One of the pleasures of being class secretary is receiving personal notes (electronic or otherwise) from you. This month I had a newsy E-mail from Jack Solomon with all sorts of family information. Jack writes that his eldest daughter, Sheri, lives in Santa Barbara and has a son, Jason, aged 13. Jason competed last summer in the national track championships in the 100 and 200 meters and in the hurdles. Jack’s middle daughter Lysa is getting her master’s degree in anticipation of teaching. Lysa is working at the Bruce Museum in nearby Greenwich, CT. And youngest daughter Susan is at the University of Wisconsin. Jack’s wife Jan retired from teaching and is in a Ph.D. program in physiology at Columbia University. And what about Jack himself? Well, Jack is still at Praxair, doing technology planning. Praxair is a spin-off from Union Carbide, a spin-off that he says has worked well for all concerned. Currently Jack is studying the implications of global warming on new applications for oxygen. One of his extracurricular interests is the study of the paleoclimate -- climate throughout the history of the earth. And I learned from Jack’s message the interesting fact that during most of earth’s history there were no glaciers on earth. Our present polar ice caps are the exception, not the rule.
Other news came from Barbara Thompson, who reported that she retired from GTE Laboratories as of last September. And Roger Hinrichs wrote that he is beginning his second term as chair of the Physics Department at SUNY Oswego. This past spring Roger was visiting MIT and was pleased to note that his book "Energy: Its Use and the Environment" was being used in a course at the Institute.
That’s it for this month’s short column. Previous entreaties for information have produced limited results, so this month I’ll try rhyme. I challenge you to send me information about yourself in rhyme as well. (Non-rhyming responses are welcome too.) So here’s my challenge -- with apologies to Dr. Seuss.
Send me some mail, or write some detail
Don’t make me wail, or make up a tale.
I don’t like to snivel, I don’t like to entreat
I don’t like to write drivel, or submit a blank sheet.
Electronic or paper, each type is good
You can if you want to, you know that you could.
So give me some clues, with facts or your views
In this column they’ll go, and we’ll have some class news.
Best regards to you all. You can E-mail or call.
Mike Bertin, 22 Gillman St, Irvine, CA 92612. E-mail: MCB1@aol.com. Telephone: (949) 786-9450.