The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)
Issue link: http://wpialumnimag.epubxp.com/i/95644
classnotes 9George Breece '75 writes, "In June, Cyprian Keyes Golf Club in Boylston was the site of a warm reunion for 11 ATO brothers from the Class of 1975—we had traveled from Con- necticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Colorado. After a short warm-up, the brothers teed off in three groups on a glorious 'Chamber of Commerce day.' With a wide range of golfing skills in play, the Best Ball format was used and everyone enjoyed the camaraderie on a difficult course. The plan was hatched back in March when Steve Caggiano emailed a group photo from a previous event in 1989 with almost the exact same participants. (Many changes have taken place since that previous outing!) Various photo- graphs of past events, old ATO group shots, and other memo- rabilia were on display, and we vowed not to wait another 23 years—in fact, we're planning another outing for next year. Those in attendance were, from left, Bob Horner, Paul O'Brien, Todd Whitaker, Rich Gallagher, George Klug, Bob Klimm, Steve Caggiano, Larry Jones, Bob Morin, George Breece, and Bill Johnson. We are missing con- tact info on numerous ATO '75 members—please respond to me or another brother after reading this note." Bob Cummings '75 says, "I have been working for the North American Electric Reliability Corp. for almost 16 years, mostly in the Princeton, N.J., area. But because I travel exten- sively for the company, I became a remote employee in 2010, and my wife and I moved back to Albuquerque. My current position is director of reliability initiatives and system analysis, directing initiatives in system protection, frequency response, system modeling improvements, and the implementation and use of high-speed synchro-phasor (30+ samples per second) measurement technologies in the power industry. The system analysis part of the work includes deep-dive technical analysis of blackouts like the one in San Diego in September 2011. I've been doing power system forensic analysis since the 2003 Northeast Blackout, earning the nickname 'Blackout Bob.'" Ginny Giordano FitzPatrick '75 writes, "Still traveling both locally and internationally teaching IBM Websphere technical training classes. Best assignments are either overseas or in locations close to my five grandchildren, who are spread across the U.S. John joined me on an assignment for the first time when I had to teach in Scotland—he enjoyed golf and local pubs (!) while I worked. If I have a spare hour, I knit to keep those grand- children in custom-made sweaters." John FitzPatrick '75 recently completed his 25th year as a financial planner and tax advisor to individuals and small businesses. He writes, "I've also completed 25 years of working with youth in the local community through scouting and, more recently, youth ministry outreach with my church community." 10 Bob Desourdis '77, '79 (MS EE) reports, "I have been working in public safety and emergency planning/response for the last 15 years. My last of five technical books, Achiev- ing Interoperability in Critical IT and Communications Sys- tems (2009, Artech House of Norwood), used quotes from the 2004 9-11 Report, and the 2006 Katrina Report to dem- onstrate examples of each of the planning deficiencies iden- tified in the 1946 congressional investigative report of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. I have an invited chapter in a forthcoming McGraw-Hill book in which I add the mass shootings at Virginia Tech as compared to Columbine plan- ning failures, and Deepwater Horizon as compared to Exxon Valdez, to show that 20-20 hindsight does not help much. The rest of the book and the chapter addresses how to fix these planning deficiencies. My next book will also include some examples (if I can find them) of how to 'do things right.' That involves using proactive information-sharing technologies to mitigate or avoid these Pearl Harbor-type planning deficiencies that have historically turned disaster into tragedy. I am also working to develop a new Alumni Gym concept that would turn it into an all-department solu- tion integration and entrepreneurial center with a Class A demonstration facility to represent—in exciting multimedia scenario-based presentations that progress with script to show solutions—not just 'things on a podium.'" Richard Wheeler '77 completed the executive develop- ment program in May 2012 at the Wharton School of Busi- ness, University of Pennsylvania. He is currently president of Capewell Components LLC, with facilities in Cromwell and South Windsor, Conn., the United Kingdom, and Shanghai, China. Ian Cannon '78 is leading Extreme Engineering business development, working to address unplanned downtime in the offshore drilling and exploration market. He recently met with the U. S. Department of the Interior to discuss how systems engineering practices can improve performance and reliability of deepwater well control systems. Ian and his team have been challenged with generating $40M in orders in 2012. He is in his 34th year with Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, headquar- tered in Canoga Park, Calif. He recently relocated from Ven- tura, to Beverly, Mass., and was married to Patricia McShay on Feb. 27, 2012. Steve Mezak '78 writes, "My wife, Paula (Fraraccio) passed away July 5, 2012, at the age of 55. I met Paula when we sang the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah together at a concert in St. Paul's Cathedral in Worcester. That evening, the WPI Men's Glee Club served dinner in Alden Hall, and we entertained the girls with several songs sung by the smaller Baker's Dozen a cappella group that I also belonged to. Our closing number was a song called "Goodnight, Little Girl, Goodnight." To spice it up further, we each picked out a girl in the audience to look at when we sang. I picked Paula. Later, I saw her standing alone and I worked up my courage and went over and spoke to her. Not only was she from New Jer- sey and not only was she from my hometown, but her grand- father, Charlie, worked part-time at my parents' bakery after he retired from owning his own bakery. We had so much in common it seemed like destiny finally put us together." Steve and Paula's son Charlie graduated from WPI in 2002. Dona- tions in memory of Paula may be made to Hepatitis Founda- tion International and Cancer Support Program at Sutter Lakeside Hospital. Marcia (Huber) Berg '79 (MS CHE) retired from DuPont in August 2011. Steve Blanchette '79 celebrated his 10th anniversary at EMC and is now a senior director in the Global Alliances orga- nization. He previously spent 20 years at DEC in product management, with time at NEC in between. Steve and his wife live in New Hampshire and frequently visit North Carolina, where they enjoy seeing their grandson. Most important, he says, "I remain determined to work at companies with names that are three-letter acronyms." 11 John Bourassa '79 accepted a position with Lockheed Martin Global Training and Logistics in Belcamp, Md., leaving Lockheed Martin IS&GS.; He writes, "I was with Lockheed Fall 2012 77