MIT Class of 1963, Class
Notes for February 2003 issue of Technology Review
Our class hero this month is *Bob Kurtz*, who called last August to tell me about the Odyssey of the Ring. No, that's not a Tolkien novel; it's the story of his MIT class ring. When Bob was an intern at John's Hopkins Hospital 34 years ago, he left his ring in a scrub shirt and threw the shirt into the laundry. The ring vanished. His parents gave him a replacement as a birthday present and he wore that ring for over 20 years. A few years ago, when he moved to a new house, the "new" ring got lost in the move. In early August last year, the Baltimore police came across an MIT ring in a pawnshop. Class rings of all kinds, it seems, are a frequently pawned item. The police inquired of the MIT alumni association if they had the address of a Robert Kurtz, contacted Bob, and, after 34 years, the wayward ring began the last part of its cycle, back to its original owner. Bob lives in Fieldston, an enclave in Riverdale (which is itself an enclave in the Bronx, NY) and works as a trauma surgeon at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, the largest trauma center in NY State. The Aug. 4 editions of the NY Daily News had a nice article about Bob, called "Healing the City, 1 Trauma at a Time." Bob said it was a bit like reading one's own obituary! When I read the article I learned some things about my idealistic classmate. I knew, for example, that Bob was the surgeon who saved the life of the Central Park Jogger in 1989. But I realized that while Bob could work in any prestigious hospital in New York, he chooses to work in a public hospital. And I learned that Bob was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. I also learned that Bob decided, at age 10, to be a doctor after reading the book "Microbe Hunters" by Paul de Kruif. How many of us read that book? For this classmate, it changed his life. Bob and his wife Ketly Michel, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Cornell Medical Center in NY, have a son, Michael, age 10. Bob has three grown daughters, Holly, 30, recently married, and twins Amy and Elizabeth, 28.
At the Alumni Leadership Conference last September, 1963 was represented by Class President *Larry Krakauer*, Class Treasurer *Steve Bernstein*, Class Webmaster *Ron Young*, *John Flaherty*, *Bob Johnson*, and yours truly. This group included four Boston area residents, and two Californians (Bob and me). Bob gets back to Boston frequently because he served last year as Alumni Association President, and is very active in alumni affairs. I get back to Boston frequently because my daughter, Amy, MIT '87, and her husband Larry Candell, MIT '88, live in Arlington, MA and are the parents of Allison, MIT '2020, and Jeffrey, MIT '2022 (hahaha.) John, who majored in metallurgy at MIT, Course 3B, is Vice President of Medical Affairs for Transkaryotic Therapies, Inc, a biotechnology company in Cambridge. I snuck out of some of the workshops on Saturday, and gave myself a tour of some of the new buildings on campus. I walked over to Simmons hall, the new dorm on Vassar Street. It's an interesting building (that's a word you use when you can't really say something nice, but don't want to say something bad.) Although students were living in the building they were still doing construction on the common areas, and they wouldn't let me walk around. The new Zesiger Sports and Fitness Center sits between the Johnson Athletic Center and the Stratton Student Center. It wasn't open either; this time I didn't ask, I just let myself in and walked around. It is a truly impressive facility, a real plus for the campus. The new pool and workout rooms are the first things that grab your attention, but it has an indoor basketball court, field hockey court, track, squash courts and more. Make sure to take a look when you get back to MIT. After the conference, Larry, Ron and I had dinner with a group of a dozen alums at the University Park Hotel at MIT, representing classes from 1933 to 1983. We'll be having our class dinner at this hotel during our reunion in June. The University Park development is on Mass Avenue about three blocks toward Central Square. If you haven't been back lately Cambridge has changed quite a bit. For example, the Necco factory is now the "Necco Technology Center." Little round sugar wafers are no longer manufactured there (though I'm told the production facility is still in New England); it's now the home to technology start-up companies.
Larry, Steve, John, and I
attended a workshop on planning class reunions. Our gathering will begin on
Friday, June 6. During the day there will be tours of the campus, and there are
lots of new things to see. In addition to the new fitness center and Simmons
Hall there are two new dormitories north of the campus, on Albany Street &
Pacific Street. You'll see the construction site for the Frank Gehry-designed Stata Center (interesting),
new landscaping on
Vassar Street, and renovations to building from Baker House to the Dreyfus
Chemistry lab (between the library and East Campus.) Friday evening we'll have a class dinner and
our guest will be MIT President Chuck Vest and his wife Becky. Saturday there
will be a class lunch, and the Technology Day Program in the afternoon in Kresge.
From 5 to 7 PM we'll have an Institute-wide dinner under a tent on the football
field in Steinbrenner Stadium, and then we'll board the bus to Symphony Hall to
hear the Boston Pops. Sunday morning we'll have the Reunion Row,
and a class brunch. In the afternoon the Tech Challenge
Games will be held on the Athletic Fields, and a reunion send off event
from 3 to 5 PM. Commencement for the class of 2003 will be Monday, June 9. I
think the two main reasons we come to reunions are to see our friends from
college days, and to take a look at what's happening on the campus. SO MARK THE
DATES ON YOUR CALENDAR, June 6, 7, 8, 2003 AND CALL UP YOUR 3 BEST FRIENDS AT
MIT. Plan to attend our 40th reunion.
And, by the way, classmates, send me some news. Your E-mails, telephone calls, and notes on alumni fund envelope flaps are always appreciated. 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.