CLASS OF '57 NOTES FOR NOV-DEC 1997 TECH REVIEW

from Alan M. May

Our 40th Reunion was a hoot! Class Co-Presidents *Bill Noz and *Paul Nathan supported by Carolyn Nathan, Sheila Watnick Appell (*Roger Appell's wife) and a large committee had planned a full and varied weekend. On arriving we received the Class of 1957 40th Reunion Yearbook, nostalgically edited by *Julian Cherubini and *Gary Dischel, to which 125 classmates had contributed.

We began Thursday evening with a cocktail reception in the Wiesner Building followed by a buffet dinner. Former MIT President Howard Johnson joined us on the buses and gave a brief history of various Cambridge buildings as we drove to Tech Night at the Pops. As usual Maestro Williams was on the podium and the "cardinal" jacketed alumni were seated front and center. The Class of 57 was seated far forward and to the keyboard side. MIT President Charles Vest was sitting with us,which was the first time that I can recall our class being so honored. One of our classmates allowed that he had tired of sitting in the middle of the hall and had requested the forward position in a footnote to his 40th Reunion gift. A certain mischivousness has always been one of our class virtues and it was duly noted during the singing of "Arise All Ye Of MIT" that a significant portion of our class was busy belting out the politically incorrect traditional wording of the anthem. The highlight of the evening, which brought forth a standing ovation, was when Dean Emily Harris sang highlights from My Fair Lady as a soloist with the Pops. After the concert our class held a relaxed dessert reception in one of the Pops' reception halls.

Friday we scattered to various elective MIT tours, one of the most memorable of which was "The Big Dig," a tour of the gargantuan tunnels being bored underground under downtown Boston to facilitate traffic in the 21st century. Friday evening was our class dinner and dance in Boston's Computer Museum which was attended by about 110 classmates plus a phalanx of spouses, children, dates and significant others. After Bill Noz' welcome we proceeded to the election of Class Officers. Bill and (formerly) Paul have been Co-Presidents for 15 years now and produced three fun-filled reunions for which we are all grateful. Carolyn Nathan reminded us of the good times with Paul. There is a Paul M. Nathan Memorial Scholarship Fund at MIT for those of you who may not be aware

I am pleased to report that *Hank Salzhauer has been elected Class President returning once again to the position Hank held at the time of our 1957 graduation. Class Vice Presidents are *Mike Allik, *Bob Gal and *John Psarouthakis. Class Treasurer is *Ron Keefe while I have been reinstated once again as Class Secretary. John Psarouthakis then reported on the '57 Class 40th Reunion Gift which, due to the exceptional generosity of certain classmates combined with John's leadership, produced the all-time record 40th year gift to MIT: a sum in excess of $25,000,000.

Previously, the largest 40th Reunion Gift to MIT had been just over $6,000,000.

President Vest, who attended our dinner, accepted "with pleasure" the '57 Class Reunion Gift on behalf of MIT and in the process told a memorable joke involving the use of the word "Tcheckoslovakia" - or was it "Czechoslovakia?" Professor Jay Forrestor brought us up to date on how his field has developed over the years and then our keynote speaker Assistant Professor of History and recipient of the Class of 1957 Career Development Professorship, Anne E.C. McCants told us about her specialty: diet and economic status of orphans in 17th century Amsterdam.

Technology Day was Saturday morning after which the Class Photo was taken and about a quarter of our classmates drove up to the Black Point Inn in Maine for two days of lobsterbakes, sports and communing with nature ---*Alan M. May, secretary, 3601 Turtle Creek Blvd., Dallas, TX 75219; (w) tel: 214-746-4677; (h) tel: 214-528-8812; e-mail: alanmmay@aol.com.