This month I have two "class heroes" who sent E-mails. My other sources include one alumni fund note, some information from our Class President, and a bit of personal detective work. Our first class hero is Groves Herrick, who opened his note by saying that his communication was probably not worth a news item in Tech Review. Well, all of you should know better by now. All of our exploits are newsworthy! In a 1997 TR column it was mentioned that Groves was working on an M.Sc. degree in the History of Technology at the University of London. This was completed in November 1998, and affixed to Groves’ diploma was the impressive honorific "DIC". Although I was entreated not to tell, I’m passing along the secret. DIC simply means "Diploma of Imperial College" and every graduate gets one. Groves’ dissertation got him back to his aeronautical engineering roots, via the conceptual design history of the Bristol Brabazon airliner and early transatlantic air services. The most interesting part of his studies, though, was dorm life in London with 60 young Asian and African students -- the cultural and generational shocks were both enjoyable and educational. Back at home Groves is the Chair of the Engineering Department at the Maine Maritime Academy. He said he is working on the ABET accreditation reports in Marine Systems Engineering and Power Engineering Technology. Groves is cheered by the fact that, as of his writing, he has worked at the Academy for 25 years, 4 months, and 11 days (but who’s counting), and that he can retire at any time after 25 years. He said the image of "having the quiet confidence of a Christian with four aces" floats in front of his face every time he meets with his Dean.
Our second class hero is Bruce Eisenstein, who wrote to tell us that he won the IEEE election and this year is president-elect of the largest engineering organization in the world. Bruce will be the millennium president in the year 2000. Congratulations Bruce! Actually I knew that already, and I mentioned it in the May/June Class notes. Because of the long delay between submitting these columns and publication your E-mail arrived after I submitted the column, but before it was published. But write anyway -- I like getting mail. Bruce says the best part of the job is traveling all over the world visiting IEEE sections and conferences, meeting and speaking to other engineers. The worst part of the job is traveling all over the world visiting IEEE sections and conferences and not being able to get any work done at Drexel, where he is Arthur J. Rowland Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. Bruce’s wife, Toby, is the co-director of a center for research on substance abuse. She studies the effects of drugs like heroin on the immune system (it seems to suppress immunity.) The Eisenstein’s oldest son, Eric, is in a Ph.D. program at Wharton, and middle son Andrew is married and continues to prosper running his own business as a general contractor and construction manager. Youngest child, Lana, will graduate from Harvard with a major in Applied Math and History of Science. (Where did I fail? asks Bruce. You have my sympathies. My younger daughter Laura also graduated from that other school in Cambridge with a degree in Applied Math, and even my older daughter, Amy, after four years at the Institute, migrated up Mass Ave to get a Ph.D. in Economics there.)
We got a note from Jeff Levinger, via an Alumni Fund envelope flap. Jeff is building Help systems for software and other companies, composing for the piano, and doing Aikido when he can. An eclectic mix, to be sure. Our Class President, Larry Krakauer, passed along a letter from students who are supported by our Class of 1963 Scholarship Fund. Krystof Ryback, MIT Class of 2000 wrote to "... express [his] sincere gratitude and appreciation to the members of the Class of 1963 for their generosity.
I realize that while MIT guarantees financial aid to every student in need, this guarantee would not be possible in the first place without such significant and meaningful support by the Institute’s alumni and alumnae. Thanks to the financial assistance I can not only attend the Institute, but gain valuable experiences that MIT cannot provide, such as study abroad. I am currently on a junior year abroad in Spain, learning Spanish, which will hopefully prove useful when I graduate from the Institute. But before then I have three semesters to complete at MIT. I really appreciate the fact that people like you make it possible for me to continue at MIT. Thank you very much!" Well, this is where some of our alumni fund dollars go. Sounds like a good investment to me, and I like the notion of a connection between the Class of 63 and the Class of 2000. When my daughter, Amy, Class of 87 was at MIT, part of our financial aide package came from the Class of 1950 loan fund. Another connection. Strings through time, connecting present and past generations at the Institute.
And finally that bit of detective work I mentioned at the top of the column. Well, it wasn’t really detective work, just a chance to see a classmate I hadn’t seen in many years. My wife, Barbara, who works at UC Irvine, brought me home a brochure touting a seminar at UCI called "UCI Think 1999". The subject was "Hard Choices: Housing and Community Through 2020" and one of the featured panelists was Steve Levy. Steve is the Director and Senior Economist of the Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy (CCSCE) in Palo Alto. CCSCE is a private research organization Steve founded in 1969 to provide and independent assessment of economic and demographic trends in California. Steve’s presentation was the best of the half dozen panelists. Before the seminar Barbara and I got to visit a bit with Steve. He told us his daughter, Becky, now 19 has just started college, and his son David, 16, is a hotshot baseball player. David is a catcher on his high school team. Steve also told us he sees another Class of ‘63 economist, Frank Levy, from time to time. Frank is a professor of economics at MIT, and is involved with (among other things) helping school districts re-energize their programs using parent involvement.
By the time this appears in print you will have all seen my poetic challenge which appeared in the July/August issue of TR, and I will be deluged with mail, E-mail, and phone calls, some of which will be in rhyme. Beware -- you’ll see the responses here. Best regards to you all. You can reach me at: Mike Bertin, 22 Gillman St, Irvine, CA 92612. E-mail: MCB1@aol.com. If you want to schmooze, call me at (949) 786-9450.