MIT Class of 1963, Class Notes for the July/August 2006
issue of Technology Review
*Roger Hinrichs* wrote that in 2005 he left SUNY-Oswego to take a position as professor of Physics at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar. He says that the very sharp students from around the Middle East more than makes up for the high temperatures and busy traffic. The fourth edition of his textbook "Energy" was published last fall.
*Dick Males* wrote an E-mail with news of his comings and goings. In March Dick and Barbara traveled to Merida, on the Yucatan Peninsula, for a conference. He got to tour some of the ruins, and said that the Mayan structures there would be particularly interesting to any classmates who do astronomy. Dick used his Spanish intensively, and while it is not as good as it once was, it still reasonably serviceable. (Sounds like a line from a recently popular country song by Toby Keith.) Dick was in the Peace Corps in Peru in the mid 1960's and spoke Spanish fluently. In May Dick made another trip, this one to a conference in Lisbon, with a few days tacked on at the end for a vacation in Paris. He writes that his older son Matthew is still being a professor, and his younger son Nathaniel is surfing in Southern California while waiting for his girlfriend to receive her UCLA architecture degree.
Class Sleuth *Rick Merrill* continues tracking down classmates who aren't on the radar screen of the alumni association. Rick located *Al Henry*, my old poker playing buddy from our Baker House days, living in Indialantic, Florida. Al retired from Harris Corporation, in Melbourne, FL, in 1996 after 23 years of service. *Len Conly* lives in Albany, CA. Over the years he's been in the software business, the car repair business and was involved in politics as a city commissioner in Berkeley, CA. Len has two children; his wife passed away in 1997. He plays blue grass on the guitar and piano and does jam sessions with Donald Martin '62.
On the final day of a whirlwind trip to Boston for our granddaughter's birthday in February Barbara and I had lunch with Margie and *Larry Krakauer*. The Krakauers' daughters are both back in the Boston area. Elissa finished graduate school at the Duke University primate center and is working while looking for a job in her field. Sara is teaching school. This spring this Larry and Margie spent a month in Tuscany. As class president, Larry hears from the students who are selected as Class of 1963 Scholars. These young men and women really appreciate the support that your generous donations to our class scholarship fund have made possible.
David Mendiola, '07, of Elkhart, TX continues as a class scholar, while Emily Sievers, '09, of Norman, OK and Edgar Twigg, '09, of Berryville, VA were new scholars for 2005/2006. David is a course 2 student. He spent last summer working at the NASA Balloon Base in Palestine, TX. He plays the guitar in his spare time. Emily was the drum section leader in the high school band and orchestra. She was the math club president, a member of the Young Republicans, and worked for the Kirk Humphreys for Senate campaign. Last summer she attended the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute. Her career plans include engineering, medicine, and teaching. Edgar plans to major in Aerospace Engineering, with a possible double major in physics; here are some excerpts from a letter Edgar wrote to Larry:
"I am very honored to have been chosen as a Class of 1963 Scholar. Your tremendous generosity in assisting me with the financial challenge of obtaining one of the best educations available is greatly appreciated … [I] will do all that I can to prove worthy of your investment … I expect the Core Curriculum your class was required to meet may have some differences from that laid out for the Class of 2009 … [First] semester I took 5.111 (Freshman Chem), 18.01A (Single and Multi-Variable Calculus), 8.012 (Newtonian Mechanics with Calculus), a bonehead English class (I should have spent more time on the writing diagnostic), and an introductory seminar on Biomimetics … Lacking a background in high school calculus, 8.012 and 18.01A were quite a challenge at first, but I survived! [Second] semester, I'm taking 6.041 (Probability), 18.03 (Differential Equations), 7.013 (Freshman Biology), 1.00 (Java), and 8.022 (Electricity and Magnetism) …this course work [exceeds] the freshman credit limit, which is strictly enforced. In order to continue this schedule, I must get each of my current professors and my advisor to write a recommendation for me. Recommendations must be submitted with a statement by the student to the Committee on Academic Performance for review. If I am denied … I must drop a class … Probability will most likely get moved to next year … What attracts me to aeronautical engineering is the notion of working on huge projects, projects so large in scope and complexity that no one person can possibly be a master of every aspect of the final product … a miracle of synergy because no one person can make it happen. What attracts me to physics is the possibility of making a huge discovery on my own with far reaching effects on what we know today. These are idealizations, and working alone versus working in groups are not so clearly separated in real life, but I think my ultimate path will be determined somewhat by a growing desire to either work singly or in large groups … At the time of your 25th Reunion when you established the fund of which I am a beneficiary, I suppose I was working on the engineering problem of how to walk … One thing I am sure about is that I am doing and will continue to do the very best of which I am capable. I owe it to myself, my family, and the Class of 1963 … A big part of why I have been able to be successful in school is that I have not had to dilute my time earning money (except for volunteering to be a subject for a few fun experiments). This is a huge benefit, because any time spent not working translates directly into time sleeping … Thanks for the sleep! … With gratitude, Edgar Twigg"
I wrote in the previous class notes about the sudden passing last January of *Donald Reed*. *Ron Young* wrote that he and Don shared the Course 16 Aero-Astro Coop experience at Martin Co in Baltimore in the fall of our junior year. They lived in the same rooming house and Don drove Ron to and from work. The "highlight" of the Coop experience was the long faces at Martin when they lost out on the Apollo Moon-race contract. Don would drive back to his home in Delaware on weekends, so it was no surprise to Ron that he settled in Maryland rather than the West Coast.
Regards to 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