Case Alumnus The Magazine of the Case Alumni Association Since 1921
Spring 2019 • vol. 33 • no. 1
The Case Legacy
Alumnus to lead new ‘Aerozone’
Meet the first Joe Prahl Scholar
HOMECOMING 2019 Homecoming 2019 is October 10-13
Want to get the old gang back together? We can help. When it comes to staging reunions, we’re the experts. Contact Kelly Hendricks, Director of Alumni Relations—216-368-0635; Kelly.Hendricks@casealum.org—and get started on creating a homecoming to remember.
Think the innovation emerging from the Case School of Engineering is worth a podcast? So do we. That’s why we launched think[box] RADIO. We reach a coast-to-coast audience with stories of the people who make Case a place of discovery. Find us at www.casealum.org/podcast
Dean’s Message
A dean approaches his first commencement Dear alumni and friends of the Case School of Engineering, Spring is always an exciting time of year for those of us in higher education, but this spring is particularly exciting for me. In a few short weeks, I’ll attend my first commencement ceremonies as the Charles H. Phipps Dean of the Case School of Engineering, where I’ll have the privilege of watching an extraordinary group of newly minted engineers receive their degrees. I can think of no better way to mark my first six months at Case Western Reserve.
I have developed an even deeper appreciation for—and pride in—the quality of our educational programs, particularly our dedication to our undergraduate program. When I arrived on campus last September, I knew I was coming to a special place. In the last six months, I have developed an even deeper appreciation for—and pride in—the quality of our educational programs, particularly our dedication to our undergraduate program. I can watch these students cross the stage this spring, confident that we have prepared them to impress in the next stages of their engineering careers. There is no more satisfying feeling for an educator. As proud as I am of our soon-to-be graduates, I’m even more excited for the students who will follow them. The sincere care we have taken with our undergraduate program is the foundation on which we will build an even better student experience through a collection of ambitious new initiatives. We are also looking to extend these efforts to the graduate student experience and expand our research efforts. We are as committed to constant innovation in our classrooms and curriculum as we are dedicated to discoveries in our labs. This drive is part of what drew me to the Case School of Engineering, and it continues to make me proud to be part of this community. Best Regards, Venkataramanan “Ragu” Balakrishnan Charles H. Phipps Dean, Case School of Engineering
Spring 2019
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Leonard Case Jr.’s enduring gift
You can’t do much more for your community than found a college. Talk about preparing one’s hometown for the future. The impact of namesake universities is evident across the country, from Duke to Stanford to Vassar. The pantheon includes many of our leading schools of science and technology: Carnegie Mellon, Rensselaer Polytechnic and, of course, Case Western Reserve. For that, we owe everlasting thanks to Leonard Case Jr. His gift launched a well-timed college of science and engineering. Cleveland circa 1880 was emerging as a key hub in an industrial revolution. Leading citizens, including Case, saw that the city needed expertise to seize the moment and become a leader in the new economy. We can only guess at his motivations. In this issue of Case Alumnus, professor emeritus Tom Kicher introduces us to a shy, reclusive bachelor who shunned attention. Case insisted that even his legacy gift—the Case School of Applied Science—be secret until his death. But he was raised with a sense of nobliss oblige. His father, Leonard Case Sr., arguably Cleveland’s first philanthropist, showed his son the value of supporting schools, hospitals and libraries. The impact of the new college was immediate and profound. It attracted professors like Albert Michelson, who conducted experiments that helped earn America her first Nobel Prize in science, and Dayton Miller, who pioneered x-ray technology that began Cleveland’s strength in medical imaging. Case graduates lent the city expertise in metallurgy, chemicals and mechanical engineering. They founded companies like Dow Chemical, Parker Hannifin and Lubrizol Corp. In 1967, a merger with Western Reserve created one of the nation’s leading research universities. The Case legacy is only part of the CWRU story. But it’s a tale rich with lessons about the power of vision, civic confidence and cultivating talent. As we remember Leonard Case Jr. for his foresight, let’s give ourselves a pat on the back. I think he would very much like what became of his idea. Robert Smith Editor Robert.Smith@casealum.org
The Case Alumnus is published quarterly for members and friends of the Case Alumni Association, which serves the interests of more than 20,000 alumni of the Case School of Applied Science, Case Institute of Technology and the Case School of Engineering. Established in 1885 by the first five graduates of the Case School of Applied Science, the Case Alumni Association is the oldest independent alumni association of engineering and applied science graduates in the nation. The Case Alumnus is a publication of the Case Alumni Association, Inc., a 501(c)3 public charity under the IRS code.
CASE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, INC. Tomlinson Hall, Room 109 10900 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, OH 44106-1712 216-231-4567 casealum@casealum.org casealum.org
OFFICERS Marvin Schwartz ’68, PhD ’73, President Ronald Cass ’84, 1st Vice President Sunniva Collins, MS ‘91, PhD ‘95, 2nd Vice President Joe Fakult ’90, Secretary Nick Barendt ’95, MS ’98, Treasurer Brian Casselberry ‘95, Assistant Treasurer
STAFF Stephen Zinram, Executive Director Thomas Conlon, Chief Financial Officer Emily Speer, Director of Gift Planning and Grants Compliance Robert Smith, Director of Communications Kelly Hendricks, Director of Alumni Relations Ryan Strine, Director of Annual Fund Janna Greer, Manager of Donor Relations and Grants Pamela Burtonshaw, Database Administrator Melissa Slager, Manager, Executive Office
CASE ALUMNUS Robert L. Smith, Editor Steve Toth, Toth Creative Group, Layout and Design Duke Print & Mail Solutions
PHOTO CREDITS Wetzler’s Photography Hilary Bovay Photography Roadell Hickman Photography Flaticon.com, Icons
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THE MAGAZINE OF THE CASE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION SINCE 1921 To serve and advance the interests of the Case School of Engineering, the math and applied sciences of Case Western Reserve University and its alumni and students.
SPRING 2019 • vol. 33 • no. 1
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Cover Story The Case Legacy
Leonard Case Jr., a wealthy and reclusive bachelor, envisioned one of the nation’s first engineering schools and set it on a course of discovery.
Features 16 Going Up!
The Case Alumni Foundation welcomed a larger-than-usual class of Junior Senior Scholars this spring. 18
18 Alumni Q&A As chairman of the new
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Aerozone Alliance, Carlos Grodsinsky, MS '91, PhD '93, hopes to make aerospace believers of us all.
20 Global Engineer Adriana Velazquez Berumen,
MS ’86, delivered a call to action—and restraint—at the Engineers Week Reception.
28 Top Prof Katie Wheaton '01 won
the 2019 Gutti Memorial Teaching Award and students are eager to tell you why.
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DEPARTMENTS 1 2 4 6 8 22 24 26 30 32
Dean’s Message Editor’s column Letters, posts and emails Around the Quad Alumni newsmakers Case Memories News Bytes Class Notes In Memoriam Long We’ll Remember (nostalgia)
On the cover:
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Leonard Case Jr. Spring 2019
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Letters, posts and emails Our story on the Case memorabilia collection of Frank Merat, PhD, in the summer 2018 Case Alumnus prompted an alumnus to send Professor Merat his collection of freshman beanies. He also sent a letter with wonderful memories, which we excerpt with his permission: For about the last 50 years, I’ve wondered what to do with my little collection of freshman beanies. You see, not one of our six kids—all college grads and all from different universities—has ever mentioned this freshman ritual. They have no idea of its meaning. Thus, when I’m dead and gone, these beanies would simply be pitched. And we can’t tolerate that! Makes me wonder, when you entered Case in 1968, were the freshmen all required to wear beanies? In ’42, we were, and if neglected we’re subject to paddling. Matter of fact, all the colleges in the area required wearing them. Then those brazen sophomores would sneak up and steal it just to get you in trouble! Must admit, I laid hands on a couple to play safe, then saved these few as mementos of those trying days. They have
17% come from underrepresented groups
moved with my stuff six times, carefully packed with other goodies. One memory I still enjoy is our two weeks in surveying camp the summer following freshman year. The entire class had to attend for credit in a State of Ohio forested park down near Loudonville; I believe Mohican Forest State Park. In teams of three, we learned to survey and draw contour maps for a large section of
10% identified as the first in the family to go to college
20% of the incoming students are international, hailing from 50 nations
26,646 applied for undergraduate admission, another record. Fewer than 30% were accepted
37% plan to major in engineering, science and math
1,390 students arrived, a university record
Class of 2022
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30% of those engineering majors are women
this park. Then the sophomore civil engineering students in the fall pieced the plots together into a topographical map of the park for the state. Really got to know our classmates—kind of like “boot camp.” Was there still surveying camp when you entered Case? Clarence May Jr. ’48 Forest, Virginia
An alumnus wrote to say our graphic depicting the Class of 2022 in the winter Case Alumnus was incomplete. It noted that 37 percent of freshman planned to major in engineering. “In reference to the stats for the Class of 2022, it would have been more complete if it had also included the percent of majors in science and math. Not all of us are engineers.” Don Brock ’61
SUBMIT YOUR LETTER TO THE EDITOR Send by email to: Robert.Smith@casealum.org
Or by mail to:
Case Alumnus Tomlinson Hall, Room 109 10900 Euclid Avenue Cleveland OH 44106
Our Facebook post on the rebirth of The Barking Spider as a music-friendly franchise of Dave's Cosmic Subs sparked many fond memories. Here's a sample: I spent many a Thursday listening to Hillbilly Idol at The Barking Spider back in the day... Steve Wodell The main room of the Spider was one of the prettiest places to play music in Cleveland. So I’m not surprised that I’m a little disappointed; but I’m surprised that it looks like the Hard Rock Cafe. I hope the musicians figure out how to warm it up a bit! Alexander Kernbaum
Carriage House and Licks Ice Cream where I worked—fond memories. Greg C. Young
You know that you're old when an institution that is reborn didn't exist when you were a student. Tempus fugit. John Hayes ’77
Alumnus from Mexico strikes a chord Our story on Adriana Velazquez Berumen, MS ’86, and her keynote address to the Engineers Week Reception Feb. 28 generated a huge response on social media. The comments came from alumni and friends around the world, many in Spanish. Here’s a sample: Adriana bravo! How wonderful that you continue to inspire the following generations with your words and with the passion you put into everything you do. As a friend, family and Mexican, I feel very proud of everything you have achieved. A big kiss and hug. Becky Sampson Good for you, and for the many years of working nonstop Adriana!!! You are a pride for Mexico, for your family and for all of us who know you!!! Dina Foncerrada
What a fortune to have found you on my path. Thanks Adriana on behalf of Mexico!
You are the best Adri, thanks to your tenacity and focus you have made a global impact, which is not easy; I am so proud. Thank you for your example. Congratulations! Alejandra Robles
What an incredible dear you are Adri, super proud of all of your work. Alberto Foncerrada Berumen
Monica Perez Bravo
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Around the Quad Following a legend
First Joe Prahl Scholar feels honored and challenged
Emily Hwang never had the chance to meet Professor Joe Prahl, but she knows that generations of Case students were inspired by him. Upon learning she was the first recipient of the Joe Prahl Scholarship, she said she felt honored and challenged to do her very best. “To follow in that name, I think that’s huge,” said Hwang, a third-year student at the Case School of Engineering. “And even if [the selection committee] saw a
little speck of what Joe Prahl was, I think that’s really cool.” Prahl taught at Case for more than 50 years and impacted the lives of thousands of students before his death in April 2018. His name became closely associated with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, which he chaired for 15 years. Hwang, a mechanical engineering major from Ann Arbor, Michigan, recently
completed an eight-month co-op with GE Aviation, working as a test engineer in its Rockford, Illinois, facilities. Back at Case, she’s a member of Pi Beta Phi, a social sorority, and Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed service fraternity. She volunteers at the Cleveland Kids Book Bank and is a member of Cru, a campus Christian organization. She was named a Junior Senior Scholar by the Case Alumni Association. Hwang said she’s looking forward to seeing who will be picked after her to carry on the Prahl legacy. Richard Mueller ’95 established the Joe Prahl scholarship with a $25,000 gift soon after learning of the death of his undergraduate advisor. Dozens more alumni have since contributed, quickly endowing a scholarship that will support an undergraduate studying mechanical engineering. To donate to the Joe Prahl Scholarship Fund, go to casealum.org/joeprahlfund or send your contribution to the Case Alumni Foundation, 10900 Euclid Ave, Tomlinson Hall-Room 109, Cleveland OH 44106, and indicate Joe Prahl Scholarship Fund in the memo.
Super Drone
Professor’s electrified aircraft may foretell the future of flight A wealth of aerospace innovation has come out of Ohio, starting with the Wright brothers in their Dayton bicycle shop. Vikas Prakash, a Case professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, may be adding another chapter to the state’s aviation history. In a test flight in late February, Prakash’s autonomous drone stayed aloft for nearly three hours on a single battery charge—about double the previous time for the same plane. His secret? A newly designed “structural” battery. 6
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His innovation turns the wings themselves into batteries powering the plane. The technology not only extends flight time and distance, but it allows more room in the fuselage for payload. Ultimately, it’s hoped that such technology could be used in a fully-electric passenger-carrying regional jet. “That’s the idea, that’s what we’re aiming for in the long run,” said Prakash, who made news in 2017 when he was awarded a NASA grant to work toward developing electric regional aircrafts. The February 22 test flight “demonstrates that the use of the structural battery is a winning concept,” Prakash said. “This will allow our crafts to fly longer and/or carry heavier payloads
without compromising fuselage space.” He conducted the test with Case alumnus Jeff Taylor ’09, a pioneering drone maker and founder and CEO of Event 38 Unmanned Systems in Akron. Aerospace publications around the world reported the news. No doubt the industry will have its eyes on this pair for years to come.
Professor named hall of famer for ‘Service above self’ Sree Sreenath, PhD, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, had his named enshrined in Cleveland history April 16 when he was inducted into the Cleveland International Hall of Fame. More than 500 people, including colleagues from the Case School of Engineering, attended the awards ceremony in the Grand Ballroom of the Cleveland Marriott at Key Center. Sreenath, a specialist in systems biology, was honored for his roles as an educator, researcher and humanitarian. He is president of Sewa International,
a Hindu faith-based organization that specializes in disaster relief and recovery. Inspired by the motto “Service above self,” Sewa works in 22 nations of the world, including the United States. In Greater Cleveland, it runs tutoring and mentoring programs in area schools with help from students from Case Western Reserve. Sreenath, who emigrated from India to earn his doctoral degree, said community service is a family tradition that he feels privileged to continue.
“When you serve, you gain an enormous amount of satisfaction that money cannot buy,” he said. “You’re giving your time, which is more valuable than money. You’re putting yourself in the shoes of people needing help. It is humbling. It is uplifting.” Upon induction into the Cleveland International Hall of Fame, Sreenath joined a pantheon that includes U.S. Senator George Voinovich, entrepreneur Monte Ahuja, lawyer Jose Feliciano, chemist Jeanette Grasselli Brown MS ’58 and civil rights leader Rev. Otis Moss.
Hot shot
Hillary Hellmann is one for the record books Hillary Hellmann has left plenty for her fans to ponder at the end of her basketball career at Case Western Reserve. In 99 games during her collegiate career, she collected 1,593 points—second in team history— and shot a record 220 three-pointers. The 437 points she poured in this season placed her first among University Athletic Association players. She was named an All-UAA First Team honoree and one of 10 finalists for the Jostens
Trophy, an honor bestowed upon Division III basketball players. Meanwhile, she has earned a 3.7 grade point average while majoring in mechanical engineering. Hellmann’s off to Boston in May to work for Gillette. But CWRU and Sears think[box] will hold a special place in her heart. “Sears think[box]…was such a big part of my life for 2 1/2 years [as a student employee],” she told The Daily. “I was there before work, after work, just trying
to get things done. It’s a very enjoyable space because you get to be around a lot of creative people.” She said she found great friends through her sorority, Phi Mu, and the professional engineering fraternity, Theta Tau. “I really think I found a great fit in Case Western,” she said. “It’s allowed me to be a better version of myself in a lot of ways. Just to have the opportunity to do all those things was something I never expected out of my college experience and something I can be proud of.”
Robot wizard
The Navy is looking to Kathryn Daltorio, PhD '13, for robots that can reach the beaches If you spend any time watching crabs, as Kathryn Daltorio, PhD, does, you’ll notice they don’t really crawl across the beach. They grab the ground with their pointy claws and pull themselves along. In that crab-like grip—strong enough to withstand pounding waves—Daltorio ’05, MSE ’07, PhD ’13, sees a powerful amphibious robot. The U.S. Navy agrees. The assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering is one of a select group of researchers awarded
a 2019 Young Investigators Award from the Office of Naval Research. She’ll receive between $500,000 and $750,000 to advance her vision of a crab-like robot, one that can slog across dangerous beaches—perhaps to search for unexploded ordnance. “You want to be able to crawl around in the surf zone to make those places safer,” Daltorio explained. “We’re exploring ideas of crab locomotion, and crab-like approaches to rough ground.” As a specialist in biologically inspired robots, she talks enthusiastically about such things. Daltorio was a student of Professor Roger Quinn, who helped
pioneer the genre. In 2017, she became his colleague when she joined the faculty. Her experimentation with beetle-like climbing robots led her to imagine machines that can grip with the force of nature. In her newly opened “crab lab” on the eighth floor of the Glennan Building, she and her students study prototypes of amphibious robots as they crawl through tubs of sand and defy artificial waves induced in a giant fish tank. “I feel like biology sets this tremendous standard of how robots can work,” Daltorio said. “I don’t know if we’re ever going to meet it. But we can be inspired by it!” Spring 2019
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ALUMNI
newsmakers
Alumni newsmakers
Trailblazer helps other women find success in STEM Ka-Pi Hoh ’84, MS ’87, PhD ’89, was named one of Northeast Ohio’s Notable Women in STEM by Crain’s Cleveland Business for her pioneering work for Lubrizol Corp. and for her eagerness to share her success. A three-degree alum from Case Institute of Technology, Hoh is an expert in macromolecular science and engineering. Recently, she was promoted to Director of Organization Change Management, Information Solutions Strategy at Lubrizol, a specialty chemicals maker headquartered in the Cleveland suburb of Wickliffe.
Hoh’s impact spans the globe. She served as the first female technical manager at Lubrizol’s European Research and Development Centre in the United Kingdom, where she helped pave the way for other women scientists, according to Julie Edgar, vice president of research and development and chief sustainability officer at Lubrizol. “Ka-Pi has always been focused on helping women in STEM—both internal and external to Lubrizol,” Edgar told Crain’s, adding that Hoh was one of the founders of the Lubrizol’s Women in Technology group. Hoh also helped to establish Lubrizol’s technical presence in China. She designed and managed construction
of the Zhuhai Research, Development Testing Laboratory, then recruited and developed a team of chemists, technicians and managers, Edgar said. Back in the U.S., she led the team that redesigned Lubrizol’s product commercialization process. At her alma mater, Hoh serves as chair of the Industrial Advisory Board for the Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering. She’s also a professional mentor for the Women in Science and Engineering Roundtable (WISER), where members were thrilled to hear of her award. Sarah Dunifon, WISER’s associate director, described Hoh as “one of our greatest supporters.”
Alumnus Charles Phipps helps the dean think big Thanks to computer science pioneer Charles Phipps, CIT ’49, Dean Venkataramanan Balakrishnan has new resources at his fingertips. Phipps, committed $5 million to the Case School of Engineering to create a fund the dean can tap for research and big ideas. “This support is incredibly helpful to the school and I am so grateful to Mr. Phipps for his generosity,” said Dean Balakrishnan, who henceforth will be known as the Charles H. Phipps Dean at the Case School of Engineering. The endowment allows him to draw annually from the fund for research opportunities, strategic initiatives and transformative ideas. Phipps, who is 92 and lives in Dallas, earned his degree in electrical engineering from Case Institute of Technology in 1949 and never forgot the experience.
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“Case at that time was just right for me, in part because of the small class sizes and easy rapport with professors, as I came from a small town and would have been lost at a larger university,” Phipps told The Daily. “But the university also had a strong interplay between engineering and science, and with that and social and other activities, I had a sense of accomplishment by my senior year and initial confidence for trying new uncharted challenges.”
His career took him to Texas Instruments in the late 1950s, just as the company was developing integrated circuits and semi-conductors. He rose to become director of strategy. The recent endowment is Phipps’ third major gift to Case. In 2005, he and his brother, John B. Phipps, created the Myron Phipps Dean’s Discretionary Fund in memory of their father. That fund helped launch the Great Lakes Energy Institute in 2008. In 2011, Phipps’ $2 million commitment created the Phipps Endowment Fund for the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in honor his late wife, Mary Claire Aschenbrener Phipps. The latest gift will help the dean in his desire to offer more experiential learning, expand research and grow the PhD program.
California transplant thrives in CLE startup culture Vedang Kothari ’12, MEM ’13, came to the Case School of Engineering from San Jose to earn his degree in biomedical engineering. Many people, including his business-owning father, tried to coax him back to California with job offers. Lucky for Northeast Ohio, Kothari stayed to apply his entrepreneurial instincts near campus. Last August, he helped launch MuReva, a biotech startup offering a promising light therapy for people suffering a side effect of cancer treatments. The company quickly raised $1.3 million in capital and attracted another $1.7 million in government grants, Crain’s Cleveland Business reported.
Kothari credits his early success to a local startup support network that puts collaboration over competition. “What I like about Northeast Ohio is that it’s a very close-knit community where people are very willing to help,” he told Crain’s. “I think in other places, like Silicon Valley, it’s very competitive. Whereas here...everyone I’ve talked to has been very willing to go out of their way to support us, even though there’s no direct financial gain for them.” MuReva sprang from Lumitex, a Strongsville lighting solutions company where Kothari interned as a student.
He began working on a phototherapy treatment for oral mucositis, which causes painful ulcers in one’s mouth and throat. MuReva is nearing clinical trials on a mouthpiece designed to bathe the oral cavity in healing light. The startup was supported in its endeavors by local business accelerators like BioEnterprise and Jumpstart Inc. It also had the advantage of Kothari as president and CEO. “He’s a really smart guy,” Lumitex CEO Peter Broer told Crain’s. “He’s a leader. He’s a natural. As one of the investors said, ‘He’s right out of central casting.’”
Thinking beyond
Startup competition highlights the innovation of Case alumni Graduates of the Case School of Engineering will be well represented when the second edition of the Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition reaches its spring climax. Among the six finalists vying for $50,000 in prize money and professional services are Everykey, a password solution company founded by Chris Wentz ’13, and Quanterra, an aerial imaging analytics service founded by Shoshana Ginsburg, PhD ’15. The contest seeks to identify and support promising startups with CWRU connections. It was co-founded by Bob Pavey, a Case Western Reserve trustee, in honor of his late investment partner David Morgenthaler. More than 50 student and alumni-led companies entered the second edition—
nearly double the number from the contest’s first year in 2017. They were winnowed to a pool of six finalists by the finance class of Scott Shane, a Weatherhead professor who specializes in entrepreneurship. On May 29, the finalists will seek to impress a panel of investors at the George S. Dively Building on campus. Chris Wentz is no stranger to pitching his product, which addresses the problem of remembering passwords. Everykey has developed a Bluetooth device that unlocks your phone, laptop, tablet or car doors when you’re nearby. Wentz began developing the technology while earning his bachelor’s degree in computer science, then launched his company with a Kickstarter campaign in 2014. He has since
attracted more than $1 million in seed funding. He and his team work out of offices in Little Italy. Shoshana Ginsburg came away with a $10,000 prize at the first Morgenthaler-Pavey competition, when Quanterra was known as ImaginAg. Her company creates software for analyzing aerial images, enabling farmers, surveyors and developers to elicit insightful data from drone flights. “Looking for a needle in a haystack? How about a cow on a ranch?” the company asks on its website. A senior research scientist for MIM Software in Cleveland, Ginsburg earned her doctorate in biomedical engineering from Case, where she specialized in machine learning tools. You can meet these alumni founders, and learn more about their innovations, at the competition. Find registration information at mpstartup.com.
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The Case Legacy
A man, a dream, a new kind of university How a visionary gift launched a college and shaped its personality forever By Thomas P. Kicher
Photos courtesy of Case Western Reserve University Archives
M
ost colleges and universities emphasized the liberal arts when the Case School of Applied Science broke the mold. Upon opening for classes in 1880, it was only the fourth college in the nation focused on a technical education—the first west of the Allegheny Mountains.
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America was entering a manufacturing era and the frontier town of Cleveland had emerged into a bustling transportation center. Local visionaries, including a broad-minded philanthropist named Case, saw a chance to make the city a leader of new industries. That meant training young men to
apply principles of engineering, mathematics and science in laboratories as well as in local factories and in the field. That meant educating students who would get their hands dirty while advancing technology. How did this vision arise in Cleveland? What were the issues of the day
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FROM TOOLS TO BOOKS
I care nothing for money, but I am husbanding it for a purpose.
transaction, conducted the survey and was authorized to establish a capitol on the bluffs just east of the Cuyahoga River. Leonard Case Sr., the eldest son of eight children of Meshach and Magdalen Case, turned 14 shortly after the family moved to Warren. He was a robust and stout young man of boundless energy, able to provide the much needed “manpower” on the family farm. He was also a gifted writer and scholar, in spite of his limited formal education. In today’s vernacular, he was home schooled. He was stricken with a mysterious illness in the fall of 1801, bedridden for two years, and never fully recovered. He had limited use of his lower extremities for the balance of his life. Historians believe he had been stricken with polio, an illness not identified until the 20th century.
Unable to farm, Leonard Case Sr. purchased books and began the study of surveying. In 1806, he went to work for the land office in Warren, where all land transactions were recorded. Then, in 1807, he became the private secretary to General Simon Perkins of the Connecticut Land Company. He was appointed clerk of the Court of Common Pleas of Trumbull County and deputy tax collector for non-residents of the Western Reserve. Encouraged to study the law, he supported himself by serving as the justice of the peace and tax collector. He was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1814. In 1816, Leonard moved to Cleveland to become the cashier of the new Commercial Bank of Lake Erie. The bank did not survive the first financial crisis of the new country, but Leonard Case Sr. flourished in his new home. He followed a career in law and politics, specializing in the laws of real estate, taxes and land titles. He married Elisabeth Gaylord, a quiet young woman from Middleton, Connecticut, in 1817. The couple welcomed a son, William, in 1818. Leonard Jr. was born in 1820.
Leonard Case Sr. arrived in the frontier town of Cleveland in 1816 to work for a bank. After amassing a fortune in railroads and real estate, he helped to build churches, temples, hospitals and libraries. Some call him Cleveland’s first philanthropist.
Elisabeth Case, William and Leonard’s mother, is described in one historical account as a reserved and quiet woman who “rarely called upon her neighbors and was never in any sense a frequenter of society.”
– Leonard Case Jr., circa 1870 that influenced the decision makers? Therein lies our tale. It’s the story of a family of education enthusiasts and their lasting impact on the city they loved. The Case School of Applied Science was established by Leonard Case Jr. via a trust deed, valued at $1.5 million at the time of his death in 1880. He relied on the integrity of his trusted secretary, Henry G. Abbey, to execute his wishes. The citizens of Cleveland had long wished for an institution of higher learning to provide their young village the intellectual credibility and opportunity afforded eastern cities, much as Yale College provided for New Haven. In order to appreciate the magnitude of the gifts of the Case family, we must begin with the Case family settlers, Meshach Case and Magdalen Eckstein, second generation immigrants from Holland and Bavaria, respectively. As newlyweds, they journeyed from the East Coast to southwest Pennsylvania, on the frontier of civilization. Meshach was from an educated family and exhibited extensive practical skills. He fought in the Revolutionary War and suffered compromised health for the rest of his life. Both he and Magdalen were quite religious. In the spring of 1800, the couple purchased 198 acres near Warren in Trumbull County. They were among the first 36 settlers in the Western Reserve. As part of the settlement of the Northwest Territory, 3.4 million acres of land, reserved for the citizens of Connecticut, was sold to a group of investors for 35 cents an acre. General Moses Cleveland, an investor in the
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Tracking the Case influence on education, science and industry 1800
1818
1820
1848
1864
Pioneers Meshach and Magdalen Case arrive in the Western Reserve with a 13-year-old son, Leonard.
William Case is born.
Leonard Case Jr. is born.
Leonard Case Sr. helps create the Cleveland Library Association and the village’s largest public library.
Leonard Case Sr. dies.
Leonard Case Sr. moves to Cleveland and marries Elizabeth Gaylord.
Leonard Case Sr. helps found Cleveland Lyceum, a forum for lectures and debates.
William Case dies at age 44.
1816
1833
1862
Leonard Case Sr. was soon recognized as one of the leading citizens of Cleveland, a man whose advice and support was sought by many. After a term as president of Cleveland City Council and as an Ohio Legislator, he returned to banking and concentrated on making Cleveland a transportation center, in part by contributing lakefront land for railroads. During the financial crisis of 1837, he was able to acquire businesses and vast real estate tracts by buying the delinquent mortgages and paying overdue tax bills. Leonard Case Sr. amassed a fortune, becoming one of the richest men in Cleveland, where he owned more than 2,000 acres of land. At the same time, he was generous with his philanthropic gifts, supporting churches, schools, hospitals and many civic organizations. It appears he was guided by the provisions of the original gift of the Western Reserve to the citizens of Connecticut, which dictated that the Connecticut Land Company set aside up to 500 acres in each 25 squaremile township for schools, churches, public buildings and a “Town Square.” The designers of the Reserve sought to build communities, and Case obliged. Not all of his ideas met with acclaim. Leonard and Elisabeth lived near the center of the village, on Public Square. 12
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They gifted the village with the Erie Street cemetery, at today’s East Ninth Street, only to be criticized for selecting a location that was “too far from the settlement.” That decision cost him re-election to city council. The residents of Cleveland simply did not want to travel that far into the woods to visit their dead. His gifts of property to religions spanned all denominations, Christian and Judaic, but excluded the Catholic faith. This might be attributed to family history and Grandfather Eckstein’s persecution by the Catholic Church in Bavaria.
TWO BROTHERS, TWO PERSONALITIES Leonard Sr. was a role model for his sons, challenging and supporting them to follow him in lives of service and philanthropy to the citizens of Cleveland. William and Leonard Jr. were raised in an atmosphere of privilege. Never having to work, they devoted their adult lives to community service and philanthropy, continuing to make gifts to the village of Cleveland throughout their lifetimes. During Leonard Sr.’ s later years, William assisted his father in managing a vast empire of land holdings and was instru-
William Case, the more outgoing and adventuresome of the Case brothers, was an avid outdoorsman who corresponded with John Audubon and served a term as mayor of Cleveland. He died at age 44, leaving Leonard the only heir.
mental in establishing the network of railroads around Cleveland. William, a consummate outdoorsman, was well known among the sport hunters and the conservationists. He gathered and preserved an extensive collection of animals and birds native to Ohio and Michigan. He was frequently cited by John J. Audubon as a reference in the identification of new bird species and their habits and houses.
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Leonard Case Jr. dies, leaving $1.5 million for a new university. (A gift worth about $37 million today).
Henry Dow enrolls, begins experiments that lead to Dow Chemical.
Michelson-Morley experiment launches modern physics.
Albert Michelson becomes first American awarded Nobel Prize in science.
CIT and Western Reserve become Case Western Reserve University.
The Case School of Applied Science opens with 16 students in the former Case home near Public Square.
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Classes move to new Case Main Building on current campus.
Professor Dayton Miller produces first full body x-ray, begins Cleveland’s medical imaging expertise.
CSAS renamed Case Institute of Technology.
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Leonard Case, Jr., Cleveland’s wealthiest bachelor in his day, made the Case School of Applied Science his legacy.
William was also known for his expertise as a horticulturist, planting acres of imported ornamental and fruit trees on the shores of Lake Erie and breeding a new species of berries. He served a term as Mayor of Cleveland and, following his father’s leadership, continued the practice of planting shade trees, helping Cleveland earn the nickname “Forest City.” Leonard was the more cerebral, focusing his attention on languages and literature. He was a published author and translator. He was also an accomplished
mathematician and astronomer and developed a close friendship with John N. Stockwell, starting in the winter of 1864. Stockwell was also an accomplished mathematician and astronomer and shared many manuscripts with Leonard, including a five volume treatise, “Mecanique Celeste,” by Pierre-Simon Laplace (1749-1827). It summarizes his development of calculus-based classical mechanics, an important tool in modern engineering problem solving. They were known to have spent hours discussing their common interests in mathematics, astronomy and statistics. Poor health forced Leonard into the life of a recluse, taking comfort in his books and studies.
AN ARC OF WONDERS, A NEW ECONOMY William and Leonard Jr. used Case Hall, a building across the street from their home near Public Square, to organize a group of young men into a salon. There, they would gather and discuss the advancement of science, art and literature. The group called itself the “Arkites,” as they met in a building that housed their collection of preserved animals, birds and shells.
The contents of the “Ark” became the foundation for the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Their library became the foundation of the Cleveland Public Library, where William served as the first president. In 1850, William founded Cleveland University, but a lack of support and the selection of questionable leadership doomed the effort almost from the start. The industrial revolution had dawned with the development of the steam engine, mining and metallurgy, factory manufacturing, electric power and lighting and the chemistry of photography, lubrication and fuels. The public was keenly interested in scientific phenomena, including astronomy—particularly the behavior of comets and meteors. They exhibited growing appetites for new science, both natural and physical, which they consumed for both their entertainment and livelihood. The most powerful influence on William and Leonard Jr. was certainly their father, Leonard Sr., who taught himself the elements of land surveying, which is based on the mathematical fundamentals of Euclidian Geometry. Leonard Sr. used this important technical skill, along with his writing talents, to secure employment as the land clerk for the Connecticut Land Company. He managed to build a Spring 2019
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The “Arkites,” the Case brothers and their fellow science enthusiasts, met in a clubhouse across the street from the Case home. Their "ark-like" collection of flora and fauna became the foundation of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
successful career in banking and finance by becoming the legal authority and political leader of the frontier village of Cleveland. At the time of his death in 1864, Leonard Sr. was one of the richest men in the Western Reserve, owning more than 2,000 acres of prime land. One noteworthy parcel, stretching from St. Clair north to the lake and from East 26th Street to East 55th Street, became the industrial and transportation center of Cleveland. William died two years before his father, at age 44. So when Leonard Sr. passed, the family’s entire inheritance was left to Leonard Jr. Relatives and strangers alike appealed to him for financial assistance. Growing weary of the requests, he delegated the distribution of personal gifts to Henry G. Abbey, his personal secretary. Four years before his death in 1880, Leonard Jr. established a trust deed for the establishment of a school of applied science. The balance of the Case family estate was left without the protection of a will, sparking an ugly battle between Leonard Sr.’s and Elisabeth’s siblings that was ultimately settled by the court. 14
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By gifting the city with the Case School of Applied Science, Leonard Jr. extended his father’s dream and supported Cleveland as a manufacturing and industrial center.
A SCHOOL OF APPLIED SCIENCE Some historians report that few understood the intent of Leonard Case Jr. in establishing the Case School
of Applied Science. Many claimed that even the board of trustees did not understand what he envisioned. There were no other schools with such a name. However, I believe that Leonard and his fellow “Arkites,” which included Henry G. Abbey, understood his vision. It was shaped by many hours of discussion and conveyed to John Stockwell, the school’s first faculty member, via conversation and correspondence with Leonard Jr. Stockwell accepted the
The Case homestead near Public Square was the first home of the Case School of Applied Science. Classes were held in the house; chemistry and physics labs were in the barn. Students made astronomical observations from the backyard.
strong foundation in the fundamentals of math and science and a drive to apply these problem-solving skills for the good of humanity.
LASTING TRIBUTE
Opened in 1885 on the current Case campus, the Case Main Building served as the campus flagship for nearly a century. It was designed by John Eisenmann, the first professor of civil engineering, who also designed the Old Arcade, a national landmark in downtown Cleveland. Case Main was razed in 1972.
leadership assignment of identifying and recruiting the first faculty of the Case School, which included Arthur F. Taylor, C. Vaillant, J.W.C. Duerr, Albert A. Michelson and John Eisenmann. An example of the professional personality the board sought is exhibited in the teaching career of George Armington. He was the first instructor in mechanical engineering. Shortly after he graduated from MIT, he moved to Cleveland and began a career teaching. By the end of his second year on the faculty, he was informed that he needed to develop a professional practice and was encouraged to take a position in industry to gain experience. Armington left Case and started Euclid Crane and Hoist. He never returned to CSAS, but working with his son, Arthur, expanded into highway machinery and founded Euclid Truck— now Terex Corp. This early proscription for the hiring of faculty established the professional personality of the Case school. The hiring of well-educated faculty who exhibited strong professional practices continued until about 1960, when the engineering division was established as Case’s entrée
into the “engineering science movement.” From that time forward, faculty were expected to have attained a doctorate degree and possess the skills of a successful researcher. While industrial experience was appreciated, it was no longer a requirement. Research prowess was substituted for industrial experience, but the basic personality remained: Strong fundamentals in math and science and a strong drive to find and apply new science and engineering. The students who graduate from this institution enter the work force with a
The naming of the Case School of Engineering within Case Western Reserve University is a fitting tribute to the Case family. It reflects the vision of Leonard Case Sr., who was instrumental in the execution of the Connecticut Land Company’s mission of land development in the Western Reserve and the financial growth of Cleveland. It also honors the vision of Leonard Case Jr., who promoted the concept of a strong educational institution for the youth of Cleveland, based on the fundamentals of math and science and focused on the practical applications that would contribute to Cleveland as an industrial center. The Case family would be proud of the success that Cleveland and its esteemed research university has achieved with their help. Thomas P. Kicher ’59, MS ’62, PhD ’65, is the Armington Professor Emeritus of Engineering and the former Dean of the Case School of Engineering. We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to Robert.Smith@casealum.org.
The legacy of Leonard Case Jr. was once more widely known and celebrated in Greater Cleveland. It even inspired a placemat at a popular downtown department store.
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Going up! The Case Alumni Foundation welcomed a large and happy class of Junior Senior Scholars this spring
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Case Alumni Association board member Paul Stephan ‘64 introduces himself to scholarship winners.
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mma Wyckoff, a sophomore majoring in civil engineering, had just gotten into her car on campus when the news popped up on her smart phone. She had been awarded a Junior Senior Scholarship, which will help pay for her final two years at Case Western Reserve University. “Oh, I cried,” she said. “I sat in my car and I cried.” The scholarship means she and her family can avoid burdensome debt as she completes her degree program, she said. It will allow her to focus more keenly on her studies. Other scholarship winners voiced similar reasons to smile, lending a festive air to the annual Junior Senior Scholarship Reception, which drew about 150 students, faculty and alumni to the atrium of Nord Hall the evening of March 28. The large gathering of scholars illustrated the increasing impact of an alumni-driven scholarship program. Sophomores and juniors in the Case School of Engineering and in the math and science programs of the College of Arts and Sciences are eligible for the two-year scholarships, which are designed to help stellar students finish their CWRU degrees. The Case Alumni Foundation, which sponsors the program, awarded a larger-than-usual amount this year,
Case Alumni Association board member Arkady Polinkovsky ‘08, MS ‘10, chats with students at the scholarship reception.
owing to sustained alumni giving in recent years. About $634,400 will be distributed among 134 new Junior Senior Scholars for 2020. When renewing scholars are added, the total of monies dispersed through the Junior Senior Scholarship program in 2020 surpasses $1.1 million.
Key numbers: • Number of students awarded a scholarship: 134 • Total amount awarded: $634,400 • Scholarship range: $2,100 to $10,000 • Average award: $4,734 • Highest award: $10,000 • The scholarship committee aims to award scholarships averaging 10 percent of tuition, which next year will rise to $50,450. (Room and board, $15,500, can push the cost of a CWRU education to $65,950). All of the award winners were invited to the reception, where they were congratulated by faculty and alumni.
The happy scholars included Rohan Sinha, a sophomore majoring in electrical engineering and economics. He wants to be an entrepreneur. “This scholarship lets me be a little bit more of a gunslinger about my education,” he said. “My goal is to learn as much as I possibly can. At Case, although the quality of the education is high, debt can weigh you down. I feel as though now I don’t have as much of a burden.” Addressing the reception, Stephen Haynesworth, the Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, reminded the students that the scholarships represented more than money. “It means that whoever nominated you really felt that you were worthy not only of recognition but of investment. So this is a big deal,” he said. Christian Zorman, the Associate Dean of Research for the Case School of Engineering, told the students that they were on their way to something special. “You are Case scientists and engineers and that means a lot,” he said. “That’s a stamp of approval that will carry you through your careers.”
For information on the Junior Senior Scholarship program contact Janna Greer; Janna. Greer@casealum.org or 216-368-3647.
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Alumni Q&A
Carlos Grodsinsky, MS’ 91, PhD ’93, wants to make aerospace believers of us all
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arlos Grodsinsky was recently named chairman of the Aerozone Alliance, a new economic development group aiming to create an innovation hub around Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and the NASA Glenn Research Center. We sat down with him at ZIN Technologies, an aerospace design and engineering firm in Middleburg Heights, where he’s chief operating officer. An immigrant from Argentina, he came to the Case School of Engineering from Michigan in 1987 to earn his master’s and doctorate degrees in mechanical and aerospace engineering. Now he hopes to help create a space-age economy for his adopted hometown. 18
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We’ve been hearing about the Aerozone Alliance and efforts to develop the land around the airport. Why is this a big deal? It’s bigger than the airport. Basically, we’re looking at the innovation cluster, the expertise and the intellectual capital, around the NASA Glenn Research Center and the industry that supports that center, and how to leverage that in a more effective way. Airports are about transportation, and that’s important. The Aerozone is really about aeronautics and aerospace. And a lot of that is because of our jewel—NASA Glenn. If you look at other NASA centers, they’ve been able to do a lot more. If you look at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, the Marshals
Space Center in Huntsville, Alabama, there’s a much bigger aerospace industrial base around those centers. Why hasn’t our NASA blossomed into something bigger here? I think we just haven’t organized ourselves as well as we can, and part of that is historical. Since we’ve had such a long manufacturing history, things tend to get stovepiped. There was maybe no desire to really organize and plan for the new stuff. Over time I think evolutionary forces passed us by. I’ve been here since ’87, this is the only common thread I see. NASA Glenn is state of the art. It’s an R&D center, but they are starting to
evolve into more programming. They have responsibility for the “first element” in the Gateway Mission back to the moon. That first element—that’s what they call it—is all about power and propulsion. How do we make sure we can grow that into a new economy and new technology? That’s the whole idea behind Aerozone. It’s an exciting time. So how can we take advantage of this opportunity? Part of our role is to get some of that new expertise and knowledge out into our industry, and source and build these systems in Northeast Ohio, as opposed to sending the work to California or Colorado. And there are a lot of reasons why the Midwest is attractive. We’re cost competitive. We certainly have the top-end knowledge. Our companies are evolving into more advanced manufacturing. Eaton Aerospace is actually headquartered in California. But Parker (Hannifin) is totally here. And we’re working with them. We’re working with Saffron, Meggitt, and the surrounding communities. So all of these people are part of this. It’s synergistic.
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Part of our role is to get some of that new expertise and knowledge out into our industry, and source and build these systems in Northeast Ohio, as opposed to sending the work to California or Colorado. And there are a lot of reasons why the Midwest is attractive.
What can the alliance do? I think you need an entity as a point of contact for people coming into the area, and to develop the industry that we do have. The government doesn’t have the resources to do that. We know how to work with NASA and with local industry. The idea is that we have a whole critical industrial base around NASA Glenn and the airport and the Ford property. It’s totally underutilized but very valuable space. What could the Aerozone be in 10 years? Some press reports have talked about 50,000 jobs. That’s the intent. I don’t know what the time frame would be. ZIN is a piece of this. The Aerozone
The Aerozone comprises parts of five communities, NASA Glenn and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.
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They use us as a poster child. In the last 18 months, we’ve added over 100 jobs (boosting the workforce to about 325). Most of that is just from leveraging our expertise and knowledge we gained working with NASA, and NASA Glenn in particular, but now we do flight hardware across the market sector. For the Dream Chaser (NASA’s space plane), we are designing and engineering the whole electrical power system. It’s a commercial contract with NASA. That’s work for a lot of engineers, a lot of technicians. Why does aerospace in Northeast Ohio excite you? I love the breadth of different technologies, and how pervasive space is in our lives, although it seems to be a well-kept secret. And I didn’t want to leave Cleveland. I think Cleveland’s a great town. Case, the universities, the arts, the symphony—the city has so much going for it. And a lot of people come back! I live in Hinkley now. You learn, slowly, the east side, the west side, I didn’t know it was a thing. (laughs) We have one daughter. Sadly, she left Ohio (to work for Tesla). We doubt she’s coming back. But that’s partly why I’m interested in the Aerozone and why I chair the Ohio Aerospace and Aviation Council. We’re losing too much of our best and brightest. We have to offer them a future here. We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to Robert.Smith@casealum.org.
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Robert Kirsch, PhD, chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, welcomed the keynote speaker to the Engineers Week Reception.
A biomedical engineer for the world Alumnus Adriana Velazquez Berumen delivered a call to (thoughtful) action at the Engineers Week Reception By Robert L. Smith
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s the top biomedical engineer at the World Health Organization (WHO), Adriana Velazquez Berumen, MS ’86, knows what medical devices can do. She has seen the innovations of biomedical engineers cure diseases and improve lives in communities and cultures around the world. She also knows what tends to work best, and that it’s often simpler devices and therapies that are most effective. So when she addressed the 2019 Engineers Week Reception at Case Western Reserve University Feb. 28, she delivered a call to action—but also a call for reflection. Medical innovations like x-rays, dialysis and pacemakers changed the lives of millions, she said. But so did the stethoscope. Velazquez Berumen, a native of Mexico City who earned her master’s degree in biomedical engineering from the Case 20
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School of Engineering, said medical devices need not be technological marvels to work wonders. It’s often enough, she said, that they are simple, safe and effective. “Always put yourself in the place of the patient and the place of the healthcare worker who is trying to help that patient,” she told an audience sprinkled with aspiring biomedical engineers. “First listen, then help.” She added that engineering knowledge must be sharpened with personal passion to bring about change, especially when the challenges are tall. “You need passion to keep driving,” she said. Her message fell on a receptive audience. The annual reception, the climax to Engineers Week activities, returned to campus for the first time in years, drawing more than 400 people to the ballroom of the Tinkham Veale University Center.
The night celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Department of Biomedical Engineering with the theme “Bridging Medicine and Healthcare.” So BME faculty were prominent and more than 50 BME students presented their research with exhibits and poster boards. Velazquez Berumen flew in from Geneva, Switzerland, with her husband.
The couple’s son and daughter, recent college graduates working in America, met them in Cleveland for a family reunion rolled into a college homecoming. She toured labs on Case Quad and met with student leaders, faculty and administrators. As she shared her story, they learned of an impactful career that almost did not happen.
Launched from Case A young Adriana Velazquez knew she wanted to follow her father and her two grandfathers into engineering. But she also wanted to work in hospitals so that she could help patients and improve healthcare in developing nations like her native Mexico. Her idealistic quest did not begin well. After graduating from the prestigious Universidad Iberoamericana Mexico in 1982 with a degree in biomedical engineering, a young Adriana Velazquez presented herself to one of the top private hospitals in Mexico City. “They said, ‘A bio what? You cannot work here. Engineers are men,” she recalled in an interview with Case Alumnus. So she flew north one January day, into winter like she had never imagined, to begin studying at the Case Institute of Technology. In University Circle, she met classmates and professors who would inspire her for life. “I really went to a place with a lot of expertise,” she said. “It was so close to the hospitals and to the clinical environment. Case gave me many more tools to come back to Mexico and start to work.” She returned to the same Mexico City hospital with a master’s degree and this
time was greeted warmly. She became an advisor to Mexico’s Ministry of Health, orchestrating better use of medical imaging technology, and was the founding director of her nation’s National Center for Health Technology Excellence. From that position, she began collaborating with WHO, a United Nations’ agency that addresses international public health. In 2008, she joined WHO as a technical officer and rose to become one of its top engineers. As Senior Advisor and Focal Point for Medical Devices, she has a global view of medical instruments and how they can be used most effectively in different nations and cultures. Sometimes, she observes, it’s the simple technology that works wonders. For example, there’s a universal need for blood pressure monitoring devices that people can use themselves. Velazquez Berumen is excited about a smartphone app that measures blood pressure by the light of a mobile phone. “People will say, ‘This is not big science.’ But making technology simpler can make a big difference,” she said. “I am a big promoter of biomedical engineering because I firmly believe in it,” she added. “I don’t think that quality healthcare can be delivered without it.” As rapid advances in technology change medicine, the biomedical engineer has become more critical, she argues. “We know a little bit of everything. We know a little bit about medicine and a little bit about technology. We’re the ones who can explain to physicians the best use of the devices.”
Adriana Velazquez Berumen and Dean Venkataramanan Balakrishnan.
Reconnecting with Case Her work takes her to clinics and conferences around the world. In January 2017, she was attending a biomedical engineering conference in Kampala, Uganda, when she heard there was a Case team at the forum. Excited, she sought them out. That’s how she met Andrew Rollins, PhD, a Case Professor of Biomedical Engineering. He said he saw a chance to invite to campus someone who knows the global impact of biomedical engineering. “She’s right in the thick of it,” Rollins said. The Kampala encounter resulted in her agreeing to address the 2019 Engineers Week Reception. There, Velazquez Berumen closed her address by invoking the CWRU motto. “Let’s think beyond the possible,” she declared, “and together we can improve global health.” To comment on your classmate or on this story, send a letter to the editor or email Robert.Smith@casealum.org.
Adriana Velazquez Berumen told leaders of student engineering groups that engineering requires both passion and empathy. Spring 2019
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Case Memories Warner and Swasey Observatory, year unknown. Now abandoned, it sits three miles from campus in East Cleveland.
Case has a long history, more than 135 years. We pulled some pictures from the archives to remind you of what college was like back in the day, maybe when you were here. If you know someone from a photo, or recall a memory from the era, please let us know: Casealum@casealum.org
“Rapid Station 1959� is all that is written on the back of this photo.
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Freshman chemical engineering lab, 1937.
Case Quad at night, December 12, 1962
Credit: Photos compiled by Sebastian Abisleiman '21
Boats on Wade Lagoon. Spring 2019
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NewsBytes New campus, new era On April 9, CWRU and Cleveland Clinic dedicated the centerpiece of their new Health Education Campus, the soaring Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion. The $515 million complex will begin hosting 2,200 nursing, dental and medical students when it opens for classes in July. It will expand the CWRU campus west and more closely align the university with the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic.
A CWRU exclusive A study by the website 24/7 Wall St. ranked Case Western Reserve University the most exclusive university in Ohio, with an acceptance rate of 33 percent. About 75 percent of CWRU students scored above 1340 on the SAT, the study found.
Graduation keynote There are many lessons Beth Mooney could share with the Class of 2019 when she delivers the commencement address May 19, including curious routes to success. On her start to becoming chairman and chief executive officer of Cleveland-based KeyCorp, one of the nation’s largest banks, Mooney earned a history degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
Dartmouth taps Case talent Alexis Abramson, a Case professor of engineering and co-director of the Great Lakes Energy Institute, is heading to New Hampshire to become dean of the school of engineering at Dartmouth College. She becomes only the second woman to serve as dean in that school’s 150-year history.
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Pondering the rankings The Case School of Engineering came in at 52, just missing the Top 50, in the annual college rankings of U.S. News and World Report. Dean Venkataramanan Balakrishnan noted that the school’s overall score actually rose, as did its peer assessment score, which reflects Case’s reputation among other top engineering schools. He sees strengths to build upon. “The U.S. News methodology is complex, and while the end result this year was not what we’d hoped for, the increases in these areas are encouraging,” he told The Observer. “We have several initiatives in the works to enhance our research enterprise, and we are optimistic that this will help boost our rankings in the next few years.”
Barking Spider reborn One of Case’s favorite campus haunts reopened this spring in a new set of threads. The Barking Spider Tavern is now Cosmic Dave’s Rock Club, a newfangled franchise of the local Dave’s Cosmic Subs chain. For 30 years, the Spider staged bands and folkies in the historic carriage house near the heart of campus. Cosmic Dave’s will bring back the live music and full bar while serving up subs in its '60s tie-dyed vibe. Right on.
Healthy Midwest tech Investment in Midwest healthcare startups continues to grow, especially for IT and software companies. According to the annual investment report by BioEnterprise, Midwest health care companies raised $2.5 billion in capital last year, surpassing a healthy 2017. Attracting the most investment was Minneapolis ($664 million) followed by Chicago ($551 million) and Cleveland ($294 million).
Rockwell looking cooler How popular is software engineering talent? Rockwell Automation hopes to hire 150 software engineers in Cleveland alone this year, Crain’s Cleveland Business reported. To attract the techies, the engineering giant is shaping an edgier brand. In February, Rockwell hosted a hackathon at its Mayfield Heights offices, its first ever in North America. Spring 2019
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Class Notes 1960s
Michael Harris ’67 Charlotte, North Carolina Mike was presented the top award from SCORE Charlotte, its 2018 Dick O’Brien Award, in recognition of his more than 13 years of volunteer service to the mentoring organization. Before offering his expertise to small business owners as a SCORE mentor, Mike distinguished himself during a 40-year career as an electrical engineer, a research scientist and an entrepreneur. He earned his bachelor’s in management science from Case Institute of Technology and a master’s in economics from CWRU.
James J. Genova ’68 Greensboro, North Carolina Jim has been enjoying retirement in North Carolina since 2012 after a successful career in the defense industry. Since leaving the Naval Research Laboratory, he has authored two books. The first, published in 2017, is a Bible study entitled, If Jesus is the Answer, What is the Question? The second, published in 2018 by ArTech House, is a treatise on modern defense systems entitled, Electronic Warfare Signal Processing. Both are available from Amazon and other online book sellers.
1970s
Charles Fay ’71 Newton Square, Pennsylvania Charles, an advisor at BMI Mergers & Acquisitions, recently upgraded his credentials and will handle securities transactions as a registered representative of StillPoint Capital, LLC. Charles spent more than 26
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30 years working with Fortune 200 companies in the high technology electronics industry. He earned his bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Case and a master’s in computer science from Penn.
Brian Humphrey ’72 Mentor, Ohio Brian sent us news of his retirement: “After 45 years of working, I have decided to retire in May 2019. Cathy and I plan to remain in NEO to watch the four grandchildren grow up. The oldest, Hannah, is considering CWRU for continuing her education. I enjoy supporting the Summer on the Cuyahoga program to help retain bright students in our area.”
1980s
Tom Sarfi ’87 Broadview Heights, Ohio Tom has been appointed Business Development Manager at Pickering Interfaces, an England-based designer and manufacturer of signal switching and simulation solutions for electronic testing and verification. Tom, who earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Case Institute of Technology, has more than 30 years’ experience in the test and measurement industry.
1990s
Cynthia Paschal, PhD ’92 Nashville, Tennessee Cynthia became senior associate dean for undergraduate education in the School of Engineering at Vanderbilt University this January. She’s also is an associate
professor of biomedical engineering and of radiology and radiological sciences. She joined the Vanderbilt faculty in late 1992 after earning her doctorate in biomedical engineering from the Case School of Engineering.
Aneesha Johnson ’95 Valdosta, Georgia Aneesha has been appointed to a fiveyear term on the Valdosta-Lowndes County Development Authority Board of Directors in Valdosta, Georgia, where she works as a Plant Manager for DuPont. The Cleveland native earned her bachelor’s in chemical engineering at Case and has worked for DuPont for 20 years in numerous technical and leadership positions.
Jeni Panhorst ’99 Tempe, Arizona Jeni was promoted to Vice President of the Data Center Group, General Manager of Network Strategy & Programs at Intel Corp. She leads a team of business and technical strategists, market intelligence analysts, product and technology planners, and program and operations managers driving one of Intel’s fastest growing businesses. She earned her bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the Case School of Engineering with a minor in artificial intelligence. A strong advocate for causes in education and women in technology, Jeni serves in leadership roles for the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing and on the boards of two Arizona nonprofits.
Send your updates, including photos, about job promotions, professional development and personal milestones to casealum@casealum.org.
2000s
Asim Haque ’02 Columbus, Ohio Asim was named executive director of strategic policy and external affairs at PJM Interconnection in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. He is stepping down in March as chairman and CEO of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO). Asim was appointed to PUCO by Ohio Governor John Kasich in 2013 and reappointed to a second term in 2016. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Case before becoming an attorney.
Adam Snyder ’02, MEM ’03 Akron, Ohio Adam has assumed a new leadership role in Northeast Ohio’s economy. As Sector Partnership leader for Workforce Connects at MAGNET—the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network—he will lead efforts to address the region’s shortage of manufacturing talent. Previously, Adam served as president of ArtWall, which specializes in digitally printing art reproductions.
2010s
Matheus Fernandes ’13 Arlington, Massachusetts Matheus is a math PhD candidate at the John Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University, where he is using mathematics and computer science to examine how the skeletal composition of ocean sponges could be applied to make stronger structures. A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Matheus came to Case to study computer science but switched to electrical engineering,
then civil engineering, and finally earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.
Lauren Smith ’13, MS ’15 Manhattan Beach, California Lauren, one of Aviation Week’s 20 Twenties in 2014, is now a mechanical test engineering manager for Northrop Grumman’s James Webb Space Telescope program. She was featured in a recent profile in Aviation Week, “The Engineering Life: At Work with Northrop Grumman’s Lauren Smith.” Lauren earned her bachelor’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering and her master’s in mechanical engineering from Case School of Engineering, where she was the Propulsion Lead for the Design, Build, Fly Club.
Monika Goss ’14, MS ’15 Oil City, Pennsylvania Monika joined Goss Gas Products, an independent distributor of industrial gases and welding supplies, as purchasing and inventory manager. She is the fourth generation to work in the family business, which was started by her great-grandfather, R.N. Goss, in 1934. “I always knew I wanted to join the family business and play a bigger role in the company,” she said. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering from the Case School of Engineering.
Nicholas DiFranco ’16, MEM ’17 Mayfield Village, Ohio Nick returned to campus to give the keynote address at the
Design Spotlight of the CWRU chapter of Design for America in December. He’s a marketing specialist for Lubrizol LifeSciences. He shared with the students how design thinking influences his work.
Marziehossadat Ayati, PhD ’18 Edinburg, Texas Marzieh is one of the four “faces of success” featured in the Welcome to Succeed campaign on the website of NAFSA: Association of International Educators. She’s an assistant professor of computer science at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and works with teens to foster their interest in STEM fields. Marzieh earned her doctorate degree in computer science from the Case School of Engineering.
Janet Gbur, PhD ’18 Canfield, Ohio Janet was recognized as one of seven accomplished women graduates of Youngstown State University, a “Penguin Women on the Move,” at YSU’s Women’s History Month celebration in March. She works as a project mentor for undergraduate research at CWRU and as an instructor in the Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Department at YSU. She also serves on the ASM International’s Women in Materials Engineering Committee. Janet earned her doctorate in Materials Science and Engineering from the Case School of Engineering.
Send your updates, including photos, about job promotions, professional development and personal milestones to casealum@casealum.org.
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Top Prof
As she teaches foundational courses like surveying, Katie Wheaton helps her students find their own path into engineering.
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atie Wheaton ’01 was not sure of the role she could play as an engineer, not until her freshman year at the Case School of Engineering, when memorable professors showed her the galaxy of possibilities. Today she tries to do the same with her students, whom she describes as bright, collaborative and unsure where their talents might take them. “There’s something that brought them to the School of Engineering. There’s some motivation they have,” she said. “It may be a little murky right now. Part of what I’m trying to do is show them there’s a place for them in the community of engineers. I want them to know they bring unique talents that our community needs.”
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That message is heard and appreciated. Wheaton, an instructor in the Department of Civil Engineering, received the 2019 Srinivasa P. Gutti Memorial Teaching Award at the Engineers Week Reception February 28. The award is presented annually by the students of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, to a faculty member who displays “an exemplary commitment to undergraduate teaching.” Wheaton, who joined the faculty as an adjunct nine years ago, is heartened to know that her approach and her passion resonate. She loves her job. “When I’m at work I feel fully engaged,” she said. She brings industry experience to her classes, which emphasize foundational skills for civil engineering, like surveying, statistical analysis and structural design. Some students have
her three and four times before they graduate. Some only once. Many describe a memorable experience. They say she knows their names, knows the industry trends, and more than anything would love to see them succeed. “Her expertise in the industry really helps,” said Jack Worsham ’18, adding that Wheaton brings real-world examples of engineering issues to class, some of them pulled from the daily news. “Then there’s the level of passion she brings to it,” he added. “She’s not a PhD. She is here for teaching.” Ian Steiner, a fourth-year student majoring in civil engineering, said he would eagerly advise a friend to enroll in her classes. “I would tell them that Professor Wheaton is just incredibly invested in their success,” he said. “She views that
Yuntian Han, awards chair of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, presented Katie Wheaton with her award.
“
Her expertise in the industry really helps. Then there’s the level of passion she brings to it. She’s not a PhD. She is here for teaching.
as her job and she will make sure people have the tools they need to succeed.” Patricia Cheng, who expects to graduate in May with a degree in civil engineering, describes Wheaton as one of the most influential people in her life. “She’s taught me everything I know about steel and concrete design and that’s important,” she said. “But I think the most important thing she’s taught me is that there’s more than one way to be a good engineer and there’s more than one way to be a good person. That sounds so obvious, but I just didn’t realize it until Professor Wheaton believed in me.” Wheaton is a big believer in the power of mentors to shape a young person’s life. She grew up in an engineer-free home in the Cleveland suburb of Brecksville. Mom was a school teacher; dad a lawyer. Her
”
The Wheaton children—Claire 4, Gwen 7, and Ella, 10—watched mom get her award at the Engineers Week Reception. Dad is Andrew Wheaton '01.
parents, dad especially, pushed Katie and her three siblings toward engineering. “He always taught us it was important to pay attention to details and to be problem solvers,” she said. “We followed that.” All four of the Payne children became engineers, with Katie an enthusiast of civil engineering, which she describes as the foundation of a healthy society. Her passion was whetted on her first job out of Case, in Washington, D.C., where she helped renovate the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution as a building designer and structural engineer. She deepened her knowledge with a master’s degree in structural engineering at Lehigh University, then came home to Cleveland and went to work for Osborn Engineering. “I really, really enjoyed the work,” she said. But she and her husband, Andrew Wheaton ’01, were ready to start a family.
After giving birth to her first child, she sought a job that would allow more time to raise children. A former professor suggested teaching a class at Case, and she started as an adjunct in 2010. In 2015, she joined the faculty full time. Today, she has four classes and three daughters, ages 10, seven and four. “Sometimes it feels like I have seven children,” she laughed. Wheaton believes civil engineering is entering a new era of importance, as climate change unleashes new forces upon structures, and that her students will be called upon to find new technologies and solutions. “My role is to empower them and excite them and remind them that engineers rise to the challenge,” she said. Their response: the top honor that Case engineering students can bestow upon a faculty member.
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In Memoriam
TRIBUTE Cloud Cray Longtime Case supporter and entrepreneurship champion Cloud “Bud” Cray Jr. ’43 passed away March 8, 2019, at age 96, only months after funding a new center for business creation at Sears think[box]. The Cray Center for Venture Creation, dedicated October 19, 2018, assures that Cray will influence future generations of innovators and business founders. The Kansas native committed $4 million toward building the Cray Center and endowing its operations. He was unable to attend the dedication, but was represented by one of his granddaughters and two of his daughters, including Karen Seaberg, the chairwoman of the board of the family business, MGP Ingredients. The daughters expressed delight with the Cray Center and said it well represent their father’s feelings for his alma mater. “He felt that he got a great education at Case,” said Roger Cerne ’63, executive advisor in the Office of Development and External Affairs of the Case School of Engineering. Cerne helped re-introduce Cray to the modern campus, including the vision of Sears think[box]. “The fact that the school was embracing entrepreneurship, he thought that was extremely important,” Cerne said. Cray earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at the Case School of Applied Science, where he pledged Sigma Alpha Epsilon. In University Circle he met his wife, Sally, a Flora Mather College student. They married in 1944, the same year he followed many of his classmates into the Army. After military service, Cray worked for Dow Chemical before going home to Atchison, Kansas, to join the family business. Cloud Cray Sr. founded Midwest Solvents Company, a distillery, in 1941. His son built it into one of the nation’s leading suppliers of distilled spirits and specialty wheat proteins and starches. Cloud Cray succeeded his father as president of the company and became chairman and CEO. In 2015, he retired from the board of directors after 68 years at the company, now known as MGP Ingredients. Shortly before, he made his first $2 million contribution to Sears think[box]. The Cray Center spans the newly finished sixth floor, a hushed, carpeted expanse that resembles corporate offices, in contrast to the workshops of the lower floors. It includes conference rooms, co-working spaces and offices for groups that support entrepreneurs—like CWRU LaunchNet, the IP Venture Clinic and SCORE. The idea behind the design is that student innovators will ascend from the lower floors to be launched from the Cray Center as business founders. “Entrepreneurs are the backbone of this nation,” Cray said at the time of the dedication. “They represent people who desire to build companies with new ideas and innovations, offer employment to countless numbers of skilled workers and add to the welfare of this great country. The Cray Center for Venture Creation at Case Western Reserve University is my way of paving the way for Case students to have the opportunity that I have had in my career.”
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Kimball D. Smith Jr. ’39; Pasadena, CA; 2-12-19 Cloud L. “Bud” Cray Jr. ’43; Atchison, KS; 2-27-19 George Springer ’45; Newton, MA; 2-18-19
CES 2020 is Jan. 7-10 in Las Vegas
Robert E. Lawrence Jr. ’48; Graham, NC; 1-26-19 William H. Brickner ’49; Cupertino, CA; 8-6-18 Robert E. Grubaugh ’49; Portland, OR; 1-15-19 William G. Shinko ’49; Cleveland, OH; 8-11-18 John L. Simonetti ’50; Brunswick Hills, OH; 12-8-18
See you there?
George F. Bing MS ’51, PhD ’54; Livermore, CA; 11-18-18 Milton B. Hammond Jr. ’51; Downey, CA; 12-12-18 George R. Poore ’51; Santa Maria, CA; 2-24-19 James J. Bolzan Jr. ’52; Burlington, NC; 2-11-19 Robert T. Craig MS ’53; Sea Pines, SC; 12-25-18 John W. Schwartzenberg ’53, MS ’55; Maple Glen, PA; 3-28-19 Robert J. Titterington ’53; Delaware, OH; 2-6-19 Frank J. Kutina ’54; Chagrin Falls, OH; 2-20-19 William H. Monteith ’54; Silver Lake, OH; 1-22-19 Kermit D. Kuhl ’57, Lancaster, PA; 1-8-19 James L. Helm ’58; Wilmington, DE; 1-5-19 Ralph J. Hodous ’59; Cleveland, OH; 12-1-18 Erik Wiik ’59; Raleigh, NC; 1-14-19 Gerald F. Lucht ’60; Newark, DE; 9-1-18 Jacob Block PhD ’61; Portland, OR; 11-20-18 Gary B. Klatt ’61; Fort Atkinson, WI; 11-15-18 James A. Hudak ’62; Bentleyville, OH; 1-19-19 Bernard G. Huth ’63; Riverview, FL; 1-10-19 C. Leroy Mannon ’63; Southington, OH; 3-2-19 David J. Dougherty ’64; Akron, OH; 11-5-18 William G. Batte Sr. PhD ’66; Williamsburg, VA; 1-21-19 Douglas B. Smith ’66; Apex, NC; 1-16-19 Thomas E. Rebernak ’67; St. Charles, IL; 12-26-18 Herbert W. Pahlow ’68; Dunbar, WI; 10-2-18 Donald L. Fink ’68; South Euclid, OH; 1-13-19 Ronald P. DeStefano ’69; Moore Haven, FL; 9-7-18 Thomas R. Andrews ’70; Vail, AZ; 3-2-19 Eric L. Bradbury ‘70; Naples, FL; 12-19-18 Anton J. Hopfinger PhD ’70; Lake Forest, IL; 12-5-18
Case Western Reserve is returning to the consumer electronics show for the seventh consecutive year. Why? Because what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay there. Our students, faculty and alumni: • Make connections
James W. Fernandez ’71; Seattle, WA; 12-12-18
• See the state of the art
Peter T. Shih PhD ’73; Dayton, OH; 12-15-18
• Exhibit Case innovation
Stanley A. Byers PhD ’74; Roslindale, MA; 6-27-14
• Network at a Case alumni reception
James T. Lee ’75; Cleveland, OH; 2-8-14 Linda M. Kovacs ’79; Endicott, NY; 2-15-19 Stephen J. Hussell ’86; South Euclid, OH; 10-1-18 Robert A. Essig ’92; Madison, OH; 2-3-19 Julianne M. Vivirito MSE ‘00; Webster, TX; 2-18-19
For complimentary tickets to the convention, contact Kelly Hendricks at 216-368-0635 or via Kelly.Hendricks@caselaum.org. For reception information, check back to Casealum.org
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“LONG WE’LL REMEMBER…” Barry Romich ‘67
Larry Sears ‘69
FROM TINY ACORNS, MIGHTY OAKS
My recollection of ‘Barry and Larry,’ Caseys who never forgot the opportunities that let them soar. By James R. Banks ‘65
A
s a teenager growing up in the '50s, I was a hands-on tinkerer. Radios, clocks, mower engines, hi-fi. That stuff was my life. My first semester at Case in electrical engineering was a radical departure from my high school days. Math was everything—the only thing. My needs for the hands-on part of my life went unmet. I felt no sense of accomplishment. Failure became a real option. In the beginning of my second semester, February 1961, the Engineering Design Center opened. Included in the maze of labs and shops was the Student Projects Lab. It provided space and equipment where students could work on projects and develop skills using machine tools. It changed my life at Case. By the end of that semester, I was hired as the lab’s maintenance person. The next year I became the student manager, a role I held until I graduated in 1965. I became an advocate for the Student Projects Lab and would speak about it to the freshmen during orientation. During the first week of school in 1963, a freshman named Barry Romich came to the lab to check it out. He said he had grown up on a farm and had long dreamed 32
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of making his own steam engine. Before the first semester was over, he had realized his dream. He could hold it in his hand and watch it run on compressed air. Soon after, Barry took a student job in the Design Center, working on projects to enhance communication capabilities for persons challenged by birth defects or injury. He worked with Ed Prentke, an engineer at Highland View Hospital. Ultimately, the two of them formed the Prentke Romich Company, today the world leader in speech augmentation. I put together a free non-credit course in elementary electronic circuit design, including lab access. Freshman Larry Sears showed up at the first session. He was excited and eager to learn more about electronics. He particularly appreciated the access to professional laboratory instruments. I was impressed by his quick grasp of all things electronic. Since the year 1969-70 was to be my last at Case, I hired Larry to be my understudy, to make sure the Junior Lab program continued. Through his input, we added a “Patent Office” to the cost-competitive lab, raising the level of student excitement and making their experience even more real world.
In 1971, IEEE, the world’s professional association of electrical and electronic engineers, published a journal highlighting innovations in laboratory teaching. The Case Junior Lab was showcased as the lead article, “The Junior Electronics Laboratory, Opportunities for Invention.” It is not at all surprising that these two men, who way back then took advantage of the hands-on opportunities at Case, have today enabled those opportunities to continue and flourish for today’s students. Both were instrumental in the creation of Sears think[box]. They shared the fruits of their success to make sure today’s students enjoy opportunities to tinker and discover. I got to know these two men when they were tiny acorns, just sprouting roots. Now they are mighty oaks! Thank you Barry and Larry. James R. Banks '65 is a hands-on technical volunteer in Lee, New Hampshire, where he retired from his business of designing and manufacturing temperature controls. Have a Case memory to share? Email Robert.Smith@casealum.org.
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online-engineering.case.edu/alumni 1. Retrieved February 12, 2019, from usnews.com/best-colleges/case-western-reserve-university-3024/overall-rankings 2. Retrieved February 12, 2019, from usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/case-western-reserve-university-201645/overall-rankings
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Day of Giving 2019 is June 11. Are you All In?
Day of Giving offers a quick, easy and impactful way to support the Case School of Engineering and the math and science programs of the College of Arts and Sciences. Last year, 187 member of the Case Alumni Association made contributions. This year, our goal is 200+. We’re hoping we can count on you.
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