MIT Class of 1963 Class Notes
May/June 2007
MIT Class of 1963, Class Notes for the May/June 2007 issue
of Technology Review
There was a time, many moons ago on the Class Secretary time line, when much of our information for this column came from the envelope flaps of contributions to the MIT Alumni Fund. Particularly late in the year, when people were making their tax deductible contributions to their alma mater they would jot a few lines in the space on the envelope thoughtfully provided by the alumni association and those lines would make their way to the class secretaries and eventually be passed on to you. Everyone was happy. The Alumni Fund was getting donations, you were getting a tax deduction, the class secretaries were getting information for their columns, and you were getting to read about how your classmates were getting advanced degrees, getting married and having children, getting promoted, and making advances in science, engineering, finance, etc. Particularly after the first of the year the packet sent by the Technology Review Class Notes editor would be rich with material. Often we had so much material we could space it out over several months' columns.
But as Bob Dylan (not a member of our class) famously said, "The times they are a changin'." These days most of my information, and I suspect that of other class secretaries, comes from "other sources." I know you're still making contributions to the Alumni Fund.Our class is quite generous according to the Alumni Association report; 323 of us gave $780,152 to last year's fund. But your modus operandi for making the contributions must be different. Either you're sending your contributions in your own envelopes, or you're making the contributions on the Internet or you're bringing bags of cash to the Institute … something is different. For this column I didn't get any envelope flaps, but I did get a few Christmas and holiday family newsletters. That gave me an idea. Why don't all of you put me on your end of year family newsletter mailing list. Once again everyone will be happy. The alumni fund will still get its contributions and you'll get your tax deduction. I'll get lots of news for this column and you'll get to read about your classmates' travels, retirement parties, surgeries, bionic body parts, grandchildren, etc. No kidding, send me your Christmas newsletters. My address is at the bottom of the column. My mail carrier will be astonished by all this first class mail, and may get a hernia from lifting the heavy mailbag for delivery to my home here in Irvine.
Several of you had the foresight to include me on your holiday mailing lists this year, including Michele and *Woody Bowman. Woody presented a paper in Bangkok, and stopped in Seoul just to look around on the way back. The Bowmans had short getaways to Memphis and to South Padre Island during last year. They had lots of company in 2006; their houseguests stayed for a total of 6 weeks. Not all at one stretch, of course. Woody and Michele like showing off Chicago, and they encourage you to come and visit. They have a new computer and are planning a web site that will let you check up on them.
*Tony Geisler, always a reliable source for this space, sent a picture and a note about his June 2006 participation in the World Leaders' Trip in St. Petersburg, Russia. At the conference Jack Matlock, former U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union during the Reagan administration, presented MIT President Susan Hockfield's MIT Energy Initiative to Mikhail Gorbachev. Tony included a picture of himself discussing weighty issues with Mr. Gorbachev.
Toby and *Bruce Eisenstein sent their 2006 newsletter. The Eisensteins are still putting along in the same grooves at work and living in the same house, but enriched by 5 of the cutest grandkids between the ages of 6 and 11 months. Bruce continues his teaching and research at Drexel, and consults on cell phone technology. Toby teaches at Temple, where she co-directs the Center for Substance Abuse. Her main interest is the field of neuroimmunopharmacology. Try saying that three times, Toby says, or getting it on a business card. The Eisensteins' son, Eric, and his wife, Debra, live in Ithaca, NY, where Eric is a professor at the Cornell Business School, and Debra is a veterinarian. They are the parents of daughters Evie 3, and Mira, 1. Son Andy and his wife Ricki live near Bruce and Toby, and have two sons, Eli, 6, and Noah, 4, and a 15 month old daughter, Margalit. Andy is doing real estate development, and Ricki works at Au Pair America. Bruce and Toby's daughter, Lana, and her husband, Tom, moved back to Philly in 2006. Tom is a resident at Penn Med Center, and Lana commutes to Wilmington, DE, where she is an assistant US Attorney. Toby and Bruce encourage their MIT friends to stop by and visit if you are in the Philadelphia area. They have lots of empty rooms with private bath.
Candy and *Peter Van Aken celebrated their family in 2006. All four children are grown, graduated, employed, and out of the house. Peter's daughter, Christie, is the lead educational consultant at Aim High Tutoring in the San Francisco Bay area. David Van Aken, MIT ’02, is a development engineer at Xanalog, the Boston area company founded by Peter, *Martin Schrage, and *Ira Blumenthal. Candy's daughter, Shawn, is a project manager at Antioch University's New England Institute in Keene, NH, and her daughter, Samantha, is an editor at Scholastic Publishing in New York City.
*Larry Krakauer sent me a note that Professor George Thomas passed away in November. His obituary appeared in the Boston Globe. Larry recalls attending 18.01 (which he also recalled that I placed out of), and noting Professor Thomas' proud and pleased look as the students recognized his picture on the book jacket. Larry says he doesn't have the book any longer. I still have the book, but the jacket is long gone.
[scan of book jacket from Ron Young's library]
Though I'm writing in early January this column will appear in the May Issue of Technology Review.So I'll wish you happy New Year and a good Memorial Day at the same time. Hope 2007 is treating you well.
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
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