The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)
Issue link: http://wpialumnimag.epubxp.com/i/114745
Letters to the Editor WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE with the story by Kate Silver about WPI grad Richard Cournoyer. I was pleasantly surprised to see his face on the cover, and after reading the well written story about his accomplishments at JPL, I said to myself, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ALUMNI RELATIONS The Alumni mAgAzine of WorcesTer PolyTechnic insTiTuTe fAll 2012 journal I recently received the fall issue of the WPI Journal pi VOL. 109, NO. 2 Peter A. Thomas CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER Amy M. Morton EDITOR James Wolken jwolken@wpi.edu "Well, that's Ricky Cournoyer. " As I remember him as a young lad, he was Ricky. MANAGING EDITOR My wife and I were close to his dad and mom and Doreen Manning dmanning@wpi.edu we knew the kids as they were growing up. I worked with his dad at Electric Boat in Groton, Ct. When I Ƃrst started working there in 1968, Dick and I became good friends and he served as my mentor/big brother during my Ƃrst few years at EB. I remember Ricky as a very industrious young man history in the making Richard &oXrno;\er ¶ leaves his mark on Mars ASSOCIATE EDITORS Peggy Isaacson Joan Killough-Miller CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Judith Jaeger and see so much of his father in his interview comART DIRECT0R ments throughout the story about his own accom- Kaajal Asher plishments. After quite a few years of being out of touch, thanks CONTRIBUTING WRITERS to this article, Ricky and I have exchanged a few emails and intend to catch up on on our lives and families. Thank you, Kate Silver, for writing a great story. DAVID SWERCEWSKI '68 Dear Editor, I am very saddened to learn the demise of Prof. [Donald] Zwiep in the spring 2012 issue of Transfor- Andrew Baron, David Enders, Josh Farnsworth, Ted Flanagan, David Greenslit, Taylor Nunez, Laura Porter, Stephanie Pasha, Susan Shalhoub, John Shaw Barbara Taormina Dear Editor, mations. Prof. Zwiep was an excellent administrator PRODUCTION MANAGER I grinned upon reading an email from WPI late last and an educator, an eternal optimist; ever motivat- Dianne Vanacore year, inviting alumni to share any recent experi- ing and challenging students to work on innovative PHOTOGRAPHERS ences in a class note—in particular, that perhaps projects and novel courses like computer technol- I had "landed a rover on Mars." In fact, for me that ogy. He was a visionary; he introduced many new was just the case! I have worked at the Jet Propulsion developments and provided opportunities in the Lab since 2006, and through 2010 was assigned to the ever changing technological world. He was also a Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) project. As a member great comforter and a gentleman as well. I always re- junction with the WPI Alumni Association. Periodical of the Spacecraft Mechanical Engineering Section, member his great greeting smile, exhibiting a sense postage paid at Worcester, Massachusetts, and addi- Integration & Test group, I helped design and build of conƂdence and positiveness. tional entry offices. Issues are mailed to all known WPI Kathleen Dooher, Leah Fasten, Matt Furman, Dave Lauridsen, Max Saccoccio WPI Journal (ISSN 1538-5094) ©2013 is published quarterly by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in con- alumni living within the U.S. as a benefit of having equipment, prepare facilities, and develop proce- When I came to WPI in August 1962 from India dures necessary to assemble and test all of the MSL with much anxiety and uncertainty, he motivated WPI's principles of free expression and accepted stan- subsystems, including the cruise stage, aeroshell, and encouraged me to enroll into courses which have dards of good taste. Opinions expressed are those of descent stage (sky crane), and the rover Curiosity. a promising future and growth potential within M.E. graduated from WPI. This publication is guided by the signed contributors and do not represent the opinion or official position of WPI or its officers. POSTMAS- To say the least, working on the development of discipline as well as in computer courses (IBM 1620 TER: Please send address changes, Form 3579, to WPI spacecraft that explore our solar system is a unique- generation at that time!). He also helped me Ƃnd re- Journal, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute ly rewarding occupation. In the spring of 1989, I was search work at the Alden hydraulic Lab., which I need- Road, Worcester, MA 01609-2280. honored by being featured in the WPI Journal for my ed greatly at that time. I was very fortunate to come Correspond with WPI Journal work on the Magellan spacecraft, which visited Ve- in contact with such a good man and the academic WPI Journal nus in the early '90s. Reminded of that, it is deeply world shall miss him greatly. 100 Institute Road - Boynton Hall gratifying to know that other WPI alumni, such as Richard Cournoyer '98, are sharing this experience. SCOTT MATHEWS '82 8 Winter 2013 P SWAMY (PUTTASWAMY) '64 . Worcester, Massachusetts 01609 wpijournal@wpi.edu 508-831-6652 Submit Class notes: classnotes@wpi.edu