Case Alumnus Fall 2020

Case Alumnus The Magazine of the Case Alumni Association Since 1921

Fall 2020 • vol. 37 • no. 1

EXPLORER SCIENTIST Harry Fielding Reid and the Case tradition of the intrepid professor

Covid changes campus life

CAA turns 135

Homecoming reimagined

YourCase/YourChoice Whether you were a Rough Rider or a Spartan, your pride in your alma mater stretches well beyond graduation. With so many impactful scholarships, student groups and faculty on campus, choosing where to show your support can be a daunting task.

The Case Alumni Association has made selecting easier.

Our YourCase/YourChoice campaign showcases the innovative projects and programs of CWRU engineering and science students and faculty.

Each project is reviewed, vetted and selected by a committee before fundraising begins. We invite you to survey the opportunities, and see where you want to help. It’s your choice.

CASE FUND®

The Case Fund supports current and future Case engineers and scientists by allowing funds to be used at the dean’s discretion — for scholarships, lab upgrades, new technology and special projects.

CASE ROCKET TEAM​ The Case Rocket Team has been winning acclaim as it takes its high-powered rockets and the Case name to national competitions.

Your support helps them build and test the prototypes needed to soar above the rest.

ENVOYS​

The Envoys program helps gifted teens from under-resourced schools discover science at Case.

With your support, Envoys is bringing new talent and diversity to science and engineering.

See more YourCase/YourChoice selections at casealumni.org/campaigns

Dean’s Message

Preparing for a fall like none other The Case School of Engineering community would normally be bustling with back-to-campus activities, the start of a new academic year and preparations for homecoming celebrations. This year, the hustle and bustle has taken on a different tone as we prepare for an academic year that will look and feel markedly different from anything any of us have experienced before.

Our faculty and staff spent the summer focusing on ways to deliver meaningful education to our students while also keeping them, and our broader community, safe. Many courses have instituted a “flipped classroom” format to deliver hands-on, in-person interaction — combining online lectures and small-group discussion sections. We are also utilizing non-traditional spaces, such as recreational, social and dining facilities, outdoor areas, and even residence halls, that provide the additional room necessary for classes to meet while maintaining safe social distancing.

…we have done our best to consider every aspect of our students’ experience for the fall semester — regardless of whether they are able to join us on campus or are continuing their learning remotely.

From special workshops on how to optimize lectures and research-focused lab courses, to planning community-building events that provide safe socialization and connection, we have done our best to consider every aspect of our students’ experience for the fall semester — regardless of whether they are able to join us on campus or are continuing their learning remotely.

In addition to planning for the fall, our faculty, staff and students continue to respond to the pandemic through innovative research and community engagement. The Sears think[box] staff formed partnerships with local health care providers to innovate and prototype desperately required materials like personal protective equipment, intubation shields and specially-designed ventilator parts. Meanwhile, researchers from the Case School of Engineering have received significant support through the National Science Foundation to develop and test an online risk-assessment tool that gives location-specific information about the relative risk of going to any location in the United States.

While I cannot predict what the next weeks and months may bring, the faculty and staff will continue to advance engineering research and education as they always have — with the highest standards of innovation and excellence.

I look forward to the time, hopefully not too far away, when we can all safely meet together again as a community. Until then, please stay safe.

Best regards, Venkataramanan “Ragu” Balakrishnan Charles H. Phipps Dean, Case School of Engineering

Fall 2020

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Hire Case The emotions generated by landing your first job, that thrill and uncertainty, may only be outdone by the shock of abruptly losing it.

In recent times, hundreds of Case students and young alumni have received that second phone call, the one with stomach-dropping news: A start date has been postponed, an offer rescinded, an internship cancelled.

What now?

As we learn in an article on page 12, Navigating the Covid economy, some recent graduates spent the summer in the gig economy, delivering groceries and waiting to put their engineering degrees to work. Some students searched in vain for another internship when a promised opportunity vanished, or scrambled to enroll in fall classes when a co-op collapsed.

And many, with the help of alumni and Case-connected companies, found rewarding options.

When it became obvious that internships were disappearing, the Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship at Sears think[box] became a job creator. Veale executive director and Weatherhead Associate Professor Michael Goldberg worked with the university and with CWRU LaunchNet to create the Remote Entrepreneurship Project — the REP program.

It matched CWRU students with young companies, often startups, that needed their talents. The students gained experience, a resume listing and a $500 stipend paid by the program. For some, it saved the summer.

Cooper Reif, a mechanical engineering major, interned with Folio Photonics, a startup launched by Physics Professor Ken Singer, and found himself using CAD design software to create precision parts for an optical scanner.

“I was ready to give up, and I had this amazing experience when I thought nothing would happen,” he said.

Employers expressed satisfaction, too. Chris Wentz ’13, the founder and CEO of EveryKey, tapped the program to bring two interns into his 10-person startup in Little Italy. “It sounded like a good fit for us.

Most of our best people come through Case anyway,” Wentz said.

With Michael “Conor” Clark, Wentz added an electrical engineering major to a staff dominated by software engineers. Clark dove into the circuity of the company’s device and proposed ways for extending battery life.

“That could be huge for us,” Wentz said.

Goldberg hopes to relaunch the REP program this fall. Wentz hopes he does. Hopefully, he’s not the only alumnus who will take advantage of Case talent so suddenly available, affordable and ready to work.

There’s never been a better time to hire Case.

Robert L. Smith Editor Robert.Smith@casealum.org

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casealumni.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 casealumni.org

OFFICERS Sunniva Collins, MS ’91, PhD ’94, President Ron Cass ’84, 1st Vice President Joe Fakult ’90, 2nd Vice President Brian Casselberry ’95, Treasurer Frank Merat ’72, MS ’75, PhD ’78, Assistant Treasurer Curtis Grant ’11, MEM ‘12, Secretary

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 Giving Janna Greer, Manager of Donor Relations and Grants Lillian Messner, Manager of Digital Content and Design 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 Roadell Hickman Photography Flaticon.com, Icons

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.

Fall 2020 • vol. 37 • no. 1

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Cautious return Students are being welcomed back to a different college experience, with lots of new rules and pandemic protocols.

Look who's 135 The Case Alumni Association reflects on its 135th anniversary with an eye to the future.

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Recapturing memories

Aided by a trusty camera, physicist Michael Glinsky ’83, PhD, rediscovers his alma mater then and now.

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Cover Story Explorer scientist

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With his expedition to Glacier Bay, Alaska, in 1890, Harry Fielding Reid helped establish the tradition of the intrepid Case professor.

A Covid economy The class of 2020 graduated into a hiring freeze. It’s no better for students needing internships. Can alumni help?

Alumni Adventures 26 Climbing smart Scaling America’s highest peak

tested everything Jeff Hunter had, including his judgement.

Dad would be proud.

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DEPARTMENTS 1 2 4 6 10 24 26 29 34 35

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Dean’s Message Editor’s column Letters, posts and emails Around the Quad Alumni Newsmakers News Bytes Case Memories Class Notes In Memoriam Tribute — Professor Dov Hazony Long We'll Remember

Cover photo: Harry Fielding Reid in Alaska in 1933, photo by Charles W. Wright for U.S. Geological Survey.

Photo overlays: Reid’s 1890 map of Glacier Bay, courtesy of Hamburger Archives, Johns Hopkins University.

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VISIT WWW.CASEALUMNI.ORG FOR THE LATEST NEWS AND EVENTS!

The best way to stay connected to the Case Alumni Association between magazine issues is to follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Please join our sites today for the latest news on alumni, students, faculty and innovative research and projects.

Fall 2020

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Letters, posts and emails Our cover story on Kirsten Bowen ’96 in the spring 2020 issue — “New civil engineer” — attracted several letters and emails, including these: Not only an exceptional article, but one that was exceptionally well written and formatted. I recommend that it be reproduced and used as a recruiting tool for the Case School of Engineering. I had the pleasure of working with Chloe Singleton at the BF Goodrich Corporate Research Center in Brecksville, Ohio. Chloe long ago broke the male stereotype image at Case Institute of Technology and became (I do believe) the first very active Case alumna. We have certainly come a long way since then.

Cheers, Bill Kroenke ’56, PhD ’63 CAA president 1989-90 wkroenke@comcast.net

Bravo and congratulations to Kirsten Bowen for her excellent project work.

Chandra Savalappan ’63 ckanapur@yahoo.com

I enjoyed the column by James Peckol in the spring 2020 Case Alumnus (“How does the Mercedes-Benz?”). And seeing the photo of an exam in Strosacker Auditorium brought back a memory.

In the fall of 1964, I was among hundreds of freshmen taking a physics exam in Strosacker. The topic was mass and momentum, and it was the era of James Bond movies. One question was: “James Bond fires his pistol at his

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I enjoyed the spring 2020 issue! One of the best. The article on Kirsten Bowen was very interesting — good to see some good things happening in Cleveland. Thought her comment on getting through high school pretty easily, and finding Case to be much harder, echoed my experience and that of many others.

I remember sitting in orientation in the fall of 1965, with my two friends from Orange High School, when the professor said, “Look to the person on either side of you. Only one of you will likely

graduate.” I’m told they don’t say stuff like that anymore!

I also enjoyed the “Long We’ll Remember” column on the last page. I have many similar remembrances from my time, 1965 to 1969. We had to dress in a good shirt, tie and jacket for dinner service. Someone noticed that the type of pants was not specified, so many of us would show up in shorts, until the dress code was amended.

Best regards,

archenemy, Oddjob, who weighs 250 pounds and is knocked backwards at a velocity of X feet/sec. The bullet velocity is Y feet/sec (I don't remember X and Y, and they are not relevant to the story).

Question: What is the mass of the bullet?”

I started to hear quiet chuckles around the auditorium, first just a few, and then widespread. I carefully wrote down the proper equations, converted units, and feverishly worked my slide rule to the answer: .007 grams!

Someone, probably a grad student, had a rich sense of humor.

The spring issue sure caught my attention. The Page 6 feature, “Best of Case,” detailing the awarding of the 2020 Samuel Givelber ’23 Award to Ken Barker ’70 brought back strong memories.

Samuel Givelber paid my full senior year tuition in 1959-1960 as I studied

air conditioning!

I would have had a very tough time without this help. I am still grateful for this gift.

Paul Binder ’69 pgbinder1@cox.net

Bart Hubbard ’68 barthubbardtx@gmail.com

Glen W. Dorow ’60 gandjdorow@gmail.com

SUBMIT YOUR LETTER TO THE EDITOR Send by email to: Casealum@casealum.org

Or by mail to:

Case Alumnus Tomlinson Hall, Room 109 10900 Euclid Avenue Cleveland OH 44106

Several features in the spring 2020 edition sparked memories.

My Case Alumnus issue arrived with a picture of the Navy V-12 unit on page 25.

I think I am leading that unit.

Seniors graduated in November and received orders to report to the U.S. Naval Academy for officer training. In April 1944, these new ensigns were assigned sea duty.

Editor’s note: We checked the archives and that is indeed Ted Stirgwolt leading the march. The V-12 unit represented 37 percent of the 183 members of the Class of ’43.

Ted was “pony back” on the football team and senior class president.

Ted Stirgwolt ’43 tstirgw@aol.com

Susie Nagorney ’76 wrote to tell us she recognized a couple of Sigma Nus in the photo from the 90th Annual All Classes Banquet (“Case Memories”).

It's probably an honor to be joining the ranks of the elder graduates. I started Case with a log decitrig hyperbolic slide rule that I recall cost $28. Now even my grade-school grandchildren are using laptop computers. The new electrical engineering building is now the biomedical engineering building. I hope EE is still taught, since most of the hard stuff, like unbalanced three-phase networks, can now be put on a computer.

For me, Case was the jumping board for my career in lighting. I made the cover of this magazine for lighting Wrigley Field and won the top lighting award from the IES. I also became a fellow of the IES for writing a book on industrial lighting. I owe a lot to Case for teaching me to be an engineer.

The smiling young man in full beard and mustache at the front table, far left, is Daniel P. Fisher ’75. Sadly, Dan is deceased. Next to him (in glasses) is Bill Langenhop ’75 of Lakewood, Ohio. Bill helps make the magic happen on stage as a master carpenter and the assistant technical director at Great Lakes Theater.

John P. Frier ’56 Hendersonville, North Carolina

Fall 2020

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Around the Quad Algae fighter

Case researcher has a plan to beat back Lake Erie’s summer scourge The oxygen-killing algae that invades Lake Erie each summer has a new foe. Huichun “Judy” Zhang, an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, plans to attack the dreaded algal blooms with engineering.

Both the state and federal governments are supporting her efforts with a combined $700,000 in research grants.

Zhang, who specializes in environmental chemistry and engineering, has a two-pronged plan for confronting the farm runoff believed to fuel the blooms. First, she wants to decontaminate livestock manure. Second, she intends to filter phosphorus from the fertilizers that farmers spread upon their fields.

Both the manure and the fertilizers are washed by rain into rivers and streams,

sending contaminated runoff north toward Lake Erie. Detoxifying that brew demands some nifty engineering.

Zhang envisions a series of honeycomblike structures that would capture phosphorous from runoff before it reaches the lake.

She’s working with a phosphorus expert with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on filter models in the lab. They hope to place the filters in “hot spots” near factory farms.

The Ohio Water Development Authority is supporting their project with a two-year, $200,000 grant.

On another tack, Zhang is looking to detoxify livestock manure that farmers use as fertilizer. That means identifying and removing contaminants that stem from the use of antibiotics and growth hormones. Most of those chemicals are never digested by the animals, Zhang said, and presumably end up on crops or leach into groundwater.

She’s working on the manure project

with an expert in sustainable farming at the National University of Ireland. The USDA is supporting the research with a three-year, $500,000 grant.

Protecting Lake Erie excites Zhang, who focused on water purification strategies during her doctoral studies at Georgia Institute of Technology. Three years ago, she joined the Case School of Engineering and discovered Lake Erie, where her family now fishes and kayaks.

“We’re definitely trying to look at better practices for farmers, to have a safer environment,” she said. “The goal is a cleaner lake — absolutely!”

Setting the stage

Former Weatherhead Dean Scott Cowen steps in as interim university president With Barbara Snyder leaving this fall for new horizons, and the search still underway for her successor, there was a big opening at the top. An experienced administrator has stepped up to fill it.

Scott Cowen, a university trustee and former dean of the Weatherhead School of Management, will serve as interim president beginning October 1.

He guided Tulane University through Hurricane Katrina and will now lead CWRU through its transition.

Snyder is leaving the university after

13 years to become president of the American Association of Universities.

The board of trustees announced Cowen’s appointment in June.

“Scott has provided wise counsel and insight throughout my time at Case Western Reserve,” Snyder said in a statement. “I know he will be an outstanding leader for the university during this time of transition, and I deeply appreciate his willingness to serve as interim president.”

Cowen led Tulane for 16 years. His

tenure included Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of the university and New Orleans in 2005, after which he emerged as a leader of the recovery. Before Tulane, he worked for 23 years at the Weatherhead School, serving 14 years as dean.

“I am honored to return to Case Western Reserve, a place that played an enormous role in my professional and personal life,” Cowen said in a statement.

“Barbara has transformed the university during her tenure, and I will work to continue that momentum until the arrival of its next permanent leader.”

Recycling the unrecyclable

Polymer researchers find new life for durable, single-use plastics The permanency of plastic has long been one of its problems. Some superstrong plastics — known as thermoset polymers and often used in wind-turbine blades, boats and auto parts — cannot be recycled in any meaningful way.

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That’s a problem for the environment and for community landfills, where they pile up.

A pair of researchers in the Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering think they have a solution.

Distinguished University Professor Ica Manas-Zloczower and Liang Yue, MS ’14, PhD ’18, a post-doctoral researcher

in her lab, have developed technology that shows promise transforming nonrecyclable plastics into recyclable ones that can be made into new products.

They have found a low-cost way to take rigid thermoset plastics and break them down into a reusable resin, as is done with softer plastics. Their discoveries have caused a buzz in the plastics industry.

“Given the fact that thermoset polymers are also quite expensive, the

ability to recycle them becomes quite important,” Plastics Today observed.

Thermoset plastics are made resistant to heat and corrosion by a strong chemical cross-linked molecular network, which also makes them hard to break down and recycle.

Manas-Zloczower and Yue are solving this problem by converting permanent, cross-linked structures into dynamic cross-linked ones, according to a press release.

The dynamic network allows reshaping and reprocessing by conventional methods, such as hot-press molding or injection molding, to fabricate a new product.

So far, the researchers have achieved success with small amounts of material in the lab.

But they are working with the Great Lakes Energy Institute and CWRU’s Office of Technology Transfer to identify industry partners.

Early promise

Young professor gets a big boost for her cancer research As she works to accelerate a critical cancer therapy, researcher Christine Duval, PhD, has attracted uncommon federal support. The assistant professor of chemical engineering received an Early Career Research grant from the U.S. Department of Energy worth at least $750,000.

She ranks among only a handful of researchers at Case Western Reserve ever to win the award and is the first known winner from the Case School of Engineering.

Duval is working on a faster and more sustainable means for creating radioactive

isotopes, which are used in a new class of drugs to diagnose and treat cancer.

“Dr. Duval is a creative and energetic scientist, and this award recognizes the originality and anticipated impact of her ideas,” Dan Lacks, PhD, chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, said in a news release. “She leverages her expertise in two distinct fields — membrane and nuclear sciences — to propose innovative ways to extract the medically important isotopes from natural systems.”

Duval came to the Case School of Engineering in 2017 from Clemson University, where she earned her doctorate in chemical engineering.

She’s one of 75 scientists nationally chosen for the DOE’s Early Career Research Program.

In its 11th year, the program is designed to bolster American science by supporting exceptional researchers early in their careers, when many scientists do their most formative work. Her award, announced in June, is worth at least $150,000 a year for five years to cover salary and research expenses.

“We’re excited about it because it will allow our lab to continue to do this work and improve on it by bringing on more student researchers,” Duval said. “It also builds on our existing collaborations with Argonne National Laboratory.”

To Case with grandpa’s tools

Freshman Michael Brough arrived with CIT essentials from 1955 Soon after being accepted to the Case School of Engineering, Michael Brough of Houston, Texas, received a surprising package from his grandfather in Newark, Ohio. It contained angles, squares, compasses and other measuring tools that a freshman needed at Case Institute of Technology in 1955 — even a slide rule in a leather case.

“He didn’t know what that was,” said Larry Brough ’59, chuckling. “Nobody uses that stuff anymore, I know. But I saved it all and now it’s his.”

Brough, who worked for Boeing,

Babcock & Wilcox and the state of Ohio as an engineer, beams to know his grandson chose his alma mater.

“Michael’s a smart kid, and I’m sure he’ll do well at Case,” he said. “He looked at a dozen schools in the East, all elite, but he liked Case best.”

Michael Brough, who plays saxophone, plans a dual major in biomedical engineering and music, in association with the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Larry Brough is anxious to visit campus — if only to show his grandson how to use a slide rule.

Fall 2020

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Around the Quad Life-saving solution

Department of Defense thinks a Case researcher can save wounded warriors

Research from the lab of Anirban Sen Gupta, PhD, highlighted in the winter 2020 Case Alumnus, continues to advance synthetic blood platelet technologies while capturing broader interest and support.

In July, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded Sen Gupta and his team a $3.8 million grant to develop freeze-dried synthetic platelets for the battlefield, where they could be used to treat wounded soldiers and save their lives.

Sen Gupta, a professor of biomedical engineering, will work with partners at the University of Pittsburgh for in vivo testing of the platelets and with manufacturing partners at Haima Therapeutics, a biotechnology company he co-founded in 2016 to translate and commercialize the technology.

The DOD award will enable Sen Gupta to recruit new students and researchers for his 15-member lab in the Wickenden Building, where they pursue ideas that some doctors see as game changing.

Sen Gupta and his team have developed synthetic platelets that functionally mimic real platelets and can staunch bleeding. Real platelets are highly perishable and always in short supply. Haima’s patented product, called SynthoPlate, is long lasting and portable. It's designed to be intravenously injected at the scene of a trauma.

In April, the National Science Foundation awarded new funding to help Haima scale up the manufacture of SynthoPlate.

This summer, CWRU’s Technology Transfer Office executed a licensing agreement with Haima, granting the company exclusive rights to develop and market the technology.

“It’s exciting and rewarding,” Sen Gupta said of the recent progress. “In my lab, the goal has always been to push the boundaries of translation. This will bring the technology closer to a conversation with the FDA.” Haima Therapeutics will now seek venture capital funding while beginning animal studies, said Michael Bruckman, PhD, its chief operating officer and interim CEO. He said the goal is to launch human clinical trials in two years.

Homecoming reimagined

The pandemic canceled in-person events, but the Case spirit will shine on Homecoming as we know it will have to wait. The board of the Case Alumni Association has decided to postpone all in-person CAA events this fall, including Homecoming/Reunion Weekend 2020, to protect the health of alumni and students. The annual All-Classes Celebration, Innovation ShowCASE and alumni awards ceremony will be rescheduled in 2021.

While there will not be live homecoming festivities this year, there will be ample opportunity for reminiscing and fellowship.

CAA is reimagining Homecoming weekend, Oct. 8-12, with online events designed to be fun and enlightening.

TOURING SEARS THINK[BOX]

Bob McLeod ’66 catches a TD pass against Reserve in 1965.

Jim Treleaven ’69, PhD.

There’s lots to explore in the largest open-access innovation center on an American college campus. This virtual tour will have you dreaming like a thinkboxer as it takes you from fabrication labs to prototyping stations and shows you the tools available to today’s campus innovators.

For details on these and all Homecoming 2020 events, including times and dates, go to casealumni.org/homecoming.

RELIVING THE BIG GAME In 1965, the Rough Riders of Case Institute of Technology faced off against the arch rival Red Cats of Western Reserve in an epic battle. We plan to rebroadcast the game online Saturday afternoon, October 10. The replay will feature playby-play and expert commentary from three alumni who could never forget it: John Massie ’66, Paul Stephan ’64, and 8

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RETRACING CASE’S FIRST EXPLORER SCIENTIST Harry Fielding Reid set the pattern for generations of intrepid Case professors with his surveying trek to Glacier Bay, Alaska, in 1890. Former Dean Tom Kicher ’59, MS ’62, PhD ’65, will examine Reid’s epic journey and answer questions during an online Zoom presentation.

Tom and Janet Kicher, Homecoming 2018.

A cautious return Over the summer, faculty and staff simulated a socially-distanced classroom in the Peter B. Lewis Building. Red tape on the desktop indicates a six-foot separation

Signs of the times in Nord Hall

With the coronavirus lurking, students, faculty and staff face new rules and a quieter campus

L

ike universities everywhere, Case Western Reserve monitored the pandemic and pondered how to safely launch the fall semester.

Ultimately, administrators decided that meant bringing fewer students back to a quieter, cautious campus.

Classes were scheduled to resume August 24 with the only certainty being that, in the time of Covid-19, any and everything could change.

Less than a week before students were scheduled to begin moving back into residence halls August 12, the university announced it was making all dorm rooms single occupancy. That meant there was no longer enough room for everyone. Firstyear, fourth-year and international students were welcomed back to campus. Most second-year and third-year students were excluded from university housing, including Greek housing.

“We are sorry that health concerns mean that we cannot accommodate all of you this fall,” university President Barbara Snyder and Provost Ben Vinson III wrote in the August 6 email. “For now, however, we must do all we can to protect your wellbeing in the conditions we face today.”

They said the rising numbers of infections regionally and nationally convinced them more efforts were needed to mitigate health risks. In a separate memo, faculty were instructed to plan for far more online classes, especially for second-year and third-year students.

Meanwhile, plans called for returning students to be temperature checked and tested for Covid-19 before moving into dorms and suites. They would be handed a drawstring bag containing face masks, a digital thermometer and other new dorm-life essentials.

In that and many other ways, the pandemic has altered campus life.

• Students and staff are expected to mask up, wash up and practice social distancing throughout campus • Classrooms have been reconfigured with capacity limits, assigned seats and Plexiglas dividers • In dorms, students face restricted common areas and shower schedules • Dining halls are open but most meals are being boxed to go • With varsity sports and large events canceled, small groups and outdoor discussions are the new norm, at least while the weather is warm • The fall semester will end with Thanksgiving break Over the summer, faculty and staff simulated a socially-distanced classroom in the Peter B. Lewis Building, offering a preview of the pandemic classroom, with students in masks and the instructor miced behind a plastic shield.

For students, Covid-19 has made college life uncertain and more difficult,

though they are trying to take it in stride.

“It’s still exciting, mostly just to see people,” said Ben Baierl, a fourth-year computer science major. A member of the track team, he’s training in anticipation of sports returning in spring. Even though most of Ben Baierl still hopes to be his classes are online, Baierl sprinting for is content to Zoom in from the Spartans his suite in The Village, and in the spring he’s not the only one.

“The act of simply being back on campus kind of gets my mind ready to learn,” said Cooper Reif, a third-year mechanical engineering major. He said he’s sad he won’t see many of his friends on campus this semester but that he feels “very lucky” to have secured an off campus apartment.

“There will still be campus life, which I think is great for students who have been cooped up at home all summer,” he said.

The university has reminded students that their cooperation is essential to inperson classes continuing. A new motto, being widely circulated, speaks to a new college try: “Think for the good of my neighbor.”

Everyone is being asked to pledge to mask up, wash hands, respect social distance and assess one’s own health daily.

Visit https://tinyurl.com/back2cwru for the latest updates and information on CWRU's response to Covid-19.

Fall 2020

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ALUMNI

newsmakers

Alumni newsmakers

Clean idea

Thinkboxers develop a faster, better way to disinfect hospital masks Since early spring, staff at Sears think[box] have focused on producing equipment and innovations that can help healthcare workers fight Covid-19. Ian Charnas ’05, the Director of Innovation and Technology at think[box], thinks the latest invention to come off the prototyping floor is the most exciting one yet.

A team sprinkled with Case alumni developed a device that can disinfect an N95 respirator for reuse in one minute.

The product has the potential to be a godsend for small- and medium-sized hospitals that need the masks, but lack rapid decontamination capabilities.

“No one else has done anything like that,” Charnas told The Land, a new

online newspaper in Greater Cleveland.

“We’re contributing towards human knowledge and adding something new to the conversation.”

The Synchronous UV-C Decontamination System even has a catchy nickname, SUDS. It’s a tall, narrow, single-door box that baths an N95 mask in Ultraviolet C, a wavelength of light with the ability to kill germs.

The technology began in the lab of Jacob Scott, MD, a clinical assistant professor in the School of Medicine, whose graduate students hypothesized that increasing the intensity of UV light could disinfect masks quickly. Charnas tapped Badar Kayani ’20, the Prototyping Student Lead at think[box], to build the device, which is easy to use. Throw in a mask, shut the door, and in 60 seconds, tests show, the mask is disinfected and ready to be reused.

With a prototype to demonstrate, the team is now looking for a commercialization partner.

Email Charnas at Ian.Charnas@case.edu.

Model athlete

By earning her Case degree, Olympian became an even bigger star back home In 2004, Shikha Tandon, MS ’12, swam for India at the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Later, she earned her master’s degree in biology at Case Western Reserve University. Today, both accomplishments make her a person of honor in her homeland.

In June, the Hindustan Times, one of the largest newspapers in India, reflected on Tandon’s example as “one of the few Indian sportspersons who has combined sports and education at the highest level.”

She was 19 when she competed against

the world’s best swimmers in the 50 meter and 100 meter freestyle — two events in which she still holds the national record in India. Six years later, a shoulder injury ended her swimming career, but she was already working in the labs on Case Quad.

She completed her master’s degree program in biology in the College of Arts and Sciences and went to work for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, combining her passion for science and sports as Science Program Lead.

Today, at 35, she’s a product manager

for TechCrunch in San Francisco and a role model for superstar athletes in India.

“Shikha feels education has a very important role in an athlete’s life — be it understanding your own body, diet and the sport, following an anti-doping program or making a post-retirement plan,” the newspaper wrote.

It quotes Tandon advising other elite athletes to prepare for their second act: “An athlete’s career is unpredictable — injuries can force them to quit,” she said. “What do you do then? Education can help you.”

Find her story at tinyurl.com/ shikhatandon.

Numbers guy

Alumnus dives into baseball statistics with holy zeal There’s almost something divine about Wins Above Replacement, or WAR, the number that expresses a baseball player’s value to the team.

Rev. Humbert Kilanowski ’04, PhD, who honed his mathematics skills at 10

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Case, has been making news for tweaking the most studied formula in baseball.

An assistant professor of mathematics at Providence College, Kilanowski is also an expert in sabermetrics, baseball analytics made famous in the book and film

Moneyball. Recently, he was profiled by the Catholic News Service for giving baseball executives more numbers to crunch.

Theoretically, WAR judges a player's skill over that of his replacement — typically a minor leaguer who would be called up to take his spot on the roster.

Using statistical data from the summer Cape Cod Baseball League, where he watched and scored games last season, Kilanowski devised WAR rankings for amateur players with limited playing time and shallower stat pools — something that had not been done before.

His results were published in July

in the Baseball Research Journal of the Society for American Baseball Research and appear to have already affected some draft picks.

A lifelong baseball fan, Kilanowski was known as Philip when he studied math and astronomy at Case (Humbert is his religious name). He found his vocation while earning his doctorate in mathematics from Ohio State. In 2018, he was ordained a Catholic priest and became a Dominican Friar. Now he

pursues both passions — faith and baseball — with mathematical zeal.

“I knew that I wanted to build on my research background in applied probability,” Kilanowski told Providence College Magazine last year. “God’s providence has shown me new ways to tie in mathematics with my studies in philosophy and theology since becoming a Dominican, and even searching for a better model in baseball is part of the lifelong quest for truth.”

Unsung heroes

Factory workers and polymer scientists work overtime to fight the coronavirus Healthcare heroes have attracted most of the attention in the battle against the coronavirus, as well they should. But many manufacturing workers and their science colleagues have also been working overtime to fight the pandemic.

Braskem America, a major polypropylene producer, made national news when its workers volunteered for “liveins” at factories in Pennsylvania and West Virginia to produce the key polymer used in medical gowns, disinfectant wipes and face masks. During the first live-in that ended in late April, 44 employees worked and lived at the Braskem plant outside of Philadelphia for 28 straight days without leaving.

“The undertaking was just one

example of the endless ways that Americans in every industry have uniquely contributed to fighting the coronavirus,” The Washington Post reported. “All of the workers volunteered, hunkering down at the plant to ensure no one caught the virus outside as they sought to meet the rocketing demand for their key product, polypropylene.”

A Case alumnus added scientific insight to the effort. Joel Carr, PhD ’13, Braskem’s U.S. product team leader, worked with his team in Pittsburgh to support the increased production with polymer engineering.

“Knowing that we are making products that go into these applications

that keep health care workers safe is really empowering,” Carr told The Daily, CWRU’s online news source.

Carr said Braskem shifted products between factories in order to meet the sharp increases in demand. That move “is not trivial,” he said, adding that his team helped ensure “the products have the same polymer architecture and balance of properties” to meet application needs and customer expectations.

Carr, a PhD student of Professor Eric Baer, was a Charles Reed Fellow at Case and has enjoyed early success as a polymer scientist.

In 2017, Plastics News named him a Rising Star for his success developing new polypropylene copolymers.

Master teacher

Lauded by students, the man behind "Larry Lab" wins the Wittke award Students have their own name for Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering 371, a course taught by Larry Sears ’69.

“This sounds corny, but ‘Larry Lab’ changed my life,” a former student recently told a nominating committee.

He was one of several students who have described the circuit design course as “legendary,” and helped Sears win the 2020 Carl F. Wittke Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.

Sears, the champion of Sears think[box], brings the experience of

an engineer and the enthusiasm of a tinkerer and an inventor to the classroom.

Soon after graduating from Case Institute of Technology in 1969 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, he launched his startup in a storefront in Little Italy. Hexagram Inc. developed and manufactured electrical systems and controls for companies, solving problems on demand. Most notably, it produced a remote meter-reading device that was adopted by utilities across the land.

After 35 years in industry, Sears sold

his company and returned to the Case School of Engineering as an adjunct faculty member, where he focuses on applying theory to real-world projects.

In his class, students are challenged to pursue a new project every week, with each project presenting different topics in analog, mixed-signal and power electronics, according to The Daily, CWRU’s online news source. They are encouraged to show independent thinking and creativity.

“Actual performance is always going to be different from simulations and calculations,” Sears told The Daily. “As in life, things rarely go according to expectations.”

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Look who’s 135

The Case Alumni Association celebrates a landmark birthday with an eye to the future

Case Main 1895

Aspiring astronaut meets the real thing at 2020 Engineers Week Reception

Michelson-Morley Fountain, Case Quad

se

of the Ca , the first home Case homestead Science School of Applied

W

hen the first five graduates of the Case School of Applied Science formed an alumni association in 1885, their goals may have sounded ambitious. The school was only five years old, with a student body of fewer than 50, and several colleges had already tried and failed in the upstart town of Cleveland.

Yet the first Caseys had reason for optimism. Their professors included physicists like Albert Michelson, who was measuring the velocity of light with astonishing precision. Classes had just moved from the Case home downtown to a handsome edifice in 12

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Arkady Polinkovsky ’08, MS’10, rises to speak at alumni gathering.

the countryside, in what would become University Circle. The founders felt pride in what they were a part of.

“We had a good, stiff course, and we worked hard,” Daniel Warmington, the association’s first president, told Case Alumnus in 1930 as he recalled his Case days. “It gave me a good education. It taught me to be exact to the millionth of an inch, and it taught me to think clearly and to the extent that I have.”

Warmington and his peers committed themselves to foster fellowship among future alumni and support “science to serve humanity.” They laid the foundation

for a remarkable institution.

At 135, CAA is the oldest independent alumni association of science and engineering graduates in the nation and represents more than 20,000 members worldwide. Case alumni have endowed scholarships for future generations, equipped labs and raised classroom buildings, pushing the school ever toward the forefront of science and engineering.

But what does the future hold? We asked some of our most active alumni to ponder what CAA should be in the years and decades ahead. Here’s what they had to say:

Hillary Emer ’07, MS ’07, CAA board member, Young Alumni Leadership Award winner I think that CAA should continue to help alumni connect regardless of graduation year, major, gender or race to support and encourage each other in our careers and lives. And I think that CAA should continue to provide scholarships for engineering and science students – filling in the gaps and reducing student loan burdens.

Additionally, CAA should support Case in removing barriers to admission for Black students and other students of color.

I think CAA should support diversity initiatives at Case and within CAA to ensure we are anti-racist and doing our part to dismantle systematic racism.

Jim Kilmer ’00, MS ’00, CAA board member, Meritorious Service Award winner I’d like to see the Case Alumni Association continue evolving to become more of a professional connector. We should continue to open up more opportunities for alumni to work together, to use our skills and shared experience to create new industries, jobs and opportunity across many areas of science and engineering.

We need to connect alumni with each other and use the network that the organization has built over decades to everyone’s mutual benefit.

CAA has changed over the years, from a primarily social organization to one that is very good at fundraising and supporting the growth of the Case School of Engineering. We need to continue that evolution and become a lifelong community that both engages and benefits alumni all over the globe. In cooperation with programs ongoing at the university, I think CAA could help to open up new areas of research, collaboration and

commercialization, leveraging the strength of our alumni to the benefit of all.

Carlin Jackson ’15, MSM, CAA board member As CAA looks towards the future, I believe the organization can position itself as an authority on the university experience of “tomorrow.” The year 2020 has shown us how flexible and innovative society can (and must) be towards the concept of higher education. As we hope for a return to normal, there will be changes that are either permanent or harbingers of other changes to come. CAA should be proactive in helping define this evolutionary process.

The common perception of the collegiate experience has been dominated by the notion of the four-year degree.

However, recent times have shown that there exists much utility in breaking away from that default and embracing unique pathways that cater better to the diverse subsets of students that come to a university. While continuing to bring together current students and fellow alumni, CAA can help establish the “lifelong learning community” as the new default experience that society expects from top-tier universities like CWRU. Sunniva Collins, MS ’91, PhD ’94, CAA board president, associate professor and associate dean at the Case School of Engineering The story of CAA is still being written. The school is evolving and so are we. The concept of diversity and inclusion is really resonating today.

It’s not like we haven’t had successes, but we’re still breaking down barriers. We need to get to the point where we’re a little more holistic about the world.

We need to support our international students and engage with our international alumni. They give us a huge advantage.

They give us connections all over the world. We have people around the globe who are approaching problems with thinking they developed at Case.

Diversity is a good thing. We get different solutions when we can include as many different points of view as possible. I think we’re doing a pretty good job. We’ve got a number of younger and mid-career alumni involved. They’re in the world, and that helps inform what we need to do.

Michael Diamant ’68, JD, CAA past president, Case Alumni Foundation board member From its inception, the Case Alumni Association was composed of a broad range of graduates in all areas of science, mathematics and engineering.

Whatever their major, graduates learned to think analytically and logically. Case also provided a wide range of exposure to the humanities. As a result, Case graduates have excelled and led in numerous career fields, from science and engineering to business, medicine, law and finance. Ask any Case graduate the most important benefit of a Case education and universally their answer will be “Learning to solve problems through logical analysis.”

I hope that going forward CAA continues to recognize, include and benefit from alumni from all professional areas. The original Case cheer was “S-C-I-E-N-C-E, Go Case!” While corny, it recognized the broad foundation in science that a Case education provided. The greatness of Case was that it was a pioneer in integrating engineering, i.e. applied science, with science, mathematics and the humanities to produce creative analytic thinkers. I strongly recommend CAA not stray from that path, but refocus and commit to its roots and traditions of being an alumni organization for all science, engineering and math alumni and continue to support students and faculty in those disciplines.

What are your thoughts on the future of CAA? We would love to hear them.

Email Casealum@casealum.org.

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RECAPTURING MEMORIES A homecoming rekindles fond remembrances, aided by a trusty camera

The brothers of Sigma Nu 1981

By Robert L. Smith

M

ichael Glinsky ’83, PhD, bought his Nikon FM 35mm SLR camera in high school in Akron with lawn mowing money. He brought it to Case Institute of Technology in 1979 and used it to document his college experience — fraternity life, pie-eating contests, road trips — with black and white snapshots.

Nearly 40 years later, in the mild February of 2020, Glinsky returned to campus with the same camera. He flew in from Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his daughter, Michaela, who was making her college decision.

While Michaela toured campus and classes, dad slipped away to revisit old haunts, like Case Quad, Little Italy and Coventry Road. He shot photos with a manual camera that requires him to read a light meter and choose a shutter speed.

A camera that requires him to think 14

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photos then

Greek Week fraternity games keg toss

Greek Week fraternity games tug of war

photos now about what he is seeing — the better to cherish the memories.

“It was neat to see the old stomping grounds, a lot of nostalgia,” said Glinsky, who was CIT’s senior class president in 1983 and won the William Grauer Award for excellence in photography. “Case was a great four years.”

He majored in physics and pledged Sigma Nu, living in the fraternity house in Little Italy. As social chair, he learned how to rally a team and organize events, especially during Greek Week. He became part of a brotherhood.

“It really was the social life,” he said of his fraternity. “We spent so much time just sitting around talking — about politics, about academics. Still to this day I have extremely good friends from the frat. They’re the ones I stay in contact with the most. Just those really good, solid friendships.”

He was impressed by the changes he saw to campus and the neighborhood, the shiny new shops of Uptown and the new Veale University Center. But he also savored the familiar streetscape of Coventry, the setting of so many late-night pizza runs, and the musty magnificence of Rockefeller, home to physics experiments for his and earlier generations.

He was delighted to reconnect with former professors like Robert Brown, PhD, people who had mentored him, stoked his interest in research, and sped him toward a rewarding career.

After earning his doctorate at the University of California at San Diego, Glinsky worked for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Royal Dutch Shell, BHP Billiton and CSIRO (in Perth, Australia).

Today he is a research physicist for Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque.

Michaela chose Georgia Tech over of Case, “which was a very close second,” but Glinsky expects to stay connected to his alma mater. The homecoming rekindled many fond memories. Should he ever forget, he knows, he has the photos to remind him.

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland's Little Italy neighborhood

Case Weatherhead School of Management

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EXPLORER SCIENTIST Reid’s trek to Alaska helped establish Case as a school that both attracted and cultivated bold scientists and engineers

By Thomas P. Kicher

E

arly on the morning of July 1, 1890, the steamer carrying Professor Harry Fielding Reid and his team of young explorers anchored a half mile below Muir Glacier, within 200 yards of shore, where the calving of ice from the glacier was clearly visible and the falling blocks of ice created waves that rocked the steamer like a groundswell.

They went ashore and were surprised to meet naturalist John Muir, who was studying the submerged forests around the glacier recently named for him. They unpacked and raised their tents. With boards they had purchased in Juneau, they built flooring for the tents, tables, camp stools and a shelf for their library.

That first night, the team from the Case School of Applied Science hiked about five miles up the east side of Muir Glacier, then returned to their encampment around midnight in the summer twilight of Alaska, the first of many long and rewarding days at what became known as “Camp Muir.” It 16

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Posing at John Muir's cabin are (from left) Muir, Henry Cushing, Comfort Adams, Herbert McBride, Harry Fielding Reid and (on roof) Robert Casement.

Photo by John Morse, courtesy of Ferdinand Hamburger Archives, Sheridan Libraries, Johns Hopkins University.

was an idyllic location for their base camp, on pristine Glacier Bay, at the edge of a spectacular glacier, in a largely unexplored frontier only recently purchased from Russia, some 6,000 miles from campus.

A professor’s quest to explore and map Glacier Bay over summer break was bold and ambitious and a little dangerous, but not all that audacious in the early days of Case. Reid, who would pioneer the field of geophysics, was among the first in a long line of rugged, curious scientists that Case seemed to attract and cultivate.

The faculty personality was fostered by the likes of Albert Michelson, who was renowned for not only making delicate measurements with astonishing precision, but also for his fighting spirit. The future Nobel laureate grew up in rough goldmining towns of the west and came to Case from the Naval Academy, where he won boxing titles.

Another early faculty member, Dayton C. Miller, would advance X-ray technology by completing the first X-ray scan of an

entire human body — his own.

Later generations of students became accustomed to professors who exhibited both academic brilliance and daring do.

In the 1940s, George Barnes, as chairman of Civil Engineering, consulted for South American governments on water and sanitation projects. He spent months inspecting remote construction sites on horseback, packing a pearl-handled pistol for protection from bandits.

For much of the 1960s, Frank Ryan quarterbacked the Cleveland Browns on Sundays, then came into class Monday mornings to teach advanced mathematics — sometimes limping. He was an assistant professor when he made his third Pro Bowl in 1967.

More recently, Joe Prahl, a professor of aerospace engineering, took a break from teaching to train as a space shuttle astronaut. He was a backup payload specialist on the 1992 Columbia mission, thrilled to be applying his knowledge of thermodynamics to microgravity experiments, never

quite achieving his dream of rocketing into space.

Reid helped launch the tradition of the Case explorer scientist. Thanks to his upbringing, he possessed much of the right stuff.

A great-great-grandnephew of George Washington, Reid grew up in a family of scientists and world travelers. By the time he arrived at Case in the fall of 1886 at age 26, he had travelled much of Europe, studied in Switzerland and was eager to explore glaciology.

During his six years on the Case faculty, Reid made two summer treks to Glacier Bay. There, he achieved measurements that showed how the glaciers were moving and changing. He formulated a theory for how the front of a glacier maintained its shape.

Later-arriving explorers would name Reid Glacier in his honor.

In 1890, the Case School of Applied Science was in its 10th year, under the direction of President Cady Staley, a civil engineer who had crossed the Plains in a wagon train to try his luck as a prospector.

He likely had no problem with a professor and students exploring Alaska.

Reid, who earned his doctorate in physics at Johns Hopkins University, joined the faculty in 1886 and was soon named the Kerr Professor of Mathematics, assuming the school’s first endowed chair. He would later become one of the world’s foremost authorities on earthquakes, postulating the source of seismic energy to be the accumulation of unequally distributed stored “elastic strain.” But for now, he was focused on glaciology, an activity he likely first experienced in Switzerland.

Building the team In the spring of 1890, Reid planned and coordinated his first expedition to the Muir Glacier, soon to become the major attraction of Glacier Bay. It was located in the relatively unexplored wilds of Alaska, which had been purchased from Russia in 1867. The glaciers of southeast Alaska were uncharted until first visited by John Muir in 1879. Reid likely self-financed his trip, which was common among scientists at the time, there being few other sources of

Glacier Bay today, courtesy of the National Park Service

funding. He was 30 years old.

Reid cut a dashing figure. While travelling or when on a casual hike, he was always photographed in a dress suit, complete with vest. While exploring, his uniform was the traditional canvas jacket and riding jodhpurs, leather high-tops and a campaign hat.

The Muir Glacier presented an enticing target to the young scientist. First, it could be accessed via a train across North America and then passage on one of the steamers of the Pacific Coast Steamship Company that sailed into Glacier Bay on a weekly schedule. Second, the Alaskan frontier was virtually unexplored and there was a need for accurate maps and coastal data, especially of the glaciers. Finally, Reid was interested in findings reported by a small exploration party headed by Rev. Frederick Wright, a geologist and professor at nearby Oberlin College. Wright had reported glacier motion of 70 feet per day, an order of magnitude greater than the speed for glaciers observed in Europe, a snow and icescape with which Reid was familiar.

The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Office provided Reid with surveying instruments, but otherwise the Case team would be on its own. Surveying in the Alaskan wilderness meant living in huts on the ice or camping on bare rock.

Expedition members would have to hike

Harry Fielding Reid at age 50, courtesy of Ferdinand Hamburger Archives, Sheridan Libraries, Johns Hopkins University.

uncharted lands, blaze trails with ice axes, and be able to handle a rifle — for protection against grizzly bears.

Reid recruited 30-year old Henry Platt Cushing, a descendent of a long line of prominent Cleveland physicians, as a key partner. Cushing was working on his doctorate in geology at Cornell University and would be responsible for the meteorological and geological observations and records, as well as the collection of plants.

Then he tapped youthful enthusiasm.

John Morse had just completed his third year of study of mechanical engineering at Case. Comfort Adams received his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Case the day before departing for Alaska. The team Fall 2020

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Reid's sketch of Muir Glacier in 1890, courtesy of the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

A glacier calving, courtesy of the National Park Service.

When camping near a waterfall, one becomes accustomed to the continuous noise of falling water, but the irregular fracturing of icebergs is a sonic disturbance, comparable to cannon fire. was joined in Alaska by Herbert McBride and Robert Casement, two Cleveland natives who had recently graduated from Yale’s Sheffield School of Science.

These four young people, along with their relatively young leaders, would become among the first to explore and document one of America’s great natural wonders. They apparently got on well.

In his seminal report to the National Geographic Society, Reid credited the “cheerful and efficient aid which all my companions rendered” for the accomplishment of the work.

Sailing the Inside Passage to Juneau The team left Cleveland by train on June 13, 1890. They headed west via Chicago and St. Paul, chugged across the Great Plains and had their first sighting of Indians in Montana. Their train followed the Columbia River to the Yakima River to Tacoma, where they tested their surveying equipment.

After a five-day layover in Tacoma, the 18

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team watched as its freight was loaded, including their recently purchased row boat and sail, and began their voyage to Glacier Bay. As they sailed the Inside Passage north to Juneau, Alaska, they stopped for an exhibition of Native American dancers, photographed totem poles and peeked into an Alaskan gold mine. In spite of rough seas, “fin-back whales were seen spouting and diving,” Reid wrote in his journal. By June 27, they reached Fort Wrangell, where Reid purchased garnets from the Stikine River deposit, still a traditional souvenir for travelers of the Inside Passage.

Reid was a seasoned traveler who took great pleasure in people watching, noting their appearance and mannerisms and assigning names to reflect these features in his travel journal. While anchored at Chilkat Inlet, Reid and Cushing went ashore to a fishing settlement and hired William York as a camp helper, expanding the team to seven.

The sail down Lynn Canal was made interesting by the surrounding mountains, glaciers and fields and, as they turned into Glacier Bay at 10 p.m. on June 30, the

sight of Mts. Crillon and Fairweather to the northwest was truly magnificent. The entire scene was probably enhanced by the twilight of perpetual day afforded by the Summer Solstice.

Reid’s encounter with John Muir at the base of Muir Glacier appears to have been pure happenstance. Muir, who was travelling with a friend, invited the Case team to camp nearby and joined them on several of their excursions.

Muir’s image has become tarnished of late. It’s come to light that he said and wrote things about African Americans and Native Americans that promoted racist stereotypes. The Sierra Club, which he helped found, is reassessing his legacy. But at the time, Muir was America’s best known chronicler of the natural world and well on his way to becoming known as the father of the national park system.The experience of spending time with the famous naturalist exploring and detailing the glaciers of the area was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The Muir Glacier was a magnificent ice field of about 35 by 10 miles. The valley between the mountains was 800 square

This photo, likely by John Morse, shows Comfort Adams resting in a campsite about 10 miles south of Camp Muir on Glacier Bay. The frying pan, coffeepot and two cups near the campfire suggest they were there at least one night. Leaning against an ice axe or walking stick, easily accessible, is a rifle and munition belt. Weapons were common on expeditions in bear country. Courtesy of CWRU Archives.

miles in area and drained into Glacier Bay with an ice wall that measured 9,200 feet at the water line and rose more than 200 feet out of the water. The color of the ice wall and the floating icebergs presented a spectacular view that became a world renowned tourist attraction.

Casement and McBride arrived a week later, on July 7, on the steamship Queen, having made the trip to Glacier Bay on their own. They were probably delayed by commencement from Yale. Their ship also delivered supplies, including a magnetometer needle to measure magnetic fields, a “hoop-iron” that John Muir wanted to make a sled, and fresh meat. The exploration team was then complete with Reid as leader, Cushing responsible for the meteorological, geological and botanical matters, the students and recent graduates providing technical assistance, and York responsible for camp support. They began their investigations in earnest.

Strangers in a strange, icy land Spending an extended time on and near a massive glacier, a slowly flowing mass of ice, required a period

of acclimation, and it appears Reid took the time to teach his fellow explorers. It began on the first evening with that hike up the east side of Muir Glacier, where the ice structure would have been firm and solid due to its slow movement over the underlying land. Hiking a glacier on and near the mid-span is much more difficult, as the motion of the ice causes fractures that produce fissures, pinnacles and an irregular structure.

Frequently the terrain is hazardous, with deep crevasses and sharp pinnacles.

At the inlet face, chunks of glacier calve into the water. When hiking, team members were “always roped together and were provided with ice axes which served to cut steps in places where they could not otherwise stand,” Reid reported.

It rained about every third day.

As they collected scientific data, they performed the necessary calculations and record keeping required of a serious investigator. Assignments were rotated daily so that every team member had an opportunity to perform each experiment.

The senior members of the expedition, as well as Muir, were paired with students.

Personal hygiene was a challenge.

The only running water was the frigid

and muddy glacial melt. Whenever they encountered a small pond or lake of glacial melt trapped in the glacier surface, warmed by the bright sun, they took a refreshing swim or an occasional bath.

The sun never set during July and August, and they did not see the Aurora Borealis until the fall. But more challenging was the noise. At Camp Muir, 1,200 yards from the face of Muir Glacier, there was the never-ending explosive calving of the glacier face. When camping near a waterfall, one becomes accustomed to the continuous noise of falling water, but the irregular fracturing of icebergs is a sonic disturbance, comparable to cannon fire.

For the entire month of July and into the first week of August, the expedition remained near Camp Muir, collecting data and practicing and perfecting their skills for performing experiments. According to the daily log prepared by Reid, team members had to learn to navigate the ice-laden waters of the inlet, avoiding the areas close to the glacier face and negotiating the strong winds and currents. Reid’s journal records instances when it would take several hours to cross the inlet to place surveying flags on the western shore and a mere hour or so to return.

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Reid Glacier, courtesy of the National Park Service

McBride Glacier, named for a student on the 1890 Reid expedition

Case impact on the landscape Glaciers

A mountain

A lasting vestige of the Reid expeditions are the glaciers Morse, Cushing, McBride, Casement and Adams — which Reid named for the members of his 1890 expedition.

On his 1890 expedition, Reid named a key landmark in honor of the Case School of Applied Science. Mount Case, with an elevation of 5,570 feet, is the highest of the mountains surrounding three sides of Muir Glacier in the St. Elias Mountains of southeast Alaska.

In 1899, members of the Harriman Expedition named Reid Glacier in honor of Harry Fielding Reid. “The Reid” is one of the more prominent glaciers in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.

Surveying new wonders The first task undertaken by the team was to establish surveying stations by placing flags at strategic locations along the inlet shore and across the top of the glacier.

The flags were recorded on survey maps and provided reference points from which the motion of a glacier could be observed, measured and recorded.

Each point of a survey triangle must be visible from the other points, which in some cases exceeded three miles. This required the construction of a network of cascading triangles which could be used to calculate the relative locations of the corner points using standard surveying techniques. The surveyors needed several observation points that would provide strategic overviews of both the glacier and the inlet shores so they could capture the full extent of the glacier, its motion and the surrounding mountains, while providing landmarks for future explorers.

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An established surveying methodology, known as triangulation, was used extensively to determine distance, since access to most survey stations was limited and direct measurements were impossible.

Albeit a time-consuming exercise, the distances between surveying stations can be determined with remarkable accuracy and without a direct traverse between the points and a manual taping.

Rock cairns were erected at critical benchmarks for future surveyors. The appearances of these monuments are not shown in either sketches or photographs, but are described as “about four feet high, and were made of the largest rocks that we could move.”

Mount Wright, just east of the Muir Glacier Ice Terminus in 1890, was frequently referenced in their observations for future survey efforts. So was a newly named landmark, Mount Case, which Reid christened that summer and described as a “sharp peak with symmetrical shoulders…

the highest peak in its neighborhood.” He later named glaciers for each of his team members from Cleveland, enshrining them in the Alaskan landscape.

An anxious exit By late August, early signs of winter began to appear in Reid’s daily log. The weather had grown more hostile, with increasing rains, shifting winds and abruptly changing temperatures. On August 29, Cushing and Casement departed Camp Muir on a tugboat that had entered Muir Inlet to help a stranded steamship. The four remaining explorers began getting ready to leave. With much to finish, the work tempo became hurried.

Reid and McBride embarked on a three-day excursion up the west side of the Muir Glacier, to a secondary camp they had established in early August. They climbed the peak and mapped and photographed the vast expanse of the glacier, hiking like

Life after Glacier Bay Henry Cushing completed his doctorate in geology at Cornell, studied for a year at the University of Munich, and came home to Western Reserve University as an instructor in chemistry and geology. He taught at WRU until his death in 1921.

Comfort Adams became a nationally recognized professor of electrical engineering at Harvard University, where he taught for 35 years and served as Dean of Engineering.

Case student John Morse shot this photo of a buried forest near Muir Glacier, with Mount Case in the distance. Courtesy of Alaska State Library-Historical Collections.

the ice experts they now were. The next day, after climbing to the top of a smaller glacier, they returned to camp by enjoying a “glorious glissade down the snow slope, about seven hundred and fifty feet.”

Meanwhile, Adams and Morse were exploring the moraine on the west shore, where they photograph the “Interglacial Forest” — a graveyard of tree stumps and logs of a forest trapped by a previous Ice Age and exposed by the current warming cycle.

Reid and McBride rejoined the team for final hikes and scientific observations, which were becoming more treacherous.

One night, they witnessed the clear signal of pending winter: their first sighting of the Arboreal Lights, indicating the approach of the Autumnal Equinox.

Departure proved trickier than expected. Though they were packed and ready to go, the steamer that was to pick them up never arrived. Instead, a Native American family appeared in a large canoe, carrying letters that directed Reid to a fishing village at Bartlett Bay, 35 miles down the coast.

The team members packed everything they could into the canoe and their rowboat and left Camp Muir on September 13.

They paddled and rowed for three days to cover the 35 miles to Bartlett Bay. There, they waited several more anxious days, sleeping in a cannery, before boarding a salmon boat to rendezvous with a steam-

ship in Juneau for the final leg of their passage south.

Passengers aboard the City of Topeka included itinerant workers from the canneries who were heading home for the winter, a Russian priest, a Polish revolutionary, a former Navy officer, two unobtrusive English ladies, a pair of French-speaking gentlemen and a pretty young American girl who captivated the young men. They sailed through the narrow passages between the islands of British Columbia, viewing the waterfalls and thickly wooded landscapes created by prior glacial action, and had reached Milbanke Sound when the captain announced that Professor Harry Fielding Reid of the Case School of Applied Science would the next night make a special presentation.

And so began Reid’s career as America’s first geophysicist, with his first formal presentation on the Muir Glacier on September 25, 1890, onboard the City of Topeka as it steamed somewhere along the Inside Passage between Milbanke Sound and Vancouver.

Kicher ’59, MS ’62, PhD ’65, is the former Dean of the Case School of Engineering.

His complete account of the Reid expedition can be found at casealumni.org/history/reid.

Like to comment on this story?

Email the editor of Case Alumnus at casealum@casealum.org.

John Morse earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Case and worked for several companies in the Cleveland area. His son founded the Morse Control Company.

Herbert McBride worked for his father in downtown Cleveland and was a member of the Case School of Applied Science Corp., equivalent to the board of trustees. He died of a heart attack in 1907 at the age of 38. His family endowed the McBride Lecture Series, which honors him today.

Robert Casement was to enter the family railroad business but died in Painesville in 1894 after convalescing in Colorado of a persistent lung disease.

Some family and friends attributed his failing health to spending the summer living on Muir Glacier.

Harry Fielding Reid returned to campus in the fall of 1890 and submitted his findings for publication.

He returned to Glacier Bay in 1892 to finish his work. In 1893, he left the Case School of Applied Science and joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins, his alma mater. Reid shifted his focus to earthquakes. He invented the “elastic rebound” model of earthquake analysis and rose to national prominence for his work on the San Francisco Earthquake of 1904. He is considered America’s first geophysicist.

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Navigating the Covid economy

As president of the Case Engineers Council, Sarah Mortier addressed the Eweek Reception in 2019.

The class of 2020 graduated into a hiring freeze. It’s no better for students needing internships. Can alumni help?

By Robert L. Smith

T

his summer, Sarah Mortier expected to be putting her " new Case engineering degree to work for Deloitte as a technology analyst. Instead, she kept busy studying Spanish and taking gigs with Instacart and dog-walking services.

A member of the Covid-19 generation, Mortier ran into the worst entry-level job market since the Great Recession of 2008.

Her position with Deloitte, which requires lots of travel, was scheduled to start in July, but has been postponed until October.

Meanwhile, she’s been scrambling to find work as she waits out the pandemic, having already relocated to Denver.

“I actually feel pretty lucky compared to my other classmates,” said Mortier, who earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering while serving in campus leadership roles, including as president of the Case Engineers Council. “At least I know 22

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I will start work eventually.”

Many of her classmates, she knows, face bleaker prospects.

“A lot of people just lost their job offers, or were laid off, or were furloughed and then laid off,” Mortier said. “A lot of people are looking for jobs, especially in engineering. And a lot of us are just taking random jobs, trying to make it fit.”

Recent graduates are trying to break into an economy stalled by a pandemic and uncertainty. Millions of Americans are out of work. Many employers have frozen hiring and curtailed co-op positions, which often lead to jobs for Case students. Summer internships were simply canceled, often suddenly.

“It’s definitely tough,” said Genine Apidone, the Director of Cooperative Education for the Division for Engineer-

ing Leadership and Professional Practice at the Case School of Engineering. She typically places 200 to 250 student per year in co-ops.

“Our numbers are going to be down about 50 percent,” she said. “But we’re going to have to wait to see what happens this spring. We just don’t know, given what’s happening with Covid.”

Neil Wible, a computer engineering major, knows what many students could face.

His co-op with Baker-Hughes, an energy technology giant with a presence in the Cleveland suburb of Twinsburg, was scheduled to start July 6 and stretch through the fall semester.

In May, he received a call from the main office in Texas: The Twinsburg project was shut down. His co-op was canceled.

Wible, a rising junior, scrambled to

register for some fall classes and vainly sought another internship. A member of the Spartan swim team, he spent the summer practicing at the local pool and teaching himself Python on coding projects while waiting to hear back from Baker-Hughes.

“They said they might be able to bring me back in the fall, but don’t count on it,” he said. “Unfortunately, now I’m back to square one.”

Seeking solutions, creating internships With no economic turnaround in sight, students and recent graduates are pursuing all options. Alumni and university officials are trying to help.

Laura Papcum, the Assistant Director for Alumni Career Services at CWRU, often works with engineering majors. She

“

the REP program are Case connected and in Northeast Ohio.

“What’s nice is they both have a need and want to help,” Goldberg said. “I think employers are keen to make this as good of an experience as possible. And because so many of our students lost internships, the available talent is really good.”

Cooper Reif, a mechanical engineering major, was left scrambling for a job when his internship with a Chicago food manufacturer was canceled.

When he heard about REP, he applied at once. He was connected to Folio Photonics, a young Solon company developing optical storage technology invented at the Center for Layered Polymeric Systems at the Case School of Engineering. The company was founded by CWRU physics professor Kenneth Singer, PhD, who serves as

to the CWRU Alumni Career Network, where it has created online communities that address the job crisis for both new and mid-career alumni.

One such community is titled, “Projects, internships and opportunities for students and recent graduates.” It calls for collaboration: For alumni, this is an opportunity to help our students. If you are aware of internships or co-ops within your organization, or if you are able and willing to offer a student a project or internship, please use this community to post those positions.

Students, if you are still seeking or have lost your summer employment due to an offer being rescinded, use this platform to connect and communicate.

Let’s work together!

A lot of people are looking for jobs, especially in engineering.

A lot of us are just taking random jobs, trying to make it fit.

believes most full-time job offers were either honored or delayed. To make up for lost internships, her office has partnered with the Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship at Sears think[box] to help students get involved in projects with startups.

The result, the Remote Entrepreneurship Project, has been an overnight success. It places students in remote positions with young companies, many of which need talent but face their own pandemic struggles. The program covers the cost of the interns with $500 stipends.

By August, the program had placed about 120 students, or more than half of the 200 who applied. Coordinators plan to place another wave of candidates this fall.

“It’s helping our students. It’s helping our spinouts. It’s been a double win,” said the program’s creator, Michael Goldberg, an associate professor at the Weatherhead School of Management and executive director of the Veale Institute.

He said many of the employers joining

chief innovation officer.

“I’m doing exactly what I wanted to do in the first place. I’m doing CAD design work,” Reif said.

Working remotely from home in suburban Chicago for six weeks, he designed a precision part that the company intends to manufacture. He’s happy for the $500, but more so for the experience.

“I was ready to give up, and I had this amazing experience when I thought nothing would happen,” he said.

For more information on the Remote Entrepreneurship Project, contact the Veale Institute via Doug Degirolamo, dxd326@case.edu.

Other efforts have been launched with the aim of connecting job-seeking alumni and students to employers who need them.

The university’s Office of PostGraduate Planning and Experiential Education is steering alumni and students

”

You can join the Alumni Career Network at case.edu/postgrad/alumni/ alumni-career-network.

With the support of the Case Alumni Association, the university will be hosting an online “Engineering, Technology and Science Career Fair” from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, September 25. The career fair aims to connect employers with students and alumni who are seeking internships, co-ops and full-time jobs in engineering, computer science and natural sciences.

To join the online career fair, contact Kelly.Hendricks@casealum.org.

Meanwhile, more ideas and efforts are welcome.

“I know how good our students are,” Goldberg said. “Employers are like, ‘Your kids are amazing.’”

Do you have a suggestion for matching Case talent to jobs? Share it via casealum@casealum.org.

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NewsBytes Joy for the world On July 1, Joy Ward, PhD, began her tenure as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. She arrived from the University of Kansas bearing skills that are expected to serve the college and the planet well in the years ahead. In addition to being an academic leader, she’s an accomplished climate change scientist.

STEM evangelist

Go Army!

Nigerian-born Sonia Ezenwajiaku credits her interest in prosthetics for steering her into chemistry and biomedical engineering. She thinks the U.S. Army can help her to make science a career. In June, she was featured in the Army Times for using ROTC to become a commissioned officer and serve her new country.

Former Microsoft COO Robert Herbold, MS ’66, PhD ’68, was awarded an honorary doctorate from Case Western Reserve at May commencement — and not only for past achievements.

Through the Herbold Foundation, he helps provide scholarships and mentoring to students pursuing science and engineering degrees.

Being a reservist in the Army Corps of Engineers will help her to earn her biomedical engineering degree at Case, she told the newspaper. “I’m just really grateful for taking that route and being open to it, and I feel like others should be, too,” she said.

One to watch Haojia Li knew she wanted to be either a singer or a scientist. Lucky for us, she chose science. As a PhD student in biomedical engineering, Li has been making progress diagnosing breast cancer with artificial intelligence. This summer, Crain’s Cleveland Business named her to its list of “20 in their Twenties” to watch.

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Professor forever In 1991, Hunter Peckham, PhD, helped establish the Cleveland Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) Center, a collaboration of Case Western Reserve, the Cleveland VA Medical Center and the MetroHealth System. “If you’re going to do something important,” he later said, “you have to be able to build partnerships.”

When he retired this year from the Department of Biomedical Engineering after an illustrious, decades-long career, the university made him a partner forever.

Peckham was named Distinguished University Professor Emeritus.

Channeling Coach Sudeck Ilissa Hamilton ’20 was an ace on the mound for the nationally ranked Spartans this year while earning a perfect 4.0 in biomedical engineering. Before graduating in May, she received one more shining honor: The Bill Sudeck Outstanding Student-Athlete Award for exemplifying the best of a CWRU athlete.

Now she’s in a new ballpark, working as a product development engineer for Stryker.

Jolly Good The cheery can-do spirit of Malcolm Cooke, PhD ’05, will no longer animate Sears think[box]. The inaugural Executive Director of the acclaimed makerspace retired this summer after 25 years at the Case School of Engineering. But Dean Venkataramanan Balakrishnan thinks Cooke’s British accent will echo for years. ”A well-built institution endures,” he said, “and Malcom has positioned CWRU as a national leader.”

A Plum for Uptown Many were saddened when University Circle’s full-service grocery, Constantino’s Market, closed early in the pandemic. Softening the loss is news that Plum Market Kitchen plans to open in the Uptown space in January.

The Detroit-based chain, featuring lots of natural foods and grab-and-go options, has been carving out a niche in college towns. The Uptown Plum will be Ohio’s first.

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Case Memories Here is another selection of images from our archives. If you know someone in a photo, or recall a memory from the era, please let us know: Casealum@casealum.org

CIT homecoming parade 1966

Western Reserve President John Schoff Millis (L) and Case President Robert W. Morse shake hands over the fence that divided their two campuses in 1967.

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Launch of Cleveland Free Net in 1986

Student protesters block the intersection of Euclid and Adelbert roads, 1970

Credit: Photos compiled by Emma Wyckoff ’21 and Sebastian Abisleiman ’21

CIT alumnus with his girlfriend, commencement 1957.

Yost Hall dorm room, 1953

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Alumni Adventures

Climbing smart “

When people get very close to the summit, they get what is known as summit fever.

”

The ascent of North America’s highest peak tested everything Jeff Hunter had, including his judgement.

By John Canale

I

n June 2019, at a campsite 17,000 feet up the side of Alaska’s Denali, Jeff Hunter had to decide if he could make it the final 3,000 feet to the summit of the highest mountain on the North American continent.

Hunter and his fellow climbers had been on the mountain for nearly three weeks, in the camp for five days, and the altitude was taking its toll. Wind gusts had reached 60 miles per hour, creating treacherous climbing conditions. Yet the summit, his ultimate goal, was literally in sight.

“I had to ask myself, ‘Should I stay behind or take my chances?’” Hunter recalled. “I didn’t want to be a liability to the climbing team.”

It was an unexpected job relocation that put Hunter ’05 on the path to becoming a mountaineer. After earning his degree in computer science from the Case School of Engineering, he took a job at an Appleowned company in Pittsburgh and soon was transferred to Apple’s northern California headquarters. In 2010, Hunter left Apple to launch a startup with former classmate Jason Marr ’04. The pair developed the AnyList app, which allows users to create and share grocery lists and import shopping lists from online recipes. In 2019, Good Housekeeping named it the top grocery shopping app.

In his spare time, Hunter took advantage of Northern California’s outdoor recreations,

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camping and hiking in places like Yosemite National Park. Day hikes turned into multi-day hikes and soon he was looking for something more challenging.

“I took courses in backpacking in the Sierra Mountains,” said Hunter, a native of Alliance, Ohio. “I also took snow camping classes and eventually became an instructor.”

After Hunter felt he was proficient in the fundamental skills of mountaineering, it was time to put what he learned to the test on California’s 14,000-foot Mount Shasta. He then scaled Mount Rainier in Washington State.

After these successful climbs, Hunter found himself hooked on mountaineering. His next challenge, the 20,000-foot Denali, would force him to use everything he’d learned.

“Something about Denali called out to me,” said Hunter, who lives in Sunnyvale, California, outside of San Jose. “Aesthetically it’s a beautiful mountain, and it’s one of the Seven Summits, which consists of the highest peaks on each continent.”

The climb would also be a way to honor his father, Robert R. Hunter Jr., an engineer and a lawyer in Alliance who passed away in 2017 from frontotemporal degeneration (FTP), a disease similar to Alzheimer’s that often strikes people more severely at a younger age. To date, Jeff Hunter has raised more than $30,000 for the Association of Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD).

Four guides and four other climbers

joined Hunter on the ascent of Denali in May 2019. By their third week on the mountain, the team had reached the 17,000 foot camp, an altitude that makes even simple things, like eating and sleeping, difficult. It was at this point he turned to the most important tool a mountaineer can own — good judgment.

“When people get very close to the summit,” Hunter said, “they get what is known as summit fever. They’ll abandon their good judgment and do whatever it takes to get to the top. This ends up costing a lot of people their lives.”

After considerable soul searching, Hunter decided it was best not to try to climb the final 3,000 feet. Earlier in the trek, three other climbers had dropped out for a variety of health reasons. According to National Park statistics, only about 50 percent of climbers who set out to climb Denali make it to the summit. Hunter, who plans on climbing mountains as long as he can, is at peace with his decision.

“Of course I’m disappointed,” he said.

“But I feel like it went the way my dad would have wanted it to go. Whenever I would complain about doing something tough, he’d say, ‘It builds character.’ Six months of training and three weeks on a mountain definitely built character.”

To give your regards to Jeff Hunter, email him at jeff@jeffhunter.me.

John Canale is a freelance writer in Greater Cleveland.

Class Notes 1950s Virginia Walters, MS ’58, PhD ’65 Shelburne, Vermont Ginny celebrated her 95th birthday on May 26 and her family made sure she did it in fun style. They created a music video tribute inspired by her favorite composers, Gilbert and Sullivan, for the celebration at her retirement community.

Ginny earned her master’s and doctorate degrees in physic from Case Institute of Technology. You can view her birthday tribute on YouTube at tinyurl.com/y7hujxmh.

1960s William R. King, MS ’62, PhD ’64 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Bill recently received the Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his achievements and leadership in management science and information systems. He retired in 2008 with the rank of University Professor from the University of Pittsburgh, where he taught in the graduate school of business for more than 40 years and redesigned the doctoral program. Bill and Fay, his wife of 62 years, are now “snowbirds” who winter in Florida and spend summers in Pittsburgh’s Fox Chapel Borough.

1970s Andrew Wasynczuk ’79, MS ’79 Westwood, Massachusetts Andy shared his memories of Case as part of a 50th anniversary video commemoration of university athletics. He played soccer and threw the javelin for the Spartans while earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering. He became a top executive for the New England Patriots and today is a senior lecturer at the Harvard Business School. In 2014, Andy received

the Meritorious Service Award from the Case Alumni Association.

1980s Karl Jacob ’81 Midland, Michigan Karl is sharing his skills in retirement with fellow engineers.

As an instructor for AIChE, he is teaching chemical engineering to non-chemical engineers. He also teaches solids processing and assists with process design at the University of Michigan. Karl retired from the Dow Chemical Company as a Fellow in Engineering Sciences. He is also an AIChE Fellow.

Sue Jacob ’82 Midland, Michigan Sue recently retired from the Dow Chemical Company, where she developed heat exchange, distillation and ASPEN modeling expertise through years of experience in process design and manufacturing. She is sharing her expertise as an instructor for the AIChE Academy.

Sue earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Case Institute of Technology.

Michael Coyle ’83 Minneapolis, Minnesota Michael was elected to the board of directors of Bostonbased Haemonetics Corporation, a global medical technology company focused on hematology. He’s the executive vice president and group president of the Cardiac and Vascular Group for Medtronic, where he oversees four of the company’s business divisions. Michael holds six U.S. patents related to cardiovascular medical device products and technologies. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Case Institute of Technology and is an advisor to the BME Think Tank of the Case School of Engineering.

Anthony Ignagni ’83, MS ’89 Oberlin, Ohio Anthony is the co-founder and CEO of Synapse Biomedical of Oberlin, Ohio, a medical device company helping fight the coronavirus pandemic. In April, the FDA gave emergency approval to its neurostimulation device that helps wean patients off of ventilators. Synapse was founded in 2002 with technology developed at CWRU and University Hospitals.

Anthony earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering from the Case School of Engineering.

Gregory F. Shay ’83, MS ’91 Mentor, Ohio Greg won a technical Emmy in the 71st Annual Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. His Emmy was to be presented in Las Vegas in April, but the awards ceremony was postponed because of the pandemic. Greg is the CTO at the Telos Alliance in downtown Cleveland. The award recognizes broadcast technology that he helped develop and that has become an industry standard.

Jeen-Long “Daniel” Liao, MS ’84 Shanghai, China Daniel has retired as chairman of Asia Pacific Operations of Lam Research, a semiconductor processing equipment company, and is now Lam’s senior advisor of Asia Pacific. Also, he has accepted a position on the board of directors of Photronics effective September 10, 2020. Daniel received his master’s degree in electrical engineering and applied physics from Case Institute of Technology.

Send your updates, including photos, about job promotions, professional development and personal milestones to casealum@casealum.org.

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Class Notes Louis “Andy” Bodnar ’85 Livonia, Michigan Andy recently retired from the US. Navy, where he was the Chief of Staff for a special operations task force in the Republic of Djibouti. He has also served in Bosnia, Azerbaijan, Israel, Hawaii, Albania, Kuwait, Bahrain, Tunisia, South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Gabon, Niger, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Somalia, Yemen and throughout the continental U.S. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Case as well as an MBA from Eastern Michigan University, an MS in Engineering from Purdue, an MS in the management of technology from Rensselaer Polytech and an MA in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College.

Gary Barkov ’86 Skokie, Illinois Gary is vice president, healthcare technology management, for Advocate Aurora Health based in Downers Grove, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He also plays drums for jazz bands. Gary earned his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Case Institute of Technology.

John “Jack” Daly ’89, MS ’91 San Francisco, California Jack is a partner at TPG Global, where he heads the Americas Industrials Equity business in New York. Previously he was a partner and managing director at Goldman Sachs. From 1991 to 1997, Jack was an instructor in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Case, where he founded a nonprofit program that developed equipment for people with disabilities. On May 19, he shared his experiences with the CWRU Entrepreneurship Speaker Series.

Tim Schigel ’89 Cincinnati, Ohio Tim, a serial entrepreneur, is the founding partner of Refinery Ventures, an early 30

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stage venture capital investment firm in Cincinnati. He shares his insight with aspiring entrepreneurs as a mentor for The Brandery, a startup accelerator in Cincinnati. Tim, the founder of the social media platform ShareThis, earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Case.

1990s Christopher Vanorman, PhD ’92 Hillsdale, Michigan Chris has accepted the position of provost at Hillsdale College, where he joined the faculty in 1992 as a professor in the Chemistry Department. He has twice been named Hillsdale Professor of the Year.

Chris earned his doctorate in chemistry from the Case School of Engineering. He owns a Harley Davidson Heritage Softail Classic motorcycle, which he enjoys riding with friends.

Arnold Huffman ’93 Atlanta, Georgia Arnold is the founder and CEO at Digital Yalo, which was named the Digital Marketing Agency of the Year by the Technology Association of Georgia for 2019. He’s also president of the board of the Alumni Association of Case Western Reserve University.

Arnold earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Case School of Engineering while playing basketball for legendary Coach Bill Sudeck.

Vinish Kathuria MS ’94 New Delhi, India Vinish is the managing partner at SenseAI Ventures, an investment firm that specializes in AI entrepreneurs. Previously he was the chief operating officer of Digital Quotient, a mobile marketing firm in India. Vinish worked for Microsoft, Infospace and Spice Digital in the United States before returning to India in 2007 to launch and lead startups.

He earned his master’s degree from Case in polymer and macromolecular engineering.

Tusiime Ndyajunwoha ’94 Cleveland Heights, Ohio Tusiime is a volunteer for TEALS, a Microsoft-sponsored effort to get computer science curriculums installed in more high schools across the country. As a TEALS volunteer, he partners with classroom teachers to teach CS classes during the school year. He’s also a supporter of youth soccer programs.

Tusiime is a solution owner at Hyland Software, applying his bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Case School of Engineering.

Bradley Wertz ’94 Akron, Ohio Brad is a founding investor and the chairman and CEO of GemonOncology, a Cleveland biotechnology startup that develops software to analyze genomic data. The company recently made news with its move into new offices in Cleveland’s Warehouse District.

Previously, Brad served as president and chief operating officer of Rosetta, as COO of Brulant and as president and co-founder of Xteric Technology Group.

Nimesh A. Mehta ’96, MBA ’99 Dallas, Texas Nimesh was promoted to Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at National Life Group. He is in charge of information technology operations at the Vermont-based life insurance company and a member of its executive management team. Nimesh earned his bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the Case School of Engineering and his MBA from the Weatherhead School.

Scott Adams, MS ’98 Rochester, Michigan Scott has been named president of eMobility at Eaton Corp., responsible for leading the division that provides zero-emissions solutions for electric vehicles. Scott joined Eaton in 1994 as a project engineering manager in

Cleveland and has held numerous positions of increasing scope in his 26-year career.

Most recently, he served as senior vice president of product strategy, sales and marketing of eMobility.

2000s Vicki Burt ’00 Northfield, Ohio Vicki is the managing editor of magazines and digital media at ASM International, the world’s largest association of materials engineers and scientists. She’s also a judge for the annual scholarship program of SWE, the Society of Women Engineers.

Vicki earned her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Case.

Eric Hanson ’01 Palo Alto, California Eric has become a partner in the corporate practice group at WilmerHale, an international law firm with offices in Dayton and Palo Alto. He specializes in startups, public companies and venture capital funds. Prior to going into law, Eric worked as a database manager and a software engineer. He earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science from Case.

Brian Schriver ’01 Solon, Ohio Brian became the sales enablement team lead, Commercial Program Development, at Rockwell Automation. He joined Rockwell in 2002 out of Case, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, and has worked as a design engineer, a marketing specialist and a technical content developer.

Jacquelyn Adams ’02 Palo Alto, California Jacquelyn is the founder and CEO of the engineering consultancy Ristole, which offers employee training and development. As an IEEE

Senior Member, she serves as the vice-chair of IEEE’s Continuing Education program.

Nikolay Belenky ’02 Columbus, Ohio Nick joined Top of Mind Networks as executive vice president of sales. He will direct sales operations at the maker of customer relationship software for the mortgage lending industry.

Nick earned his bachelor’s degree from Case in computer engineering.

Daniel McFadden, MS ’02 Canton, Ohio Daniel, the Director of North American Manufacturing at The Timken Company, in July joined the board of Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio. He’ll serve a threeyear term. A mechanical engineer, Daniel earned his master’s degree in engineering management at Case.

Stephanie Nogan Bailey ’03 Shaker Heights, Ohio Stephanie is a biomedical engineer at the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center in Cleveland, where she’s part of the team developing an adjustable walker to help people navigate steps and inclines. CWRU and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs have partnered with LevelMed Technologies to commercialize the Self-Leveling Walker.

Stephanie earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering with a specialization in biomechanics at the Case School of Engineering.

Paul Tesar ’03, PhD Wickliffe, Ohio Paul is among 20 researchers nationally to receive a Research Program Award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health. He’s a professor of genetics and genome sciences at the Case

Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Paul earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of Arts and Sciences and went on to earn his doctorate from the University of Oxford.

Fr. Humbert Kilanowski ’04, PhD Providence, Rhode Island Fr. Humbert is an assistant professor of mathematics at Providence College and a pioneering baseball statistician. His research broadening the scope of WAR formulas was published in July in the Baseball Research Journal of the Society for American Baseball Research. He was Philip Kilanowski when he studied mathematics and astronomy at Case. In 2018, he was ordained a Catholic priest and became a Dominican Friar.

Michael J. Fu, MS ’06, PhD ’11 Mayfield Heights, Ohio Michael, an assistant professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Case School of Engineering, received a National Science Foundation Early Career Award of $549,000 to continue his research into using electrical stimulation to help stroke victims regain muscle movement. He does the bulk of his research in stroke rehabilitation at MetroHealth System, where he is a staff scientist. Michael is also an investigator for the Cleveland FES Center. He earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering.

Rebecca Spragg ’06 Detroit, Michigan Rebecca is an assistant professor of Health Promotion and Human Performance at Eastern Michigan University. She joined EMU in 2017 following several years in the clinical field. Rebecca is a certified prosthetist orthotist focusing on pediatric care. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Case and her master’s in Prosthetics and Orthotics from Georgia Institute of Technology.

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Class Notes Shaan Gandhi ’07, MD Boston, Massachusetts Shaan, a doctor and an entrepreneur, joined the CWRU Entrepreneurship Speaker Series May 20 as a featured presenter. He’s a principal at Northpond Ventures, a science-driven venture capital firm, and co-founder of Pyxis Oncology, a biotechnology company that develops cancer treatments. Shaan earned bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and chemistry at Case before studying medical oncology at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. He then earned business and medical degrees from Harvard.

Victoria Ma ’08 Portland, Maine Victoria is a certified registered nurse anesthetist at Maine Medical Center. She earned her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Case and interned at GE as an Edison Engineer, then pivoted to healthcare.

She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Columbia School of Nursing.

2010s Jessica Palmer '10, MEM '11 Brunswick, Ohio Jessica and her husband welcomed a daughter, Paisley Ray Palmer, on June 13. Mom will be extra busy. A project manager for Vitamix, Jessica was recently elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of the Case Alumni Association.

Saeed Alhassan Alkhazraji ’11, PhD Abu Dhabi Na, United Arab Emirates Saeed is an associate professor of chemical engineering at Khalifa University of Science and Technology. Recently, he filed a provisional patent application for a method to prepare an artificial, customizable soil that resembles fertile soils in Thailand and Ukraine and allows users to grow different crops based on their need.

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Victoria Rusnak ’11, MEM ’12 Denver, Colorado Victoria is a Reentry Systems Engineer for Lockheed Martin, having joined the defense contractor in 2019. Previously she was an engineer lead for Raytheon. Victoria earned her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and her masters of engineering management at Case.

Bryan Schmidt ’11, PhD Milan, Ohio Bryan is a new assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Case School of Engineering. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Case and his master’s and doctorate in aeronautics at California Institute of Technology. Bryan joined the Case faculty in January.

Cady (Walter) Henigin ’12, MEM ’13 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Cady was promoted to senior manager at Accenture, in its Talent & Organization practice, where she has worked since 2013. In 2019, she was recognized as one of “30 Under Thirty” business leaders of note by Pittsburgh Business Times. She earned her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and her masters of engineering management at Case, where she was a member of WISER and the Spartan Dance Team.

Liang Yue, MS ’14, PhD ’18 Cleveland, Ohio Liang is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering at the Case School of Engineering. Working with Distinguished University Professor Ica Manas-Zloczower, he helped develop technology to break down and re-use rigid, long-lasting plastics that previously had defied recycling. The pair are working

with the Great Lakes Energy Institute and CWRU’s Office of Technology Transfer to identify industry partners.

Jacob Antunes ’15, MS ’16 Cleveland, Ohio Jacob is pursuing his doctorate in biomedical engineering at the Case School of Engineering while working as a research assistant in the lab of Anant Madabhushi, PhD, and the Center for Computational Imaging and Personalized Diagnostics. Recently, he was named as an inventor on a patent awarded to the center for treating and evaluating rectal cancer with image analytics.

Nikhil Krishnan ’16, MD Cambridge, England Nikhil is one of 88 students from around the world — and the third in CWRU history — to earn the prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship, continuing a tradition that gives the Department of Physics something to crow about. All three CWRU winners have physics degrees. Nikhil went on to earn a medical degree from the CWRU School of Medicine. As a Gates scholar, he will study as a PhD candidate in physics at the University of Cambridge beginning this fall.

Abigail Walker ’16 Cleveland, Ohio Abby is a software engineer with McKesson Specialty Health.

Previously, she was a platform software engineer for IBM Watson-Explorys. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Case, where she was co-president of Newman Campus Catholic Ministry and a member of the Mather Dance Collective.

Justo Karell ’17, MBA ’19 Stamford, Connecticut Justo is a military engines data scientist for Pratt & Whitney and a

co-founder of two social venture startups: SalHatesFoodWaste maps potential food waste and cheap and free food in the Hartford area. Mobility, launched in Cleveland in 2019, installs bike-sharing programs in low-income neighborhoods.

Justo earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering physics at the Case School of Engineering.

Jered Butler ’19 Seattle, Washington Jered, a design engineer for Boeing, recently joined the company’s Engineering Career Foundation leadership program as a rotational engineer. He earned his bachelor’s degree in aerospace and mechanical engineering at Case, where he was a leader in the Case chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers.

Prince Ghosh ’19 Palo Alto, California Prince is co-founder and CEO of Workbench Technologies, which develops project management software for supply-chain teams. The startup was accepted into the 2020 class of Y Combinator, one of the nation’s leading startup accelerators. Prince earned his bachelor’s degree in aerospace and mechanical engineering and was a ThinkEnergy Fellow with the Great Lakes Energy Institute.

2020s

Emily Dickens ’19, MEM ’20 Cleveland, Ohio Emily joined Cleveland startup Octet Scientific as the head of product development. She’ll be creating novel molecules for zinc batteries and working towards the future of sustainable energy storage. Emily earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and her masters of Engineering and Management at Case, where she was a ThinkEnergy Fellow with the Great Lakes Energy Institute.

Akinola. D. Akinbote ’20 Barcelona, Spain Akinola is pursuing his doctorate in tissue engineering and disease modeling at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Barcelona, Spain. The EMBL PhD program is fully funded by the European Union and accepts less than 5 percent of applicants. An international student from Nigeria, he earned his bachelor’s degree in Macromolecular Science & Engineering from Case. With the help of the Case Alumni Association, he also studied tissue engineering at Rice University. He hopes to become a biomedical engineer specialized in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.

Lucas Fridman ’19 Palo Alto, California Lucas’s startup, Workbench Technologies, was accepted into the 2020 class of Y Combinator, one of the nation’s leading startup accelerators. Workbench develops project management software for supply-chain teams. He launched the company with classmate Prince Gosh and serves as chief technology officer. Lucas earned his bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering and applied data science at Case, where he was a ThinkEnergy Fellow with the Great Lakes Energy Institute.

Emily Hwang ’20 Boston, Massachusetts Emily has been accepted into the masters of mechanical engineering program at Boston University and starts classes this fall. In January, she’s scheduled to join GE Aviation as part of its Edison Leadership Development Program, an opportunity that was delayed because of the pandemic. Emily earned her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Case, where she was chosen as the first Joe Prahl Scholar and awarded a scholarship in honor of the late Professor Joe Prahl.

Humza Khan ’20 Madison, Wisconsin Humza joined Epic, the healthcare software giant, as a project manager. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from the Case School of Engineering, where he was a member of the Case Engineers Council.

Brianna Lemon ’20 Cleveland, Ohio Brianna has accepted a position as a software engineer at JP Morgan Chase. She earned her bachelor’s degree in computer science from Case as well as a bachelor’s degree in marketing. As a member of the Spartan volleyball team, she became only the sixth player in program history to record 1,000 kills.

Tin Pham ’20 Boston, Massachusetts Tin will be pursuing his doctorate in chemistry at Tufts University starting this fall. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Case, where he was an orientation leader and a student worker at Sears think[box].

Anna Sedlackova ’20, MS ’20 Cupertino, California Anna accepted a position as a software engineer for the Siri Rotational Program at Apple. She will help establish the coding and engineering patterns for human-computer interaction and voice computing. She twice interned at Apple while earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science at the Case School of Engineering. Anna was also a researcher in the Biologically Inspired Robotics Laboratory at Case and an organizer of HackCWRU. She speaks five languages, including her native Czech and Slovak.

Send your updates, including photos, about job promotions, professional development and personal milestones to casealum@casealum.org.

Fall 2020

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In Memoriam

34

Dov Hazony, Emeritus Professor, EECS; University Hts., OH; 6-20-20

Jerry D. Hix ’50; Lisbon, Falls, ME; 1-29-18

Walter J. Amsbary ’38; Cincinnati, OH; 2-27-18

Earl B. Schibler ’51; Troy, OH; 4-19-20

Albert C. Drechsler ’41; Santa Barbara, CA; 4-14-16

Stanley R. Nechtaval ’52; Durham, NC; 11-16-16

George H. Bressler ’42; Media, PA; 5-30-17

Max L. Bernstein ’53; San Francisco, CA; 1-10-20

Richard T. Scantlebury ’43; Nashville, TN; 4-11-15

William J. Cobb ’53; Rye, NY; 5-24-20

Leonard Spira ’43; Tucson, AZ; 3-31-16

Nelson S. Glueck ’53; Bonita Springs, FL; 12-2019

Robert H. Bridges ’44; Springdale, CT; 1-6-20

Raymond W. Marshall ’53; Wake Forest, NC; 5-23-20

Walter B. Shaffer ’44; New York, NY: 6-25-16

Walter S. Wilgus ’53; Las Vegas, NV; 12-19-16

Randall C. Buck, Jr. ’45; Lehi, UT; 6-15-09

Roger A. Allen, Jr. ’54; Columbus, OH; 4-28-20

Timothy J. Conway ’45; Chagrin Falls, OH; 8-5-17

Lieng-Huang Lee MS ’54, PhD ’55; Burlington, MA; 4-29-20

Stanley J. Emerling ’45; Cleveland, OH; 5-28-18

Howard M. Schmies ’54; Chardon, OH; 5-19-20

Robert C. Irey ’45; Littleton, CO; 3-28-18

Joseph F. Volk, Jr. ’54; Rock Hill, SC; 1-28-20

George W. Rohrer, P.E. ’45; Mesa, AZ; 1-8-20

William T. Cleminshaw MS ’55; Mission Viejo, CA; 3-18-15

John H. Rusch ’45; Covington, LA; 12-19-19

William P. Culver ’55; Encinitas, CA; 4-4-20

Thomas J. Love ’47; Allison Park, PA; 12-16-91

Donald L. Haas MS ’55; Cincinnati, OH; 6-3-19

Joseph H. Burton ’48; Kiawah Island, SC; 10-13-19

John R. Louis ’55, MS 60; Lexington, MA; 5-3-20

David M. Cowan ’48; Plano, TX; 5-19-13

Thomas W. Reed ’56; Atlanta, GA; 3-10-20

Charles H. Grace ’48; Lakewood, OH; 7-14-20

Donald G. Strauss ’56; MS ’64; Elyria, OH; 5-22-20

Morley G. Melden ’48; Monroe Twp, NJ; 3-14-20

Milton Kaplan ’57; Avondale, AZ; 1-3-20

Carl H. Wollen ’48; Grand Rapids, MI; 7-21-14

Paul A. Kostansek ’57; Cleveland, OH; 5-14-20

Charles R. Young ’48; New Philadelphia, OH; 7-19-14

Harish D. Merchant ’57, MS ’58; Hinckley, OH; 3-20-20

Robert E. Barkley ’49; Greensboro, NC; 4-2-20

Robert L. Snell ’57; Westlake, OH; 11-15-19

William J. Collins ’49; Lake Worth, FL; 12-13-19

Vladimir Hanza ’58; Charlottesville, VA; 6-20-20

John L. Donahue ’49; Ashville, NC; 11-11-16

Theodore L. Cover, P.E. ’59; Sarasota, FL; 2-16-20

Curt A. Levis ’49; Dublin, OH; 8-9-19

Richard C. Ludwiczak ’59; Medina, OH; 1-31-20

James C. Eaton ’49; Matthews, NC; 3-2-19

Ralph Orkin MS ’59; Cleveland, OH; 9-18-19

Richard P. Schroeder ’49; Patchogue, NY; 11-11-19

Richard A. Thomas ’59; Vienna, VA; 5-1-20

Theodore C. Borzak ’50; Cumming, GA; 11-21-19

William A. Dent ’60; Huron, OH; 3-17-20

Eugene A. Cook, Jr. ’50; Newnan, GA; 3-1-14

Franklin G. Miller ’60; Aurora, OH; 3-1-20

George Doering ’50; Reno, NV; 1-12-20

John D. Musselman ’60; Wooster, OH; 1-21-20

David M. Ellis ’50; Rochester, MN; 4-20-20

John A. Urban ’60; Plainwell, MI; 11-6-19

Sidney S. Goodkin ’50; Ottawa, OH; 2-27-19

Shaun S. Devlin ’61, PhD ’64; Marquette, MI; 6-12-20

Joseph Gabrosek, Jr. ’50; Barberton, OH; 9-23-19

Frederick N. Hanson ’61; Gig Harbor, WA; 3-10-20

John Koinis ’50; Novi, MI; 12-24-19

George D. Kraft MS ’61 PhD ’66; Chicago, IL; 5-23-20

John K. McCarron ’50; Houston, TX; 1-7-15

Walter J. Krewedl ’61; Centerville, OH; 12-26-19

Robert M. Mello ’50; Livonia, MI; 1-25-19

David J. Marec ’61; Brea, CA; 4-23-20

Frederick Moorhead ’50; Battle Creek, MI; 3-5-13

William L. Rogers ’61, PhD ’67; Chelsea, MI; 5-17-20

Daniel M. Parobek ’50; Kettering, OH; 5-3-20

Ralph H. Thomas ’61; Louisville, OH; 3-9-20

John E. Peters ’50; Oxford, OH; 5-6-14

Darrell A. Brand MS ’62; Port Clinton, OH; 12-3-19

Paul V. Stewart ’50; Highlands Ranch, CO; 2-8-19

Harry P. Houff ’62; Richmond City, VA; 1-9-20

Richard Wissoker, P.E. ’50; Haverford, PA: 2-18-20

Phillip D. Meeker ’62; Beaufort, SC; 1-13-20

George R. Bunyak ’51; Stow, OH; 4-11-20

James W. Wells ’62; Gowanda, NY; 1-7-20

Lawrence C. Cerny ’51, MS ’53; Dayton, OH; 11-29-19

James E. Burda ’63; Navarre, FL; 10-11-19

Kris. E. Kolner ’51, MS ’53; Shoreline, WA; 5-28-19

Robert G. Lenz ’63; Springfield, OH; 3-28-20

Norman P. Ladd ’51; Titusville, FL; 4-22-12

Christopher Mathewson ’63; College Station, TX; 1-21-20

Albert R. Yeats ’51; Fort Pierce, FL; 4-17-20

Melvin P. Shaw MS ’63, PhD ’65; Lake Orion, MI; 12-14-18

Michael Bealey ’52; Fairfax, VA; 4-26-20

Thomas E. Utterdyke ’63; Lebanon, OH; 1-10-20

George Hueffed ’52; Stow, OH; 1-6-20

John Bilecky ’64; Brunswick, OH; 12-9-19

Robert A. Mendelson ’52, PhD ’56; Houston, TX; 1-10-20

Nicholas A. Cicchini. P.E. ’64; Exton, PA; 2-25-20

Raymond S. Ogrinc MS ’52; Westlake, OH; 11-10-19

Roy W. Schubert ’64; Simsboro, LA; 7-11-20

William J. Potter ’52; Syracuse, NY; 1-8-20

Jerome Wagner ’64; Rochester, NY;

Raymond A. Simms ’52; Bethesda, MD; 2-11-20

Richard A. Kulik PhD ’66; Novato, CA; 5-1-20

Richard D. Bernhofer ’50; North Royalton, OH; 2-9-20

Albert D. Rossin PhD ’66; Newton, MA; 4-7-20

casealumni.org

Ronald D. Althoff MS ’67; Columbia, SC; 10-7-19

Chih Chiang Liu MS ’71; Danville, CA; 2-2020

Allen R. Cool ’67; Munroe Falls, OH; 5-1-20

Lawrence R. Mattson MS ’71; Trumansburg, NY; 11-2-19

Louis J. Goldman MS ’67; Cleveland Hts., OH; 12-22-19

Thomas G. Winfield ’71; Rio Rancho, NM; 1-16-20

Frederick D. Keady ’67; Chicago, IL; 9-14-19

Nicephoros A. Fotino PhD ’73; Mentor, OH; 3-25-20

Thomas E. Dy-Liacco PhD ’68; Cleveland, OH; 10-24-19

Satish C. Sharma PhD ’73; Akron, OH; 5-10-20

Thomas F. Brady MS ’69; Desert Hot Springs, CA; 3-7-20

William A. Shannon ’78, MS ’81; Los Altos, CA; 6-25-20

Gopal Das ’69; Simsbury, CT; 4-11-20

Warren A. Wickes MS ’79; Oberlin, OH; 7-25-18

Karl G. Kuhn ’69; Rocky River, OH; 5-23-20

Gary N. Goralnik, MD PhD ’84; Scottsdale, AZ; 2-7-20

Hsiang-Yun Lu PhD ’69; Bellevue, WA; 11-19-10

Bruce S. Levinson PhD ’86, Toledo, OH; 4-7-20

William C. Dale MS ’70, PhD ’74; E. Longmeadow, MA; 11-19-19

Raymond P. Hiznay, Jr. ’87; Westlake, OH; 12-6-14

Feliks Wolanin ’70; Chesterland, OH; 6-23-20

TRIBUTE Dov Hazony October 28, 1926 to June 20, 2020 If you were a manufacturer in Cleveland’s industrial heyday in the latter half of the 20th century, chances are you knew of Professor Dov Hazony, the handy scientist from Case Institute of Technology.

Hazony, who passed away June 20 at the age of 93, excelled in an era when applied science helped propel the economy. He took the Case name from NASA to Cleveland Clinic to Gould Ocean Systems as a problem-solving consultant. For years, he was as likely to be seen on a factory floor as in a lecture hall.

The same could be said of many of his colleagues. Case faculty possessed engineering expertise that helped advanced manufacturers and research centers operate at the cutting edge.

But the soft-spoken engineer from the Holy Land was often busier than most.

“Of the faculty at that time, he was probably the most practical, doing science that was very applied,” said Frank Merat, ’72, MS ’75, PhD ’78, who worked with Hazony in the department of electrical engineering for 25 years. “He was the epitome of the old school academic who would really research and think things through.”

And find answers.

“He had a laboratory in his basement, supposedly it was better than the one at Case,” Merat recalled.

Hazony, who taught physics and engineering at Case for 45 years, specialized in networks and ultrasonics, the harnessing of sound waves to make possible medical imaging, underwater navigation, sensing devices and fault analysis of pylons, steel beams and foundations. The applications were immense in a city that built things.

He was also an important contributor to Case, which awarded him the title of Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science upon his retirement in 2004 at age 78.

“Being a professor was such an integral part of who he was,” wrote his daughter, Orly Rumberg, a lawyer in Cincinnati. She shared the campus with her father for seven years while earning her bachelors and law degrees from CWRU. It’s where she

met her husband, Steve Rumberg ’93.

Hazony, who taught a popular class in ultrasonics, wrote more than 70 scholarly articles and earned nine patents relating to ultrasound transducers. His 1963 textbook, Elements of Network Synthesis, contained a dedication that spoke to the historical tragedy to which he felt a lifelong connection: “To my parents and the 6 million who lost their lives.”

Hazony was born in British-occupied Palestine in 1926 to Ukrainian immigrants. He came to the US after World War II

Dov and his wife Rina

and earned his PhD in electrical engineering from UCLA. In 1959, Professor Samuel Seely recruited him to CIT. Hazony particularly enjoyed working with graduate students and formed lifelong friendships with many of them, his family wrote in his obituary. He taught himself to play the flute and mandolin, spoke Hebrew at home, and stayed in close touch with friends and family in Israel. He was especially devoted to Rina, his wife of 55 years, with whom he traveled the country.

As a consulting scientist, he worked with research centers, factories and hospitals that had an idea to try or a problem to solve.

“He was constantly thinking and would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night with the solution,” his family wrote.

The eureka moments, often in his basement lab, had many a company thanking the stars — and Dov Hazony.

Find his obituary at https://tinyurl.com/dovhazony.

Fall 2020

35

“LONG WE’LL REMEMBER…” Memories from Case

NO DICE

Engineering and ethics clashed when his uncle the gambler asked him to fix the game

By Larry Sears ’69

I

n 1968, I was an electrical engineering undergraduate at Case Institute of Technology. I had an uncle who was a brilliant tool-and-die maker and a successful inventor. He also had a group of friends who would probably have described themselves as “business men.”

Law enforcement authorities might have used different terminology.

One day, my uncle called me about a “project” he had in mind. The application was as follows: His associates would host a craps game in a motel. The game was, of course, strictly recreational. The craps table would be placed against a wall that served as a backstop as the dice were thrown against it. The dice had previously been modified with the careful addition of magnetic ink to some of the dots.

The gentleman also rented the adjacent motel room where my project would be set up. A massive electromagnet was to be placed against the common wall that formed the backstop of the dice table.

One gentleman carried in his pocket a garage-door-opener transmitter that controlled the magnet. At the appropriate moment, he would switch on the magnet, which was powerful enough, even from one or two feet away, to generate enough force to attract the ferrous ink and slightly tilt the odds of the game.

The result, obviously, was a bigger payoff for the operators.

As I recall, a cluster of three large 36

casealumni.org

magnets was to be used. Each magnet consisted of an iron core about three inches in diameter and three feet long, wound with about 100 pounds of wire. The three magnets together would have weighed about 500 pounds.

We couldn’t run them off the rectified AC line because the guests might notice the lights blink, so the plan was to operate from a stack of automobile batteries. A contactor was out of the question, since noise might be heard in the adjacent room.

This is where I came in. Could I devise a solution? I indeed thought I had one.

The batteries would provide the energy for the magnets, of course. But it was necessary to switch the current on and then off under the command of the garage-door opener. I envisioned using several dozen 2N3055 power transistors to switch the coil current, along with the biggest flyback diodes I could find. The 2N3055 was a well-known transistor, specifically designed in the early ’60s as a low-cost, high-power part. How I was going to get this material into the motel room was never contemplated.

I told my uncle I would think about it, but the ethical dilemma quickly dominated any technical considerations. I don’t recall exactly how much I was to be paid, but I remember that it was about half of my $3,500 annual tuition. What I was going to do would probably have been illegal, but I tried to convince myself

that defrauding gangsters would somehow be compensatory.

I became distraught over this situation.

I distinctly remember seeing the iron bars laying on my uncle’s garage floor and breaking out into a cold sweat. Besides desperately needing the tuition money, I didn’t want to disappoint my uncle, to whom I was close. Of course, I also envisioned the possibility of ending up in Lake Erie chained to the 60-pound iron bars.

Fortunately, I never had to make the decision. I was careful never to inquire why, but for some reason, the project was terminated — which, in fact, might have been what had happened to some of the participants.

My ethical dilemma vanished. I never had to fix the game. In retrospect, though, I think my engineering was solid.

As founder of Hexagram Inc., Larry is responsible for the wireless meter-reading system used by utilities throughout the United States.

He’s also an adjunct professor of electrical engineering at the Case School of Engineering.

Reach him at larry.sears@case.edu.

Do you have a Case memory to share? Let’s hear it. Email robert.smith@casealum.org

Giving Corner

Charitable Trusts: Ensure the Future A Simple Way to Provide for Your Family and the Case Alumni Foundation.

Whether you’re concerned about outliving your assets in retirement or supplementing your retirement income, you’re not alone. Many of our alumni who feel the same way find that a life income plan is an attractive option. One such plan, a charitable remainder trust, allows you to benefit a charitable organization such as the Case Alumni Foundation and receive an income stream in return.

With this type of gift, you, or other beneficiaries if you choose, receive regular income for life (or for a period of up to 20 years). At the end of the trust term, the balance in the trust supports the program of your choice at the Case Alumni Foundation.

You can fund a charitable trust with cash, but by funding your trust with long-term appreciated assets, you receive a number of additional benefits.

•

You eliminate up-front capital gains tax

•

You may also increase your lifetime income as compared to the yield on the contributed assets

Two Choices There are two types of trusts that work this way: charitable remainder annuity trusts and charitable remainder unitrusts.

While both trusts allow you to receive an income tax charitable deduction, there are small, but important differences.

Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust •

You receive a regular, fixed-dollar income based on a percentage of the trust’s initial assets.

•

You may not make additional contributions to the trust.

Charitable Remainder Unitrust •

You receive a regular, variable-dollar income (the amount you receive is a set percentage of the current value of the unitrust, redetermined annually).

•

You may make additional contributions to the trust.

See What a Trust Can Do We’d love to discuss how your generosity could both further your financial goals and support the mission of the Case Alumni Foundation. We can partner with you and your estate planning attorney as you take the next steps. Simply contact Stephen Zinram at 216.368.8841 or stephen.zinram@casealum.org for a no-obligation consultation.

Disclosure Statement: The information in this publication is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax advisor. Figures cited in any examples are for illustrative purposes only. References to tax rates include federal taxes only and are subject to change. State law may further impact your individual results.

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID CLEVELAND, OHIO PERMIT NO. 2120

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This scholarship offer may be revised, rescinded or terminated at any time. All admissions and scholarship decisions of Case Western Reserve University are final.

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