Editor’s column

It was a sight to behold that sunny day in late August, as I walked out the front doors of Nord Hall. Case Quad was aswarm with students. I had almost forgotten what that looked like.

Eighteen months before, walking the same quad, I saw a handwritten note pinned to a bulletin board. “Be Safe Everybody,” it read. There was not a soul in sight that cold March day. Dorms and offices had emptied for a pandemic that would rage longer than any of us imagined.

Now, young people filled the Quad from Crawford to Bingham. They were wide-eyed first years thrown into Discover Week, and they clustered in orientation groups playing silly get-to-know-you games, sending peals of laughter across the bright green lawn.

Upper-class students joined them the next weekend, and Case looked much like its old self. Students sallying off to class, whizzing by on skateboards, eating lunch around the Michelson-Morley Fountain.

Yes, we’re still wearing masks. We all have vaccine cards on file and we had to be tested for Covid-19 thrice those first three weeks back. Case is open, but the pandemic can still surprise.

Still, there’s a feeling of excitement and optimism in the air — a sense of a fresh start. It’s something maybe you can see and feel for yourself over Homecoming & Reunion Weekend Oct. 21-24.

You’ll find the mood is as bright as the fall colors washing over the Quad. As Cooper Reif, a fourth-year mechanical engineering major, tells us in this issue, there are plenty of smiles behind those masks. “People are just really excited to be back on campus.”

Long may it last.

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

The Case Alumnus is published quarterly for members and friends of the Case Alumni Association, which serves the interests of more than 20,000 alumni of the Case School of Applied Science, Case Institute of Technology and the Case School of Engineering.

Established in 1885 by the first five graduates of the Case School of Applied Science, the Case Alumni Association is the oldest independent alumni association of engineering and applied science graduates in the nation.

The Case Alumnus is a publication of the Case Alumni Association, Inc., a 501(c)3 public charity under the IRS code.

CASE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, INC. Tomlinson Hall, Room 109 10900 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, OH 44106-1712 216-231-4567 casealum@casealum.org casealumni.org

OFFICERS Joe Fakult ’90, President Brian Casselberry ’95, 1st Vice President Matt Crowley ’08, 2nd Vice President Curtis Grant ‘11, MEM ’12, 3rd Vice President Frank Merat ’72, MS ’75, PhD ’78, Treasurer Hillary Emer ‘07, MSE ’07, Assistant Treasurer Steve Simmons ‘79, MS ‘82, MBA ’86, Secretary

STAFF Stephen Zinram, Executive Director Thomas Conlon, Chief Financial Officer Emily Speer, Director of Gift Planning and Grants Compliance Robert L. 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 Manager Melissa Slager, Manager, Executive Office

CASE ALUMNUS Robert L. Smith, Editor Lillian Messner, Art Director Steve Toth, Toth Creative Group, Layout and Design Duke Print & Mail Solutions

PHOTO CREDITS Wetzler’s Photography Roadell Hickman Photography Flaticon.com, Icons

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.

11 New year, fresh start

With hope and health protocols, CWRU welcomed students back to a live college experience.

Homecoming 2021

12 Together again

The Case Alumni Association beckons alumni to reconnect Oct. 21-24 with events both live and live streamed.

14 Making us proud

Meet our 2021 Alumni Award winners.

Great read

16 At the cusp of human fusion

Starting with a sense of touch, Professor Dustin Tyler, PhD ’99, is bringing new sensations to people and to science.

20 Sibling brilliance

The brothers who launched Path Robotics found their path to success at Sears think[box].

Alumni Adventures

26 Sail on sailor

Alumna Sunniva Collins finds beauty and engineering challenges on a great lake.

27 Rising stars

Wow times four. Engineering faculty win prestigious National Science Foundation early-career awards. Fall 2021

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DEPARTMENTS

1 Dean’s Message 2 Editor’s column 4 Letters, posts and emails 7 Around the Quad 10 Alumni Newsmakers 22 Case Memories 24 NewsBytes 28 Class Notes 34 In Memoriam 35 Tribute — Glenn Brown, MS ’54, PhD ’56 36 Long We'll Remember

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