Monday, November 24, 2008

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Twitter Siena

http://twitter.com/sienacollege

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Friday, November 21, 2008

Len Cutler on CBS and FOX local news stations tonight

Cutler, professor of political science, was interview by the local Fox and CBS affiliates today concerning Hilary Clinton being appointed Secretary of State. You can catch him on Channel 6 at 6 p.m. and on Channel 8 at 5 and 10 p.m.

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Best Residence Hall Poll

What's the best residence hall at Siena?
http://apps.facebook.com/opinionpolls/poll.php?pid=1227284578&uid=25930359460


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Dan DiNicola, adjunct professor

The Times Union has posted an article on their website stating that Dan DiNicola, has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and will undergo surgery: http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=742296

DiNicola is currently an adjunct professor at Siena, teaching Film Theory and Criticism.

On behalf of everyone at Siena: Get Well Soon, Dan! Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

You can leave a message for Dan on WRGB CBS 6's website here.

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Thursday, November 20, 2008

Professor Publishes Book on National Security Policy


Len Cutler, Ph.D., professor of political recently published a new book about the developments in the national security policy of the United States Since 9/11.


Adam Liptak, New York Times’ Supreme Court Reporter calls Cutler’s latest book, “Thorough, sensible and cogent. Cutler has clearly mastered the subject.”



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Siena Students Have Low Average Debt Among Regional Schools

According to a Times Union Report, Siena is lowest, aside from Albany College of Pharmacy

Average debt burden at local colleges in 2007 (the state average is $20,098):
RPI $27,125
Saint Rose $24,920
Union $21,400
Sage $19,100
Skidmore $16,078
UAlbany $13,842
Siena $12,700
Albany College of Pharmacy $9,397

Source: The Project on Student Debt

For the full article visit: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=741733&TextPage=1

Siena was also named to Business Week's Colleges with Biggest Returns list this summer.

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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Siena Chosen as a Leader for NSF Firefly CubeSat Mission

Mission will Study Lightning's Link to Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes

Loudonville, N.Y. – Siena College and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center were jointly awarded a $1 million National Science Foundation grant to lead a new satellite mission, called “Firefly” that will explore the elusive link between lightning and sudden bursts of high-energy radiation in Earth’s upper atmosphere.

Firefly, led by Doug Rowland, Ph.D., at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Allan Weatherwax, Ph.D., at Siena College, was chosen by the NSF as its second CubeSat mission. A CubeSat satellite, about the size of a loaf of bread, consists of three cubes attached end to end in a rectangular shape. The Firefly CubeSat is designed to investigate these sudden bursts, called Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes (TGFs).

TGFs were first discovered by NASA's Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. These very energetic bursts of gamma radiation, generated in Earth's upper atmosphere, are thought to be associated with lightning. TGFs are likely produced by beams of electrons, which are accelerated in the intense electric fields generated by large thunderstorm systems. "These particle beams are very energetic and understanding the physical mechanism producing them could shed light on processes that occur on the sun, other planets, or in more exotic astrophysical environments such as black holes,” said Weatherwax, co-principal investigator for the Firefly mission and a professor of physics at Siena College.

Firefly will explore the link between TGFs and lightning, and is designed to determine which types of lightning produce these electron beams and associated TGFs. In addition, Firefly will explore the occurrence rate of weaker TGFs, thereby providing information about the effect that the millions of lightning flashes that occur worldwide each day have on the Earth's upper atmosphere and near-Earth space environment.

As a CubeSat, Firefly will accomplish this focused science mission in a much smaller package than typical. Because it is so small, it is much cheaper and easier to launch than other satellites. At Siena, undergraduate students will work on all aspects of the project together with Weatherwax and lead payload engineer, Mr. Joe Kujawski.

“This is an exciting opportunity for our students. They will learn what it takes to design, build, and launch a satellite.” Weatherwax said.

Firefly's launch date is likely to be in 2010 or 2011, and it will ride as a secondary payload attached to a larger primary vehicle that has excess lift capacity. The NSF CubeSat program represents a new low cost access to space system for performing high-quality, targeted science on a low budget. Larger satellite projects typically involve much larger groups working for five to 20 years.

Firefly is funded and managed by the National Science Foundation, and will be developed as a collaborative effort by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Siena College in Loudonville, NY; Universities Space Research Association, Columbia, Md.; and the Hawk Institute for Space Sciences, Pocomoke City, Md. For more information, go to the Firefly website at http://firefly.gsfc.nasa.gov/.

Links to the NSF and NASA releases:
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/index.html
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=112591&org=OLPA&from=news

Images: Top Right- The Firefly logo (patch) was designed by Katherine Levinson, an undergraduate creative arts major at Siena College.
Middle Left: An artist’s conception of the Firefly satellite, positioned above a thunderstorm, observing a gamma-ray burst. The image is courtesy of the Universities Space Research Association.

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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Siena Chamber Orchestra to Mark 10th Anniversary

Thursday Dec. 4th
Foy Hall, Beaudoin Theatre
7 p.m.

Free and Open to the Public.


The concert will feature: Sleeping Beauty, Charlie Brown Christmas, selections from Wicked, and Siena student compositions.

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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Student Receives Volunteer of the Year Award

Elizabeth Woodward ’12, has been named the Region 2 Volunteer of the Year for the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association (NARHA). NARHA is an accredited organization that provides therapy to individuals with mental disabilities through equine activities.
“I love working with horses and this is the only time people with a disability can do things individually, which is therapeutic for them,” she said.
Woodward, a native of Rochester, N.Y. and a business major at Siena College, has been helping people with disabilities ride since she was a ninth grader at the Heritage Christian Stables. She has completed 600 hours in volunteer service, teaching horseback riding lessons, which include leading the horses and helping the mentally disabled learn how to ride. The region 2 award considers candidates who live in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.

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