May 6, 2004

Around Campus

Hail and Farewell

Dennis Berkey Named President of WPI

The Board of Trustees has elected Dennis D. Berkey, currently provost at Boston University, WPI's 15th president. He will join WPI on July 1. For more than 30 years, Berkey has distinguished himself as a nationally recognized academic and administrative leader. Learn more about WPI's 15th president.

President Parrish Honored at Reception

WPI's 14th president, Edward Alton Parrish, was given a warm and heartfelt farewell at a special reception for the campus community last Thursday, April 29. Recollections and tributes were offered on behalf of the faculty by Bob Kinicki, professor of computer science and secretary of the faculty; the staff by Joan Murphy, assistant to the president; and the student body by Daniel Martell, acting president, Student Government Association, and Vishnu Pandey, officer in the Graduate Student Organization. The president also received a number of gifts from the community, including a WPI chair, an aerial photo of the campus, and a caricature showing him at the piano and featuring many of his interests, hobbies and accomplishments.

Faculty, Students Receive Sigma Xi Awards

At the Honors Convocation on April 20, several Sigma Xi Awards were presented in recognition of outstanding research at WPI. Four outstanding Major Qualifying Projects were honored:

Winners of Health Fair Raffle Announced

The following employees were winner of the Health and Benefit Fair raffle held April 15: Linda Bullens, Carol Butler, Jessica Caron, Frank Conti, Theresa Coolberth, Jill Cummings, Eileen Dagostino, Michael Dorsey, Evelyn Doyle, Joseph Gnanaraj, Diana Johnson, Deb Kiguli, Jane McCallum, Dave Messier, Barbara Milanese, Tom Moreau, Joan Murphy, Kerrie O'Connor, Gina Patterson, Larry Riley, Joan Shanahan, Greg Snoddy and Fran Stopyra.

Employees Receive Summer Fun Discount

The Worcester Center for Crafts and the YMCA of Greater Worcester, Central Community Branch, jointly offer three two-week camp sessions to children ages 6-12 this summer. The campers will enjoy an exciting program of activities including rock climbing, dance and movement, outdoor games, creative writing, and field trips to museums, zoos and other places. The tuition for each two-week session is $315 for Central Community YMCA and Worcester Center for Crafts members, and $345 for non-members. WPI employees receive a 25 percent discount. For more information or to register, call 508-753-8183, ext. 3016

People

Notarianni Named New Firesafety Director

Kathy Notarianni '86, currently project leader and research engineer with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has been named director of the Center for Firesafety Studies, succeeding David Lucht, who will retire at the end of June after more than 25 years as the center's first director. Lucht will remain at WPI in a full-time position within Development and University Relations.

Notarianni holds a B.S. in chemical engineering and an M.S. in fire protection engineering from WPI and a Ph.D. in engineering and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University, where she did her doctoral dissertation on "The Role of Uncertainty in Improving Regulation: A Case Study in Fire Protection."

Brown to Step Down as Director of MFE

Christopher Brown, Saint-Gobain Professor, has announced his intention to will leave his post as head of the Manufacturing Engineering Program at the end of June, after four years in that position, to spend more time on teaching and research. Richard Sisson, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Materials Science and Engineering Program, and Yiming "Kevin" Rong, professor of mechanical engineering, will take over the direction of the MFE program.

Lowenstein Appointed to National Board

Arlene Lowenstein, dean of continuing education and professional studies, has been appointed to the national board of the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA). Founded in 1915, UCEA has 427 member institutions and over 1,700 professional members. Lowenstein began a two-year term on April 17.

Plant Receives Volunteer Award

Clarence Plant, property administrator, received the Dr. Ronald W. Lamont-Havers Volunteer of the Year Award from the Arthritis Foundation at the Massachusetts Chapter's 55th annual meeting in March.

Student Wins Honors in Competition

William Johnston won a third-place award in a graduate poster presentation competition held at the 30th Annual Northeast Bioengineering Conference in Springfield, Mass., April 17-18. His paper was titled "Effects of Motion Artifacts on Helmet-Mounted Pulse Oximeter Sensors."

Publications and Presentations

Biomedical Engineering

The following five papers were presented at the 30th Annual Northeast Bioengineering Conference in Springfield, Mass., in April 2004:

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Tauscher, T., Long, S.C., Plummer, J.D., and Aull, M.E., "Managing Watershed Activities Using Microbial Source Tracking," presented at the 28th Annual Meeting of the New England Association of Environmental Biologists, Hancock, Mass., March 17-19, 2004.

Humanities and Arts

Schachterle, Lance, and Aravind, P.K. (PH), "The Three Equations in Gravity's Rainbow," Pynchon Notes 46-49 (spring-fall 2000-01) [published spring 2004], 157-69.

Samson, M. David, "Henry-Russell Hitchcock, Jr." "International Style Exhibition, 1932," and "Philip Johnson," entries in The Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Architecture, ed. Stephen Sennott (New York: Taylor and Francis, 2004).

Mathematical Sciences

Case, Gregory*, Quinn, Patrick*, and Sternberg, Ryan*, "Exploration of Unit Distance Graphs," presented at the 11th annual Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, April 3, 2004. (Greg and Ryan performed the Mozart Requiem at Mt. Holyoke College after their talk.)

Servatius, Brigitte, "Firing Cannons on a Sloped Battlefield," presented at the 11th annual Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, April 3, 2004.

Servatius, Brigitte, chaired session on Graph Theory at the 11th annual Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, April 3, 2004.

Servatius, Herman, chaired session on Algebra at the 11th annual Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, April 3, 2004.

Servatius, Mary, chaired session on Coding Theory at the 11th annual Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, April 3, 2004.

*undergraduates

Venture Forum Focus on Valuation

When investors expect good things to happen, valuations rise. When the outlook turns sour, values fall. Joel F. Johnson, accredited senior appraiser (ASA) and founder of Orchard Partners will address these topics at a meeting of the WPI Venture Forum at 6:30pm (registration at 6pm) on Tuesday, May 11, in the Campus Center Odeum. He will describe how the expectations of venture capitalists, private equity buyers and strategic acquirers differ and how these differences mold their valuation decisions. In addition to performing business appraisals since 1987, Johnson advises clients in mergers and acquisitions. He founded Orchard Partners in 1998 and has provided valuation opinions for financial reporting, tax and litigation purposes. His clients include venture-backed private companies, publicly traded companies, family businesses, and corporations with a single owner. Admission is $10 for members, $20 for nonmembers, and free for faculty, staff and students with ID; +1-508-831-5075

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Last modified: February 21, 2008 09:27:51