VOLUME 11, NO. 1     MAY 1997

1997 Alumni Award Winners

Below you can read the same citations that was read to the recipients of the awards given at this year's Reunion.

Robert H. Goddard Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement

Jacques Metenier brought great pride to his alma mater as an international business leader and entrepreneur. Today, WPI recognizes his many professional achievements.

Born in France on November 16, 1922, Jacques graduated from the prestigious École National des Arts in Paris. He came to WPI as a young international student in 1943 and quickly took an active role in American campus life as a member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity and the Cosmopolitan Club. Following his graduation in 1947, he returned home, but continued to follow and support WPI throughout his life.

In France, Jacques joined the Societé Delas Weir, a subsidiary of Alcatel Alsthom Compagnie Genérale D'Electricité, where he rose through the ranks, serving as head of the American Equipment Department and, ultimately, chairman of the board. After his retirement in 1983, he was named honorary president and chairman.

A worldwide leader in the manufacture of condensers, feed-water heaters and auxiliary equipment for thermal and nuclear power stations, Societé Delas Weir has been recognized as the premiere company in its field in Europe. Much of the credit for the company's dynamic rise during the 1970s, and its ranking as No. 40 in Fortune's 1994 Global 500, is the result of Jacques' insightful leadership and bold business direction. Jacques Metenier died in April 1996. WPI is extremely proud to have been represented by him and to count him among the graduates of this university.

As a measure of that pride, we are honored to present him, posthumously, with the Robert H. Goddard Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement.

Bob Brass, creative innovator, consummate entrepreneur and successful businessman, your alma mater applauds your many professional achievements today.

While an undergraduate at WPI, you were awarded two national prizes by the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, beginning a noteworthy career that culminated in a number of successful entrepreneurial ven-tures, numerous patents and international recognition. Following graduation you worked in the quickly expanding field of computer design, all the while continuing to nurture the inventive spirit that had begun to show itself during your student days. With a talent for innova-tion and a conscientious eye for quality, you quickly ascended through the ranks of several corporations.

Building upon your early experiences at Bell Labs and Xerox Corporation, you drew upon your strong business acumen and creative talents to produce a myriad of successful products, including toys, tools, artificial intelligence systems, software, semiconductors, office products, computers, and com-puter peripherals. In a generation that has been marked by solid careers with one corporation, you have had the careers of ten men!

Today, as president of Development II, a consulting firm that specializes in business-to-business market strategies and planning, you continue to make full use of your endless energy and fertile mind. As a popular speaker on business development, market research, customer satis-faction, and the application of artificial intelligence and statistical analysis to market research, you have shared your expertise with the business community around the world.

Your inventive spirit and vision, your entrepreneurial instincts, and your impressive career have distinguished you among your peers. It is a great honor to present you with the Robert H. Goddard Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement.

Charles Johnston, you have distinguished yourself and your alma mater through your decades of involvement with companies, large and small, that have consistently made news as technology innovators.

Following your graduation from WPI with a degree in electrical engineering, you began your career with IBM. You worked in sales for ten years before cofounding ISI Systems, a pioneering enterprise that developed policy processing systems and applications software for the insurance industry. You sold the company to Grumman in 1976, but bought it back a decade later. You took the firm through a successful initial public offering in 1987, and then sold it again in 1989.

Your career has been punctuated with outstanding achievements in such diverse fields as data communications, application software, and manu-facturing and design. Throughout, you've been willing to accept the risks, the rewards and the disappointments that entrepreneurship demands.

Today, as chairman of the board of Ventex Technology, AFD Technologies, UltraClenz Corporation and J&C Resources, you bring a vast array of financial and business skills to these and other entrepreneurial endeavors, and you've transformed a number of fledging firms into giants.

Through your leadership and ability to focus on solutions, you have been successful in helping still other corporate enterprises to thrive. For example, you've shared your expertise as a director of Teleglobe Inc., Sage Analytics, Alert Holdings Inc., ID Matrix and the Westwood Group.

Your commitment to public service has been evident in your continuing involvement in and leadership of WPI. Throughout your career, you have supported your alma mater as a lifetime member of the President's Advisory Council and, for the past five years, as a member of the Board of Trustees.

Your impressive career and your generous support of WPI have distinguished you among your peers. It is a great honor to present to you today the Robert H. Goddard Alumni Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement.

Dave Heebner, a military man with exceptional regard for perseverance and excellence, you have brought great honor to your alma mater through the distinctions you have earned and leadership you have demonstrated.

As a student at WPI, you thrived inside and outside of the classroom, graduating with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. You are fondly remembered by your classmates as hard-working, generous and caring.

Your long and storied U.S. Army career began in 1967 when you were commissioned through the ROTC program at WPI. Considered a consummate manager, you have demonstrated exceptional communications and human relations skills throughout your outstanding military career.

Your assignments have taken you throughout the U.S. and the world. In 1991, you served your country with distinction, when as commander of the 10th Air Defense Artillery Brigade and commander of Task Force Patriot Defender, you led all U.S. troops in Israel during Operation Desert Storm. Your ability to unite the Arab and Israeli forces throughout this conflict was a supurb demonstration of your extraordinary ability to manage and motivate people who have vastly different views and opinions.

You received further distinction in 1992, when you were promoted to Brigadier General. In 1995, you were promoted to Major General, making you the highest ranking military officer in the history of WPI. Today, you serve as director of program analysis and evaluation in the Office of the Chief of Staff.

Despite the demands of your career, you have found time to help your alma mater. As an Alumni Admissions volunteer and as a speaker at campus events for ROTC students, you have been an inspiration to those who aspire to a career like your own.

It is with particular pride and pleasure that we present to you the Robert H. Goddard Alumni Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement.

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Herbert F. Taylor Alumni Award for Distinguished Service to WPI

Don Craig, your dedication and loyalty to your alma mater, your warm and engaging manner, and your extraordinary leadership of the WPI Alumni Association are worthy of the recognition and appreciation we bestow on you today.

With boundless energy and enthusiasm, you have embraced numerous volunteer assignments during the four decades since your graduation from WPI. The activities in which you've engaged form a kaleidoscope of the association's programs and services. More important, whether chairing the Revenue Generating Committee or serving as a Class Gift volunteer, you have left an indelible mark on the association.

Your distinguished service as president of the WPI Alumni Association mirrored your successful professional career as a pilot at American Airlines. Your steady hand at the wheel helped the association weather numerous storms in the early 1990s, and your ability to always visualize "your approach" before landing led to profound accomplishments. During your tenure, you led the association through a vital era that put the Venture Forum on a firm footing, placed the management of the association's assets in the hands of an investment firm, brought institutional recognition to issues surrounding alumni career services, and laid the groundwork for an alumni online service and a major survey of alumni.

A generous benefactor, you, with your wife, Nancy, established the Matthew Andrews Craig Memorial Scholarship in honor of your son, whose memory will live on in the achievements of future recipients. As a Presidential Founder, a lifetime member of the President's Advisory Council, and a charter member of the Alden Society, you have served as a role model for others who've shared their wealth and wisdom with WPI.

A self-described workaholic, you once said you enjoyed building houses because "when you're done, there's something there to admire." You've certainly built something to admire at WPI and it is with great honor that we take this opportunity to recognize your remarkable efforts by bestowing upon you the Herbert F. Taylor Alumni Award for Distinguished Service to WPI.

Dusty Klauber, your enthusiasm, ready smile and commitment to service to your alma mater have been the hallmarks of your volunteer career at WPI.

Over the past 15 years, your contagious enthusiasm and great energy have produced three fabulous reunions for the Class of 1967. But your service only begins there. In addition, you have served as Homecoming chair on the Executive Committee of the Alumni Association and have served on several important committees, including those that developed a master plan and educational programming for the association. A former Alumni Council representative and head agent, you are also a member of the Nominating Committee and the Alumni Fund Board.

Not only have you shared your time and knowledge with WPI, you have set an example for others through your generous financial support. As a lifetime member of the President's Advisory Council, you have led by example. And through your successful chairmanship of the 25th Anniversary Gift Program for your class, you have inspired others to generously support WPI.

You have created a personal legacy in your son, Brian, a member of the Class of 1996. Elected to Skull and a leader of the Student Alumni Society, Brian was instrumental in reviving the Goat's Head Competition.

Dusty Klauber, it is with distinct pleasure that WPI today recognizes your leadership, your caring and your generosity by presenting you with the Herbert F. Taylor Alumni Award for Distinguished Service to WPI.

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WPI Award for Outstanding Service to WPI by a Non-Alumnus

Howard Jacobson, successful businessman, corporate leader, consummate volunteer, and past chairman of the WPI Board of Trustees, you're a leader who inspires all those around you to reach for new heights.

A graduate of Harvard College and Columbia Graduate School of Business, your service to WPI has paralleled a distinguished business career as president, treasurer and director of Idle Wild Foods Inc., a Fortune 500 company, and your more recent success as an investment banker with Bankers Trust. Your broad business experience and expertise have been assets to the many corporate and community boards on which you serve.

Your commitment to, and understanding of, educational policy and issues at all levels is legendary, and your service today as a Task Force member for the Massachusetts Board of Regents and as chair of the Board of Overseers at WGBH is testimony to your wide-ranging impact on the world around you. WPI was most fortunate to have you join the Board of Trustees in 1977.

During your tenure, you have served on virtually every committee and played a pivotal role in the selection of three WPI presidents.

During your five years as chairman, and in your long service on the board's Executive Committee, you brought your extensive business experience to bear on the corporation. Through your expertise you helped introduce a new level of sophistication, accountability and success to WPI's overall operations.

Equally important, during your chairmanship, you acted on your strong belief that every constituency at WPI should have a participatory voice in the future of the university. This management approach, coupled with your warm, caring manner, led to an openness in the deliberations of the board and to greater harmony among the members of the university family.

Given only eight times since its inception in 1976, the WPI Award has been bestowed on the most meritorious and deserving members of the Worcester and WPI communities. Today you join those ranks. For your visionary leadership of WPI and your commitment to educational excellence, it is a great honor to bestow upon you the WPI Award.

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