Catching up with...Cherrice Traver

Publication Date
Traver poses with the paddle she uses in dragon boat racing. 

Traver poses with the paddle she uses in dragon boat racing.

In the warmer months, Cherrice Traver can often be found gliding along the Mohawk River in a sleek canoe-like vessel adorned with a dragon’s head and tail. Traver, seated near the front, is one of the paddlers that set the pace for the rest of the crew to follow.

This is dragon boat racing, a sport Traver took up six years ago. Louisa Mathews, a professor of visual arts is one of her coaches. Both are members of the Cohoes-based Dragons Alive team.

“To do well you need to have up to 20 people paddling efficiently and in unison. It's hard, but really rewarding,” said Traver, who is the David Falk and Elynor Rudnick-Falk Professor of Computer Engineering. “And being out on the water a few times a week is also a nice perk.”

Those weekly practices paid off with a strong showing at the Quebec Cup, held last September in Montreal.

Whether paddling on rivers or tending to her vegetable garden, Traver loves the outdoors – a connection rooted in her upbringing in the wide-open spaces of Schoharie County. Her grandparents and her uncle both operated dairy farms, where she spent many hours as a child.

The rural environment also fostered a competitive spirit.

“With the small population and limited options for social activities, I ended up playing every team sport in high school.”

Traver earned a B.S. in physics from the University at Albany and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Virginia. Her research focuses on developing software systems for a wide array of electronic devices. She has advised students on numerous technical projects, including designing an affordable, child-friendly wheelchair. Committed to advancing opportunities for women in the engineering, Traver has also led enrichment programs for female high school students.

When she isn’t teaching, paddling a dragon boat, or cultivating her garden, Traver frequently hangs out with her two grandchildren.

Catching up with...

A regular feature in which a faculty or staff member is profiled. Answering a series of short questions, the profiles are intended to be light, informative and conversational.

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FIRST APP YOU LOOK AT IN THE MORNING:

In the gardening season, the weather app. In the snow season, the weather app. Otherwise, Google Calendar or New York Times puzzles.

WHAT’S THE LAST GREAT BOOK YOU READ?:

I really enjoyed “The Covenant of Water” by Abraham Verghese. It is the story about a family in India afflicted with a multigenerational tragedy. Heartbreaking and inspiring.

BEST ADVICE YOU EVER RECEIVED:

A colleague once advised me to contribute to my retirement fund in an amount that “hurts a little.”

WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING RIGHT NOW?:

When my brother visits my house, he says he feels like he’s in the “Little House on the Prairie” time period. But that’s not what I’m watching because I don’t have a working television.

ONE SKILL YOU WISH YOU HAD:

I’ve made attempts in the past to learn another language. I know I could, eventually, if I really stuck with it, but I wish I were just naturally good at it.

THREE DINNER PARTY GUESTS (living or deceased):

Although there are many famous people I admire, if I want to have a good time at dinner, I’d pick fun people that I know. And I don’t want to name just three…. lest the other fun people feel left out.

ONE THING YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT:

I once lost my hori hori knife (a gardening tool) and I was surprised at how sad I felt. I replaced it quickly.

FIRST CONCERT YOU ATTENDED:

I think it was the Loggins and Messina concert at SPAC in the summer of 1975 or 1976. It is where I learned what marijuana smells like.

FAVORITE UNION MEMORY/EXPERIENCE:

This happened a couple of years ago. Admissions asked me to give a tour to a prospective student interested in engineering. When the family arrived at my lab, I found that it was two former students who I first met as lab partners in our first-year engineering course and watched become a couple over the course of four years. They went on to marry, work as patent examiners in Washington, D.C., and were trying to convince their oldest daughter to consider Union. They are just delightful people, and it was wonderful to meet them as parents. It reminded me how formative our students’ Union experience can be.