September 2017

Inside this Issue

Features

• Welcome to our 14th Edition
• From the Chair of the Board,
  Dr. Thomas F. Kelly
• News & Events
• Link Fellows/Interns/Scholars, where are they now?

Meet this Year's Fellowship Recipients

• Energy
• Modeling, Simulation and Training
• Ocean Engineering
• SmithsonianFellows

THE LINK FOUNDATION

NEWS OF INTEREST AND UPDATES FOR 2017

Florida Atlantic University’s Horizon Society Luncheon
October 19, 2016

On Wednesday, October 19, 2016, Florida Atlantic University held its annual Horizon Society Luncheon where they honored Ms. Marilyn C. Link and the Link Foundation for their steadfast support. 

Ms. Marilyn C. Link, Special Advisor to the Link Foundation, attended the luncheon where Mr. David Rutherford, Assistant Vice President, Principal Gifts and Gift Planning at FAU, spoke about the profound impact the Link Foundation has on FAU’s past, its present, and its future.  He spoke about the relationship between the Link Foundation and FAU which began in 1965 with a generous gift from the Link Foundation to support the creation of the country’s first undergraduate ocean engineering program at FAU.  This gift was of such importance that the Link Foundation was recognized as one of the founders of the University.  FAU’s close relationship with the Link Foundation continues today through Dr. Javad Hashemi, of FAU’s Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering, who is the program administrator of the Link Foundation’s Ocean Engineering and Instrumentation Fellowship Program and through Dr. M. Dennis Hanisak, Research Professor and Associate Executive Director, Education, who is the program director of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University’s Summer Intern program.  The Summer Intern program, launched in 1974 with support from the Link Foundation, is now in its 44th year and continues to be funded primarily by the Link Foundation with additional support from the Gertrude E. Skelly Charitable Foundation.  The Summer Intern program is the oldest running educational program at Harbor Branch with a total of 617 Summer Interns who have participated in the program since it began.  Through the Foundation’s grant to FAU Harbor Branch, the Link Foundation also continues to support scholarships for graduating high school seniors to attend the college/university of their choice in the state of Florida, and to support Marine Science Educational programs.

 

Link Foundation Receives the Florida Atlantic University
Board of Trustees Service Award – May 4, 2017

On Thursday, May 4, 2017 Ms. Marilyn C. Link accepted the FAU Board of Trustees Service Award on behalf of the Link Foundation at the FAU College of Engineering and Computer Sciences Commencement ceremony.  This award was presented in recognition of the Link Foundation’s longstanding association with FAU since 1965. 

“The FAU Board of Trustees Service Award” is on display in the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University’s Library.

 

Link Foundation Board of Trustees and Special Advisors visit
L3 Technologies, Link Simulation and Training Division
March 10, 2017

The Link Foundation Board of Trustees and Special Advisors met for their semi-annual Board meeting on Friday, March 10, 2017 and were hosted by Mr. Lenny Genna, Special Advisor to the Link Foundation Board and President of L3 Technologies, Link Simulation and Training Division, Arlington, Texas.

L3 Technologies, Link Simulation and Training Division, a company that evolved and expanded from its original roots which began with Edwin A. Link in 1929 and the establishment of Link Aviation Devices, Inc.  Link Aviation Devices, Inc. was formed to meet the demand for Ed’s Blue Box trainers.  As the Board toured L3 and personally experienced some of the newest simulators in production today, they were in awe of the capabilities and technology available to safely train today’s military, police, air pilots, truck drivers and more.  If Edwin Link were alive today, he would be proud of the company that still bears his name and the advances in simulation technology that make our world a safer place.

 

Link Foundation Board Appoints Dr. Shelley D. Dionne as a Special Advisor – June 9, 2017

We are pleased to announce that on June 9, 2017 Dr. Dionne was unanimously appointed as a Special Advisor to the Link Foundation Board.  Dr. Dionne currently serves as Professor of Organizational Behavior and Leadership in the School of Management at Binghamton University and is the Associate Director of the School’s nationally recognized Center for Leadership Studies.  She has received several honors and awards including the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the School of Management’s Corning Research Award and Excellence in Teaching Award.  She has received funding from the National Science Foundation and the Army Research Institute to study leadership and collective dynamics. Dr. Dionne holds a BS in Nutrition from Rochester Institute of Technology, and an MBA and PhD in Organizational Behavior and Leadership from Binghamton University. 

Dr. Dionne joins five Trustees, and twelve Special Advisors who comprise the Link Foundation Board of Trustees and Special Advisors.  You can learn more about the Board at https://www.binghamton.edu/link-foundation/trustees.html.

Meet This Year’s Link Fellowship Recipients

Energy Resources Development and Conservation – to find out more about their research and other projects supported by the Link Foundation, please visit http://www.binghamton.edu/link-foundation/newsltr/2017/energy.html

 

 

 

Modeling, Simulation and Training – to find out more about their research and other projects supported by the Link Foundation, please visit http://www.binghamton.edu/link-foundation/newsltr/2017/sim.html

 

 

 

 

Ocean Engineering and Instrumentation – to find out more about their research and other projects supported by the Link Foundation, please visit http://www.binghamton.edu/link-foundation/newsltr/2017/ocean.html

 

 

 

 

 

Smithsonian Fellows – to find out more about their research, please visit http://www.binghamton.edu/link-foundation/newsltr/2017/SmithsonianFellows.html

 

 

 

 

Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at
Florida Atlantic University’s
Summer Interns Present their Research - August 3, 2017

This past summer, eighteen interns from fifteen prestigious universities worldwide were selected from 58 applications to participate in the 2017 Summer Intern Program at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University.  During their 10-week internship, top ocean science and engineering student interns from around the world worked alongside a Harbor Branch faculty mentor to devise, develop and complete their independent research projects in Ocean Engineering and Technology, Aquaculture, Marine Mammals, Marine Biology, Microbiology and Marine Natural Products.  At the culmination of the Summer Intern Program in August, each intern presented a written report and gave an oral presentation on their project to an audience including Harbor Branch faculty and staff, friends of Harbor Branch, program sponsors, and family members.

Dr. Dennis Hanisak, Harbor Branch research professor and program director, describes the internship as “a great opportunity for students to experience training in one of our science or engineering labs with faculty mentors and other Harbor Branch staff.  This experience better prepares them for future careers and makes them more competitive for jobs when they graduate.  We hope that the skills that the Summer Interns learn will be helpful to them in their future careers.” 

The Harbor Branch Summer Intern Program was launched in 1974 with support from the Link Foundation and continues to be funded primarily by the Link Foundation, with additional support from the Gertrude E. Skelly Charitable Foundation, and this year the James Pomponi Memorial Internship provided support for two Interns.  The Skelly Foundation funds students selected to work in the HBOI marine biomedical and biotechnology program.  The Program, now in its 44nd year, has hosted 617 college and university student from around the world. 

The Link Foundation presents the 2017 Harbor Branch/FAU Summer Interns which were supported by the Link Foundation:

Erica Albright, Florida Atlantic University
Brandie Brooks, University of North Florida
Laura Issac, University of Kentucky
Skyler Klingshirn, Wittenberg University
Mariana Lopez, Indian River State College
Trevor McKenzie, Wingate University
Cody Nichoson, Iowa State University
Ashley Reaume, Central Michigan University
Amelia (Grace) Roskar, University of Miami
Arisa Ruangsirikulchai, University of Texas at Austin
Karla Haiat Sasson, University of Rhode Island
Audrey Sellepack, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Taylor Turberville, University of Central Florida

Dr. Andrew M. Clark, Link Foundation Trustee, was a Harbor Branch Summer Intern in 1979.  You may read more about Dr. Clark on our web link, “Board of Trustees and Special Advisors,” found at http://www.binghamton.edu/link-foundation/trustees.html.

History of the Harbor Branch/FAU Summer Intern Program

Authored by Dr. M. Dennis Hanisak, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University

In 1974, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, then called Harbor Branch Foundation and only three years old at the time, began a summer internship program for college students, launched with funding from the Link Foundation.  At the time, Ed Link, the inventor who had recently designed and built Harbor Branch's Johnson‑Sea‑Link manned submersibles, was Vice President of Harbor Branch, and Marilyn C. Link, Ed's sister, was Harbor Branch's first Managing Director.  The idea of the intern program was to provide college students an opportunity to further their education and training, outside the traditional classroom setting, in a real‑world situation.  Working with a mentor on the Harbor Branch staff, each intern developed a project that could be completed in a few weeks and then reported the results to the Harbor Branch community.  During that first summer, ten students spent ten weeks working with mentors in the Marine Science and Engineering Divisions.  Back in 1974, there were very few such intern opportunities for students interested in marine science or ocean engineering, and the summer intern program quickly became recognized as a successful one. 

Over the next forty-four years this education program, Harbor Branch's oldest, has continued and prospered and has become a special one to our scientists and engineers who are invigorated by the young talent of the interns each year.  From 1974 to 2017, there have been 617 summer interns at Harbor Branch/FAU.  These interns have come from over 150 universities and colleges from 35 states and 11 foreign countries.  The interns have benefitted from the opportunity to work one-on-one with over 100 mentors, all Harbor Branch/FAU staff members.  The Link Foundation has supported about 63% of the interns.  Another 11% have been funded by the Gertrude E. Skelly Charitable Foundation, which has been providing major support for interns in marine biomedical research since 1996.  Most Harbor Branch/FAU interns go on to professional careers, with nearly half receiving an MS degree and about 1/6 earning a PhD. 

For more information on the Harbor Branch/FAU Summer Intern programs, including application material, please visit: http://www.fau.edu/hboi/education/internship.php.

Link Foundation Supports Promising High School Students in Florida

Since 1974, the Link Foundation has supported promising undergraduate and graduate students through the Harbor Branch Summer Intern Program.  Less well known is that the Link Foundation has also been encouraging high school students to pursue their future degrees in Engineering and related fields thorough a scholarship program, also administered by FAU (Florida Atlantic University) Harbor Branch, since 1974.  This initiative was pioneered by Clayton Link.  Over the years, approximately 102 students have benefitted from these scholarships and the resulting recognition that follows.

Currently up to three scholarships at $1,000 each are awarded to senior high school graduates to be used at the college/university of the recipient’s choice in the state of Florida.   The selection of the recipients is facilitated by partnerships with three science and engineering fairs.  Two of these are in the counties most immediately associated with the Harbor Branch community: The Indian River County and St. Lucie County Regional Science and Engineering Fairs, while the third opportunity is state-wide, via the Science and Engineering Fair administered by the Florida Foundation for Future Scientists. 

Criteria for selection for these scholarships include: 1) students must be a senior in an accredited Florida High School; 2) students must have at least a 3.0 GPA; 3) students must have an acceptable score on a national college entrance test (i.e. SAT, PSAT, ACT); 4) students must have a project on the basis of merit as the best in one of these disciplines: a) Marine Biology, b) Ocean Engineering, c) Energy Conservation and Research, d) Oceanography, e) Aviation.  These scholarships are presented in memory of E. Clayton Link, son of the Founders, and Albert D. Stover.

In 2017, two students were selected for scholarships.  Abraham Lopez, a graduating senior from Sebastian River High School, was the recipient at the 25th Indian River Regional Science and Engineering Fair, held in Vero Beach, Florida, in January.  His science research project was Health Nut.  Abraham plans to major in civil engineering at Florida State University in Tallahassee, and pursue an engineering career.  Raleigh Forbell, a graduating senior from F.W. Springstead High School of Spring Hill, Florida, was the recipient at the 62nd Annual State Science and Engineering Fair of Florida, held in Lakeland in March.  Her science research project was Deployment Method for New Artificial Reef Deign to Effectively Enhance and Conserve Marine Life (see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iq8QCUEw2Rc).  Raleigh plans to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, and pursue an environmental engineering career.

Dennis Hanisak, FAU Harbor Branch Research Professor and Education Director, says: “The recipients of the high school scholarships funded by the Link Foundation are always very grateful for the funding and encouragement that goes with these awards.  Each of them has clearly demonstrated a strong interest consistent with the high priorities established by the Link Foundation.  It is wonderful to be involved with providing such opportunities to creative young engineers and scientists who will hopefully go on to long, productive careers and make a difference in the world.”

Link Foundation Distinguished Scholar Awards at Indian River State College

The Link Foundation has had a significant impact at Indian River State College (IRSC) by providing Distinguished Scholar Awards, totaling over $293,500 to over 98 highly qualified IRSC graduates since 1999.  These transfer scholarships enable highly qualified Associate in Arts (AA) graduates of IRSC each year to continue their education in the fields of marine science, engineering, oceanography, physics, mathematics, energy research, or simulation training. These prestigious scholarships are presented annually to students who attained a 3.5 or higher cumulative grade point average at Indian River State College, and are admitted to an accredited upper-division program. 

For 2017-2018, five IRSC graduates were awarded Link Foundation Scholarships and we are delighted to share recent notes from some of the recipients:

“Thank you so much for awarding me the Link Foundation Distinguished Scholar Award Transfer Scholarship.  I really appreciate the offer and am happy to accept it.  I will definitely put it to good use towards my education.”   – Jordan Gray (Biomedical Engineering)

“Thank you for providing funds for the Link Foundation Distinguished Scholar Award Transfer Scholarship through the Indian River State College Foundation.  Your donation will help me attain my goal of becoming a Mechanical Engineer.”  – Kyle Kercher (Engineering)

“I appreciate your selecting me for the Link Foundation Distinguished Scholars Award Transfer Scholarship.” – Ramar Huntley (Architectural Engineering)

“Thank you for believing in me these past two years.  I would like to personally thank each one of you who have given me this opportunity to prove myself.  I will always be extremely grateful.”  Stephen Gresko (Mechanical Engineering)

For more information about these scholarships, visit www.irscfoundation.org.

Link Summer Science Explorations Camp at Kopernik Observatory

The Link Foundation has been supporting the Link Summer Science Exploration Camp held at Kopernik Observatory & Science Center, Vestal, NY, for 24 years.  This week-long camp offers hands-on, high-tech adventures in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education in a fun and nurturing environment and provides students with the opportunity to learn more about the world and the universe around them.  The Link Summer Science day camp encourages students to view Edwin A. Link as a role model and someone who was dedicated to life-long learning in science, technology, exploration, and creative problem-solving.    As part of the summer curriculum, the students visit the permanent Link exhibit at Roberson Museum and Science Center, Binghamton, NY, where they take a guided tour and learn more about Edwin A. Link and the “Blue Box.”  Throughout the Link Summer Science Exploration program, students are encouraged to make a mark on their world like Edwin A. Link, and inspire them to consider STEM related careers, even at an early age.

We are pleased to share a recent comment from a summer camp attendees’ parent:

“What an amazing place!  My son attended the summer camp in 2006 as well as multiple class trips with the Vestal school system.  He is now attending Florida State University majoring in Astrophysics.  What a positive influence this facility had on my son!  How fortunate the community is to have such a place!  Thank you!”

Some Link Summer Science Camp alumni who have gone on to do great things in the STEM fields include:

Heidi Baumgartner received a B.S. in Physics from MIT, and is pursuing her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.  She created a start-up company, oneTesla, based on work that she did while at Kopernik, and she has a patent.  She is a licensed nuclear reactor operator.

Jeff Andrews-Hanna received a B.S. in Astronomy from Cornell, a Ph.D. from Washington University, and is currently Associate Professor in the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona. 

J. R. Skok received a B.S. in Geology from Cornell, a Ph.D. from Brown University, and currently is a researcher at the SETI Institute.  

The Edwin A. Link and Marion C. Link Scholarship Fund

The Link family, the Link Foundation, and Mr. and Mrs. Stuart McCarty (Mr. McCarty was a former Link Foundation Trustee and Special Advisor), established the endowed Edwin A. and Marion C. Link Scholarship Fund in 2007.  This fund is administered by The Community Foundation for South Central New York, Inc. 

This scholarship is awarded annually to Binghamton, NY,  High School seniors who are residents of Broome County and have demonstrated a commitment to engineering, with special consideration to those students who have evidenced an interest in energy, simulation, marine science or aeronautical or ocean engineering.  Since 2013 there have been two annual scholarships awarded, one scholarship to a Binghamton High School student and one to a Seton Catholic High School student who meets the award’s criteria.  The students must have at least a 3.0 GPA, or its equivalent, and have been active in community and/or extracurricular activities.  The $2,000 scholarship awards are non-renewable and are to be applied to tuition expenses for the first and second semester of the awardees’ freshman year at a qualified accredited college or university.

The 2017 scholarships were awarded to Madeline Atchie from Binghamton High School and Remy Farrell from Seton Catholic High School. 

Madeline will be studying Aerospace Engineering at Penn State in the fall of 2017.  She earned the Project Lead the Way Pre-Engineering Diploma in June 2017 from Binghamton High School and was a member of the National Honor Society and a four-year varsity swimmer. 

Remy graduate from Seton Catholic High School in June 2017 and will be studying Engineering at the University of Vermont this fall.  During High School, Remy took engineering courses each year through Seton’s Project Lead the Way program.  At Seton, she was a member of Student Council, a volunteer on mission trips to Haiti, and participated in the National Outdoor Leadership School. 

Past recipients of this award are:

2016 – Clayton Ligeikis (Seton Catholic High School) – Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY
2016 – Vincent Putrino (Binghamton High School) – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
2015 – Samantha Nicolich (Seton Catholic High School) – Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ
2015 – Pedro Arias (Binghamton High School) – SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY
2014 – Tyler Majercik-Scott (Seton Catholic High School) – Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL
2014 – Megan Van Vorce (Binghamton High School) – SUNY Oswego, Oswego, NY
2013 – Eva Arnold (Seton Catholic High School) – Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
2013 – Katarzyna Nowacki (Binghamton High School) – Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL
2012 – Alex Palma - Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 
2011 – Clara Scholtz - Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
2010 – Steve Maniates - Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
2009 – Marc Houlihan – Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY

Congratulations to these fine students who, with their academic and community credentials, have promising futures and exemplify the qualities celebrated by the Edwin A. and Marion C. Link Scholarship.

ARINC to present award in honor of Edwin A. Link on September 19, 2017

ARINC’s (Aeronautical Radio Inc.) will present an annual award in honor of Edwin A. Link at the opening session of the Flight Simulator Engineering and Maintenance Conference (FSEMC) which will take place at the Sheraton Memphis Downtown, Memphis, Tennessee, September 18-21, 2017.  This annual conference attended by more than 300 flight simulator experts from around the world, identifies technical solutions to engineering and maintenance issues resulting in immediate and long-term savings and increased efficiency for simulator users. 

Over the past eighteen years, ARINC has presented awards in honor of Edwin A. Link to an outstanding member of the simulation community in recognition of their contributions of ideas, leadership and innovation which will benefit the simulation industry.  The Edwin A. Link Award has become world-renowned as the simulation industry’s highest award for individual achievement.

Past recipients of this award are:

2016 - Bernard Mattos, Airbus
2015 – No recipient
2014 – Itash Samani, CAE                 
2013 – No recipient
2012 – Jeff Everett, RSI Visual Systems       
2011 – Richard Holmes and Joe Mays, Electronic Image Systems, Inc./Barco Simulation
2010 – Dr. David White, Thales Training and Simulation     
2009 – Craig Phillips, Redifun Simulation Inc. (RSI)
2008 – Andy Ramsden, Rockwell Collins
2007 – Joe Biller, L3 Communications - Link Simulation and Training Division
2006 - No recipient
2005 – Jim Guvernator, Southwest Airlines
2004 – Stuart N. Wilmott, CAE SimuFlite
2003 – Dr. John Hunt, General Precision Corporation (formerly Link Aviation, Inc.)
2002 – Kendall W. Neville, The Boeing Company
2001 – Stuart Anderson, Evans & Sutherland
2000 – Joe Depaola, American Airlines
1999 – Wolf-Dieter Hass, Lufthansa Flight Training

The Royal Aeronautical Society’s Edwin A. Link Lectures

The Royal Aeronautical Society established the annual Edwin A. Link Lecture Series in 2007 to honor Ed, who is known as the distinguished pioneer of synthetic training.  Ed’s remarkable foresight led to the creation of the Link Trainer, or “Blue Box” as it came to be known, the precursor of today’s powerful synthetic training devices, most notably full flight simulators. 

Edwin A. Link Lectures have been presented since 2007 as follows:

June 13, 2017 – At the Royal Aeronautical Society’s headquarters in London – Admiral Paul A. Chivers, OBE FRAeS, Director, Military Aviation Authority, presented a lecture entitled, “Flight Simulation – A Military Regulators Perspective”
https://www.aerosociety.com/events-calendar/edwin-a-link-lecture-2017/

June 7, 2016 – At the Royal Aeronautical Society’s headquarters in London – Captain Kip Caudrey, Senior Manager Simulator Evaluation, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, presented a lecture entitled, “Aviation/Flight Simulation – What Next?”
http://aerosociety.com/Events/Event-List/2520/Edwin-A-Link-Named-Lecture-2016

June 9, 2015 - At the Royal Aeronautical Society’s headquarters in London – Nathalie de Ziegler, Investigating Officer, Bureau d’Enquêles et d’Analyses (BAE), presented a lecture entitled, “Investigation in Simulation.” 
http://aerosociety.com/Events/Event-List/1793/Edwin-A-Link-Named-Lecture-2015

June 4, 2014 – At the Royal Aeronautical Society’s headquarters in London - Captain Randall L. Neville, 787 Chief Test Pilot, The Boeing Company, presented a lecture entitled, “Simulation – Before, During and After Flight Test.”
http://aerosociety.com/Assets/Docs/Events/NamedLectures/Edwin_Link_Named_Lecture_2014.pdf

June 12, 2013 - At the Royal Aeronautical Society’s headquarters in London - Dr. David White, Chief Scientist, L-3 Link, presented the lecture entitled, “What Comes First – The Aeroplane or the Simulator?  Thriving & Surviving Through Technical Innovation.”
http://aerosociety.com/Assets/Docs/Events/NamedLectures/Ed%20Link%202013.pdf

May 30, 2012 - At the Royal Aeronautical Society’s headquarters in London - Richard “Dick” Eastman OBE, RAeS RAF (retired) presented the lecture entitled, “A Journey through Flight Simulation.” 

June 8, 2011 – At the Royal Aeronautical Society’s headquarters in London - John Farley OBE, AFC, presented the Lecture entitled, “My 53 Years as a Flight Simulation User.”

June 10, 2010 – At the Royal Aeronautical Society’s headquarters in London - Marion Broughton, Vice President Avionics from Thales Training and Simulation, UK, gave a talk entitled, “The Downturn Opportunity in the Flight Simulation Industry?”

November 19, 2009 – At the British Embassy in Washington, DC

April 9, 2008 – At the British Embassy in Washington, DC – Mr. Bruce Whitman, President and CEO of FlightSafety International presented the lecture entitled, “The Link Legacy”

November 8, 2007 – The inaugural Edwin A. Link Lecture was presented in London by Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the Chief of the Defense Staff of the Royal Aeronautical Society

The RAeS Flight Simulation group believes the Link Trainer represented a milestone in the history of Flight Simulation.  Ed Link is generally recognized as the “father of flight simulation.”

It is expected that yearly lectures will continue to be held in London and Washington, DC.

• The Link Foundation
• Fellowships Newsletter Home
• Archived Newsletters