A Publication for West Coast Alumni and Friends
Vol. 2, No. 2 / August 2003

Alumni News Briefs

Oregon State University professor Robert Schultz '55 received the school's Richard M. Bressler Senior Faculty Teaching Award for 2002. "He has continuously and almost single-handedly taught the undergraduate surveying program in civil, construction, and environmental engineering," reads the citation. "Almost universally, alumni state that he was the toughest and best teacher they had at OSU." Schultz, who joined the faculty in 1962, is noted for his hands-on, full-immersion approach to mentoring students into professional practice. The citation notes that "nearly all find the professionalism they learn from Professor Schultz to be a turning point in their career development." In 1997 he was selected Oregon's Civil Engineer of the Year.

Howard Shore '67, a San Diego Superior Court judge, was recently profiled in DJC Law. Shore explained that he looks to the Talmud, the commentary on Jewish law, for the strength of character to handle the many emotionally demanding decisions that come before him.

Fran Barton '68 was appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer of Atmel Corp., a semiconductor firm located in San Jose. Founded in 1984, Atmel is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacturing and marketing of advanced semiconductors. Barton was on campus in June to celebrate his 35th Reunion and to receive the Robert H. Goddard Alumni Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement.

Steve Dacri '74 of Los Angeles returned to Central Massachusetts in May to give a one-night performance in Westborough. It featured material from his Xtreme CloseUp Magic show, which recently opened at the Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. It gives viewers intimate exposure to sleight of hand performed before their eyes and beamed, via a roving camera, to 17 TV screens located throughout the audience.

Vicki Cowart '75 left her post as director of the Colorado Geological Survey to become president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, the third largest affiliate in the country. With approximately 400 employees and a $20-million budget, PPRM's mission is to improve the quality of life by enabling all people to exercise individual choice in their own fertility and reproductive health.

Wesley Wheeler '78 was appointed president of North America operations for ICN Pharmaceuticals, based in Costa Mesa, Calif. The international company markets, manufactures and distributes a broad range of prescription and non-prescription pharmaceuticals under the ICN brand name.

Eric Thune '84 was appointed vice president for North American sales at GetSilicon Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif. Founded in 2000, the company is dedicated to management solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain. Before joining GetSilicon, Thune was a vice president and strategic account manager for i 2 Technologies in Dallas.

Daniel Ward '84 works as a sales manager for Applied Materials in Boise, Idaho. The company is the largest supplier of products and services to the worldwide semiconductor industry.

Craig Falkenham '85 is an Easterner with a West Coast connection. A resident of Derry, N.H., he serves as area director for the Eastern Region for Maxim. Located in Sunnyvale, Calif., the company is a worldwide leader in the design, development and manufacture of linear and mixed-signal integrated circuits.

Carol Wilder '86 continues with Intel in the capacity of silicon product planning in the Intel Communications Group. She writes that she and her daughter will be relocating from Sacramento, Calif., to Portland, Ore.

Lisa Sorgini '98, whose office is in Littleton, Colo., is a product specialist for the western United States and Canada for the Memcor products division of USFilter Corp. Sorgini's article on EPA-compliant microfiltration membranes for the Carmichael Water District in Sacramento County appeared in Water World in February 2003.

Matthew J. Streeter '00, a systems programmer and researcher at Genetic Programming Inc. in Los Angeles, was a co-author, with John R. Koza and Martin A. Keane, of an article on genetic programming in the February 2003 issue of Scientific American . Titled "Evolving Inventions," the article described methods computer programmers are using to harness the processes of evolution--mutation, sexual recombination and natural selection-to create "machine intelligence" that can evolve computer programs and electronic circuits well suited to specified functions. "In the field of electronics," the authors note, "genetic programming has duplicated 15 previously patented inventions, including several that were hailed as seminal in their respective fields when they were first announced."