The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)
Issue link: http://wpialumnimag.epubxp.com/i/114745
inmemory Donald F. Pethybridge '38 Charles R. Smith '53 James J. Grasseschi '86 Charles E. Bradford '42 Richard C. Butterworth '55 (Sigma Phi Epsilon) Byron W. Mah '86 Bruce E. Smyth '43 (Sigma Alpha Epsilon) Harold S. Sauer '55 (Alpha Tau Omega) Jay E. Harper '87 (Phi Kappa Theta) Robert J. Patterson '44 John A. Mattson '56 (Phi Sigma Kappa) Lisa M. Maynard '93 Alpheus M. Farnsworth '46 Robert Robinson '56 (Sigma Alpha Epsilon) Michael V. Lopresti '94 Carlton G. Lutts '46 Richard H. Campbell '58 (adjunct professor, ECE) Frederick W. Marvin '46 (Sigma Phi Epsilon) William B. Mierke '58 (Sigma Alpha Epsilon) Manuel Renasco '46 Bruce B. Storms '58 (Alpha Tau Omega) John Taylor '46 (Phi Gamma Delta) Robert Kieltyka '59 (Phi Sigma Kappa) Richard H. Noble '48 (Lambda Chi Alpha) William P Morrison '63 . Roland F. Bedard '50 (Phi Kappa Theta) James F. Mills '65 (Sigma Phi Epsilon) Norman W. Martin '50 (Phi Gamma Delta) Benjamin M. Surowiecki '65 (Lambda Chi Alpha) Paul D. Nyquist '50 John P Dubiel '68 . Richard E. Howard '51 (Sigma Phi Epsilon) Joseph R. Pare '68 (MNS) Edmund G. Johnson '51 (Sigma Alpha Epsilon) David A. Martin '72 Donald H. Stewart '52 Charles R. Dix '83 Eugene T. Schneider '53 Douglas J. Saunders '83 CORRECTION: Mark E. Vandette '02 was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. His fraternity was incorrectly noted in the previous issue. WPI also notes the passing of Richard Prouty, son of Olive Higgins Prouty, grandson of Milton and Katherine Higgins, and generous benefactor of the Olive Higgins Prouty Library Fund. As this issue went to press, we learned of the death of professor Tom Keil (page 28). He will be properly memorialized in the next issue of WPI Journal. Van Bluemel, professor emeritus of physics Van Bluemel, professor emeritus of physics, passed away Nov. 22, 2012, at the age of 78. He had retired in 1999 after 33 years as a full-time faculty member and remained active at the Institute, most recently helping with the development of a new WPI history. "Van was a fixture at WPI and played an important role in the life of the Institute as well as the Department of Physics," said Physics Department Head Germano Iannacchione. "His many passions and activities have touched the lives of countless people. No one could ask for a finer example of a professor or a human being." Bluemel joined the WPI faculty in 1966, just as the Institute was poised to undergo the most significant transformation in its history. He took an active role in the discussions and activities surrounding the work of a faculty planning committee that was crafting what came to be called the WPI Plan. After a campuswide Planning Day in 1969, he wrote in an essay in Tech News, urging the faculty to "continue to create opportunities for faculty members and students to talk to each other, instead of at each other"; to yield to students' requests for greater flexibility in charting their course through WPI; and to tap the creativity and thoughtfulness of students in the classroom. An educator and project advisor much beloved by several generations of students, Bluemel received the Board of Trustees' Award for Outstanding Teaching in 1996. His citation opened with this summary of his approach to education: "Van Bluemel is totally dedicated to his students. In class he is always ready to help anyone struggling with the concepts of physics. In project advising he will undertake topics completely new to him only because a student is eager to work on the topic and can find no local expert. Outside of class, he is a role model. His enthusiasm, openness, and charm have had a lasting impression on generations of students. Finally, Professor Bluemel maintains the highest standards of integrity, doing what he believes is right, not what is expedient, popular, or easy." In 2011, he received the inaugural George P Dixon . Award for his many years as a dedicated advisor to Skull, to which he was tapped with the Class of 1982. A longtime member of WPI's runners club, he is said to have given the group its name, the Footpounders, a whimsical term that alluded to both the activity of running and the term foot-pound, which in physics is a unit of work or energy. In his free time, Bluemel enjoyed hiking, bee keeping, skiing, reading, and photography. He sang with the Worcester Chorus and volunteered for the Unitarian Universalist Church and for cancer research. He is survived by his wife, Polly, two daughters, four grandchildren, and two sisters. Complete obituaries can usually be found through newspapers, websites, legacy.com, and similar indexes. WPI will share details on the "completed careers" of friends and classmates, if available. To request further information, contact alumni-editor@wpi.edu or call 508-831-5998. Winter 2013 59