Class Notes
The 1950s and ’60s featured a Winter Weekend hosted by the junior class, which included all sorts of winter fun.
2011
Arpit Bakshi, MBA, is a science fiction writer whose second book was published this year by one of the largest trade publishers in India, Rupa Publications. The book is doing exceptionally well in its niche genre and getting highlighted in print and online media.
Posted 2023-03-24
Erin Morelli married Brian Vazquez on Feb. 29, 2020, in Boston. Erin is currently employed as software development engineer for the Alexa Speech team at Amazon.
Posted 2021-02-26
Engineering
Zijie Yan, Ph.D. ’11, assistant professor, chemical and biomolecular engineering, at Clarkson, was awarded the John W. Graham Jr. Faculty Research Award. He is an expert on laser-induced self-assembly of nanoparticles.
Posted 2020-05-21
Jonathan Leung received the New England - Upstate New York Regional Distinguished Young AFCEAN Award from the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) at the Association's international conference this year.
Posted 2019-10-01
Chase Polacek was among those inducted into Rensselaer's Athletics Hall of Fame in April. A hockey forward who was known not only for his stick moves and goals but his extreme professionalism and commitment to the school, Chase was a three-time MVP and two-time Hobey Baker Award finalist.
Posted 2019-10-01
Jennifer Bach was among those inducted into Rensselaer's Athletics Hall of Fame in April. A designated player and pitcher who was also noted for her extreme professionalism and commitment to the school, Jennifer established many of the school's softball records, including career marks for home runs, hits, and runs batted in.
Posted 2019-10-01
Mike Spitz and his wife, Carrie '13, welcomed a beautiful girl earlier this year. As a former Archie, Carrie is familiar with the lack of sleep, but Mike will have a lot to learn for the next few years.
Posted 2019-10-01
Ryan Kemper and his wife, Sarah, tied the knot Memorial Day Weekend at Chelsea Piers in New York City.
Posted 2019-10-01
Michael Zwack writes: "As for me, after a time in the air and on the road in the private consulting sector, I am back working in the health care sector for an insurance company upstate."
Posted 2019-10-01
Patrick Harris Jr. was featured by WMHT in their Five Questions radio series. Patrick is president of the creative agency Collectiveffort, which has a goal of telling 1,000 stories of the work and people of the Capital Region within the next two years.
Posted 2019-10-01
Janelle Farkas joined the Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center as an industrial engineer.
Posted 2019-10-01
Jose Lebron ’11 and Sheilla Torres ’11
Alex Parker traded snowstorms for sandstorms and relocated to the Phoenix, Ariz., area where he continues to work in the semiconductor industry. Haris Khan also made a career move and is now a software engineer at ASICS Runkeeper in Boston.
Posted 2019-03-10
The Renewables Consulting Group hired AJ Negrelli as a project manager at their New York office. AJ previously worked for Siemens Energy and received his master’s degree at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) after graduating in 2011.
Posted 2019-03-10
Daniel Siedsma, who has been at Indium since graduation as a chemical process engineer, recently earned his certification as a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.
Posted 2019-03-10
If you’re looking for a video game that is both fun to play as well as thought-provoking, pick up “Donut County,” created by Ben Esposito at Annapurna Interactive. Available on PlayStation 4, iOS and PC, its theme is loosely based on the rapid gentrification in Los Angeles and greater Southern California.
Posted 2019-03-10
Johannes Kutten completed the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He graduated with his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in May 2018. This past summer he started an anesthesia residency at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Mass.
Posted 2019-03-10
Michael Zwack reminds all of his 2011 classmates: "If you have any notes you’d like me to share, please remember to send them—we’re far along in that post-graduation period of 'newly management,' 'newly married,' and 'newly parents,' and many of us would like to hear what you’ve been up to!"
Posted 2018-10-10
Derek Foster was profiled in May as part of the Albany Business Review’s 40 Under 40 class. He is president and CEO of Daigle Cleaning Systems Inc. and is looking to grow the business through franchising.
Posted 2018-10-10
Andrew Cook hosted a webinar in April on “Threat Hunting Versus Compromise Assessments: What’s the Difference?” to help IT and information security professionals better understand and address the fact that malicious hackers and cybercriminals are always refining their techniques to avoid security tools and controls. Currently a manager at Delta Risk, a cybersecurity consulting firm, Andrew was a prior active duty Air Force Officer, and spearheaded cybersecurity teams that discovered and countered advanced persistent threats to critical national assets.
Posted 2018-10-10
Darcie Cook became the new science content developer for the Cape Fear Museum of History and Science this past spring. After graduating from RPI, Darcie received her Ph.D. in immunology from Emory University and was a historic collections associate at the CDC Museum.
Posted 2018-10-10
Jeanne Rice was announced in February as having joined the Albany office of the New York engineering firm Barton & Loguidice as a project engineer in the firm's Facilities Group. In her previous role, Jeanne worked as a structural design engineer on residential, commercial, and utility structures.
Posted 2018-10-10
JP Trasatti got engaged to Steven Sankel last December 2 on the top of Buck Mountain in Lake George, N.Y. JP and Steven currently both work in the Albany area, and they recently moved into a brand-new home in Saratoga County.
Posted 2018-10-10
Joanie Stupik was interviewed by the Hartford Courant this past fall as part of Mercy High School’s alumni spotlight in her incredible job at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. As an engineer, Joanie was part of the JPL team that shepherded the final stages of NASA’s 20-year Cassini program as the spacecraft entered into Saturn’s atmosphere at 77,000 mph. After graduating RPI, Joanie completed graduate studies at the University of Illinois before heading to southern California.
Posted 2018-03-15
Daniel Olimpio, previously a vice president at Sterling National Bank, moved into a new role within the private client office of Signature Bank in Westchester County, N.Y.
Posted 2018-03-15
Kristin Diotte was appointed director of development for the City of Schenectady. She was previously a project manager and architectural designer with Re4orm Architecture and founded Operation Railbridge, a studio that focuses on re-imagining underutilized public spaces.
Posted 2018-03-15
Michael Zwack sends the following message to his classmates: "If you’ve not heard of the RPI crowdfunding program WeR Gold, I encourage you to learn more. Student clubs and organizations use it as a way to help raise money for needed projects, and it is a way for alumni like you and me to find areas you’d want to support. Last year I helped support updates to the Clubhouse Pub in the Rensselaer Union, and I plan to help this year’s projects like a new vehicle for RPI Ambulance. Look for more information through the alumni website."
Posted 2018-03-15
