The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)
Issue link: http://wpialumnimag.epubxp.com/i/277771
class notes Keri (Driscoll) Sicard, patent attorney at Loginov & Assoc., was promoted to name partner last year. To accompany her promotion, the frm will change its name Loginov & Sicard PLLC. Keri received her juris doctorate from the University of New Hampshire School of Law (formerly Franklin Pierce Law Center) in 2008. Patrick Spencer and his wife, Raegan, are Peace Corps volunteers stationed in Madagascar's Morondava District. See the Bookshelf column in this issue to learn about their efforts with the Peace Corps' Stomp Out Malaria In Africa initiative, and their book, The Story of Soa and the Moka, about a little girl who learns not to trust the "moka" (mosquito). 2007 Geoff Batstone writes, "My wife, Meghan, and I have been married for over a year, and things have been great! Looking ahead, we're excited about this year's plans to travel to Mexico City for a wedding, to Houston to meet my brother's frst baby, and to Europe for our second honeymoon. We expect this year to be jam-packed! I'm approaching my fourth year at National Grid as a transmission engineer, and am excited about the new opportunities. This year I also plan to take the PE exam in civil engineering and hopefully receive my professional engineering license." Sam Feller was on campus in February for a lunchtime talk, as part of WPI's frst "Geek Week." Students were invited to patch up their glasses with black tape and hike their pants high for Dress-up Day, sport pocket protectors and suspenders, or dress up as Big Bang characters. Sam spoke with students about founding his own company (awkward engineer.com) and fguring out his life path. "I want to tell them it's not even about open-ended problem solving," he says. "It's open-ended about deciding what you want to do. Everything you learn helps you with the next thing." Sam's Cookie Dunkr Cups are fnally available for sale, with newly perfected High Milk Displacement Technology. "It's taken a year-and-a-half to get here, through the lows of an unfunded Kickstarter, to the excitement of signing a licensing deal. It's the largest project I've ever started, and holding fnished products in my hands for the frst time was a thrill. It's been an incredible journey, and I'm so thankful for everyone that helped me get this far." 2008 Chris DaCunha received his degree in 2009, after working at WPI for six years. He reports that the past fve years have been quite an adventure. "I moved to California for an exciting opportunity in biofuels, then, two years later, I started a company with people I met while speaking at a NASA conference. My company, Universal Bio Mining LLC, is making the mining industry more effcient and environ- mentally friendly via biology. UBM was started in San Francisco and has since expanded to Arizona. I have done extensive volunteering in science education for several organizations: most notably iGEM, BioGENEius, and CCSF Bridge to Biotech programs. I was married in 2011, and we just had twins this past October. I stay busy making beers and cheeses, and playing bass guitar (when the twins allow)." Omari O'Neal McPherson ('10 MS MTI) writes, "I just became a father to a little star named Shiloh. I'm currently working on new music and videos to complement my independently released album, Til Shiloh, available at OmariONeal.com. Right now, 2014 looks incredibly promising, and I wish the rest of the alumni body a prosperous new year!" (Read more about Omari's work in the Wπ section of this issue.) Ryan Trunko writes, "I have been accepted to take the Professional Engineering License Exam in April 2014, and have already started studying. My wife and I are also expecting our frst child in late May, which will result in a very busy springtime." Jodi (Lowell) and Neil Whitehouse '05 were married in July 2012, and welcomed the birth of their frst child, Edith, in September 2013. 2009 Alex Schwartz of OWLchemy Labs announces the team's latest game, Dyscourse, which was successfully funded on Kickstarter. "Because this game is by far our most ambitious project, we went the Kickstarter route to raise money, providing pre-orders and rewards to those who buy-in early. Dyscourse is a survival game like you've never seen. You and a haphazard group of travelers are marooned on a desert island and your choices on that island greatly affect the outcome." Special note for 'Slacker Backers' — Missed the Kickstarter? You can still join the party at discourse.com. 2010 Nick Comeau writes, "Since graduation I have been working for UMass Memorial Health Care as a process improvement specialist. Basically, it's a fancy way of saying I coach our employees on projects where they look to make improvements to their work. I work with a variety of people, both clinical and non-clinical, from those on the frontlines of care delivery to the chairs of departments. My role ranges from direct facilitation of improvement projects (we use the A3 methodology) to behind-the-scenes coaching. As a Lean Black Belt, I am involved in projects related to improving patient access (getting the services our patients need, when they need them), strategic planning and leadership development in the department of Family Medicine, and improving the fow and sharing of information. I also spend a good amount of time in the classroom. We train our physicians and staff in lean and process improvement, and even have our own belt system. I teach our one-day White Belt course, two-day Yellow Belt Course, and nine-month Black Belt course." Nathan and Lianne (Elsner) Poisson of Hudson, N.H., announce the birth of their son, James Michael Poisson, on Sept. 16, 2013, at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center. James was 7 pounds, 6 ounces and 20¾ inches long at birth. Justin Skelly writes, "I proposed to Erika Wilson on the evening of Saturday 1/18/2013. This life-changing moment took place in East Falmouth, Mass., at her cousin's house, where we were frst introduced. I misled Erika into thinking that we were attending a dinner party, but she was happily surprised when we arrived to candles, lanterns, and lights set up outside at the spot of our frst kiss. We spent the rest of the weekend on the Cape celebrating together. I have been working on my master's degree in environmental engineering part time since graduation and will be fnishing in the spring. Erika will complete her long journey of medical school in the spring, as well." Vickie Valencia writes, "I moved to Oregon last year, and I've had some WPI friends visit. I'm still settling into the Portland metro area, and I've been able to learn some fun skills along the way. Since moving out here, I've learned to identify healing and edible plants, build a fre using hemlock twigs as kindling, and build a shelter in the woods with sticks and mud. I also joined a Morris dancing team that performs around town. I hope that in 2014 I'll be able to add another achievement to my list: to be employed as a mechanical engineer." Spring 2014 63 WPI_classnotes_final.indd 63 3/9/14 2:42 PM