The Bridge - November 2004

CONTENTS

  1. WELCOME: Update Your Class Web Site
  2. NEWS:
    • Finalists Announced for 2004 President's IQP Awards
    • WPI Faculty: Promotions, Tenure, and New Members
    • WPI Teams with City to Study Health, Environmental Risk
    • Mathematical Association of America Meets at WPI
    • WPI's Masque to Perform "Death of a Salesman"
  3. A. CAREERS: Alumni Association Launches Career/Employment Program
    B. JOB POSTING: Are You Looking to Hire?
  4. SAVE THE DATE: Upcoming Alumni Events
  5. CAMPUS EVENTS:
    • Through Dec. 17, Exhibit of Works by Donna Hamil Talman
    • Nov. 29: Physics of Red Blood Cell Shapes Colloquium
    • Nov. 30: People's Poetry Theatre at the SocComm Coffeehouse
    • Dec. 1: Bomb Threats and Explosive Devices Colloquium
    • Dec. 2: Lecture on Muliscale Analysis, Testing of MEMS and NEMS
    • Dec. 3: The Dropkick Murphys Play at Alden Memorial
    • Dec. 9: Lecture by Yi Hua Ma, WPI CM Professor
    • Dec. 13: Colloquium by Jianyu Liang, WPI ME Professor
  6. A. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NEWS: 2005-2007 Schedule of Events
    B. CLASS WEB SITE OF THE MONTH: Class of 1989
  7. SPORTS: Men's and Women's Basketball Teams Tip Off
  8. DID YOU KNOW: WPI's First Presidential Home
  9. BOOKMARKS

1. WELCOME: Update Your Class Web Site

It's hard to believe the holiday season is fast approaching. I hope you'll enjoy good times and good cheer at some of the upcoming events sponsored by the Alumni Association.

I also hope you'll develop or update your class Web site. Remember, this is the best way to communicate with your classmates. Please visit the newly designed Alumni Web site at http://alumni.wpi.edu/ to view sites created by other classes.

Until next time, I wish you a joyful Thanksgiving filled with peace.

Fred Costello '59
President, WPI Alumni Association

2. NEWS

Finalists Announced for 2004 President's IQP Awards

This year, 27 student teams submitted entries for the 2004 President's IQP Awards. The awards are presented each year to the student team or teams who complete the best IQPs. The 2004 finalists are "Development of Communal Washing Facilities for the Northwest Settlements of Windhoek, Namibia"; "Development of an Irrigation System in the Village of Nong Din Dam" (Thailand); "Energy Efficiency Guidelines for Low-Cost Housing" (Namibia); "Noise Monitoring in San Juan, Puerto Rico"; and "Increasing Awareness of Lahu Culture through Solar Technology" (Thailand). The finalists will give presentations on Dec. 1 to President Dennis Berkey and a panel of judges. Read the press release...

WPI Faculty: Promotions, Tenure, and New Members

Fourteen members of WPI's faculty have been granted promotion and/or tenure. Read the complete listing...

For information on the faculty members who joined WPI this year.

WPI Teams with City to Study Health, Environmental Risk

The Regional Environmental Council of Worcester, in conjunction with WPI and local residents, will use a $25K EPA Environmental Justice Grant to identify major sources of potential public health and environmental risk at Quinsigamond Village, a historically industrial corridor in the city. The council will lead a team of academics and community partners in developing and testing community-based research methods. Read the press release...

Mathematical Association of America Meets at WPI

The Mathematical Association of America, the largest professional society that focuses on undergraduate mathematics education, holds its Northeastern Section Fall 2004 meeting at WPI on Nov. 19 and 20. The meeting includes speakers, workshops, undergraduate and graduate student presentations, and more. More information...

WPI's Masque to Perform "Death of a Salesman"

Masque, the theater organization at WPI, will perform "Death of a Salesman" Nov. 18 to 20 in Alden Memorial. Masque stages two productions each year: a major presentation in the fall, and a smaller one during the winter. It also hosts the New Voices Festival, one of the country's longest continously running university new-play festivals. Read more about the production...

3A. CAREERS: Alumni Association Launches Career/Employment Program

The WPI Alumni Association introduces a program to assist alumni in the search for new employment or with making a career change. Volunteers are available to provide counseling and mentoring on a private, one-to-one basis. For more information, e-mail alumni-office@wpi.edu or call 508-831-5600.

3B. JOB POSTING: Are You Looking to Hire?

Send open position listings to The Bridge at thebridge@wpi.edu. Deadline: the first week of the month, for posting in that month's issue.

4. SAVE THE DATE: Upcoming Alumni Events

Nov. 17: The New York Alumni Event will be held at The University Club, 1 West 54th St., New York, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Meet President Dennis Berkey and current students of the WPI Wall Street Project Center. Cost is $20 per person. For more information, e-mail alumni-office@wpi.edu or call 508-831-5600.

Nov. 30: The Worcester Alumni Event features a holiday concert by the WPI Orchestra and Festival Chorus. A reception will be held at Higgins House at 6 p.m. The concert follows at 7:30 p.m. in Alden Memorial. Toys for Tots donations will be accepted at this event. RSVP to the Office of Alumni Relations by Nov. 19.

Dec. 2: The Washington, D.C., Alumni Event will be held at the Rayburn House Office Building, The Foyer, Independence Ave. and South Capitol St., from 6 to 8 p.m. Cost is $20 per person. Join students, faculty, and project sponsors at a special reception to celebrate the 30th anniversary of WPI's Global Project Program, in the city where it all began. For more information, e-mail alumni-office@wpi.edu or call 508-831-5600.

Dec. 8: WPI's Music Division gives a holiday performance at 10:30 a.m. in the Campus Center Odeum. The event is presented by Tech Old Timers.

Dec. 15: Deadline to purchase tickets for the Feb. 11, 2005, 8 p.m. performance of "Miss Saigon" at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, Hartford, Conn. A limited number of mezzanine seats are available for $46 each. Purchase tickets online...

Dec. 20: Deadline to purchase tickets for the March 5, 2005, 2 p.m. performance of "Thoroughly Modern Millie" at the Providence Performing Arts Center. A limited number of orchestra seats are available for $52 each. Purchase tickets online...

Dec. 20: Deadline to purchase tickets for the April 2, 2005, 2 p.m. performance of "Phantom of the Opera" at the Opera House, Boston. Mezzanine seating is $59.70 each. Purchase tickets online or send payment to the Office of Alumni Relations, 100 Institute Road, Worcester, MA 01609-2280. For more information, call the Office of Alumni Relations at 508-831-5600 or e-mail regional-events@wpi.edu.

5. CAMPUS EVENTS

Through Dec. 17, "Signs of Life: A Collaboration by Donna Hamil Talman" at the Gordon Library. Hamil Talman's art reflects her fascination with the ancient past and our connection to it. She has been selected for two Massachusetts Cultural Council grants, a Creative Arts Fellowship, and residences at the Vermont Studio Center and the Hungarian Multicultural Center. Admission is free. For more information, call 508-831-5410.

Nov. 29: Physics of Red Blood Cell Shapes, a colloquium by Dr. Ranjan Mukhopadhyay, Clark University, in Olin Hall, Room 107, from 4 to 5 p.m. For more information, call 508-831-5342 or e-mail garcia@wpi.edu.

Nov. 30: SocComm Coffeehouse presents the People's Poetry Theatre in Riley Commons, from 8 to 10 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. The event is free for the WPI community, $3 for members of the consortium, and $5 for the public. For more information, call 508-831-5509 or e-mail soccommcoffeehouse@wpi.edu.

Dec. 1: Bomb Threats and Explosive Devices, a forensic science colloquium by Trooper William Qualls and "wonder dog" Hali, in Salisbury Laboratories, Room 115, from 4 to 5 p.m. For more information, call 508-831-5444 or e-mail lhberka@wpi.edu.

Dec. 2: Multiscale Analysis and Testing of MEMS and NEMS, a lecture by Cosme Furlong, WPI professor of mechanical engineering, in Washburn Shops 323, from noon to 1 p.m. For more information, call 508-831-5633 or e-mail mtereq@wpi.edu.

Dec. 3: The Dropkick Murphys, with opener Lost City Angels, plays in Alden Memorial, from 7 to 11 p.m. Dropkick Murphys recently played at a Red Sox rally at Fenway Park. Tickets are $5 for undergraduates, $10 for consortium members, and $15 for the public. For more information, call 508-831-5509 or e-mail soccommsec@wpi.edu.

Dec. 9: Composite Palladium and Palladium-Alloy Membranes for Hydrogen Separation and Membrane Reactor Applications, a lecture by Yi Hua Ma, WPI professor of chemical engineering, Washburn Shops 323, from noon to 1 p.m. For more information, call 508-831-5633 or e-mail mtereq@wpi.edu.

Dec. 13: Nonlithographic Fabrication of Superlattices for Nanometric Electro-Magnetic-Optic Applications, a colloquium by Dr. Jianyu Liang, WPI assistant professor of mechanical engineering, in Olin Hall, 107, from 4 to 5 p.m. For more information, call 508-831-5365 or e-mail nab@wpi.edu.

View the complete calendar of campus events.

6A. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NEWS: 2005-2007 Schedule of Events

Mark your calendar! Reunion 2005 is scheduled for June 9-12 and will feature the Alumni College, 50-Year Associates, an awards luncheon, hospitality suites, and much more. A detailed schedule will be available in January.

Reunion 2006 is scheduled for June 9-11; Reunion 2007 for June 8-10.

Homecoming 2005 will be held Sept. 30-Oct. 1.

Please visit the redesigned, more user-friendly Web site.

6B. CLASS WEB SITE OF THE MONTH: Class of 1989

This month, The Bridge recognizes the Class of 1989's Web site. Information is kept up-to-date, links are provided to reunions, and valuable alumni Web sites are just a point and click away. Congratulations, Class of 1989!

Each month, The Bridge will recognize an outstanding class Web site, one that is a great resource for classmates, offers interesting and informative features or links, and displays creativity in design and layout. To vote for your favorite site, or nominate your own class site, e-mail thebridge@wpi.edu. View class Web sites.

7. SPORTS: Men's and Women's Basketball Teams Tip Off

The women's basketball season opens at the City Tip-Off Tournament, Nov. 19 and 20 in Harrington Auditorium. The men's team gets ready for a full-court press at the Worcester County Classic at Worcester State College on Nov. 19 and 20.

View the entire fall athletics schedule.

8. DID YOU KNOW: WPI's First Presidential Home

WPI's third president, Thomas Corwin Mendenhall (1894-1901), took up residence in a new presidential home built on a lot donated by Stephen Salisbury, at the corner of Institute Rd. and Boynton St. The book "Seventy Years at WPI" describes it as a spacious colonial, with a first floor "especially well designed for the needs of a college president, with large reception and dining rooms and a generous library." The cost of the house was $16,000.

9. 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, 13:59 EDT