The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)
Issue link: http://wpialumnimag.epubxp.com/i/456562
62 Winter 2015 class notes wanting to retire on the ocean. Life is good... I ski every week in New Hampshire as soon as Sunapee opens, and I belong to a N.H. ski club that skis the Alps every winter— Chamonix this year. I have a cruising catboat for summers along the New England coast, and a friend has a 34-foot catamaran, which we take across to the Abacos, Bahamas, every fall. She then stays on, living aboard for the winter. 1961 Asjed Jalil writes, "I retired in 2006, but I am now very active consulting and working with Pradman, an Indian company headquartered in Mumbai. I'm involved in selling their products in North America as well as helping U.S. companies interested in doing business in India." Jim Kachadorian writes, "I am happy to report that Lea and I just celebrated our 75th birthdays in good health. We'll also be pushing 50 years of marriage soon. We are in the process of transforming our Vermont property from a managed tree farm to a state-of-the-art "green" maple sugaring operation. We have partnered with a local tree service company to utilize their woodchip waste product as the fuel to fre a specially built evaporator. This will entail drying the chips in bins similar to corn cribs, since burning green chips will not produce enough heat. The chips will be fed into the prototype evaporator by an auger system. The sugarbush piping, vacuum line, and tree tap system should all be in place by year end. The most up-to-date tree taps will be used to minimize any damage to the trees while getting the most yield due to the vacuum system. Present yearly estimate is to produce about 60,000 gallons of sap (1,250 gallons of syrup) from 3,000 taps. Of course, this is all weather dependent with freezing nights and thawing spring days. This is all being done under the State of Vermont sugaring guidelines. So the next time you buy some maple syrup it might just have come from our farm! When we are not in Vermont, you can fnd us either in Cundy's Harbor, Maine, or Stuart, Fla." Allan Sherman has returned to Plymouth, Mass., after living in Lexington and Waltham for more than 50 years. Allan and Judith are enjoying settling into their frst-ever brand-new house at the Pinehills. "We will be spending the winter in our vacation home next door to our son in Oamaru, New Zealand," he writes. "Retirement is wonderful." Veikko "Vic" Uotinen ('63 MS PH) writes, "I'm retired from a paid job, but still very active in the American Nuclear Society (ANS) and in directing, with my wife, a friendship club for around 60 international students who are attending Randolph College in my hometown, Lynchburg, Va. Glad to be building international friendships and cultural awareness among students and with a group of local host families. Concerning the ANS, I have been a member for 48 years and last year I was given an honorary lifetime membership. In November 2014, I presented an invited paper in a session on Making Ethics Real in Nuclear Engineering at the Winter Meeting of the ANS in Anaheim, Calif." 1962 William Brutsch, who passed away in 2009, was honored by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority for his stewardship of the area's water system during his 32-year career with the Metropolitan District Commission and the MWRA. Under his leadership, the foundations were laid for the modernization of a system that is now considered a model for the nation. He also spearheaded a water conservation program in the early 1990s that eliminated the need for new source development and resulted in a decrease of over 120 million gallons of water per day. "He would have been humbled by this gesture in his honor," writes his widow, Carol. "Bill is buried in Quabbin Park Cemetery, near the shores of the great waters he cared for so much." Ralph Johanson was re-elected mayor of the city of Hills and Dales in the Louisville, Ky., area. "I qualifed for the US Senior Games (50, 100, and 200-yard breaststroke) to be held this year in Minneapolis. I also spent three weeks traveling in central Europe for my 50 th wedding anniversary with wife, Kathleen. I'm going to be fully retired from GRW Engineers by end of year—looking for some ideas on volunteering!" Stephen Phillips notes that he's "One of a distinct minority (still working full time in my 70s), with retirement nowhere to be seen or wished for. These days, Royal Health United (a fresh Royal Jelly provider) and Saint Gobain occupy my time." 1963 Bob Craig, writes, "Retired from GL&V; USA Inc. in 2010 and moved to South America, where I've lived since. Enjoying life as a retiree." 1964 Bruce Maccabee writes, "I retired from a 36-year career as a Navy physicist in 2008. In September I published my fourth book, The FBI-CIA- UFO Connection (RichardDolan- Press.com). This book shows that the Air Force withheld from the public that that top brass knew as early as 1948 that some unexplainable UFO sightings were actually evidence of 'interplanetary' craft (the terminology used in FBI documents). From then on they successfully covered up that evidence by publicly stating over and over again that all sightings could be explained; even top generals knew that was not true. I present examples of the covered-up sightings and reports, and describe numerous unexplained UFO sightings from my investigations over a decade and a half." Read more about Bruce's latest book on page 61. 1968 Cary Palulis writes, "Survived a major heart attack—main valve 100 percent blocked. Stents put in, and I now have a clean bill of health with no restrictions. See you all at next year's alumni golf outing! I'm still going, working full time as VP of sales & marketing for recycler Heritage-Crystal Clean." 1969 Craig Barrows (MS PH) shares, "Although offcially retired, I am teaching physics part time at the Wamego, Kansas, campus of Highland Community College. My wife, Dianne, and I are also volunteer interpreters at the Flint Hills Discovery Center in nearby Manhattan (the "Little Apple"), where we live. Raj Chauhan writes, "I enjoyed my studies at WPI as much as or even more than my previous studies at Chauncy Hall (now Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall in Boston) and my primary and high school in India. (Back then it was 10 minutes by car from our home in Vile Parle, in Mumbai.) What I really enjoyed at WPI are the beautiful campus and the wonderful New England seasons, along with the excellent professors, the student body, and the wonderful fraternity parties." Raj names many favorite professors, including van Alstyne, Cobb, and Heventhal. "I can't forget Professor Shipman, who said, 'In life, you must be able to grab the bull by the tail and look at facts in the face!' Or Professor Roadstrom saying, 'In every life there comes a time when things become overbearing: That's time to take a break or go on a vacation.' From the era of B&W; TV, slide rules, the set square, and French curves, we've come a long way, baby! Send your class note to classnotes@wpi.edu. Images welcome!