at the inauguration and has high hopes for Stevens underDr. Farvardin.

“I think everyone’s excited,” he said. “They’re looking for-ward to new leadership, they’re looking for change. We’ve hadsome bad times. We’re looking for a new beginning.”

Enthusiasm among students attending the reception wasobvious. Student volunteer Larry Giannechini—one among anarmy of student volunteers who helped with inaugurationday—may have been the most enthusiastic.

“President Farvardin gave one of the best speeches I haveever heard,” he said. “The student support behind this (event)is really strong.”

Giannechini and other students interviewed said that theysee a new excitement and engagement among students this fall.They attribute much of this to the promise Dr. Farvardinbrings.

“You want to go out and do something,” said graduate stu-dent Amanda Nauman ’11.

“He was inspiring,” Giannechini said of Farvardin.“All of my friends volunteered for today. Some people I

never thought would care were watching the ceremony.”

Fall 2011 11

Stevens President Dr. Nariman Farvardin enjoyed greeting students—among hundreds of other guests—at the reception inside theBabbio Center following his installation as Stevens’ seventh president on Oct. 14, 2011.


he Academic Colloquium, “Excellence Through Innova-tion,” provided a forum for an important and timely discus-sion during the Stevens Presidential Inauguration events.

With innovation as a key driver, the roster of prestigious speak-ers, among them U.S. Secretary of Energy Dr. Steven Chu and BellLabs President Dr. Jeong Kim, explored the impact of technology inaddressing critical issues facing society from global, organizational,educational and research perspectives.

Stevens Provost George Korfiatis opened the Colloquium in De-Baun Auditorium by welcoming the attendees.

“At Stevens, innovation and entrepreneurship are core values.We work hard to instill the values the Stevens family set forth whenthey established the University 141 years ago,” he said.

Korfiatis then introduced the special guests who would serve asspeakers and participants in a roundtable discussion: Secretary Dr.Chu; Dr. Kim, who is also executive vice president of Alcatel-Lucent;and Christine Lagorio, executive editor of Inc.com and moderatorfor the Colloquium.

“There is a myth that great innovators are born that way,” saidLagorio, “but during a recent interview (Harvard Business Schoolprofessor and author) Clay Christensen said innovation can betaught—and that is where great universities like Stevens come in.”

Lagorio introduced Dr. Chu, who spoke from the governmentperspective, Dr. Kim, who spoke at the business level, and Stevensprofessors Dr. Ron Besser and Dr. Frank Fisher, who represented theuniversity perspective.

Stevens President Nariman Farvardin also provided some intro-ductory remarks.

“At Stevens, our engineers are devoted to creating new technolo-gies to solve new challenges,” he said. “There is a history of technol-ogy and innovation in our nation, but we no longer own the store ofopportunity. We need a sustainable commitment to innovation andtechnology education to solve mounting problems.”

In his presentation, “How Innovation Had Changed theWorld,”

Dr. Chu addressed innovations that changed the world in areas suchas agriculture, transformative technology, information flow, trans-portation and energy.

“Innovation is the key to prosperity and progress,” Dr. Chu said.“The way to effectively advance energy technology is to look at theplaybook of the past and say: ‘We can do that—better.’”

He discussed the ways that the U.S. is reclaiming leadership ininnovation and technology.

“We remain the most innovative country in the world, but ‘In-vented in America’ is not enough,” Dr. Chu said. “America has theopportunity to lead the world in clean energy technology and pro-vide the foundation for future prosperity.”

Next up was Dr. Kim, who presented “Achieving Greatnessthrough Great Innovations.”

He offered four points: Great innovations satisfy great needs;creating great innovations requires the right assets; learning from fail-ure is essential; and one must be able to embrace change.

“To succeed in great innovations, you must be able to succeedin dealing with failure,” he said. “The greatest failure is not learningfrom your mistakes.”

Dr. Kim shared one of his favorite quotes, from the writer EricHoffer: “In times of great change, learners inherit the Earth, whilethe learned find themselves beautifully equipped for a world that nolonger exists.”

“Academic institutions must embrace change,” Dr. Kim said.“Under Dr. Farvardin, Stevens will remain at the forefront of tech-nology and innovation. He recognizes the importance of collabora-tion, change and looking ahead.”

The presentations continued with Professors Besser and Fisher,who discussed “The Ongoing Legacy of Energy Technology Devel-opment & Education at Stevens Institute of Technology.”

“It is traditional during times of change in an institution to lookback at its foundation and reflect on its legacy,” Dr. Besser said. “Aswe inaugurate our seventh president, we want to look back atStevens’ 141 years of innovation.”

He provided a brief background of the establishment of the uni-versity and contributions of the Stevens family. Innovation was anintegral part of the education from early on, evident through theUniversity’s history of hands-on research, lab work, capstone projectsand exposure to entrepreneurship.

Dr. Fisher then explained nanotechnology and multi-scale sys-tems. He highlighted the innovative work in these areas by Stevens’faculty, focusing on energy technology research and Seahorse PowerLLC, the Stevens start-up dedicated to this. He also mentionedStevens’ recent Department of Energy grant for offshore wind ener-gy research.

“Stevens drives innovation and entrepreneurship,” Fisher said.“The campus is a test bed, an incubator for energy education andinnovation.”

A roundtable discussion followed the presentations.—Stevens’ Office of News andMedia Relations

U.S. Energy Secretary, Bell Labs PresidentHeadline Colloquium

Stevens Professors Also Participate in Forum Focused on Innovation

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Three special guest speakers were invited to the “AcademicColloquium: Excellence Through Innovation’’ at De Baun Au-ditorium the morning of the inauguration. The participantswere, from left, Dr. Jeong Kim, president of Bell Laboratories;Dr. Farvardin; the Hon. Dr. Steven Chu, U.S. Secretary of En-ergy; and Christine Lagorio, senior editor of Inc.com.

Fall 2011 13

he Stevens Presidential Inauguration events kicked offwith the Student Research Colloquium, held on Oct.13 inside the Babbio Center. Selected doctoral students

presented their current research, while undergraduate studentsalso exhibited their achievements from Stevens’ summer 2011research programs.

The research projects represented biomedical engineering,ocean engineering, music and technology and the Howe Schoolof Technology Management, among other academic areas.Through Stevens’ summer research programs, students have ac-cess to hands-on research in collaboration with faculty mentorsthrough two elite programs for high-achieving undergraduatestudents: the Stevens Scholars and Technogenesis Summer pro-grams. Students selected to participate in the summer programsacquire experience in advanced research, design and business de-velopment projects.

During the colloquium, the Babbio Atrium buzzed withstudents, faculty and guests as they talked with and listened tothe students displaying their research. Among them was StevensPresident Dr. Nariman Farvardin, who said he was inspired.

“I am overly excited about what I see. I am amazed thatsome of these students have started their research in their firstsummer at Stevens and are only in their second year now,” hesaid.

“For them to do so much already is very impressive. Thesestudents are so bright, and I can see the spark in their eyes. Theseare the leaders of the future.”

Victoria Baldwin ’13 completed her project on photovolta-ic efficiency through nonporous anti-reflective thin films.

“As renewable energy continues to grow in significance eachand every day, so does its compatible power sources, particular-ly in the photovoltaic field,” Baldwin said. “The question iswhether photovoltaic efficiency can be significantly increased inorder to make this field a more reliable and effective source ofpower for consumers.”

Robert Moakler ’12, a double major in physics and service-oriented computing, created a project based on the human psy-che. His research is based on the concept that groups of userscan successfully lie on the Internet using services such as Twitterand Facebook. He realized if these lies gain enough momentum,they can be placed on the monitors of millions of users world-wide. He named the project “Anatomy of a Lie.”

Joseph Huyett and Angela LoPiccolo, both sophomore me-chanical engineering majors, partnered to research vibration en-ergy harvesting. The goal of their project was to autonomouslytune piezoelectric beams to ambient vibrations. Magnets wereused in order to change the stiffness and resonant frequency ofthe beams. During the course of the experiment, the prototype

was redesigned to reduce the play in the system. A linear poten-tiometer was added to transmit data about the position of thebeams to a microcontroller.

The autonomous system calculated the frequency based onthe number of times the voltage coming from the beamschanged in a set time interval, used an experimental model tocalculate the goal position and then finally moved the motor un-til the beams were in position.

“It was a great experience,” Huyett said of his summer re-search. “There was no one babysitting us during the research soit really taught you how to be your own boss. I now know thevalue of time management and, overall, I feel like we accom-plished a milestone that I am truly proud of.”

Christos Christodoulatos, Ph.D. ’91, Stevens’ associateprovost for Academic Entrepreneurship, is a huge proponent ofthe Technogenesis program.

“I think this is a tremendous success for our students and ad-visers,” he said. “Students are gaining experience through theirprojects, which emphasize innovation and entrepreneurship in away that teaches our students the value and impact they have onsociety. They are given both the soft skills and business skills ittakes to compete in the real world.”

—Stevens’ Office of News and Media Relations

T

Student Research Kicks OffInauguration Festivities

Ph.D. Candidates, Undergraduates Present Their Projects

Melissa Wiegand ’13 explains her research poster to HoveidaFarvardin, Dr. Farvardin’s wife, during the Student ResearchColloquium on Oct. 13 at the Lawrence T. Babbio Center.Mrs. Farvardin, who has a B.S. andM.S. in industrial engineer-ing and operations research, is the operations officer for theMiddle East and North Africa Region with The World Bank inWashington, D.C.


jubilant gathering of the Stevens community, number-ing more than 400 alumni, faculty, students andfriends of the Institute, turned out for the university’s

Presidential Inauguration Gala on Oct. 15, 2011, to celebratethe installation of Dr. Nariman Farvardin as the seventh presi-dent of Stevens.

At the event, Gala attendees expressed enthusiasm for whatthey described as a new era at Stevens, as well as their confidencein Dr. Farvardin’s commitment to strengthening the university’score programs while expanding its reach.

Held at the Westin Hotel along Jersey City’s waterfront,the Inauguration Gala coincid-ed this year with the annual so-cial event of the Edwin A.Stevens Society, the university’sleadership annual gift club. So-ciety members said attendanceat the Gala had shattered previ-ous records.

In keeping with longstand-ing tradition, the Stevens com-munity presented two of its mostprominent awards for achieve-ment at the event. This year,both honorees were alumni.

John G. Puente, M.S. ’60, apioneer in the satellite commu-nications industry, received theCharles V. Schaefer, Jr. Entre-preneur Award. J. Scott Swensen ’74 was honored with theStevens Honor Award for his trailblazing career as an investor inLatin America.

In his remarks to Society members and guests, Dr. Farvardincalled the Gala “the brilliant culmination of a truly memorableseries of events surrounding my inauguration,” and thanked thecommunity for receiving him and his family so warmly since hewas appointed president on July 1. In turn, he vowed to “elevateStevens to ever greater heights of excellence, achievement anddistinction.”

“Our plan will be bold, ambitious and far-reaching, yet re-alistic and achievable. Students will be front and center in ourplanning priorities. The plan will raise expectations for all andemphasize accountability,” he said. “It will be designed to aimhigh, engender excitement, create a strong sense of ownership,build communities, embrace and value diversity, challengeconvention, turn talking into doing, move boundaries andmake an impact.”

In order to achieve long-term strategic goals over the course ofthe “Stevens Decade” leading up to the university’s landmark 150th

anniversary—and to ensure broad community input—Dr. Far-vardin said he was determinedto “build a larger and more en-gaged alumni family, one alum-nus or alumna at a time.”

Annmarie Rizzo ’86, chairof the EAS Society, said thepresident’s message has struck aresponsive chord with alumni.

“I was thrilled by thephenomenal, record-breakingturnout at this year’s Gala. Thisshow of enthusiasm is clearly atestament to the genuine excite-ment felt by so many in theStevens community, includingour alumni, at the inaugurationof Dr. Farvardin as Stevens’ sev-enth president,” she said.

“We see this as a time of transformational change forStevens, and we are determined to work together as a commu-nity to bring this great institution to the next level of academicachievement, research and technological innovation.”

She added, “As a proud alumna, I am delighted to see thatDr. Farvardin recognizes that Stevens’ greatest assets are its stu-dents and alumni. In turn, we will redouble our efforts to ex-pand our membership in support of our beloved alma mater.”

In granting its major awards this year, the university hon-ored two pioneers.

By Tracey ReganSpecial to The Stevens Indicator

Toasting a New President& Two Alumni Achievers

Inauguration Gala ProvidesJoyful Conclusion to

Historic Presidential Events

Stevens President Dr. Nariman Farvardin with his wife, Hoveida,left, and daughter, Tandice, at the Inauguration Gala.

A

Fall 2011 15

The Stevens Honor Award, given by the university and theStevens Alumni Association, recognizes an individual’s notableachievement in any field of endeavor.

Swensen, this year’s recipient, is the chairman of ConduitCapital Partners, which invests private equity in electrical gen-erating plants and pipelines in Central and South America andthe Caribbean. The firm was formed in 2003 to continue theLatin power business that Swensen had started 10 years earlierat Scudder, Stevens & Clark. His first fund, Latin Power I, wasin 1993 the first institutional-sized private equity fund focusedexclusively on Latin America.

Swensen credited his Stevens education with teaching himthe satisfaction in accomplishments that flow from hard workand perseverance, noting, “This has stayed with me for my en-tire career.” But he added that the most important career lessonhe had learned at Stevens was an unlikely one to take from anengineering school.

“I discovered that I loved to work with other people to solve

issues and do important things,” he said, noting that he runs hisprivate equity firm very much “as a group of people.”

Swensen is the son of the late John H. Swensen ’51, whopassed away in 2009. “My father would have loved to have beenhere,” he said. Much of Swensen’s family did accompany him thatevening, including his wife, Cynthia; three of his five children,Becky, Caroline and Jeff; and his granddaughter, Samantha.

Later, his family spoke of how proud they were of him andhow thrilled he was to receive the Stevens Honor Award. ButSwensen wanted to speak of his excitement about Dr. Far-vardin’s leadership.

“I’m really, really optimistic about our future,” he said ofStevens. “It’s the University of Maryland’s big loss and our big gain.”

The evening’s second honoree echoed this excitement aboutthe new Stevens president.

The Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. Entrepreneur Award honors thelegacy of Schaefer ’36, a loyal and involved alumnus for 60years, who served as chairman of the university’s board of

Gala HonoreesPhoto above: John G. Puente, M.S. ’60, speaks at the

Presidential Inauguration Gala, where he receivedthe Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. Entrepreneur Award.

Photo right: Stevens President Dr. NarimanFarvardin, right, presents the Stevens Honor

Award to J. Scott Swensen ’74 during thePresidential Inauguration Gala.

Enjoying the Gala,from left, are Maureen

Weatherall ’78 andher husband Jim

Weatherall ’78, PhilCrowley ’71 and

Diane Young.


trustees. The university gives the award to noteworthy membersof the community at large.

Puente is the director of Micros Systems, a provider of en-terprise information systems to the hospitality industry. Earlierin his career, he led the team that launched the first privatetelecommunications satellite into spacethrough a company he founded, Orion Net-working Systems, and went on to form sever-al satellite telecommunications companies.

Puente, who called his Stevens education“an important step in my career as an engineerand entrepreneur,” said he applauded the uni-versity’s direction.

“It’s clear that Dr. Farvardin is the rightman at the right time for the technological erawe’ve entered. There will be great changes overthe next 10 to 15 years, and we will need lead-ership,” he said in his remarks after receivinghis award.

Puente’s comments were echoed by abroad cross-section of the Stevens communityin attendance at the Gala.

“What (Dr. Farvardin) says about ourcountry’s lack of science and technology ex-pertise is exactly right, and the school can attract the sort ofpeople who will help to build that up,” said David Hershberg,M.M.S. ’68, the founder and CEO of Globecomm Systems,Inc., a satellite communications company, who attended hisfirst gala this year.

“He also wants to make sure the school teaches students not

just engineering, but entrepreneurship. He’s got the right idea.”“Dr. Farvardin’s credentials are truly impressive,” said

Michael Bertucci ’09, a doctoral student in organic chemistry atthe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who said he re-turns to Stevens once a semester.

The Society is named for Edwin A.Stevens, the Hoboken-born inventor, engineerand entrepreneur who bequeathed the landand start-up funds to establish Stevens Insti-tute of Technology 141 years ago. Its memberscontinue this tradition of philanthropy withdonations throughout the year that have animmediate and powerful impact on every as-pect of student life, from scholarships, to ath-letics, to academic programs.

In a roundly applauded announcement atthe Gala, Edward Eichhorn ’69, Stevens’ vicepresident for development, reported that theuniversity had succeeded “with the help of a lotof people in this room” in raising more than athird of the money toward a three-year, $30 mil-lion fund-raising effort conceived earlier thisyear and known as the President’s Initiative forExcellence. The Initiative, Eichhorn said, is

aimed at “immediate and pressing priorities focused on improvingthe student experience.”

It will be used to expand scholarship programs, upgrade in-frastructure and technical capabilities, and boost the universi-ty’s ability to pursue outstanding new faculty members, amongother priorities.

The Stevens community put their best foot forward duringthe events surrounding Dr. Nariman Farvardin’s recent inaugura-tion. Beautiful landscaping and elegant fabric choices trans-formed campus locations into spectacular venues worthy of thefinest arenas.

The last time Castle Point saw anything similar to Dr. Far-vardin’s investiture was six decades ago. When Dr. Jess H. Daviswas confirmed as the university’s fourth president on Oct. 12,1951, almost 60 years to the day of Dr. Farvardin’s investiture, in-vitations to 800 colleges and approximately 1,600 politicians andfriends of Stevens were sent out. No formal invitations were sentto alumni due to a lack of time and staff, but a general announce-ment in the October 1951 Stevens Indicator was made. The dayof the inauguration, a noon luncheon was held for 600 academicdelegates at the Union Club in Hoboken. The Academic Proces-sion started on the Castle Stevens Lawn at 2:15 p.m., walkingaround the south entrance of the Walker gym, up the WittpennMemorial Walkway and on their way to the Castle. A cocktailparty at 5 p.m. was held at the Hotel Astor in New York City, fol-lowed by the alumni dinner in the hotel’s grand ballroom.

The most available Indicator records provide some details ofthe welcoming of Jess Davis’ predecessor, Harvey N. Davis (no re-lation), as Stevens’ third president. More than 850 alumni andguests feted Dr. Davis at the Hotel Astor in New York City on

March 15, 1928; his inauguration was held that fall. The alum-ni—all men—enjoyed a fine dinner in the Grand Ballroom (withmuch singing and merriment) while “the ladies” were served din-ner in a separate room. Speech after speech marked the evening,with congratulatory telegrams from, among many others, NewYork Gov. Alfred E. Smith and Secretary of Commerce HerbertHoover. When Davis finally rose to speak, “the room was filledwith paper streamers tossed by the alumni,” The Indicator report-ed, and “pandemonium broke loose and class vied with class tomake sure that its cheer could be heard.”

Stevens’ fifth president, Dr. Kenneth C. Rogers, was official-ly inaugurated as president in September 1973 as 1,000 guestswatched. The events on campus were festive, but minimal. Tradi-tional freshmen games and a barbecue were held on Palmer Lawn.When the last president, Dr. Harold J. Raveché, assumed the roleof Stevens’ sixth president in 1988, it was marked with little pub-lic display.

For Dr. Farvardin’s inauguration, 37 colleges sent delegatesand 126 institutions sent citations and greetings to mark the oc-casion. Almost 1,000 guests, alumni, students, faculty and staffwitnessed the event in Canavan Arena. After the ceremony, de-spite a heavy rain storm, about 1,000 people helped celebratewith Dr. Farvardin and his family at the Babbio Center atriumand patio.—Lisa Torbic

Of Inaugurations, Present and Past

Hoveida and Nariman Farvardinenjoy the Inauguration Gala.

Fall 2011 17

he many events held dur-ing Homecoming Week-end were a perfect eclectic

mix for some alumni and freshmenparents. There were plenty of activ-ities taking place on campus onSaturday: the Stevens AthleticsHall of Fame brunch, the Presi-dent’s Homecoming Receptionwith music performed by students,two community barbecues, variousathletic events and several Greekopen houses.

“There were a lot of diverseevents this weekend. (The athleticprogram) was represented all dayand a cultural event with musicalperformances in the library washeld this afternoon,” said JohnFitzpatrick ’84, who traveled fromBaltimore, Md., for the weekend.“It was a nice combination.”

Williams Library was filledwith hundreds of students, parents and alumni during the pres-ident’s reception. Bijan Mohazab ’15 was listening to the stu-dent performances with his parents, Zohreh Shahvar and RezaMohazab. His parents, who now live in Staten Island, N.Y., areoriginally from Tehran, Iran, where Stevens President Dr. Nari-man Farvardin was born. They beamed with pride that a man

from their hometown was officially installed as Stevens’ seventhpresident.

“It really is a small world,” said Reza Mohazab, with a smileon his face. The couple said they got the chance to speak withthe Farvardin family at Friday’s reception following the inaugu-ration ceremony.

The Mohazabs said they knew from the moment Bijan en-tered the Howe Center during a campus tour months ago thatthis was the right university for him.

“It felt like home,” said Bijan Mohazab, who plans to majorin mechanical engineering. He is also a music buff who has beenstudying the piano for the past 13 years. While he didn’t wantto overextend himself his first semester with studies and hob-bies, he said he will definitely explore the music program atStevens next year.

The Rivera family also enjoyed campus events this weekend.Gabe Rivera ’15 and his parents, Barbara and Sandy, attendedthe academic colloquium on Friday morning and watched theinauguration ceremony on Palmer Lawn that afternoon. Theyalso attended many events on Saturday.

Stevens was the first choice for Gabe, said Barbara Rivera.“It just felt right, it felt like family,” Gabe Rivera said. Theschool’s small size and proximity to New York City also factoredinto his decision, according to his mom. “All the other schoolsfailed in comparison,” she said.

Alumni, Parents Welcome Dr. FarvardinOptimism High at Presidential Reception

TBy Lisa TorbicAssociate Editor

Students, from left, Sara Marzouk ’13, Melissa Wiegand ’13, Emily Rautenberg ’14 and Tay-lore Fowler ’14 perform during the Homecoming Reception inside the Great Hall, S.C.Williams Library, on Oct. 15. Alumni and freshmen parents were invited to this informal gath-ering where they enjoyed good music and light refreshments.

Freshmen parents Zohreh Shahvar, at left, and Reza Mohaz-ab, at right, flank their son, Bijan Mohazab ’15, during theHomecoming Reception inside the S.C. Williams Library. TheStaten Island, N.Y., couple attended many events duringHomecoming Weekend.

Top: The Inauguration procession. Left: Dr. Farvardin greets students at Inauguration reception. Right: Rick ‘73 and Michelle Roscitt, left, and Sheri and Larry Babbio ‘66 at the Inauguration Gala.

THE PRESIDENT’S

INITIATIVE FOR EXCELLENCEis a three-year, $30 million fundraising effort aimed at improving the student experience by expanding scholarship programs, upgrading infrastructure, enhancing the university’s technical capabilities, and boosting the university’s ability to attract outstanding new faculty members. Unveiled at the

-ment of a long-term strategic planning exercise that focuses on excellence in all facets of Stevens life, from academics, to applied research and entrepreneurial enterprises, to the meaningful engagement of students and faculty in solving the world’s urgent challenges through technological innovation. It marks the start of the The Stevens Decade - a period of serious planning, bold ambitions, and impressive accomplish-ment - leading up to our landmark 150th anniversary. The community’s response to the Initiative has been extraordinary, precedent-setting even. In the three and a half months since

than a third of the way toward the fundraising target.

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR EXCELLENT STUDENTSBolstered by the Initiative, Stevens will immediately expand efforts to recruit and retain the brightest, most promising students, while supporting their educational journeys from

technical education spiraling out of reach for too many talented

priority. Attracting these top scholars is also key to Stevens’ mission: producing a highly skilled, technology-savvy workforce capable of devising a wide range of innovative solutions to address ever more complex societal problems.

SUPPORT FOR EXCELLENT FACULTYThe Initiative will allow Stevens to recruit and retain outstanding faculty - the core of an institution of higher learning - and equip them with the resources they need to provide an exceptional learning experience for students, to generate knowledge, to advance the frontiers of science and technology, and to transfer game-changing technologies to the world outside academe. Crucially, Initiative funds will give Stevens the agility to add needed skills and expertise to the

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F R O M T H E P R E S I D E N TI want to thank the entire Stevens community

for the awe-inspiring e�orts that transformed this campus into three days of brilliant scholarship, joyful reunions, and gala celebrations around my instal-lation as your seventh president. These remarkable events created a sense of pride in our community and elevated the image of Stevens Institute of Technology well beyond our borders. For me person-ally, the enthusiastic participation of so many, the thoughtful gifts to the university in honor of my inau-guration, and the myriad well wishes I received from all corners of the globe have made my �rst weeks on Castle Point unforgettable. The outpouring of sup-port I have received from the Stevens community has been nothing short of overwhelming.

What I take from this magni�cent welcome is tre-mendous energy and encouragement to embark on the next chapter in our storied history. With critical guidance and support from this highly engaged community, we will together strengthen the Stevens experience in profound and direct ways and chart a course that propels this wonderful institution to new heights of distinction and achievement.

EXCELLENT INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EXCELLENT UNIVERSITYThe Initiative will provide needed funds to upgrade the univer-sity’s physical infrastructure and to expand its technical capabili-ties in order to maintain a cutting-edge learning environment and to prepare Stevens graduates to step into careers that require

funds will permit Stevens to renovate and modernize classrooms, lecture halls and laboratories, while also enhancing and expand-ing common facilities such as the library and athletic facilities.

THE PRESIDENT’S DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIESIn addition to strengthening the academic program and expanding opportunities for students, the Initiative will support

science and technology, the linkages between societal issues and advances in science and technology, and related policy issues. The lecture series is designed to keep Stevens front and center in academic and policy discussions critical to the nation, on topics such as green energy, advanced biomedical devices, cybersecurity, health information technology, next-generation wireless systems, and social media technologies. Guest speakers will include highly distinguished engineers, scientists, policy makers and corporate executives.

Photo Credit: Jeffrey Vock

The President’s Initiative for

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student experience at Stevens

through investments in

campus life and infrastructure,

scholarships, and faculty.

Nariman Farvardin President, Stevens Institute of Technology

Nariman and Hoveida Farvardin

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Fall 2011 19


Photo Album: Presidential Inauguration 2011

Stevens President Dr. Nariman Farvardin, in photo left, listens intently to an inauguration attendee after the historicceremony. Above right, he poses for a photo after his investiture as Stevens’ seventh president.

Mary Ann Collins ’13 explains her work toother students and guests at the StudentResearch Colloquium on Oct. 13.

Dr. Nariman Farvardin enjoyed greeting students at the reception follow-ing the inauguration ceremony.

Hooshang Farvardin, father of Nariman Far-vardin, shares a dance with his grand-daughter, Tandice, daughter of the newStevens president, at the Presidential Inau-guration Gala.

Fall 2011 21

Bruce Boylan ’63, left, shares a moment with Sheila and CharliePerruzzi ’63 at the Inauguration Gala.

Dr. Nariman Farvardin enjoys the BabbioCenter reception following his inaugurationceremony.


ATHLETICSHALL OF FAME

INDUCTS FIVEYOUNG ALUMNI

The 2011 ClassFeatures Stars from

the 2000s Decade

By Rob KulishStevens’ Director of Sports Information and Events

ive alumni were newly enshrined in the 22nd StevensAthletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Oct.15 during Homecoming Weekend. The 2011 class in-

cludes Valerie Barnhart ’06, Andrea Chimel ’05, Tim Meehan’06, Kim Mirra ’05 and Josh Ottinger ’06.

“We are thrilled to honor this year’s Athletics Hall of Fameclass as part of our Homecoming festivities,” said RussellRogers, Stevens’ director of athletics. “I had the good fortune ofseeing each one of these individuals perform during their timeat Stevens and know firsthand how special they were. These in-dividuals represent the essence of what we want the Stevens stu-dent-athlete to stand for: talented, hard-working individualswho played their sport with the utmost passion while alwaysrepresenting our institution in a first-class manner.”

The Stevens Athletics Hall of Fame, which was started in1990, now has 97 members.

Valerie Barnhart was a two-sport star at Stevens, excelling inwomen’s soccer in the fall and women’s lacrosse in the spring.She also played one year of field hockey and was a member ofthe equestrian team during the 2005-06 season. As a soccerplayer, Barnhart led the Ducks to an overall mark of 61-18-5 inher four years on the squad and three appearances in the Na-tional Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division IIIWomen’s Soccer Championship from 2002-2004. She helpedlead the Ducks to four-straight Skyline Conference titles.

Individually, Barnhart was a four-time, first-team All-Sky-line Conference performer, the 2001 Rookie of the Year, the2002 co-Player of the Year, the 2003 and 2004 Player of theYear, and the 2004 Skyline Conference Tournament MVP. Shealso earned first-team National Soccer Coaches Association ofAmerica (NSCAA) All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors from2002-2004.

Barnhart is entrenched in the Stevens women’s soccer recordbook. She holds the top-four spots in single-season goals andpoints, tallying at least 20 markers and 49 points in each cam-paign. She also holds the top single-season mark in goals pergame (1.24 in 2001), points per game (2.88 in 2001), shots(143 in 2004), and shots on goal (66 in 2003), among otherrecords as well. Career-wise, Barnhart is at the top of the recordbook in goals (87), goals per game (1.06), points (207), pointsper game (2.52), shots (466), shots on goal (232), and more.She is second all-time with 33 assists.

“This is an honor I will cherish forever, especially to be in-ducted with such a great class of athletes and people, includ-ing my good friend and teammate, Kim Mirra. A specialthanks to everybody involved with nominating me for thishonor. I am truly grateful,” Barnhart said. Her parents, sisterand aunt were on hand to witness Barnhart’s induction, aswere several teammates.

“Val is a special person that I would have to say is one of thegreatest student-athletes I have seen in my time here at Stevens,”Head Women’s Soccer Coach Jeff Parker said. “She played fourvarsity sports and was an outstanding student at the same time.Record books, both Stevens and the NCAA, have her name inmultiple references for her feats on the field, but to our programshe has been more than that. She has always been connectedwith our teams and has been a part of helping student-athletesat Stevens since her departure. A great talent, a giving personand a role model for our student-athletes.”

As a lacrosse player, the Gilbertsville, Pa., native is equallyimpressive. She holds the single-season record for goals (84)and scored 79 or more in three of her seasons as a member ofthe team. She twice broke 100 points and holds the single-sea-son record with 102 in 2004, while also holding the top spot

Freshman Bella Romano, #20, gets the ball into position as the Ducksshut out Alfred University 4-0 on Oct. 15 during Homecoming.

F

Fall 2011 23

in points per game, shots, shots per game, shots on goal, andmore. Barnhart holds single-game records in goals (nine, threetimes), assists (six), points (10, four times), shots (22), andshots on goal (17). Barnhart’s 298 goals, 4.38 goals per game,and 5.36 points per game are all program bests. She’s tops inall-time shots (661), shots per game (9.72), and ground balls(210) as well.

Barnhart was a four-time All-Eastern College Athletic Conference(ECAC) Metro performer and the2005 Player of the Year. She wasnamed All-Knickerbocker Confer-ence three straight times from 2003-2005 and was the 2004 and 2005Knickerbocker Player of the Year.Barnhart was a three-time recipientof the Irvin “Buzz” Seymour Athleteof the Year award and was the Stevensrecipient of the NCAA Woman ofthe Year award in 2005.

Andrea Chimel is among the topepee fencers in Stevens fencing histo-ry. She won 166 bouts over thecourse of her four-year career on Cas-tle Point, which puts her at the top ofthe epee and overall record book.Chimel’s winning percentage of .865holds the top spot as the Long Valley,N.J., native went 166-26 in her 192bouts, and she also led her team tosecond-place finishes at the NationalIntercollegiate Women’s Fencing As-sociation (NIWFA) Championshipin 2003 and 2004. Individually,Chimel was an NIWFA finalist in2003, 2004 and 2005, placingfourth, second and second.

Chimel won the epee division ti-tle at the 2002 Eastern Women’sFencing Conference (EWFC) Cham-pionships and helped the team to anEWFC title in 2002. She also quali-fied for NCAA Regional Champi-onship competition in 2002, 2003and 2005. She was All-EWFC in2002, 2003 and 2005, earning first-team nods in ’03 and ’05. She alsoearned the Fencer of the Year acco-lade in 2005 in addition to receivingAll-NIWFA first-team honors in2004 and 2005. She was second-team All-NIWFA in 2003 andearned NIWFA All-Academic team distinction in 2005.

“Andrea was truly an amazing fencer and quite possibly thebest in Stevens women’s fencing history,” Head Coach LindaVollkommer-Lynch said. “Her work ethic was second-to-none aswas her dedication. Watching her fence was a privilege, and thishonor could not be bestowed on a more deserving individual.”

Tim Meehan is one of the most heralded players in Stevensbaseball history. He sits fifth all-time in batting average, hittingat a .350 clip from 2003-06, and his 157 hits is third. Meehanscored 119 runs, which is third best as well, and his .929 runsper game is second. He is fifth in all-time runs batted in (95)and his 79 walks are fourth. Meehan ranks third in steals (63)and total bases (232), and his .517 slugging percentage is

fourth. In his four years on CastlePoint, Meehan turned in an on-basepercentage of .458 which puts himthird on the all-time list.

Meehan is just as prevalentamong the single-season leaders. Hisbatting average of .423 in 2006 issixth, while his 50 runs that same sea-son is a program-record. Meehan’s 63hits in 2006 puts him fourth in thatcategory and his five homers in 2005and 2006 is tied for sixth. He drove in37 runs in 2006 and drew 29 walks in2005, both good for fourth in single-season history. Meehan accumulated95 hits in 2006, good for second, andhis .638 slugging percentage and .517on-base percentage in 2006 is fifth inthe single-season ranks.

In addition to impressive statisti-cal ranks, Meehan is an extremelydecorated player. He was a first-teamCoSIDA Academic All-American in2006 – the first and only in the 105-year history of the Stevens baseballprogram. He earned first-team Amer-ican Baseball Coaches Association(ABCA) Rawlings All-New YorkMid-Atlantic Region and first-teamNew Jersey Collegiate Baseball Asso-ciation (NJCBA) honors in 2006 andwas third-team All-NJCBA in 2005.

The 12th baseball player to be in-ducted into the Hall of Fame atStevens, Meehan earned a first-teamAll-ECAC nod in 2006 and also wasthe Skyline Conference Player of theYear. A second-team All-Skyline pickin 2005, Meehan is the only Stevensathlete to earn the Collegiate AthleticAdministrators of New Jersey Divi-sion III Scholar Athlete of the Yearhonor (2005-06).

“Timmy is the type of person you get the privilege to coachonce or twice in a lifetime,” Assistant Baseball Coach KenZinchiak said. “He had the ability and strength to lead his team,both on and off the field, and his leadership led our team to anational ranking for the first time in program history. His hardwork caused every player to admire and look up to him. It wastruly a privilege coaching Tim.”

Tim Meehan ’06, right, is congratulated by StevensDirector of Athletics Russell Rogers.

Kim Mirra ’05 enters the Hall of Fame for women’ssoccer and women’s lacrosse squads.


Kim Mirra was a two-sport standout at Stevens, starring forthe women’s soccer and women’s lacrosse squads. Mirra helpedlead the women’s soccer team to Skyline Conference titles allfour years she was a member of the team (2001-2004). TheDucks earned the conference’s first two automatic berths to theNCAA Division III Women’s Soccer tournament in 2003 and2004, advancing to the second roundboth years. She also helped guide hersquads to Women’s IntercollegiateAthletic Conference (WIAC) titles in2001 and 2002.

She was All-WIAC as a freshmanand earned first-team All-SkylineConference honors in 2001, 2002,and 2004. “One of the best thingsabout Kim is her versatility and abili-ty to reach her goals no matter thecircumstances,” said Parker. “Notmany people know that she was re-cruited as a goalkeeper and went onto start nearly every match of her col-legiate career as either a central backor midfielder. She was our leader onthe field.”

A midfielder, Mirra controlled 55draws in 2003, which is sixth all-timeand her 3.42 (2002) and 3.06 (2003)draw controls per game are the sixth-and seventh-best marks in single-sea-son history. Mirra recorded 90 assists in her career, which is thethird most all-time as is her 1.32 assists per game. Her 191 careerdraw controls is third-best and her 2.80 draw controls per gameis second, while her 78 caused turnovers ranks fourth in programhistory. She earned All-ECAC accolades in 2004 and 2005 andwas a three-time All-Knickerbocker selection (2003-2005).

“Kim was perhaps the hardest-working player we have everhad,” said Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach Celine Cunningham.“She was one of the few Stevens players to serve as captain inmultiple seasons, and could always be counted on to do theright things both in games and in practice. She was a pleasure tocoach and the undisputed leader of her teams.”

Josh Ottinger is one of the mostdecorated players from one of themost successful programs at Stevens,men’s soccer. In 2001, he was namedthe Skyline Conference Rookie of theYear and was a first-team, all-confer-ence performer from 2001 to 2004 inaddition to being the Skyline Confer-ence Tournament MVP in 2003. Hewas an NSCAA All-Region selectionthree times, earning a first-team nodin 2004. He is the only three-timeCoSIDA Academic All-American inStevens history, earning a second-team honor in 2002 and third-teamaccolades in 2003 and 2004.

Ottinger’s statistics are equallyimpressive to his accolades. His 68goals, 38 assists, and 174 points are atthe top of the Stevens all-time recordbook as are his 1.97 points per gameand .431 assists per game. His .772goals per game are third in program

history. His 351 shots and 3.98 shots per game are also pro-gram-highs, while his 138 shots on goal are second-best.

The Schnecksville, Pa., native is tied for the single-seasongoals mark with 21 in 2003. He also holds single-season recordsfor shots (107 in 2001), shots per game (5.09 in 2001) andshots on goal (52 in 2004).

Stevens President Dr. Nariman Farvardin address-es the Hall of Fame gathering.

The 2011 class of the Stevens Athletics Hall of Fame: from left, Valerie Barnhart ’06, Andrea Chimel ’05, Tim Meehan ’06,Kim Mirra ’05 and Josh Ottinger ’06.

Fall 2011 25

Days after the ceremony, he was still reeling inthe moment.

“I am humbled to be recognized … with the oth-er four terrific athletes. I was blessed with great sup-port from my family, teammates, coaches, athleticstaff, and the rest of the Stevens administration.I am honored to be inducted into the Hall ofFame with the other athletes,” he said. Hebrought his wife, Nicki; daughter Grace; parentsLloyd and Angela Ottinger; and other relatives to the brunch.

“Josh was truly a great player,” former men’s soccer coachTim O’Donohue said. “He was one of the best pure finishersthat Stevens has ever had and was great with his back to thegoal. Josh had remarkable control of his body and could

strike the ball with either foot. What set Joshapart was his ability to finish in the penalty area.

He maybe is the best penalty-box finisher that Ihave ever coached.”

Also during Homecoming Weekend, eightStevens teams held on-campus games, with theDucks capturing a victory in five events.

The swimming teams for women and menbeat both Montclair State University teams in the

season-opener for the two schools; the men bested MSU153-88 while the women cruised to a 160-94 victory. Also thatday, women’s field hockey topped Elmira College 5-2, women’ssoccer shut out Alfred University 4-0 and men’s soccer beatIthaca College 1-0.

STEVENS HOMECOMING 2011

Stevens students participated in a communitybarbecue held on campus on Oct. 15.

Stevens President Dr. Nariman Farvardin wel-comed several hundred freshmen parents dur-ing a Homecoming Weekend event on Oct. 15at De Baun Auditorium.


Class of 2015 most selectivein Stevens’ history

The Class of 2015 entered Stevens this fall asone of the most elite incoming classes in the uni-versity’s history.

At 627 students, they are the largest incomingclass in Stevens’ recorded history. They bring thehighest SAT scores among the incoming classes—ranging from 1190 to 1390—in recent years.And they also set a new standard for competitive-ness, with only 40 percent of the class’s applicantschosen for admission. The 40 percent selectivitysets a new Stevens record.

“Among national universities, it’s a nice statis-tic,” says Stevens’ Dean of University AdmissionsDaniel Gallagher.

But as outstanding as the Class of 2015 is,Gallagher hesitates to call them Stevens’ best-everfreshman class.

“I think that every class is special,” Gallaghersays during an interview in late September. “Tobe a Stevens student, you have to bring a certaintalent and passion. All of our classes have broughtunique and exceptional qualities to our campus.This class will certainly not disappoint.”

Stevens seeks students who have a passion formath, science or technology, who are creative andentrepreneurial, and who have a desire to be anactive member of the university’s community,Gallagher says. They have a special knack for thearts, sports or another activity and skillfully bal-ance academics with the extra-curricular, he says.

The Class of 2015 certainly seems to fit thisbill. They have an average high school gradepoint average of 3.8, and 180 of them—almostone out of three—are student athletes preparing

to play Stevens athletics. Their chosen areas ofstudy cover all of Stevens’ four schools but theclass has shown an increased interest in business,quantitative finance, physics and undecided engi-neering.

They hail from 28 states—with 40 percentcoming from outside of New Jersey—and eightcountries.

Gallagher points toward several reasons forStevens’ large, high quality application pool thispast year. Stevens’ reputation is reaching a fargreater audience and career opportunities in en-gineering and science are growing, he says. Re-cent Stevens graduates have done exceptionallywell in the job market. And Stevens’ recruiters areincreasing their outreach. The university is re-cruiting more in states relatively new to Stevens,such as Colorado and Ohio, and efforts are alsobeing made to attract students from South Amer-ica, particularly Colombia, Brazil, Argentina andEcuador.

Stevens is also working to increase its out-reach to minority students, who represent 25 per-cent of the Class of 2015. Marissa Moses Brock’99, an alumna of the Stevens Technical Enrich-ment Program (STEP), has been hired by the uni-versity to help lead the Admissions Office’s mi-nority recruiting effort, Gallagher says.

Another statistic that Stevens’ Office of Ad-missions is trying to improve is the number ofwomen on campus. Women represent 24 percentof the Class of 2015, which is actually a slightdrop from last year’s freshman class, which was26 percent women.

“That perplexes us all,” Gallagher says, point-ing out that the percentage of women at Stevenshas never been higher than the upper 20 percents.Stevens is trying to determine why these numbershave remained stagnant and is making a strongereffort to turn that statistic around, Gallaghersaid.

As academically talented as the Class of 2015is, there are other characteristics that make itstand out: The class includes five sets of twinsand several students from alumni families. (Seestory on the Coyle family on the next page.)

Gallagher has seen an uptick in these legacyfamilies at Stevens and says that the same thingsthat are attracting more applicants in general—from Stevens’ growing prominence and its greatlocation to strong career opportunities after grad-uation—are drawing in these children and grand-children of alumni.—Beth Kissinger

The Class of 2015 recites the Stevens Honor Systempledge during Convocation 2011.

Grist From the Mill

Fall 2011 27

Three Coyle brothers on campuscontinue family legacy

No one needed to tell the Coyle boys where tofind the Calder Mobile or that Benny’s pizza is infi-nitely better than Gino’s. They knew these things,since they’ve wandered the Stevens campus and neigh-borhood for longer than they can remember.

They’ve been visiting Castle Point—and hearingthe stories—since they were in strollers, with momHelen Emmanuelidis Coyle ’83, M.Eng. ’85, and dadJames ’83, M.Eng. ’00, towing them along. Even theiruncles Anastasios Emmanuelidis, M.Eng. ’79, andKonstantinos Emmanuelidis ’80 went to Stevens.

This fall, the Coyle family achieved a landmarkthat’s impressive even for a university that fosters ahealthy number of legacy families. Three of the fourCoyle boys are now attending Stevens, with theyoungest son eyeing the Stute in the next few years.

Sean, Kiriakos ‘‘Kirk’’ and Christopher Coyle ofTenafly, N.J., all call Stevens home, with Sean a senior,Kirk a junior, and Christopher a member of the impres-sive freshman class who entered this fall. (See accompa-nying story on the Class of 2015 on the previous page.)

All three insist that their parents didn’t push themto attend Stevens, and they all applied to at least sevenschools. Their dad especially encouraged them to ex-plore different options.

“As much as he tried to push us away, we stuckaround,” Sean says recently, with a smile.

For the Coyle sons, it came down to Stevens’ strongengineering program, a great location and a familiaritywith a place they’ve known almost all of their lives. FirstSean, then both he and Kirk, have also passed downtheir special Stevens knowledge: from what classes youreally have to focus on, what professors to take (andavoid) and even what’s the best food in Pierce.

They lead independent lives and have their ownfriends at Stevens, they say, and live in different resi-dences. But having his brothers around makes Stevensfeel even more like home, Sean says.

“It was also nice to know that I had my brothers(with me), whom I’ve known forever,” Christophersays.

When all three brothers stop by the StevensAlumni Office one late September afternoon, somesimilarities are striking. They are all tall like their fa-ther, dark-haired, articulate. All three are majoring inbiomedical engineering, with Sean planning to workas an engineer designing prosthetics, Kirk an aspiringorthopedic surgeon and Christopher a future dentist.All three are Eagle Scouts, their dad proudly men-tions. And they all speak Greek.

Sean is easily identifiable as the warm, steady, old-est brother, Kirk seems quieter and more intense,Christopher, the most talkative of the three. All aremembers of Stevens’ Biomedical Engineering Society.But Sean serves as a senator with the Student Govern-

ment Association and a member of the Alpha PhiOmega service fraternity, while Kirk competes in clublacrosse, and Christopher plays string bass in theStevens Orchestra.

They readily acknowledge that Kirk is the beststudent, and he’s now tutoring Christopher in Chem-istry and Calculus, but Christopher gives his own spe-cial kind of help to his older brother. “I definitely tellKirk how to dress,” he says jokingly.

Their parents, who met freshman year and werechemistry lab partners, are obviously proud of them.

Helen, a physics teacher at Tenafly High School,says that her sons were already independent, so sharingthe same campus wasn’t a concern. She’s happy to havethem close by, and thrilled that they chose Stevens, shesays.

“Obviously, (my husband and I) both lovedStevens. It’s such a good, solid education,” she says.

“It stays with you. You’re always a Stevens engi-neer.”

Dad Jim, a principal mechanical engineer with Ar-cadis, says that he’s just happy that they’re all doing welland enjoying college. The familiarity with Stevenshelped them enter their college years with confidence,he says.

They get along most of the time, he says with alaugh. One thing is certain.

“They cover each other’s backs,” Jim says.The three oldest Coyle boys like to call their

youngest brother, Steven, “the baby”—somethingSteven, 16, a high school junior, may not find endear-ing. But Steven has his own gifts: he’s a budding engi-neer with a kind heart. Is he the next Coyle to enterStevens?

“Leave a spot for him, just in case,” his dad says.—Beth Kissinger

The Coyle brothers,from left, Christopher’15, Kirk ’13 and Sean’12, are part of aStevens legacy family.Their parents Helen ’83and James ’83 met asfreshmen here, andthey have two uncleswho also graduatedfrom the Stute.


Double award-winning professorhas passion for teaching

He was working in a fun Silicon Valley start-up inthe late 1990s, doing nanotechnology before nano-technology was a word.

But as the company grew, Dr. Ronald Besserfound himself spending most of his time in meetingshe didn’t want to be in. Daydreaming in his cubicle orin those dreaded meetings, he imagined his ideal jobthat combined teaching (he loved mentoring youngemployees) and research.

Today, he has his dream job. Besser, 55, of NewProvidence, N.J., is a professor of chemical engineer-ing and program chair at Stevens. His current researchfocuses on hydrogen fuel cells and using nanotechnol-ogy to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and make alter-native energy sources cheaper and more efficient.

But he also teaches classes in fluid mechanics,chemical reactor design and sustainable energy. Andhe seems dedicated to becoming the best teacher hecan be, studying the latest educational approaches andstriving to better reach his students.

“There have been many times when I’ve realizedthat I have the greatest job on earth,” he says.

“These have less to do about my accomplishmentsand more about really enjoying the moment, likewhen a student really understands something for thefirst time, or when their experiment produces a trulynovel result no one has yet observed.

“It’s very rewarding,” he says. “I really enjoy seeingstudents grow and change and become something.”

Dr. Besser’s talent for the art of teaching was re-warded twice this fall at Convocation, when he re-ceived the Stevens Alumni Association OutstandingTeacher Award and the Henry Morton DistinguishedTeaching Professor Award, presented by the universi-ty. Alumni from the five most recent graduating class-es vote for the SAA Outstanding Teacher Award.

During an interview this past September, Dr.Besser, who joined Stevens in 2002, called the awardsa pleasant surprise.

“I sort of thought that teaching is something thatyou really work at, and that most good teachers arenot recognized for the effort they put in,” he says.

“There are many good teachers out there who arechanging the lives of their students.”

Miguel Ocampo ’08, M.Eng. ’08, is one of thosestudents whom Dr. Besser has touched. Ocampo nowworks as a research engineer with the Massachusetts In-stitute ofTechnology Energy Initiative, and he says that“Dr. B.” is one of the reasons he’s where he is today.

He praises Besser not only for the great advice andknowledge he conveyed during their two years ofsummer research together, but also for his personal in-terest in his students. Ocampo recalls Besser, who isalso fluent, letting him practice his Spanish or dis-cussing their common love of tennis.

“He’s a professor who cares for his students aca-demically and personally, a rare thing to find in uni-versities,” Ocampo said.

When you meet him in his Burchard Building of-fice, Besser is soft-spoken and thoughtful. A shelf be-hind his desk displays a wedding photograph of hiswife, and a homemade picture frame, a long-ago artproject most likely made by one his four children,who are now ages 13 to 21. His desk, cluttered withpapers, is comfortably messy.

He again mentions that he has the greatest job inthe world—time to do quality research as well as sat-isfy his passion for teaching. He praises his chemicalengineering students, many of them so outstanding.But it’s the students who have to work really hard,who struggle, that stay with him.

“That’s the group that brings the most rewards,”Besser says. “They are the ones that keep me going.”

Besser, who advises the student chapter of the

Dr. Ronald Besser,at left, accepts the

Stevens Alumni Asso-ciation’s OutstandingTeacher Award from

Mark LaRosa ’93, SAApresident. The awardwas presented duringthe 2011 Convocation,when Dr. Besser also

received Stevens’Henry Morton Distin-

guished TeachingProfessor Award.

Fall 2011 29

American Institute of Chemical Engineers, has alsodone work with Stevens’ Center for Innovation in En-gineering and Science Education (CIESE), providingmiddle school science teachers with hands-on activitiesand content instruction related to energy topics. (“Be-ing a K-12 teacher—that’s an honest living!” he says.“It really gave me a new respect for what they do.”)

CIESE has been an excellent resource for hisown teaching methods, he says. His latest approach:Less is more.

“I’m talking less and they’re talking more, and it’sworking better,” he says. He smiles when he recallshow he used to prepare lengthy lectures with the ex-pectation that his students would take fastidious notesfor the entire hour. Then he discovered, after readingthe educational research, that most people’s attentionspans are about 20 minutes. So now he breaks up theclass with different activities, from discussion to writ-ing terms on the board (he hates PowerPoint) to un-graded quizzes to make sure his students are doing thereading and are ready to discuss it in class.

One day in late September, Besser’s Fluid Me-chanics class gathers in a basement lab of McLeanHall, reviewing about a dozen terms and problems onthe board. Besser is patient and gentle with his stu-dents, cheering on those who give good answers andmaking sure one student really “gets it.” He’s not hightech—he uses conversation and a highlighter—andhe hardly sits the entire period.

They may not have gotten Besser’s reference toJon Voight in the 1978 film, “Coming Home,” butthese students certainly seem to have mastered theday’s lesson.

Student Owen Jappen praises Besser for his interest-ing lectures, his great guidance during research projectsand for his availability when it comes to office hours.

“You can go there any time,” Jappen says.Besser, who earned his bachelor’s degree in chem-

ical engineering from the University of California,Berkeley, and his master’s and Ph.D. in materials sci-ence from Stanford, grew up on the San Franciscopeninsula. He calls his father, the owner of an elec-tronics repair company who was “able to repair any-thing from cars to refrigerators,” and his mother, anelementary school teacher who gave him a love oflearning and teaching, his major influences.

Dr. Besser spent about 15 years in industry, work-ing with several Silicon Valley companies before hedecided he wanted to teach. He started as an adjunctprofessor and later left industry to make a big movewith his family to northern Louisiana in 1999, wherehe accepted an associate professorship with LouisianaTech University. When some Stevens professors con-tacted him about their plans to establish what wouldbecome the New Jersey Center for MicrochemicalSystems and asked him to join them, he accepted, andstarted with Stevens in 2002. The New York metroarea, with its top universities and vibrant, high-techeconomy, attracted him as a great place to settle withhis family.

Now that he has his “dream job,” Besser says thathis plans for the future are to continue balancing re-search with teaching and mentoring new researchersand engineers. A devoted runner and a bass guitaristwho plays at his church, he hopes to become a virtu-oso musician. And he and his wife, Cheryl, are stillbusy raising their children.

While their two oldest, both college students, areleaning toward writing, psychology and business, thetwo youngest are still seeking their own path.

“There may be an engineer or scientist in the re-maining two,” Besser says.—Beth Kissinger

Dr. Ronald Besser sitsin his office in the Bur-chard Building. He hasbeen teaching chemi-cal engineering atStevens since 2002.

30

Convocation welcomes freshmen,new Stevens president

Stevens’ new president greeted the university’slargest and perhaps most academically talented fresh-man class ever this fall at a well-attended Convocation.

Most of the class’s 627 incoming students packedCanavan Arena on Sept. 7, when they were greeted byStevens President Nariman Farvardin, who offered awarm pep talk and brief overview of his priorities forStevens. Dr. Farvardin, who took office on July 1, saidthat the Class of 2015 is Stevens’ most academically tal-ented freshman class yet; indeed, they were selectedfrom more than 4,000 applicants.

This gifted class can expect a number of changes inthe next few years, from the university’s first academicoverhaul in years to a new, multi-year strategic plan thatwill help the school reach new heights and touch manyaspects of Stevens life, from academic programs and fa-cilities such as laboratories and the Williams Library tothe student life experience, Farvardin said.

Quoting Winston Churchill, he said: “Sometimesdoing your best is not good enough. Sometimes youmust do what is required.”

“The challenges are many, but they will be met,” Dr.Farvardin said. “They will be met by working with dili-gence and determination.”

At this traditional ceremony that includes thepresentation of various faculty and student awards,Dr. Farvardin also reflected on last year’s achieve-ments. The Class of 2011’s 403 baccalaureate gradu-ates was the largest in the school’s history; Stevens’$37 million in externally sponsored research was anall-time high; and the university currently has thelargest number of research projects it has ever hadfunded by the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Farvardin also spoke with humor about the startof his tenure at Stevens, which had so far included anearthquake and a hurricane that became a tempestuoustropical storm. “My friends say that I really know howto make a grand entrance,” he said with a smile.

The Stevens president closed his remarks by leadingstudents in a promise they repeated aloud, to “work dili-gently, think deeply, act ethically, laugh loudly, lovedeeply, and always plant more flowers than you pick.”

Other Convocation highlights included the in-duction of the Class of 2015 into the Stevens HonorSystem, the awarding of an honorary master of engi-neering degree to Professor Alan Blumberg, theGeorge Meade Bond Professor of Ocean Engineeringand director of Stevens’ Center for Maritime Systems,and the presentation of the Stevens Alumni Associa-tion Outstanding Teacher Award to Professor RonaldBesser of the Department of Chemical Engineeringand Materials Science. Professor Besser was a doublewinner; he also received the Henry Morton Distin-

guished Teaching Professor Award. (See a story on Pro-fessor Besser on p.28.)

Professor Blumberg joined Stevens in 2002 andbecame a full professor in 2006. He is recognized asone of the pioneering and leading experts in modernestuarine and coastal ocean prediction and has con-tributed significantly to the creation of integratedmodeling and observing systems. Professor Blumbergleads the New York Harbor Observation and Predic-tion System (NYHOPS), which facilitates an assess-ment of ocean, weather, and environmental conditionsthroughout the New York Harbor region. Using real-time data from a vast array of environmental sensorsand high fidelity forecast models available at Stevens,he has directly helped to reduce the loss of life andproperty during several actual events, including the“Miracle on the Hudson” airplane landing and the pas-sage of Hurricane Irene.

Convocation ended with words of advice to thefreshman class from Mark LaRosa ’93, president of theStevens Alumni Association, and presentation of theClass of 2015 class banner, which the class will officiallyreceive the night before their graduation.

LaRosa told the Class of 2015 how their time atStevens is more than books and classes. “Your educationis what you make of it,” he said. “Get involved. There ismore to learn.”

“Be more than a student here. Become a part of theDNA of Stevens,” he encouraged them, telling themthat while it has been 18 years since his Stevens gradua-tion, his volunteerism to Stevens has meant that he nev-er really left.

A number of the Convocation awards have been es-tablished by alumni. Here’s a partial awards list and theirrecipients:

The Harvey N. Davis Distinguished Teaching As-sistant Professor Award went to Professor PeerasitPatanakul of the School of Technology Management.

The Provost’s Award for Excellence in OnlineTeaching, to Professor Steven Gabarro, M.S. ’03, of theDepartment of Computer Science.

The 2011 Jess H. Davis Memorial Award for Re-search Excellence, established by Jonas H. Ottens, Hon.M.E. ’77, went to Professor Svetlana Sukhishvili andProfessor Henry Du for their paper, “Towards Full-Length Accumulative Surface-Enhanced Raman Scat-tering-Active Photonic Crystal Fibers.” In collaborationwith their students, it was published in the journal Ad-vanced Materials, volume 22 (24), (2010).

The Corey Graney Stute-Humanities Underclass-man Award is named in memory of the late CoreyGraney ’88. It is given to an underclassman entering hisor her second or third year at Stevens who has been amember of The Stute, has an interest in the College ofArts and Letters and in current political and social events

Fall 2011 31

on and off campus and has maintained a minimum 3.0grade point average. Emily Rautenberg was the recipient.

The Martha L. Kattwinkel Award, established in1952 by O. Frank Kattwinkel ’48, goes to the memberof the junior class who gives most unstintingly and un-selfishly to Stevens. The award went to Juliet Turalski.

Ondrick Scholarship, established in 1992 by alum-ni and friends of Professor William F. Ondrick, Hon.M.Eng. ’74, is awarded to a student who is entering thesenior year and who has outstanding academic achieve-ment and contributed unselfishly to the advancement ofmusic at Stevens.The award went to Donna Barden andWilliam Stackpole.

Hans J. Lang Award for Excellence in Cost Engi-neering and Engineering Economics is given to a juniormajoring in engineering management who has distin-guished himself or herself in these topics. This award,given in memory of Hans Joachim Lang ’34 by both hisfamily and the faculty of the Bachelor of Engineering inEngineering Management (BEEM) program, went toRichard De Los Reyes.

The Robert H. Seavy Award, established in honor ofRobert H. Seavy, M.S. ’48, Dean of Admissions, Emer-itus, is given to the tour guide who best represents thevalues of Stevens to prospective students and their fam-ilies. The award went to Nicole Portner and JohnZiegler.

The Virginia & Kevin Ruesterholz Award is givenby Stevens Board of Trustees member Virginia Ruester-holz ’83 and her husband, Kevin Ruesterholz ’83. Theyhave established an award to recognize and reward a sen-ior for outstanding achievement in engineering manage-

ment, with the award criteria including a minimum 3.3grade point average, active participation in professionaldevelopment activities and a written statement on thebenefits of an engineering management program. Theaward went to Joseph Manfredonia.

The Charles L. Petschek Scholarship, established in1984 by Charles I. Petschek ’44, is awarded annually tothe Stevens undergraduate who is completing the junioryear and who has a strong interest in mathematics. Theaward went to Alaina Spicer.

The Panhellenic Council Academic ExcellenceAward is presented to the Panhellenic Council sororitythat has achieved the highest grade point average for theSpring 2011 semester. Achieving a 3.2 grade point aver-age, the award went to Delta Phi Epsilon.

The Interfraternity Academic Excellence Award ispresented to the Interfraternity Council fraternity thathas achieved the highest grade point average for theSpring 2011 semester. Achieving a 3.4 grade point aver-age, the award went to Sigma Phi Epsilon.

The President’s Cup was created to recognize theStevens athletic team that best exemplifies the valuesand ideals of the Stevens scholar athlete. This year’s re-cipient was the women’s swim team. The team endedthe year with a combined grade point average betterthan a 3.3, earned CSCAA All-Academic team honorsand boasted the first, first-team Capital One/CoSIDAAcademic All-American in the program’s history. Itparticipated in numerous community service pro-grams. And the team finished the year sixth in the na-tion, cracking the Top 10 for the first time in the pro-gram’s history.—Beth Kissinger

The Class of 2015 was presented with their banner during Convocation, held a few days after the fall semes-ter began in September.


Laura Barito ’11 namedNCAAWoman of the Year

Laura Barito ’11 was named the National Colle-giate Athletic Association Woman of the Year thisfall. A two-time NCAA national champ in swim-ming and track, Barito is the second NCAA Divi-sion III student-athlete to win the award.

Barito, a native of Arkadelphia, Ark., acceptedthe prestigious NCAA honor at the 21st annualNCAA Woman of the Year awards program held inmid-October in Indianapolis. The award honors fe-male student-athletes who have distinguished them-selves throughout their collegiate careers in academ-ic achievement, athletic excellence, communityservice and leadership. Barito graduated this pastMay with a bachelor of engineering degree, withhigh honors, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. inmechanical engineering and bio-mechanics at theUniversity of Delaware.

She was jubilant upon hearing that she had re-ceived the top NCAA award.

“It definitely puts together everything that I’vebeen striving to do not only for the last four yearsbut for my entire life,” said Barito, who was en-veloped in a bear hug by parents Barbara and TomBarito after her name was announced as the 2011NCAA Woman of the Year. “I never really expectedto be recognized for the stuff that I’ve done. ... It al-ways just seemed like it made sense, this was what Iam supposed to be doing.”

Barito earned NCAA titles in swimming (50-yard freestyle) and track (400-meter hurdles) atStevens. She said jokingly that “swim meets andtrack meets never made me this nervous” as she ac-cepted the 2011 NCAA Woman of the Year award.

Barito, an eight-time Empire 8 conferencerecord holder in swimming, was named ConferenceAthlete of the Week six times in the sport. She alsoearned Conference Athlete of the Week three timesin track, was a four-time Empire 8 champion intrack and was the hurdles/sprint team captain. Addi-tionally, she competed in cross country and earnedall-conference honors in that sport. She was a nutri-tion representative and service leader for both thetrack and swimming teams. Selected twice as StevensAthlete of the Year, Barito was also named Empire 8Swimmer of the Year during her career.

“Not a lot of people expected a lot out of me,”Barito said. “I came from a small town in Arkansas,so it was kind of me just going out on a limb expect-ing I could do something with my college experiencein athletics. I think if you have a gift or you have atalent, go for it and don’t let anyone tell you that youcan’t do it. Because not a lot of people were tellingme I could.”

In her community service work, Barito volun-teered as a server at a local homeless shelter and tu-tored underprivileged children. At her church, shewas a member of the worship band, a greeter and amember of the college ministry team. She was afreshman orientation leader, a mentor for incomingfreshmen, and a member of Stevens Institute’s Stu-dent-Athlete Advisory Committee on campus.

The mathematics enthusiast appeared onStevens’ President’s List from 2007 to 2011 and wasnamed a College Swimming Coaches Association ofAmerica Scholar All-American from 2008 to 2011.CoSIDA/Capital One named Barito to the Academ-ic All-America First Team and the Empire 8 namedher a Senior Scholar winner. She was also a memberof the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society and PiTau Sigma Mechanical Engineering Honor Society.A few days prior to this event, she was named theCollege Athletic Administrators of New Jersey(CAANJ) Female Athlete of the Year.

At the University of Delaware, Barito is workingon projects that involve the knees, including knee re-placements and knee implants, and is in training forthe U.S. Swimming nationals in December.

“Being a student-athlete definitely taught meeven more discipline and hard work than I learnedjust getting through high school to college, and it’sdefinitely carried with me now,” she said. “I’m still inschool, I’m still training, I’m still an athlete, so notmuch has changed. ... It’s allowed me to do a lot ofthings I never thought that I could do.”

Program host Lisa Salters, an ESPN reporter andformer Penn State basketball student-athlete, calledBarito “amazing and awe-inspiring.”

The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athleticsselected Barito as this year’s NCAA Woman of theYear. A committee of representatives from NCAAschools and conferences selected the nine finalistsfrom a group of 30 honorees who were whittleddown from a pool of 142 nominees. A record 471nominations by NCAA-member colleges and uni-versities were initially received.

“Laura Barito is an amazing young woman,”Stevens’ Vice President and Chief AdministrativeOfficer Dr. Maureen Weatherall ’78 said. “As we cel-ebrate the 40th anniversary of women at Stevens,Laura exemplifies everything the Scholar-AthleteProgram at Stevens Institute of Technology strives toachieve. Her success in the pool, on the track andmost impressively in the classroom and research labis an example for every young woman who dreams ofcombining excellence in academics and athletics.Stevens is very proud of this talented young alumnaand thanks the NCAA for their recognition of heraccomplishments.”

Fall 2011 33

To be eligible for the award, a female student-athlete must have completed intercollegiate eligibil-ity in her primary sport by the end of the 2011spring season, graduated no later than the end of thesummer of 2011 and achieved a minimum cumula-tive grade-point average of 2.5. Barito is the ninthswimming student-athlete to be named NCAAWoman of the Year since the program began in1991. Last year’s NCAA Woman of the Year was Jus-tine Schluntz, a former swimmer from the Universi-ty of Arizona.—Stevens Athletics

Another honor for Zach Carr ’11Former Stevens Institute of Technology men’s

soccer star Zach Carr ’11 was named the CollegiateAthletic Administrators of New Jersey (CAANJ)Male Athlete of the Year this fall. Carr is the firstStevens athlete to earn CoSIDA/ESPN The Maga-zine Academic All-American of the Year honors andis one of the most decorated Ducks in history.

He was honored in January with the NCAA To-day’s Top VIII Award, which recognizes student-ath-letes for their success on the fields and courts, in theclassroom, and in the community, one of eight recip-ients across all three divisions in the NCAA.

“Zach displayed an extraordinary ability to bal-ance all of his commitments at Stevens very well,”said Stevens Director of Athletics Russell Rogers.“He has compiled a remarkable list of accomplish-ments both on the soccer field and off, but morethan that he really was the ideal role model for ourstudent-athletes.”

Carr graduated with a 3.93 grade-point averagepursuing a degree in Biomedical Engineering andserved as a tutor. He made the school’s dean’s listevery semester as well as the Empire 8 Presidents’List each of his four years. Carr was named to theCoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine first-team Academic

All-American team each of the past two years.On the field, Carr was a two-time first-team

National Soccer Coaches Association of AmericaAll-American who led all NCAA Division IIIgoalies in save and shutout percentages in 2010. Heholds the NCAA record for shutouts (55) and hisshutout string that ran from Nov. 9, 2009, throughOct. 13, 2010, lasted for 1,333 minutes and is sec-ond in NCAA men’s soccer history, covering allthree divisions.

He earned all-conference honors each of his fouryears and led the Ducks to the Empire 8 title eachseason. He notched 68 wins in goal against just ninelosses and 12 draws as the Ducks’ starting goalkeep-er. Named first team NSCAA All-East region threetimes in his career, the Carmel, Ind., native had a 6-2-4 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament, withone of the losses coming in penalty kicks to MessiahCollege in the 2008 National Championship match.

“Zach is not only a great goalkeeper, but also anoutstanding citizen, leader, and has a great atti-tude,” said former Stevens men’s soccer coach TimO’Donohue. “He led us to the NCAA Tournamentevery year, but Zach will be remembered for somuch more. He goes down as the most accom-plished Stevens soccer player of all-time.”

Carr was invited to the New York Red Bullstraining camp in Mexico this past spring and alsoearned the 2010-11 Empire 8 Male Senior Scholar-Athlete Award from the conference office. He is cur-rently pursuing a master’s degree in technology man-agement at Stevens and serving as an assistant coachwith the men’s and women’s soccer programs.

“Zach represents the best of the best,” Empire 8Commissioner Chuck Mitrano said. “He is an eliteathlete and exceptional student who embodies allthat is great about the Empire 8, Stevens and NCAADivision III athletics.”—Stevens Athletics

Laura Barito ’11was named the2011 NationalCollegiate Ath-letic Associa-tion Woman ofthe Year. Thetrack and swim-ming star is thesecond NCAADivision III stu-dent-athlete towin the award.


Stevens athletes remember9/11 hero with emotional run

During the 10th anniversary of theTunnel to Towers Run inside theBrooklyn Battery Tunnel this pastSeptember, dozens of Stevens athletesand coaches were on hand to honorStephen Siller, a New York firefighterwho lost his life on Sept. 11, 2001.

Siller had just finished his shift ata Brooklyn firehouse when he heardof the first plane hitting the WorldTrade Center (WTC). He returned tothe firehouse to grab his 60 pounds ofgear and headed in his truck for Low-er Manhattan to meet up with hiscolleagues. The Brooklyn BatteryTunnel was closed to vehicle trafficwhen he arrived, so he ran through it,heading for the WTC. He died laterthat day in the towers.

Between 40 and 45 Stevens wom-en’s basketball, lacrosse and soccerplayers and coaches joined forces to honor Siller dur-ing the 5-kilometer or 3.1 mile run. More than30,000 runners took part in the Sept. 25 run, whichfollows a course that starts in Brooklyn, headsthrough the tunnel and ends at Ground Zero at theWTC. Proceeds from the run benefit the Tunnel toTowers Fund’s “In the Line of Duty” programs,which pay tribute to the 343 Fire Department ofNew York members who died when the towers col-lapsed. The programs support the Weill-CornellBurn Center and other burn centers across Americaand also help build homes for surviving quadriplegicservice personnel returning from combat.

“This was a run to honor those who risk theirlives for the sake of others, and to support theSiller family,” said women’s basketball player Jillian

Barrett ’12. “Stephen Siller’s family owns Ralph’sIces right at the bottom of the hill on Eighth Street(in Hoboken) and we as a team have become veryclose to them over the years. A lot of our teammateshave even worked there. It’s a nice way to connectwith them.”

“Running through the tunnel is a little toughbecause it’s stuffy and there are people everywhere.But you see many firefighters, police officers andmilitary members running with their full gear onand that really inspires you to keep going. Thenonce you finally see the light at the end, it’s a greatfeeling,” Barrett said.

“It’s definitely an emotional day, but it’s more ofa celebration of life and patriotism than a sad occa-sion.”—Stevens’ Office of News and Media Relations

The Stevens College Republicans lined the walkways surround-ing The Torch Bearers statue on campus with almost 3,000 Amer-ican flags to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

The Stevens College Republicanscommemorated the 10th anniver-sary of 9/11 by placing 2,977American flags, one for each vic-tim of the World Trade Center at-tacks in New York City, around TheTorch Bearers statue on campus.Members of the group spent theearly morning of Sept. 11 puttingthe flags in place so that whenpeople arrived for a moment of si-lence on campus, they were sur-prised and touched by the display.PHOTO: AMANDA NAUMAN/STEVENS COLLEGE

REPUBLICANS

Fall 2011 35

Solar Decathlon teamwins two first-placecontests in competition

After two years of planning, four months of con-struction on the Hoboken waterfront, and a 200-miletrek, the solar-powered home built by Stevens and theNew School finally took its place in the nation’s capi-tal this fall.

The student team, known as Team Empowerhouse,competed in the 2011 Solar Decathlon from Sept. 23 toOct. 2 in West Potomac Park, near the National Mall,in Washington, D.C., and placed 13th out of 19 teamsin the solar house competition. Team Empowerhousetied for first place in two important categories: afford-ability and hot water. Their house’s total cost for con-struction and design was less than $230,000—the low-est cost of all the entrants. Overall, the team also placedin the top 10 in seven of the event’s 10 contests. Thisyear marked Empowerhouse’s first appearance in the in-ternational, biennial competition.

The University of Maryland’s “Watershed” housewon the competition, which is sponsored by the U.S.Department of Energy. Maryland has competed in threeprevious solar decathlons and finished second in 2007.

The teams’ challenge was to create a home that bestblends affordability, consumer appeal and design excel-lence, with optimal energy production and maximumefficiency. Empowerhouse is known as a “net-zero” en-ergy home, which uses 90 percent less energy for heat-ing and cooling than a typical home. Its team was trulyinterdisciplinary, with students from Stevens, ParsonsThe New School for Design and the Milano School ofInternational Affairs, Management and Urban Policy atThe New School all working together.

But what makes Empowerhouse most unique isthat it will have a vital life after the competition. Partner-ing with Habitat for Humanity in Washington, D.C.,and the D.C. Department of Housing and Communi-ty Development, the student team will adjoin theirhome to a similar, newly constructed home in the Dean-

wood neighborhood of Washington, D.C. This two-family house will then become an affordable place to livefor two families in need. In early October, constructionon the second house continued as Habitat for Human-ity announced the residence’s first family: a mother whoworks as an administrative assistant with the U.S. StateDepartment, and her three young sons.

“This house will become a home, and that’s the realstory of this project,” said Michael Bruno, dean ofStevens’ Schaefer School of Engineering and Science.

During a celebration for the team at Stevens in Au-gust, the students offered tours of the house, which wasbuilt on Stevens’ waterfront property north of the Grif-fith Building. Team members, alumni, sponsors, facultyand staff from both universities attended the late sum-mer send-off, before Team Empowerhouse transportedtheir home to the Washington, D.C., competition.

To read more aboutTeam Empowerhouse and theirproject, visit the team’s website at empowerhouse-dc.orgor visit the Stevens’ Solar Decathlon website atwww.stevens.edu/news/content/solar-decathlon.

—Stevens’ Office of News andMedia Relations

Alumni, staff, facultyand students visit thehome built by Stevens’students for their entryinto the Solar Decathlon2011. Visitors touredthe home on the Hobo-ken waterfront days be-fore it made its journeyto Washington, D.C.,this September.

ALUMNI CRUISE7 Night Bermuda Cruiseon the Celebrity Summit

The Class of 1972 is planning aseven-night cruise to Bermuda nextJune to mark its 40th reunion—andinvites all alumni to join them.

The cruise aboard the Celebrity Summit(www.celebritycruises.com) will leave from CapeLiberty in Bayonne, N.J., on June 3, 2012—rightafter Alumni Weekend at Stevens—and return toBayonne on June 10. The ship, which tour organiz-ers describe as first-class and highly rated, will dockin Kings Wharf, Bermuda, for three days.

The rates are $998.18 (in-side), $1,093.18 (ocean view)and $1,288.18 (veranda) perperson, double occupancy. Theseprices include port charges, gov-ernment fees and gratuities. TheCelebrity Summit itself offerssumptuous meals at its many for-

mal restaurants.For more information and reservations, contact

AAA Travel representative Beverly Cottinghamby phone at (904) 280-8181, ext. 226, or by emailat [email protected].

Reservations are due by Dec. 30, 2011.

PHOTO: CELEBRITY CRUISES®


Alumni Business Directory

Fall 2011 37

Since 1951

Store Hours: 7:00 am – 4:30 pm Store Hours: 7:30 am – 5:00 pm Store Hours: 7:30 am – 5:00 pm

To reserve space in the Alumni Business Directory,please call (201) 216-5161 for more information.

Alumni Business Directory


The Stevens Alumni Associationcongratulates

Dr. Nariman Farvardinon his investiture

as the seventh presidentof Stevens Institute of Technology

PPeerr aassppeerraa aadd aassttrraa

Fall 2011 39

Photo Album: Presidential Inauguration 2011

Dr. Farvardin, bottom row center, enjoys a moment with many younger alumni at the Inauguration Gala.

An army of stu-dent volunteersparticipated inthe inaugurationcelebration. Here,Dr. Farvardin isseen with some volunteers asthey enjoyed thefood and musicat Babbio Centerafter the inaugu-ration.

Dr. and Mrs. Farvardin enjoy chatting with stu-

dents at the StudentResearch Colloquium

on Oct. 13.


Looking back

Dig deep into your memory banks. One of these five men is a former president of Stevens. His face might be familiar, but can youname all the others? Here’s a hint: this photo was taken at the 1973 Convocation, which also welcomed this newly installed Stevenspresident. If you’re having trouble, the answer appears at the bottom of this page.

From left, they are longtime Stevens benefactor Walter Freygang, Class of 1912; Physics Professor Dr. Winston H. Bostick; formerChairman of the Stevens Board of Trustees Frederick L. Bissinger ’33; Dr. Kenneth C. Rogers, the fifth president of Stevens; and Dr.Joseph J. Moeller, Jr. ’67, a longtime electrical engineering professor.

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance

Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of

2010 has extended the IRA Charitable

Rollover, allowing tax-free gifts of up to

$100,000 from your Individual Retirement

Account (IRA) (or a qualified plan - 401(k),

403(b), etc. - that can be transferred to an

IRA). Gifts to Stevens made through an IRA

rollover will qualify toward your annual

minimum required distribution and can be

accomplished very simply!

For more information about IRA Rollover

gifts at Stevens Institute of Technology,

please contact the Office of Development:

888.748.5228 or [email protected]

THIS SPECIAL TAX INCENTIVE EXPIRES 12/31/2011

Make Tax-Free Gifts From Your IRA

DON’T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON STEVENS!

You should consider an IRA Rollover if:

PHOTO CREDIT: JEFFREY VOCK

Stevens Alumni AssociationStevens Institute of TechnologyCastle PointHoboken, NJ 07030

Change Service Requested

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PaidStevens Instituteof Technology

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