The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)
Issue link: http://wpialumnimag.epubxp.com/i/406282
Fall 2014 57 class notes New Jersey, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, and Ohio. He previously spent 30 years at the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company (now Aqua Pennsylvania), including eight years as chief engineer. 1970 "Take this job and love it!" writes Peter Blackford, special projects manager at Cable USA in Naples, Fla. "Through a fortuitous set of circumstances, I was introduced to the wire and cable business in 1978 and have been enjoying it ever since. While it may at frst consideration seem mundane for a WPI graduate, this is a business in which one can use a great portion of his technical education on a regular basis. It's natural to expect that electrical engineering would be useful, but this is where that comes together with mechanical engineering, chemistry (polymer and other subsets as well), materials science, metallurgy, mathematics, statistics… well, you get the idea. This multidisciplinary application keeps things from being boring, and I have found the years passing unbelievably quickly. One ulterior motive in 'spilling the beans' on this 'stealth career': We need more engineering talent in this feld! If one is interested only in becoming a cube rat, wire and cable is not for you; but if your curiosity is broad-based and multi-scientifc, then give me a call at 239-280-3871 (direct) or 239-592-9814 (cell). 1972 Ken Kolkebeck writes, "At the end of 2009 I cofounded the service company FirstFuel Software, along with CEO Swap Shah, to help utilities and large real estate holders by analyzing electrical meter data using data science techniques not normally available to this user group. Since that time, we have gone from the two of us to over 70 employees, including WPI grads Tyler Leeds '05, Evgeny Rahman '05, and John Massih-Tehrani '06. We have created a new category in the electric metering space: advanced analytics for demand-side management and energy effciency. FirstFuel is gaining converts from major utilities and government entities—all in a down economy. Recently we had a series B investment, which included the German utility Eon. See our news pages at frstfuel.com to get an idea of the success we are having." 1973 John Goulet writes, "This past year I did not win a Nobel Prize. In fact I was not nominated once again. (I don't know how this keeps happening!) But, I was one of the frst two people to graduate from WPI under the Plan, in February '73. I am on the Mathematical Sciences faculty at WPI, and I did manage to: a) be awarded the Access-Friendly Faculty of the Year Award during Disability Week; and b) get promoted to Full Professor of Teaching." 1974 Holly (Keyes) Ault continues as an assistant professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at WPI, with a focus on engineering design, CAD, geometric modeling, and rehabilitation engineering. "For the past 10 years, I have been the director of the Melbourne, Australia, Project Center, and have advised IQPs at several other centers as well," she writes. "In my spare time, I enjoy quilting and gardening. After spending 28 years at Norton Co., my husband, Bill [Ault '73] has changed career paths and he is now the pastor at the First Church in Templeton, Mass. We live in the parsonage, a lovely home that was built by John Boynton. Nearly every summer since 1980, Bill and I have led groups of high school youth on a weeklong service project that we call work camp. We pound nails, spread paint, mend roofs, dish up food, sort through clothing, teach summer Bible school, and a plethora of other tasks for agencies such as Habitat for Humanity, Heifer Project, and other local social service agencies. We also went on several trips to New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina." Mike Benoit writes, "The day after graduation I started work as a process engineer at Pfzer Inc. in the chemicals division in Groton, Conn. After fve years I moved to the minerals division in northwestern Connecticut, where I managed a lime and limestone operation. After three years there, serendipity intervened, leading me to take a job with a startup company in the environmental business. I was tasked with developing and implementing technologies to recycle energy-bearing wastes as alternative fuels in industrial furnaces. That company became very successful and a key player in a new industry. In 1996 I left the company to run the industry's trade association, which was based in Washington, D.C. I continue in my position as executive director and am now based at my home offce in Madison, N.H." Mike and his wife, Celeste, have rescued and restored a historic 1825 farm in Rice City, R.I. "I also co-invented two patented technologies that enable solid hazardous waste and whole scrap tires to be benefcially used as alternative fuels in cement kilns." Todd Cormier and his wife, Kathleen, have two sons and one daughter. "I started my career as a feld engineer, built 12 hydroelectric powerhouses, and progressed to a director/expert testifying witness," he writes. Bill Stafford has been a senior engineer with CFS Engineers in Kansas City, Kansas, since 2008. His previous posts included senior vice president of Terta Tech and executive vice president of Professional Service Industry in Washington, D.C. He and his wife, Kathleen, have two children and three grandchildren. Bob Trotter worked for American Bosch and Ford Motor Co. before joining Stanadyne Corp., where he has spent the last 34 years. His role involves developing emissions-reduc- ing diesel fuel injection equipment. He and his wife, Xiaohong Li, have three children. Bob Meader writes, "Retired end of June 2013 from the Corps of Engineers. ('Every day is Saturday!') My wife, Betty, and I have four granddaughters. Currently working on timber frame number seventeen, which was initially constructed in our front yard in Hanover, Mass., and disassembled for transportation." '68