September 2019
October 2019
Dear Link Foundation Friends:
During the Link Foundation’s semi-annual meeting in March, we once again acknowledged the important contributions of the late Marilyn C. Link toward the development and fulfillment of the Link Foundation’s mission, which was established in 1953 by Edwin and Marion Link. Through the years, Marilyn has provided a strategic vision for the Foundation, and helped the Foundation to implement it through her keen insights, her tireless work, her passion, and her financial gifts.
With regard to the latter, we also announced at that meeting that Marilyn provided for the Link Foundation in her estate planning and that the Link Foundation would receive a significant gift from her estate. At this writing, we wish to share that the Link Foundation has received a substantial portion of this bequest and we anticipate receiving the remainder of it in late 2019. As a result, Marilyn’s positive vision and thoughtful support will carry forward in the work of the Link Foundation for many years. We are greatly indebted to her for sharing her wisdom, work, and wealth.
Regarding the current work of the Link Foundation, Dr. Amir Kazemi, a 2016-17 Link Fellow in Ocean Engineering and Instrumentation from Florida Atlantic University, presented his innovative research to the Link Foundation Board during our March 2019 Board meeting. With the aid of his Fellowship Award, Dr. Kazemi and his co-authors developed a new synthetic mangrove root-type design that has a pivotal role in protecting coastal areas from severe storms and hurricanes. Dr. Kazemi’s article “Hydrodynamics of mangrove-type root models: the effect of porosity, spacing ratio and flexibility,” was published in 2017 in the journal of Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, and has received 9 citations to date. This work was implemented on the coast of Englewood, FL to obviate the essential need to protect property damage and reduce coastal erosion. If you would like to learn more about Dr. Kazemi and his research, please visit our website, https://www.binghamton.edu/link-foundation/newsltr/2019/fellows.html.
Florida Atlantic University is also a “partner” organization through which the work of the Link Foundation is carried out. Our Fellowship Program in Ocean Engineering and Instrumentation is administered by Florida Atlantic, as is the highly successful Summer Intern Program which the Link Foundation has supported for the past 46 years. While space does not enable us to mention all of our partner organizations, we do want to recognize Indian River State College for being awarded the 2019 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. The Aspen Prize comes with the designation of being named the “Top College in the Nation,” based on academic excellence and service to the community. Similarly, Binghamton University of the State University of New York was recently selected to join the prestigious “Research 1” category (the top category) of the Carnegie Classification of research universities in the nation. Congratulations to these two Link Foundation partner organizations!
We appreciate all of you who encourage and support the important work of the Link Foundation and we look forward to providing updates each year.
Sincerely,
Thomas F. Kelly, PhD
Chair of the Board of Trustees and Special Advisors
The Link Foundation