June 2009
New Dean Speaks About Columbia SEAS
New SEAS Dean Feniosky Peña-Mora visited campus recently and spoke about what attracted him to Columbia SEAS and how he views engineering education. See the video.

SEAS Celebrates Class Day and Commencement
SEAS undergraduate and graduate students were among the University’s 12,000 graduates receiving degrees at Commencement on Wednesday, May 20, with more than 25,000 faculty, family and friends cheering them on. Earlier in the week, more than 600 SEAS degree candidates took part in Class Day ceremonies, hearing Boeing’s EVP James Albaugh MS’74 challenge them to use their engineering skills to find solutions to global warming, energy independence, health care and rebuilding the country’s—and the world’s—infrastructure. Read more. See the Class Day Photo Gallery. See the Class Day video.
At Commencement ceremonies, George Deodatis, Santiago and Robertina Calatrava Family Professor of Civil Engineering, was one of five University professors honored with a Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching. George Stern ’59, ’58CC was named an Alumni Medalist for his service to SEAS and the University. Read more. See the Commencement video.
Profiles of May graduates: Helicopter Pilot and Iraq Veteran Jonathan Belmont MS’09 and Biomedical Engineer, Yoga Instructor, and Metalsmith Nina Tandon PhD’09

Astronaut-Alum Massimino Fixes Hubble Space Telescope
NASA astronaut and SEAS alumnus Michael Massimino ’84, along with six other astronauts, returned to earth safely after a successful 11-day mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. Astro_Mike is the first person to Twitter from outer space. Read more.

Ursula Burns MS'82 Heads Xerox
Ursula M. Burns MS'82, currently president of Xerox, will become CEO of the company on July 1. She joined the company as a mechanical engineering intern and has risen through the ranks to become the first African-American woman to lead a Fortune 500 company. Read more.

Aretakis Gives Isaacs-Jonas Lecture
Entrepreneur Nicholas Aretakis '84, who became a Silicon Valley millionaire at 30, shared his entrepreneurial and life experiences with SEAS and Graduate Business School students. Read more. See the lecture.

MURI Grant To Explore Graphene
An interdisciplinary team of Columbia researchers has won a major collaborative research grant of $1.5 million for each of the next five years from the Department of Defense to develop new materials technology. Read more.

SEAS in the News
Forbes video features students in Professor Ken Shephard’s Bioelectronic Systems Lab.
SEAS students test out Wolfram Alpha search engine for The Wall Street Journal.

Reunion Weekend for Classes Ending in '4 and '9
and All Golden Lions
REUNION Weekend is coming up fast —Wednesday, June 3 - Sunday, June 7! Register now for special class-specific events and programs and for Dean's Days activities. See the complete schedule and register for events.

Dean's Days For All SEAS Alumni
REGISTER NOW for two days of academic and social events on Friday and Saturday, June 5 and 6. On Friday, you can attend morning and afternoon mini-courses, with lunch courtesy of your department, where you can socialize with fellow majors and learn what's new in your department. Saturday morning features lectures by R. Glenn Hubbard, Dean of Columbia Business School, Dr. Mehmet C. Oz, FACS, professor of cardiac surgery, College of Physicians & Surgeons, and James A. Schamus, professor of professional practice, School of the Arts, and a Class of 1959 Medical Panel. The Dean's Day Luncheon begins at noon, followed by the Magill Lecture in Science, Technology and the Arts (see below) at 2 p.m. and afternoon tea and the music of Columbia. See the full schedule and register.
Bob Bakish To Deliver Magill Lecture
Bob Bakish '85, '89BUS, president of MTV Networks International, will deliver the Magill Lecture in Science, Technology and the Arts on Saturday, June 6, at 2 p.m. His topic is Creativity, Commerce and Countries--A GLOCAL Model, on globally using local resources and cutting-edge technology. Register for this and other Dean's Days events.
Alumni Career Development Tele-Seminar
Post Graduation: What's Next for the New Graduate?
Thursday, June 25, 12-1 p.m. (ET)
Jill Marie Galas Hickey, Director of Programming, and Niamh O'Brien, Director of Undergraduate Career Development, Center for Career Education
Join this call to learn more about this transitional time, including searching for your first job post-graduation, starting your career on the right path, and figuring out what you'd like to do if you are not sure. In addition, learn about the life-long career services that are available to you as an alum. Click here to register and for more information.

We want to hear from you. Please send your comments or questions to: Margaret Kelly, Associate Director of Communications at mk321@columbia.edu.