2022 December CUAA Newsletter

Thomas Aidala, AR’55, has helped shape cities worldwide through design for more than thirty years.  From 1971 to 1974 Thomas Aidala served as the Director of Planning and Design with the Greater Hartford Community Development Corporation, an experimental approach to city renewal which included the design of a new town in Coventry, CT.  He then worked as an architect/urban design consultant working on the design of a new city for 350,000 people in Saudi Arabia and a design for St. Helena, CA.  Later, he was the Principal Architect, Urban Designer and Principal Design Consultant for the San Jose Redevelopment Agency. Learn More

Martin Charnin A’55 wrote the music and lyrics for numerous off-Broadway and Broadway musicals. He was also a Broadway Director. He is world renown for creating, writing the lyrics for, and directing the musical, Annie. In the early 1970s, he wrote and directed 6 television variety specials. He wrote songs recorded by Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Rod McKuen, Grace Jones, Jay-Z, Nancy Wilson, Andrea McArdle, Shelly Burch, and others. Learn More

Dr. Richard Slember ME’55 was an expert on nuclear power technology. He had a long career at Westinghouse and ABB. He retired as President and interim CEO of Asea Brown Boveri’s (ABB) Americas Region in 1996. He also developed the first probabilistic risk assessment for nuclear plants.  He has authored numerous articles for technical and business journals and contributed to the ASME code for nuclear vessels.  Learn More

Cooper IEEE is developing new initiatives, for the Spring semester, to increase engagement between current students and EE alumni, to build a stronger community after the pandemic. We are  requesting alumni guest speakers to present on various topics, such as their field of work, professional experience, and personal endeavors. Cooper IEEE is also searching for hackathon sponsors for a hardware hackathon we will be holding with Columbia University’s IEEE student chapter, with benefits including presenting workshops and recruiting opportunities. Please contact Jon Lu at jon.lu@cooper.edu if interested in either, or other potential events!

The CU Motorsports Team is building an electric vehicle for the first time since 2010. This is part of a 2-year effort and the car is now being assembled. The team invites alumni to follow the assembly and testing progress on Facebook where they regularly post updates. The team welcomes alumni participation and is planning some Design Defense dates and some car testing days when alumni help is needed. Email: fsae@cooper.edu for more information.

The CU AICHE Chapter kicked off the semester with an oobleck event, where students had the opportunity to learn about non-Newtonian fluids and made oobleck from cornstarch and water. We then had a site visit to Cresilon, a biotechnology company based in Brooklyn. They also hosted a professor meet and greet, attended the National AICHE conference in Arizona, and are hosting their own research symposium featuring student research. Learn More