WPI Announces 1999 Alumni Award Winners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/June 16, 1999
Contact: WPI Media Relations, 508-831-5616
WORCESTER, Mass. - The Citations Committee of Worcester Polytechnic Institute's Alumni Association has given awards to the following recipients during Reunion '99 June 5:
The Robert H. Goddard Award for Outstanding Professional
Achievement was given to:
- The Rev. Harvey D. Egan, SJ, of Chestnut Hill, Mass., a
member of the WPI class of 1959 and professor at Boston
College. A researcher, scholar and teacher, he has distinguished
himself in the field of Christian mysticism, a branch of
theology that deals with Christian prayer, and is an
internationally regarded expert on Roman Catholic theologian
Karl Rahner. Following his graduation from WPI with a degree in
electrical engineering, he worked as an engineer with Kaman
Helicopter Co. and Boeing Airplane Co. before entering the
Jesuit novitiate. He earned master's degrees from Weston and
Woodstock colleges and, after being ordained as a Roman Catholic
priest in 1969, traveled to Germany to pursue doctoral studies
in theology at the University of Muenster. He joined Boston
College in 1973 as an assistant professor and serves as
professor of systematic and mystical theology.
- William J. Dowd of Edmund, Okla., a member of the WPI
class of 1964 and president and chief operating officer of
Fleming Companies Inc., the largest grocery distributor in the
United States. Dowd leads a $15 billion company that employs
more than 39,000 people. After graduating with a degree in
chemical engineering, he worked at Monsanto and later at
Occidental Petroleum while obtaining an M.B.A. from the
University of Connecticut. In 1971 he joined
R.J. Reynolds/Heublin Inc., and eventually became vice president
of the $300 billion specialty grocery company. He went on to
become president and CEO of Mrs. Paul's Kitchens Inc., a $200
million division of Campbell's Soup; president of Kraft Dairy
Food; and executive vice president and general manager of Kraft
General Foods.
- Carleton F. Kilmer Jr. of Braintree, Mass., a member of
the WPI class of 1964 and managing partner of Electronics & High
Technology for Anderson Consulting LLP. Following graduation
from WPI, he served in the U.S. Army, including a tour of duty
in Vietnam as an infantry officer. He then joined U.S. Envelope
Co. as a staff and project engineer and began pursuing a
graduate degree at Babson College. He has served for more than
30 years in Anderson Consulting's global management and
technology-based consulting services, including as worldwide
managing partner for aerospace and defense, industrial products
and automotive. As senior partner for electronics and high
technology, he leads the company's largest division. A member of
WPI's 25th Reunion Gift Committee, he has served on the
President's International Advisory Board and has been appointed
to WPI's Board of Trustees.
- John S. Thompson Jr. of Wellesley Hills, Mass., a member
of the WPI class of 1969 and president and chief executive of
BTR Incorporated, a $4 billion venture. He serves on the
executive committee of BTR, plc, a $15 billion London stock
exchange company. With more than 35,000 employees in 24
countries, it is being reorganized by Thompson from a
diversified conglomerate to a more focused engineering company
specializing in the design and manufacture of controls and
automation products. After completing a WPI degree in mechanical
engineering, he earned an M.B.A. at Harvard Business School and
then worked in positions of increased responsibility at such
companies as Massachusetts Blue Shield and Continental
Investment Corp. He joined Stowe Woodward in 1975, where he
became vice president of finance and, by 1980, president. The
company was purchased by BTR, plc, in 1988, when he became vice
president and later chief executive of BTR's Paper Technology
Group.
- Vijay R. Kirloskar of Bangalore, India, a member of the
WPI class of 1974 and chairman and CEO of Kirloskar Electric
Co., India's leading manufacturer of electrical engineering
equipment. He began his career at Kirloskar Electric in 1974 as
an engineer trainee. In 1977, he returned to the United States
to work at Germanium Power Devices Corp. while pursuing a
graduate degree at WPI. He received a master of science in
management in 1978. He returned to Kirloskar Electric in 1979 as
manager of electric motor and alternator shops, advancing to
president in 1982 and vice chairman and managing director in
1988. He continues to build on the tradition begun by his
father, Ravi Kirloskar, a member of the WPI class of 1938. The
Kirloskar Group is one of India's leading industrial
organizations. It is a $2.5 billion engineering conglomerate
with more than 35 companies in power, construction, agriculture,
oil and gas industries. Kirloskar has served as vice president
of the Confederation of Indian Industry, chairman of the board
of governors of the Indian Institute of Technology and on WPI
President's International Advisory Board.
The Herbert F. Taylor Award for Distinguished Service to WPI was given to:
- William A. Julian of Midlothian, Va., and Orleans, Vt., a
member of the WPI class of 1949. Julian has been a class leader,
advisor and volunteer at WPI for 50 years. He has served as
chairman of the 35th Reunion Committee and the Washington, D.C.,
Club, and was an inaugural member of the Investment
Committee. President of the Alumni Association from 1977-79, he
has served as a solicitor for 25th and 40th Reunion Gift programs,
as a member of the 50th Anniversary Steering Committee and as a
member of the class board of directors.
- Edward Saulnier of Worcester, Mass., a member of the WPI
class of 1959. He has devoted two decades of service to WPI,
serving on the class board of directors, providing leadership
through three reunions and working on program and fund-raising
efforts. He has served as class agent, participated in
phonothons and served as a member of the 40th Anniversary Gift
Steering Committee. He has lent expertise to the Alumni Funds
Board and chaired the Matching Gifts Committee, leading efforts
to leverage corporate matching gifts. As a member of the
Executive Committee, he served as leadership chair and helped to
establish a volunteer training program for the Alumni
Association.
- Stephen E. Rubin of Needham, Mass., a member of the WPI
class of 1974. A WPI trustee and member of the Alumni
Association, , he has helped others to learn from expert wisdom
and experience through the WPI-based Venture Forum. He has
secured valuable resources, from sponsorships to software, for
WPI students and faculty and is one of the youngest-ever
philanthropic Presidential Founders in WPI history. Putting his
own stamp of approval on the value of a WPI education, he has
staffed his own enterprise, Intellution Inc., with WPI graduates
in many key executive roles.
The John Boynton Young Alumni Award for Service to WPI was given to:
- Fabio Carrera of Windsor Locks, Conn., a member of the
WPI class of 1984. An instructor with WPI's Interdisciplinary &
Global Studies' Venice Project Center, Carrera has provided
leadership, creativity and vision that has resulted in more than
75 projects involving more than 250 students at a variety of
Venetian organizations. The projects have contributed invaluable
results to assist in addressing the city's environmental, social
and cultural preservation challenges. Many of these projects,
which Carrera has designed, co-advised and marketed, have won
President's Interactive Qualifying Project awards.
- Deborah Harrow of Melrose, Mass., a member of the WPI
class of 1984. She has contributed years of volunteer
leadership, including in the Alumni Admissions Program and as
chair of the class's 15th Reunion Gift Committee. She began her
volunteerism as an undergraduate, serving on the Social
Committee, the Interfraternity Council, the Orientation
Committee and as class president. She has been active since
graduation on Executive and Master Plan committees, helping to
shape the future of the Alumni Association.
The Ichabod Washburn Young Alumni Award for Professional
Achievement was given to:
- Daniel F. Farrar of Brussels, Belgium, formerly of Keene,
N.H., a member of the WPI class of 1984. In 1998, he was
named president and chief executive officer of GE Capital Fleet
Services-Europe. Headquartered in Brussels, the division
operates in 27 countries and has a fleet of more than 280,000
vehicles under lease and service management. He began at GE as a
member of the management program in 1984, and broadened his
expertise with an M.B.A. from Harvard University. He went on to
become managing director for GE Capital Fleet Services Ltd. in
the United Kingdom and senior vice president of North American
Operations in Minnesota.
- David Szkutak of West Chester, Ohio, a member of the WPI
class of 1979. He is president and chief operating officer of
U.S. Precision Lens Inc., a subsidiary of Corning Inc. and
designer and manufacturer of plastic and glass lens systems for
projection television systems. The company's innovative optics
are also found in consumer electronics and are in demand by the
semiconductor, medical and automobile industries throughout
Asia, Europe and North America. He began his career in 1979 in
the manufacturing management program of Procter & Gamble and
joined U.S. Precision Lens in 1984 as manufacturing department
manager. He went on to become vice president of sales and
marketing before attaining his current position.
The Award for Outstanding Service to WPI by a Non-Alumnus/a was given to:
- James N. Heald II of Worcester and West Falmouth, Mass. A
31-year member of the WPI Board of Trustees, he has followed in
the footsteps of his grandfather (founder of Heald Machine Co.),
father and three uncles, all of whom attended WPI. He provided
critical oversight for the construction of WPI's
Ellsworth/Fuller complex, Founders Hall and Fuller Laboratories,
renovations of most of the academic buildings and the closing of
West Street to create a pedestrian mall. Most recently he
steered the new campus center through program development and
architectural design. When he left the Board of Trustees last
year, WPI's endowment was the 146th largest among the nation's
3,600 colleges and universities. A member of the board's
Investment Committee, he helped to oversee the endowment and was
instrumental in selecting the best possible investment managers
and asset allocation formulas. Beyond WPI, he has been active in
the Worcester community, including the leadership of Heald
Machine and involvement in charitable, civic and arts
groups.
The William R. Grogan Award for Support of the Mission of WPI was given to:
- Roy Bourgault of Worcester, Mass., a member of the WPI
class of 1942. He began his career at American Steel & Wire - now
U.S. Steel - just as the country's war machinery was heating
up. During World War II, he served in the Army Air
Corps. Afterward he worked as a metallurgist and earned a master's
degree from Stevens Institute of Technology. In 1955 he returned
to WPI as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, rising
to associate and then full professor. He served two terms as
secretary of the faculty before retiring in 1985. For three
decades he served as photographer for track and field events, and
in the 1970s rallied more than a thousand supports to keep the WPI
football program in place. He was named to the WPI Athletic Hall
of Fame as an unsung hero of WPI athletics. He is a recognized
expert in the field of failure analysis and has contributed as a
professional and educator to the American Society for Metals and
the Materials Division of the American Society for Engineering
Education. He also has served in the Mohegan Boy Scout
Council.
WPI, founded in 1865, is renowned for its project-based curriculum. Under the WPI Plan, students integrate classroom studies with research projects conducted on campus and around the world.
