Retired Faculty Newsletter - Spring 2001
To: AFIT RETIREES AND FRIENDS
NEWSLETTER – RETIRED AFIT FACULTY – SPRING 2001
SPRING LUNCHEON: The Spring Luncheon will be held at 11:30 on Saturday, April 21 at Field’s Restaurant. Field’s is located in the shopping center at the SW corner of Bellbrook-Fairfield road and Highway 35. Field’s is near the large theater complex on the West side of the center. There should be no problem in getting parking near the door. Note that this is NOT the shopping center at Bellbrook-Fairfield and OLD US 35 (Dayton-Xenia Road)! We have a private room, and will be able to order off the full menu. The menu is American, but quite varied.
BASE ACCESS REMINDER: Those of you needing to renew your decal can do this at the Area B Visitors center, located between Springfield Street and the Springfield Street guard shack, or at Pass and ID, “outside the fence” by AFLC (now AMC) headquarters. When you go to update, several items are essential: (1) A valid ID card, (2) the number from your current sticker AND your current License Plate number, and (3) your current motor vehicle registration or proof of e-check. The base has to ensure compliance with clean-air regulations, and they do this by relying on state registration as proof of testing. Thus, you need to prove current registration from an e-check county, or have the e-check.
SOCIAL FUND: The balance in the social fund remains unchanged since our last gathering, so we don't need to solicit donations at this time.
AFIT FOUNDATION AND ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES The Internet web-site of the AFIT Foundation and Association of Graduates, www.afit-aog.org is up and running. Jim Bridgman is soliciting news from graduates, so those of you who remain in contact with grads are asked to refer them to the web site, and ask them to submit items. The site is intended as a place for all to go for news about AFIT and its people. More and more of our members have adopted the Internet as a means of communication. If you have an e-mail address, please pass it on to Peter Torvik, Jim Bridgman, or Harold Kepler, at:
h.kepler@att.netNEWS FROM AFIT A graduation was recently held at the Nutter center, with 187 MS and 4 PhD degrees being awarded. This figure is above last year (165 and 6) but below 1999 (236 and 18).
On January 19, AFIT accepted delivery of the new $6 million, 29,400 square foot research facility which adjoins the Aero labs at the east end of building 640 (Bane Hall) and occupies the space formerly used for faculty parking. Some things never change! A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on January 23, and was attended by quite a number of retired faculty. The four principal components of the new laboratory complex are: (1) Aerospace Research Facilities, (2) Applied physics Laboratories, (3) an Environmental Science Suite, and (4) a Microelectronics Clean room. The clean room will enable the fabrication of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) as well as micro- and opto-electronic devices and integrated systems, as well as basic research on advanced electronic and photonic materials. Nine laboratories designed for laser physics research will support development of novel laser devices and research in a number of critical areas. The aerodynamics labs provide space for a new low-speed tunnel and for experiments in satellite technology and vibrational dynamics. The suite of environmental science labs will enable research in remediation technologies, environmental sampling, remote sensing, and in microbiology. The new facility will isolate chemical, laser, electrical, and other hazardous laboratory conditions from other areas of the AFIT complex. It will also enable a major rehabilitation of Bane Hall. The large bent of Tau Beta Pi has been moved to a new location at the main entrance to the new research facility. It is displayed very prominently at the South-west corner of the new building.
AFIT received positive accolades from the reaccreditation team that reviewed the Institute last October. The four-member team from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools was very impressed with the faulty and students they met. The AFIT Commandant, Col. George Haritos, reports that, at the exit briefing, “the team was envious of AFIT’s excellent students, faculty, and staff. The team also remarked on the graduate school’s focused military-interest programs, saying, ‘They are a credit to the nation.’”
A significant further expansion of the AFIT campus is planned. The upgrade is to include five new military construction projects: (1) a major renovation of Building 640 (Bane Hall); (2) a new building, to enable consolidation of AFIT and Air Force Research Laboratory library personnel and materials, with space for AFIT CI and International Programs; (3) an activities center, providing faculty and staff with a food court, fitness area and bookstore; (4) a Professional Development Center, to allow AFIT and other WP organizations a facility for sponsoring major scientific and technical conferences, seminars, and meetings on a par with major universities; and (5) a lodging facility for continuing education students and conference attendees. Effective 1 July 2001, the Systems Acquisition School will move from Brooks AFB to Wright-Patterson, and will become a new department, LSB, within the AFIT School of Systems and Logistics. Building 125 will soon be history. The East wing of Building 125 has already been demolished.
ACTIVITIES OF MEMBERS Dave Barr reports that he has become very active in the Masons since retirement, and has added a part-time job to his schedule. Mary and he also make periodic trips to visit a son in England. Bill Elrod remains active with AFIT through serving as advisor to the Tau Beta Pi chapter. He is also continuing his involvement with the presentation of the Honor Seminars for area high school students, and with the Career Explorations Program.
George and Ann John celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a cruise to the southern Caribbean. Matt Kabrisky continues an active consulting program with Steve Rodgers’ company, Qualia, as well as other AFIT activities and his own research. Barbara also has trouble staying retired since hospitals are in desperate need of good nurses. Their grandchild count is now up to two! Dick and Mary Jane Lee report an impending move to a ranch condo in Centerville. The move is scheduled for April.
Bob Fontana continues to enjoy retirement in Texas, in spite of the temperatures. He reports good health, and extensive enjoyment of grandchildren. Marlin Thurston is spending his "retirement" working full time at BioCrystal Ltd., developing equipment used in cancer research. Frankie Myers is keeping busy doing a lot of traveling and sends her "hello" to everyone.
Milt Frankie may be a lot more ready for retirement than we realized, if the rumor is correct that his latest hobby is building bird houses out of coconuts. Harold & Ruth Wright recently celebrated Harold's 80th birthday at a reunion with their two sons at Disneyland in California.
Pete and Pat Torvik have been getting around a bit – several trips to Indiana to admire the first granddaughter (Anna), a quick trip to Austin to attend the wedding of Bob and Karen Calico’s son, a trip to Florida in March and a Caribbean Cruise in early April. And of course Pete went to Minnesota for a successful deer hunt in November. Pat is just finishing her two-year term as president of the Greater Dayton League of Women Voters, but they still managed to boil another twenty gallons of maple sap down into syrup.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO MAKE YOUR RESERVATION FOR APRIL 21