Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch! Come to lunch on us at the
MIT Museum on Wednesday, June 17th to meet Dina Katabi, the current Class of 1947 Career Development Professor. An expert on computer networks, Dina is Associate Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and works in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. A graduate of Damascus University, Dina is a fellow alumna having earned an S. M. in '99 and Ph. D. in '03 from MIT. (Click on the title of this article for a more complete description of her background). She will talk to us at lunch about her teaching and research.
We have invited the three former holders of our chair who have remained at MIT -- Wendy Jacob, Lecturer in Architecture; Alec Byrne, Professor of Philosophy; and Meg Jacobs, Associate Professor of History -- all of whom have addressed the Class at earlier functions. In addition we're inviting the two Class of 1947 Scholars -- Jessica B. Hamrick '11, Course VI of Earlysville, Virginia; and Joshua B Robles, '12 of Pomona, California -- who may join us if they haven't already left for summer vacation.
Lunch is at noon, so come early or stay late or both and browse the galleries of the MIT Museum. If you haven't been in a while, you'll be astonished at what the Museum now has to offer. The enclosed brochure gives you a hint.
Here again are the details:
Wednesday, June 17th at noon
MIT Museum, Building N52
265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
The Class treasury is underwriting the event, so there is no charge. But we do need to know whether youýre coming for a head count. So please be in touch by June 17th.
Telephone: (781) 862-6360
email: cwbrenner@alum.mit.edu
I look forward to seeing you.
Warm regards,
Claude Brenner
Welcome to the Class of 1947
We are the MIT Class of 1947 and our mission is to enhance the value of the MIT degree, build community, and celebrate our shared experience. This website is your gateway to activities and news for Class of 1947, a way to find out what your fellow alumni are doing and stay connected.
Here is a guide to the articles and photographs you will find on our class website:
HOME
* Welcome to the Class of 1947
* Post Reunion Special Report
* July 2007 Message from Our Class President -- Our 60th Reunion (in four parts)
* Our Class Web Site
ABOUT
* Introduction
* Class of 1947 Career Development Professorship
* Class of 1947 Endowed Scholarships for 2007/2008 are announced
* Class of 1947 Endowed Scholarship Fund Awardee for 2006/2007 and 2007/2008
* Active Alumni/ae of the Class of 1947
- Norm Holland, MIT '47
- Jim Prigoff, MIT '47
- John S. W. Kellett, MIT '47
- Arnold S. Judson, MIT '47
* OFFICERS
JOIN IN
* Join In
* Attendees at Our 60th Reunion, June, 2007 (Includes link to photo album of attendees)
* Class of 1947 Reunion Gift
* Making a Gift to MIT Directly from Your IRA
* Missing Members of our Class
* Deceased Members of our Class
NEWS
* It Happened in 1947
EVENTS
Check back here periodically as we update the site with new events, stories about volunteers and alumni, and information about ways to participate.
Post Reunion Special Report from Harl Aldrich
Dear Classmates,
It is my profound pleasure to report the results of our 60th Reunion Gift Campaign. We exceeded our $3.5 million goal with a 60th reunion gift of $3,586,222. In addition, we
_ achieved an incredible 81.6% participation from our classmates during the five-year period. Thank you all.
If you returned to campus for Tech Reunions, you saw that MIT not only continues to expand its academic horizons, but strives to enhance the overall student experience both inside and outside the classroom. Whether they're gaining practical experience through UROP projects or bonding with teammates on the playing field, today's students have more opportunities for academic and personal growth at MIT than ever before.
At the heart of the Institute resides the commitment to ideals that we and other alumni share and uphold: advancing knowledge; keeping an MIT education possible for all qualified students regardless of financial need; and remaining on the cutting-edge of science and technology to enable MIT community members to have a meaningful impact in the world.
Perhaps that's why many of us give back: we recognize the value of helping tomorrow's leaders solve real-world problems today. And MIT is doing just that ý through the Center for Cancer Research, the MIT Energy Initiative, and in every discipline in between. Please join me in recognizing all the members of our class who chose to make an impact through their generosity during our 60th reunion.
Finally, I would like to offer special thanks to our classmates who served on our 60th Reunion Committee. Their efforts helped make our class milestone an exceptional one.
With appreciation,
Harl P Aldrich Jr. '47 60th Reunion Gift Chair
July 2007 Message from Our Class President -- Our 60th Reunion in 2007 (Part 1)
Dear Classmate -
While Tech Reunions follow a prescribed and familiar pattern, there are always surprises along the way to spice the occasion. Best of all are classmates whom one hasn't seen in ages. This time it was David Brillembourg (Course I) with his wife, Ines, who journeyed from Caracas for his first reunion ever.
We also enjoyed the company of three widows. On their first visits we welcomed Carol Browning (John, II) who traveled from Ogden, Utah; and Joan Knight and daughter, Joanne Perez-Knight (Dick, XV) who arrived from Clearwater, Florida. You may remember that Dick served as 18th Secretary of the Alumni Association from 1972 to 1982. On her third reunion was Pat Knodel (Dave, XVI) who lives locally in Lexington has been a regular since our 50th.
Tile traditional inaugural event, Tech Night at the Pops, was also not without its moments. After a buffet dinner for the Cardinal and Gray Society in the gracious spaces of McCormick Hall overlooking the river, our red-jacketed cohort was taken by bus to Symphony Hall. We scattered to our chosen seats on the floor and in the balconies. Keith Lockhart's program started traditionally with a selection of the lighter classics followed by a brilliant performance of Beethoven's 3rd piano concerto, the Eroica, by David Deveau, Senior Lecturer in Music at MIT. It was the final third of the program that departed with something new and exciting.
It opened with an hilarious video of Keith Lockhart lost on the MBTA, with a wildly exuberant accompaniment by the orchestra of the Kingston Trio's national hit, "Charlie on the MTA" (the B was added later for Massachusetts Bay). Charlie's interminable ride seems to have entered the nation's psyche, and certainly is engraved in Boston's as well. The fare cards that the MBTA now issues for turnstile entry are called Charlie Cards. So perhaps no one will ever get lost again.
The usual closing encore, Sousa's "Stars and Stripes," was much anticipated, stirringly played, and enthusiastically received; and at the end, to the delight of the audience, baskets at the topmost ceiling broke open to release a shower of red and silver balloons. A flurry of popping throughout the hall followed.
On Friday, a day filled with discussions and field trips, we gathered for what is the highlight of the Reunion, the Class Dinner. Following a steak dinner at the Faculty Club, we repaired to the inner courtyard or Hayden Library two blocks away for coffee and dessert - rich cakes, cookies and ice cream - and then moved into the adjacent_ Killian Hall to hear from the Class of 1947 Career Development Professor, Meg Jacobs, and to listen to a piano recital by our classmate Arnold Judson.
As you may remember, we established the Class of 1947 Career Development Professorship shortly before our 45th Reunion. In that time five rising young faculty members have been appointed to the chair for a three-year term, and making wise use of its funding to advance their research and teaching, they have continued to rise. We can be very proud of them and proud that we played a role in their scholarly growth.
We welcomed the third and fourth incumbents, Professors Alex Byrne of Philosophy and Wendy Jacob of the Program in Visual Arts, at dinner. The first and second holders of the chair, Prof. Michael Jordan of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, who spoke at our 45th in Scarborough, Maine, and Prof. Evelyn Hammond of the Program in Science, Technology and Society, who spoke at our 50th in Cambridge have since left the Institute.
July 2007 Message from Our Class President -- Our 60th Reunion in 2007 (Part 2)
We welcomed Professor Meg Jacobs just in time, as her term ended on June 30th. Associate Professor of History in the Humanities Department, Professor Jacobs was educated at Cornell and the University of Virginia where she earned her M.A. and Ph. D. Following a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Business School she joined the faculty of Claremont McKenna College in 1999 and two years later was appointed Assistant Professor of History at MIT. She was promoted to Associate Professor in 2006 and was granted tenure last year.
Professor Jacobs is a prolific and eminently readable writer. I recommend to you her most recent book, Pocketbook Politics, Economic Citizenship in Twentieth Century America, which should resonate strongly with our generation, who, as consumers and shoppers, have lived through most of the twists and turns that she explores. Last year she was awarded both the OAH Ellis Prize for the best book on modern U.S. Politics and the New England Historical Association Best Book Prize.
She is currently writing a book entitled, ýPanic at the Pumpý on the energy crisis of the 1970s. I have no doubt that we all have vivid memories of that one as well. She has written numerous book chapters, journal articles, encyclopedia articles - I bet you didn't know that there is an Encyclopedia of the Great Depression - and book reviews as well, and has received a number of fellowships and honors.
She also has high visibility at the Institute. At a grand alumni-faculty banquet in Walker Memorial last September, recognizing all the individual alumni and classes who have endowed chairs. she spoke as the representative of the faculty chairs. This spring she was invited to address the Institute's Academic Council - the senior administration, deans, and department heads - and she has been in featured articles in Tech Talk and other internal publications. A rising star indeed.
Arnold Judson followed with a program of three Brahms Intermezzi, three Chopin Mazurka's, a Mozart Fantasy, a Rachmaninoff Prelude and a Schumann. Jud selected his program For the most part from pieces that were written as the composers neared the end of their careers, attesting to the creativity and productivity that can be achieved at advanced age. Jud's performance was spellbinding, which proved the point doubly.
Jud had started piano study at age five, stopping only when he entered MIT where he played extensively as accompanist for the Glee Club and in other venues. When he entered graduate school his interest in performance waned and he turned to composition studying under Walter Piston at Harvard. He composed for the next 15 years, mostly incidental music for theatre and dance. Then his job caught up with him. He was traveling widely and often, which prevented him from continuing with his music. Some 20 years ago his interest in performance re-ignited and he started practicing again, playing for audiences of friends at his home and elsewhere. You will remember the splendid concert he gave us at the Class Dinner in the Parker House at our 50th. This reprise was rewarding for us all. As his encore he entertained us appropriately with Scott Joplin's rag, "The Entertainer." It was a fulfilling evening altogether.
July 2007 Message from Our Class President -- Our 60th Reunion in 2007 (Part 3)
The Class Dinner and after-dinner program drew the largest participation of any event during the Reunion. Enjoying the evening together were Harl & Lois Aldrich. Tom Bell & Joanne Kouris, David & Ines Brillembourg, Carol Browning, Dan Carnese (Jean joined us in Stockbridge), Jack & Evelyn Connors, Morgan & Daphne Cooper, John Cowan & Audrey Bird, Fred & Joan Ehrich, Hugh Flomenhoft, Ray & Wilma Hasse, Albert Hylas & Anne Heger, Arnold & June Judson, Mitch & Donna Keamy & brother Donald '53 & Yvonne Keamy, Joan Knight & Joanne Perez-Knight, Pat Knodel, Jim & Ethel Kyle, Ken & Lois Marshall, Bill McClelland, Aaron & Florence Newman, Alex Pastuhov (Adele joined us in Stockbridge), Jim & Arline Prigoff, Jack & Karen Rizika, Jim Robertson, Ed & Harriet Rosenberg, Hrand & Lucy Saxenian, Lee & Margie Schwarz, Parker & Midge Symmes, Jim & Ruth Van Meter, Mary Frances Wagley, Dave & Ivy Yablong, & Howard Zwemer, as well as Profs. Jacobs, Jacob, & Byrne.
The Saturday morning program was devoted to global energy and climate-change. Ira Hochman '89, Chair of the Technology Day Committee, hosted the event, President Susan Hockfield welcomed us and Beth Garvin HM, Executive Vice President of the Alumni Association, extended greetings as well. I shan't review the substance of the program as the forthcoming issue of Technology Review will provide a full report. Briefly, however, the speakers were (in order) Prof. Nazli Choucri, Professor of Political Science and Associate Director of the Technology and Development Program who discussed the global issues of dealing with the looming problems; Institute Professor John Deutch '61 who talked about carbon dioxide sequestration, the capture and burial of CO2 emissions from power plants; and Class of 1957 (their 50th reunion) Career Development Associate Professor of Architecture who examined energy management in the built environment.
We filled 4 tables at the Technology Day Luncheon in the Johnson Athletics Center (see photo album) where retiring President of the Alumni Association, Hong Kong-based Martin Tang '72 (a third-generation alumnus), turned the gavel over to his successor, Dr. Harbo Jensen G'74, and introduced the two newly elected Honorary Members of the Alumni Association - Institute Corporation Members and benefactors, Desh Deshpande (Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation) and Barrie Zesiger (Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center).
Each of the 14 reunion classes was called upon to report the dollar magnitude and percentage participation of its class gift to MIT. Save for the 25th, 40th, and 50th reunions, the reporters were instructed to keep it short - no speeches, just the two numbers, although they were allowed to add the words "record-breaking" before either number, if that were so.
Our Reunion Gift Chairman, Harl Aldrich, distinguished himself and the class. He reported a total (now as of June 21st) of $3,584,567 and a record-breaking participation of 82% (rounded up from 81.6%, but what the hell). We can be proud. For your interest, the gift is the total of all the individual gifts given in the five years following our last reunion up to June 30th this year. Indeed in the nine days yet to count, the gift may continue to grow. So, to paraphrase George M. Cohan, the Institute thanks you, the Alumni Association thanks you, the Class thanks you, Harl and the Reunion Gift Committee thank you, Ken Marshall, our Class Agent thanks you, and I thank you.
That afternoon the day had turned misty and drizzly. The 26 of us who had registered for Stockbridge set off by car for the two-hour drive to the Berkshires with a touch of foreboding as to the weather to come during our three-day stay at the Red Lion Inn. Even so, we arrived in good time to check in, refresh ourselves, and gather for a glass of wine before enjoying a buffet dinner with a Caribbean flare.
July 2007 Message from Our Class President -- Our 60th Reunion in 2007 (Part 4)
The Inn itself was built in 1773, but has, of course, expanded extensively. It's now a four-story structure that takes the better part of a city block. It has a pre-1950 feel to it; an ancient, agonizingly slow, iron-cage elevator in the front that must be operated by hotel staff; the long halls decorated with movie posters from the '30s and '40s; creaky wooden floors; novels of the period gracing small tables in most rooms; all of which create a charming ambience which, together with fully appointed modern amenities, make it a first-class experience. The experience is only complete, however, if you sit on a rocking chair on the long front porch and watch the world go by.
The weather improved each day, and by Monday it was sunshine perfect. With two days in hand we broke up to the various attractions within the Red Lion's orbit. Nearest are the Norman Rockwell Museum which not only houses most of Norman Rockwell's work, including all his Saturday Evening Post covers, but also features changing exhibits of other well-known illustrators.
A couple of miles away in Great Barrington is Chesterwood, the studio and summer home of Daniel Chester French 1871, Course IV, sculptor of, among other well-known works, Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial, and the Concord Minuteman. It also features changing exhibits of outdoor art.
Also nearby in Stockbridge is Naumkeag, the summer cottage of the prominent New York lawyer, writer, and orator, and McKinley's Ambassador to Great Britain, Joseph Hodges Choate and his family. Now owned by the Massachusetts Trust for Reservations, its landscaped gardens are alone worth a visit and the guided tour of the three-story, 14-bedroom house -- a fascinating window of moneyed life at the turn of the last century. Some also visited Herman Melville's home Arrowhead. All of this was a full day's adventure.
A visit up north was also a whole-day reward. North Adams is home to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, housed in what was a textile mill and later home to Sprague Electrical Company (Robert C. Sprague '23). It's rambling complex of huge exhibition halls accommodate huge and sometimes grotesque works of art. Next door, in Williamstown is the Williams College of Art Museum which had a Warhol retrospective, closing the day of our visit, and the Clark Museum, judged to be the finest small museum of art in the country.
Sunday night we dined in small groups at several of the local restaurants, and the general report was that each was of high standard. At our farewell dinner at the Inn on Monday night we had dwindled to 20 as three couples had to leave early.
As we parted at breakfast on Tuesday, several people suggested that we not wait till our 65th to get together again, rather that we should have a mini-reunion sooner. The current fad among the newer classes is a pi reunion (3.1419 years). We could go them one better and have an e reunion (2.71828 years.) Oh, the MIT culture!! Whether it's e or pi or some other, rounder, number, what do you think? Perhaps a threeý day week end in early autumn, in or near Cambridge with a dash of MIT but mostly enough time to enjoy the rich history and culture of the Boston metropolitan area, and most of all to enjoy each other's company. Let us know what you think - when, where, and what to do. Your permanent Reunion Committee is ready to start planning now! Well, almost.
As Garrison Keillor is fond of saying: Keep well, do good work, and stay in touch!
Warmest Regards,
Claude Brenner
Our Class Web Site
We hope to embellish this modest start with lots of news, views, and photos as we move on from our 60th reunion, and hope you will assist us with your contributions and suggestions directed to me, your classmate and "Class Webmaster", Fred Ehrich (ffe@alum.mit.edu; 781-631-1600; 58 Beacon Street, Marblehead, MA 01945). We look forward to hearing from you.
