July/Aug 2000

I’m still doling out news I received over the last few months. Remarkably I have enough for this column and the next. The Class of 1963 has gotten so communicative, I’m overwhelmed. But don’t stop now. Keep those cards and letters comin’ in.

In news gleaned from Alumni Fund envelope flaps, Cynthia Kolb Whitney writes that she is the editor and publisher of Galilean Electrodynamics, a dissident physics journal established in 1990 and published continuously since then. I looked up the journal’s web site. Galilean Electrodynamics aims to publish high-quality scientific papers that discuss challenges to accepted orthodoxy in physics, especially in the realm of relativity theory and in potential application areas, from quantum mechanics to cosmology. [They] are interested in challenges to the accepted Copenhagen interpretation for the predictions of quantum mechanics and to the accepted big-bang theory for the origin of the universe. Former class secretary Phil Marcus informs us that his consulting practice now focuses on database development in Access and SQL Server. His daughter, Julie, is in the 6^th grade and loves animals and sewing. His son, Gary, MIT Ph.D. ’93, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, is an associate professor of psychology at NYU. The MIT Press recently published Gary’s book The Algebraic Mind. Undoubtedly Gary’s father was a case study for the book. Back on November 1, 1999 when Bruce Eisenstein filled out his note he was about to start his term as President of IEEE for the year 2000. Now his term is half over. His daughter, Lana, graduated from Harvard last year and works at the Congressional Budget Office in Washington. His two sons, Eric and Andrew, live near Bruce and Toby in Philadelphia. An envelope flap from Mike Bertin says he thinks the class secretary is doing a great job. I agree. After 25 years as a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of Virginia, Alan Rogol has become the principal clinical scientist at INSMED Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a startup company with an interest in insulin action with relevance to type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity. Kenneth Klein is currently working at Univision Television Group in Los Angeles and living in Marina Del Rey. He is Assistant Director of Systems, Procedures, Sales and Service, and he is responsible for coordination of systems for Univision’s 15 Spanish Television Stations. Tony Geisler is still peddling raisins (a great high tech job!) and other food ingredients out of his home office in Diablo, CA. His wife, Dee, continues as a resource specialist in the San Ramon Valley School District. The Geislers’ older daughter, Rebecca, MIT ’93, married Paul Engola, MIT ’93, in November 1998. Rebecca is an attorney with the Office of Technology Licensing at Stanford. Paul was with Loral, but is now attending the MBA program at Stanford. Younger daughter Wendy works as a program specialist at the University of New Mexico Medical School. Her husband, Rob Fong, MIT ’92, works for Applied Sciences Labs in Albuquerque, NM. By the time this appears, Wendy and Rob will have made grandparents of Tony and Dee. Congratulations! Tony invites any members of the class of ’63 to visit if they are in the Bay Area. Elenore Kugler, the widow of Alfred Kugler, whose passing I mentioned in the March ’99 issue of Technology Review, wrote that "Al’s year at MIT with the Sloan Fellows was one of the highlights of his career. His family sorely misses him; however, his accomplishments remain in our memories and we are so very proud. We too, benefited from that wonderful year in so many, many ways." Thanks for keeping touch. And Franklin H. Cocks informs us that during September and October of 1999 he was on sabbatical from Duke at the Max Planck Institute for Microstructural Physics in Halle, Germany. Unfortunately he had to return early because of a serious illness in the family. We hope your sick family member made a speedy recovery. We heard by E-mail from John Flaherty. John recently relocated to the Seattle area, taking a position as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Sonus Pharmaceuticals in Bothell, WA. Sonus is a small development company specializing in micro emulsion technology for applications in contrast echocardiography and drug delivery.

We had another letter from one of our Class of 1963 Scholarship recipients, Krzysztof Ryback, who I wrote about in the Sept/Oct 1999 issue. Krzysztof will have just graduated when this letter is printed, and he says, " … I feel very privileged to be only one of two undergraduate students to receive this award. ¶ As you know, MIT is committed to provide financial aid to anyone who needs it, regardless of whether the student in need is a star athlete or a very talented mathematician. … Without your commitment and altruism, many students would not be able to attend MIT. ¶ I am therefore particularly grateful … to the entire class of 1963 for this Scholarship Fund. This is my last year at MIT, and looking back, I realize how valuable your help was. I was able to work toward two degrees – one in chemistry, and one in Spanish language and literature. The quality of my education was unparalleled, and my research experience would not be possible anywhere else. During my sophomore year I worked on a remote sensing technology to monitor chemical species in the atmosphere. This semester I am responsible for a project that aims to develop a new method to detect explosives – something I hope will be used some day in airports to make flying safer. ¶ Once again, as I reflect on my MIT education, I realize it was made possible in a large part by the Class of 1963. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to … all the members of your class. … Thank you very much." Thank you Krzysztof for making the most of your MIT education. We know you will repay us by using that education in the world that you are entering, and by helping to support future generations of MIT students.

Class President Larry Krakauer forwarded a letter from another class of 1963 scholarship recipient. Manuel Martinez ’01 was the 1963 Phi Delta Theta scholarship recipient for 1999-2000. Manuel is a mechanical engineering major with a self-developed concentration in product design. Last fall he worked at Virtual-Ink in Boston as a member of the company’s R&D team, and as an electronics technician, collecting data on the performance of ultrasonic transducers. During the previous year he was a research assistant at MIT’s Lab for Manufacturing and Productivity, machining components, calibrating transducers, and writing test reports. His project aimed at proving the viability of kinematic couplings in specific manufacturing processes. When not working or studying, Manuel dedicates about six hours each week to his fraternity as Steward and Social Chair. And he is a member of the MIT Concert Choir. Sounds like a full plate!

Much more news next issue. 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.