MIT Class of 1962

Class Notes for March/April, 1999 Issue of Technology Review

We lead off this column with some news from Sandy and Ollie Smoot - Daughter Sherry is now in her second year at the MIT Sloan School. Technique at Sloan seems to be similar to the undergraduate program - testing the ability to drink from a fire hose of information! - Sloan does, however, seek to separate itself from the rest of the Institute by referring to courses by names rather than numbers - Ollie reports that his daughter has found Sloan useful in getting taken out to dinner five nights a week - leading to even more of a crunch for studying! Son Stephen (Course VI, 1990) is in the process of completing his PhD dissertation in computer science at U-Cal Berkeley. He is improving MPEG2 encoding. Steve already works for a start-up, Imedia in San Francisco that was founded by three MIT grads. Their products use statistical multiplexing and MPEG for cable networks. Ollie was elected a vice chairman of the American National Standards Institute in 1998, and also chairman of their National Issues Committee which deals with domestic standards policy issues. He notes "It's ironic that in an industry where the word "standard" has come to have no meaning in the trade press, really useable, globally accepted standards have become more important for everything from HD TV to electronic commerce."

Concordia Chen sends greetings from Guangzhou, China. I've asked her to provide us with some observations from the other side of the globe - I'm still waiting for more details and will report when Connie gets back to me! Her e-mail address is connie.chen@usa.net if our classmates might wish to send personal greetings.

Tom Sheahen reports from Gaithersburg, MD that as of January, 1999, he has completed 40 years as an ice hockey referee. Tom is still going strong, with skates, legs and hearing intact, and eyesight not significantly worse than his MIT days.

Received an announcement from the MIT Alumni/ae Office that Richard A. Robnett passed away in June, 1998. Any classmates with further information, please let me know so that I can put it in some future Class Notes Column. The same goes for Clifford A. Phillips who apparently died on October 15, 1996 - we don't have further details but would appreciate more information if someone will send it to us. We did pass on the sad news about Richard A. Crowell who died of cancer at his home in Winchester, MA, in August, 1998. If you missed it check the 1962 Class Notes archives on our web site (see URL below).

On a happier note, Steven J. Brams is a Visiting Scholar at the Russelll Sage Foundation in New York City for 1998-99, on leave from New York University. Steve's book with Alan Taylor, The Win/Win Solution: Guaranteeing Fair Shares for Everybody, will be published by W. W. Norton in June, 1999.

Andre V. Marrou is now Regional Manager for a major investment management firm. Andre has been Libertarian nominee for President in 1992, on the ballot in all 50 States, Libertarian nominee for VP in 1988, campaigned in all 50 States, and elected as Libertarian to the Alaska House of Representatives in 1984 - the third Libertarian legislator ever in the USA. Perhaps Andre should try running for office in Minnesota - I understand the new governor there is also a Libertarian that ran on Ross Perot's Reform Party ticket. But then perhaps Andre has not had the experience of stomping on his opponent's head on the professional wrestling circuit - who said the Lutherans in Minnesota don't have a sense of humor? They certainly have an appetite for political change in the Land of Lake Woebegone!

Xavier Simon recently left the World Bank to dedicate himself fully to research in international management, consulting, teaching, and having fun with art glass! His daughter Valerie recently made him a grandfather. Daughter Michele was married in September and his son, Xavier continues work on the X-33 at Lockheed Martin's Skunkworks. If classmates are in the Washington, DC, area he asks that you call him at 703-356-6423. He can also be reached at: xsimon@worldbank.org

Jeremy R. Goldberg reports on the joys of being retired - getting to sleep enough, smell the roses, and feeling better without the pressures of the old job. MIT Spectrum, Fall, 1998, also deals with the subject of "integrating leisure into life." Jeremy points out that the article has some good suggestions on maintaining a healthy balance between work and leisure. He is using his computer skills to assist non-profit organizations that can benefit from his talents and professional experiences - a win-win situation! Jeremy's son, Eliot, was married on November 14, 1998. While Eliot is not a technologist, he is marrying a civil engineer, Traci. Jeremy says that if you can't raise a technologist it's nice to bring one into the family. Daughter Devra received her MBA from the MIT Sloan School in June, 1998 and has a new apartment in Boston's North End. Devra finds Boston a highly desirable place to live, even after school. Her specialty is country-wide information technology consulting and she travels frequently from Boston's Logan Airport on her professional assignments.

Don Horner has retired to Mesa, AZ, since June, 1997. He attended a meeting in Scottsdale with a few other MIT alums and they plan to start up (again) an MIT Club in Phoenix. Don's not sure there are any other "62'ers" in the area, but would like to find out. He can be reached via e-mail at: bigpook@uswest.net

To contact our Secretary