Class Notes
1950s
Henry "Hank" Hudson (BS '57, Psychology) recently retired from being a magazine editor and is now a freelance writer of health articles. He has also written three screenplays and is currently working on a mystery novel.
Seymour Benzer (MS '43, PhD '47, Physics; honorary doctorate '68), former professor in biological sciences, and Purdue honorary doctorate recipient, earned the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, one of the most prestigious prize in medicine in the United States.
1960s
Luther S. Williams (PhD '68, Biological Sciences; honorary doctorate '87) was appointed provost and vice president for academic affairs at Tuskegee University, effective June 1, 2006. Williams, who currently serves as dean of graduate studies and director of the Integrative BioSciences PhD Program, has had a distinguished career that ranges from faculty positions at major American universities to administrative roles in higher educational and government agencies, particularly in science and technology.
Sandra M. Frazer (BS '60, Science Education) is broker/owner of Indy Connection Realty in Indianapolis. She says that she would enjoy hearing from Purdue classmates.
Fred L. Rasp (BS '68, Biological Sciences) was elected president of the National Physician Leadership Group of Triad Hospitals Inc. He is the medical director of the Heart Center Medical Group, a clinical professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, and a pulmonary/critical care specialist in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Charon Staley (BS '68, Biology) retired this year from Wes- Del Middle/High School in Muncie, Indiana, after more than 35 years in education.
1970s
Sue A. Garfinkel Seidenfeld (BS '76, Biological Sciences) began her position as an adjunct professor at Montclair State University in the graduate program for addiction studies in the Counseling, Human Development, and Educational Leadership (CHDEL) Department in June 2005.
Elizabeth A. Grabau (BS '74, Biology) is the head of the Department of Plant Pathology, Physiology, and Weed Science at Virginia Tech, effective April 2006.
Jane A. Hamblin (BS '74, Mathematics) is associate executive director of the American Dental Education Association in Washington, D.C.
Karen Ruscoe (BS '77, Biology) is the infection-control coordinator for the University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia.
Kathryn E. Stecke (MS '74, Mathematics) is a professor and area coordinator in operations management at the University of Texas at Dallas.
Cynthia J. Stewart (BS '76, Mathematics) has moved to Fullerton, California, where she is president and CEO of CMC IT Consulting.
Gregg A. Tiemann (BS '73, Mathematics) recently relocated back to St. Louis from Los Angeles as director of integrated scheduling for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.
1980s
Ann Cutler (BSCH '82; PhD '87, Chemistry) was named field editor of the Journal of College Science Teaching published by the National Science Teachers Association.
Dipak K. Dey (MS '77; PhD '80, Statistics) received a research excellence award in science from the University of Connecticut Alumni Association in October 2005.
Kevin R. Grazier (BS '83, Computer Science, MS '90, Physics)
"You could say that I keep busy," says Kevin Grazier. It would be hard to find anyone who disagrees.
As investigation scientist (IS) and science planning engineer (SPE) on Cassini/Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan, Grazier writes software both for the spacecraft's imaging team and for making calculations to determine the best time to conduct observations.
He says the most exciting discovery so far has been confirmation of the cryovolcanic eruptions on Enceladus, one of Saturn's smaller moons. "Scientists who have tried to explain the mechanism for these eruptions have come to a startling conclusion," Grazier comments. "We can find no mechanism to drive this process that does not involve the presence of liquid water."
Such a discovery may sound like something out of a science-fiction plot, and Grazier is no stranger to those, either. When he's not at the JPL, Grazier works in Hollywood as science advisor for Battlestar Galactica, The Zula Patrol, and Eureka.
Grazier finds time to teach evening classes at both UCLA and Santa Monica College (SMC). He is also a visiting researcher with the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education's "Journey through the Universe" program, where he travels to schools in underserved communities to speak to K-12 students. "In addition to bringing to them an understanding of the 'inherent coolness' of my job," Grazier says, "I also make the case that it's really OK to like science."
After all, look where a degree in science can take you.
1990s
David N. Akers (BS '90, Actuarial Science) and his wife, Araceli, celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary this year in April. David was recently promoted to director of operations for the Mexico Division of Werner Enterprises Inc., an international transportation and logistics provider.
David C. Chang (BS '91, Genetic Biology) graduated from the Indiana University School of Medicine in 1995 and completed his internal medicine residency at Pennsylvania Hospital. For the last five years, he was medical director of the J. E. Wood Clinic at Pennsylvania Hospital and assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He is currently pursuing a sleep medicine fellowship at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
Tina W. Chang (BS '95, Chemistry) and Jason Fleming welcomed their son on December 30, 2005.
Angie Cook (BS '97, MS '00, Environmental Geoscience) is a hydrogeologist, working out of Norcross, Georgia.
Sean A. Cripe (BA '94) and Heidi J. Gibson (MS '99) welcomed their daughter on January 20, 2006.
Rebecca J. Dooley (BS '93, Chemistry) is currently working for for Wyeth Research in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.
Salvatore Lepore (PhD '97, Organic Chemistry) received the Florida Atlantic University Researcher of the Year Award for 2006. His research deals primarily with the development of new chemical reactions and applying them to therapeutic compounds, particularly for cancer and AIDS treatments. Lepore worked at Eli Lilly and Company prior to joining the FAU faculty.
Elvis T. Mikel (BS '95, Chemistry), a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, is deployed with the missile cruiser USS Chosin.
Ken Smiley (MS '95, Statistics) and Christine Hixon Smiley (MS '95, Statistics) are delighted to announce the birth of Nolan Kenneth Smiley, born January 26, 2006 at 8:29 a.m., weighing 7 pounds 5 ounces.
Rick J. Stevens (MS '94) opened Tax Returns by Accountants in Frankfort, Indiana.
Kimberly Waugh Van Gessel (BS '97, MS '00, Geology) and husband Jeramie (BS '97, Computer Technology) welcomed their first child Jake on April 6, 2004.
2000s
Peter K. Hall Jr. (BS '02, Synoptic Meteorology) received his MS in Meteorology from the University of Oklahoma in December 2002. He is currently a quality assurance manager for Oklahoma Mesonet.
Brian J. Pope (BS '02, Applied Physics) was recently hired by Trey Exploration Inc. as a petroleum geologist. Brian and his wife, Erin Schweiss Pope, celebrated their one-year anniversary on May 21, 2006.
Chad N. Tucker (BS '06, Math Education) is a financial advisor with MassMutual/WestPoint Financial Group in Carmel, Indiana. Chad recently became engaged to a fellow Purdue graduate.
Andrew S. Zeigler (BS '05, Computer Science) is now working as a program manager for Microsoft in Redmond, Washington.
James P. Beck (BS '65), of New Albany, Ohio, passed away on September 22, 2005.
Nota M. Borst (BS '39), of Winter Haven, Florida, passed away on October 12, 2005.
Art Bottorff (BS '87), of Zionsville, Indiana, passed away on December 16, 2005.
Margaret M. Chenoweth Frazier (BS '42), of Poland, Ohio, passed away on November 14, 2005.
Paul W. Harruff (BS '51), of Pickens, South Carolina, passed away on February 2, 2005.
Mary Ann Bayley Heath (BS '48), of Enterprise, Alabama, passed away on November 12, 2005.
Susanne Hummer Miller (BS '68), of Littleton, Colorado, passed away on September 25, 2005.
Robert A. Kramer (BS '70), of Ballwin, Missouri, passed away on November 15, 2005.
Chesley B. Marshall (BS '36), of Auburn, Alabama, passed away on October 1, 2005.
Mary Jane Hazelwood Peer (BS '48), of Savannah, Georgia, passed away on July 13, 2005.
William L. Proscia (BS '84), of Fort Wayne, Indiana, passed away on August 3, 2005.
Virginia Shelby (BS '38), of Lafayette, Indiana, passed away on December 27, 2005.
E. Margaret Snodgrass (BS '26), of Clarksville, Indiana, passed away on November 3, 2005.
Robert G. Taylor (BS '49), of Bloomington, Indiana, passed away on November 18, 2005.
James Parker Greaton (BS '78, Statistics) 1957-2006
"The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails." Jim placed himself somewhere between an optimist and realist.
Jim, the optirealist, graduated in 1978 with a major in statistics and a minor in economics. At Purdue, Jim met Cindie Johnson when, as he put it, "she threw a door in his face going into the Student Union to get a pizza." They were married on June 1, 1980, and daughter Rachel and son Nathaniel were born in 1984 and 1986, respectively.
Jim joined Equitable Life Insurance as an actuary after graduating from Purdue and later served at Keyport Life Insurance Co. as vice president and corporate actuary. A strong supporter of his alma mater, he followed Purdue through March Madness, to the Rose Bowl, and had been giving back through service on the College of Science Dean's Leadership Council.
Jim ended his seven-year fight against lymphoma on June 29, 2006, at MetroWest Hospital in Framingham, Massachusetts. He considered the two transplants, several surgeries, and countless treatments as slight interruptions to his running regimen. He remained positive throughout, describing one of his weekly treatments as allowing him to "get in a two-hour nap once a week."
Jim is survived by his wife, daughter, and son, parents Winston and Mary; brother Everett and sister-in-law Kathy Bannerman; brother Robert and sister-in-law Jana, and niece Hannah; and brother-in-law Greg Johnson.