Grist From The Mill  |  Campus News

Some 573 freshman—up from 530 in 2006—entered Stevens this fall, as they officially started their college careers at the 137th annual Convocation inside Schaefer Center. The traditional ceremony inducted them into the Honor System and featured many alumni-sponsored student and faculty awards.

Christos Christodoulatos, Ph.D. ’91, a professor and director of Stevens’ Center for Environmental Systems, received an honorary master of engineering degree that day, while George Wohlrab, the longtime head machinist and modelmaker with the Institute Machine Shop, received an honorary bachelor’s degree in engineering, for their contributions to Stevens. Wohlrab is the father of Mark B. Wohlrab ’95, M.S. ’97, M.Eng. ’05.

Stevens President Harold J. Raveché opened Convocation by asking for a moment of silence in honor of Marie-Joan Dutreuil ’07, M.Eng. ’07, a student leader and honors graduate who died this past summer in a tragic boating accident.

As Ms. Dutreuil was deeply involved in campus life, Dr. Raveché urged the new freshman class to embrace the full Stevens experience, to become an expert in their area but to also take courses in the humanities, get involved in campus activities and learn more about the great diversity of the student body.

“If you graduate with just knowledge in your area, you may not have all that you need,” he said.

“We have a tremendous opportunity here at Stevens. Pursue your area of interest with tremendous vigor, but you’ll miss out if you don’t pursue other areas.”

Dr. Christodoulatos is director of Stevens’ Center for Environmental Systems and has been teaching and doing research in environmental engineering, in the areas of biological and physiochemical processes for environmental control, for the last 18 years. He has managed and executed more than 75 major research proposals, holds several patents, co-founded several Stevens companies for the commercialization of environmental technology and recently had a National Science Foundation proposal chosen for funding for the creation of the Environmental Entrepreneurship Lab at Stevens, with a goal of evaluating new approaches to help accelerate commercialization of innovative environmental science and technology.

Mr. Wohlrab joined Stevens 23 years ago, when he was assigned to one of six machine shops then on campus; he became director of the Institute Machine Shop when the shops were centralized into one location in 1992. He and his colleague Joe Vaspol train students from many departments, as courses in Senior Design and Design III and in the Physics Department’s SKIL Program use the Machine Shop. Mr. Wohlrab has also assisted in other important work on campus, including Physics Professor Milos Seidl’s experimental particle beam work for the Strategic Defense Initiative under President Reagan.

Read the full text of the citations honoring George Wohlrab and Professor Christos Christodoulatos.

Stevens also honored other faculty members for excellence in teaching and research, and students for outstanding academic and extra-curricular achievements. Alumni and their family members sponsored a number of the awards.

Here is a list of the awards:

• The Jess H. Davis (Hon. D.Eng. ’72) Memorial Research Award was established by Jonas H. Ottens, Hon. M.E. ’77, for excellence in research. For her research work summarized in the paper, “Inverse Stochastic Dominance Constraints and Rank Dependent Expected Utility Theory,” the award went to Darinka Dentcheva, a professor with Stevens’ Department of Mathematical Sciences.

+ The Harvey N. Davis, Hon. D.Eng. ’48, Hon. Sc.D. ’51, Distinguished Teaching Assistant Professor Award, to Peter G. Dominick, Ph.D. ’98, an assistant professor with the Howe School of Technology Management.

• The Henry Morton Distinguished Teaching Professor Award, to John V. Farr, professor and associate dean of academics, the School of Systems and Enterprises.

• The Alexander Crombie Humphreys 1881 Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor Award, to Peter A. Koen, an associate professor with the Wesley J. Howe School of Technology Management.

• The inaugural Provost’s Award for Excellence in Online Teaching, recognizing outstanding contributions to online instruction and online educational program development, to Alice Squires, associate director of the Systems Design and Operational Effectiveness (SDOE) online program with Stevens’ School of Systems and Enterprises.

• The Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award, for exemplary teaching in the recitation section, to Sergey Yakovlev, of the Chemical, Biomedical and Materials Engineering Department.

• The Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award, for meritorious teaching in a laboratory section, to Kerry Johnson ’06, of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.

• The Harvey N. Davis Award, established in 1959 in memory of Harvey N. Davis, Hon. D.Eng. ’48, Hon. Sc.D. ’51, Stevens president from 1928 to 1951, is given to the student organization which contributes most to the college and its students. The award went to SIT-TV.

• The Martha L. Kattwinkel Award, established in 1952 by O. Frank Kattwinkel ’48, in memory of his mother, for the member of the junior class who gives most unstintingly and unselfishly to Stevens, to Sabrina Rencher.

• The Colonel Basil M. Stevens Award, established by Mrs. Basil M. Stevens in 1963 in memory of her husband, to the member of the junior class who has been selected as being distinguished for courtesy and character, to Ling Lin.

• The Adam and Edwin “Doc” Farrell Memorial Award, established in 1987 in memory of “Doc” Farrell, athletic trainer from 1974 to 1987 and his wife, Ada, by his three children, is given annually to that undergraduate who is entering the junior or senior year, and who most typifies those standards “Doc” adhered to and constantly strove to instill in others: Be involved in your community; be respectful and responsible; be honest and forthright; give of yourself to those in need; and turn adversity into opportunity. The award went to Michael Manzella.

• The Ondrick Scholarship, established in 1992 by alumni and friends of Stevens Professor William Ondrick, Hon. M.Eng. ’74, to a student who is entering the senior year and who has outstanding academic achievement and contributed unselfishly to the advancement of music at Stevens, to Alicia Mahon.

• The Gustav G. Freygang Award was established in 1965 by the family, colleagues and friends of Gust G. Freygang, Class of 1909, and former Stevens professor of mechanical engineering. Presented to a member of the junior class for outstanding performance in the sequence of courses in mechanics given by the Mechanical Engineering Department, the award went to Jonathan Jablonski.

• The CRC Press Freshman Chemistry Achievement Award, given by the Chemical Rubber Company Press for scholastic achievement in chemistry during the freshman year and to encourage students’ interest in science, to Mitchell Izower.

• The President’s Award for Community Involvement, given by Stevens President Harold J. Raveché in recognition of the undergraduate student who gives unendingly to improve student life, to Siena York-Carr.

• Hans J. Lang Award for Excellence in Cost Engineering and Engineering Economics is given to the member of the junior class in engineering management who has distinguished himself or herself in these topics. This award, given in memory of Hans Joachim Lang ’34 by his family and faculty of the Bachelor of Engineering in Engineering Management (BEEM) program, went to Daniel Nagle.

• The Robert H. Seavy Award, established in honor of Robert H. Seavy, M.S. ’48, Stevens dean of admissions emeritus, is given to the tour guide who best represents the values of Stevens to prospective students and their families. Presented annually to the tour guides entering their senior year and who have given two or more years of exceptional service to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the award went to Micki Biltz.

• Panhellenic Council Academic Excellence Award is presented to the Panhellenic Council sorority that has achieved the highest grade point average for the Spring 2007 semester. Achieving a 3.36 grade point average, the winner was Delta Phi Epsilon.

• Interfraternity Academic Excellence Award is presented to the Interfraternity Council fraternity that has achieved the highest GPA for the Spring 2007 semester. Achieving a 3.31 grade point average, the winner was Sigma Phi Epsilon.

• Multicultural Council Academic Excellence Award is presented to the Multicultural Greek Council organization that has achieved the highest grade point average for the Spring 2007 semester. Achieving a 3.46 grade point average, the winner was Sigma Beta Rho.

• The Center of Science Writings Prize for Excellent Undergraduate Science Writing, for excellent undergraduate science writing, went to: Chris Wightman ’07, first place, “The Days of War Are Numbered;” Brian Weiner, second place, “A Fossil Fuel by Any Other Name;” Ryan Fogarty ’07, “The Implications of Darwinism.”

• The Charles I. Petschek Scholarship, established in 1984 by Charles I. Petschek ’44 and awarded annually to the Stevens undergraduate who is completing the junior year and has a strong interest in mathematics, to Christopher Geigel.

• Gear and Triangle Award, presented to a sophomore who, during his or her freshman year, showed great interest and dedication to student activities at Stevens. Established in 1991 by alumni of Gear and Triangle, the award went to Morgan DeSena and Peter Movila.

• Seymour Athlete of the Year, named after former Athletic Director Buzz Seymour, M.Eng. ’76, to the top performing male and female athletes at Stevens each year, went to Dana Bacalla, Skyline Conference Tennis Player of the Year and No. 11 among singles players in the Northeast by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association; and Adam Sandt ’07, Skyline Conference Baseball first-team All-Star and All-New York Region first-team.

• President’s Cup. This award, created by President Raveché, recognizes the Stevens athletic team that best exemplifies the values and ideals of the Stevens scholar athlete. The award is given to the team that has most excelled in athletic performance, academics, sportsmanship and citizenship. This year’s recipient is the women’s volleyball team. In 2006, the team posted a 34-6 overall record and set a new school record for wins in a season. The Ducks captured their third straight Skyline Conference title and their first-ever New York Regional Championship title, and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. At the end of their year, the team was ranked fifth nationally out of 395 schools that sponsor Division III women’s volleyball and was ranked No. 21 in an American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll. The team had a 3.25 overall grade point average and did volunteer work, such as running volleyball clinics in Hoboken and Rahway, NJ.

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