Summary

Presented by the Lyceum Society

Welcome and Introductions: 11:30 am to 11:45 am 

Initial Presentation: 11:45 am to 12:45 pm 

Speaker: Ruth Milts 

Topic: Homo Naledi 

Excavated starting in 2013 in South Africa, the hominin now called Homo naledi may be over 330,000 years old. How were they related to other Homo species? What were they like physically? Their teeth may indicate their diet. The known remains may have been buried intentionally. Ms. Milts will review the discovery, what is known, and what remains unknown about this “new” human ancestor. 

Ruth Milts graduated from Cornell University at age 19. She did graduate work in biology at Colombia University, where she received an M.S. She worked for 33 years at William H. Maxwell Vocational High School in Brooklyn, first as a biology teacher and then as a program chair, assistant principal (administration) and assistant principal (supervision). She earned an M.A. from Pace University in College Administration and Supervision. She has always been interested in paleo-anthropology and archaeology and has participated in archaeological digs in the Southwest and England. Among her many interests are attending opera and doing beadwork. 

Main Presentation: 12:45 pm  to 2:30 pm 

Speaker: David J. Haas 

Topic: Personal Identification: Its Modern Development and Security Implications 

Personal Identification: Modern Development and Security Implications, Second Edition chronicles the path of personal identification measures, including the latest developments of Real ID, which, in addition to a passport,  provides a “trusted & secure” identification card for every American citizen.  Scholars and professional security managers understand that stability, security, and safety necessitate these identity measures to ensure a safer America after 9/11. The book explains the various stages and advances in the 200 years of personal identification development. It provides readers with a unique study of this fascinating history of the relationship between identity and how one validates and proves one’s own identity. The enactment of the REAL ID Act of 2005, requiring a trusted and tamper-resistant document for each citizen of the United States (their State-issued driver’s license or Identification Card), is being instituted so that one can trust that “you are who you say you are.” The state-issued Real ID driver’s license is not a national ID card but a nationally recognized ID for each citizen. 

David Haas received his BA in Physics and PhD in Biophysics in protein crystallography and molecular biology at the State University of NY at Buffalo.  For the next five years, he performed basic research in protein crystallography at several institutions in Europe, Israel, and the United States.  In 1970, he joined Philips Electronic Instruments in Mt Vernon, NY, as Principal Scientist for X-ray systems, working on analytical instruments and designing some of the first airport security X-ray systems used worldwide during the 1970s.

Conceiving the idea of a self-expiring security ID (Visitor badge), David and his wife, Sandra, formed Temtec Inc., which developed and manufactured high-tech visitor and temporary IDs for more than 20 years under the brand name TEMPbadge.  Temtec Inc. was sold to Brady Worldwide Corporation in 2002.  David & Sandra Haas have more than 100 patents to their credit and many technical and scientific publications. 

Dr. Haas has published a book by ASIS International entitled:  “Personal Identification – Its Modern Development and Security Implications.”  It reviews the history and reasons for modern personal identification documents such as Passports, National Identity Cards, etc.  Dr. Haas also published a monograph on the development of Electronic Security Screening for Aviation Passenger Screening between 1968 and 1973. 

The Lyceum Society is a collegial venue promoting fellowship, education, and discussion among retired members of NYAS.   

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