Class Notes

1940s

George N. Havens ’49 Cleveland, Ohio

George Havens wrote an inspiring new book proclaiming the critical values of heroes. The thrust of the book is that life can be richer, and more upbeat, with the benefit of heroes who expand our lives by giving us examples to emulate and idealize. This is the seventh book that George has written since retiring as the head of the Jayme Organization, an advertising and marketing firm. He now heads Strategic Consulting, a firm focused on leadership, planning and marketing. George is a member of the Cleveland Advertising Hall of Fame.

1950s

Howard E. Conlon ’52, MS ’63 Ann Arbor, Michigan

Howard recently retired as an emeritus faculty member at Oklahoma State University, where he was the editor of the campus newsletter and recently chaired the campus-wide United Way drive.

Emil L. Bereczky ’57 Placentia, California

Emil was the Heritage selection for the Spartan Club Hall of Fame Class of 2016. Emil played for the Case Institute of Technology men’s tennis team from 1955 through 1957 and was the squad’s top singles player, along with being a member of the top doubles pairing on the team. Emil has continued to play tennis competitively throughout his life, and ranked as high as 17th, along with his son William, in the United States Tennis Assocation’s Super Senior Father-Son Doubles Division. [SEE GROUP PHOTO]

Henry C. Haller ’57 Avon Lake, Ohio

Hank has just released a Jubilee Polka Album entitled “Through the Years Volume 2 - Polkas Haller-Style.” He is also in the National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of Fame.

Joseph F. Denk, Sr. ’59 Mentor, Ohio

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Denk Associates, Inc., which was started in 1967 by Joe Denk, Sr. Joe, who celebrates his 80th birthday this year, is retired and the company is now run by his two sons, Michael Denk ‘87 and Joseph Denk, Jr. ‘84.

1960s

James C. Wyant ’65 Tucson, Arizona

Jim was selected as the Special Category inductee for the Spartan Club Hall of Fame Class of 2016. Jim received eight varsity letters during his collegiate career at the Case Institute of Technology, four for cross country and four for track. Since his graduation from Case, Jim has become one of the world’s most renowned optical scientists. His affection for Coach Bill Sudeck and his collegiate athletic experience brought Jim back to campus, where he serves as chair of the Case Western Reserve University board of trustees and as a member of the Forward Thinking Campaign Committee and the Athletic Visiting Committee. Jim’s generosity can be seen across campus, including support for the Sudeck Track, the Wyant Athletic and Wellness Center and in the Larry Sears and Sally Zotnick Sears think[box]. [SEE GROUP PHOTO]

John R. Berry III ’67 Joppa, Maryland

John fully retired this year, and now lives near the Gunpowder River, two miles from the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. He and his wife left for South Africa at the end of March to visit kids and grandkids. John is looking forward to the 50th class reunion!

John A. Shields ’68, MS ’71, PhD ’75 Cleveland, Ohio

John received the 2017 American Powder Metallurgy Institute International’s Fellow Award, its most prestigious award. Shields worked with NASA to develop materials for space shuttles, refined sintered tungsten ingots to increase tungsten sheet yields, and led a team to bring a novel thermal management system for galvanic corrosion resistance to market. He is author/co-author of two U.S. patents, three books and over 30 technical papers. He received the Fellow Award from ASM International, Distinguished Service Award and was voted Engineer of the Year in 2002 by Cleveland Engineering Week.

1970s

Peter S. Gilmour ’70 Friendswood, Texas

Peter retired last August from SMART Modular Technology, where he was program manager for its High Reliability Solutions group in Phoenix, Arizona. He moved back to Texas to be near family.

Jennie S. Hwang PhD ’76 Bedford, New York

Jennie was reappointed the chairperson of the board on Assessment of U.S. Army Research Laboratories for the U.S. Department of Defense, whose primary focus is on operational efficiency including planning, facilities, equipment, human resources and the merits of the technological programs in near-, medium- and far-term. Jennie is chief executive officer and principal of H-Technologies Group.

1980s

Joseph F. Denk, Jr. ’84 Cleveland, Ohio

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Denk Associates, Inc., a company started in 1967 by Joe Denk, Sr. ’59. His two sons, Michael Denk ’87 and Joseph Denk, Jr. ’84, now run the company. To celebrate this milestone, Denk Associates donated to the Class of 1959 50th Reunion Scholarship Fund.

John P. Vourlis ’84 Wickliffe, Ohio

John produced and directed the documentary feature film “Breaking Balls,” the story of three colorful local figures associated with the game of bocce, as seen through the lens of the 30th anniversary of the Cleveland Challenge Cup of Bocce Tournament, held annually in Wickliffe, Ohio. The film recently appeared at the 41st annual Cleveland International Film Festival.

Michael T. Denk ’87 Kirtland, Ohio

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Denk Associates, Inc., a company started in 1967 by Joe Denk, Sr. ’59. His two sons, Michael Denk ’87 and Joseph Denk, Jr. ’84, now run the company. To celebrate this milestone, Denk Associates donated to the Class of 1959 50th Reunion Scholarship Fund.

Jeffrey L. Duerk PhD ’87 Avon Lake, Ohio

Jeff was elected by his colleagues in the College of Fellows in the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering to serve as a member of the organization’s board of directors as a director-at-large. AIMBE is a nonprofit organization representing the top 2 percent of researchers and scholars in the field. Founded in 1991, the organization serves as an

class notes

advocate for public policy issues related to improving lives through medical and biological engineering. As director-at-large, Jeff will help set strategic priorities for AIMBE and direct the course of the organization’s future. Jeff is dean and the Leonard Case Professor of Engineering at Case Western Reserve University.

James A. Ford ’88 Laguna Hills, California

James received a senior radio frequency engineer II position at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems starting in January. He previously worked at Broadcom Limited for over 10 years.

1990s

Mark S. Haberbusch ’90, MS ’93 Amherst, Ohio

Mark started a company called NEOEx Systems, a platform to collect relevant data from unmanned aerial vehicles that will use lightweight hydrogen fuel and energy-efficient fuel cells to effectively power the UAVs for up to 50 hours without the need to refuel. NEOEx is reaching the prototype stage and the goal is for commercial application to take place within the next two years, in parallel with the Federal Aviation Administration as it continues to release regulations for commercial unmanned drone operations in the national airspace.

Srikantan S. Nagarajan MS ’91, PhD ’95 San Francisco, California

Srikantan was named an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Fellow for his contributions to neural engineering and biomagnetic brain imaging. The honor is the highest grade of membership and recognized by the technical community as a prestigious honor and an important career achievement.

Kenneth A. Holloway ’92 Pudong, Shanghai

Ken was one of seven inductees to the Spartan Club Hall of Fame Class of 2016. Ken was a three-time All-University Athletic Association First Team honoree, claiming the award each year from 1989-91, while also earning an All-North Coast Athletic Conference Honorable Mention each year during the time period. During his career, he received the Bill Grice Award as the team’s Most Valuable Player in 1990, and the John Anderson Award in 1989 as the team’s Most Valuable Underclassman. On the baseball field, Ken was an all-NCAC third baseman, leading the league in batting average with a .421 mark during his junior season. [SEE GROUP PHOTO]

class notes

Mary J. Lobo ’99 Cleveland, Ohio

Mary was featured in a story by Cleveland’s Plain Dealer newspaper in February. Mary is the space simulation facility manager at NASA Glenn’s Lewis Field campus responsible for coordinating internal and external tests in over two dozen vacuum chambers and the strategic planning to enable the chambers to be ready to support NASA future missions.

2000s

Andres M. Molina ’01 West Chester, Ohio

Desi is one of the seven inductees to the Spartan Club Hall of Fame Class of 2016. He was a three-time University Athletic Association Champion earning a spot on the conference’s 25th Anniversary Team. During his four years on the wrestling team, he went 11-1 at the UAA championships, notching six pins. During his senior season, Desi placed second at the 2001 NCAA Division III Midwest Regional. He was the 2001 Philip K. “Nip” Heim Award winner, for his leadership and overall contributions to the program. [SEE GROUP PHOTO]

Elizabeth A. Gieseker ’03 Cincinnati, Ohio

Lisa was inducted to the Spartan Club Hall of Fame Class of 2016. Lisa is one of the most decorated distance swimmers in the history of the Case Western Reserve program, earning two All-America certificates, four All-America honorable mentions and seven all-University Athletic Association honors during her career. She made an immediate impact with the Spartans during her freshman season ranking high in all of her events at the NCAA Championships. Lisa went on to finish in the top-16 at the NCAA Championships and added All-UAA honors in the 1,650-yard freestyle in each of her four years on the team. [SEE GROUP PHOTO]

Christopher R. Kerr ’07 Medina, Ohio

Chris started a new job at Riverside Partners, a private equity company in Downtown Cleveland. Chris also had his first child, a daughter named Kennedy, with his wife Jessica.

Jaeyeon Kim PhD ’08 Lexington, Massachusetts

Jaeyeon recently became associate director of pharmacometrics at Novartis. Novartis is a global healthcare company based in Switzerland that provides solutions to address the evolving needs of patients worldwide.

2010s

Bo Li PhD ’11 Cleveland, Ohio

Bo, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Case Western Reserve University, received $500,000 of National Science Foundation grant money to develop computational tools to enable manufacturers to run thousands of simulations at one time to predict quantitatively what combinations of metals, manufacturing parameters and more will lead to the optimal product.

Christopher J. Krimball ’16 Scottsdale, Arizona

C.J., a former men’s tennis player, received the NCAA Today’s Top 10 Award recognizing former student-athletes for their successes on the field, in the classroom and in the community, at the Honors Celebration during the NCAA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. C.J. is the first athlete in Case Western Reserve University history to win the honor, one of the most prestigious awards that can be presented to an NCAA athlete. Since his graduation in May, C.J. has worked as a project engineer at Avery-Dennison in Cleveland.

Bottom row, left to right: Andres Molina ’01 (wrestling), Lisa Gieseker ’03 (swimming), Eli Grant ’03 (football)

Top row, left to right: Ken Holloway ’92 (baseball & football), James Drougas ’84 (men’s tennis), Dr. James Wyant CIT ’65 (Special Category inductee), tennis and soccer player Emil Bereczky CIT ’57 (Heritage selection)