Class Notes

Class Notes

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1940s

Edward O. Falberg '43 (Metallurgical Engineering) died September 10 in Traverse City. He was a captain in the US Army Corps of Engineers in World War II, earning a Bronze Star, and spent most of his career with Gulf & Western Industries, retiring in 1982 as president of the metals group. Along with his wife, Jeanne, he was an avid sailor and loved travel and flying. Falberg received the Board of Trustees Silver Medal and the Distinguished Alumni Award and served ten years on the Michigan Tech Fund Board of Directors.

An endowed scholarship in memory of Kern Chandler Jackson '47 '52 (BS, MS, Geology) has been established in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arkansas in recognition of his outstanding teaching career. Jackson passed away in 2008 after a thirty-year career on the faculty of the University of Arkansas.

1950s

Art Viens '58 (Chemical Engineering, Business Engineering Administration) has received the James E. Trethewey Distinguished Service Award, given by the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. During his more than forty-five years of dedication to athletics at Kingsford High School, he served in many capacities, including as a scorekeeper and record keeper, and oversees operations of the Flivver Field press box.

1960s

David W. Smith '67 (Business Administration) retired as mayor of the City of Newark, California, after serving thirty-four years in that capacity. Smith won sixteen consecutive mayoral elections, and at the time of his (voluntary) retirement, he was the second-longest serving mayor in the United States.

John Bretney '69 (Applied Physics) has coauthored a book, Rock Art at Little Lake: An Ancient Crossroads in the California Desert, published by the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at the University of California at Los Angeles. He continues to work as an engineering fellow on LADAR imaging at Raytheon in El Segundo, California.

1970s

Tom Spence '70 (Metallurgical Engineering) has retired from Flowserve after forty-one years as director of materials engineering. Tom and his wife live in Springboro, Ohio.

J. B. Hoyt '74 (Business Administration) has retired from Whirlpool Corporation after a thirty-six-plus-year career. His experiences included strategic planning, worldwide mergers and acquisitions, supply chain, and government relations. J. B. serves as chairman of the board of United Federal Credit Union, a full-service financial institution with offices in six states. He continues to provide consulting in the areas of sustainability and strategic planning.

1980s

Duane Mariotti '80 (Electrical Engineering) has relocated to Orange County in Southern California. He is employed as a clinical (biomedical) engineer with Kaiser Permanente Healthcare. He has three adult children: Melanie, 26, Melissa, 24, and Matthew, 19.

Roger Markham '85 (Technology) is human resources manager for the City of Gaylord. His wife, Paula (Hainault) Markham, is the daughter of the late mechanical engineering professor Paul Hainault. Their daughter, Alice, is a Tech freshman studying business administration and marketing.

Stacey Keener '88 (Computer Science) received her twenty-five- year pin this year for her length of service to NASA.

This from Jayne (Reuschel) Nitz '88 (Computer Science): "I don't know if Tech likes to hear about it when graduates stray from the math/science path (Editor's note: we don't mind at all.), but after four years in computer science and many years as a professional mother, I started a new part-time occupation when I began songwriting in 1999. My Christian contemporary songs appear on five of Christian singer Chris Driesbach's CDs. Also, my choir song, "Come To the Table," was published by Northwestern Publishing House in 2010."

1990s

Laura and Peter Elzinga '92 (Civil Engineering) announce the birth of a son, Cort Brennan, born on July 2, 2013.

Jeffrey Haas '93 (Computer Science) was promoted to distinguished engineer at Juniper Networks.

Vicki (Lay) Stuettgen '93 (Civil Engineering) has recently accepted the position of director of supply chain with First Quality Tissue in Anderson, South Carolina.

Dan Wagner '94, PE, (Environmental Engineering) has been named director of engineering for Gourdie- Fraser, a civil engineering consulting firm located in Traverse City. He will be responsible for directing the projects and services of their engineering department, where he will apply his twenty years of civil engineering experience gained working on hundreds of projects primarily throughout northwest Michigan.

Charlie Kinzel '95, PE, (Electrical Engineering) has opened Brewery Terra Firma with Master Brewer John Niedermaier. One of only a handful in the country, this is Michigan's first agriculture-based brewery: a modern brewery located on a legacy farm providing beer made with ingredients grown on site. The facility incorporates heat reclamation and applies brewery effluent to the land for crop fertilization and irrigation.

Kevin '97 (Mechanical Engineering) and Jodi (Cianek) '00 (Chemical Engineering) Britton welcomed their second daughter, Julia Rose, on August 17. She joins big sister Claire. Kevin is now a Six Sigma Black Belt at Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation.

Matthew Prater '98 (Mechanical Engineering) married Nicole Erickson, from Cokato, Minnesota, in June. The couple is moving to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where Prater recently accepted a position as senior counsel, intellectual property at SABIC Innovative Plastics.

Laura and Tim '99 Bindon (Mechanical Engineering Technology) welcomed their second son, Foster Jude, on October 30. He joins big brother Hudson Timothy (born March 18, 2012).

Erin and Steven '99 Ducat (Civil Engineering) gave birth to their second child, son Emmett Christopher, on August 9.

2000s

Matthew Sohrweide '01 (Business Administration) has earned an MBA from the University of Wisconsin– Oshkosh with an emphasis in project management and entry to the International Honor Society Beta Gamma Sigma on December 18, 2010. He was also named the 2010–11 UW-Oshkosh MBA Outstanding Graduate.

Amber (Harris) Kumpf '02 (Applied Geophysics) and her husband, Rob, welcomed their first child on June 13, 2013. Liam Mitchell was 21 inches long and weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces. They reside in Norton Shores, where Amber teaches geology and oceanography at Muskegon Community College.

Roland N. Alix '03 (Civil Engineering) has been elected to the Board of Directors of Hubbell, Roth and Clark as a full partner. HRC is a professional consulting civil engineering firm that represents municipal and government agencies across the Lower Peninsula.

Jim and Erica (Valencia) '03 McDonald (Chemistry) welcomed their first son, Jack David, born October 6.

Sean A. Tabacsko '04 (Mechanical Engineering) married Kristi L. Morse on June 15, 2013. Sean works for OHM Advisors in Saginaw as a project manager. Kristi is a special education teacher in the Saginaw Intermediate School District. The couple resides in Freeland.

Heather Wiitanen '05 (Scientific and Technical Communication) is happy to announce the arrival of Vienna Leelizabeth, born May 27, 2013.

Jessica Lynn Engwis '08 and Charles Joshua Swan '08 (both Electrical Engineering) were married on October 12. Jessica is a software design leader with General Motors in Milford. Charles is employed by General Motors as a design engineer in Pontiac. The couple resides in Farmington Hills.

Sadie and Andrew Wiltshire '09 (Mechanical Engineering Technology, Business Administration) announce the birth of their daughter, Josephine "Josie" James, born December 18.

Dan '11 (Mechanical Engineering) and Ashby '11 (Gleichman) Mizell (Biological Sciences) announce the birth of Troy Daniel on November 26.

Alyssa and Steven '10 Tangney (Mechanical Engineering Technology) welcomed daughter Addison Avarie to their family September 20. She was 7 pounds, 11.5 ounces, and 20.25 inches long.

Transitions

Kenneth Kraft

1930–2014

Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences Ken Kraft, 83, passed away January 12 at his Chassell Township home.

Township home. Kraft's research was in invertebrate ecology, particularly in aquatic environments. His career at Michigan Tech began in 1961, in the Forestry Department, where he taught zoology. He joined the biological sciences department when it was formed in 1962 but rejoined the forestry faculty before retiring in 1996.

"He was a very soft spoken gentleman who had a great smile," said longtime staff member Pat Asselin. "He was a pleasure to know and work with."

Kraft was instrumental in setting up Tech's first research program on Lake Superior through his connections with faculty at the University of Minnesota–Duluth. "He was the nicest guy I knew," said Professor Emeritus Jim Spain, also of biological sciences. "We did work together on Lake Superior. We once took a boat and a student to Rabbit Island to find a heron rookery. Well, we searched all over and couldn't find it. We went back to the boat to discover that we had parked it right underneath the rookery."

Kraft was one of the founders of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Houghton, according to fellow church member Harriet King. "He served as president, did our newsletters, and always brought fresh eggs from his farm," she remembered.

Keith M. Baldwin

1928–2014

Keith M. Baldwin, 85, passed away January 16, at Marquette General Hospital.

Baldwin came to the Michigan College of Mining and Technology in 1963 as an associate professor of physics. In the early 1970s, Baldwin also worked at the Keweenaw Research Center on vehicle research projects and helped secure contracts for vehicle testing. After early retirement from Michigan Tech in 1984, he partnered with the University to form KMB/Tech, developing lab equipment for physics teachers.

Don Daavettila, professor emeritus of physics, knew him well. "He was very interested in his subject and a very good teacher," he said. "I enjoyed knowing him very much. Keith was a good guy."

Physics Professor Don Beck recalled his teaching ability. "I remember him saying that he liked teaching C and D students especially because he was able to see how much they learned as they progressed through his courses."

Baldwin graduated from Michigan State University in 1950 with a degree in physics and was commissioned upon graduation as a second lieutenant in the US Army. After his discharge he attended the University of Maine–Orono, receiving a master's in physics in 1955.

Retirements

The following faculty and staff retired from Michigan Tech recently. The years they first came to Tech are listed below.

Becky Christianson, interim director of employment services, Human Resources, 1978

Michael D. Dube, equipment operator II, Facilities Management, 1979

Walter M. Gorr, custodian, Facilities Management, 1991

Carol J. Janisse, office assistant 5, Innovation and Commercialization, 1993

Rosella M. Juntunen, senior staff assistant, Institutional Equity, 1968

Ruth I. Kramer, engineer/scientist/ academic advisor, Materials Science and Engineering, 1984

Steven R. Seidel, professor, Computer Science, 1984

JoAnne Stimac, administrative aide, Mechanical Engineering– Engineering Mechanics, 1999

Calvin L. White, professor, Materials Science and Engineering, 1986

Memoriam

The Michigan Tech family extends condolences to the relatives and friends of those who have passed away.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.