In Memoriam
Denise W. Nicoletti
We, the faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, note with sorrow and a great sense of loss, the tragic and untimely death of our friend and colleague, Denise W. Nicoletti. For eleven years she was a member of this faculty, the first and only tenured female faculty member in the history of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. She, together with Chrysanthe Demetry, founded Camp Reach, which will be among her lasting legacies at WPI. She also founded WECE (Women in Electrical and Computer Engineering). She made major contributions to knowledge in her discipline. She brought the outside world of engineering and of life into her classroom She connected with her students on a personal as well as a professional level. She, more than any other individual, was responsible for the academic success of the first blind student to graduate in electrical engineering at WPI.
She taught us all, faculty, staff and students, lessons in life, in good humor, in recognizing that which is truly important, and in triumph over adversity and loss. She taught us to "Reach" in all that we do – to do many different things and to strive to do them better and better.
Therefore, let it be resolved that we, the members of the faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, express our sincere gratitude and admiration for Denise Nicoletti's outstanding service to our university, to its students, to her profession, and to her community. Let it also be resolved that this resolution be placed in the permanent records of this faculty, and that a copy be delivered to her family.