September 2021
Mr. James Edmond “Ed” Morton, IV, was unanimously appointed Trustee and Treasurer of the Link Foundation Board effective July 1, 2021. Prior to this appointment, Ed served as Special Advisor to the Link Foundation, a position he held since 2018. He currently serves as the Senior Vice President, Wealth Management Group Regional Executive, and Broome Tioga Market Executive with Chemung Canal Trust Company, a community bank headquartered in New York’s Southern Tier. He holds a BS degree in Applied Economics from Cornell University, is an Honors Graduate from the Cannon Financial Institute’s Trust School, and holds a Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor professional designation from the American Bankers Association Institute of Certified Bankers.
Mr. James R. Van Voorst was unanimously appointed as Trustee and Secretary of the Link Foundation Board effective July 1, 2021. Prior to this appointment, Jim served as Special Advisor to the Link Foundation, a position he held since 2012. His significant experience in finance and administration is a strong asset to the Foundation. In 2018, he retired from the State University of New York at Albany where he served as vice president for finance and administration. Prior to his position at Albany, he served as vice president for administration at Binghamton University, interim vice chancellor of finance and administration for the State University of New York from 2008-2009, controller at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, university accountant at the State University of New York at Albany, and auditor with the New York State Comptroller’s Office. Mr. Van Voorst holds a BS degree from Siena College, a MS degree from the State University of New York at Albany, and he is a Certified Public Accountant.
Mr. Morton and Mr. Van Voorst join three other Trustees and twelve Special Advisors who form the leadership team to guide and expand the Link legacy and enhance the mission of the Link Foundation.
Beginning in March 2020 and continuing in 2021, the pandemic disrupted normal operating procedures and impacted the Link Foundation and some of the important programs that we support.
Two significant programs that we support, the Link Foundation/Smithsonian Institution’s 12-week Graduate Fellowships, and the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University’s 10-week Link Summer Intern program, cancelled their programs in 2020. Thankfully, in 2021 the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University was able to continue with their 10-week Link Summer Intern program and it was very successful. Unfortunately, the Link Foundation/Smithsonian Institution Graduate Fellowships were delayed in 2021.
Many of our Link Fellowship recipients faced challenges as they discovered innovative ways to complete their research, but they persisted and were successful.
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/2021/energy.html.
Name: Taryn Fransen
Department: Energy and Resource Group
School: University of California, Berkeley
Project: Decarbonizing the Energy Sector: Assessing Pathways Under Paris Agreement Pledges
Research Advisor: Dr. Jonas Meckling
Name: Xiaomeng Liu
Department: Electrical and Computer Engineering
School: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Project: Harvesting Electricity from Ambient Humidity
Research Advisors: Dr. Jun Yao
Name: Nora Schopp
Department: Chemistry and Biochemistry
School: University of of California, Santa Barbara
Project: A Targeted Approach towards Efficient
Semitransparent Organic Photovoltaics for
Next-Generation Energy-Efficient Buildings
Research Advisors: Dr. T.-Q. Nguyen
Name: Prajwal Prakash Adiga
Department: Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering
School: Oregon State University
Project: Selective oxidation of sea water using earth abundant electrodes
Research Advisor: Dr. Kelsey Stoerzinger
Name: Will Gorman
Department: Energy and Resources Group
School: University of California, Berkeley
Project: Electric reliability, distributed energy resources (DERs), and the impact of consumer preferences in California
Research Advisors: Dr. Duncan Callaway
Name: Elizabeth Hann
Department: Botany and Plant Sciences
School: University of of California, Riverside
Project: A combination electrochemical-biological system for the production of liquid fuel from CO2
Research Advisors: Dr. Robert Jinkerson
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/2021/sim.html.
Name: Jessie Cossitt
School: Mississippi State University
Project: Dynamic Task Allocation and Understanding of Situation Awareness Under Different Levels of Autonomy in Closed-Hatch Miliatary Vehicles Using Virutal Reality
Research Advisor: Dr. Cindy Bethel
Name: Ganesh Pai Mangalore
School: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Project: Evaluating Mixed Reality Training for Calibrating Operators’ Mental Models of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems
Research Advisor: Dr. Anuj K. Pradhan
Name: Mike Salvato
School: Stanford University
Project: Predicting hand-object interaction for improved haptic feedback in simulated environments
Research Advisor: Dr. Allison Okamura
Name: Ali Ebrahimi
School: Johns Hopkins University
Project: Design and simulation of intelligent control algorithms for bimanual robot-assisted retinal surgery training system
Research Advisor: Dr. Iulian Iordachita
Name: Julia Juliano
School: University Southern California
Project: Neural mechanisms of head-mounted display virtual reality motor learning and transfer to the real world
Research Advisor: Dr. Sook Lei Liew
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/2021/ocean.html.
Name: Ian Black
Department: Ocean Ecology and Biogeochemistry (OEB)
School: Oregon State University (OSU), College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences (CEOAS)
Project: Open-source Flow Camera (OSFC)
Research Advisors: Dr. Maria Kavanaugh and Dr. Clare Reimers
Name: Rachel J. Suitor
Department: Aerospace Engineering
School: University of Maryland
Project: Cooperative Estimation and Control for Autonomous Underwater Sensor Networks
Research Advisor: Dr. Derek A. Pale
Name: Hannah Walker
Department: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
School: University of California, San Diego
Project: Tropical Hypoxia Study Using Novel, Affordable Aquatic Eddy Correlation Technique
Research Advisor: Dr. Geno Pawlak
Name: Galen Wolfgang Ng
Department: Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
School: University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Project: Hydrostructural Analysis and Design Optimization of Smart Composite Platforms
Research Advisors: Dr. Yin Lu Young and Dr. Joaquim R. R. A. Martins
Smithsonian Fellows - The pandemic significantly delayed this year’s program. We hope that by 2022, the program will be back on track. You can access information about some prior Fellows and their research at http://www.binghamton.edu/link-foundation/newsltr/2020/SmithsonianFellows.html.
Over the last 48 years, the Harbor Branch Summer Intern Program has been host to 678 college and university students from around the world. The Program was launched in 1974 with support from the Link Foundation, and it continues to be primarily funded by the Foundation today. Additional support for Interns is provided by the Gertrude E. Skelly Charitable Foundation which funds students to work in the HBOI Marine biomedical and biotechnology program. Other 2021 Internship sponsors include the Marilyn C. Link Memorial Internship, which is supported by the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation, and the Fort Pierce Yacht Club
The Marilyn C. Link Memorial Internship was established in 2018 in honor of Marilyn’s long service to the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. This internship is focused on Ocean Engineering and Technology which was a special interest of Marilyn’s.
This past summer, sixteen interns were selected to participate in the 2021 Summer Intern Program. 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 a variety of topics within marine science and biomedicine, aquaculture, and ocean engineering. At the completion of the Program, each intern presented the results of their research at a Symposium attended by 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 in their future careers.”
The 2021 Harbor Branch/FAU Summer Interns which were supported by the Link Foundation include:
Katelyn DiGirolomo, Nova Southeastern University
Emily Frett, Luther College
Carlos Garriga-Dominguez, Florida Atlantic University
Clara Hay, U.S Coast Guard Academy
Loann Koch, University of South Carolina
Kayla McCulloch, University of Miami
Robert Pugh, Florida Atlantic University
Amanda Reinhardt, Florida Atlantic University
Jade Salis, Coastal Carolina University
William Smith, Florida Atlantic University
Monica Trask, Ohio State University
Dr. Andrew M. Clark, Link Foundation Trustee, was a Harbor Branch Summer Intern in 1979. You can learn 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 JohnsonSeaLink 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 realworld 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 last forty-seven years this education program, Harbor Branch's oldest, has continued and prospered and has become a special one to scientists and engineers who are invigorated by the young talent of the interns each year. From 1974 to 2021, there have been 678 summer interns at Harbor Branch/FAU. The interns have benefitted from the opportunity to work one-on-one with over 100 mentors and Harbor Branch/FAU staff members. The Link Foundation has supported about 66% of the interns. Another 12% 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: https://www.fau.edu/hboi/education-and-outreach/summer-internship-program/.
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 through a scholarship program, also administered by FAU Harbor Branch, since 1974. This initiative was pioneered by Clayton Link. Over the years, approximately 107 students have benefitted from these scholarships and the resulting recognition that follows.
Currently up to three scholarships at $1,000 each are awarded to 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.
Selection criteria 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 in one of these disciplines: a) Marine Biology, b) Ocean Engineering, c) Energy Conservation and Research, d) Oceanography, or e) Aviation. These scholarships are presented in memory of E. Clayton Link, son of the Founders, and Albert D. Stover.
In 2021, one student was selected for the scholarship. Caiden Dooner, a graduating senior from William T. Dwyer High School, Palm Beach Gardens, was selected as a recipient of the scholarship at the 67th State Science and Engineering Fair held in March 2021. Caiden plans to study aeronautical engineering at the University of Central Florida.
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.”
The Link Foundation has had a significant impact at Indian River State College (IRSC) by providing Distinguished Scholar Awards, totaling over $347,500 to more than 114 highly qualified IRSC graduates since 1999. Each year these transfer scholarships enable highly qualified graduates of IRSC to continue their education in the fields of marine science, engineering, oceanography, physics, mathematics, energy research, and simulation training (aircraft or automobile). The prestigious scholarships are presented annually to students who attained a 2.75 or higher cumulative grade point average at Indian River State College, and are admitted to an accredited upper-division program. The students must maintain an annual 2.75 GPA at the accredited upper-division college or university to maintain their funding.
For 2021-2022, two IRSC graduates were awarded Link Foundation Scholarships. We would like to congratulate the scholarship awardees. They are:
For more information about these scholarships, visit www.irscfoundation.org.
The Link Foundation has supported the Link Summer Science Exploration Camp held at the Kopernik Observatory & Science Center located in Vestal, NY, for the past 28 years. This week-long camp offers hands-on, high-tech adventures for students just completing grades 2 – 12. It is focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education across a wide range of topics, and the information is presented at an age-appropriate level. The goal of the program is to engage children to learn about our world and the universe around us and inspire them to consider STEM related careers at an early age.
This 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. Throughout the Summer Science Exploration program, students are encouraged to make a mark on their world like Edwin A. Link.
The Link family, the Link Foundation, and the late 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 a Binghamton, NY, High School senior who is a resident of Broome County and who has demonstrated a commitment to engineering, with special consideration given to those who have demonstrated a commitment to energy, simulation, marine science, 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 scholarships 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 2021 scholarships were awarded to:
Adam graduated from Binghamton High School in 2021 with an overall GPA of 94.24. While in high school he was a member of the National Honor Society and participated in varsity basketball and CYO varsity basketball. He has volunteered at a variety of community events such as blood drives, community cleanup events, and he volunteered at a voting location. Adam plans to attend the State University of New York at Buffalo this fall, majoring in Aerospace Engineering, and he hopes to someday work for NASA.
Bridget graduated from Seton Catholic High School in 2021 with a GPA of 99.36. She will attend Binghamton University’s Watson College of Engineering to study Engineering. While in high school she received several awards including the Bishop Moynihan Pro-Vita Award, the Senator Akshar All-Star Award, the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Award, and the NYSPHSAA Basketball Championship Sportsmanship Award. She was a member of the National Honor Society and served as the Key Club’s Vice President. She also participated in basketball, tennis, and lacrosse, and was the St. James Parish Council Youth Representative. She was a volunteer for the Broome County Riverbank Cleanup, the CHOW Potato Harvest, and the Broome County Jail Ministry. While at Binghamton University, she plans to explore innovative solutions to address energy and sustainability challenges. Someday she hopes to mentor and support other engineers, especially young women, in the same ways that she has been supported.
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.Aeronautical Radio Inc. (ARINC) presents an annual award in honor of Edwin A. Link at the opening session of the Flight Simulator Engineering and Maintenance Conference (FSEMC) each year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the inability to have an in-person Conference in 2020 and 2021, the FSEMC Executive Committee decided to defer presenting the Edwin A. Link award. The annual conference, which has been attended by more than 300 flight simulator experts from around the world, identify technical solutions for engineering and maintenance issues which has resulted in immediate and long-term savings and increased efficiency for simulator users.
Over the past twenty years, ARINC has presented the annual award in honor of Edwin A. Link to an outstanding member of the simulation community in recognition of their contributions of ideas, leadership and innovation that will benefit the simulation industry. The Edwin A. Link award has become world-renowned as the simulation industry’s highest award for individual achievement.
The most recent recipient of this award was Mark Dransfield, Independent Flight Simulation and Training Device Consultant, UK, who received the award in 2019.
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.
The last in-person Edwin A. Link Lecture was presented on November 12, 2019 at the Royal Aeronautical Society’s headquarters in London. Mike O’Donoghue CBE FRAeS, Chief Executive, General Aviation Safety Council, presented the Edwin A. Link Named Lecture https://www.aerosociety.com/events-calendar/edwin-a-link-named-lecture-2019.
Due to COVID constraints in 2020 and in 2021, the Royal Aeronautical Society produced podcasts of previously delivered lectures. Those lectures can be heard at the following links:
August 20, 2020 – https://www.aerosociety.com/news/audio-rewind-my-44-year-journey-through-flight-simulation-and-something-about-ed-link-by-wg-cdr-dick-eastman
It is expected that the yearly lecture will continue to be held in London or Washington, DC once the COVID pandemic precautions and concerns are behind us.