Some 2,500 viewers gathered at a variety of sites where they were greeted by a "referee"
(a site host or hostess) complete with whistle, cap, and special hockey programs. This event,
which drew national media attention, was well received by the alumni, many of whom wrote or
telephoned their alma mater after the game to urge sponsorship of a second broadcast.
In the Good Time Room at the Yonkers Raceway, as one group gathered, Clarkson
alumni were given green and gold pompoms, St. Lawrence alums received scarlet and brown
ones. They were greeted at the door by Peter Gordon '81 and Christine Ferrer from St.
Lawrence, both hosting the evening as "referees." Clarkson's Acting President, Tom
Williamson, and St. Lawrence president Patti McGill Peterson greeted the viewers on TV
before the game and welcomed them "home."
During the game which Clarkson lost 8-4, a 12-minute blackout was caused by some
unknown gremlin at the station. During that frantic time, fans at one site changed the channel to
the Lawrence Welk Show, only to find when the broadcast resumed that St. Lawrence had
scored three goals during the blackout. One disgusted Knight fan muttered, "Put Lawrence
Welk back on!"
A second game was telecast in December 1988; Clarkson lost 1-7.
Job Searches.
A survey of 1987 graduates one year after graduation revealed that 91 percent
had secured positions in their chosen fields, had gone on to graduate school, or had entered
military service. That figure was based on responses gathered from 95 percent of the class.
Placement statistics for the Class of '88 revealed that their average salary was $28,000,
up $2,400 from the previous class average.
Ice Ties.
A shared interest in ice engineering led to a formal agreement between Clarkson and
Hefei University of Technology in the People's Republic of China. The two universities
arranged to cooperate in an education and research program which exchanged scholars and
students in joint projects.
Peterson's Guide.
Clarkson was selected for inclusion in the 1988-89 edition of
Peterson's
Competitive Colleges
. This work included 314 colleges and universities that consistently accept
the nation's best students. Together with 23 art and music schools that have highly competitive
acceptance rates, this group of colleges represents approximately 10 percent of all American
institutions of higher learning. Its criteria to decide whether a college is "competitive" are
entirely objective, based on data that indicate the level of achievement of the entering freshman
class. (See 1985)
Robot Program.
A former Clarkson student, Osamu Takahachi, developed a computer
program to move robots safely and swiftly around obstacle courses 30 times faster than any
previously published program could move them. Prof. Robert Schilling, Takahachi's advisor,
stated that first a "road map" of the free space in a room was developed by creating a diagram
for all combinations of pathways in a room from the starting point to the goal. Such a diagram
assumed that all the obstacles had known positions, and if any changed position, the diagram
had to be upgraded.
Then, using mathematical procedures to eliminate the paths that were too narrow for the
robot, Takahachi calculated the shortest path. A similar program at MIT took 15 minutes for the
robot to complete; Takahachi's took a mere 20 seconds.
