news
News Bureau ¢ (518) 457-4901 ¢ State University of New York at Albany © 1400 Washington Avenue « Albany, New York 12222
Contact: Vince Sweeney (518) 442-3075 86-46
"MY BROTHER'S WEDDING" PRESENTED BY BLACK FILMMAKER CHARLES BURNETT
Independent black film producer/director Charles Burnett will present
his movie "My Brother's Wedding," at 7:30 p.m. in the Orientation Theatre of
the New York State Museum on Friday, May 16, 1986. Mr. Burnett's appearance
in Albany, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the New
” York State Writers Institute of the State University of New York, and the
New York State Museum.
Last year "My Brother's Wedding" was shown at the New Directors/New
Films series presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Film
Department of the Museum of Modern Art. It tells the story of Pierce Munday,
a young man living in the Watts section of Los Angeles. His brother, an
attorney, is engaged to be married to the daughter of a physician while
Pierce's street-smart friends are living by their wits and sometimes dying
in the streets.
The film shows Munday as a symbol of his generation of young black men,
ambivalent toward friends, family and community. The dramatic structure is
exquisitely drawn; and the film, while warm and serious, provides no easy
solutions to the young man's dilemma.
"My Brother's Wedding" is Burnett's first 35mm movie, but it shares with
his first film "The Killer of Sheep" the alternation of cinema-verite
techniques with naturalistic, theatrical acting to provide a realistic and
truthful representation of the black American experience.
Burnett grew up in the South Central area of Los Angeles and studied
Page 2. 86-46
filmmaking at UCLA. On a shoestring budget and working on weekends over a
period of years, he made "The Killer of Sheep," a portrait of Stan, a black
man employed in a Los Angeles slaughterhouse, which was premiered at the
Whitney Museum in 1980 and was broadcast on PBS.
A 1980 Guggenheim Fellow in filmmaking, Burnett produced and directed
“The Horse," a short film which received second prize at the 1978 Oberhausen
Film Festival. Burnett is also the writer and cinematographer for "Bless
their Little Hearts," a film by Bill Woodberry which premiered at the Film
Forum in New York City.
HRRRKEEERER
May 1, 1986
news
ews Bureau ¢ (518) 457-4901 State University of New York at Albany * 1400 Washington Avenue « Albany, New York 12222
Contact: Alida D. Clemans or Mary Elizabeth Walsh (442-3073) 86-49
FOUR_UNIVERSITY STAFF MEMBERS HONORED FOR EXCELLENCE IN SUPPORT SERVICES
Four members of State University of New York at Albany's professional
staff have been named recipients of awards for Excellence in Support Services,
which recognizes superior performance in a classified or non-exempt position.
Ellen R. Diange of Albany has been the senior stenographer for the
Division of Physical Education, Athletics, and Recreation for 20 years. She
supervises the work of three full-time secretaries, prepares all athletic
schedules, contracts and travel itineraries, and handles all business
correspondence. She also serves as secretary to the Civil Service Association
Union, presenting workshops and convention programs.
Virginia E. Dollar is a stenographer and informational specialist for
the Chemistry Department handling the secretarial duties for 20 faculty
members. She types extensive, often technical, documents, operates and trains
other personnel on the Wang Word Processor, and manages telephone
correspondence for the: department. Dollar, who lives in Albany, has been with
the Chemistry Department since 1977.
Linda Sajjan has worked for the University since 1967. Currently, she
serves as senior stenographer in the dean's office of the College of
Humanities and Fine Arts, where she is secretary for seven college committees
and maintains all administrative records and coordinates and supervises the
office's work study students. Sajan resides in Delmar.
Page 2
Peter Vonnegut, who lives in East Greenbush, has worked for University
Libraries for 18 years and presently serves as Supervisor of Circulation and
Reserve for Hawley Library on the downtown campus. In addition to supervising
and training three clerical staff and five student assistants and answering
patron queries, he is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Library
Computer System and acts as liason to the main library.
Diange, Dollar, Sajan, and Vonnegut will each be presented a $300 award
by University President Vincent O'Leary at a reception May 9.
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May 1, 1986
news
‘ews Bureau ¢ (518) 457-4901 ¢ State University of New York at Albany * 1400 Washington Avenue ¢ Albany, New York 12222
Contact: Alida D. Clemans or Mary Elizabeth Walsh (442-3073) 86-50
THREE UNIVERSITY FACULTY MEMBERS HONORED FOR EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH
Three faculty members at State University of New York at Albany have
been named recipients of awards for Excellence in Research, which is presented
to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding research and sholarship over
a period of years.
Edward Blanchard of Delmar, a professor in the Psychology Department
since 1977, is an internationally recognized researcher in the areas of
biofeedback and behavioral medicine. His book, A Biofeedback Primer, is known
for its scholarly and educational value. Blanchard was a major force in the
organization and founding of the Psychological Services Center, a training
clinic operated gy the Universtiy. He has served as director of the
University's Clinical Training Program for seven years. Blanchard was
recently elected president of the Health Psychology Division of the American
Psychological Association. .
Chih-Ree Sun, a professor in the Physics Department and a specialist in
experimental high energy physics, has been with the University for 18 years.
Responsible for establishing a particle physics group at, the University, Sun
has contributed to the recognition of the University as a national center of
frontier research in particle physics. He has made presentations on his work
at conferences in France, Germany, and Italy. He lives in Schenectady.
William Reid of North Greenbush, professor in the School of Social
Welfare, has been with the University since 1980. He is a leader in the area
of clinical research and is nationally recognized as a founder of
“task-centered practice," the first empirically based practice approach
developed solely within social work. His book, Research in Social Work, is a
standard text in many advance courses.
Blanchard, Sun, and Reid will each be presented a $300 award by
University President Vincent O'Leary at a reception May 9.
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May 1, 1986
news
ews Bureau ¢ (518) 457-4901 © State University of New York at Albany * 1400 Washington Avenue « Albany, New York 12222
Contact: Alida D. Clemans or Mary Elizabeth Walsh (442-3073) 86-51
THREE UNIVERSITY STAFF MEMBERS HONORED FOR EXCELLENCE IN PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Three members of State University of New York at Albany's professional
staff have been named recipients of awards for Excellence in Professional
Service, which recognizes extraordinary professional achievements and is given
to an individual with a minimum of two years of continuous full-time service
to the University.
Margaret Aldrich of Albany has been assistant director of student
activities since 1984 and works closely with student cultural, recreational
and social organizations. She has been with the University for five years and
has served as co-chair in the past three World Weeks, an annual University
celebration of human diversity. Aldrich, who received the 1985 Student
Association Award for Outstanding Administrator, is assistant coordinator of
the Summer Planning conferences and has served as committee coordinator for
the University Counseling Center Review Canmittee.
Nancy Carroll has been the administrative director of the Center for
Women in Government, a unit of Rockefeller College, since 1981 and is
responsible for managing the overall activities and finances of the Center.
She has been a member of the President's Task Force on Wamen's Safety since
1981 and also serves as co-chair of the University's Council on Women's Groups
and sits on the board of directors of both the Campus Children's Center and
Don't Walk Alone. Carroll resides in Troy.
Frank DiSanto, who lives in Glenmont, has been the director of the
Office for Research since 1983. He is responsible for management of funded
research grants and contracts on campus and deals with a variety of faculty
and professional staff, state, federal and international organizations and
agencies which fund research and development activities on campus. DiSanto
serves on the University Council on Research, the Resource Management
Committee, the Word Processing Committee, and the University's International
Program Management Committee.
Aldrich, Carroll, and DiSanto will each be presented a $300 award by
University President Vincent O'Leary at a reception May 9.
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May 1, 1986
news
News Bureau ¢ (518) 457-4901 State University of New York at Albany * 1400 Washington Avenue * Albany, New York 12222
Contact: Claudia Ricci, (518) 442-3078 86-52
Biology Professor at State University
of New York at Albany
Elected to National Academy of Sciences
leonard Lerman, Leading Professor of Biology and Public Policy at State
University of New York at Albany, has been elected to the highly prestigious
National Academy of Sciences in recognition of a lifetime of supremely
valuable research.
Election to the National Academy is among the highest honors that can be
bestowed on a scientist. Not only are few researchers chosen, but also Academy
members are selected by a group of peers. "It is a real vote of confidence in
your achievements," noted Dr. David Shub, a colleague of Ierman's at. the
University at Albany.
Lenman, who received his Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1950 from California
Institute of Technology, came to the University in 1976 and served as Chairman
of the Department of Biological Sciences until 1982. In the fall of 1984, he
took a two-year leave from the University to pursue research at Genetics
Institute Inc., in Cambridge, Mass., where he will remain after his leave
concludes this fall.
Drawing on his training as a physical chemicist, Lerman has conducted
several pioneering studies on the structure and behavior of deoxyribonucleic
acid, or DNA, the molecule that forms the basis of all genetic material. His
work has led to numerous breakthroughs in biologists' understanding of DNA.
--more-—
Page 2.
While at the University, Lerman has concentrated on determining what €
forces cause DNA molecules to melt into two strands. After first developing a
theory governing the process, he went on to perfect an experimental technique,
called denaturing electrophoresis, which allows scientists to separate DNA
molecules with a higher degree of sensitivity than was possible ever before.
That discovery has permitted biologists to detect minute changes in the
chemical composition of DNA. Ultimately, the development had far-reaching
implications for the diagnosis of inherited genetic diseases. In addition, his
work will enable geneticists to construct physical maps of the DNA that makes
up human chromosomes.
This pioneering work, which contributed to his being elected to the
Academy, typifies Iermman's interests in biology and genetics, as well as the
physical chemistry of DNA.
As a young researcher, he gained notoriety for his studies of the way in Cc
which DNA binds to certain dyes suspected of causing cancer. DNA can be
envisioned as a molecule shaped like a spiral staircase. The handrails of the
staircase represent the two backbone strands of nucleic acid in the DNA
molecule. The stairs joining the strands represent the molecule's so-called
base pairs.
Lerman's experiments, conducted in the late 1950's and early 1960's,
demonstrated that because of the planar chemical structure of the carcinogenic
dyes, they are able to insert themselves tightly between the DNA molecule's
base pairs, pretending to be a base pair. This revolutionary insight led other
scientists to theorize how the dyes exert their carcinogenic effect.
~-more--
page 3.
"This was a major advance in the understanding of how other molecules,
including antibiotics and proteins, bind to DNA," said Dr. Shub.
Still another area of Lenman's work involves DNA conformation, that is,
the manner in which the molecules assume a highly twisted shape in the cell
nucleus. Specifically, Lerman concentrated on studying how other large
molecules force DNA to assume a more compact arrangement.
Before coming to the University at Albany, Lerman served as Professor of
Molecular Biology at Vanderbilt University from 1965 until 1976. He was
associated with the University of Colorado School of Medicine from 1951 until
1965. He was born in Pittsburgh on June 27, 1925.
RRR KIKI KIKI KIRK KER IK RII KAI IAAI IIR IKI III III II III III II IIIA IIR.
May 7, 1986
news
News Bureau » (518) 457-4901 ¢ State University of New York at Albany * 1400 Washington Avenue e Albany, New York 12222
Contact: Vince Sweeney (518) 442-3075 86-54
ROCKEFELLER COLLEGE CELEBRATES GOVERNMENT, MAY 14
Senior government, education and public affairs professionals who either
teach at or have graduated fran the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public
Affairs and Policy, the University at Albany, State University of New York,
will assemble on Wednesday evening, May 14, for an unabashed celebration of
government.
The College's Distinguished Alumni and Public Service Professor
Reception (5:30 p.m.) and Dinner (6:30 p.m.) will be held at in Albany at
the Rockefeller Institute of Government of the the State University of New
York, 411 State Street. Dr. Warren Ilchman, Director of the Institute and
Provost of the College, will serve as master of ceremonies.
Government and education officials who teach at the College and will be
honored as Public Service Professors are Dr. Mary Jo Bane, Executive Deputy
Commissioner, Department of Social Services; Dr. Henrik Dullea, Director,
State Operations; Dr. Alden Haffner, Vice Chancellor for Research and
Graduate Studies, State University of New York; and the Hon. Alan Hevesi,
state assemblyman.
Other Public Service Professors are Dr. Alice Lin, chief planner, Office
of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities; the Hon. Frank Mauro,
Secretary of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee; Lorna McBarnette,
Executive Deputy Commissioner, Department of Health; Dr. Hugh O'Neill,
retired Deputy Secretary, Governor's Office; Dr. Henry Steadman, Director of
Research, Office of Mental Health; and Dr. Irvin White, President and Chief
Executive Officer, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
Senior government, education and public affairs professionals who
graduated fran Rockefeller College will also be honored.
May 9, 1986
News
News Bureau (518) 457-4901 ¢ State University of New York at Albany * 1400 Washington Avenue Albany, New York 12222
Contact: Vince Sweeney (518) 442-3075 86-53
DEAN BARLETT TO SPEAK, AWARDS GIVEN, MAY 16, AT ROCKEFELLER COLLEGE
Richard Barlett, Dean of the Albany Law School, will deliver the second
annual John E. Burton Iecture and three persons will be honored for
outstanding public service contributions to New York State at the Nelson A.
Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, the University at Albany,
State University of New York. on Friday, May 16.
Recipients of the distinguished service awards fram Rockefeller College
are James R. Dumpson, vice president of the New York Community Trust, a
community organization in New York City; John J. Feeney, special assistant
to Gov. Cuomo for management and productivity and head of the office of
management and productivity in the executive chamber; and Lawrence T.
Kurlander, director of Criminal Justice in New York State.
Dean Barlett's address, which is free and open to the public, is titled
"Justice in New York: Progress and Prospects" and will begin at 4 p.m. in
the Arthur J. Levitt Executive Seminar Room, 313 Draper Hall at Albany's
downtown campus on Western Avenue. The John E. Burton Lecture was
established last year to honor the past head of the state's division of the
budget. He initiated an internship program there which evolved over many
years into what is today the Rockefeller College.
The Distinguished Service Awards Ceremony for Outstanding Contributions
to New York State Public Service will begin at about 5 p.m. following Dean
Barlett's address.
James Dumpson has had a long and distinguished career in public service.
He was Commissioner of Welfare in New York City for six years; and dean of
Fordham's Graduate School of Social Service for seven years. Before joining
the New York Community Trust in 1976, he was administrator of the New York
City Human Resources Administration and Commissioner of the New York City
Department of Social Services.
An honorary life member of the National Institute of Social Services,
Dumpson has been awarded honarary degrees by Tuskegee Institute, St. Peter's
College, Howard University, Hunter College, and Fordham University, which
has also established the James R. Dumpson Chair in Child Welfare in his
honor.
A certified public accountant and graduate of Fordham University, John
J. Feeney was public finance vice president for Chemical Bank before joining
the Governor's Office in 1983. He joined the Office of the State Comptroller
in 1960 serving variously as first deputy camptroller, deputy canptroller
for municipal affairs and deputy comptroller for administration.
Past state chairman for the Municipal Finance Officers Association of
the United States and Canada, Feeney served on Governor Rockefeller's
Committee to Study Per Capita Aid. He has served as treasurer, director and
executive committee member of the New York State Society of Certified Public
Accountants.
The first Director of Criminal Justice in New York State, Lawrence T.
Kurlander directs nine state agencies with a cambined annual budget of $1.5
billion. He has served in the Cuamo administration since 1983 directing the
governor's investigation of the Sing Sing prison disturbance and as chainman
of several governor's task forces. Fran 1976 to 1981, he was district
attorney of Monroe County. He coauthored the book "Parental Kidnapping: An
Unresolved Phenomenon" and testified on the subject before the Judiciary
Committee of the U.S. Senate.
HEKEKKKRERERERRRR
May 8, 1986
news
News Bureau ¢ (518) 457-4901 ¢ State University of New York at Albany © 1400 Washington Avenue « Albany, New York 12222
Contact: Sheila Mahan or Christine McKnight (518) 442-3071 86-55
ADVISORY
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS, NEWS DIRECTORS, PHOTOGRAPHERS:
Gov. Mario M. Cuomo will be the main sneaker for the University at Albany
Commencement Sunday, May 18 at 1 p.m. at University Field, at which Cuomo's
daughter Madeline will receive her bachelor of arts degree in English.
Cuomo is expected to arrive at 12:35 p.m. and will be robed in Room 135 of
the Physical Education Building before joining the Processional. Madeline
Cuomo will proceed with the graduates and will be seated on the field in the
easternmost section of graduates.
Also present at the Commencement will be Senator Kenneth LaValle
(R-Centereach), who will be receiving the University Medallion. LaValle's
daughter Lisa is also receiving a bachelor of arts degree and will be seated
in the same section as Madeline Cuomo.
A press room will be set up in Room 133 of the Physical Education Ruilding
where press packets can be picked up before Commencement and telephones will
be available. A press section will be reserved to the right of the vodium for
revorters. All media representatives -- including photographers -- are are
asked to display press credentials in order to move about the podium freely.
™he academic procession begins promotly at 1 p.m., rain or shine. Please
give vourself extra time to get to University Field because of likely traffic
congestion. Please use your press parking permits.
FI IIR I
May 8, 1985 )
State University of New York at Albany
University Relations
518/442-3071
_
gc-55
Administration 238, Albany, New York 12222
UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY 142nd COMMENCEMENT
DATE
TIME
PLACE
COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER
HONORARY DEGREES
MEDALLION OF THE
UNIVERSITY
THE GRADUATING CLASS
OTHER HONORS
PARTICIPANTS
Sunday, May 18, 1985
Academic Procession begins at 1 p.m.
University Field, Rain or Shine
The main speaker is Governor Mario M. Cuomo, whose
daughter Madeline will be receiving a bachelor of arts
degree in English.
Honorary Doctor of |_aws degree to K. Leroy Irvis, a
graduate of the University at Albany's predecessor the
State College for Teachers and now Speaker of the House
of Representatives in Pennsylvania. Honorary Doctor of
Fine Arts degree to John Mesick, an Albany architect who
restored State Senate Chambers and other buildings.
Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees to economist
Charles Lindblom, Sterling Professor of Economics and
Political Science and William Clyde DeVane Professor at
Yale University, and to Robert K. Merton, Professor
Emeritus at Columbia University and one of the world's
best known sociologists.
State Senator Kenneth LaValle (R, Centereach),
chairman of the Senate's Higher Education, will receive
the Medallion of the University, the highest award
presented by the University to recognize extraordinary
public service and leadership. LaValle's daughter Lisa is
receiving a bachelor of arts degree in communication.
There are some 3,500 degree candidates, including 2,426
bachelor's, 951 master's, and 152 doctoral candidates,
including those who completed work in August and
December.
Margaret Farrell, professor of teacher education, and
Harold Cannon, professor of accounting, will receive
Collins Fellow medals, honoring longtime service and
“extraordinary devotion" to the University. The award is
named for former University President Evan R. Collins,
who served from 1949 to 1969.
SUNY Trustee Edgar A. Sandman will confer honorary
degrees. President Vincent O'Leary will preside. The
Reverend Laman H. Bruner, rector of St. Peter's Episcopal
Church and chaplain of the New York State Assembly, will
give the invocation and benediction. Music will be
provided by the Colonie High School Wind Ensemble. The
student welcome will be provided by Patrick Fitzmaurice,
a senior from Commack, New York.
fi
THE UNIVERSITY
The University at Albany, founded in 1844, is one of four
University Centers in the 64-campus SUNY system. It has
approximately 11,000 undergraduates and 4,500 graduate
students enrolled in nine schools and colleges offering more
than 100 academic programs from the bachelor's degree to
the doctorate. University alumni number 57,000.
news __
News Bureau ® (518) 457-4901 ¢ State University of New York at Albany * 1400 Washington Avenue « Albany, New York 12222
Contact: Brenda Oettinger (518) 442-3079 86-56
Wind Measurement Made Easy
Meteorology enthusiasts everywhere will now be able to measure wind
velocity easily and inexpensively. On May 21, doctoral student Haflidi H.
Jonsson of the Department of Atmospheric Science at the State University of
New York at Albany, together with internationally known and respected member
of the Department, Bernard Vonnegut, will introduce their invention to the
scientific cammunity---the Oscillatory Anemometer. They will present a paper
on the device to the American Geophysical Union at its 1986 Spring Meeting in
Baltimore, Md.
Jonsson and Vonnegut's Oscillatory Anemometer measures both wind
speed and direction. Comprised of an ordinary wind vane that has been slightly
modified, the Oscillatory Anemometer moves harmonically about the wind
direction at a frequency directly proportional to wind speed (see attached
diagram).
The simplicity of the device, particularly the linear relationship
between the frequency of oscillation of the vane and the wind speed, makes the
Oscillatory Anemometer easier to make and cheaper to produce than many other
anemometers cammonly employed today. The instrument is simple enough for
individuals to create at home, and can be sized according to need, said
Jonsson, ranging fran a half inch to 13 feet long.
Jonsson and Vonnegut are working with Dean Collamer, licensing
associate in the Office of Technology Transfer of the Research Foundation of
the State of New York, to market the new instrument. Collamer said that a
patent application for the Oscillatory Anemometer is pending. In the meantime,
a non-confidential disclosure on the new anemometer has been sent to
approximately 20 manufacturing firms. According to Collamer, 10 firms have
already shown interest and have written for more information.
The Oscillatory Anemometer is only one of Vonnegut's many
discoveries. Over the past 35 years, in addition to more than 150 published
papers, Vonnegut has patented 26 inventions.
Vonnegut received a B.S. in chemistry in 1936 and a Ph.D. in physical
chemistry in 1939 from MIT. Since that time he has been recognized for work he
did to develop better paper filters for gas masks, methods for de-icing
airplanes, cloud seeding using silver iodide, and the convective hypothesis of
thunderstorm development. Three recent NASA space shuttles included
experiments using Vonnegut's specially-designed lightning detection camera.
Vonnegut. officially retired last fall, but he continues to do
research at the University at Albany where he holds the title of Distinguished
Professor. Vonnegut is also a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society
and Honorary President of the International Commission on Atmospheric
Electricity of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics.
Although he credits Vonnegut with the idea for the Oscillatory
Anemometer, Jonsson was the one to refine the device and show that it worked.
Jonsson, a visiting student from Iceland, studied under Vonnegut while earning
his B.S. and M.S. fram the Atmospheric Science Department at the University at
Albany. Jonsson specializes in the development of meteorological
instrumentation. For five years he worked for the Icelandic Weather Service
forecasting snow and avalanches before deciding in the fall of 1984 to return
to Albany to earn his doctorate under Vonnegut's direction.
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Detents
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news
Jews Bureau ¢ (518) 457-4901 ¢ State University of New York at Albany © 1400 Washington Avenue * Albany, New York 12222
Contact: Brenda Oettinger (518)442-3079 86-58
RECONSIDERING THE ALTERNATIVES
PHOTOVOLTAICS ARE FEASIBLE FOR NEW YORK
The nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl plant in the Soviet Union
raises serious questions about the future of power production in New York and
throughout the country. Is it safe to continue to rely on nuclear reactors for
long-term energy needs? Are other reliable, cost-effective technologies
available which might better serve the people of the state and the nation?
A report prepared for the recently disbanded Legislative Commission
on Science and Technology by scientists at the University at Albany looks at
the feasibility of solar energy as compared to conventional power production
technologies. The study, by scientists at Albany's Atmospheric Sciences
Research Center, investigated what role, if any, New York State should play in
the development of solar photovoltaics as an energy alternative. Photovoltaics
involves solid-state energy production from sunlight which is directly
converted to electricity.
"As it stands in 1985, photovoltaics are economically viable in an
increasing number of remote applications, but this is not the case, yet, if
PVs have to campete with grid power, without the help of any federal, state or
local incentives," the report concluded.
Richard Perez, chair of the non-biased, non-partisan working group
which put together the report, said that private investors often compute costs
based soley on financial needs and that it was important to consider social
**enore***
costs as well. After comparing the fiscal, environmental and safety costs
associated with various energy production technologies, the group found that
the establishment of a photovoltaics market in the state would be "globally
positive," but that existing decision-making structures within communities,
businesses, and utilities would not promote the enhanced use of solar
technologies without government intervention. The group suggested joint
ventures with private interests, tax credits, lobbying at the national level
for complementary federal support, and most importantly, continued research.
Areas requiring further examination were outlined in their report.
Photovoltaic systems are modular. They require relatively little time
to construct, and their costs continue to decrease as new information leads to
improved technologies, according to the report. The study noted the long life
of a photovoltaic system (20 years was a conservative estimate), and the
virtually unlimited resource that exists in the sun. It also emphasized the
environmental and public-safety benefits of solar energy, including a
reduction in pollutants created during power production, a decrease in the
transport and storage of potentially dangerous materials across the state, and
the elimination of the need for emergency planning and decommissioning of
large, unsightly power plants.
A possible disadvantage to solar power is the unpredictable nature of
the resource. Perez said that careful planning (i.e. storage), would be needed
as photovoltaics began to penetrate the power grid.
The working group that assembled the report was comprised of
representatives from the State Energy Office, the Energy Research and
Development Authority, the Department of Environmental Conservation, the
Public Service Commission, and Queens College.
KRRKKKEEEK
May 16, 1986
news oe
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; igton Avenue » Albai York 12:
Contact: Sheila Mahan 442-3094 Wo Ney orm'ieeee
‘TWO ALBANY PROFESSORS NAMED TO DISTINGUISHED RANK
BY SUNY TRUSTEES
Two professors at the University at Albany were recently promoted to the
rank of distinauished, the highest academic rank awarded by the State
University of New York Board of Trustees.
M.E. Grenander of East Berne, a professor of English was promoted to the
rank of distinquished service professor at the April 23 meeting of the
Trustees, and Stephen C. Brown of Altamont, a professor of biological
sciences, was named distinguished teaching professor at the May 28 meeting.
A member of the faculty since 1948, Grenander is recognized for her
contributions to the University and to teaching through work on dozens of
councils, committees and policy groups. Among her accomplishments was
establishing and directing the Institute for Humanistic Studies at Albany,
which sponsored three major interdisciplinary conferences -- dealing with
such divergent topics as the scholarship on the sun from myth to solar
energy; the humanities and computers; and the life of psychiatry reformer
Thomas Szasz.
Grenander has been a campus leader in the American Association of
University Professors and Phi Beta Kappa chapters in Albany and is
recognized nationally as a leading authority on Civil War writer Ambrose
Rierce. The author of five books and over 60 articles and reviews, she
earned her bachelor's, master's and Ph.D. degrees in English from the
University of Chicago. She is married to University physicist James
Corbett, who is also a Distinauished Service Professor.
Page 2 86-59
Brown, a member of the University faculty for 19 years, is praised by
his colleagues and students as a charismatic teacher who not only displays
his expertise but enthusiastically communicates his understanding. His
teaching reflects the view that a biological scientist should enable
students to solve problems in an incompletely known world, to advance
understanding of that world, and to make accurate predictions based on that
understandind.
A specialist in comparative physiology and endocrinology, he has earned
a number of fellowships and grants, including a $113,00 grant from the
National Science Foundation awarded to him and his wife, biologist Patricia
Brown of Siena College, to study the development of internal requlatory
mechanisms in animals.
Brown earned his master's and Ph.D. degrees from the University of
Michigan and has published articles and reviews in many major journals in
his field including Marine Biology, Biological Journal and Copia, and was on
the editorial board of the Biological Bulletin for several years. He was a
recipient of the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1976.
KKK KKK
May 28, 1986
