By Tracey Leibach
For nearly 200 years, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has been educating inventors, creators, pioneers, and trailblazers. In 1995, the Alumni Hall of Fame was established to honor their achievements.
This year, Rensselaer is celebrating eight new members who embody the Institute’s legacy of world-changing innovation:
– John Joseph Albright, Class of 1868, a leading industrialist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.
– Marta Ruth Bohn-Meyer ’79, a groundbreaking female test pilot and NASA administrator.
– Charles I. Cassell ’51, a pioneering African American architect and civil rights activist/leader.
– Edgar M. Cortright Jr. ’47, a senior NASA official and aeronautics scientist.
– Peter E. Hart ’62, renowned computer scientist and “Shakey the Robot” innovator.
– James A. Parsons, Class of 1922; a leading metallurgist and stainless steel pioneer.
– Augustine Sackett, Class of 1862, inventor of drywall/sheetrock and entrepreneur.
– Kathryn Egloff Zoon ’70, a groundbreaking immunologist and government infectious disease/allergy leader.
The latest inductees join an extraordinary group of individuals who have forged frontiers in industry, science, education, and technology. They have probed outer space, revolutionized new industries and technologies, and discovered new knowledge.
Members have impacted our lives in so many realms. Many of them paved the way for the nation’s infrastructure — building bridges and railroads, leading in the development of iron and steel, and developing models for urban planning and traffic forecasting.
They have improved our health by developing the most effective sunscreen, advancing magnetic resonance imaging, and revolutionizing the way microbiology has been studied.
They’ve kept us entertained, too. The Ferris wheel, commercial television, and the digital camera all came from the minds of Rensselaer alumni.
The Alumni Hall of Fame honors their legacy. Learn more about these exceptional individuals.
