The Cooper Union Alumni Association and Dinner Chairs Anne Dudek Ronan CE'83/MCE'84 and Gregory Ronan ME'81/MME'82 invite you to join them for this year's Founder's Day Dinner Dance to honor alumni achievements, celebrate Peter Cooper's 219th birthday and recognize the 25th year reunion of the Class of 1985.

Friday, April 16, 2010 at The Roosevelt Hotel | RSVP HERE

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Award for Art
Steve Brodner A'76

Steve Brodner has been a leading satirical illustrator for 30 years.  His caricatures of pop and political culture have appeared in most major magazines in the United States.  As an artist/journalist, Mr. Brodner has covered more than 50 stories including eight national political conventions.  He produced a series of 28 "Naked Campaign" films covering the 2008 Presidential elections for newyorker.com.  In 2008 he was the subject of a major career retrospective at the Norman Rockwell Museum.  Mr. Brodner teaches narrative art at the School of Visual Arts. He has received numerous illustration and journalism awards.

John Q. Hejduk Award for Architecture
Laurie Hawkinson AR'83

Laurie Hawkinson is a Principal of Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects (SMH+) which she formed with Henry Smith-Miller and professor of Architecture with tenure at Columbia University. SMH+'s significant completed projects include the Corning Museum of Glass and the Wall Street Ferry Terminal. Recent projects include new Land Ports of Entry at Champlain and Massena, New York. Along with Henry Smith-Miller, Ms. Hawkinson has received numerous awards including Public Design Commission of the City of New York Awards, the AIA New York Chapter Medal of Honor, and the Bruner Prize in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Gano Dunn Award for Engineering
Naomi Harley SCE'59                      

Dr. Naomi Harley is a Professor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at the New York University School of Medicine. The results of her extensive research on environmental radioactivity, radiation carcinogenesis, radiation measurement and radiation risk modeling and assessment have been published in 150 articles and eight book chapters. She holds five patents. Dr. Harley is a member of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) and a member of four National Research Council (NRC) committees.  Dr. Harley chaired a Rand Committee that produced a Review of Gulf War health effects from depleted uranium. Recognition for her work has resulted in numerous grants and fellowships.

Alumnus of the Year
Charles Cassella EE'68

Charles Cassella is a Frequency Management Officer at JFK Airport with the Federal Aviation Administration. He began his career in Federal Service with the Supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair Remove-3rd Naval District in  Brooklyn. He has worked with instrument landing systems (ILS), doing installations, engineering design, field inspections, and as ILS Maintenance Supervisor at JFK.  Mr. Cassella has served several terms on The Cooper Union Alumni Association Alumni Council and chaired many committees and annual events including Phonathon which allows him to stay connected to his classmates.  He and his wife Judith EE'71 were inducted into the Sarah Amelia Hewitt Society in 2009.

Honorary Alumnus of the Year
Eleanor Baum
Dean, The Albert Nerken School of Engineering

Eleanor Baum has been Dean of The Albert Nerken School of Engineering and Professor of Electrical Engineering since 1987.  She received her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Polytechnic University and her undergraduate education at City College of New York.  Dr. Baum is past-chair of the New York Academy of  Sciences, and past-president of both the American Society for Engineering Education and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).  In 2007, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.  She has received many honors and awards for her U.S. and global work in engineering education.