Six Honored with Clarkson University's Most Prestigious Alumni Award

Potsdam, NY (08/04/2021) — Robert H. Donaldson '51 of West End, N.C., George C. Schatz '71 of Evanston, Ill., Kenneth S. Solinksy '71 of Bedford, N.H., Lynn T. Kassouf '76 of Port Washington, Wis., Scott A. Kingsley '86 of Manlius, N.Y., and Siren R. Chudgar, M.D. '96 of Saint Johns, Fla., have all been honored with the Golden Knight award by their alma mater, Clarkson University.

Usually presented each year during the Alumni Reunion, Clarkson's most prestigious alumni award is given to alumni who have distinguished themselves either by service to Clarkson through Alumni Associated activities or have demonstrated outstanding career achievement, bringing distinction to themselves and to Clarkson.

Robert H. Donaldson
Robert Huntington Donaldson received his BS in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson in 1951 and an MS in Industrial Statistics from the University of Rochester in 1957.

At Clarkson, Bob was the photo editor for the Integrator and Clarksonian. He was a member of Lambda Iota fraternity and Tau Beta Pi and Omega Chi Epsilon. He is a lifetime member of the Clarkson Roundtable and the Annie Clarkson Society and was awarded the Charles Ehrlich '56 Alumni Admissions Award in 2011.

Bob is currently president of Delta Planning, Inc., a management consulting firm he founded in 1982, and has served as CEO, CFO or director for a number of public and private corporations.

He and his wife, Patricia, reside in West End, North Carolina.

George C. Schatz
George received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Clarkson University in 1971 and a PhD in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology, as well as an honorary degree from Clarkson in 2012.

A theoretical chemist, former editor-in-chief at The Journal of Physical Chemistry and the Morrison Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University, George has produced over 1,100 scientific publications, including his book Introduction to Quantum Mechanics in Chemistry. He received the Ahmed Zewail Prize in Molecular Sciences.

In 2020, George was named one of the Ten Most Influential Chemists Today by Academic Influence. He is a member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

He and his wife, Margaret, reside in Evanston, Illinois.

Kenneth S. Solinsky
Kenneth S. Solinsky received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson in 1971, an MS in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1973 and an MS in Business Management from Stanford University in 1984.

Ken began his career with the U.S. Army's Engineering Training Center and later joined the U.S. Army Night Vision Laboratory where he progressed through a series of increasingly responsible engineering and management positions. These included Production Engineer and then Project Leader for the first production Night Vision Goggle, Project Leader for the Army's first Thermal Tank Sight, Director of Product Assurance and then Director of Night Vision Forward where he supported the introduction of night vision equipment in Europe. Upon return to the U.S. Ken managed a team developing an integrated payload for the Army's first Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV). After a year as the Army's Sloan Fellow at Stanford University, Ken returned to the Army and became Project Manager for the Army's family of Image Intensified Night Vision Devices.

In 1986, Ken left government service, and, in 1987, he and his wife formed Insight Technology that grew from a startup to become our nation's principal supplier, with over 1300 employees, of Night Vision and Electro-Optical Devices for the individual warfighter. Products that Insight developed and produced include Infrared Aiming Lights, Image Intensified (I2) Night Vision Goggles and Weapon Sights, Thermal Imaging Sights and Handheld Imagers, I2 and Thermal Fused Imaging Systems, Laser Rangefinders and Laser Designators. Insight products are used by all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, federal law enforcement agencies and allied nations. In 2010, Ken and Grace sold Insight Technology to L3 Communications where Ken stayed on for three years to manage L3's Warrior System Division comprised of Insight Technology and five other L3 operating divisions

Back in 2005 Solinsky acquired the precision optics capabilities of Eastman Kodak and formed Rochester Precision Optics (RPO), a company he still owns. RPO produces precision optics and optical assemblies for defense, medical and consumer applications.

In 2015, Ken started OnPoint Systems, LLC. Its flagship product, SpotOn Virtual Smart Fence, a GPS-based dog collar, was named a CES 2020 Innovation Awards Honoree in the wearables category, named Product of the Year by the New Hampshire High Tech Alliance, named the Best Virtual Fence by WIRED magazine and given a People's Choice Stevie Award for Favorite New Products at the 18th annual American Business Awards.

In 2019, Ken formed Envision Technology, LLC. Envision develops advanced Night Vision and Electro-Optical Systems for the U.S. Military.

Ken holds over 20 utility patents and a design patent related to night vision and electro-optical products and GPS-enabled dog collars. He has won numerous public sector and government awards.

Ken is a proud sponsor of the Clarkson Ignite programs with the Solinsky-Ignite Research Fellowship. He has served on the judging panel for Clarkson's Pilot Grant Program and on the Scientific Advisory Council.

He and his wife of 50 years, Grace, reside in Bedford, New Hampshire. Their son, Tyler, is a student at Plymouth State University in Plymouth, New Hampshire.

Lynn T. Kassouf
Lynn T. Kassouf received her Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Clarkson in 1976 and an MS in Secondary Education and Math from Concordia University in 2005. At Clarkson, Lynn played basketball, volleyball and ice hockey; she is a member of the Omega Delta Phi sorority.

Lynn left Carlyle Compressor as a reliability engineer and later returned to the workforce as a high school math teacher until retiring. She developed and implemented the CARES process for effective academic intervention.

Lynn is an Annie Clarkson Society member and has served on Clarkson's Board of Governors.

Lynn resides with her husband, Tom '74, in Port Washington, Wisconsin.

Scott A. Kingsley
Scott A. Kingsley received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Clarkson in 1986. Scott was inducted into Phalanx and played intramural hockey.

Scott held executive leadership positions with Carlisle Companies Incorporated and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He retired as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Community Bank System Inc. He is currently a director at the Crouse Health Foundation.

Scott completed the 2020 Boilermaker Road Race to benefit OnMyTeam16, a pediatric cancer support organization and raised a record-breaking $31,382.

Scott is an Annie Clarkson Society member and has served as a guest speaker for various events.

He and his wife, Doreen, reside in Manlius, New York, and have four adult children.

Siren R. Chudgar, M.D.
Siren Chudgar received his BS in Civil Engineering from Clarkson in 1996 and a Doctor of Medicine from SUNY Upstate Medical University.

He was active in many student organizations, serving as president of Tau Beta Pi and a Student Admissions Representative.

Siren left a practice in New York to work with Anthem, Florida Blue and Novitas Solutions. Currently, Siren works with WellMed and is a family physician.

Siren is an Annie Clarkson Society member and served on Clarkson's Board of Governors and the Alumni Council. He and his wife have established a scholarship.

He and his wife, Jennifer, and their two boys reside in Saint Johns, Florida.

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