Hi Scott,
Thanks for your weekly Alum newsletter … always filled with tales that bring back memories.
When I was recruiting for 3M on campus back in the mid to late 80s I recall the students in Wadsworth Hall blasting their speakers from their windows with Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” as the first-year chemistry students were headed to Fisher Hall for the mid-term. It’s classic stuff!
I was once again reminded of this several days ago by a parent of a first-year student and got to wondering when this started … and if something similar was done prior to the Queen song.
For some reason, I can’t help but think there was something along those lines when I made the walk from DHH in the fall of ’65.
If you have an opportunity, could you look into what if anything marked the occasion back in the late 60s?
For sure I recall the snowball fight between Wadsworth & DHH across US-41 … and the state patrol directing traffic so as not to let anyone get hurt or damage a car. Pretty understanding they were!
Thanks! Go Huskies!!
Bill Johnson ’69
- Thank you for checking in, Bill. Anyone out there remember this tradition for first-years and how it got started? -SB
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Scott,
With respect to the request to relate your views on your favorite professors I would like to add the name of Dr. Ray Kauppila to that list, who taught senior-level Mechanical Engineering courses back in the 60s and 70s. He was not only a good instructor, he also treated his students like we were actual engineers particularly in the spring term class called ‘Senior Mechanical Design Project’ where we had to design, document, and ultimately defend our project in front of our peers and selected faculty. He never sugarcoated what the real world was going to be like and he tried to look at our work as if he was one of our supervisors on a job. He always said that we needed to make our first mistakes as an engineer in HIS classroom and not on the job somewhere where it would not only put us in a bad light but also the University.
John R. Baker, BSME, ’71
- Hi John! Sounds as if Dr. Kauppila was right on the money and prepared you well. Thanks for the memory! -SB
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Yes, I had several, starting with Doc Berry, Chem.,
A. S. Weaver, EM, & Prof. Worble in Physics.
Robert T. Wicklund, BSME 1969
- Thank you, Robert. Appreciate you recognizing them. -SB
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Scott,
In your most recent report, you asked about a favorite professor at Tech.
I had some very good ones, but would have to say that Prof. David Chimino in the Physics Department was my overall choice.
I got to know Dave quite well having had him for various class lectures and laboratories. When I graduated in 1957 I went to the U. of Michigan to earn an MS in Nuclear Engineering. My new wife and I returned to Tech in 1958 where I had been hired as an instructor in the physics department. I had a chance first hand to see “behind the scenes” what work Dave put into his lecturing. Circumstances caused us to return to UMI the next year where my wife and I both continued working towards additional degrees, with a new baby girl I might add.
Dave came to UMI in the summers to continue his classwork and so he visited us while in Ann Arbor.
Fast forward many years to 1984. I was working at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and our son was about to finish his sophomore year at UC Davis. While taking a physics course on electromagnetic (my own major at UMI by the way), his professor learned about our making computer movies about electromagnetics at LLNL and invited me to give a lecture to his own class, which I did. The upshot was that I got financial support for a summer program, which lasted three summers, to have several professors come to LLNL to produce computer movies. One of those who attended was Dave Chimino. So my physics professor from Tech and my son’s physics professor from UC Davis were co-participants in this project, a rather unique arrangement.
The movies made during this project were eventually made available through the IEEE for several years.
Ed Miller ‘57
- Hi, Ed. Cool story. Amazing how different experiences from our past often connect in the future. Thank you for sharing. -SB
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Hi, Scott. My favorite professor was Dr. Richard Heckel, with Dr. Bruce Pletka a very close second – both were in the metallurgical engineering department.
Have a nice day,
Todd Haugh ’86
- Thank you for recognizing them, Todd. Appreciate you reading TechAlum. -SB
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Scott – I studied Econ under Dr. Joyce back in the late 70s and 80s. What I remember most and still reference it today was that Dr. Joyce would call on a student for an answer and would not let that student say he/she did not know (and to move on to another student for the answer). Dr. Joyce would force that student to develop an answer even if they did not know, sometimes waiting for several minutes. He would tell us that in business, each of us has to be able to answer questions on the spot from our boss, etc. and that we would not have the crutch of telling the boss to go and ask another co-worker because “I don’t know.” Dr. Joyce also made the class interesting by using different goods/services in his examples than normal teachers
Joe Patterson SBEA 1981
- Hi, Joe. I bet those minutes could seem like years. And I’ll bet most of his students were better prepared for the business world than their co-workers too. Thanks for the memory. -SB
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My favorite professor was Mike D’Amico, who taught marketing. I enjoyed his class so much; I took another from him and decided on my major as a result, marketing. I had a fulfilling career and worked in marketing and/or advertising for A&W, the restaurant chain (separate from the root beer manufacturer), FTD (Florists Transworld Delivery), Campbell-Ewald (advertising agency for Chevrolet and other GM divisions), and Cadillac Division of General Motors among those with name recognition. I reconnected a few years ago with Mike via email and learned that he moved and taught at the university in Akron, Ohio. He was enthusiastic in his presentation of the subject and truly an inspiration!
Lauren Monsen
(I was originally in the MTU class of ’70; transferred to Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and graduated in ’73.)
- Hello, Lauren! Amazing how a single professor can spark a passion that lasts a lifetime. Appreciate the story. -SB
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Favorite Professors – several, and for different reasons.
Doc Berry. I really enjoyed chemistry because I love to learn how a thing works – then I can manipulate it to work better, or fix it when it doesn’t work right. He was tough, but fair, and clear in his lectures.
Tom Vichich. I struggled my way through calculus, and worked hard to earn every C I got. Tom was always willing to see me in his office and explain in multiple different ways how a particular issue worked. We began sharing recipes together and he really liked my recipe for Curried Beef over Rice. Tom was a very tough instructor, but he could explain calculus like no one else, and his tests were true measures of your understanding.
Dave Chimino. His physics demonstrations were THE COOLEST and for a visual learner like me, permanently engrained the lessons in my brain.
Margaret Fohey TA in Statics. I didn’t take her class, but rather took her hand in marriage. She’s still my favorite “professor” !!!
David Plumeau, BS Geo Eng. 1975 (Nov).
- Love the note, David! Would also love to have the Curried Beef recipe. Please give my best to Professor Fohey. -SB
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Your note about Prof Olsen reminded me of when we had shop classes in the old power plant and he would fill a balloon with gas and light it off in the smoke stack to blow smoke rings out the top. He also delighted in taking a retractable measuring tape pick up static from a running power belt and through a hole in the floor zap some unsuspecting student on the floor below and retract the measuring tape before the student knew what happened.
Hank Levine ’55
- Hi, Hank. I’ll never look at a measuring tape in the same way again. Thanks for sharing. -SB
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Stienke was special back in the 60s.
Dennis Luoto ’68
- Thank you, Dennis. -SB
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We had a good many but my favorite all time was M. Bredekamp. He was tough but fair. He was determined to make all students learn all the material. Thanks for asking!
Peter Meyers Chemical Engineer 1953.
And thank you for sharing, Peter. I appreciate it. -SB
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I had several favorites but Gene Hesterberg tops the list. Without his guidance and inspiration, I don’t think I would have made graduation. Despite receiving an F for my first try at his forest pathology class I have fond memories of learning from Gene. And, I know there are many others who feel the same way.
Jack Lockwood ’54
Thank you, Jack. Glad Gene helped you stick with it. Our best mentors do that. -SB
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This email is in response to the article regarding faculty who have made impacts in students’ lives.
My story is simple, but one that other students may be able to relate.
In 2008, I was a sophomore in the biomedical engineering department. As a requirement, I enrolled in the Introduction to Materials Science course (MY2100 – everyone in that department had all the course numbers memorized). I had never taken a materials science course before, but I was eager to learn and, well, I had to take it.
Professor Douglas Swenson taught the class that semester. He wasn’t a particularly outgoing or outspoken professor, but it became very apparent from the start of the course that he knew his stuff, and it quickly became my favorite class. I loved how materials science combined the intricacies of chemistry with the robustness of mechanics, electricity, and structures. Professor Swenson taught the class with a quiet passion that I really appreciated.
As the course started to wind down, I went to Professor Swenson’s office hours for some help on exam review. I hadn’t met with him too many times one on one, but I knew he knew me – I was always asking questions in his class. During our meeting, I said, “Professor, I really like this class. I don’t think I have ever liked a class as much as this one.” His response? “Well, you should change your major to Materials Engineering.” Until that moment, it had not hit me that I could, and should, change my major. I found something I was passionate about, and all it took was those simple words and the obvious passion of a professor to sway me.
I ended up making materials science and engineering my primary major, while still keeping biomedical engineering as my second major. Currently, I work for Ford Motor Company in the Materials Engineering department. There are many people I have to thank for where I am today in my career, and Professor Swenson is definitely one of those people.
Kelsey P. Waugh ’12
- Wow, Kelsey. Great story! Glad you found your passion and turned it into a career. I’m sure professor Swenson is proud of the difference he made in your life. -SB
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Brenda,
Your call for memorable professors in this week’s TechAlum made me think of Dr. Donna Michalak. I was in her fluids class my junior year and was really impressed by her. I found her to be warm, engaging, and very committed to student success. Plus she had a style that just meshed well with my learning style. She left such an impression on me, I signed up for her graduate level gas dynamics class the following year, and considered applying for grad school.
Ultimately, the call of the working world won out, but I still left with a deep respect for Dr. Michalak.
Kevin Britton (BSME ’97)
- On behalf of Brenda, thank you for sharing your good memories of professor Michalak. -SB
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My favorite instructor was Dennis (Doc) Wiitanen, teaching electrical machinery. My whole career has been enabled by his three quarters of machinery classes, and I still think the machines are really fun to work with. Doc was very interactive, sometimes appearing at the Dog House, taking us on field trips to power plants, and to a conference in Chicago. He would keep a card with each graduating senior’s picture so he could remember us later. His best advice: be nice to people in this field (electric power), it is so small you run into the same people again and again. He was right!
Becky Nold ’85
- Thank you for the tribute and memories. Be nice is always great advice. -SB
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Favorite was Prof. Hennessy when teaching in engineering mechanics department. He later moved to civil engineering. Great guy.
William Todd ’71
- Thank you, William. -SB
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I have to mention two different professors who made a major impact on me – Don Daavitella and Michael Agin.
Don Daavitella was an amazing physics professor who demonstrated that he really wanted his students to not just learn but understand what he was teaching. Plus, he was very personable and approachable; even offering to meet you in the dorm, frat house, library, or wherever if you were struggling with an assignment.
Mike Agin taught me to be an excellent teacher. His combination of real-world experiences and how it related to my future resonated with anyone who was lucky enough to have him as an instructor. He was also very personable and I was lucky enough to call him a friend as well.
MTU class of 1973
David Szymanski
- Hi, David. Going from learning to understanding can be an incredibly hard jump. Thank you for sharing your memories. -SB
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Without hesitation, it would be Paul Hainault. He had such a down-to-earth, practical way of teaching and my relationship went beyond the classroom and included his family as well. I think of him frequently.
Gregory Switek ’72
Hello, Gregory. Glad professor Hainault gave you a great foundation. -SB
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Professor Paul H. Lewis always was helpful, friendly, and told interesting stories about his controls work at NASA. I was fortunate that he was my graduate supervisor when I joined the first year of the MSEE program in 1975. As his graduate teaching assistant, I once told a student in my recitation class, “I don’t know how to bias a transistor amplifier circuit.”
I thought I was in big trouble, but Dr. Lewis told me it’s OK to not instantly know something. He advised, “Say this, Bryan: I don’t know, but will find out and will get back to you.”
This magical phrase saved my engineering hide many times on difficult jobs. Mostly, I’m grateful for him teaching me kindness, patience, and the value of being prepared.
Bryan Lundgren ’74
- That is a great phrase, Bryan. And you can never go wrong with kindness, patience, and preparation. Thank you. -SB
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In my time, in the late ’50s/early ’60s, I had several favorite professors. I was an ME major with an engineering mechanics option. Art Weaver (1961 Distinguished Teaching Award) and Dr. Clyde Work (1965 Distinguished Teaching Award) were knowledgeable and engaging professors who gave me a solid base for my career as an aircraft engine design engineer. Ed Vandette (1991 Distinguished Teaching Award) brought history alive for me, something that has interested me ever since.
Denis Hayner ’61
- Hi, Denis. Sounds as if you had three outstanding teachers. Thank you for sharing. -SB
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Prof. Shapton and prof. Work, for sure. Great help if/when needed. Loved Prof. Work’s dynamics and statics self-paced workbooks and no classroom schedule or attendance required. There are definitely others, but these stick out the most.
Cheers,
Doug Simoes ’86
Thank you for checking in with those memories, Doug. -SB
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I remember professor Gibson. I had him for two classes, It was always interesting.
However, my favorite was Merle Potter. He could explain the most complex problems in
a way that they were easily understood. He was interested in each and every one.
Don Fritzsche ’61
- Making the complex easily understood is a rare gift. Thanks for sharing, Don. -SB
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Aubrey Gibson – Great Professor!
Don Barkel ’56
- Thank you, Don. -SB
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Hi – I’m Allen Montero: 1975, bsee.
Thinking back, most of the professors when I was at Tech, were really good. In fact, I can only think one bad one, and when a number of us students voiced our opinions of that gentleman, he was relieved of his position.
Anyway, among the many fine professors that were at tech in the early/mid 70s, Denny Wiitanen stands out. There were only about a dozen of us in the power systems option back then, and we all got to know Denny well.
One particular memory stands out from my junior year. I was playing senior hockey for a team that was out of the area, so I missed class on a number of Mondays and Fridays during the season. Denny allowed me to take the exams early, but between the class work and travel I was dropping behind and feeling pretty beat up. One time when I was in his office to take a test, he asked me if I planned on doing the same hockey thing my senior year, and I told him that I didn’t think so. What he said next still cracks me up. He told me that was good because next year we were going to be doing important stuff, and if I tried this crap again he would flunk my ass!
I hope that the profs and instructors that are at Tech today have the same understanding and sense of humor that folks like Denny had when I was there.
- Thank you, Allen. They do! -SB
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Although professor Aubrey Gibson ranks high on my list, my favorite professor was professor Doane. Due to a schedule conflict, I took all of the science courses offered in high school with the exception of chemistry. After the first couple of weeks in chemistry lecture, professor Doane declared, “we have now covered everything you learned in high school chemistry.” I knew I was in trouble and went to prof. Doane to explain my predicament. He offered to tutor me, in private, if I would come into his office during my free periods. I religiously took him up on this, and with his help, was able to pass Chemistry with a “C” average. I survived the six-week test and watched as many aspiring engineers left and went on to other fields of study. Professor Doane went above and beyond to help me and were it not for him it is doubtful I would have been able to graduate as a mechanical engineer and later obtain my P.E.
I was saddened to hear of Professor Gibson’s passing and was fortunate to meet and talk with him a few years ago at the annual reunion. When I received my professional engineers registration, prof. Gibson attended the ceremony and I was most appreciative of his being there. He was a real character and the stories of him are legendary.
James J. Ombrello, PE
ME 1958
- Hi, James. It’s always good to remember those who cared enough to bring out our best. Glad you made it. -SB
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One of my favorite professors was Kiril Spiroff (Papa K). He taught hand specimen mineralogy and field geology for many years in the geology department well as being curator of the Seaman Museum. His knowledge of minerology was legendary.
Joe Masterson
1970
- Thank you for remembering him, Joe. You’ll likely recognize his picture in the lead to this article. -SB
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Dear Brenda,
One professor that was unforgettable for me was Kiril Spiroff, who taught mineralogy and curated the Seaman Museum while I was there. He was a Bulgarian immigrant who earned a BS and MS (in mining engineering, I believe) and worked as a mining engineer and consultant, but his real love was minerals. He was one of a long string of Tech alumni and staff–Seaman, Denning, Mandarino, Williams, Moore, Rouse, Robinson, etc.– that were so distinguished that they had minerals named for them.
I never will forget his unique way of teaching mineral identification and the long lab sessions that trained us to know many common and several rare species by sight. He spiced up what could have been a dull subject with ample stories of his experiences in the field.
He also taught field geology, and his systematic techniques and demanding grading served his students well in the professional world. During that course, the one lapse in attention that comes to mind happened when he assigned us a complex mapping project along the Huron River and he went off berry picking. He stepped on a rotten log filled with yellowjackets and had to go into the water to escape. Afterwards, he turned even this into a lesson–watch where you step!
He set me on a path of enjoying minerals that continues to this day.
Neil Foreman
Geology, 1967
- Hi, Neil. Appreciate the words about professor Spiroff. And the yellowjackets story. -SB
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My favorite teacher was Paul Rohrke who taught during the 1930s and 1940s. Because he taught at Tech, he met my mother and because he met my mother, they were married in 1937. And because they were married, I was born three years later–in Hancock (Houghton didn’t have a hospital.) The night before the morning of my birth, both my parents-to-be were at a hockey game and, even though my mother was in labor, they stayed until the game ended. True Techies!
Mary Joan Rohrke Rinehart
- True Techies, indeed. Thank you for remembering your father and mother and sharing them with us, Mary. -SB
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My favorite professor was Walter Anderson in the EE department who won the distinguished professor award in 1957. He was also featured in a Tech magazine some years ago for his work on the Manhattan Project, I believe. A very skilled, low key person who just knew how to teach.
Professor Gibson was something else. As a resident faculty advisor in DHH, he would use a baseball bat to “tap” on the door of residents making too much noise after hours. Very effective. But if you obeyed the rules, he was a great guy just to talk to. His old car had a carburetor float valve that would occasionally stick and flood the engine (before fuel injectors). He solved the problem by hanging a rock on a string from the air cleaner. When the engine would flood and shake, the rock would swing, bang into the carburetor and free the float valve.
Ingenious.
Pete Rankin ’59 EE
Sounds like a Tech solution for sure, Pete. Wonder whatever happened to that bat? -SB
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I had a favorite prof and I had his name in my memory until just recently (which is not too unusual these day as my memory is getting really bad). The prof I was thinking about was a math instructor. He was a very heavy set guy, he was very relaxed in class and talked to students like they were buddies. My first experience with him was the spring term of my soph year in a calculus class. I had done very poor in the fall and winter term with a D and a C. He cleared all the clouds for me and I got a B in the spring term and nothing but A’s in every math subject from that time on, and I did have some serious classes,i.e. diff. equations, vector analyses, operational math in engineering (Laplace Transforms). He really got me out of the fog to the point that it became a kind of hobby and to this day I do logic and math problems in a monthly magazine and before moving to my present location, I taught math to GED students. That Prof had a great impact on my life and I sure wish my present memory was not so “crappy.”
Len Altobello ’59
Hi, Len. Your memory of him is appreciated even if the name escapes you. Glad he made such a difference. Perhaps one of our other readers will remember who he was. -SB
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Dear Brenda-
My favorite professors were Anton Pintar in chemical engineering and Joe Kirkish in humanities.
Pintar had the most fair grading system. You had three exams, a weekly quiz grade, and the final exam in unit operations. You could mix and match any of the three for your final grade and if you worked hard during the term you could skip the final.
He was also very good at drilling down from first principles to the applications you would use to design equipment.
Joe Kirkish was phenomenal with his movies class as a young kid he really opened my eyes on how to watch a movie.
Really appreciated that the rest of my life.
Kip Decker BSChe ’79
- Hello, Kip. Sounds as if you had a couple teachers to be sure. Work skills and life skills. A good combination. -SB
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I’d like to share my memory of one of my professors.
I attended Tech during the mid 1970s and I had many great professors. Dr. Martha Janners taught my vertebrate development class when I was a sophomore and developmental biology class in my junior year. I recall my grades in her classes weren’t great. She was tough, but fair. But Dr. Janners loved her subject matter, was excited about new research in her field, and shared this with her students. Occasionally, Dr. Janners would affectionately talk about her family. If you weren’t around in the 1970s, you probably don’t know that society was constantly debating whether women could have careers and successfully raise a family. This filled me with doubt. I wanted a career and a family, but I wondered if it would be beneficial for my children. But Dr. Janners was a concrete example of a woman who was a gifted professor who obviously cherished her family. She gave me the courage to follow my dream.
Sincerely,
Barb Racine ’78
- Hi, Barb! Courage to follow our dreams. Glad she helped you chase yours! -SB