News Archive

• Issues of ESF Engineer

ERFEG Welcomes Dr. Giorgos Mountrakis

The Department of ERFEG would like to welcome its newest member, Dr. Giorgos Mountrakis. Dr. Mountrakis received his MS and PhD from Univ. of Maine in 2000 and 2004, respectively. Recently, he has worked as postdoctoral researcher for the US Geological Survey receiving a National Academies of Science award. His fields of expertise include Geographic Information Science, Remote Sensing, Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science. Dr. Mountrakis is located at 316 Bray Hall. Feel free to contact him. For more information please visit http://www.aboutgis.com.

President Neil Murphy, Chairman James Hassett, Lindi Quackenbush, Jennifer Barber, and Paul Hopkins (l to r). Click to view full image (303 KB).

Advisory Council Hosts First Reception for Alumni and Friends

The Advisory Council to the Department of Environmental Resources and Forest Engineering hosted a reception on Tuesday, May 23, 2000 in Washington, DC.  The reception was the first in a series of activities to improve contact between ESF engineering and our   growing community of alumni, friends, and associates.  The reception also kicked off a "Partnering for Progress" theme to proactively carry ESF engineering in the next few decades of teaching, research, and public service.  The reception was attended by Dr. Cornelius B. "Neil" Murphy, the new president of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and by Dr. James M. Hassett, the new chair of the Department of Environmental Resources and Forest Engineering.  Other faculty and staff in attendance were Dr. Robert H. Brock, Dr. Paul F. Hopkins, Ms. Jennifer Barber, Ms. Lindi Quackenbush, and Ms. Teri Frese.  Numerous alumni from around the country and the Washington, DC area attended.

Numerous photos show the activities and attendees of the reception. 

• Index of the photos.

(posted 06 June 2000)  (Photos taken by Lindi Quackenbush)

Scholarship winners with Chairman James Hassett. Click to view full image (112KB).
Students:
Brian Platt (left)
A. J. Browne (right)

ERFEG Alumni Scholarship Recipients for 1999-2000

These deserving students have been selected to receive the 1999-2000  Environmental Resources & Forest Engineering Alumni Scholarship. These recipients were selected based on their professional achievement, leadership skills, student activities, community service, personal integrity, academic achievement, professional goals and objectives, personal motivation, personal creativity, and communication skills. Each recipient will receive an award of $250.00

This program awards scholarships each year depending on the support of alumni, friends, and faculty. Click here to learn more about the scholarship program.

(posted 06 June 2000) (Photo taken by Teri Frese)

Soojeong Myeong (left) and Cheng Zhu (right). Click to view full image (107971 bytes).

Two Graduate Students Win Awards

Soojeong Myeong, a Ph.D. student from Korea, was named the Graduate Student of the Year - First Place by the Central New York Region of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS).  Cheng Zhu, a Ph.D. student from China, was named the Graduate Student of the Year - Second Place.  The awards were  announced at the Region meeting held on 05 May 2000.  Ms. Myeong is currently working with high resolution digital aerial imagery for classifying urban land cover.  Ms. Zhu is currently working with satellite radar imagery for classifying New York forest land.   Both students are advised by Paul F. Hopkins.

(posted 15 May 2000)  (Photo taken by Jennifer Barber)

Engineering Planning and Design Projects for 2000

The ERFEG Senior Class of 2000 presented the projects performed in the capstone course, FEG 489 - Engineering Planning and Design. The presentations occurred during the afternoon of April 20, 2000 in Alumni (Nifkin) Lounge of Marshall Hall.   A brief introduction was given by the course instructor, Douglas Daley, P.E. The project participants and titles are listed below.

• Zebra Mussel Farming in Onondaga Lake to Improve Water Clarity..
  Presented by David Andros, Robert Becker, Joshu Coppola, and Gunther Schnorr.
• Treatment System for Fish Hatchery Effluent at Carpenter's Brook.
  Presented by James Buchanan, John Spoto, and Wendy Weeks.
• Beneficial Use of Landfill Gas for Greenhouse Crops.
  Presented by Vincent Barber, Brian Ferguson, Daniel Grove, and William Grove.
• Remote Detection and Mapping of Noxious Aquatic Vegetation.
  Presented by Anthony Browne, Jessica Patten, Derry VanSiclen, and John Wallman.
• Proposed Development of an Alpine Ski Facility in Central New York.
  Presented by Casie Connolly, Gerald Fielding, Dane Kwiatkowski, Val Murakami, and Armin Stuedlein.

(posted 27 April 2000)

Jennifer Barber Finishes Third in National Snowboarding Competition

Jenn Barber competed in the United States of America Snowboarding Association Nationals on March 29 and 30 for Slalom and Giant Slalom.  She placed third in both events, making an excellent showing for the Western New York Region (and for herself).  This was her third time qualifying and her second time competing at the national level. Jenn is an instructional support technician in the Mapping Sciences Laboratory.

(posted 27 April 2000)

Richard McClimans Retires

Effective January 1, 2000, Richard ("Rich") McClimans retired and became a Senior Research Associate, Emeritus.  Rich joined ESF in 1977 after years of professional practice with the USDA Soil Conservation Service (now Natural Resources Conservation Service) and the Adirondack Park Agency.  Over the years, Rich became involved with teaching engineering principles and practice in three general areas: engineering hydrology and flow controls, engineering planning and design, and solid waste management.  He  also was involved in a wide range of research; most recently focusing on solid and agricultural waste management.  This recent work included receiving a patent on Residual Biotech Soil.  Rich is well known for working closely with students and staying in contact after they graduate.  Click here to read an autobiographical statement.

(posted 02 April 2000)

New Staff in Mapping Sciences

As a result of new research contracts with NASA (see article below) and the untimely death of Bill Johnson (see article below), the mapping sciences group has added three new staff members.  These new staff and their titles are:

• Lindi J. Quackenbush, Coordinator, NASA Affiliated Research Center
• Jennifer Barber, Instructional Support Technician, Mapping Sciences Laboratory
• Kevin Riordan, Research Support Specialist, NASA Affiliated Research Center

(posted 22 March 2000)

NASA Affiliated Research Center Established at ESF

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) funds a research program aimed at improving commercial growth of U.S. industry by better utilizing remote sensing and spatial information.The Affiliated Research Center (ARC) partners universities and companies to work on short-term, focused projects using geo-spatial technologies. In 1998, ESF became one of the nine ARC university partners.The ARC at ESF draws on resources from several faculties, with a concentration in Environmental Resources and Forest Engineering (ERFEG).The ARC director is Dr. Paul Hopkins (ERFEG), co-investigators are Dr. Robert Brock (ERFEG), Dr. Michael Duggin (ERFEG), Dr. Lee Herrington (Forestry) and Dr. John Felleman (Environmental Science). The Center also employs two ERFEG graduates as full time staff. Lindi Quackenbush (M.S. 1999) serves as the Center Coordinator and Kevin Riordan (B.S. 1999) acts as the ARC Assistant.

The ARC at ESF works on four projects each year.The first year’s projects at ESF involved companies from four different states, with a wide range of experience in remote sensing. Emerge, an aerial imaging company, worked with ARC to develop derivative products for forestry applications from their imagery. A project with PAR Government Systems Corporation considered the benefit of using hyperspectral imagery for deriving inputs for flood modeling. International Hardwood Consulting had no image usage experience and wanted to investigate the benefit of using remote sensing and geographic information systems to find specific classes of hardwood timber. Highland Geographic Incorporated and ARC evaluated the advantages of fusing various types of imagery for forestry applications. These first ARC projects at ESF only touch the surface of what is possible; spatial information can benefit almost any industry.

The NASA Affiliated Research Center at ESF aims to advance remote sensing and spatial information through application projects with industry. The ARC at ESF will work with any company that has a commercially viable project using remote sensing data.

(posted 22 March 2000)

Group Picture

Graduate Student / Faculty Mixer (15 September 1999)

An ERFEG Grad Student/Faculty Mixer was held on 15 September 1999.  Faculty attendees included Robert Brock, Doug Daley, Michael Duggin, James Hassett, Paul Hopkins, and Chuck Kroll.  Staff attendees were Teri Frese, Paul Szemkow, Lindi Quackenbush, and Jennifer Barber.  Graduate students were David Szymanski, Trevis Gigliotti, Chris Florack, Elif Karakurt, Adolfo Lemus, Geoffrey Graeff, Karen Kwasnowski, Adam Etringer, Jeff Budzich, Kelly Basukiewicz, Chris Somerlot, Kelly Beach-Deptula, Russell Aicher, Joanna Luz, Soojeong Myeong, Jessica Zanca, Shan Chen, William Stiteler, Matthew Mampara, Jonathan Muller, Wang Jun, John Camp, and Cheng Zhu.

• Index of Other Pictures from the Mixer

(posted 14 Oct 1999)

James M. Hassett Becomes Chair

Dr. James M. Hassett has been appointed the new Chairman of the Faculty for Environment Resources and Forest Engineering.  He succeeds Dr. Robert H. Brock, who retired as Chair but continues to be a faculty member in the department.

A member of the Faculty since the early 1980s, Dr. Hassett is well-known by all recent alumni, current students, and faculty and staff.  He is a specialist in water resources engineering.

(posted 17 Sep 1999)

William L. Johnson, 1950-1999.

William L. Johnson

William L. Johnson, 49, of Syracuse, New York, died Saturday, August 7, 1999 at Crouse Hospital in Syracuse after a long battle with cancer. Known as Bill, he was a mapping sciences support specialist at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF). He was very active in ASPRS: The Imaging and Geospatial Information Society, at both the chapter/region level and the national level. He contributed a great deal to the mapping sciences, especially in instruction, mentoring, research, and professionalism.

Born July 4, 1950 in Madison, Wisconsin, Bill received bachelor and master of science degrees in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Wisconsin in 1972 and 1974, respectively. From 1974 until 1979, he was a technical specialist in remote sensing at ESF. He then moved to the University of Minnesota Remote Sensing Lab as a research specialist and then research fellow from 1979 until 1987. In 1987, he returned to ESF and Syracuse as a mapping sciences support specialist. Bill contributed to many projects, courses, conferences, workshops, theses, and similar activities throughout his career. In all activities, he was remarkably organized and efficient with an easygoing attitude. Everybody liked him. Perhaps his greatest legacy will be the many graduate and undergraduate students to whom he provided knowledgeable, cheerful, and skillful assistance or advice. He was especially proud of his participation in international remote sensing projects in Morocco, Peru, Belize, and Chile. Bill was co-author of many publications, including journal articles and a book chapter.

Bill was an active member of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) since 1972. At the national level, he served on the Board of Directors, including extra service to the ASPRS Executive Committee. He also participated in the Long Range Planning Committee and the Bylaws Committee and was a reviewer for the Society's journal. He was honored by the society with two Meritorious Service Awards. ASPRS Past President Tom Lillesand remembered hiring Bill as an undergraduate student in 1969. "This is a great personal loss," Lillesand said, "but it is a loss to the Society and the profession as well." At the regional/local level, Bill held all officer positions in the Central NY Region of ASPRS and served as co-editor of the Region newsletter. He was an integral member of the planning committee for the annual New York State GIS Conference and served as Conference Director in 1990. Mr. Johnson was also a member of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association.

Cycling was one of Bill's passions as shown by his membership and high level of activity in the Onondaga Cycling Club. He held all leadership positions in the Club and tirelessly volunteered for activities such as ride leader, time trial director, and organizer of cycling events for the Empire State Senior Games. Despite his illness, he continued to contribute to cycling club activities. In addition to cycling, Bill was an avid skier who appreciated and reveled in the central New York winters. Bill also contributed to many other community organizations such as WRVO, the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology, the Rescue Mission, and the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park.

He is survived by his parents, Vera and Dale Johnson of Madison, Wisconsin; and a brother, Jan of Salt Lake City, Utah. A memorial service was held on August 11th.

Contributions in the name of William L. Johnson may be sent to the ESF College Foundation, 204 Bray Hall, SUNY ESF, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210. Donations will accumulate in an endowment named the William L. Johnson Fund for the Mapping Sciences, which will support instruction and research in the mapping disciplines.

(posted 17 Sep 1999)

Robert H. Brock Steps Down as Chair

After 20 years as Chair of the Department of Environmental Resources and Forest Engineering, Dr. Robert H. Brock decided to devote all of his efforts to teaching, research, and public service.  His tenure as Chairman ended August 31, 1999.

During his tenure as Chairman, Dr. Brock attained many notable accomplishments.   Just a few of these activities include:

• accreditation and  numerous successful efforts for re-accreditation
• a change in the name of the Faculty
• establishment of an Advisory Council
• development of a popular and specialized course about the global positioning system (GPS)
• successful application for another patent
• supervision of numerous graduate students
• continuous instructional activities in numerous courses related to the mapping sciences

(posted 17 Sep 1999)

Students: Kerry Van Siclen & David J. Andros

ERFEG Alumni Scholarship Recipients for 1998-99

These deserving students have been selected to receive the 1998-99 Environmental Resources & Forest Engineering Alumni Scholarship. These recipients were selected based on their professional achievement, leadership skills, student activities, community service, personal integrity, academic achievement, professional goals and objectives, personal motivation, personal creativity, and communication skills. Each recipient will receive an award of $250.00

This program awards scholarships each year depending on the support of alumni, friends, and faculty. Click here to learn more about the scholarship program.

(posted 25 May 1999)

Engineering Planning and Design Projects for 1999

The ERFEG Senior Class of 1999 presented the projects performed in the capstone course, FEG 489 - Engineering Planning and Design. The presentations occurred during the afternoon of April 13, 1999 in room 500 Hall of Languages following a brief introduction by one of the course instructors, Richard McClimans, P.E. The project participants and titles are listed below.

• Hydrologic Modeling for a Portion of the NYS Barge Canal.
  Presented by Kevin Riordan, John Camp, Lynda Stark, Sara Lamb, and Christopher Somerlot.
• Recreation Pathway Interchange Between Trails Around Onondaga Lake and the Regional Transportation Center (Plan A).
  Presented by Matt Lehrer, Kerry Foley, Jason Garwood, and Mike Petrucco.
• Combined Sewer Overflow Treatment Strategies at Newell Street.
  Presented by Robyn Cierniak, Jessica Ross, Tavia Cramer, and Scott Stoller.
• Alternative Student Housing Project West of Sadler Hall.
  Presented by Jeremy Stidd, Mark Sadi, Jonathan Sharrer, and David Rarick.
• Using Constructed Wetlands in Onondaga lake to Augment Effects of the County Municipal Compliance Plan After 2010.
  Presented by Eric Moosbrugger, Jennifer Roach, Edward Hattenberger, Melanie Kastler, Marie Bowser, and Andrew Murphy.
• Recreation Pathway Interchange Between Trails Around Onondaga Lake and the Regional Transportation Center (Plan B).
  Presented by Alicia Thorne, Otto Herr, and Matthew Rice.

The presentations were then followed by some closing remarks by Allen E. Galson, P.E., Guest of Honor and Charter Member of the ERFEG Advisory Council.

(posted 06 May, 1999)

Engineering Planning and Design Projects for 1997

The ERFEG Senior Class of 1997 presented the projects performed in the capstone course, FEG 489 - Engineering Planning and Design. All projects were connected with problems that exist in Onondaga Lake. The presentations occurred during the afternoon of April 22, 1997 in room 500 Hall of Languages following a brief introduction by course instructor, Richard McClimans, P.E. The project participants and titles are listed below.

• Syracuse Metro Waste Water Treatment Plant Outfall Diversion to the Seneca River.
  Presented by Holly Maxwell, Yasuhiro Ando, Patrick St. Fort, Shawn Corr, Kim Heller, Jeremy Koch.
• Combined Sewer Overflow Diversion, Storage, and Treatment.
  Presented by Eric Johnson, Chris Nowak, Rick Tommell, Jeff Riley.
• Stabilizing Contaminated Sediments on the Bottom of the Lake, I.
  Presented by Trevor Thomas, Judah Connor, James Trasher, Kevin Hogan.
• Stabilizing Contaminated Sediments on the Bottom of the Lake, II.
  Presented by Danyelle Phelps, Laura Robinson, Juan Parra, Susan Guisinger.
• Improving Lake Water Transparency by Using Zebra Mussels.
  Presented by Anthony Figiera, Matt Ruminski, Brian Pound, Jeff Duckett, Janine Sleeper.

The presentations were then followed by some closing remarks by Robert D. Hennigan, P.E., Guest of Honor.

(posted 03 June, 1997)

ERFEG Alumni Scholarship Recipients for 1996-97

Students:

• Frank P. Sidari
• Jessica R. Ross
• Kevin D. Riordan

These deserving students have been selected to receive the 1996-97 Environmental Resources & Forest Engineering Alumni Scholarship. These recipients were selected based on their professional achievement, leadership skills, student activities, community service, personal integrity, academic achievement, professional goals and objectives, personal motivation, personal creativity, and communication skills. Each recipient will receive an award of $250.00

This program awards scholarships each year depending on the support of alumni, friends, and faculty. Click here to learn more about the scholarship program.

(posted 20 March, 1997)

Lindi J. Quackenbush Selected for National Award

Lindi J. Quackenbush, a graduate student in Environmental and Resources Engineering at SUNY ESF, is the 1997 recipient of the Robert E. Altenhofen Memorial Scholarship awarded by the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS). This award encourages and commends college students who display exceptional interest and ability in the theoretical aspects of photogrammetry. Lindi is working toward her M.S. degree in photogrammetry and remote sensing under the Forest Engineering Option. Her major professor is Paul Hopkins and her research topic concerns registration of various types of medical images.

(posted 12 March, 1997)

Professor Douglas Daley Joins Faculty in October 1996

Douglas Daley is a new faculty member in Environmental Resources and Forest Engineering at SUNY ESF. Doug received his B.S. degree in Forest Engineering from SUNY ESF in 1982 and his M.S. degree in Environmental Resources Engineering from SUNY ESF in 1984. He is a Registered Professional Engineer (NY) and OSHA certified (HAZWOPER). Recently, Professor Daley was a Senior Project Engineer/Project Manager with Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., an environmental engineering consulting firm. With Malcolm Pirnie, he had over ten years of experience with many projects, including:

• Facilities Plan for Monroe County's wastewater conveyance and treatment system
• Evaluation of zebra mussel control applications for New York City Department of Environmental Protection
• Planning, design, and construction administration for solid waste recycling and household hazardous waste collection facilities
• Assessment of alternative biosolids management approaches (composting, pelletizing, incineration)
• Design of solid waste landfill closure requirements

Professor Daley intends to pursue instruction, research, and public service activities related to applied solid waste and hazardous waste management and engineering/project management techniques. He will also have undergraduate teaching responsibilities for the courses in Transportation Systems (FEG 437), Power Systems (FEG 454), and Engineering Graphics (ERE 225).

(posted 28 October, 1996)

Dr. Charles N. Kroll Joins Faculty in August 1996

Chuck Kroll is a new faculty member in Environmental Resources and Forest Engineering at SUNY ESF. Chuck received his Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering under Jery Stedinger from Cornell University in 1995, and was appointed as a lecturer in that department for the 1995/96 academic year. Before initiating his Ph.D., Chuck worked as a hydrologist for Goldberg, Zoino, & Associates of Newton, Massachusetts. Chuck's research interests include the application of statistical and optimization techniques to better manage environmental systems, the modeling of groundwater and surface water interface mechanisms, and the development of models to forecast and predict hydrologic events. Chuck currently lives in Ithaca with his wife Cathy, 3-month old son Max, dog Sheba, and cat Spike.

In addition to graduate teaching and research in the area of stochastic hydrology, Chuck will contribute to several activities in the undergraduate program in Forest Engineering. His undergraduate teaching activities will include responsibility for the courses in Engineering Decision Analysis (FEG 430) and Probability and Statistics for Engineers (APM 395).

(posted 18 October, 1996)

Faculty Name Change

The student class of 1996 initiated and coordinated an exhaustive investigation into changing the name of the Forest Engineering Faculty to better reflect the breadth and mission of the unit. After a long period of collecting opinions and suggestions from students, faculty, staff, administrators, and alumni, it was recommended that the Faculty change its name to the Department of Environmental Resources and Forest Engineering (ERFEG). This name maintained a connection to our successful development while also offering insights into the goals and activities of the program. The administration officially changed the name of the Faculty to the new wording in February 1996. (The web pages have been slowly catching up with the official change.)

(posted 11 October, 1996)

Retirements

Professor Charles N. Lee. Professor Lee retired in June 1995 after many years of service as a Professor of Forest Engineering and as Director of Academic Computing. Professor was appointed as an Emeritus Professor and continues to teach the Engineering Graphics, Harvest Systems Analysis, and Transportation Systems courses.

Doctor David G. Palmer. Doctor Palmer retired in June 1995 after many years of service as an Associate Professor of Forest Engineering. Doctor Palmer is now working full-time in his private businesses, including Syracuse Power Corporation.

(posted January, 1996)