January 1997
John A. Morefield, Jr., in recognition of distinguished service to the Institute and its Association of Alumni and Alumnae, was awarded the Bronze Beaver Award, which is the highest honor the Association can bestow on any of its members. Fewer than 250 alumni have been recognized with the Bronze Beaver. John received the honor at the Alumni/ae Leadership Conference at MIT on September 21. Listed as some of his accomplishments were serving as an Educational Counselor for almost 40 years, the Chairman of the 40th reunion gift committee, soliciting for the 35th reunion gift, serving MIT extensively through the MIT Corporation on a variety of visiting committees, the Development Committee, and the Steering Committee. John was honored for a lifetime of leadership and service to the Institute.
Paul Brown took early retirement from MIT last April where he was Director of Advanced Study Programs with the Center for Advanced educational Services (CAES). CAES was the Center for Advanced Engineering Study until a year ago when it was reorganized with broader responsibilities including distance learning and multi media educational programs.During 32 years with CAES Paul worked with participants from 76 countries, including visits to 35 of them.Paul and Sallie have 4 children and now live in Arizona where he is Senior Advisor to the President of KinetX, Inc. and Director of Customer Relations. KintX is a small company that does research, development and consulting in the areas of satellite technologies (ground station design, telemetry, tracking and control, orbit analysis, systems planning, software integration and testing, and software engineering) and non-space applications of these technologies, including the development of software and hardware products.
Chuck Dietrich was at the Alumni/ae Leadership Conference. He retired from Bolt, Beranek & Newman, Inc. after 28 yearsand lives with his wife Lyn in Belmont, MA. Chuck has a consulting business, The Dietrich Group, Inc., in Waltham, MA. Their son Charles is a senior at Cornell majoring in Plant Biotechnology.
Bruce Wedlock in Winchester, MA has retired after 24 years as Director of the Lowell Institute School. He plans to continue teaching in EE&CS, writing one last textbook in introductory electrical engineering.
I regret to report that Richard A. Miller of Midlothian, VA died November 11, 1994. He is survived by his wife Ann Miller.
February/March 1997
Richard Mateles has a consulting company, the Candida Corporation in Chicago. He made a presentation on recombinant DNA technology and foods at the Institute of Food Technology meeting in late June in New Orleans. Then in August he and wife went to Australia where, aside from touring and visiting with friends, he attended the International Biotechnology Symposium in Sydney. His observations were that Sydney and Melbourne are attractive, modern cities. Melbourne has preserved much of its victorian architecture, while Sydney is very modern appearing with many towns located around the huge, lovely harbor. Richard then proceeded to Zermatt, Switzerland where he gave a presentation on Fermentation at another biotechnology conference. Next on his trip was Israel to visit his two daughters and their families including four grandchildren.
I regret to report that George H. Brattin passed away August 9. His sister J. Rohnstock informed me in September.
July 1997
Fred Bialek reports that though he is semi-retired, he sits on three boards of directors in Silicon Valley, one public and two private companies. He is also consulting part time on mergers and acquisitions. His leisure time is spent playing soccer and reading.
Peter Bulkeley is Professor of Manufacturing Engineering of the Production Technology Collaboration at Boston University. This is a research project "to create outstanding tooling very cheaply and very inexpensively." Despite cheaper labor overseas, companies here could gain an advantage in manufacturing if retooling were faster and time to bring a product to market could be shortened. The Production Technology Collaboration opened in February 1996 in the heart of the BU campus and has a vast array of up-to-the-minute manufacturing tools and computer technology. In addition, new technologies are available on site for testing in real factory situations and allowing students and professors to work with industry on problem solving. As an example of the equipment available, there is an SLA-500 stereolithography machine which can make rapid prototype parts from CAD models.Companies such as Silicon Graphics have provided equipment and engineers to work with the researchers at the facility.Peter and his wife Karen have three sons and it is evident that Peter enjoys his work and hopes to make a significant contribution to the growth of domestic manufacturing.
Paul Levine is interested in the stock market and has a novel approach to technical analysis which is documented in 18 articles on the internet at http://www.thegroup.net/invest/ichome.html
Oscar Manley is planning to retire from 27 years in Government service in engineering research and seek another career.
Hermann Walter retired from Skidmore College last June and was recently elected President-Elect of the American Chemical Society.
James Wilson, a resident of Chapell Hill, N.C. and professor at Duke University has been named a Fellow of ASME International. James earned his Doctoral Degree from Ohio State University. He is also a member of the American Academy of Mechanics.
Lloyd Beckett was recently informed by Terri Flannery, the Coordinator of Class Programs at the Alumni/ae Office, of the recipients of funding of the 1956 Scholarship Fund for 1996-97. The three students are as follows:
Jin Kim from Columbia, MD is a sophomore majoring in Chemistry. She plans to earn an MD and Ph.D and go into medical research. Last summer she worked as a researcher for NIH in Bethesda, MD.
Leandro Burnes is from NYC and is a junior majoring in management. He is planning on a career in international business. He lived in Rosario Argentina until the age of eleven, worked at Reuters (in Tokyo), and the Kumamoto Institute for Computer Software, Inc (Kumamoto Prefecture) and spent a summer in Kenya assisting in data entry for a summer excavation program.
Mathew Graham is a junior with a major in physics. He is from Annville, PA and plans a career in business. Mathew works in several offices on campus including admissions.
Nicolas J. Biwer died on October 30, 1996 at his home in Doha, Qatar, Arabian Gulf. Nick was originally from Luxembourg and after a tour with Stone & Webster he founded an engineering and contracting company in Luxembourg. He earned a reputation for taking on complicated projects and two weeks before his death a Luxembourg radio station mentioned one of his projects, executed 25 years ago, in a program called "Highlights of Luxembourg."After the mid-seventies Nick moved to the Middle East where he was the Managing Director of AMCON LTD in Doha, Qatar for over 20 years. AMCON LTD is known for their civil, industrial and marine construction projects and Nick became known in Engineering and Contracting circles in Qatar as the "Consultant of Consultants." His son Paul informed me of the passing of his father and forwarded the information on his father's career.
Frank R. Swanson died April 17, 1996. He was a Senior Research Scientist at Northrop Grumman in Bethpage, NY. He is survived by his wife Patricia.
Richard Yaple passed away November 11, 1996. He was an Analyst Programmer at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. He is survived by his wife Dianne.
August/September 1997
Ted and Diane Korelitz hosted a special luncheon at MIT Building 7 on May 2 to meet the Class of 1956 Scholars and Professor James E. Buzard, Associate Professor of Literature Class of 1956 Career Development Professor. Our Class proudly supports three talented students, Ms. Jin Kim '99, Mr. Leandro Burnes '98 and Mr. Matthew Graham '98.
Jin Kim is a Chemistry major planning to go into medical research. L. Burns is majoring in Management with interest in international business. M. Graham is a Physics major with business interests.
Our Class also supports the work of Associate professor of Literature, James Buzard, author of The Beaten Track: European Tourism, Literature, And The Ways To "Culture," 1800-1918 as well as scholarly articles on 19th and 20th century British literature and culture. Professor Buzard is currently working on a book called Anywhere's Nowhere: Fictions of Auto-Ethnography in the United Kingdom. For the academic year 1997/98 he will be a Fellow at the National Humanities Center in Research Triangle, NC.
Classmates who attended the luncheon are as follows: Lloyd Beckett, Jr., Walter and Beryl Frey, Margolia Gilson, Theodore and Diane Korelitz, Klaus and Brigitte Kubierschky, Robert Malster, Ronald and Lorraine Massa, Arnold Schindler.
In April Lloyd and Ruth Beckett suffered the loss of their young daughter Ruth who died in the Maine Medical Center on April 6. Ruth had visited with her parents at the Reunion in Maine last year and had met many of our classmates.The funeral was held at St. Brigid's Church in Lexington, MA and the memorial service was held in the shelter at Fort Williams, Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
October 1997
I enjoyed Technology Day on June 6, 1997 with Terrance Carney, William Northfield, Wendyl Reis, Nelo Sekler, Rolf Wetzell and Dexter Wheeler.
Bruce Bredehoft sent me a note from Valrico, Florida about Philip Bryden who passed away October 1996. Philip had been co-secretary of our Class in the early years (1959-60) while he was getting his Doctorate in psychology in Montreal and spent most of his life in Waterloo, ON, Canada.
I am enjoying my first grandchild, Sarah Brecher, who is eight months. My daughter Laura and her husband Ethan live in NY and Marcia and I do a lot of visiting.
January/February 1998
Philip Schaffer continues to do consulting work part time in Lexington, MA. He has also been travelling and enjoying the outdoors.
This spring Ted and Dianne Korelitz visited Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. My wife Marcia and I (Ralph Kohl) also made the trip this past summer and continued on up to Whistler Mountain just north of Vancouver. The view from the top of Whistler is indeed breathtaking.
July/August 1998
William R. Dickson, Senior Vice President of MIT since 1982, retired on June 30 after a 43 year association with MIT, starting from his freshman year. President Charles Vest paid the following tribute to Bill: "One cannot overstate the quality and importance of Bill Dickson's service to MIT.
His down-to-earth style, decisiveness, concern for people, and broadly integrated view of MIT and its operations are valued in all corners of the Institute. Bill is a continual source of common sense, sound professional knowledge and invaluable advice. He has led the evolution of our campus and its buildings for many years. Like MIT itself, he is unique and very effective in what he does."
Bill's career began as a staff engineer for two years at Lincoln Laboratory and seven years at Avco Corp. as an associate scientist working on the advanced projects research staff. From 1956-65 he served in the US Army Reserve, attaining the rank of Captain and receiving the Medal for Excellence of the American Society of Military Engineers. In 1960 he returned to MIT as an assistant to the director of MIT Physical Plant and became Director of Physical Plant in 1971. He was named Vice President of Operations in 1980 and became a Senior Vice President in 1982. As Senior Vice President he became a key decision maker on construction and renovation projects, reengineering, the administrative budget and a wide range of the operations involved in running a university community of approximately 20,000 people. Reporting to him included the following: Physical Plant, Planning Office, Management Reporting, Insurance and Legal affairs, Purchasing, Campus Police, the Safety Office, The Copy Technology Centers, Audio Visual Services and Endicott House.
In addition to his MIT duties, Bill has served as the elected Commissioner of Public Works in Framingham, Chairman of the Harvard Cooperative Society, Chairman of the Board of Building
Examiners in the City of Cambridge, a member of the Board of Phoenix Controls Corp., Chairman of Framingham Union Hospital and a key contributor to the 1992 merger with Leonard Morse Hospital creating the MetroWest Medical Center which he subsequently chaired. We wish him well in his retirement.
Ted Korelitz is in the process of setting up a Class of 1956 Web site and would like to hear fromthose who would like to update it as webmaster. Send your inquires to this writer.
Our Class Agent, Walter Frey recommends that donations made to MIT be designated to the Class of 1956 Scholarship Fund.
Oscar P. Manley retired as the Head of the Engineering Research Program at the Department of Energy after 18 years in that position. His research activities have turned to climate orientated problems. A recent paper he coauthored on the "Dimension of the Atmospheric Attractor" appeared in "Atmospheric Science." Oscar now has a visiting appointment in the Math Department at Indiana University.
Kendall B. Randolph built a log house on 33 acres of Purcell's Knob in the Blue Ridge Mountains five years ago. His office looks out on the beautiful Lowdown Valley. His latest project involves a high temperature process to recover platinum, palladium and rhodium from spent catalyst. Kendall has enjoyed his career in chemical engineering.
The three recipients from the Class of 1956 Scholarship Fund have been renewed from last year.
Jin Kim '99, a Chemistry major from Columbia, MD is enrolled in a UROP with the Harvard/MIT Health, Science and Technology Division. She is active in MEDLinks, a group of students who act as peer advisors to other students on medical questions and problems. She is a member of the Alpha Phi sorority and sings in "Muses' (a cappella group).
Leandro Burnes '98, a Management major from NYC, has interests in the Japanese language, the Internet and multimedia, and is interested in an MBA and a career in international business or Internet consulting.
Matthew Graham '98, a Physics major from Annville, PA, is enrolled in a UROP with MIT Sea Grant and is involved in the design and construction of an autonomous boat for tracking fish. He is interested in an MS degree and working in engineering research and development.
I regret to inform you that Thomas P. Cain of West Hartford, CT died April 29, 1997. He was self employed as the President of Cain Analytic. He served in the Air Force during the Korean War. He is survived by his wife, Patricia; son, Sean of San Pedro, CA; a daughter, Mary Colleen Chipper, Chesapeake, VA; brother, Richard; a sister, Margaret Aylward; four grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
Murray Gerber was honored with the University of New Haven Distinguished Alumni Award at their 15th Annual alumni Scholarship Ball in April. Murray founded the Prototype & Plastic Mold Co. in Middletown, CT. The company is one of Connecticut's leading manufacturers in the plastics industry and is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Murray earned his EMBA from the University of New Haven in 1979 and serves as a vice chair of the University Board of Governors. He also serves as a director of the Connecticut State Technical College System as well as having chaired a number of statewide business organizations such as the Connecticut Business and Industry Association and the Connecticut Public Expenditure Council.
Murray is an avid golfer, bridge palyer and photographer. He is also an amateur oenologist, a collector of rare and unusual wines from around the world. He is married to Shirley, a school psychologist. They have a son, James, who also earned his EMBA from UNH.
Dr. John E. Sirmalis, Technical Director and current Acting Commander of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC), Newport, R.I. has been selected to receive the Governments Distinguished Executive Award. The award was presented May 5 by Vice Presiden Al Gore at ceremonies held in Constitution Hall, Washington, DC.
The Presidential Rank of Distinguished Executive is presented to career Senior Executive Service (SES) employees whose performance has been deemed exceptional by a panel composed of leading individuals from within and outside the Goverment. Less than one percent of SES employees receive this award each year.
As NUWC's Technical Director, Dr. Sirmalis is responsible for the research efforts of the U.S. Navy's only full-spectrum undersea warfare systems research, development, test and evaluation organization. His leadership responsibilities entail both current and future undersea warfare capabilities of the Navy, directly affecting the nation's defense posture. He is responsible for the planning and execution of technical programs that involve some 4,600 civilian employees and an $850 million budget. NUWC is composed of two major divisions, one at Newport, R.I. and the other at Keyport, WA with five detachments geographically spread over the continent.
Other major recognition awarded Dr. Sirmalis recently has included the 1998 Federal Executive Institute Alumni Association's "Executive of the Year" award; 1997 National Defense Industrial Association "Bushnell Award"; 1996 Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award; the 1995 Vice Admiral Charles Martel award from the National Security Industrial association; and Presidential Rank Awards in 1993 and 1994.
Harris Weinstein reports that his daughter Teme has two sons and practices law in Chicago. His sons are in the television industry, Josh is a producer and Jacob a writer who has received his second Emmy Award for writing and producing of Fox's "The Simpsons."