On Friday, May 19th, 2006, over 40 BME graduating students joined proud parents, relatives, friends and faculty for the annual BMED commencement dinner held at Brunswick Golf Course in Troy, NY. Surrounded by a sweeping expanse of green, guests enjoyed a buffet dinner and the opportunity to meet faculty and the friends and families of the soon-to-be graduates.

As in years past, one of the evening’s highlights was the presentation of Institute and Departmental awards, presented this year by BME Department Head Dr. Natacha DePaola. Eno Ebong Essien, Ph.D., was this year’s recipient of The Zelda and David G. Gisser Prize in Biomedical Engineering and the Karen and Lester Gerhardt Prize in Science and Engineering. Awarded annually, the Gisser Prize is given to a graduating Ph.D. student with an exemplary dissertation in an experimental area. The Gerhardt Prize was established to honor a full-time engineering or science doctoral candidate, who, by the originality and insight of his or her work, emphasizes the tradition of excellence that is Rensselaer.

William Cusack, B.S., was the 2006 recipient of the Paul B. Daitch Memorial Award. Presented annually by the Biomedical Engineering Department, the award is intended for a graduating senior who has combined both outstanding scholarship and a level of service to Rensselaer and/or the community. The Rita Schaffer Undergraduate Award, established in 2001 by the Biomedical Engineering Society, honors graduating seniors whose accomplishments include leadership in a university setting or in the community, outreach, teaching service, initiative in research, academic achievement and contribution to society. Heather Scoffone, B.S., was this year’s recipient.

Caitlyn M. McCullough, B.S., received the Institute’s 4.0 Certificate, awarded annually to a graduating senior who has consistently maintained a 4.0 during each semester at Rensselaer. Grant Cochran, B.S., was this year’s recipient of the Livingston W. Houston Citizenship Award. Given by the Institute in memory of Livingston Waddell Houston, the 11th President of Rensselaer, this award is presented at commencement to a student who, in the opinion of the President of the University, the Provost, the Dean of Students, Director of Athletics and Director of the Student Union is considered the “First Citizen of the College” and who ranks high in character, leadership, scholarship and athletic ability.

This year’s guest of honor was Mrs. Zelda Gisser, wife of the late Dr. David G. Gisser. Mrs. Gisser entertained the 185 in attendance by relating stories of her husband’s youth and 40-year-long career as a scientist and teacher at Rensselaer.

Holding a photograph of a young man on a bicycle wearing headphones, she read from a 1985 issue of Research at Rensselaer. “The photograph depicts a 12-year-old boy wearing a pair of earphones-hardly an unusual image in the 1980s. But this photo is brown and ragged, clipped from a newspaper more than 40 years ago. In an era before the “Walkman”, before even the transistor, a radio portable enough for a handlebar basket was unheard of; yet this boy designed and built one himself.”

Dr. Gisser was a professor in the electrical, computer and systems engineering department (ECSE) at RPI, and had recalled the photo as “the first recorded instance of my interest in electronics.” The Research article continued that “unlike many of his colleagues at Rensselaer and elsewhere, who specialize in abstract theories and complex equations, Gisser prefers to get down to brass tacks. ‘In recent years, I’ve become more interested in acting as a high-quality support person to the researcher,’ he says. ‘I’m able to take a project from the idea stage to something that works.’ Gisser has chosen this unusual niche in the electrical engineering world partly because he has found his own interests to be at odds with those of industry. ‘It just occurred to me,’ he says, by way of example ‘that instruments to help the handicapped were the sort of thing commercial companies wouldn’t make because there wasn’t any money in it.’ He has therefore taken this job upon himself through his involvement in the RPI-Albany Medical Center biomedical engineering team, a trail-blazing collaboration of physicians and engineers that has been funded by the NIH since 1968.”

Mrs. Gisser held up another photograph of a 12-year old cerebral palsy patient. The Research article explained that the boy “ had trouble operating his wheelchair by hand because of muscle spasms, and asked the biomedical team for help. Gisser, working in his spare time and using surplus parts, rigged up a set of controls that the boy could operate using head movements.”

Dr. Gisser is remembered annually at the BMED commencement dinner through an endowment left by his wife to the Biomedical Engineering Department. He was a brilliant scientist and researcher. Yet he is also remembered as a humble, gentle, thoughtful man who cared deeply about those around him. He was a man who thought globally and acted locally, using his talents and creativity to make the world a better place.