2003 Recipients
David S. Jenney '53
Dave Jenney, your dedicated and innovative leadership in the field of helicopter design during a 40-year career with Sikorsky Aircraft has made you a great source of pride for Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Fresh out of WPI in 1953, you joined a newly formed helicopter research group with United Aircraft Research Laboratories (later to become United Technologies Corporation). During this time you studied many nights and weekends to complete your master's degree in mechanical engineering and, eventually, a Ph.D.
In 1962 you were transferred to Sikorsky as supervisor of aerodynamics, leading a team of engineers in helicopter design. In 1970, when the U.S. Army called for a new, small transport helicopter, your team answered. The design incorporated new airfoils and blade shapes, vibration absorbers, and most revolutionary of all, a canted tail rotor. The Blackhawk helicopter was born. Despite initial concerns that the angled tail "just didn't look right," the Blackhawk has been the Army's most dependable workhorse, with more than 2,000 aircraft delivered since 1973.
Success with the Blackhawk prompted your promotion to lead a team in developing pioneering flight test research aircraft: one for rotor systems research and a second for advancing blade concept demonstrations. Your focused approach to technical challenges led Sikorsky to appoint you director of technical engineering, overseeing 400 people supporting all the company's helicopter programs, including new designs, development and production.
Then the U.S. Army came calling again. This time, in 1980, they needed a small scout "Light Helicopter," one that could be stealthy, with low noise and a low-infrared signature. It was a great challenge. As director of engineering for light helicopters, and leading a team of Sikorsky and Boeing engineers, you designed the RAH-66 Commanche, which met all of the Army's needs. Beginning this year, at least 1,000 of them will be built.
To paraphrase a colleague, Igor Sikorsky created the helicopter industry, and you, Dave Jenney, bridged the gap between theory and practice, developing analytical methods and demonstrating steady improvement through experiment. Through it all, you managed to find time to run 19 marathons and raise a family.
With issues of national defense and homeland security so much a part of our collective conscience, your exceptional dedication to building a better helicopter is a contribution for which all of us are grateful. It is an honor to present you with the Robert H. Goddard Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement.
Francis P. Barton '68
Fran Barton, for you adversity is just another opportunity to excel. You proved that at WPI, when you hitchhiked to school every day from your family home in Westboro.
You further proved your abilities as a member of the Green Berets in Okinawa from 1969 through 1972, sharpening your talent for leading successful change. Assigned to places like Burma, you developed contingency plans to keep people and national interests safe. In places like the Philippines, you built systems to assist the local people-water supply, roads, and schools. These experiences taught you to connect with individuals outside of your own culture.
You returned to WPI to finish your degree, changing your major from chemical engineering to interdisciplinary sciences. You honed your ability to see and understand the whole picture, and to build consensus among groups with competing interests. Next, you completed the two-year MBA program at Northeastern in 12 months, finishing in the top of your class. You spent 22 years at Digital Equipment Corporation, helping a $300 million company grow to a $16 billion industry leader. Your business and leadership skills were rewarded with the plum assignment of controller, DEC Europe, responsible for 40 countries in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the Soviet Bloc. The connections you made there remain strong and influential.
As vice president and CFO for DEC's Personal Computer Division, you oversaw the growth of this $40 million line of business to a profitable multibillion-dollar independent division, with growth of 300 percent per year.
In 1996 your facility for growing corporations brought you to the attention of Amdahl; as its VP and CFO, you brought it back to profitability after four years of losses. Advanced Micro Devices recruited you in 1998; two years later, AMD's nearly $1 billion profit was greater than the sum of all profits over its 30-year history.
You retired from that position only to be recruited by BroadVision, which used your appointment to underwrite its reputation, announcing, "Barton's appointment makes a strong statement about BroadVision and its ability to attract top talent." Now, as executive vice president and CFO of Atmel, you've joined a company losing money with the intention of making yet another turn-around. Your successes are no secret: the morning your appointment was announced, Atmel stock rose 15 percent.
Fran Barton, cross-cultural change agent, team builder, nurturer of companies, WPI is grateful to claim you as a graduate and proud to present you with the Robert H. Goddard Alumni Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement.
Michael R. Paige '68
Michael Paige, you have been a pioneer and a leader in the high technology industry, taking a variety of companies to the cutting edge of innovation and commercialization. Having managed R&D organizations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium, you now provide your expertise to academia, as chairman and professor of information and computer technology at Endicott College.
Since the beginning of your career, you have reveled in innovation. In your senior year of electrical engineering studies, you were one of the very few chosen to experiment with the flexible course plan, predecessor to the WPI Plan. You dropped all required courses and devised a curriculum suited to your needs. You secured a fellowship at the University of Illinois, where you earned your master's in 1969 and your Ph.D. in 1971.
Starting in 1972, you gained national recognition for software engineering, engaging in leading projects at General Research Corporation, Sperry Rand Research Center, Science Applications Inc. and The Analytical Sciences Corporation.
In 1988, after earning your MBA in international business from Boston University and holding leadership positions with WANG Labs and Gerber Scientific Instruments, you joined Agfa, which develops electronic equipment for the graphic arts market. You played a key role in Agfa's successful transition from a provider of phototypesetting products to a worldwide leader in electronic prepress equipment.
Twelve years later, your experience in inspiring innovation made you the ideal candidate to lead Xerox's fabled Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). You enhanced the center's reputation for excellence and maximized Xerox shareholder value by increasing the financial contribution from a large stream of intellectual property-from bioinformatics, to technologies for e-commerce, to printing and publishing. Once again, you created a dynamic environment nurturing creativity and innovation, and found new ways to share this with the world. Most recently, you were president and CEO of System Detection Inc., an early-stage intrusion detection and e-security software company.
You have shared your expertise generously, serving as an Industrial Advisory Board member to the RIT School of Printing and Publishing. You lecture widely and have published more than 50 technical papers in computer technology. Your talents have been recognized by your membership in the national honor societies for engineering, mathematics, electronics, business, science and drama.
Michael Paige, it is with great pleasure that WPI recognizes your achievements by presenting to you the Robert H. Goddard Alumni Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement.
Mark J. Freitas '78
Mark Freitas, we are proud to honor you today for your determination, drive and success as an entrepreneur and a business leader. With over 19 years of experience in the data communications industry, you have earned the respect of your colleagues and peers.
You received both your bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science from WPI. Early in your career you held a range of software development positions at Motorola Codex and then at Microcom Inc., where, as vice president of network and software products, you were named inventor on three patents in the communications field.
You rose to the position of executive vice president of the Central Business Unit of Microcom, which has since been acquired by Compaq Corporation. With your experience in marketing, purchasing and licensing management, product development, public relations, customer service, and corporate strategy, you were instrumental in shaping the company's identity from a modem manufacturer to a remote access provider.
In 1998, you founded Altiga Networks in Franklin, Mass., and served as its president and CEO until its acquisition by Cisco Systems in January 2000. Altiga, by then a market leader in integrated virtual private networks for remote access applications, became part of the enterprise Networking Solutions and Provisioned Services business line of Cisco.
An avid runner, you have made wellness an integral part of your entrepreneurial success. You once remarked, "Some people say that to be successful as an entrepreneur, you have to let it totally consume you. I don't subscribe to that theory-my venture capitalists did not own my body and soul." You simply understand that to grow a young company, such as Altiga, you and your employees had to stay healthy.
Mark Freitas, your achievements bring great pride to WPI. It is with honor that we recognize your distinguished accomplishments by presenting you with the Robert H. Goddard Alumni Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement.
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