Inside ESF 1999-3

The magazine of the SUNY

COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & FORESTRY

The magazine of the SUNY

COLLEGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & FORESTRY

I N S I D E E ◆S ◆FFall 1999

I N S I D E E ◆S ◆FFall 1999

Campus Update 4John And Etta Simeone Establish Entomology FellowshipESF On Display At White HouseESF Names Four New AdministratorsESF Unveils New NMR UnitESF Floats Paper Kayak In Georgia Lake

A Bridge to Success 7Home schooling has given a learning-disabled youtha real chance at education.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation 9

Campus Profile: Mary O’Brien Hooven 13

On The Cover

INSIDE ESF is published fourtimes each year for alumniand friends of the SUNYCollege of EnvironmentalScience and Forestry.

SUNY-ESF1 Forestry DriveSyracuse, NY 13210-2778

President: Ross S. Whaley

Vice President for Administration:

Connie S. Webb

Editor: Jeri Lynn Smith,

Director of News and Publications

Graphic Designer: Wendy P. Osborne,

News and Publications

Photo Credits: pages 3-5, Ben Dall; page 6,

Ben Dall; page 7-8, C.W. McKeen, The

Syracuse Newspapers; page 9, Ben Dall,

Cheryl Doble; page 10, Jerry Mead; page 11,

Ben Dall; page 12, Crane & Co.; page 13,

Jamie Savage

Additional Assistance: Kathleen A. Ciereck,

Cynthia A. Gamage, Geraldine C. Trendell

Office of News & Publications

122 Bray Hall

315-470-6644

The State University of New York College of Environmental Science andForestry offers a diverse range of accredited programs and degree options inchemistry, construction management and wood products engineering, envi-ronmental and forest biology, environmental resources and forest engineering,environmental studies, forest resources management, forest technology, land-scape architecture, and paper science and engineering.

The College’s mission is to be a world leader in instruction, research, andpublic service related to: understanding the structure and function of theworld’s ecosystems; developing, managing, and using renewable naturalresources; improving outdoor environments ranging from wilderness, to man-aged forests, to urban landscapes; and maintaining and enhancing biologicaldiversity, environmental quality, and resource options. As such, ESF has main-tained its unique status within SUNY’s 64-school system as one of only fivespecialized colleges and one of only eight doctoral-granting institutions.

ESF takes affirmative action to provide equal opportunity for all peopleand to build a campus community that reflects a wealth of diversity.

In This Issue

Printed on recycled paper.

Learning at ESF doesn’t only take place in the classroom.Students travel the globe in search of knowledge.

A military-like efficiency helps Hooven run ESF’s food ser-vice operations up north, while her unfailing good humorwins friends among her student clients.

Jennifer Redmond uses a transit time flowmeter to measurewater flow during tests of wells maintained by Crane & Co.in Dalton, Mass. Redmond spent the summer working atthe mill. Photograph courtesy of Crane & Co.

1999 Fall INSIDE ESF 3

In recent weeks, the campus has come alive with thereturn of faculty and students eager to begin another aca-demic year at ESF. They appear renewed by a summerof research, employment, internships and relaxation.

More than 400 new students also arrived at ESF,including 45 at the Ranger School in Wanakena. You canstill pick the new students out in the crowd as theyattempt to find their way around campus and getadjusted to their new environment. It is an exciting time.

This fall I begin my first full academic year at ESF asassociate director of undergraduate admissions. Comingto ESF fulfilled my ambition to work at a doctoral-grant-ing institution after being in two-year college admissionsfor 17 years. After working with students to gain accessto ESF, it is intellectually stimulating to be here myself.I appreciate the opportunity.

I thoroughly enjoy experiencing firsthand ESF's peo-ple, its facilities, and all that contributes to the college'sreputation of quality and excellence. The small, close-knit, family-like environment that exists here betweenfaculty and students, students and staff, and among pro-fessional colleagues is refreshing and energizing.

Our faculty are impressive, but they are not so pre-occupied with their own work that they put our studentssecond. The opportunity for undergraduates to beincluded in research activities is a tremendous advan-tage to ESF students in the job market. But most of all,it is the quality of our students that impresses me.

The facilities at ESF are second to none: an array ofremarkable laboratories on campus supplemented by theregional campuses and field stations. The educationalopportunities they provide for student and facultyresearch and field experiences are amazing.

Joining ESF, with all of its history and tradition, hasnot come without some “rites of passage.” I will neverforget my first trip to the Ranger School with a group offaculty and staff last December. We met with studentsinterested in transferring to the Syracuse campus andprovided supplemental academic advising, financial aidinformation and career and personal counseling. Afteran enjoyable dinner with the students in the “mess hall”and an evening meeting, Syracuse and Ranger Schoolfaculty and staff met for a get-acquainted reception. TomSlocum built a great fire in the fireplace and we all

relaxed for a memorableNorth Country experience.

The next day we roseearly to have breakfastwith the students. I shareda room with Don Floyd, who was quick to rise from bedto take a shower before the rest of us. I heard the waterturn on and run for some time. Don returned to our rooma short time later unshowered. “No hot water,” he said.Chris Westbrook denies any knowledge of the cause. Buthe sure does laugh at the memory of the Syracuse con-tingent marching to the mess hall unshowered andunshaven before our leave.

My second rite of passage came in February as I rep-resented the college at the Pennsylvania Sled Dog Clubraces at Pack Forest in Warrensburg. Bruce Breitmeyerwas a gracious host, and the Pack Forest property isunique. However, I soon realized after standing outsidemy exhibit all day that I had gotten soft from my deskjob and was not ready for this part of the ESF experience.

Student recruitment activities such as this one are acritical component of preserving ESF's future. Late lastspring and this summer, through the leadership of SusanSanford, director of undergraduate admissions, we com-pleted a new strategic plan for student recruitment, mar-keting and admissions.

A recruiter was hired specifically to meet our goalsfor increasing freshman enrollments. A regional repre-sentative on Long Island was hired to give us a greaterpresence in the downstate market. Here, demographicsand student interest in the environment hold potentialfor enrollment growth.

A group of professionals from various college officesworked hard and thoughtfully throughout the springand summer to update the image of ESF we portray toprospective students in a series of new publications.New technologies added to the admissions office willenhance customer service, and market research is beingconducted to better focus current recruitment effortsand identify new markets.

These activities, along with others such as the ESFCollege Foundation's new merit scholarship awards,will give ESF the edge we need to be competitive for thetop students in years to come.

Campus Views

The Beginning Of More Than JustAnother Academic Year

by Thomas R. Fletcher

Thomas R. Fletcher

4 INSIDE ESF Fall 1999

Campus Update

John And ‘Etta’ SimeoneEstablish EntomologyFellowship

A retired professor and his wifehave made a $370,000 gift to ESF —the largest gift ever given to the col-lege's primary fund-raising arm.

The bulk of the gift from John B.Simeone and his wife, Henrietta,

will fund a fellow-ship for a graduatestudent in ento-mology, the samefield to which JohnSimeone dedicatedhis 35-year teach-ing career.

“We wanted tobe able to see someyoung people bene-fit from our action,”John Simeone said.“There has been asteady continuumof people from this

college who have made good careersin forest entomology. They've con-tributed to public and private insti-tutions and they've become veryprominent. They're all over theworld. We would like to ensure thatopportunity continues in perpetuity.”

The donation came in two parts.An immediate gift of $220,000 willfund the John and Henrietta SimeoneEndowed Fellowship. The secondpart is a planned gift of $150,000that is currently funding an annuitythat will supply the Simeones withincome for life. The principal willeventually be turned over to the ESFCollege Foundation, the college'smain fund-raising arm.

There are about 15 graduate stu-dents in ESF's entomology program.Many of them work in the area ofchemical ecology, which focuses onthe way insects communicate usingpheromones.

“Dr. Simeone's contributions toESF are longstanding and continu-ous. He was a dedicated teacher andresearcher. He and his colleaguesbrought worldwide recognition toESF as the originators of the field ofchemical ecology,” college PresidentRoss S. Whaley said.

“Now Dr. and Mrs. Simeone sharethis legacy through a generous con-tribution that will ensure a futurepopulation of students will be ableto continue the work he started.”

ESF On Display ForWhite House ExecutiveOrder

ESF was one of two universitiesin the United States invited to dis-play a poster presentation at the U.S.Department of Agriculture in Wash-ington, D.C., Aug. 12.

The event was the unveiling ofthe Executive Order on Developingand Promoting Biobased Productsand Bioenergy by President BillClinton. The executive order createsa national bioenergy initiative com-prising USDA and Department ofEnergy partners in conjunction withacademic and corporate scientists toaccelerate the use of bioenergy tech-nologies in power generation, man-ufacturing and transportation.

Dr. Lawrence P. Abrahamson'spresentation focused on ESF'swillow biomass energy research.Abrahamson and dean of researchEdwin H. White have worked forsome 20 years to develop fast-grow-ing willow trees for use as a clean-burning fuel for power plants.

A plantation at the college'sGenetics Field Station in Tully, N.Y.,is aimed at demonstrating the poten-tial of willow as a new cash crop forNew York farmers.

Henrietta and John B. Simeone


ESF Names Four NewAdministrators

Four people were appointed toleadership positions as the new aca-demic year got under way.

Brenda Greenfield joins the ESFstaff as assistant to the president fordevelopment and executive directorof the ESF College Foundation, Inc.

Greenfieldformerly wasemployed withthe College ofTechnology atDelhi where sheserved as direc-tor of annual giv-ing and alumniaffairs, and assis-tant treasurer ofthe college foun-dation.

She succeeds Dr. Gary A. Waters.

Dr. Carmen McCoy Harrison wasnamed director of multicultural out-reach, a new position at the college.

H a r r i s o nbrings to ESF 15years of expe-rience in highere d u c a t i o n ,mostly in thearea of studentaffairs. She mostrecently workedat the Universityof Iowa, whereshe served in the

Office of Affirmative Action. She pre-viously served as a residence halladministrator at the Newark, N.J.,campus of Rutgers University, SUNY atFarmingdale and Adelphi University.

At ESF, Harrison is in charge ofestablishing a support system forunderrepresented members of thestudent body, including minorities

and international students. She alsowill educate college faculty and staffmembers about diversity issues.

Dr. James M. Hassett, an ESF fac-ulty member since 1981, wasappointed chair of the Faculty ofEnvironmental Resources and ForestEngineering.

Hassett spe-cializes in envi-r o n m e n t a lengineering andwater resources.His research fo-cuses on hydro-logic modeling,water qualitymanagementand modeling,and incorpora-

tion of risk assessment into environ-mental decisions. He is currentlyinvolved in a number of projectsaimed at safeguarding the quality ofNew York City's drinking water.

He fills the position recently heldby Dr. Robert H. Brock, who steppeddown from the chair's seat butretained his teaching responsibilities.

Dr. Bandaru V. Ramarao wasappointed acting chair of the Facultyof Paper Science and Engineering.

Ramarao will lead the Faculty ofPaper Science and Engineering whilea committee conducts an internationalsearch for a permanent chair. Ramaraospecializes in fluid mechanics, wet endchemistry and process control.

He succeedsDr. Leland R.S c h r o e d e r ,who continuesto teach afterstepping downas chair.

Brenda Greenfield

James M. Hassett

Bandaru V. Ramarao

Carmen McCoy Harrison

ESF Unveils New NMR Unit

ESF recently unveiled its newnuclear magnetic resonance spec-trometer during a campus openhouse. The unit is the first of its kindin Central New York.

The 600-megahertz spectrometer,known as an NMR, is a focal point ofthe college's state-of-the-art Edwin C.Jahn Laboratory. It allows scientiststo examine the structure of moleculesand put that knowledge to use in thedevelopment of new products.

The NMR came to Syracusethrough a joint effort involving ESF,Syracuse University and the SUNYHealth Science Center. All threeinstitutions pooled their money topurchase the unit, with most of the$725,000 coming from ESF. At the

time it was purchased, ESF also up-graded its less powerful 300-mega-hertz NMR.

NMR is the parent technologyfrom which the widely used mag-netic resonance imaging technologywas developed. Chemists at the threeinstitutions use the technology insuch studies as how HIV virusesdefeat antibodies, determining thestructure of complex natural productssuch as insect pheromones, or investi-gating chemical features needed forgood lubrication.

The NMR unit at ESF is unusualbecause it can be used to analyze liq-uids, solids and gels at very high mag-netic field strength while most suchmachines work only with liquids.

Continued on next page


The destruction took awhile longer this year. But as italways does, the slowly increasing force on the truss bridgebegan to show in distorted lines and tortured supports.

As the infernal machine at SUNY College of Environ-mental Science and Forestry silently went about itsinevitable destruction of Chris Wood's creation, the sev-enth grader moved quickly into different angles searchingfor the ultimate flaw.

Finally, the bridge deck, where the center of force wasbeing applied, gave way.

“It wasn't supposed to break there,” said Chris, whonevertheless was thoroughly satisfied with improvementshe had made over the past year. Those improvementswere good enough to place him ahead of a half-dozenolder participants in ESF's 10th annual high school BalsaWood Bridge Competition earlier this spring.

Although not an official contestant, Chris' presenceat the event has become as expected each year as theteam from Milford Central School taking home the first-place trophy.

This article originally appeared in Neighbors West,Thursday, June 10, 1999. The Herald Co., Syracuse, NY© 1999 The Post-Standard. All rights reserved. Reprintedwith permission.

“We feel that if you go to all the trouble to design abridge, you should have the chance to test it,” said BudKelleher, who runs the ESF lab and oversees the compe-tition.

“The attitude up here is if you want to learn, theywant to help,” said Chris' mother, Mary Eileen Wood ofWestvale, who has a personal appreciation of the value ofcommunity educational resources.

This is a story of a child with unusual abilities. Butit is also a story that offers some glimpses into homeschooling, which has been the educational setting forChris the past two years.

“Building is what I like to do,” said the 13-year-old.“Building with anything.”

That means building with a pile of Legos or with card-board and tape.

“I once built a computer store the length of a shelf,”he said. “It was for my Lego people.”

But building bridges with balsa wood has been a mainpreoccupation since a bridge-building contest at theMilton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology(MOST) three years ago. Chris' entry was impressiveenough that word got to ESF.

A Bridge To SuccessHome schooling has given alearning-disabled youth a realchance at education

by John Grau



“They called him and invited him to come as a guestconstructor so he could learn about stress measurement,”Mary Eileen Wood said.

The idea of the balsa wood bridge contest is to buildthe strongest structure for the least amount of weight. Theratio of the force it takes to break the bridge in relation tothe weight of the structure yields a number that gives theamount of weight the structure will bear.

At this year's contest, Chris' bridge had a weight-bear-ing ratio of 21.5 pounds. That's still pretty small potatoescompared to the 600- and 700-pound weight bearingstructures the Milford team annually bring in from theirOtsego County district. But Chris' showing was a signifi-cant improvement from the 7 pounds held by his bridgelast year.

“The problem was I essentially had the same deck aslast year,” Chris said on his way back to the drawing board.

The youngster's extraordinary penchant for buildingwas revealed somewhat dramatically while he was just atoddler.

“I came to his bedroom, and he had gotten into myyarn and wrapped it around everything,” his mother said.“I had to crawl under it to get into the room.

“He said, ‘Now I have pipes and wiring, Momma,’ ”she said. “Chris has always connected things.”

But there was an educational handicap that came withthis evidently gifted child. Chris has dyslexia, whichimpairs his ability to read. The combination presented adifficult challenge.

“Christopher's learning disabled, but he has a passionand very high expectations for himself,” Wood said.

After years of frustration in public and private schools,the decision was made to home school, an option feasi-ble for Wood, a special education teacher. So far, the deci-sion appears to be the right one.

“I can work at my own speed. I can work ahead,” Chrissaid. “If there's something amazing like this (the ESF com-petition), I'm not missing a day of school. I just make itup. It just works.”

“He can learn with great efficiency and demonstratethat in a home school situation,” Wood said. “And he canstill have time to ride his bike or build bridges or play aninstrument in a band.”

Presenting a full academic curriculum, however, callsas much for resourcefulness as it does knowledge, par-ticularly when it comes to the sort of science that goesinto engineering a better balsa bridge.

“Christopher's out of my league. I'm not an engineer,”Wood said. “With home schooling, you have to findexperts and mentors. Your job is as much locator and taxi.”

In addition to ESF opening its doors to Chris, GilStrathmann, a science teacher at Onondaga Hill MiddleSchool, agreed to work with Chris during a recent MOSTscience fair.

“Chris is very open to suggestion,” said Strathmann, whohas worked with bridge design problems for nearly threedecades. “We spent a lot of time looking at pre-existingstructures, which structures work well and how to adaptthem to the material he's using.”

“The hard part isn't convincing the mentors, it's locat-ing them,” Wood said. “People want to make a differencefor children. It's a very easy sell.”

At the ESF event, Chris did not appear to be shy aboutrelating with a roomful of older people.

“It's not really a competition. It's more like seeing whodoes better,” he said. “I think most people are here to havea good time.”

Nevertheless, he has his eyes on a prize.

“Next year, I'm hoping to give them a real run for theirmoney,” Chris said.

“What's fun is he keeps finding other people here orat the science fair who have his same interest,” his mothersaid.

“Options are a big thing,” she said. “Home schoolinghas been a tremendous joy.”

When four ESF landscape architec-ture students headed to a quiet Englishisle for a semester of off-campus study,they expected to learn a lot about theirfuture profession. What they might nothave expected was learning a lot aboutthemselves as well.

“You learn self-discipline,” BethCharnews said. “We don't have a pro-fessor checking up on us all the time.And we have to complete this majorproject. We have to organize our time.It's tempting when it's so nice here; youwant to do fun things but you have thisproject you have to do. And you learnto get around by yourself — streetsmarts, I guess.”

Said Kara Doeing: “You learn a lotabout yourself. You learn time manage-ment skills because there are no dead-lines.”

Charnews, Doeing and their class-mates were among scores of ESF stu-dents who spent the summer working intheir future professions. Some got paidfor their efforts. Some earned necessarycredits toward their bachelor's or mas-ter's degrees. A few managed to garnerboth money and college credit at thesame time. All of them got a taste of howthe professional world operates.

Hands-on learning traditionally hasbeen the focus of much of a student'scareer at ESF. Internships, field studyand research projects are the stuff ofwhich ESF degrees are made. Oncethose degrees are in hand, ESF graduateshave an advantage in the job market.

“The experience is enormouslyimportant,” said Nancy Parsons, admin-istrative manager of the ESF-basedSyracuse Pulp and Paper Foundation.“Experience becomes, in many ways,what distinguishes one student fromanother. It's crucial.

“Paper science and engineering stu-dents are graduating now with six to 12months of experience working in theindustry,” said Parsons, who helpsplace students in summer jobs. “With-out it, they're just like any other engi-neering student from any other program.”

Mark McCabe PSE '94 said his sum-mer internship at Stone Container inUncasville, Conn., brought his course-work to life.

“It brought together a lot of what wewere studying in class,” said McCabe,now a maintenance supervisor in TheNewark Group's paperboard mill inNewark, N.J. “I'd been reading aboutthings I couldn't really visualize in mymind's eye. At the mill, I was getting real-world explanations from the engineers.”

His internship also had an immediateeffect on his grades. “Before my intern-ship, my grade point average was 2.65.After I came back to school, I had a 3.9and a 3.6. It was very dramatic for me.”

In addition to learning about thetechnical operation, McCabe got aneducation in how business operates.

“You learn the value of using ven-dors to solve your problems. You don'thave to do it all yourself,” he said. “As a


How I spent mysummer vacation

by Claire B. Dunn“There's a system of foot-

paths on Portland and some

of them are really old.

People have been using

them to get from Point A to

Point B for a long time.

Some are old Roman roads.

You see people on them a

lot, particularly older peo-

ple. Recreational walking is

a big thing in England.”

—Jonathan Logan

Jonathan Logan, Kara Doeing and BethCharnews take a break during a walk on afootpath on the Isle of Portland.


student, you're under the impression thatyou have to know everything in your field.And that's ridiculous. People are ready toassist you. It's part of the process.”

George W. Curry, Distinguished Teach-ing Professor in the Faculty of LandscapeArchitecture, said ESF is the only collegein the country where LA students arerequired to work off campus.

“It offers them an opportunity that wecan't reproduce here in the classroom,”said Curry, who was involved in thedepartment's first off-campus venture in1970. “Students develop a lot of inde-pendence when they are alone in a placethat's really unfamiliar. Irrespective ofhow severe the difference is, just havingto cope with a new situation and a newculture is very beneficial.

“Students are not only in charge oftheir own schedule, their own resourcesand their own time commitment, they'reworking on a project that they havedesigned themselves. It's those aspects ofdeveloping a project and making it workthat make this experience so valuable.”

Charnews and Doeing, along withJonathan Logan and John Hammer, spentthe summer on the Isle of Portland, whichis connected to the mainland of Englandby a bridge. Portland has a rich historyas part of the quarry industry. The studentssaid the lack of a language barrier made iteasy to immerse themselves in the culture.

Charnews designed methods for visitorsto learn about Portland's natural history.Doeing's work focused on a theoretical-based study of landscape interpretation.Logan found a way to combine his projectwith his love of hiking. He studied thedesign, development and maintenance offootpaths, focusing on the 10.5-milePortland Coastal Path.

“There's a system of footpaths onPortland and some of them are really old,”Logan said. “People have been using themto get from Point A to Point B for a longtime. Some are old Roman roads. You see

people on them a lot, particularly olderpeople. Recreational walking is a bigthing in England.”

Here's a look at how some other ESFstudents spent the summer of 1999:

Every time Patty Thompson pulled anet full of fish out of Irondequoit Bay thissummer, she felt she was accomplishingsomething good.

“It's almost like you're taking care ofthe place,” said Thompson, a seniormajoring in environmental and forest biol-ogy. “You're challenged to do a good joband you might be able to make a differ-ence.”

Thompson spent part of the summerworking on a New York state Departmentof Environmental Conservation projectassessing the health of the fish commu-nity in Lake Ontario's Irondequoit Bay.The goal is to determine whether a flowcontrol device installed two years ago tocontrol the flow of silt into the bay is ben-eficial or harmful to the fish.

Using trap nets, gill nets and minnowtraps, Thompson was helping to study thevitality of five species of fish: bluegill,pumpkinseed, black crappie, large-mouthed bass and northern pike. The net-ting operation will be followed by labwork this fall, when she does tests onscale samples to determine the age andhealth of the individual fish.

She netted more than fish. Her sam-pling produced a net full of snapping tur-tles and two rare soft-shelled turtles.

Thompson spent the summer at herfamily's summer home on Seneca Lake,where her interest in fisheries was nur-tured during her childhood. In additionto the DEC study, she helped the Onon-daga Sportsmen's Club prepare a proposalto stock walleye in Jamesville Reservoirand Otisco Lake.

“It was very, very tiring, but alsorewarding and a lot of fun. I love to be out-side and the fish are really interesting.”

“It's almost like you're

taking care of the place.

You're challenged to

do a good job and

you might be able to

make a difference.”

—Patty Thompson


■ ■ ■

Landscape architecture student ShaniWhite headed home to Brooklyn thissummer and got paid to plan improve-ments for her own neighborhood.

White worked with NeighborhoodHousing Services of Bedford StuyvesantInc., a nonprofit agency that received agrant from Allstate Insurance Co. todevelop small parks on vacant lots. It waspart of an effort to revitalize the area,which once had a bustling industrial baseand a diverse middle-income population.

White designed a 40-by-100-foot greenspace in a former parking lot next to achurch.

“It's designed for people in the com-munity to use,” she said. “It's got a gazebo,greenery, grass and trees. There's a stagefor small events and a fountain. I wasexcited. I still am. I got to make all thedecisions. I looked for contractors to dothe landscaping and the paving. I actuallygot professional experience.”

White returned to campus in the fallas a fourth-year senior.

■ ■ ■

When a notice was posted on a WaltersHall bulletin board announcing a jobopportunity overseas, most of BrentSmith's classmates were somewhat blaséin response.

“I was all gung-ho,” he said. “It wasan opportunity that doesn't come alongvery often.”

His enthusiasm took Smith, a senior inESF's Faculty of Paper Science and Engi-neering, to a paper mill in Finland, wherehe spent a year learning the trade andearning credit toward his bachelor's degree.He also got paid for his work. He finishedhis stint at the mill this summer andreturned to ESF for his final semester.

“It was great — just the experienceitself, getting out of the country, seeing theworld from a different perspective,” Smith

said. “Instead of being a tourist, I wasworking and learning. Then with themoney I earned, I was able to travel.”

Smith worked at a facility operated byUPM-Kymmene Group, one of Europe'sbiggest forest industry enterprises. The com-pany has divisions devoted to magazine,newsprint, fine papers, converting mate-rials, timber and plywood. Smith wasemployed with the magazine operation,which is the world's biggest magazinepaper manufacturer.

“It's a huge integrated mill. I spent sixmonths in the research center as a researchscientist trainee, and then six months inthe paper mill as a junior engineer,” saidSmith, who expects to graduate in Decem-ber. “My job was really to learn.”

When he wasn't working, Smith waslearning about Europe. His five weeks ofvacation were spent traveling to Russia,Sweden, Hungary, England, France andGermany.

Despite the training that will preparehim for his career, Smith said his fondestmemory is of the Finnish people. “Thepeople are the best,” he said. “They'revery straightforward. They say what theymean and they mean what they say.There's nothing two-faced about them.”

■ ■ ■

While one of Syracuse's most recog-nized landmarks was undergoing a $14million roof replacement this summer,an ESF undergraduate was playing a cru-cial role.

Bob Bancroft, who expects to graduatein December with a degree in construc-tion management and wood productsengineering, worked as the assistant pro-ject manager during the replacement ofthe Carrier Dome's 6-acre roof. He wasemployed with Huber, Hunt & Nichols ofIndianapolis.

“I processed change orders, requestsfor information and transmittals,” Bancroftsaid. “And I collected daily reports from

“I was excited. I still am.

I got to make all the

decisions. I looked for

contractors to do the

landscaping and the

paving. I actually got

professional experience.”

—Shani White


the subcontractors. That's the part of the jobwhere I walked around with a hard hat.”

Bancroft was also responsible for escort-ing inspectors from the federal Occupa-tional Safety and Health Administrationaround the Dome after two workers wereinjured, one fatally, in accidents at thework site. The Dome, a dominant featurein the Syracuse skyline, is just acrossForestry Drive from the ESF campus.When it was deflated for several weeksduring the replacement, that part of thecity's profile looked like a squashedmarshmallow.

“It's a very well-known project,”Bancroft said. “I'm really lucky to have got-ten the job. It will be good on the resume.”

■ ■ ■

Crane & Co.'s headquarters in Dalton,Mass., manufactures much of the paperused for United States currency. In thisrich environment, PSE student JenniferRedmond spent the summer using hertechnical training in the workplace.

Redmond was involved in performinga number of tests, all aimed at improvingthe quality of paper produced for socialand business uses. She also worked oncomputerized drawings of a new pipingsystem that was installed in the mill toimprove production.

“They had me pretty busy there,” shesaid.

Redmond worked in the section of themill that makes business stationery. Sheworked with flowmeters and a fiberlength tester — two pieces of equipmentshe had never used at ESF.

“What I liked best is that some days Iwould work nine or 10 hours and it feltlike five. I did a lot of different things, notjust one,” she said. “I thought I'd spend alot of time in the lab, but I did morehands-on work.”

Redmond returned to ESF in the fallfor her senior year. Attending the collegeis becoming a family tradition. Her grand-father, Jim Brogan, earned a degree inlandscape architecture in 1947 and her sis-ter, Kathryn, is a sophomore PSE student.

“I like the way the industry works.People are helpful; they don't forget you.They really work hard to help you out.”

One of the helping hands extended toRedmond came from an ESF alumnus.Peter Knauf PSE '78 hired her at Parson'ssuggestion.

Knauf said Redmond had the necessaryqualifications: mill experience from her jobat Eastman Kodak during the summer of1998, engineering courses completed dur-ing her junior year at ESF and knowledgeof AutoCAD computer software.

Knauf said a summer such asRedmond's teaches students how to dealwith people and how to make judgmentcalls.

“In school, you learn about thephysics of the process and you learnabout what's happening in the mechan-ics,” Knauf said. “When you try to applythat knowledge, you learn about the peo-ple, the dynamics, how you can affectchange.”

Redmond said she learned aboutthings outside the laboratory. “I did a pre-sentation to some of Peter's bosses aboutwhat I've been doing,” she said. “Thatwas a little nerve-racking, but it was nice.I kind of got a taste of the real world.”

Redmond might have learned moreabout the actual working world than sherealizes.

“I went to a lot of meetings,” she said.“I went to zillions of meetings.”

“What I liked best is

that some days I would

work nine or 10 hours

and it felt like five.

I did a lot of different

things, not just one.

I thought I'd spend

a lot of time in the lab,

but I did more

hands-on work.”

—Jennifer Redmond

Jennifer Redmond works with Crane projectengineer Steve Dodge to test water fortemperature, pH and conductivity.


Campus Profile

Take Tuna Noodle Casserole...Pleaseby Claire B. Dunn

Mary O’Brien Hooven

Mary O'Brien Hooven wasraised in a household that oper-ated like a well-oiled machine.

The three oldest of the sevenO'Brien children took turnseach winter morning preparinghot cereal for the family. Theresponsibility included deliver-ing a cup of steaming coffee totheir mother as she began herday. The girls cleaned the houseon Saturday. The boys took outthe trash.

Every Monday, their motherprepared a huge pot of heartyfare — spaghetti sauce, beefstew or the like. She put a dif-ferent spin on it each night andit fed the family through

Wednesday. On Thursday evening,when Dad closed his neighborhoodpharmacy early and came home fordinner, the meal was something spe-cial, perhaps steak or chicken. Fridaymeals were meatless, as then requiredby the family's Roman Catholic faith.

“My mother was a good cook andshe was extremely efficient and orga-nized. Very efficient. Actually, militarywould be closer to it,” Hooven said. “Ithink managing logistics is one of mybest qualities, and I get it from her.I can do anything if you give meenough time.”

The skills she learned at her mother'sside are now put to use at two of ESF'sregional campuses, where Hooven runsthe food service. At the Ranger Schoolin Wanakena and seven miles across thewater at the Cranberry Lake BiologicalStation, some 150 people need to be feddaily through the summer.

Some are vegetarians. Some are veg-ans. Some are the children of facultymembers. Most are young adults whospend hours outdoors each day andhave a huge capacity for food.

The nearest grocery is a small IGAin Star Lake, eight miles east ofWanakena. The biological station isaccessible only by boat and partiallystaffed through the summer by stu-dents who might never before haveprepared a meal.

It's a good thing Hooven is talentedat juggling logistics.

“I decide what we eat, how muchto cook and when we put it in theoven,” she said. “I try to bring every-thing together so that what comes outmeets the students' needs. I try to do allthe things chefs do: provide lots ofgood, healthy food, avoid boredom andkeep color in mind so it all looks nice.

“I worry about what food getsordered, whether the students arehappy or not, whether we're meetingtheir needs,” she said. “And it's thehardest thing to do. It really is.”

“Take tuna noodle casserole. That'svery institutional. People either love itor hate it. If you throw it in once in 18weeks, the ones who hate it aren'tgoing to have to look at it again. Andthe ones who like it at least got to haveit once.”

She gives her staff credit for mak-ing it happen.

“I don't do anything remarkablealone. We are a team here. Nothinggets done by just one person.”

Hooven brings to the job an outgo-ing personality. She is quick to findthings to laugh at, including herself.

“She's a character,” said RangerSchool Director Christopher Westbrook.“She's got a booming voice and she'lltell you what she thinks. But when thestudents get to know her, they find outshe'll bend over backwards to helpthem. She’s an invaluable member ofthe Ranger School team.”



During the academic year, Hooven'sresponsibilities are limited to theRanger School. Her staff of four full-time employees prepares food forabout 50 students.

From June into August, the RangerSchool is occupied by students par-ticipating in summer forestry classes.And the bio station hosts about 75people involved in environmentaland forest biology classes each day.She also arranges meals for visitingresearchers, various reunions and theRanger School graduation.

She feeds everybody with the helpof meticulous records. When her staffputs out sliced turkey for bag lunches,Hooven knows how many slices ofturkey were eaten. When dinner isveal parmigiana, she knows howmany plates were served. And sheknows how much tofu parmigianawas served the same night to thosewho preferred a vegetarian entree.

“We do an awful lot of recordkeeping because we don't want towaste food,” she said.

But even with reams of paper-work, she relies on experience to dealwith human beings' fickle tastes.

“How are you supposed to knowwhat kids are going to eat in two weeks?It's educated guesses.” She laughed andbegan to sound like the scientists shefeeds: “It's estimating, taking statistics,gathering data, analyzing it.”

Hooven started out studying psy-chology at the University of Buffalo.She later moved to the Adirondackslooking for a change from the TipperaryHill neighborhood of Syracuse, whereshe spent her childhood in a close-knit, Irish-American enclave. Shedirected the food service at a smallhospital, then joined the college staff.

She now makes her home in Cran-berry Lake, N.Y., with her husband,Charlie. They have two sons, Michael,13, and Will, 15.

In her nearly 20 years with the col-lege, Hooven has seen significant up-grades to the kitchen at the bio stationand she now reports to only one boss,Richard Schwab, director of forestproperties. Previously, she answeredto the directors of both the RangerSchool and the bio station.

She has also seen, and respondedto, the vagaries of trends in healthcare and popular cuisine.

“When I came here, everybody washypoglycemic,” she said. “Then wecouldn't put salt on anything. Then itwas low cholesterol and everybodysaid, ‘No eggs! I can't eat eggs! Don'tgive me eggs!’ Then it was low fat.Lately I think we've come full circle.All they want are cheeseburgers andfrench fries.”

And as health trends change, certainfoods move in and out of favor. “Weused to do a tofu stroganoff but nobodylikes it anymore. I can't imagine why.Doesn't that sound appetizing?”

On one sparkling blue Adirondackmorning, she motored away from theRanger School in the boat she dependson all summer. As with many of thethings she encounters through the day,the craft makes Hooven laugh.

“This was built in 1963. Look atthis steering wheel. It looks like a '57Chevy. These are the boats of myyouth,” she said. “This shade ofturquoise hasn't been seen since those1950s bathrooms.”

Twenty minutes after leaving theRanger School dock on the Oswe-gatchie River, she pulled into the statemarina on Cranberry Lake to meet asilver Sysco truck loaded with food

for the bio station. Three work-studystudents and “Capt.” Dave Allen, whopilots the Forester, loaded two boatswith cartons of supplies Hoovenmeticulously checked off each itemon a six-page computer printout andmaintained continuous banter withSysco driver Joe Albert.

Out of the truck came fresh andfrozen vegetables, chicken quarters,orange juice, clam strips and manicotti.

Hooven: “Have you got the thyme?”Albert, pulling out a package of

herbs: “I've got all the time you want.”Hooven, with a groan: “And the

jokes are free.” She supervised the unloading of

syrup, red wine vinegar and spaghetti.Out came Pop-tarts and she winced.

“I wonder how they qualify asfood,” she said. But she orders thembecause they don't spoil during over-night field trips.

While much of the food comesfrom big suppliers, Hooven does notdepend on them exclusively. She hasother resources scattered throughoutnorthern New York. “There's a meatman in Watertown, bread in Pots-dam,” she said. “There's a produceman in Pulaski. Ice cream comes outof Tupper Lake.”

She juggles the schedules, the staffand the suppliers with one goal: sat-isfying the students.

“They are our clients, they are ourcustomers. And the only reason weare here is because they are here. Wehave to strike a balance between whatthey want and what we can do,” shesaid. “And I think we're pretty goodat it. The response we get a lot fromstudents at the bio station is, ‘You doa good job for being on an island.’They all think they're on an island.They're not, but that's OK.”

L a n d o w n e r ’ s G u i d e t o

State-ProtectedPlants of Forests

i n N e w Yo r k S t a t e

Dudley J. Raynal and Donald J. Leopold

Distributed by Syracuse University Press for the

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Lavishly illustrated with nearly two-hundred colorphotographs, the Landowner’s Guide features a hun-dred and fifty state-protected herbaceous and woodyspecies found in wetland and upland forests through-out New York state and the Northeast.

Included are key botanical details of each speciesand its habitat, along with a general introduction and aglossary to the various categories of rarity in the state.

The thirty-two woody species include both treesand shrubs. Information about each species covers itsgeneral distribution in New York, growing conditions,key identification characteristics and notes about itsnatural history.

Paper $19.95 (0-9670681-0-X)

Of related interest . . .

Adirondack MammalsD. Andrew Saunders

Paper $24.95 (0-8156-8115-1)

To place an order, contact your local bookstore or

Syracuse University Press621 Skytop Road, Suite 110 • Syracuse, New York 13244-52901-800-365-8929, fax 315-443-5545 or email: [email protected]

On Campus

INSIDE E ◆ S ◆ FOffice of News & Publications1 Forestry DriveSyracuse, New York 13210-2778

C H A N G E S E R V I C E R E Q U E S T E D

Books and MonographsJohnston, Robert E., Dietland Müller-Schwarze,and Peter W. Sorensen, editors, Advances inChemical Signals in Vertebrates. 674 pages.Kluwer Academic Press/Plenum Publishers,New York. 1999.

Leopold, Donald J. and Dudley J. Raynal,Landowner's Guide to State-Protected Plantsof Forests in New York State. 94 pages. SUNYCollege of Environmental Science and Forestry,Syracuse, NY. 1999.

Awards and HonorsMaraviglia, Frank L., elected chair, NewYork State Employee Assistance ProgramAdvisory Board.

Rathman, Lawrence A., named Ranger SchoolEmployee of the Year, May 1999; and recipi-ent of the Haddock Award, August 1999.

Whaley, Ross S., Forestry Awareness DayRecognition Award, Empire State ForestProducts Association.

Campus Calendar

N O N - P R O F I T O R G .

U . S . P O S TAG E

PAIDI T H A C A , N . Y .PERMIT NO. 164

October 28-29 Teaching Tools '99 Conference. Sheraton University Hotel & Conference Center, Syracuse, NY. Additional information: IDEaS, 315-470-6727.

December 10 ESF Convocation and December Soiree. Syracuse campus. Additional information: Office of Student Activities,315-470-6658.

December 27 Deserts of Southern Africa field course. Through January 16. Additional information: Scott Turner, 315-470-6806 or www.esf.edu/faculty/efb/facpage/Turner/dsahome.htm.

February 11 Symposium on Teaching, Learning and Technology. Additionalinformation: IDEaS, 315-470-6727 or www.esf.edu/ideas/sympos.htm

March 17-18 Student/Faculty Conference. Additional information: Great Lakes Research Consortium, 315-470-6816.

April 9-12 2nd Partnerships for Environmental Improvement and Eco-nomic Development: Wood and Cellulose. Additional infor-mation: Office of Continuing Education, 315-470-6891 or www.esf.edu, “Outreach and Continuing Education.”

Documents

Inside ESF 1999-3