The following are links to obituaries for alumni that we heard passed away in 2013

James M. Allaire, CE ’39
Elaine Raphael Chionchio Bolognese, A ’54
Stephen Crohn, A ’69
James DelGrosso, A ’63
Loring P. Eutemey, A ’54
Professor Herbert Alan Feuerlicht, A ’52
Dr. Charles Gilvarg, ChE ’48
Frederick Gluck, EE ’39
L. Michael Grieco, ME ’55
George Junior Hill, A ’41
Ira Hooper, CE ’41
Irving Lowe, EE ’51
William Lynch, A ’82
Alphonse Normandia, A’48
Irving Neshin, ChE ’40
Joan B. Ruffins, A ’54
Merton D. Simpson, A ’54
Theodore Spagna, AR ’70

The following alumni passed away during 2014

 The following links are for Obituaries

David Armstrong
Norman Bridwell
Victor Lazzaro AR’52
Ilse Johnson A’47
Harold G. Egan A’37
Anthony Mazzola A’48
John Chen, ChE ’56
Robert Ploss ME’48
Norbert M. Ludewig CE’82
Martin Fuchs A’51

Regina Granne, A’59

Regina Granne A’59 was a Manhattan-based artist whose drawings have been recognized for their creative interpretations of feminism, war and politics. The image below, on the right, is a 2008 painting called Shadowed Landscape (Afghanistan) from the collection, “War Games.”

Shadowed Landscape (Afghanistan), 2008, Oil on Linen

Regina continued her education after Cooper Union at Yale University, earning a Master of Fine Arts in 1963. She is a Manhattan-based artist whose drawings have been recognized for their creative interpretations of feminism, war and politics. Regina is a painter too. She displays in both mediums an interest in the registers of figuration and still life.

Red Table II, 2004, oil on linen, 56″ x 62″

She has exhibited extensively in solo and group exhibitions. Selected shows include the National Academy of Design, NYC; Tatistchef Gallery, NYC;Sejong Art Center Museum, Seoul, Korea; Delaware Arts Center, Narrowsburg, NY; University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn.; LehmanSuite, Colombia University, NYC; International Biennial of Painting,Cuenca, Ecuador; 2B Gallery, Budapest, Hungary; Konsthallen, Sandviken, Sweden; North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND; Art Academy of Cincinnati, Ohio. Her work has been reviewed by the Boston Globe, The New York Times, Art News, and The Chronicle, among other publications. Granne is represented by A.I.R. Gallery in Brooklyn, NewYork. Her recent solo exhibitions include: Planes, A.I.R. Gallery, Brooklyn,NY; Elegy/War Games: Drawings at Olson Gallery, Bethel University, Saint Paul, MN; and Increments: Drawing 1970 – 1995,  A.I.R. Gallery,Brooklyn, NY. The Crumpled Press (New York, NY) published a retrospective of her drawings, Increments: Drawings, 1970-1995 Regina Granne, which accompanied the similarly-titled show. She has participated in several panels including Artist as Witness: Words on War, and Who’s Afraid of Political Art? and is included in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art: Feminist Art Database at the Brooklyn Museum. Her work has also been published in two books about drawing: On Drawing, Fourth Edition and Drawing from Life.

At the time she was selected for the Augustus Saint-Guadens’ Award in 2013,  Ms. Granne was a faculty member at Parsons School of Design (New York).  She also taught at Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts, (Bard College), Queens College (CUNY), and Art Academy of Cincinnati, among others.

http://www.reginagranne.com

Memorial show for Regina Granne.

Above the Clouds and Under the Radar: the Paintings of Regina Granne

April 2 – April 26, 2015

Opening reception: Thursday, April 2, 6-9PM

A.I.R. Gallery, 111 Front Street, #228, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Gallery hours: Wed-Sun, 12PM – 6PM

http://www.airgallery.org

Featured Alumnus: Edmund Glaser, EE’49

Edmund Glaser, ’49

Edmund Glaser, EE ’49, talks about his experience at The Cooper Union, and how it influenced his path to success in the field of computer microscopy.

2013 marks the 50th year since I became a joint inventor of computer microscopy. I graduated from Cooper as an electric engineer in 1949. The path to computer microscopy was unplanned and came slowly. My first ten years after Cooper involved working on Cold War defense engineering projects first on guided missiles, then on Air Force electronic countermeasures, then on communications systems and information theory. On the way, I moved to Johns Hopkins University, entered the field of artificial intelligence (AI), and undertook a PhD in electrical engineering. I gladly left Cold War projects to others in 1960 and became a recruit to brain neuroscience and the sensory physiology of hearing. My PhD came in 1960 followed by a postdoc in neurophysiology at Hopkins. That was followed by an appointment in Physiology at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine.

In 1963, I met Hendrik van der Loos, a neuroanatomist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. The intellectual pathway to computer microscopy was then complete. Our collaboration lasted over 30 years. We jointly published what was to become a landmark paper in the IEEE Journal on Biomedical Engineering. Of course, it wasn’t a landmark then. We described a new kind of biological light microscope that we had built and coupled to an analog computer, thereby devising an integrated instrument that permitted the three dimensional computer based depiction and analysis of neurons in the brain. It opened a path to solving the problem of seeing and rapidly reconstructing their dendrites and axons. Anatomists as far back as Golgi and Ramon y Cajal had been doing that beautifully since the late 19th century. But none had done more than to publish meticulous drawings that illustrated how complex the brain was. The difference in 1963 was that brain scientists and computer scientists like Hendrik and I were then beginning to become interested in details of how the brain actually functioned and its similarities to a digital computer. Our computer microscope put neuroanatomy on the road to doing just that. The paper was published along with some nice compliments from foresighted observers.  But little attention was paid to it for the next 10 years. Nonetheless, we kept on working on it as did some other neuroanatomists.  Our own additional contributions and those of some others pushed it into the digital world.

Neuron image produced by Neurolucinda

Photo Above: A group of quantifiable neuron reconstructions from microscope images using Neurolucida.

 

 

When the IBM personal computer appeared, computer microscopy as it was by then called, became accepted internationally as the principal tool for computer based reconstruction of brain neurons. Our microscope system rapidly evolved, permitting investigators to control all aspects of their research while viewing microscope images. Shortly thereafter, I was joined by my computer trained son Jack and together in early 1987 we formed the company Microbrightfield (MBF) to develop and promote the neuron tracing system now called Neurolucida to the international neuroscience community. Three dimensional brain mapping was its principal function. Jack, by the way, is the namesake of his grandfather who attended Cooper Union in the early years of the 20th century.  NIH and SBIR grant support enhanced our growth. MBF has since become preeminent in computer microscopy and installed more than 1000 versions of its microscope systems  in neuroscience laboratories throughout the world. More than 4000 publications have cited its use. MBF remains devoted to light microscopy in all its new specializations including confocal and fluorescence microscopy and stereology. MBF’s website is http://www.mbfbioscience.com. Besides computer microscopy, I have enjoyed the gratifications of doing experimental research in auditory neurophysiology. I published a book with Daniel Ruchkin entitled The Principals of Neurobiological Signal Analysis, wrote numerous neuroscience publications and was awarded a Fogarty Senior International Fellowship.

I am now retired as an Emeritus Professor of Physiology and reside in Baltimore. I enjoy spending my winters in Mexico City where I have a guest appointment at the Instituto de Biomedicas at UNAM  and teach graduate students how to translate their Spanish language PhD theses into scientific English for publication.

George Fox, CE’40

George A. Fox, Civil Engineering ’40, was born in 1920 in Pittsburgh. He passed away in 2001 in New York City.  He served as chairman of the Grow Tunneling Corporation of Manhattan, and led the construction effort on New York City’s Water tunnels.   While at Grow Tunneling corporation, he designed and managed major construction projects, including roads, bridges and tunnels.  He  joined the Grow Construction Company, which later became the Grow Tunneling Corporation in 1946 following his service in the Navy Civil Engineering Corps in the South Pacific during World War II.

George was a nationally recognized expert in soft-ground, compressed air shafts and tunnels. He lectured in the US and abroad and wrote numerous articles for important construction publications. After managing several public-works projects in the city, upstate New York and New Jersey in the 1950’s and 1960’s and taking a leading role for his company in its early work on New York’s massive Third Water Tunnel in the 1970’s, Fox became chief executive of Grow in the early 1980’s.

During the 1980’s George served as president of the New York Building Congress and the General Contractors Association of New York City. He also served as chairman of the board of radio stations WBAI and WNYC.

In 1974, George Fox became the first Alumni Trustee on the Cooper Union Board of Trustees.  (The Alumni Trustee position was formed by the CUAA/Cooper Union Memorandum of Agreement dated Feb. 1, 1974).

George served as Chairman of the Cooper Union Board of Trustees from 1987-1995. Fox was awarded several prizes for engineering, including the Roebling Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1988.  On November 13th, 1996, he received the first “Builder of the City” award from The Cooper Union for contributions to the city’s infrastructure.

In 1998, he created a course at the Cooper Union which he taught until 2000.

George Fox received the 1979 President’s Citation and the Gano Dunn Award in 1973. He died in 2001.  He was inducted into the Cooper Union Hall of Fame in 2009.

References:

New York Times obituary May 21, 2001: Link to Obituary

New York Times,”Excavating A Monument To Foresight,”  November 13 1996: Link to Times Nov 1996 Article

New York Times, “Decades After Its Conception, 3d Water Tunnel Set to Open,” August 6, 1998: Link to Times article about the Third Water Tunnel

Minutes of Cooper Union Board of Trustees Meeting, April 3 1974.

Minutes of Cooper Union Board of Trustees Meeting, November 13 1974.

At Cooper April 1973, page 27

The following alumni passed away in 2015

The following are links to stories and obituaries for alumni that we heard passed away in 2015

(Please send additional names and obituaries to contact@cooperalumni.org)

Joel Azerrad, A’53

Noah Davis

Regina Granne A’59

George Fox CE’40

Joseph Lechleider, ME’54

John Huddy AR’85

Wilma Vrancken Hall A’47

Arthur Klein, Che’49

Ivan Sandler, ME’63

Wilma Grace Vrancken Wall A’47

Wilma Grace Vrancken Wall,  of Northbrook, Illinois, passed away April 7, 2015.  She went peacefully, in her own home, after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease.  Wilma was born Wilma Grace Vrancken in Union City, New Jersey, in June of 1926.  She went to the Cooper Union in Greenwich Village, married Ned Wall of Hoboken, a journalist, and moved with him to the Chicago area in 1959.

After a stint in the south suburbs of Chicago, she became a Wilmette, IL resident for 11 years where her three sons graduated from New Trier East. She spent more than a decade in Winnetka, IL before eventually retiring to Northbrook, IL

Wilma worked for 15 years at the Chicago Sun-Times as the executive assistant to the Head of Production and later, the Head of Features.

She worked closely with the assistants of legendary Sun-Times writers such as Roger Ebert and Mike Royko, knew Rich Roeper when he was a rookie, took Rupert Murdoch’s kids to the opera and loved being a part of the newspaper business.   While she was working at the Sun-Times, she went back to school at night and got her BA from Northwestern University.  She was in her early 60s at graduation.

She also spent many years working for Northwestern University Technological Institute in Evanston and after her retirement from the Sun-Times, at the Pioneer Press in Wilmette.

Wilma is survived by her sister, Barbara Mahnken of Ft. Worth, Texas, and her three sons:  Glenn Wall, Gregory Wall and Chris Wall.

Services will be private.  In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Wilma’s memory to the National Organization for Women in Washington, D.C., a cause Wilma personally supported for 50 years.

Remembering Professor Emilio Grossi

Written by Evelyn Ramos Zeiller

May 9th 2015 is the first year anniversary of the passing of our beloved and respected Professor Emilio Grossi, who resided in Norwalk, Ct. He is survived by his wife Marie L. Guglielmetti Grossi and son Peter J. Grossi. He was an Adjunct Professor at Cooper Union in the 1970’s.  His classes met in the evening because Professor Grossi was the Art Director for Metromedia Television.  He later worked as Senior Art Director for Fox Television in New York. He specialized in black and white photography with a heavy emphasis on large format cameras. Emilio’s work incorporated a vast amount of graphics and he was a detailed draftsman in Airbrush graphics, etc.

Emilio Grossi served in the U.S. Navy on submarines in the South Pacific during World War II and the Korean War. Emilio attended Rhode Island School of Design for his BFA and Yale University for his MFA. We have lost one of giants a person and professor. He was kind and loving and great character.  His students felt honored to study with him and are saddened by his passing.

Learn More:

Obituary

Emilio Grossi Website

 9/11: A Retrospective

This post was originally published in the September 2011 CUAA Newsletter.

we pay special tribute to members of the Cooper community who contributed to relief efforts after September 11, 2001. The tribute highlights several projects, but is by no means an exhaustive list, of the many alumni, faculty, staff, and students involved in the recovery efforts during this trying time in New York City history.

In Memoriam

Members of the Cooper community perished as part of the World Trade Center disaster.  

The Cooper Union Alumni Association had a plaque installed in the lobby of the Engineering School in their memory. A dedication ceremony took place on February 20, 2002 in the Wollman Lounge. CUAA President Jacob Alspector, AR ’72, Dean Eleanor Baum and Cooper Union President George Campbell all presented remarks. Images from that day can be seen in the article “We Will Remember…” from the Spring-Summer 2002 edition of Clockworks below. A new plaque was placed in the Dean of Engineering office at 41 Cooper Square, following the closing of the old Engineering Building (left).

Next we take a look back at The Cooper Union in 2001 through the Fall/Winter 2001 edition of atCooper. The next two articles highlight different ways in which the Cooper community contributed to recovery and relief efforts during this trying time in New York City history.

At Cooper Union Fall 2001 | 9

World Trade Center “bathtub” model created by Cooper Union students

New York Loves Milton

Tribute in Light

The following alumni passed away in 2016

In Memoriam: Dr. Ernest A. Seglie, Physics 1967

Dr. Ernest A. Seglie, PHY’67, a nuclear physicist who joined the Office of the Secretary of Defense as the first Science Advisor, Operational Test and Evaluation, in 1988, died Sunday, May 1, in Rockville, Maryland. The cause was metastatic cancer.  A celebration of his life is planned at 3 p.m. on June 5, 2016, at Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethesda Maryland.

Born and raised in Queens, New York, he was the son of Aldo Seglie, a builder, and Genevieve Seglie, a homemaker. At the Pentagon, his responsibilities included providing “scientific and technical guidance on the overall approach to DoD evaluation of the operational effectiveness and suitability of major DoD weapons systems.” After graduating from Saint Francis Preparatory School in New York City, he earned a BS in physics from The Cooper Union and a Ph.D. in theoretical nuclear physics from University of Massachusetts in 1972.

Dr. Ernest A. Seglie taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Yale University before joining the Institute for Defense Analyses in 1979. He received the Andrew J. Goodpaster Award for Excellence in Research in 1987, the International Test and Evaluation Association 2009 Allen R. Matthews Award for “leadership and technical contributions to the evaluation of operational effectiveness and suitability,” and the National Defense Industrial Association Walter W. Hollis Award in 2009. In addition, he was recipient of the President of the United States Rank Conferral of Meritorious Senior Professional in 2003 and the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service in 2010, which included mention that he “led the drive to apply statistical methods to test design and evaluation.”

Recent areas of interest include test and evaluation policy in the Department of Defense and reliability. An avid fly-fisherman and photographer, he is survived by his wife of 29 years, Jean Fitzgerald Seglie of Kensington, stepdaughters Leila Kochis of Leander, Texas, and Sarah Jackson-Han of Chevy Chase, Maryland, three granddaughters, and a sister, Barbara Seglie, of the United Kingdom.

written by Sarah Jackson-Han, step daughter of Dr. Ernest A. Seglie

Free Education Committee Update

The Free Education Committee (“FEC”) of The Cooper Union Board of Trustees held its first meeting on January 12, 2016.  This January, the committee completed it’s first year of service.  It also produced a progress report for The Cooper Union Board, Financial Monitor, and the Attorney General’s office.  The report was published January 15, 2017 and is available on the Cooper.edu Website.  Down load Report

During the past year the FEC  met 18 times and engaged in extensive fact-finding efforts which are described in the report.

The FEC is fully committed to developing and proposing a strategic plan aimed at returning The Cooper Union “to a sustainable, full tuition scholarship model that maintains Cooper Union’s strong reputation for academic quality within its Art, Architecture and Engineering programs at their historical levels of enrollment.”   Link to the Committee web-page

CUAA February Council Meeting will be February 28, 2017

Cooper Union President, Laura Sparks will be our guest at the next CUAA Council meeting.  We anticipate a large turnout to meet the new president.  The Nominating Committee will present the ballot for the 2017 election at this meeting.

Would You Like to Help With Your Class reunion?

From the 1967 Cable

Reunion Weekend will be the first weekend in June.  Members of the class of 1967 will be celebrating their Golden Legion.  Several other classes will be marking milestones.  Milestone class years are:’57, ’62, ’67, ’72, ’77, ’82, ’87, ’92, ’97, ’02, ’07, ’12.  Reunion Weekend events are open to all alumni.  Reunion Weekend includes some events that are tailored to specific milestone class years.  You can learn more about Reunion Weekend here.  Learn More   Registration will open on March 1st.

It takes many volunteers to organize a memorable reunion.  Are you interested in helping.  Use this form to let the Cooper Union Alumni Affairs and Development Office know.   Link to Form

Annual Fund Update

The CUAA encourages support of the Annual Fund as the top choice for alumni, parents and friends looking to make donations to Cooper Union. An Annual Fund donation is unrestricted, making it a flexible and instantly available source of student funding that can be used when and where it is needed the most. Please click here to make your tax-deductible donation to the Annual Fund.

Gifts to this year’s Annual Fund may be made through June 30, 2017. Watch for news from the CUAA about upcoming fundraising activities and how you can get involved.

Mock Interview Night

February 23, 2017 is Mock Interview Night. This year the event is a collaboration with all three schools participating.  The event is organized by The Office of Alumni Affairs and the Center for Career Development with participation by the CUAA.  During the fall of 2016, this bi-annual event was expanded to include architecture students.  Now it has been expanded to also include art students.  This means we need more alumni than in the past years to perform the mock interviews.  We are seeking art, architecture and engineering alumni to volunteer.  You will help Cooper students practice their interviewing skills for internships, employment and graduate school.  We seek alumni from all generations and all backgrounds.  The event includes dinner and networking.  You will be given sample interview questions and other helpful materials.  Please register in advance.  The Career Development Office tries to match alumni and students with similar interests.  That becomes difficult when a major is under-represented by the alumni volunteers.  With that in mind, we are making a strong plea to art and architecture alumni.  The event is new for artists and architects, and we anticipate that a large number of students from those majors will be participating, in addition to the regular large number of engineering students.  Sign up

From The Lab

The Albert Nerken School of Engineering  will be holding its third From The Lab event on Tuesday February 28, from 6 to 8 PM.  The location will be at 41 Cooper Square.

From the Lab is a series that showcases work performed by faculty and students in the Albert Nerken School of Engineering. This event will showcase projects that focus on energy, environment and fuel.

The schedule for the evening includes:

•     Presentation in the Rose Auditorium
•     Private tours of research labs
•     followed by a Cocktail reception with Engineering faculty and students.

The Albert Nerken School of Engineering hosted its first “From the Lab,” event in February 2016 with an event that showcased the research being done in the school in bio-engineering.  The second in the series was held on 2016 and it  showcased research being done in sustainability.

Are You Registered to Vote? Are your Alumni Friends?

The CUAA Annual Spring Election is a little more than a month away

If you have voted in either of the last two elections, you are registered. If you need to register on www.cooperalumni.org, you can do so here: Register

Alumni Directory is On-Line

Use it to find your classmates. This feature is found by selecting the Alumni Tab on the cooper.edu website. Next select, Find Your Classmates in the column on the left side of the page.  You will need to log in as an alumnus.  If you remember your password from the prior school website, that works.  If you need to create a login or get a new password, follow the instructions on the screen for doing so.

Alumni Profiles

Albert L. Nerken ChE 1933,

Albert L. Nerken ChE 1933, attended The Cooper Union during the Great Depression.  He dropped out of school for a while, but returned to graduate in 1933 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering.  He was one of only 7 graduates that year with this degree. During World War II Albert worked on the Manhattan Project, working on instrumentation that detects leaks in pipes for the diffusion plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.  He was employed as a civilian engineer for a company called Kellex.  After the war he and Frank Raible started the Vacuum Electronic Engineering Company (VEECO) to manufacture helium leak detectors, mass spectrometer leak detectors, high-vacuum laboratory equipment, and other laboratory equipment. In 1965 VEECO acquired Lambda Electronics, a maker of devices to convert alternating current to direct current.  Albert Nerken helped guide VEECO’s growth into an international company.  Albert Nerken was a Cooper Union Trustee. Albert Nerken was awarded a Cooper Union Presidential Citation in 1984, and an Honorary Fellowship by the Technion Institute of Israel in 1987.  Learn More

Simon Bernard Zelnik A 1924

Simon Bernard Zelnik A 1924 graduated from The Cooper Union art school in 1924, from the Beaux Arts Institute of Design in 1930, and from New York University in 1931.  The degree from NYU was in architecture.  He designed multiple office and apartment buildings in New York City.  He also designed stores, theaters and synagogues.  Simon Zelnik designed the Congregational Family of Riverdale Temple, located at  3700 Independence Avenue.   Simon Zelnik was also a member of and a trustee of this temple. Another temple that he designed in the Bronx opened in 1962.  The Temple of Young Israel is located on the Grand Concourse at 165th Street. He designed multiple movie theaters in New York City.  One of those survives. Originally it was the Elgin Theater and it is located at. 175 Eighth Avenue.  Learn More

Adolph Weinman A 1891

Adolph Weinman A 1891 began his studies at The Cooper Union Night School when he was just 15.  While in school, he was working during the day as an apprentice to a sculptor. In 1896, Augustus Saint-Gaudens invited Adolph Weinman to become an assistant in his studio. Adolph Weinman was also an assistant to German-American sculptor Charles Henry Niehaus.  Adolph Weinman’s work can be seen on buildings around the country.  In New York, his  works include the pediments for the Municipal Building, friezes for the exterior of the Morgan Library, and the bronze doors for the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.  The Museum of the City of New York has his statues of Alexander Hamilton and DeWitt Clinton.  Adolph Weinman is also known for his designs on the United States dime and half-dollar issued in 1916.  They are known as the “Mercury” dime and the Walking Liberty half dollar.   Learn More

In Memoriam

See who we have lost during 2016 

See who we lost during 2017

ALUMNI NEWS

Alumni accomplishments featured prominently on our website… Please take a look!

Share your accomplishments by posting them on The Official CUAA FaceBook page and LinkedIn Group

UPCOMING EVENTS

 Exhibitions:

2017 Menschel Fellowship Exhibition will be from January 31 to February 16.  This annual exhibition presents works related to the Benjamin Menschel Fellowships granted to selected Cooper Union students to further work on projects related to art, architecture, design and engineering. The following students and alumni have work in the exhibit:  Yu Kiu Chan AR’17, Kelsey Lee AR’17, Piao Liu AR’17, Jenny Hsiao AR’17, Hui Rong Liu AR’17, Maja Griffin A’17, Sarah Schmitt A’17, Anamika Singh A’17, and Daniil Ashtaev A’17.  Learn More

Cooper Union Rhoda Lubalin Fellows Exhibition, titled Type High. will be from February 7th through 16th in the 41Cooper Square Gallery. Recent graduates, Michael Prisco A’16 and Helen Sywalski A’16 will have a group exhibition that includes the designs, typography, and large, physical letterforms that they have been researching and developing.

The opening reception is on Feb 7th from 6-8 PM.  Learn More

2/07/2017 Founder’s Day Wreath Laying in Cooper Square Park

Photo by R. Cetera

This year’s wreath laying event will be hosted by President Laura Sparks.   CUAA president, Nils Folke Anderson, and the full school body will participate in a salute to our founder outside the Foundation Building, commemorating his birthday.  After some brief remarks, a wreath with flowers in the school colors will be placed on the statue of Peter Cooper in Cooper Square Park.  This year, Peter Cooper’s true birthday falls on the weekend.  The wreath laying will occur at noon on Tuesday, February, 7th.  Refreshments will follow.  This event is open to everyone in the Cooper Union community.

 12PM -12:30 PM Wreath Laying Ceremony in Cooper Square Park and

12:30–1:30 PM Refreshments in the lobby of the Foundation Building.

6:30 – 9:30 PM Alumni gathering at Phebes, hosted by President Laura Sparks at 361 Bowery, New York, 10003

2/7 – 2/13/17  CooperTogether

CooperTogether is a week-long celebration of the birth of our founder, Peter Cooper. We are asking alumni to do three things during this week.

• Attend an event (NYC or other regional).  Consider hosting an event if there is not one near you.
• Share photos and stories on social media about the CooperTogether event, about Peter Cooper, or about why you support The Cooper Union, using hashtag #Coopertogether
• Give to The Cooper Union, in honor of Peter Cooper and further his legacy.  Learn More

2/8/17  Cooper to Seattle

6:30–8:30 PM The Seattle event will be hosted by Alumni Trustee Adrian Burton Jovanovic BSE’89 and will be held at The Sitting Room, 108 West Roy St., Seattle, WA 98119  Register >>

2/9/17  Cooper to Houston

6:30–8:30 PM The Houston event will be hosted by President Laura Sparks and will be held at Hunky Dory, 1801 N. Shepherd Dr., Houston, TX 77008  Purchase tickets >>

2/9/17  Cooper to New Orleans,

6:30–8:30 PM The New Orleans event will be hosted by TRUE A’96 and will be held at The Country Club, 634 Louisa St., New Orleans, LA 70117   Register >>

2/9/17  Cooper to San Francisco Bay Area

6:00–9:00 PM The San Francisco event will be Hosted by Hsu-Wei Shueh EE’90.  The location  to be announced.  Register >>

2/10/17 Cooper to Washington, DC

6:30–8:30 PM The Washington DC area event will be hosted by Jesse Aronson EE’84 and Chris Panebianco ChE’16.  It will be held at Boqueria, 1837 M St. N.W., Washington, DC 20036  Register >>

2/10/17 Cooper to Chicago

6:30–8:30 PM The Chicago area event will be hosted by Jim Liubicich ChE’83 and Zev Salomon AR’01. Location to be announced Register >>

2/11/17  Cooper to Detroit

6:30–8:30 PM  The Detroit area  event will be hosted by Joe Fedullo ME’98 and Hether Fedullo and will be held at Traffic Jam & Snug, 511 West Canfield St., Detroit, MI 48201   Register >>

2/12/17 Florida Chapter Founder’s Day

12:00–4:00 PM The Cooper Union and Florida Chapter of the CUAA invite alumni, parents and friends to join us for a celebratory luncheon commemorating Peter Cooper’s 226th birthday. Cooper to Boca Raton will be hosted by President Laura Sparks and will be held at the Waterstone Resort & Marina, 999 E. Camino Real, Boca Raton, FL 33432  Purchase tickets >>

2/13/17 Founder’s Day NYC

6:30–8:30 PM  Celebrate at McSorley’s.  This traditional event is hosted by the CUAA.  15 E. 7th St., New York, NY 10003  Register >>

2/23/17 Mock Interview Night

6:00–9:00 PM The CUAA and the Center for Career Development invite alumni to help current Cooper architecture, art, and engineering students practice their interviewing skills.  The event requires many alumni and alumni from all three schools.  Architecture, art, and engineering students will have the opportunity to network with alumni and to participate in 3 practice interviews. Food and refreshments will be served.  Sign up

2/28/2017 From The Lab

6:00-8:00 PM The Nerken School of Engineering From the Lab Series will be held at 41 Cooper Square.  The event will  begin in Rose Auditorium.  The evening includes presentations, laboratory tours, and refreshments.

2/28/17 February CUAA Council Meeting

CUAA Council Meetings are held in the school.  This meeting will be held in the double sized classroom on the second floor of the 41 Cooper Square Building.  This meeting will include the presentation of the ballot for the CUAA Spring Election and an address by CU President Laura Sparks.  Registration is required.  (Seating is limited by the room size.)

Spring Volunteer Phonathon

3/13 – 3/15/17  Please mark your calendar for this year’s volunteer Phonathon March 13-15. This is a great opportunity to meet other alumni, parents, and students while supporting The Cooper Union.

6/2/17 Reunion Weekend Afternoon Social

This event marks the beginning of Reunion weekend.  Check in, meet your classmates, and see the annual student end of year show, EYOS2017.

 6/2/17  Hall of Fame Award Presentations

6:30—8:00 p.m. The Gano Dunn, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, John Q. Hejduk, and Peter Cooper Public Service Awards will be presented and the awardees will be inducted into The Cooper Union Hall of Fame.  The Alumnus of the Year and The Young Alumnus of the Year Award will also be awarded. Alumni, Students, Parents and Friends are all invited.  This year, the ceremony will be held in the Rose Auditorium, 41 Cooper Square.

6/3/17 Reunion Weekend Continues with a Full Day of Activities

This fun filled day begins with a continental breakfast in the rebuilt Cooper Square Park and ends with a cruise departing from Chelsea Piers.

See the full schedule of events.  Learn More 

6/4/17  Reunion Farewell Brunch

To conclude the weekend, have brunch with friends new and old before headed back home.

Pioneer Stories

 All editions of  the CU Student Newspaper, The Pioneer, can be read on-line.  http://pioneer.cooper.edu

|The Cooper Union | Trustee Reports | Faculty-Student Senate Reports | Engineering Student Council Reports

Other Years 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009

The following alumni passed away in 2017

In Memoriam: Arthur Corwin A’54

Arthur Corwin 2003 Photo by Jim Markowich

Arthur Corwin graduated from The Cooper Union School of Art in 1954.  He received a B.F.A. and B.Arch. from Yale in 1955 and 1958, respectively, and also studied at the Ozenfant and Hans Hofmann Schools of Fine Art.  He was a Professor and Professor Emeritus n the Cooper Union School of Art for many years.  Arthur was a fine artist and sculptor, a licensed civil engineer, and a distinguished architect.  He married a Cooper alumna, the former Isabella Casaceli, Art’54.  They had been married 45 years when he passed away.

Arthur Corwin teaching in 1980.  Photo by Paul Garrin

For many of his students, Corwin’s teachings transcended the walls of the classroom, offering a unique perspective on our place in the world through time. His interdisciplinary “Art in Math” class, co-developed with Professor of Mathematics Paul M. Bailyn, received the first Edwin Sharp Burdell Award for creative synthesis of Science and Art.

His lectures explored ancient oral and symbolic traditions, including myths, legends, fairy tales, superstitions and religions. “In this vast tapestry,” Corwin said in an article published in Cooper Union’s 1987 Annual Report, “many unbroken threads lead back to the glacial era. In this increasingly hostile climate, finding one’s place in time and space and the ability to measure both accurately became critical to survival—for timing hunts, storing food and avoiding winter births.” He had completed a book on the subject at the time of his death.

Arthur Corwin in 2013 photo by Jim Markowich

Professor Emeritus Arthur H. Corwin passed away in Maine on March 28, 2017 at the age of 88. Remembered fondly by many as a professor of sculpture and prehistoric symbolism, Corwin taught at Cooper Union from 1966 until his retirement in 2000. He was also an alumnus, earning a Certificate of Art in 1954, Acting Dean of the School of Art during multiple transition periods, and played an active role in the Art Admissions Committee for many years.

Professor Corwin also taught Freshman 3D design and two popular courses in which students were to conceive, design and build a chair or a boat.

Courses

• Art in Mathematics. 
  This course will cover the prehistoric development of cognitive thinking, the origins of the abstract languages of the arts and sciences and their lingering influence on the symbolic perception of modern man.
  3 General Studies credits.
• Advanced Sculpture/Symbolic Perception.
  A continuation of the prehistoric Art/Math course to probe further into genetically transmitted symbols known as “Archetypes.” A mixture of lectures, discussion, and individual investigative presentations in areas of art, architecture, literature, cinema, sports, politics and advertising.
• Freshman 3D Design
• Math in Art
  This course was co-developed with  Prof. Paul Bailyn of the engineering school in 1968.  The course consists of a menu of topics from which choices are made by the students and the instructor. The basic purpose of the course is to give the students a sense of what mathematics is about and how it informs and is nurtured by other disciplines

Awards:

The Cooper Union Burdell award for Creative Synthesis of Science and Art

Memories

I remember Professor Corwin being both fun, encouraging playfulness in our work as well as being very serious. He took a group of us to Roosevelt island to put up a geodesic dome that he had gotten from “his friend” Buckminster Fuller; he often spoke about  ‘Bucky’.  He also took us on a boat around the island, thinking about the city from the water, and the impact it had.  We also went as a group to see or install large sculptures in Central Park by Cooper students.  I liked his energy.   —  Judi Musaro Lichter A’72

In 1980 or ’81, I spent a week as Art Corwin’s guest in Rowayton, CT.  Doug Ashford and I had just purchased a Bolex 16mm film camera which we took turns monopolizing. I brought the camera to Connecticut.  Arthur had created an armature that attached to his studio ceiling. The Bolex was bolted to it, and aimed straight down at the floor. We needed the floor-to-ceiling distance to accommodate the width of a tarot deck, laid out like a crown in thirteen columns and seven rows, without using a lens that would add distortion. In fact, an actual card deck would have been way too big. So we were using a photographically-reduced deck — a tiny tarot of 1″ x 2″, Bristol board-backed tiles; a miniature Tarot de Marseilles. Penciled guides were drawn on the floor to keep these tiny cards in place. We filmed them as a stop animation, moving them in a prescribed pattern that would result in a calendar that was accurate to within a day every 25,772 years. Weeks later, the film was processed and we ran it through a projector at Cooper Union.  The film’s resolution was not up to the task, and when projected, the 78 cards were reduced to fuzzy, little blobs of color. It was basically useless. Nowadays, one could just write code to move some sharply detailed graphics around on a monitor, but thirty five years ago we were out of luck. Still, it was an unforgettable experience.  — Jim Markowich, A’79

Professor Corwin’s classes had a profound affect on me as a student at Cooper Union. His theory about understanding how primitive societies used symbolism, universal themes and a calendar system to interpret their world has fascinated me ever since.  I will never forget the senior project I did for his class, “Psychology, Symbols and Perception”. I was absolutely fascinated by how these themes played a role in contemporary society.  As an artist, I try to see my work as part of a great human tradition that helps us understand who we are as a people by interpreting these universal themes. Professor Corwin planted that seed when I was in college and it has continued to grow. I will forever be grateful to him.  —  Lori Loebelsohn A’82

I’m very sad to hear about Arthur’s passing.  I studied with him during my first 2 years at Cooper.  Freshman year he taught the required 3D Design class.  In my 2nd year I took his elective course entitled “Math in Art”.  Attached is a photo that I took in 1980 in the Math in Art class.  — Paul Garrin A’82

My last memory of Professor Arthur Corwin took place at his Maine cabin in June of 2012 with his wife, Isabella, who had prepared yet another amazing meal. Arthur again assumed the role of our teacher—I was instantly brought back to Cooper Union, circa 1978. The cracking of lobster shells was interspersed with detailed descriptions of Robin Hood and Santa Claus—making each in their own way seem like extraterrestrials from a distant start cluster. The evening turned to night. The lobster disappeared. Learning couldn’t be anything but magical with such a teacher.  Arthur will be deeply missed. — Sandra Mayer, A’82

This is a huge loss…Arthur Corwin’s contributions helped make Cooper Union special for decades.  — Carol Wolf A’84

Professor Corwin was an incredible man and educator. From his amazing study of Ice Age myths and cultures to his pinpoint way of explaining personality types, to his unbounding curiosity and intellect, Arthur had a distinct way of getting his students to think further, push the creative and dive deeper. Needless to say, his Chair class was much more than just designing a chair. I will forever be grateful for him being a presence in my life. Outside of my family and Ed Love, Arthur had the greatest impact in shaping my creative eye, my view of people, and the lens through which I see the world. Yesterday, I saw an amazing picture of a kingfisher emerging from a river with a fish in its mouth. I reached for my phone to call Arthur…I wanted to tell him about it. I will forever appreciate and love him. —  Yvette Francis, A’93

Arthur Corwin preparing lobsters in 2013 photo by Jim Markowich

Alumni Profile: Judith Seigal A’54

Judith Seigel in 2008 courtesy of Jessica Seigel

Judy Seigel (1930-2017) was born Judith Lee Aronson in Manhattan in 1930.  She grew up in both Manhattan and Scarsdale.  She initially enrolled in the Graphics Art Program at The Cooper Union Art Day School, but later switched to Fine Art and the Night Art School.  Judy Seigel graduated from the Night Art School in 1954 with a certificate in Art.   She came back to The Cooper Union and was awarded a BA in Art in 1978.  She also attended Pratt where she received a MFA in photography in 1980. Judy worked as a 1950s Mad woman illustrator, then turned to large scale abstract painting in the 1970s.

Judy Seigel, was a proud Cooper alumna and member of the Cooper Union Alumni council from 1983 to 1985.  She was a pioneering feminist artist, painter, photographer, publisher and writer most recently dubbed an “unsung heroine” of the alternative photography movement.

Judy Siegel was  an important member of the feminist artist movement of the 1970s. She was co-founder and editor of the formative Women Artists News (1975-1994) and author of “Mutiny and the Mainstream: Talk That Changed Art” (1992) that documented the active New York City public discussion scene.  The book has been used as a college text, especially in women’s studies courses.

Judith Seigel in the 1950s courtesy of Jessica Seigel

Judith Seigel taught alternate photo processes including cyanotype and gum bichromate at ICP, Pratt and elsewhere. She taught at Pratt university for 14 years.  Dubbed a “crooked” photographer for her painterly approach to the medium, she became a center of alt photo expertise and knowledge.  She was founder and editor of the World Journal of Post Factory Photography from 1998-2004.

Here is one of her images in the MOMA collection. In reviews of her toned, painted and solarized photographic images, New York Times’ Andy Grunberg singled out her work’s “charm” when describing her Perisian Minatures.

Judy Seigal was passionate about preserving Greenwich Village in New York City.  In the early 1960s, she marched, in a demonstration against Robert Moses’ plan to build a street through Washington Square Park. In the 1980s, Judy joined the effort that blocked the proposed $2 billion Westway project to build a super highway along the west side of Manhattan.

Additional Information:

Could Judy Seigel Be The Next Posthumous Photo Phenom?, The Forward, May 25, 2017.

Judy Seigel, 86, photographer, activist, The Villager, May 25, 2017.

Political shirts fit photographer to a T in new book,  The Villager, February 14 -20, 2007.

Photography View; Artists’ Works are at the Center of the Action, The New York Times October 3, 1982.

Sources:

Jessica Seigel

The Cooper Union Library Archives

Sabina and Oliver Jovanovic are deeply saddened by the loss of their beloved son and brother, Adrian Burton Jovanovic. Adrian died in a tragic accident on June 17, 2017 while hiking in Washington State. Adrian lived his life fully committed to all that he believed in and loved—from friends and travel, to music and software design, to learning and education. His generosity, passion, and intelligence will be profoundly missed.

Adrian was the product of two extraordinary institutions of free education, Hunter College High School and The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Their gift of learning strongly influenced his outlook on life, igniting an enduring curiosity about the world and a deep sense of civic responsibility.

Adrian was deeply troubled by the decision made to charge tuition at Cooper Union in 2013. He saw it as a fundamental betrayal of Peter Cooper’s vision and resolved to fight for the principle of free education. Adrian was a founder of the Committee to Save Cooper Union, an organization of students, faculty and graduates that mounted a successful legal challenge to this decision. Later, as an elected member of the Board of Trustees, Adrian worked tirelessly with his fellow trustees to help Cooper Union fulfill its promise to restore free education.

Adrian was determined that Cooper Union once again be free to all, and he was hopeful that the positive changes he witnessed this past year would continue. His family and friends know that completing that work would be the greatest possible tribute. We ask all those that loved and respected him to work together to finish what he started for the benefit of future generations.

Submitted by Daniel Roth 

Judith Hand A’66

Judith Lee Hand of Albany, New York was surrounded by family and friends the morning of Friday, June 30, 2017 when she passed away at Albany Medical Center. Judith died from pneumonia after living with cancer for many years.

Judith was born November 30, 1940 in Cincinnati, Ohio to Corrine True Taylor Hand and Thomas Lee Hand. Judith was an immensely loving and creative mother, sister, and friend. She is survived by her son, Daniel Roth and daughter-in-law, Farah Hussain of Albany, New York; brother, Thomas Hand of Boulder, Colorado; sister, Sara Hand of Randolph, Vermont; close friends, Keitha Sapsin-Fine of Aquinnah, Massachusetts; Walter Mahoney of Amherst, Massachusetts; and her first husband, Juan Gomez Quiroz of New York, New York. Judith was predeceased by her second husband, William Roth of Albany, New York.

Professionally, Judith inspired and nurtured many as a visual artist, a yoga teacher, a practitioner of dance and massage therapies, and a mentor and teacher of natural health. Judith possessed an eclectic passion for diverse cultural and religious philosophies as well as spiritual beliefs from around the world—which she infused into her art and healing practice. These interests carried her from the Mayan Temples of the Yucatan to the Hindu Temples of Tamil Nadu. Her life was full of creative movement.

After graduating from Indian Hill High School in Cincinnati in 1958, Judith moved east and completed her first advanced degree in 1962 at Barnard College with studies in Comparative Religion, Anthropology, and Art History. Her commitment to artistic expression next blossomed at Cooper Union where she received a Masters in Fine Art in 1966.  During that period, Judith also taught art in high schools and after-school programs and served as Assistant Curator at the Hispanic Society of America Museum in New York City.

By the 1980’s Judith’s art was well-known in New York City, Albany, and the greater Northeast. Her paintings, drawings and unique large curvilinear painted and draped cloth shapes inspired by ancient techniques of basketry, weaving, and calligraphy were displayed in over 40 galleries and exhibitions during her life.     Photos of some of Judith’s Work:  Link

During decades of artistic work, Judith also studied Tai Chi and Yoga – disciplines which laid a new foundation for the rest of her life. In the 1980s while raising her son, she began to study body-based healing techniques. This led to completing Massage Therapy training at the Stillpoint Center in 1992. Then in 1996 she received a Masters in Dance Movement and Counseling Psychology at Antioch University New England Graduate School.

While continuing to paint and draw, Judith committed her life to helping others heal. Her home-based practice integrated numerous healing modalities including shiatsu, herbal medicine, nutrition, body psychotherapy, yoga therapy, sound healing, evolutionary astrology, Process Work, Body Mind Centering, Authentic Movement, and Continuum. In the last decade of her life, she also studied Sanskrit chanting and mantra, and integrated them into a weekly yoga class at her home. Judith offered holistic, body-centered care for clients, family, and friends for over 20 years.

Throughout her life, Judith loved preparing healthy foods with family and friends. She was always happy when swimming or collecting water-polished stones in the ocean and lakes of New England, and tending to her backyard garden oasis. Judith lived each phase of her life fully. Her commitment to a unique vision found full expression in her art as well as in her devotion to the health of humans and the earth itself.  In these ways, her spirit lives on in all those she touched.

An interfaith memorial will be held at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts on Sunday October 1st at 3pm. RSVP is required. Email judithhandmemorial@gmail.com or visit www.judithheals.wordpress.comto RSVP and find event details. In recognition of Judith’s deep commitment to art, body and health, a memorial fund has been established at Kripalu in her name. Please join the family in support of Judith’s legacy by contributing to the Judith Hand Memorial Scholarship Fund.  Donations can be made online at https://give.kripalu.org/ noting “Gift in Memory of Judith Hand”. Alternately, checks payable to “Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health” with “Judith Hand Memorial” in the note section can be sent to Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, PO Box 309, Stockbridge, MA 01262.