The Bridge - January 2004

Contents

  1. WELCOME: Spring (and Reunion) Just Around the Corner
  2. NEWS: International Education Organization Honors WPI
    • Physics Professor Receives Engineering Excellence Award
    • Presidential Search Progressing
    • Corporate Gifts Top $1 Million in Second Half of 2003
  3. EVENTS: MOS Lecture Series, Jan. 21 and 28; Noam Chomsky, Jan. 28;
    China Conference, Feb 3-4, Young Alumni Social, Feb. 4
  4. JOB POSTING: Vice President of Marketing and Sales; Director of R&D
  5. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NOTES: See the West With Alumni Travel Program
  6. SPORTS: Women's Rugby is Best in the Northeast
  7. DID YOU KNOW: Presidential Trivia, WPI Style
  8. BOOKMARKS

1. WELCOME: Just Six Months to Reunion 2004: June 10-13

The Northeast is in an extended deep freeze and the trees around campus are sporting white stuff instead of greenery, but that hasn't stopped the Alumni Office from thinking spring. In fact, the alumni staff is progressing with plans for Reunion 2004, including another exciting installment of Alumni College.

As we count down the days to June 10-13, the Bridge will keep you posted on all the reasons you won't want to miss this year's festivities, and tell you a bit about the classes that will be celebrating milestones: '39, 44, '49, 54, 59, 64, 69, 74, 79, and '84. In the meantime, relive the warm (but damp) Reunion of 2003

2. NEWS

International Education Organization Honors WPI

WPI recently received an honorable mention in the Institute for International Education's 2003-04 Andrew Heiskell Awards, which honor the most innovative international education programs at American universities. WPI's Global Perspective Program was recognized as a "best practice" in campus internationalization. The university was one of three finalists in the Study Abroad category.

WPI sends more engineering and science students abroad than any university in the nation and has won numerous awards for its unique project-based approach to global education. Paul Davis, dean of interdisciplinary and global studies, and Natalie Mello, director of global affairs, recently described WPI's program as a model for other universities in an essay they wrote for Mass High Tech. Read what they had to say

Physics Professor Receives Engineering Excellence Award

L. Ramdas Ram-Mohan, professor of physics and electrical and computer engineering, recently received a 2003 Engineering Excellence Award from he Optical Society of America. Ram-Mohan, one of four leaders in the field of optical engineering to receive this honor, was acknowledged for the development of advanced algorithms to optimize design methods for mid-IR quantum well lasers, for advancing the paradigm of wave function engineering, and for mentoring students in optoelectronics.

Read the full news release

Presidential Search Drawing Strong Candidates

According to Stephen J. Hebert '66, vice president for administration, treasurer and secretary of the corporation, the search for WPI's 15th president has drawn some outstanding candidates. He notes that Korn/Ferry International, the firm managing the search for WPI, predicts that the final pool will be extraordinary. Hebert says current expectations are that three or four finalists will be invited to campus to meet with the community in March.

Read more about the presidential search

Corporate Gifts Top $1 Million in Second Half of 2003

Between July and January, WPI received over $1 million in gifts from corporations. Individual gifts included a DNA sequencer and other lab equipment for Biology and Biotechnology from AstraZeneca and a license from Endeca Technologies for its innovative Web search technology. Four gifts from Intel and its philanthropic foundation funded research, scholarships, lab equipment and summer outreach programs for girls and underrepresented minorities.

View a full list of corporate gifts since July 2003

Read about Endeca and Jim Baum '86, its president and COO

3. EVENTS

Campus Events

Jan. 21: "WPI MOS Lecture Series: Nanotechnology: The Next Small Thing," Nancy A. Burnham, professor of physics, and W. Grant McGimpsey, professor of chemistry and biochemistry. Boston Museum of Science, Cahners Theater, 7 p.m.

Jan. 28: "WPI MOS Lecture Series: The Hydrogen-Based Economy--Dream or Reality?" Yi Hua (Ed) Ma, Frances Manning Chair of Chemical Engineering, Ravindra Datta, head, Chemical Engineering Department, and James P. Dunn '67, president, Center for Technology Commercialization. Boston Museum of Science, Cahners Theater, 7 p.m.

Jan. 28: Noam Chomsky, renowned professor of linguistics at MIT, will speak in a lecture sponsored by the WPI Social Awareness Committee. Chomsky has written more than 30 books on U.S. interventionism in the developing world, the political economy of human rights and the propaganda role of corporate media, among other topics. Campus Center Odeum, 4 p.m. A book signing follows.

Feb 21: Wrestling: New England College Conference Tournament, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Harrington Auditorium

View the complete calendar of campus events

Alumni Events

Feb. 2: Northern California Reception The WPI Alumni Association invites you to join fellow alumni and representatives from WPI for a special cocktail reception from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Sofitel San Francisco Bay Hotel in Redwood City. Cost is $15 per person. For more information, call 508-831-5600 or e-mail regional-events@wpi.edu.

Feb. 3-4: Meeting the China Challenge: Networking for Success The 2004 WPI International Business Forum will feature presentations by industry representatives and alumni doing business in China. SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif. For more information, contact forum2004@wpi.edu or visit the website

Feb. 4: Young Alumni Event The GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade) Council invites Boston-area alumni from the classes of 1970-2003 (and other interested alumni, as well) to hear "It's Not Who You Know, It's Who Knows You," a talk by Alan Glou, president of Glou International, at the Westin Hotel in Waltham, Mass, 6:30-8:30. $15 per person. For more information, 508-831-5600 or alumni-office@wpi.edu.

Feb. 7: Women's Basketball Alumni Day See old friends, meet the current team, enjoy some fun and activities. The events will run from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Harrington Auditorium. For more, contact the Department of Physical Education & Athletics at 508-831-5243.

Feb. 11: Tech Old Timers A history of Worcester as told through its buildings. Elizabeth Bacon, education director for Preservation Worcester. Campus Center, 9:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. For more information, contact alumni-office@wpi.edu or call 508-831-5600.

View the calendar of alumni events

4. JOB POSTINGS

Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Upscale Consumer Electronics Hardware and Software

Director of R&D, Consumer Electronics Hardware and Software

A small, successful, privately held company that provides solutions for capturing business contact information and accessing it via the Internet and personal electronic devices seeks to fill these two positions. Both are part of the company's leadership team and report to the president.

Get the full listing and contact information

5. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NEWS

Plan a Trip in 2004 With Alumni Travel Program

Connect with like-minded alumni and see the best of the West: The Alumni Association Travel Program re-ignites with trips to the Canadian Rockies and the American West. More information

6. SPORTS: Women's Rugby Team: Simply the Best!

Call it the triumph of the Teapots. This fall, WPI's Women's Rugby Football Club, otherwise known as the Teapots, finished 4-1-1, the best record in the New England Rugby Football Union Division III Central League. The finish qualified them to play in the league championship, where they finished second. That placement gave them a berth in the Northeast Rugby Union Championship, which they won with an overtime defeat of Fordham.

And that's not the end of the story. Read the full account of the team's championship season

7. DID YOU KNOW...

WPI's next president will be No. 15. How much do you know about the 14 men (no women have led WPI) who have occupied the corner office in Boynton Hall since the university opened its doors in 1868. Here are a few fun facts:

Longest term: A three-way tie among Charles O. Thompson, WPI's first president, Ralph Earle, who presided over a major campus expansion in the 1920s and 1930s, and Wat Tyler Cluverius, who guided WPI through World War II and into the Cold War; each served 14 years.

Shortest term: Alvin Cormeny, who was named president in 1954 and served less than a year.

First to be called president: Thompson was officially WPI's principal. The trustees changed that title to president of the faculty (now just president) before hiring WPI's second CEO, Homer Fuller.

Only president to die in office: Ralph Earle, who collapsed and died while delivering an address to students in 1939.

Only president immortalized on maps: The Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska is named for Thomas Mendenhall (1894-1901), who before coming to WPI was supervisor of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.

8. BOOKMARKS

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

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Last modified: May 25, 2006, 14:01 EDT