We celebrate and honor our graduates who have passed on

In Memoriam : Fall 2019

H. Frank Hicks Jr. ’44, M.E. ’47, Ph.D. ’51, director emeritus, research and engineering, Kodak Apparatus Division, and U.S. Army veteran; Feb. 21, 2019.

Wallace P. Keller ’44, licensed surveyor and civil engineer, figure skater, and U.S. Navy veteran; June 1, 2017.

Edward C. Burns ’46, retired chief engineer, Sandy Hill Corp., active in the pulp and paper industry, and WWII veteran; June 17, 2019.

Mary Ellen Rathbun Kolb ’46, one of the first two matriculating female students at Rensselaer, who, following graduation, worked at Chrysler Research Labs; June 15, 2019.

Edward H. Miller ’46, expert in steam turbines, retired manager, GE, ASME fellow, scout leader, botanist, leader in land conservation, and WWII Navy veteran; March 4, 2019.

Ian Grad ’47, retired vice president and chief mechanical engineer, Syska & Hennessy, and U.S. Navy veteran; July 30, 2019.

Eugene R. Montany ’47, retired vice president, technology and strategic planning, Pratt & Whitney, active on RPI advisory boards, and U.S. Navy veteran; May 10, 2019.

George P. Gross ’48, Ph.D. ’51, retired  research associate who focused on cleaner burning fuels, Exxon Corp., and WWII Navy veteran; Oct. 13, 2018.

George F. Hunt Jr. ’49, retired construction engineer and owner, CM/CS Construction Management, active alumnus, and WWII Marine Corps veteran; May 4, 2019.

Albert A. Caretto ’50, professor emeritus, chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, and competitive sailor; June 28, 2019.

Clarence R. Peters ’50, retired chemical engineer, Procter & Gamble, and WWII Navy veteran; March 27, 2019.

William F. Clarke ’51, retired engineering manager, Boeing Commercial Airplane Co.; July 27, 2017.

Cornelius Schatmeier ’51, retired after a 37-year career as a structural engineer in the Nuclear Energy Division of General Electric, and WWII Army veteran; June 28, 2019.

Raymond W. Kunz ’52, retired manager, development engineering, Clairol Inc., and WWII veteran; April 2, 2019.

Norman H. Meyers ’52, retired president, Davis-Smith Corp., and former researcher with IBM, Autonetics, Beckman Instruments, and SDS; March 15, 2019.

Werner Winkler ’52, M.S. ’53, Ph.D. ’55, retired engineering technology manager, Exxon Research and Engineering Co.; July 25, 2019.

Eugene W. Cairns ’53, retired electronics manager, and U.S. Army Air Corps veteran; April 3, 2019.

Roderic J. Procaccino ’53, retired manager, project engineering, Raytheon Company, and WWII Navy veteran; March 5, 2019.

Robert C. Weston ’53, retired research engineer, Grumman Aerospace Corp.; Jan. 13, 2019.

Robert A. Brown ’54, retired project engineer, with contributions to P&W F100 engines, Pratt & Whitney Aircraft; March 24, 2019.

Daniel H. Kiely ’54, retired chief scientist, Penn State Applied Research Laboratory, a recognized expert in closed-cycle propulsion systems for underwater vehicles; Sept. 28, 2018.

Richard C. Veghte ’54, emeritus professor and former chair, physics, SUNY New Paltz, and engineering college task force chair; May 9, 2019.

John J. Malanify ’55, Ph.D. ’64, retired from Los Alamos National Laboratory, and U.S. Navy veteran; Dec. 6, 2018.

Charles I. McVey ’55, of Williamsburg, Ky., U.S. Navy veteran; Aug. 31, 2018.

Charles H. Parker ’55, retired manager, manufacturing services, IBM Corp., and former vice president, United Way of Greater Tucson; Feb. 5, 2019.

George P. Robinson Jr. ’55, retired engineer, DuPont Chambers Works, co-owner, Video  Station, and Korean War Army veteran;  Dec. 23, 2015.

Parker B. Hornbeck ’56, retired nuclear power plant quality assurance engineer, lifetime member, National Ski Patrol, and U.S. Navy veteran; Nov. 14, 2018.

Kenneth F. Klindtworth ’56, FAIA, retired director of facilities and planning, City University of New York, active in professional organizations; April 16, 2019.

Ray J. Hillenbrand ’57, former chairman, Hillenbrand Industries, ranch owner, civic activist, and U.S. Air Force veteran; May 31, 2019.

James W. Reil ’57, retired president, Vibra-Tech Engineers, prison outreach volunteer, and U.S. Army veteran; April 1, 2019.

William J. Walstead Jr. ’57, retired after a 30-year career at Humble Oil/Exxon, financial planner, singer, and choir director; April 2, 2019.

Donald N. McArthur ’58, retired senior engineer, General Motors Corp. Buick Oldsmobile Cadillac group; June 2019.

Alesandra Gibbons Truckenbrod ’59, former surgical ICU registered nurse, Buffalo General Hospital, and later, nurse practitioner; June 16, 2019.

Gerard A. Lacolla ’60, who oversaw the building of embassies in Cyprus and Singapore for the state department; previously with Chicago Bridge & Iron; June 9, 2019.

Thomas B. McAveeney, M.S. ’60, president, Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation of Boston, and Korean War Army veteran; Feb. 2, 2019.

John M. Tyrrell ’60, retired senior engineer and senior manager, IBM Corporation in Research Triangle Park, N.C.; July 11, 2018.

Wayne K. Chittenden ’62, former information systems manager, Adac Laboratories, and retired management consultant; Feb. 26, 2019.

Norman A. Dresner ’62, retired after a career in defense work with Westinghouse/Northrop Grumman, and founder of Wood Art for Living; Nov. 1, 2018.

Matthew A. McMahon Jr., Ph.D. ’62, retired research fellow, alternative energy and new technology, Texaco Inc., holder of 131 patents; May 9, 2019.

Michael M. Shapiro ’62, M.D., former president, Radiology Associates of Waterbury, Connecticut; August 30, 2017.

James J. Viera ’62, retired chief financial  officer, Cowles Media, and U.S. Navy veteran; Feb. 4, 2019.

Gary L. Burrell, M.S. ’63, aviation pioneer and co-founder of Garmin Ltd., who was a leading innovator of integrated avionics; June 12, 2019.

Francis E. James Jr., M.S. ’66, Ph.D. ’67, award-winning economic theorist, founder and chairman, James Investment Research, and decorated USAF colonel; March 13, 2019.

Paul W. Holsberg, M.S. ’67, retired metallurgist for the U.S. Navy, and musician; Dec. 3, 2018.

Gary L. Steinman ’70, M.E.E. ’72, retired executive director of drug studies, University of California, San Francisco; June 22, 2019.

Jean B. Lapointe ’71, M.S. ’72, organizational development executive for Anheuser-Busch and Chiquita, consultant, and U.S. Navy veteran;  Dec. 28, 2018.

Robin B. Martin ’71, M.S. ’72, former Rensselaer trustee and retired chief executive, Deer River Group, active in the broadcasting industry and philanthropic activities; March 21, 2019.

Steven Barr Renner ’88, M.E. ’89, formerly with Delco, Bausch & Lomb, and CooperVision; March 24, 2014.

Omar Khalil ’11, electrical/electronic engineer and senior test engineer; Jan. 17, 2019.

Andre Gianesini Odu, M.S. ’17, doctoral candidate in applied mathematics, plasma fusion researcher, and former professional basketball player; April 27, 2019.

Michael I. Savic, professor emeritus, electrical, computer, and systems engineering, and director of the Signal and Speech Research Laboratory; June 24, 2019.