The Bridge - February 2004

Contents

  1. WELCOME: Happy Anniversary to The Bridge
  2. NEWS: New History of Science Society President is WPI Professor
    • WPI Signs Agreement with Naval Undersea Warfare Center
    • IEEE Appoints Professor to Three Posts
  3. EVENTS: Protecting Astronauts From Radiation (Feb. 19); Tech Old Timers Get Unique View of Worcester History (March 10); Keeping Up With the Women of '88 (March 16)
  4. REUNION COUNTDOWN: '54 Gears Up for Big Turnout
  5. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NOTES: Get E-Mail for Life; Make Your Travel Plans
  6. SPORTS: WPI Wrestling Coach Records 400th Career Win
  7. DID YOU KNOW: Chocolate, Like Love, is Best When It's Hot
  8. CORRECTING OUR FACTS: President Cluverius Also Died in Office
  9. BOOKMARKS

1. WELCOME: Happy Anniversary to The Bridge

It has been one year since we launched this e-newsletter for alumni and friends of WPI. Starting with the February 2003 issue, we have kept readers informed of upcoming events, happenings on campus, and student and alumni news. Next month, you will have the opportunity to take an online reader survey, telling us what you think about the content of The Bridge and what you'd like to see in future issues. In the meantime, we encourage you to forward this edition to classmates who are not receiving The Bridge and encourage them to sign up at the WPI Alumni Web site.

2. NEWS

WPI Professor Becomes President of History of Science Society

Michael M. Sokal, professor of history at WPI, recently became president of the History of Science Society, the world's largest society dedicated to exploring the history of the social impact of science, technology and medicine. Sokal, who has been a member of the society since 1969 and was its first executive secretary, will serve as president through the end of 2005. A member of the WPI faculty for more than 30 years, he has taught and conducted research in the areas of the history of American science and technology and the history of psychology.

Read the full news release

WPI Signs Agreement with Naval Undersea Warfare Center

WPI this week entered into an Education Partnership Agreement with the U.S. Navy's Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) for science and engineering related to biomedical technology, acoustics and microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS). Under the agreement, WPI undergraduate and graduate students may earn academic credit for work on defense laboratory research projects with NUWC scientists and engineers.

In addition, WPI's Bioengineering Institute assist NUWC in leveraging its resources and promoting the commercialization of Navy research and technology into the private sector

Read the full news release

IEEE Appoints Professor to Three Posts

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Control System Society’s Board of Governors has appointed Michael A. Demetriou, associate professor of mechanical engineering, to three positions: associate editor of Transactions on Automatic Control; associate editor of the Conference Editorial Board; and chair of the Technical Committee on Distributed Parameter Systems. Demetriou’s research focuses on such areas as adaptive estimation and control of distributed parameter systems; fault detection, diagnosis and accommodation of dynamical systems; and modeling and vibration control of flexible structures, panels, membranes, smart actuators and sensors.

3. EVENTS

Campus Events

Feb. 19: "Protection of Astronauts from Cosmic Radiation" a lecture by John Norbury, professor of physics at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who has worked extensively with NASA over the past 20 years on this problem, won several NASA awards, and co-authored a book on cosmic ray interactions. Olin Hall, Room 223, 11 a.m.

March 7: WPI's baseball team kicks off its 2004 season with the first of eight games played in Fort Myers, Fla., the same town where the Red Sox and Minnesota Twins go for Spring Training. The softball team plays its first spring game in Fort Myers on March 9.

March 16: "Where in the World are the WPI Women of 1988?" What are the alumna of '88 doing with their lives, and what lessons can they offer today's students? Sue Sontgerath '88, project coordinator in WPI's Office of Diversity and Women's Programs, presents responses from her classmates to an in-depth survey on their careers, perceptions of industry, and reflections on WPI. Campus Center, Mid-Century Room, 6 p.m.

March 17: "How to Have a Job AND a Life," a talk by Ellen Bravo, director of 9 to 5, National Association of Working Women, a grassroots organization founded in 1973 that strengthens women's ability to win economic justice. A 1997 recipient of a "Women of Vision" award from the Ms. Foundation, she is co-author of "The Job/Family Challenge: A 9 to 5 Guide," Campus Center, Odeum, 7 p.m.

March 26: "Forgotten Women and Their Unforgettable Ideas," an entertaining and eye-opening account of the "hidden" women behind familiar products, discoveries and innovations by Ethlie Ann Vare, co-author of "Mother of Invention: From the Bra to the Bomb," "Forgotten Women and their Unforgettable Ideas," and "Patently Female: From AZT to TV Dinners." Olin Hall, Room 107, 4 p.m.

View the complete calendar of campus events

Alumni Events

Feb. 26: Pittsburgh Area Alumni Event Gather with fellow alums from the Pittsburgh area at the Church Brew Works (http://www.churchbrew.com/) at 3525 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, starting at 8 p.m., to get to know one another and begin planning the next event. Please RSVP to Beth Schweinsberg at bschwein@alum.wpi.edu.

March 2: SIM Annual Banquet and Reunion (invitation only) The School of Industrial Management's 55th Annual Gala Banquet will feature the presentation of the prestigious Albert J. Schwieger Award for outstanding professional achievement to Arthur M. Quitadamo '74 (SIM), retired senior vice president of Shawmut Bank. Cost is $35 per person. Campus Center Odeum, 5:30 to 9 p.m. For more information, e-mail jdeal@wpi.edu or call 508-480-9200, x102.

March 6: Annual Meeting of the Alumni Leadership Council, the governing body of the WPI Alumni Association. Higgins House, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

March 10: Tech Old Timers, "A Bird's-Eye View of Worcester," a history of WPI's home city as told through its buildings. Presented by Elizabeth Bacon, education director at Preservation Worcester. Campus Center, Odeum, 9:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.

March 25-28: Annual Glee Club Alumni Weekend, featuring a concert in honor of Professor Louis Curran, who is retiring after 37 years on the WPI faculty. The weekend includes rehearsals, receptions, an "Acappellafest" on Saturday, and an afternoon performance of Mozart's "Requiem" on Sunday. There are fees for various parts of the weekend, including a $15 admission fee for the Sunday concert. More details available at: GleeClubAssociates.org, or contact the Glee Club Alumni at rsvp@gleeclubassociates.org or 508-831-5051.

View the calendar of alumni events

4. REUNION COUNTDOWN

'54 Gears Up for Big Turnout

About half of the members of the Class of 1954 have already indicated that they plan to be on campus during Reunion Weekend (June 10-13) to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their graduation from WPI, according to '54's well-designed class Web site. The site has a roster of all those who've responded (featuring yearbook photos of each class member), photos from the class's 45th reunion in 1998, and an update on the class gift (which stood at $1.4 million, with 50 percent participation, back in December).

If current plans hold, the Class of 1954 and the other classes that will be on hand for the 2004 Reunion ('39, 44, '49, 59, 64, 69, 74, 79 and '84) will be the last to promenade around the current Quadrangle. During the summer, heavy machinery is expected to move in to begin building a parking garage under the Quad. When the project is done, a new, larger Quadrangle will emerge. That promises to make this a Reunion for the record books.

Visit the Class of 1954 online

Get the rundown on Reunion 2004

5. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NEWS

Get an E-mail Address for Life

Tired of having to notify your family, friends and classmates every time you get a new e-mail address? The WPI Alumni Association offers alumni the opportunity to have one e-mail address that never needs to be updated. Your alumni e-mail address (@alum.wpi.edu) will always relay your messages to your current Internet location. So, as you jump from Yahoo to Earthlink to Juno to AOL, just keep updating your alumni information, and your mail will get through without interruption. This is more than a forwarding service.

For example, you can even put a hold on your mail while you're moving.

A WPI alumni e-mail address is easy to set up. Just follow the instructions on the Alumni Web site and you'll have e-mail for life in no time at all.

Winter Got You Down? Start Planning Your Summer Vacation

Connect with like-minded alumni and see the best of the West this summer and fall through the WPI Alumni Association Travel Program. Trips currently planned include a tour of the resorts of the Canadian Rockies and a trek through Canyon Country in the American West. Get more information on the Alumni Association Web site.

6. SPORTS: WPI Wrestling Coach Records 400th Career Win

Phil Grebinar, now in his 32nd year as WPI’s head wrestling coach, notched his 400th career victory on Jan. 25 during the NECCWA Dual Team Tournament at Bridgewater State College. Relatively few wrestling coaches, at any NCAA level, ever reach this milestone. Grebinar, who is a member of four halls of fame (including WPI's Athletic Hall of Fame), has guided his WPI teams to four NECCWA championships and has been named NECCWA Coach of the Year three times.

Read more about Greb's latest honor

7. DID YOU KNOW...

With Valentine's Day approaching, the researchers in WPI's Surface Metrology Laboratory have some wisdom for those who'll soon be biting into chocolate goodies--chocolate, like love, it best when it's hot. WPI's engineers, led by Christopher Brown, director of WPI's Manufacturing Engineering Program, teamed with chocolate researchers to study candy with a special scanning laser microscope originally developed for NASA. They found that at warmer temperatures (25 degrees Celsius, or 77 Fahrenheit, seemed ideal), the surface of broken chocolate is rougher, presenting more area to the taste buds, and thus maximizing the chocolate flavor.

Learn more about WPI's chocolate research

Listen to a National Academy of Engineering radio spot about this work

8. CORRECTING OUR FACTS

Thanks to Alex Papianou '57 for pointing out an error in the WPI presidential facts we included in the January Bridge. As Al correctly noted, Admiral Ralph Earle was not the only president to die in office. Admiral Wat Tyler Cluverius grew ill while returning from an alumni visit in 1952 and died in a New Haven hospital.

9. BOOKMARKS

We'd love to hear your suggestions or comments. Please send them to us at thebridge@wpi.edu.

Maintained by webmaster@wpi.edu
Last modified: May 25, 2006, 14:01 EDT