TECHNOLOGY REVIEW CLASS OF 1963 NOTES JULY/AUGUST, 1998 ISSUE
(Sent March 30, 1998)
*John R. Brach, I, received the Engineer
of the Year in Industry award February 21. He was elected by his peers
in Atlanta where he worked for the Transit Authority (MARTA)for the last
23 years until his recent retirement. For the past 11 years he was its
Director of Engineering and managed the design of a $500 million expansion
for the rail system. John has been active with the Society of Military
Engineers and also is a volunteer with the Habitat for Humanity program.
He, his wife, and their three children live in Dunwoody, Georgia.
*Harry C. Koons, VIII, was named a
Distinguished Scientist at the Aerospace Corporation. After taking his
Ph.D. in geophysics at Tech, he joined Aerospace in 1968 and is currently
in their Space and Environment Technology Center. Harry was principal investigator
on the highly successful Spacecraft Charging at High Altitudes satellite
project and on Aerospace's proposal to supply a full satellite and sensor
system for NASA's Mission to Planet Earth program. His contributions to
Air Force and classified national space programs have been far ranging
and he has published more than 80 articles. He has also developed audio
analysis techniques that hold promise for law enforcement agencies. Harry
now lives in Harbor City, California.
One day after the deadline for the last issue,
I received information from Tech about the doings of *ElliottBird,
XXB, and *Kenneth Weyler, X, so with a four month publication lag
and having missed the last issue, I hope the two of you will understand
why this info, although no less important, is a little cold. But probably
not as cold as Elliott said he expected it to be when he was going to London
for Xmas (hey, I said this was old). He says he is on sabbatical this year
and would probably get more work done if he didn't spend as much time surfing
the net, but he hopes to have solved this problem by the time he reads
this issue. Kenneth wrote that he was commissioned in the Air Force the
day before graduation. He went to Pilot Training, served six years active
duty, 24 years in the reserves, and then retired with the rank of Colonel.
He joined American Airlines in 1969 and is now a Captain with them, flying
out of Boston. He and his family live in New Hampshire where he serves
as a state legislator.
More recently, *Dr. Meyer Lifschitz,
XV, wrote that he has been living in San Antonio, Texas for the last 25
years where he is presently Professor of Medicine at UTHSCSA (sic) (and
we all know what that is - okay, who guessed University of Texas Health
Sciences Center at San Antonio). He also serves as Associate Chief of Staff
for Research at the V.A. Meyer and Liz, his wife of 28 years, have three
sons, Moshe, Joshua, and Benjamin, all studying at Yeshivas. The two oldest
are married and live in Israel. There are three grandchildren "to date"...*David
Johnson, VI, says he and his best friend, Lyla, were married in 1960
(want to take a guess at summer between freshman and sophomore years?),
have four children, five grandchildren "and holding." He made it through
two major surgeries in '97 necessitated by a hole in his colon. He founded
his own headhunting business in '95 and is now building clientele with
BankBoston Merchant Services. He is getting serious about moving back south
when Lyla is ready to stop running a program in New Haven to recruit, train,
and match volunteer mentors to help young mothers and their babies. He
misses *Al Ramo, XII, but talks to Al's widow regularly...*Ruth
Nelson, XVIII, wrote that she is still trying to find out whether she
is retired. She has lots of projects and lots of meditation retreats. Ruth
says she can't seem to leave technical work behind and doesn't want to,
so she is engaged in lots of paper writing. She's also debating this year
between two possible Earthwatch trips to China (one to Yunnan, one to Inner
Mongolia) and another to Siberia.
The 1997-98 recipients of funds from the Class
of 1963 Scholarship Fund have been named. Michael Evans is a junior from
Marietta, Georgia majoring in EE and computer science. He is planning to
earn an S.B. and S.M. simultaneously. Elizabeth Choe is a junior from Fresh
Meadows, New York. Her major is chemistry and she has held a UROP at Harvard
Med. She intends to work in medicine as a physician or researcher. Krzystof
Rybak, another chemistry major, is originally from Poland and now lives
in Racine, Wisconsin. He plans a career in chemistry or chemical engineering.
His UROP involves translating the Polish poems of Szymborska.
Since I anticipate the next column, my last,
will be filled with news of classmates attending our reunion, I would like
to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have written and shared
with us the news about your professional accomplishments and personal lives;
in fact, the most pride seems to have been about the accomplishments of
our children. Whatever the endeavor, our class has proven to be leaders
who, at the same time, are just plain folks. We have made major contributions
to science, service, and industry, sometimes giving birth to businesses
and corporations in fields that didn't exist when we graduated. Where we
have gone and what we have done rivals any group anywhere. While most continue
their work, some have already retired, and, unfortunately, for some the
path has already ended. A theme woven through this column has always proven
to be one of growth and renewal, forces in each of us, products of "Mens
et Manus," mind and hand, nourished and encouraged by our experience at
the Institute. Long live the Class of '63 and may those forces remain with
you. It has been a privilege and honor to serve you these past five years.
By the time you read this, our 35th reunion
will be past and we'll be heading towards our 40th in '03. (Although IBM's
Deep Blue could beat world chess champion Garry Kasparov, could it figure
out that our next reunion is not in the early 1900's?). We will already
have a new class secretary, but until he or she actually gets to write
a column, probably the November/December issue, you won't know to whom
to send alumnews; therefore, try to get it to Tech by the first of the
month. I will forward to our new secretary anything you send me. You can
reach me by snail mail: Shoel M. Cohen, Ph.D., Dept. of Psychology, Nassau
Community College, Garden City, NY 11530 or e-mail: 71271.2627@compuserve.com.
You can also call me at home at (516) 286-6453. It would be great to talk
to you personally.