Lunch & Learn for December 2015

Lunch & Learn

Co-sponsored by Friends of the Folsom Library

and the Rensselaer Retirees Forum

“A Visit to the Land of Fire and Ice ”

Presenter:  Michael Sofka, Senior Systems Programmer

in DotCIO's Communication & Middleware Technology

An island nation.  A land of sagas, saunas, and egg salad.  A landscape of sheep, water falls, glaciers, and active volcanoes.  Europe's oldest democracy that famously allowed its banks to fail during the financial crisis.  Iceland is an island the size of Indiana, with a population half that of Vermont.  Mike will show slides and offer tips from his family's 2013 trip to Iceland, a place of wonder, delight, and beauty.

Friday, December 11, 2015

12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m.

Folsom Library Fischbach Room

Free!

Everyone is welcome!

Bring your lunch or purchase one in the Library Café.

Dessert will be provided.

Adrienne Birchler

Coordinator

Friends of the Folsom Library

Lunch & Learn for November 2015

Lunch & Learn

Co-Sponsored by Friends of the Folsom Library

and the Rensselaer Retirees Forum

"Stories of the Revolution,

As Told on the Walls of the Saratoga Victory Monument"

Presenter:  Michael Halloran
Professor Emeritus, Language, Literature, and Communication

Professor Emeritus, Language, Literature, and Communication

The interior of the Saratoga Victory Monument is lined with 16 massive bronze  bas-relief tablets depicting episodes of the early Revolutionary War and the 1777 Battle of Saratoga.  How were the specific episodes selected?  As an ensemble, what sort of story do they tell?  These are the questions Michael's presentation will explore.

Friday, November 13, 2015

12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m.

Folsom Library Fischbach Room

Free!

Everyone is welcome!

Bring your lunch or purchase one in the Library Café.

Dessert will be provided.

Adrienne Birchler
Coordinator

Lunch & Learn for October 2015


Please note:  October's program will take place on the first Friday of the month rather than the usual second Friday. 

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Lunch & Learn

Co-sponsored by Friends of the Folsom Library

and the Rensselaer Retirees Forum

Friday, October 2, 2015

12:00 noon to 1:00 pm

Folsom Library Fischbach Room

Free!

Everyone is welcome!  

Bring your lunch or purchase one at the Library Cafe.

Dessert will be provided.

“Albany Rural Cemetery

in the Civil War”

Weaving a tapestry of military interest, genealogical research and local history, local historian Mark Bodnar will be your tour guide on this virtual tour of the graves of Civil War personages interred in Albany Rural Cemetery.  The lecture starts with a brief history of the Cemetery. Then begins a series of vignettes of numerous people from the Albany area that were influential in the Civil War effort: statesmen such as Sen. Ira Harris; industrialists such as Henry Burden and John Flack Winslow; clergy such as Rev. Rufus W. Clark; physicians such as Dr. John Swinburne. The presentation contains photographic images of the subject as well as their monuments in the Cemetery.  Also included are local publishers and authors and, of course, the stories of numerous soldiers from privates to generals.  Buried in Albany Rural are six Civil War Medal of Honor recipients, three Confederate soldiers, and a Civil War general that became President of the United States. (His grave is pictured above.  Can you guess who is interred there?)

About the speaker:

For over 20 years, Mark Bodnar has been identifying and cataloguing the soldiers and sailors from the Civil War that are buried in Albany Rural Cemetery, located in the Village of Menands, Town of Colonie.  Mark was the primary researcher for “People of Albany: The Civil War” (Peter J. Hess, 2008).  In 2013, Mark was interviewed by Times Union reporter and author Paul Grondahl for his recent book, The Exalted Acres: Unlocking the Secrets of Albany Rural Cemetery (The Hearst Corporation, 2013.)

During this time Mark, recognized the military exploits of men and women interred in St. Agnes Cemetery, adjacent to Albany Rural Cemetery. These men of valor and women of devotion served in a variety of conflicts in which America was engaged.  Expanding his research from Albany Rural and the Civil War, Mark began investigating the lives and deeds of these heroic local figures buried in St. Agnes Cemetery and put together a program, “A Soldier from Every War.” 

Mark Bodnar is the President of the Historical Society of the Town of Colonie (2012–2016).  He is also President of The Civil War Buffs (2004 – present), a local group of Civil War enthusiasts.  Mark resides in Loudonville with his wife of 40 years, Carol.  They have two lovely daughters and the two most beautiful granddaughters imaginable.

Adrienne Birchler
Coordinator
Friends of the Folsom Library

Aerospace and Rensselaer: Then, Now, and Tomorrow   Join the Friends of the Folsom Library for the Carl A. Westerdahl Forum POSTPONED    Due to the unanticipated illness of a presenter, The Carl A. Westerdahl Forum Committee is postponing the presentation "Aerospace and Rensselaer:  Then, Now and Tomorrow" until a convenient time for all of the presenters next spring.  The program will not occur at RPI as originally scheduled on Wednesday September 30, 2015 at 6 PM.  We appreciate your understanding. Adrienne Birchler Coordinator Friends of the Folsom Library

Lunch & Learn for September 2015

Lunch & Learn

Co-sponsored by Friends of the Folsom Library

and the Rensselaer Retirees Forum

"Solar Powered Cargo Boats--Design, Building and Operation"

Presenter:  Retired Rensselaer Adjunct Professor of Mechanical Engineering David Borton

Friday, September 11, 2015

12:00 noon to 1:00 pm

Fischbach Room

David  teaches and personally lives a solar-powered lifestyle.  He is an expert in the technology and has a lively presentation about applying this technology to boats up to 40 feet. 

Free! Everyone is invited. Bring your lunch or you can purchase one in the Library Café.  Dessert will be provided.

Adrienne Birchler
Coordinator
Friends of the Folsom Library

The Second Carl A. Westerdahl Forum

Save the Date

The Carl A. Westerdahl Forum

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Aerospace and Rensselaer:

Then, Now, and Tomorrow

Join the Friends of the Folsom Library for the  Carl A. Westerdahl Forum.

Lester Gerhardt, Rensselaer professor emeritus of electrical, computer, and systems engineering, will be the featured speaker. He will highlight the role Rensselaer people and programs have played in the aerospace industry, from 1930s aeronautics to the space shuttle and beyond. Joining him will be panelists Prabhat Hajela, Rensselaer provost, and Jennifer Parker Keyes ’02, NASA research analyst. 

The Carl A. Westerdahl Forum memorializes the creative contributions made by Carl A. Westerdahl (1937-2013), former dean, director, and historian at Rensselaer, through programs that explore education, history, art, architecture, engineering, and science as they relate to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 

Hors d’oeuvres reception

5:30 p.m. –  6:00 p.m.

Russell Sage Dining Hall

Carl A. Westerdahl Forum

6:00 – 7:15 p.m.

Russell Sage Dining Hall

Tour of the George M. Low Gallery

Immediately following the forum

Low Center for Industrial Innovation, fourth floor

Sponsored by the Friends of the Folsom Library

For more information and to RSVP, contact Adrienne Birchler, Folsom Library, bircha@rpi.edu, (518) 276-8329.  

Please share this announcement with all individuals and organizations you think would be interested in attending.

Adrienne Birchler 

Coordinator 

Friends of the Folsom Library