Originally published on Cualumni.com
The Cooper Union Alumni Association (CUAA) recognized outstanding
alumni, honored a retiring dean and celebrated Peter Cooper’s 219th birthday at the Founder’s Day Dinner Dance on April 16, 2010. Two hundred and seventy-five alumni, guests, students and other members of The Cooper Union community gathered at The Roosevelt Hotel for this festive annual event at which four accomplished alumni and a dean were honored for their professional achievements and service to The Cooper Union and the CUAA.
CUAA President MaryAnn Nichols (A’68) expressed her appreciation
to dinner co-chairs Anne Dudek Ronan (CE’83/MCE’84) and Gregory Ronan (ME’81/MME’82) for their leadership and support. She also acknowledged the 10 members of the Alumni Hall of Fame attending the event.
President George Campbell Jr. congratulated the 2010 CUAA award recipients.
At the conclusion of the awards presentations, members of The Cooper Union Ballroom Dance Club performed several dances choreographed by Maria Georgescu (IDE’12), Sam Glauber (ME’10) and Eglind Myftiu (ME’11) to an appreciative audience that danced until midnight to the music of the Cal James Orchestra.
Alum of the Year, Charles Cassella (EE’68) was recognized for his outstanding service,
dedication and commitment to the CUAA and to The Cooper
Union. Charlie has served several terms on the Alumni Council and chaired many committees and annual events, including Alumni Day and Phonathon, which has allowed him to stay connected to his classmates. He has served on the Alumni Recruitment, Alumni/ Student Career Dinner, Cooper Couples Evening, Gano Dunn Award, Mock Interview Night and PE Review Course committees. He is currently a member of the Alumni Council and serves on the Annual Fund, Events and Nominating committees. In 2009, Charlie and his wife Judith Cassella (EE’71) were inducted into the Sarah Amelia
Hewitt Society.
Honorary Alumna of the Year, Eleanor Baum, Dean of the Albert Nerken School of Engineering, received this award, presented on special occasions to a non-alumnus,
for devoting extraordinary time and effort towards the well being of The Cooper Union. Dr. Baum has served as Dean of Engineering and Professor of Electrical Engineering since 1987. During her tenure, The Cooper Union has been perennially ranked among the top undergraduate engineering colleges in the country. She has been a role model and an advocate for young women and minorities in engineering. Her leadership in engineering education nationally and internationally and the numerous awards she has received have heightened The Cooper Union’s recognition.
Augustus Saint-Gaudens Award winner, Steve Brodner (A’76) was recognized for his professional achievement as a leading satiric artist with 30 years of illustrating experience. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker, and his vivid colors and sharp social commentary are printed on the pages of Esquire, Mother Jones, Rolling Stone, Time and Newsweek.
Steve’s work has been published in Harper’s, National Lampoon, Sports Illustrated, Playboy and Spy. Using visual essays, he covered over 50 journalism stories. His documentary short “September, 2001” was shown at the Sundance Film Festival, and his “Naked Campaign” short films documented the 2008 Presidential Campaign for NewYorker.com.
John Q. Hejduk Award winner, Laurie Hawkinson (AR’83) was recognized for her professional achievement as Principal of Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects which she formed in 1983 with Henry Smith-Miller. The firm’s work ranges in scale from urban design and public space to furniture.
Significant completed projects include the Corning Museum of Glass and the Wall Street Ferry Terminal, and collaborations include the North Carolina Museum of Art Amphitheater and Site Master
Plan, the Museum of Women’s History and the NYC2010 Olympic Village. The firm’s work is in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Fonds Regional d’Art Contemporain du Centre (FRAC), and has been exhibited at the Venice Biennale, the National Academy of Design and the Museum of Modern Art.
Gano Dunn Award winner, Dr. Naomi Harley (SCE’59) was recognized for her professional achievement as Professor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at the New York University School of Medicine. Her extensive research on environmental radioactivity, radiation carcinogenesis,
radiation measurement and radiation risk modeling and assessment has been published in 150 articles and eight book chapters. She holds five patents, including those in gamma-ray and radon detection and atmospheric particle size measurement. Naomi was Head of the Special Projects Group at the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Health and Safety Laboratory. She is a member of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Association for Aerosol Research, American Chemical Society and Health Physics Society. She served on four National Research Council committees and chaired a Rand Committee that produced a review of Gulf War health effects from depleted uranium. A Fellow of the Health Physics Society and the American Association for
Advancement of Science, she has received research grants from the
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, American Cancer Society and U.S.
Department of Energy.
Steve Brodner (A’76), Laurie Hawkinson (AR’83) and Dr. Naomi Harley (SCE’59) were inducted into the Cooper Union Hall of Fame.