Engineering News - Fall 2007

More than 500 undergraduate and graduate students marched into gigantic tents on South Lawn on May 14 on their way to becoming the School’s newest alumni. Santiago Calatrava, the world renowned engineer, architect and artist, was the Class Day speaker. He addressed a crowd of students, family, friends, and faculty but focused his remarks primarily to the new graduates. “You are the sunshine of this day,” he said, you embody the future of this profession. . . you are the profession itself.” He exhorted the students to “understand your profession as a new language that will allow you to express yourself with clarity and sincerity to the rest of the world.” “We must always think that built form survives us;” he said, “that buildings are the testament not only of our personal endeavors, but also of the pursuits of the community and of the epoch that we have lived.”

As the afternoon sun shone brightly, Dean Zvi Galil greeted his last graduating class, telling them that, after 25 years, he was leaving SEAS and embarking on a new career. “When you begin your new job, remember that I, too, will be starting a new job. Of course, I’m starting at the top,” he said, as the audience burst out in laughter. Galil, who is now President of Tel-Aviv University, continued, saying that “the possibility of achieving the top job in any field is open to you. Our School has provided the foundation. You need to do the rest.”

Salutatorian Erin M. George ’07, Class President Jarod C. Were ’07, and Valedictorian Justin D. Foster ’07, the winner of the Illig Medal, also addressed the class. Engineering Student Council president Daniel A. Okin ’07, who received the Kandel Award and “Pop” Harrington Medal, announced the creation of an award to honor Dean Galil.

“Dean Galil’s unwavering commitment to student life has been an inspiration to us all,” said Okin as he announced the award, to the surprise of Dean Galil. The award is named the Zvi Galil Award for Improvement in Engineering Student Life and will be given annually at Class Day to a SEAS student organization that most improves engineering student life during the academic year. It consists of a cash prize to be used to improve engineering student life. The first recipient of the Zvi Galil Award was the SEAS chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).

Be Part of Class Day 2008

All Engineering Alumni are invited to join degree candidates for Class Day. Representatives of each class can volunteer to carry class banners during the opening procession on Monday, May 19, 2008. If you are interested in participating, contact Scott Kelly by e-mail at stk2110@columbia.edu or by phone at 212-854-4472.

The SEAS Senior Class also paid tribute to Dean Galil by having 100% participation in the Senior Fund gift to the School. Senior Fund co-chairs Brett Chung ’07 and James Lam ’07 presented Dean Galil with a scroll bearing the names of all SEAS seniors, each of whom had contributed to the Senior Fund.

Class Day ceremonies also included recognition of members of the faculty. The Kim Award for Faculty Involvement, established by Edward and Carole Kim, parents of Brian Kim ’02, honors a faculty member who is not only an excellent teacher but also shows a special, personal commitment to students. This year’s recipient was Soulaymane Kachani, assistant professor of industrial engineering and operations research. The Janette and Armen Avanessians ’83 Diversity Award, established last year, was given to Chris Wiggins, assistant professor in the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics. The award is to a faculty member whose actions encourage men and women from diverse backgrounds to become part of the academic community of engineering education.

Ronald P. Mangione ’69, president of the Columbia Engineering School Alumni Association (CESAA), presented the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Faculty Teaching Awards. Recipients this year were Prof. Ward Whitt, who came to the Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research in 2002 after a 25-year career in research, and David Vallancourt, senior lecturer in electrical engineering. Both were cited for qualities that they have in common, said Mangione, including “a caring attitude, approachability, responsiveness to student concerns and the ability to lucidly teach essential skills and complex subject matter.”

Prof. Ward Whitt, left, and David Vallancourt, right, recipients of Distinguished Faculty Teaching Awards given by the Columbia Engineering School Alumni Association (CESAA).

On May 16, more than 30,000 parents, family, alumni, faculty and friends filled South Lawn to watch as 12,000 students from all schools of the University received their respective degrees. For the second day in the week, SEAS Class Day speaker Santiago Calatrava donned academic garbs, this time to receive one of the eight honorary degrees conferred by President Lee C. Bollinger. His citation read, in part, “The number, scale, and significance of your projects have secured for you a leading position in the history of architecture and civil engineering. All the while, you have remained an accomplished artist, with a great sculptor’s hand over form and eye for harmony. Your bridges and buildings not only solve complex and urgent needs of our society, but also evoke joy and stir hope.”

Prof. Patricia J. Culligan of the Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics was one of five recipients of University Teaching Awards, along with Joyce K. Anastasi, professor of clinical nursing; Donald C. Hood, the James F. Bender Professor in Psychology and professor of ophthalmic science; Liza Knapp, associate professor of Slavic languages; and Susan P. Sturm, the George M. Jaffin Professor of Law and Social Responsibility.

SEAS Alumni Dr. Alexandra Baranetsky ’75, DDS’80 and Edward Heffner ’68 were two of the 10 University Alumni Medalists honored at Commencement, while Lu Lo ’82 represented the 25th anniversary classes as honorary hood marshal.

As in the past, SEAS students provided plenty of noise, this year using air horns and rappers, prompting Dean Galil to present the class as candidates for their earned degrees as well as “perhaps with a minor in noise engineering.”

Class Day and Commencement

Be Part of Class Day 2008