Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation, Inc. 29 Fort Greene Place • , NY 11217 Non-Profit Org. www.bthsalumni.org U.S. Postage PAID Brooklyn, NY Permit No. 1778 Tech Times 2

The Magazine of The Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation

Spring 2009

ing E x c n e l i l a e t n

s c

u

e S

21/21

Reach with me...

Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation, Inc. Principal’s Letter 2 29 Fort Greene Place From the Alumni Foundation 3 Brooklyn, NY 11217 Inside Tech 4 www.bthsalumni.org 25 Years of Supporting Tech 24 Donors’ Honor Roll 26

Two prominent Tech Times 2 Brooklyn Tech alumni explore, in The Magazine of separate The Brooklyn Tech interviews, Alumni Foundation how to drive change in business, science edu- cation and research. Spring 2009 Contents Olympian 6Feat 10The Teacher Tech13 Effect The16 Innovation22 Challenge The climb to their sport’s pinnacle started Not much has changed in 43 years: The Tech Effect: A syndrome in at Tech. But the highest accolade of all Hamlet still dies. which successful professionals seemed just beyond reach. experience an irresistible urge to shift careers and come to Brooklyn Tech.

18In Business Two entrepreneurial Technites started an organization and launched a new alumni-student tradition. From The Randy Principal’s Desk elcome to the first issue ofTech and your Alumni Foundation. We’ll do that Asher WTimes, or T2, the new annual publication of here, too, but our primary goal is broader. the Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation. This magazine will aim to bring you a closer, There are as many reasons and ways to deeper, more personal glimpse into what is remain connected to Brooklyn Tech as there happening inside Brooklyn Tech, and in the he mission of Brooklyn Technical a revision of the majors system. Major pro- training environments found in most are alumni. This magazine is one more. lives of both those who have gone forth from THigh School has always been to inspire and grams have expanded in some areas, declined university settings. The Con Edison En- With so many exciting developments it to excel, and the teachers who helped shape challenge its students to maximize their tal- in others. Iconic courses like Foundry and vironmental Science Lab, the DeMatteis taking place at Tech, and so much important them. We’ll offer a rare chance to sit back and ents for the benefit of society by educating IP have yielded over time to new course se- Architecture & Design Studio, our Digital work yet to be done, your Alumni Founda- reflect with respected thought leaders who them in pre-engineering, the technologies, quences such as the Project Lead The Way’s Animation laboratory and the Ike Heller tion is expanding the frequency and forms of may have been your classmates, as they share the sciences, mathematics and the humani- Design and Drafting for Production, Digital Center for Computer Integrated Manu- its communications to you – the most loyal, their views on important issues of the day. In ties. The goal is to prepare our students for Electronics, and Computer Integrated Man- facturing and Robotics provide exemplary accomplished and dedicated public high these pages, too, you’ll find reminiscences – matriculation to the most competitive col- ufacturing courses. Aerospace Engineering learning environments for our students. school alumni group anywhere. some bittersweet, some humorous, some in- leges and universities and to then become and College Prep (now called “International From Increasingly, those messages will be on- sightful – that may strike a chord with your academic, business and community leaders Arts & Sciences”) have returned anew, and In life, you will meet many people who line – as in our website, www.bthsalumni.org own Tech memories. for the 21st century. our Architecture and Gateway to Medicine know many things but few who have and our new e-newsletter, Technite Online. majors have been updated. (See our school learned to think, problem solve and in- The Above all, Tech Times hopes to remind you In March 2006, I was given the amazing website, www.bths.edu, novate. Our students that you have always been, and continue to opportunity to lead this vital mission by in the guidance sec- learn to ask good ques- be, part of an extraordinary community of returning as principal to Brooklyn Tech, tion, for a complete tions, are given the 21st Alumni Foundation strivers, thinkers and achievers. where I had previously served as chair- view of our new course century tools and skills That community thrives today in the man of the math department. Did I want sequences.) to investigate potential very building that shaped our lives. Brooklyn to accept this enormous challenge at the solutions, and develop Tech, its students and teachers, are reaching largest physical high school in the United Developing partner- their ability to effec- new heights of excellence in countless ways. States? I had been serving as the found- ships with the US Na- tively communicate their It is an exciting time. For a quarter of a centu- ing principal at the High School for Math, val Academy, Florida findings to others. We ry your Alumni Foundation, thanks to your Science & Engineering, a small school that Tech and NASA for the face the profound chal- generosity, has supported Tech’s educational my team and I had built from the ground Aerospace Program; lenge of preparing stu- mission. Together we have made possible a up; we were three months short of our first and CUNY, Mt. Sinai dents not only to excel wide range of educational opportunities, graduation. How could I leave? But this School of Medicine, in higher academics but teacher development programs, and facility was Tech, a school I have loved since my and Sherman-Fairch- to enter a workforce to and curriculum enhancements that could first day there as a teacher years earlier. ild for the Gateway pursue careers which never be possible otherwise. As many Technites can empathize, this is to Medicine Program may not yet even exist! Celebrating our 25th anniversary as an where I belong. have provided our organization, we look with optimism to the students with enriched Technites have re- Michael Achilles Mathew days ahead. Yes, these are challenging times, One of the factors that influenced my experiences that would otherwise not be ceived numerous distinctions through the Weiss ’57 Perry ’58 Mandery ’61 but Sustaining Excellence: The 21/21 Cam- decision to return was the realization that I possible. Brooklyn Tech offers demon- years for their remarkable achievements. paign For Brooklyn Tech, launched at our would be supported by the foremost high strable evidence of the power of the public- We are equally proud of our current stu- Chairman President Chief Executive Officer Gala last fall, is off to an energetic start to- school alumni organization in the nation. private partnership. dents and their ability to carry forth, sus- ward its goal of raising $21 million for Tech’s With the assistance of the 40,000 member- tain and extend this legacy of excellence. (If you didn’t receive the inaugural issue last 21st century. strong Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation, We are also working hard to take maxi- Our students will be the innovators who month, please email [email protected] to But in this environment, everyone needs we are working hard to reconnect our past mum advantage of the unmatched gener- will, as their predecessors have done before be added to the mailing list). Online updates to step forward. More than ever, your support with our present with the common goal of osity, energy and commitment that your them, change the world. are the fastest and most direct way to get Tech will help ensure that today’s young Technites driving the future. Alumni Foundation provides. With its news to you. enjoy the same richness of educational expe- unprecedented support, we have improved Please “Reach With Me,” as we encour- But yet there is something to be said rience that you did. Please demonstrate the In response to a changing global economy, our facilities to support these and other in- age and enable the Technites of tomorrow. for the presence and substance of a printed manual dexterity you perfected at Brooklyn and by using the pioneering educational re- novative instructional initiatives: The In- Thank you for engaging in, and caring volume. Hence this magazine. In our news- Tech by removing the pre-addressed enve- search “Breaking Ranks” as a framework, we structional Teacher Technology Center is about, Brooklyn Technical High School. letters and other communications, we’ll up- lope enclosed within these pages – and your have completed a review and first phase of state-of-the-art and surpasses professional date you on the latest from Brooklyn Tech generosity by returning it with a donation.

2 3 Tech Times 2

i t ’s h a p p e n i n g a t f o r t g r e e n e p l a c e A “Shrek” for 29 tech Animation meets education (future) Raze the The in new digital animation lab $20 million rehab doctor roof modernizes Tech will see With neighbors like acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee, whose you now… 40 Acres and a Mule production company is across the street, some Tech students dream, just as he once did, of making movies. Now, thanks to a new digital animation lab funded in part by the Alumni Foundation, they can. Room 1N4 houses 34 large-screen Macintosh computers built to utilize the most rooklyn Tech students may not always admire the “antique” Gateway to Medicine B expands early pre-med opportunities sophisticated animation software. The lab opened last September for seniors in the aspects of their aging school building, but visiting alumni often Media Communications major under the supervision of instructors Stephanie regard these imperfections with nostalgic amusement. Alumni in Czerniewski and Patricia DePinto to apply what they have learned from previous that camp are advised to return soon for a final glimpse of early Incoming freshmen who aspire to careers in medicine design, photography and film/video courses to create texture and depth in short 20th century artifacts such as porcelain urinals, water-damaged should proceed directly to Tech’s newly expanded Gateway animation films. They expect to enter their works in local and national competitions. ceilings and analog clocks that are accurate only twice a day. Ma- to Medicine program and apply for the school’s only four-year jor infrastructure improvements are in progress at Tech. course major. The building is wrapped in scaffolding, with a $20 million Tech has long offered this statewide effort, funded renovation underway to replace the roof and re-point the building through the State Science and Technology Entry thanks to Department of Education funding. The original student Program (STEP) and administered by the Gateway Institute for bathrooms will be totally renovated; new fire alarm, public ad- Pre-College Education at City College, to expose students from dress, bell and clock systems will be installed and the auditorium underrepresented minority groups to careers in science and machine Shop and stage are undergoing restoration. medicine. New support from Tech, the Alumni Foundation and Enhancements to the learning environment are also proceed- the Sherman-Fairchild Foundation has enabled the program to Heller Center increase its rigor, learning opportunities and enrollment. advances computer integrated ing thanks to the Council and alumni generosity. The program’s new coordinator, Dr. Philip Jeffery, is a In addition to the programs featured on these pages, plans are 2.0 manufacturing, robotics graduate of Harvard Medical School and former Chief of Trau- moving ahead to create a state-of-the-art DNA/Genetics lab and ma Radiology at NYU Medical Center who brings real-world to upgrade nearly 20 additional classrooms perspective to the initiative. Enhancements include a medical with interactive whiteboards and other 21st research library, student research center, advanced anatomy century instructional technology tools. lab and planned programs hosted by Mount Sinai School of The first stage of the Ike Heller ’43 Center for Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Robot- Medicine and the NYU Courant Institute of Mathematics. An ics opens this spring as a state-of-the-art facility for student learning, professional development integrated bio-chemistry curriculum is being developed and and career preparation. piloted at Tech for replication by other The center will provide students and faculty with a high tech, high school learning environ- Gateway to Medicine programs. ment at university and industry standards. There, students in engineering design, computer The program will double in size to integrated manufacturing and robotics will soon be converting computer-assisted designs into meet growing demand. It already three-dimensional plastic or metal prototypes. includes 136 freshmen among the They will also get to design and manufacture parts for actual clients like the U.S. Navy. 317 current participants. Under teacher supervision, they will experience a hands-on, real-world opportunity to learn by doing as the center becomes a viable school-based enterprise servicing the larger community. The center occupies a former machine shop where generations of Technites grew proficient with lathes – many vintage models of which were relocated to other shops to accommodate the room’s new 21st century use. Mr. Heller, recognizing that the U.S. requires more design and manufacturing expertise, has funded the center with an initial donation of $500,000. Mr. Heller, a co-founder of the Remco toy company, is Chairman of the Board of Heller Industrial Parks, Inc., and founder of I. Heller Construction Co., Inc.

4 5 Blue & white … and he sport is physically demanding, yet exquisitely precise. Energy and agility are prerequisites, but victory ultimately resides in the brain. It has been likened to high- speed chess on human legs, even labeled “scientific.” Fencing is the perfect sport for a Technite.

Three remarkable fencers – a brother, denly stricken with a rare and potentially sword in a bag? They wore Tech’s colors as star athletes. a sister and a close friend – graced Tech’s life-threatening illness. As he struggles to re- But Erinn’s enthusiasm was contagious, classrooms and gyms as elite teenage stars cover, his mother slips away, losing her long and Keeth was a “Star Wars” fanatic. Those Then they aimed for Olympic glory. for much of the ’90s, and then dominated battle with cancer. celluloid light-saber duel scenes; his sister’s their sport in the years that followed. From It began to look like an unsatisfying fi- new favorite sport: one and the same, he 2001 on, not a year passed without at least nal chapter would be written for the three thought. An awesome opportunity to be a one of them claiming a national champi- brilliant fencers from Brooklyn. cool preteen. onship. Between them, ’96, “Dad was thinking, ‘college opportu- ’97 and Ivan Lee ’99 would Athletic superstardom was the last thing nity’ and I was thinking ‘Luke Skywalker,’” capture twelve national titles and establish on Thomas Smart’s mind in 1991 when he Keeth recalls. themselves as three of the greatest U.S. ath- spotted the article about a brand new fenc- His reaction to the first lesson, Keeth letes in the sport’s history. ing program for youngsters. The brainchild remembers, “was instantaneous. I fell in But as the 2008 Olympics ap- of African-American Olympic medalist Pe- love with it.” proached, uncertainty hovered above all ter Westbrook, it promised to loosen the they had achieved. Woven into their shared sport from its upper-crust moorings and The next thing Keeth Smart fell in love decade of triumph were less glossy threads open it to inner-city kids. For the young with, two years later, was Brooklyn Tech: of story line: a tantalizing run at Olympic participants, the program offered excitement “I knew right away when I visited.” triumph in 2004 that crumbled in a crush- and challenge. For their parents, dreams of Erinn followed, a year later: “I wanted ing, inexplicable last-second collapse; an a future bonus: how many urban, minor- to be a doctor, Keeth liked it there, and my extended sabbatical by the Smart siblings ity fencing stars came over the transom in father was already on the PTA board.” to absorb the heartbreak of that defeat and college scholar- Around then, the untimely death of their father and guid- ship offices? “You have unfinished business,” Audrey Smart ing spirit, Thomas; and, inevitably, age and Erinn went told a co-worker career crossroads creeping up on them all. first. Ten years old, Ivan reminded Keeth. about her chil- With such profound distractions, could riding the D train dren’s new ath- this trio summon the magic one more time? from Flatbush on Saturdays to the Manhat- letic pastime. Cynthia Lee’s son Ivan, three Could they at last lift the U.S. team onto the tan program, she quickly grew so addicted to years Keeth’s junior, eagerly bought the Olympic medal platform, in a sport long ruled the thrusts and parries that she shut down a whole Smart package: fencing, Brooklyn by disciplined, well-funded European teams? promising junior tennis career. Tech, and eventually a bond with them of And then, just weeks before the sym- Brother Keeth, two years older, held near-familial depth. bolic flame would be lit in Beijing, stun- back at first. There were trumpet lessons on It soon became apparent that the three ning new setbacks: Having just nudged out Saturday mornings and besides, twelve is had chosen the right sport. The Westbrook Ivan for the national championship and a not an age for being different. Everyone else center’s grueling evening and weekend ses- spot on the Olympic team, Keeth Smart, on the block shot hoops in the schoolyard; sions were honing them into serious con- U.S. fencing’s best hope for a medal, is sud- why buck that by walking around with a tenders on the national, then internation-

(Left) Keeth, Erinn and Ivan celebrate at Tech’s 85th Anniversary Gala; Ivan strikes a champion’s pose; Keeth competes in the 2008 Beijing Olympics; and (right) clinches the medal.

6 7 in the sport was under way, individual father’s death.” purpura, or ITP. A rare blood disorder, only his, was the voice Erinn heard. She and collegiate titles falling on them like Keeth did not. Ivan, undeterred, it causes platelet counts to plummet and responded. One imperfect thrust landed raindrops. The Smart siblings, with their chipped away at his friend each Saturday normal clotting to go awry. In rare cases it on her opponent, and Erinn had given the chronological edge on Ivan, were chosen morning. There’s unfinished business, he can be life-threatening. Now Keeth Smart a silver medal. for the 2000 Olympics in , where would press. You want to go out a winner. lay in a hospital bed afflicted by it, hearing they made cameo appearances. Then he’d silently underscore the message doctors say he might never fence again. The next day was Keeth’s turn. No one In 2001, Ivan was named U.S. Olym- by whipping his buddy in a practice match. Keeth figured he’d better win this com- needed remind him again of 2004’s an- pic Committee Male Athlete of the Year, petition quickly and decisively if he wanted guish, but fate did. With the silver medal on winning one of his five national champi- Ask him today, and Keeth says he en- to see Beijing. Ask an expert when you have the line, his opponent was the same Russian onships by edging out Keeth for the crown joyed his inevitable comeback because he a problem, he thought. That would be his who had overtaken him in . by two points. On the medal podium he relaxed: nearly two years away from the mother, Audrey “Liz” Smart, who had been The contest’s climactic moments were leaned down to his friend and whispered, sport had shown him that life could exist battling cancer since 2000. a mirror opposite of 2004. This time, the “This is it. This is as good as it gets.” nicely enough without it. “Pray, and stay around people who are Russians gained a 40-35 advantage, and Keeth’s response: “Dude, this is noth- But there was nothing laid back about positive,” she advised. hope seemed lost. This time, Keeth Smart ing. Wait till you get to the Olympics.” his fencing, Ivan recalls: “I noticed a dif- The advice worked for Keeth, to doc- roared back and tied the score at 44-44. ferent level of intensity in him. He was the tors’ amazement. But not for Mrs. Smart. Then the Russian scored a seemingly win- Hopes were high for the U.S. fencing one up there when the Russians beat us, In May, with Keeth once again rattling his ning touch – but committed an apparent team, stocked with stars like Erinn, Ivan and he wasn’t forgetting it.” saber, Liz Smart succumbed. technical violation. The referees did not and recently number one world-ranked It was like starting over. The rustiness Now the Smart siblings had two parents’ react at first. Keeth, for the 2004 Games in Athens. But was a given, but the fencing federation had memories to honor with an Olympic medal. Erinn, sitting in the audience, did. She not that high. As usual, the Europeans were altered the sport’s rules drastically during leapt to her feet and shouted out the foul. expected to prevail. Keeth’s absence. It was like a baseball play- The crucial women’s match came up the A referee overturned the point. Moments But the men’s team, rallied by Keeth’s er returning after a long layoff to discover evening before Keeth’s, with Erinn slated to later, Keeth scored the winning touch that crisp performances, scampered into the med- the strike zone had changed. close for her team. The coaches implored delivered another silver medal, exorcised al round. With a shot at the bronze, Keeth With Ivan still racking up national ti- Keeth to stay away and conserve energy for the ghost of Athens, and paid the ultimate Back home in New York, Erinn and Keeth return to the facility where their parents first was assigned the match closer’s role – oppo- tles, Keeth was shaping up at journeymen’s his own contest. He ignored them. tribute to Thomas and Audrey Smart. introduced them to fencing, and proudly display the silver they mined in Beijing. site an overpowering Russian, the reigning tournaments. But he was soon punishing Fencing is a cerebral sport, and strange Witnesses say that every last member al, competitive circuit. But Tech was their to be a leader and put my teammates first. That world champion. The determined kid from everyone in sight, poised for the big run as things can happen. Even the best athletes of the team burst into tears. school. Each of the trio in turn plunged en- groomed me for college and beyond.” Brooklyn built a commanding 40-35 lead. 2008 unfolded. Erinn already had clinched occasionally freeze in the heat of a match, thusiastically into its routines and rhythms, School tradition was set aside in Ivan’s And that was as good as it got. The her spot on the women’s Olympic team; their brain-to-body impulses inexplicably Back in New York City, Ivan Lee leapt despite significant differences between the senior year when he became the first fencer Russian recovered and rampaged, scor- now the match for the final position on short circuited. They stand motionless, a to his feet in exultation. “The unfinished sport on the New York City scholastic level to be named athlete of the year. ing 10 of the last 14 points, or touches, to the men’s team came down to Ivan Lee vs. deer caught in the headlights. Erinn had business is finished,” he said. and the national circuit. Keeth by now had moved on to a colle- win by the slenderest margin and send the Keeth Smart. built a virtually insurmountable lead over labeled it “the Keeth, running up the stairs and doing giate fencing career at St. John’s University – fu- Americans home shocked, devastated and The victor, by a nose, was Keeth. There her opponent as the final moments arrived, greatest Olympics for American fencing,” laps in Tech’s cafeteria to warm up, fenced eled by the athletic scholarship his father once empty-handed. would be two, not three, Brooklyn Tech alums and the crowd prepared to erupt in pande- and called Keeth “the leader of this genera- with the school team until senior year, dreamed of, and armed with his own lesson Keeth retreated into a cold shell. wearing the U.S. colors at the Beijing games. monium over a first-ever team medal for tion” in the sport. A web site that tracks when he elected to focus exclusively on from Tech: “On the national team, some ath- Hanging up his sword, he stopped fencing. The Lee-vs.-Smart qualifier had taken the USA women. African-American athletes named him and the wider competitive arena. Erinn led and letes had troubles in going to different countries Teammates reminded him that he had al- place in Algeria. Somewhere on the trip, And then it happened. A deer in the Erinn “the single most inspirational story captained Brooklyn Tech’s fencing team and experiencing new things. But at Tech I had most singlehandedly propelled them into Keeth ate something that didn’t sit well. It headlights — with its feet stuck in quick- and model for Black Americans in sports even as she competed internationally. always experienced people from different cul- medal contention, but he flagellated him- was April – less than four months before sand, thought the mortified team captain. in the 21st century so far.” Near the end of his freshman year, Ivan tures, so I was open to new situations.” self for the climactic defeat. the Beijing opening ceremony. One point shy of victory, Erinn Smart And at Brooklyn Tech, fencing coach approached the coach and requested a tryout. Erinn’s Tech career was frequently punc- “I was completely done with the sport. Like most people, Keeth had never stood motionless on the strip, allowing her Bert Yaged motivates his young athletes Bert Yaged squared off the skinny young kid tuated by globe-hopping journeys to compete I wanted nothing to do with it,” he says. heard of idiopathic thrombocytopenic opponent to score touches at will. just as he has for several years: “I tell them, against two of his best starters, and Ivan beat internationally. She grew adept at imploring Even Ivan and Erinn took time off. Sitting several rows back ‘there are three Olympic athletes from the them both. He, too, became team captain, teachers for extensions on tests and project The following year, Thomas Smart IVAN LEE: in the audience, Keeth school you are now in.’” following Erinn’s model of competing simul- deadlines. “I still have the hammer I made on died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Keeth National Champion 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008 Smart recognized the taneously on the outside – a feat even more the lathe,” she says today with visible pride. and Erinn fell into deeper despair; Erinn, First fencer of African-American descent to win a world championship peril instantly. “No one ll three say they have retired from the Now a New York City police officer A impressive because the two systems required “I loved the hands-on stuff.” too, now thought, “I’ll never fence again.” should experience what I sport for good. But you can still find them him to use different types of sword. Following Keeth’s footsteps had But the three fencers had never fully left ERINN SMART: went through in 2004,” in full fencing dress every Saturday morning, “We knew they were great,” says Yaged. worked just fine for Ivan so far, so he ex- the Westbrook center from which they had National Champion 1998, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008 he thought, “And defi- on West 28th Street, three volunteer coach- “I was just happy to have them jump on tended the streak and joined his buddy at sprouted, volunteering there on Saturday Now a financial adviser at Lord, Abbett & Co. nitely not my sister.” es at the very same child fencing program board with me.” St. John’s. Erinn was now fencing at Bar- mornings in the good years – and now these Keeth Smart rose to his that launched them. Ride up the creaking nard College, and between the three of bad ones – to coach the next generation. Be- KEETH SMART: feet and shouted out, elevator and there they are, transfixing a stu- nyone who has played or watched sports them, they rocked the U.S. fencing world fore long, something stirred Ivan and Erinn National Champion 2002, 2004 “Erinn, relax!” dio full of eager young boys and girls sitting A First American to gain the sport’s number one world ranking knows that they build character as well as ath- with unmatched skill, agility and strength. to lift their swords competitively again, Er- Now an M.B.A. student, Observers who saw it where they once did, showing them how to leticism. As Tech captain, Ivan recalls, “I learned The era of Smart-Smart-Lee dominance inn finding it “therapeutic to deal with my are certain that his, and thrust, parry, dream and win. n

8 9 One For The cdab The Teacher never stops working at it. Books Four decades after last occupying a Brooklyn Tech seat, a visiting alum stops by with an idea: to sit in on The Teacher’s Advanced Placement English class. Jane Austen is to be the day’s topic. Request granted, but with a mock-serious glare that may be for real: “What do you mean, you haven’t read Pride and Prejudice? It is a superbly crafted novel. You must read it.” The students file in, enabling the visitor to stop feeling 17 again and slide gratefully off the hook. The class settles and The Teacher states her ground rules: “Remember that After 43 years as an A.P. class, you are not just reading for fun. It’s not and 6,425 just about what is happening, it’s how it’s happening.” students, she is a certified classic. For the next 44 minutes, a kind of interactive montage Alice Kaufman unfolds in nonlinear but logical manner, skillfully orches- never wanted to be trated to alight on character development, narrative devices, anywhere else. and, for those attentive enough, insight into their own teenage world of tangled relationships and emotions. By the time the bell rings, this roomful of Tech’s brightest English students has indeed learned a lesson. Most of them also leave believing that one of the novel’s central characters will die in the pages ahead. This is not at all true. The Teacher, setting up a point she plans to 1! drive home later that week, has deliberately hoodwinked them into thinking it for now. The Teacher never stops playing the angles. “It is hard,” she explains, “even for senior A.P. students, to understand the craft of a novel – that nothing happens by accident.”

10 11 At Brooklyn Tech, Alice Kaufman is The Teacher. She first walked into the building on a spring day in 1966 as Alice Brady, a randomly-assigned student teacher from St. John’s University already certain of her life calling – courtesy of a father who loved turbulent times that were “challenging,” fore. When that occurs, “It isn’t surprising, literature and a favorite aunt whom she but that made classics like Julius Caesar in- but it is exciting. As long as the students was occasionally allowed to watch teaching stantly relevant. are different, the book is different.” elementary school, in a three-room school- One of those students, prize-winning house in rural Pennsylvania. With all the change she has witnessed journalist and author Cora Daniels ’89, No other adult who was inside Tech over four decades, the students, fundamen- recalls, “I was a painfully shy student who that 1966 day is still there. But she has tally, have not, she says. never raised my hand and whose lips were been a constant, except for a seven-year “The pleasure of teaching Tech stu- glued shut in class, when I was lucky to get leave to raise the three daughters she had dents is that they think school is something Mrs. Kaufman for English. Her constant with her husband, retired history teacher important. They really are as good as ever. encouragement and faith in my talent gave Paul Kaufman. In some ways, better. They may face more me a confidence that I still rely on today. “I never wanted to be anywhere else,” pressures, different problems, than kids did Thanks to her, the quietest girl in class she explains. years back, but now as then, many are from grew up to have a whole lot to say.” She has worked with nine principals working class backgrounds, and aspiring to and eight department chairs. The current be successful. They are strivers who have It is late in the day, many hours after the principal, Randy Asher, says of her: “Sage, aspirations to achieve something.” Jane Austen class, when the visiting alum historian, mother, friend, colleague and But, the visiting alum suggests, things passes the programming office, where The must have changed. Surely the legend- Teacher now works for several periods dai- arily rigorous and achievement-oriented ly. This day is approaching 11 hours old atmosphere and curriculum of the storied but she is there, a student struggling with a 1940s, 1950s and 1960s eras could not be literary criticism assignment sitting at her matched by the modern day? elbow and soaking up every word of advice. The Teacher’s retort is instant: “Things The student is not one of hers – she is sim- haven’t changed. Hamlet still dies.” ply another young person who heard that this was a good place to come for help. In recent decades, she has noted with “I get a lot of that,” The Teacher ex- interest students becoming more college plains with a shrug. “Their friends are in of the Classroom and career-focused than the young rebels my class.” of yore. She does not believe these medical But after 11 hours and 43 years, hasn’t and professional school-bound youngsters she earned the right to put on her coat and wizard – she is the quintessential educator have disengaged – or could disengage – head home? and has helped shape the lives of Technites from English class: “Wherever they go to Another shrug. “The work has to get for decades. Professionalism personified.” school, they have to know how to read with done. It’s how I was raised.” understanding and write with clarity.” “Where else,” The Teacher asks, “could She has taught, by her best estimate, 6,425 Nor have they have grown literature- I get paid to read novels and poetry, and students. Some went on to become prize- averse: “I don’t know if it is a function of discuss them with intelligent people?” n winning journalists and authors; doctors my experience or the kids, but I see more and teachers; one an assistant principal at enthusiasm.” 10 books everyone should read* Tech (Charles Pomaro ’72); one, Lou “The And so in 2009 she guides them Hulk” Ferrigno ’69, a famous actor (“A nice through the classics: Antigone, Hamlet, 1984 – Orwell young man; very quiet and unassuming.”) Crime and Punishment, Jude The Obscure, Fahrenheit 451 – Bradbury Lord of the Flies – Golding Some have impressed her with their preco- A Doll’s House. Julius Caesar – Shakespeare cious intelligence; others have performed The same books ending the same way, Macbeth– Shakespeare feats that resulted in extensive detention. the same student profile, the same build- Hamlet – Shakespeare She has coached the debate team, and ing – for all these years? How does this still Crime and Punishment – Dostoevsky seen its graduates go on to positions of work? Catch 22 – Heller leadership in various professions. She rode Every so often, it so happens, a student Pride and Prejudice – Austen the dizzying waves of the 1960s and 1970s, will make her day. He or she will offer an Cry, The Beloved Country – Paton honing her teaching skills in exciting and observation that she hasn’t considered be- *According to Alice Kaufman

12 13 Tech attracts a new generation of Estuardo Rodas Roxane Previty The oldest functioning technology in Brooklyn A high-flying career in finance eventually led talented, successful businesspeople Tech is a 1932 vintage lathe bearing fingerprints Philadelphia-born, Stanford and Harvard Busi- of five generations of Technites. The newest is ness School-degreed Roxane Previty to a quiet and scientists to its faculty a pair of three-axis computer-controlled milling office. Her job: to sit in it alone every day, ana- machines. Keeping them and thousands of other lyzing corporate financial reports as eager inves- machines, tools and parts running smoothly in tors awaited her word on whether to buy or sell. Tech’s 14 labs and more than 20 shops is the “There has to be more to life,” she told herself. job of Estuardo Rodas, whose official title of “ma- Ms. Previty took some time off to reflect, and n Brooklyn Tech’s early days, many of the most chinist” does not begin to describe his role. became a Brooklyn Tech math teacher in Spring I He is Tech’s unofficial Dean of Machines, and 2008 via a city program created to attract pro- popular teachers were second-career educators who MacRae Maxfield also helps plan such projects as the Ike Heller Randell Barclay fessionals like her to teaching in New York City Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Robotics public schools. brought a wealth of insight from years in business In two decades-plus as an industrial chemist, Center, and coaches the student robotics team. Physics teaching is being reinvented at Brook- or industry into the classroom. MacRae Maxfield averaged one patent a year Mr. Rodas came to Tech in 2007, many years lyn Tech under the supervision of Assistant Prin- THE previty FILE: and authored 31 academic articles. His résumé after observing, as a teenager, how math and cipal Randell Barclay, who turned to education Those days are back. In today’s rapidly-changing bursts with such phrases as “geometric optics science were taught in his Brooklyn high school seven years ago after multiple careers at promi- Life before Brooklyn Tech: Corporate finance of- for LED devices” and “high-strength plastics and thinking, “There must be a better way.” nent global corporations. ficer and equities analyst. technology environment, educators who have suc- nanotechnology,” usually preceded by the words In 2001, Mr. Barclay was directing forestry Résumé-topper: Chief Financial Officer of Mon- ceeded in the professions to which their young stu- “developed” or “invented.” THE RODAS FILE: investments for one of those companies. Watch- ster, Inc., the prominent Internet employment ad- After working with major corporations and ing young seedlings grow and yield return on in- vertising site. dents aspire are more valuable than ever. an academic team that would eventually win a Life before Brooklyn Tech: Conceived and fab- vestment, he thought replicating the experience How it happened: After “questioning the value Nobel Prize; inventing technologies for recharge- ricated sophisticated devices for scientists and with human beings might be more meaningful. of the work I was doing,” she enrolled in the New Since Randy Asher became principal, nearly able batteries, high-end flat screen TV and engineers at Columbia University, Carnegie Mellon, He considered teaching college until a profes- York City Teaching Fellows program that turns mid- avionics displays; and developing commercial and elsewhere. sor told him, “We can find lots of you to teach career professionals into new teachers. Principal 40% of his new hires have come from other careers, uses for high-temperature superconductors and How it happened: Father-in-law and alum Jean finance. You can bring real value in the public Randy Asher plucked her résumé from the pile and, mostly in math and the sciences. high-strength polymers, Dr. Maxfield searched Miele ’57, “has not stopped talking about Brook- schools as a science educator.” she says, “I ran over for the interview.” for something really interesting to do. He now lyn Tech from the day I met him, and always said I Biggest surprise: Completing her graduate stud- “Tech is very fortunate to have attracted these talent- teaches chemistry at Tech. would love it here…I finally listened to him.” THE BARCLAY FILE: ies in education at night while preparing the next Résumé-topper: Contributed to the prototype for day’s Tech classes. ed professionals from successful careers in business and The Maxfield File: the soil-probing component of NASA’s Mars Ex- Life before Brooklyn Tech:, NYU, London Univer- Greatest satisfaction: Every time she sees a stu- the sciences,” he says. “They bring invaluable experience plorer space vehicle. He now takes students to see sity and Columbia; finance, engineering and bank- dent “get” what she is teaching. Life before Brooklyn Tech: Marines, Johns Hop- it in the Museum of Natural History. ing positions at General Electric, UBS, Exxon and Biggest surprise: “How much the kids at Brooklyn and insights from industry to the classroom as they join kins University, University of Pennsylvania, Allied Greatest satisfaction: “The involvement with Chemical Bank. Tech actually like math.” Signal, Honeywell, Corning kids. I work with a very motivated and talented Résumé-topper: Developed a timber investment Goal: “I’m not on a mission to save the world here. and further enhance our outstanding faculty.” Résumé-topper: Developed technology for the group of students.” business for GE. I’m doing this because I like it, and I hope eventu- “And,” he adds, “they model a career path. That rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that drive to- Noteworthy achievement: Leading the robotics How it happened: Mr. Barclay traded his forestry ally I will have something to offer. It’s a long road to day’s portable, personal electronic devices. team to citywide honors and the nationals in his job for the Columbia Teachers College Master’s become a teacher. I feel very humble.” is very powerful.” How it happened: Asked to relocate in a corpo- first year as coach. program. Then came teaching jobs in The Bronx, Personal observation: “I want to have every stu- rate reorganization, he declined and reflected on Biggest surprise: “Adjusting to the mentality of a at CCNY High School for Math, Science and Engi- dent excited about going further. The ultimate de- Many of them were identified, courted and pre- his affinity for training researchers. He became a community of 16- and 17-year-olds.” neering, and finally an administrative role at Tech feat of any teacher is to convince someone not to teacher, coming to Tech in 2006 because “I want- Goal: Getting the credentials to become a certified to modernize the physics and engineering, career study something.” pared for their new roles by Principal Asher for ed to use more of my advanced background.” teacher. and technical education curricula. months or years before they arrived. And while each Biggest surprise: “The amount of work. Like ev- Personal observation “Tech is a place of boundless Biggest surprise: Scale. “We have 1,200 students eryone in the private sector, I had the illusion that opportunities. I don’t know any other high school that taking physics. Everything about Tech is bigger.” life story is personally unique, they are all now at Tech teachers worked intensely until 3 p.m. and then has this much infrastructure, space and talent.” Noteworthy achievement: With Alumni Founda- had the day free. Here, there is no moment of put- tion and Department of Education funding, revolu- for the same reason: they want to leave more impact ting your feet up. These kids give you a millisecond tionizing physics lab by equipping everyone with a to figure out what to do.” laptop to take measurements – a technique found on the world than they could in any other profession. Greatest satisfaction: “You get student feedback to improve learning dramatically. Before each of the four individuals featured on many, many times a day; it is very gratifying and Goal: “Getting each and every student to succeed, enjoyable.” not just the top students.” these pages ever stood up in front of students, they Goal: “No kids falling between the cracks. I would Personal observation: “We are trying different like to see 100% of them come out with everything techniques to improve student – and teacher – stood out in another career. What they learned the I can provide.” performance. The kids are as good as they were 20 hard way, over many years, is part of their lesson Personal observation: “More students should years ago. We just have to approach them in the consider a career in industrial science – making ways they think today.” plan every day. things. They should consider the opportunities opening up in fields like alternative energy sources and alternative transportation.” 14 15 Herbert L. Henkel ’66 will be the Class of 2009’s Commencement Day speaker

Q. You’ve often said that generating a great communication, for talk, but also for en- Q. That means you focus for now on inno- Herb Henkel new idea or product is the easy part of inno- tertainment. And it’s not a far stretch to vations more likely to pay off sooner rather vation in business. What’s the hard part? also use it for security. than far down the road? A. Most companies come at it from a We own Schlage Locks, a leader. The A. Exactly. product-centric approach. But it’s not business is keys turning a mechanical lock. really about saying, “Wow, isn’t this a great But it is turning into one of biometrics – Q. It sounds like innovation is a power- idea? Now let’s go figure out how we can with electronic access controls. The group ful force to be managed, but one that can use it.” It is much more about going to your that makes the key cannot do the biomet- transform companies and markets. markets and seeing what kinds of problems rics, and generally vice versa. How do you A. With temperature-controlled product people are having, and what you can do to transition from one skill set to the next transportation [refrigerated trucked goods] meet those problems. generation of security? That’s the leadership around the world, when we had a means of Talking With…. The next stage is to take the good ideas challenge. It isn’t simple. And while you can keeping food at a particular temperature, and narrow them down, prioritize, because do hand reading, facial recognition, retina we extended its shelf life. Then we found R&D resources are finite. You have to be ruth- scanning, what level of customer participa- you could also enhance the quality, and by The Innovation Driver less and know how early on to kill something tion will you get? Some people are not com- exposure to different types of technologies, -- every dollar spent on a project that you will fortable with you involving their eyes; some also improve the safety, so people didn’t Good ideas aren’t enough. eventually stop is a dollar not spent on one are uncomfortable about their fingerprints. have to worry about if their spinach had that will succeed. You have to pull together the So you have to deal with what the customer e-coli on it. We have gone from tempera- Smart organizations manage and test them capabilities of the whole organization in this, group is. ture control to shelf-life extension, to food from the salespeople who have customer inti- And someone in the company has to quality and safety. That, to me, is the kind to identify the true winners. macy to those who will do the manufacturing. say, “What is going to work?” Someone of ongoing evolution that I think good, in- It has to meet the customer’s requirements, has to say, “What would it cost to build novative companies accomplish. and it has to come out at a price point that it, compared to how much we think the makes it an attractive proposition. If we can’t customer is able to pay for it?” Q. What’s ahead for Ingersoll Rand? You do that, we probably shouldn’t be doing it. have shed and acquired many businesses in Toll gates and check points all along the way. Q. What happens to innovation in a down recent years. Will that continue? economy like today’s? A. I think we have the core businesses we Q. And that’s just for the domestic market. A. Customers are even more dependent want to be in. I think you’ll see us broaden- A. Globally, you may need multiple an- on their suppliers to come up with more ing the solution base, both geographically swers to the same problem. You cannot cost-effective, better quality solutions. The as well as technology-wise. just export the U.S. solution. We have put challenge is to meet those needs while ad- together innovation teams on a regional dressing your reductions in volume and the Q. Are there countries where you see oppor- basis because of this. We have hundreds resulting pressure on the cost base. If you tunity to grow? of them. When a group in the U.S. comes have to reduce your overhead structure, A. In the U.S., about half of all the food up with an idea, we have them meet with how much will that affect your innovation, items we consume are temperature-con- ne of the nation’s most senior Fortune 500 company teams from different parts of the world and your engineering, your marketing? trolled at some point in their cycle. In In- CEOs developed his leadership skills as Captain of the SOS at ask, “So, what do you think?” dia and , it is less than one percent. O Q. So what does a company do? Brooklyn Tech. Herbert Henkel ’66 is widely credited with Q. What role does senior leadership play in A. We saw the same thing after September Q. And the long-term future is still some- the innovation process? 11, the same issues. I remember telling our thing to look forward to? converting the Ingersoll Rand Company from an old-economy A. How do you take an organization that shareholders, we were going to continue to A. I think the long term continues to be focuses on what it makes today, and turn accelerate R&D in 2002, and spend an ad- one of providing innovation to improve the industrial stalwart into a modern, technology-focused organization. the focus into what it will be making three, ditional $100 million in what could have quality of life for consumers as well as com- five, ten years from now? Most [major] been profit, on R&D. But we would be see- panies, and doing that on a global basis. As honoree at the recent Brooklyn Technical High School 85th ideas do not come from tinkering with the ing $300 million in revenue over the follow- There have been cycles; there always will Anniversary Gala, Mr. Henkel spoke about one of his great adjacent spaces and tweaking or changing ing two years, as a result. That is a very, very be cycles. The job of management is to lead a product to the next size up. big return. You have to explain yourself, get through them and not lose sight of the future passions – Tech, its teachers and its students. Around that time, he Twenty years ago, AT&T just wanted your board comfortable with balancing the goal. We may see failures of banks, of compa- 2 to be your telephone. Today, they also like near term with the long-term prospects. nies, but what will come of that is newer and sat down with T to discuss another of his passions – innovation. the idea of using that phone not only for stronger enterprises to build upon. n 16 17 They Mean Business Two students thought Tech could

incubate young entrepreneurs. n barely more than one hyperactive year, the two So they wrote a plan… Isuit-clad young men riding to the top at Brooklyn Tech (opposite page) formed and franchised a student entrepre- neurship organization, launched and grew two businesses while acquiring a third and attracted venture capital for their burgeoning empire – earning awards and media at- tention along the way. What really makes this pair unusual is that they achieved all that while still students at Brooklyn Tech. Meet entrepreneurs extraordinaire Awad Sayeed and Kyle Wong – founders of the Young Entrepreneur Associa- tion (YEA), one of Tech’s newest and most succesful student organizations and now expanding to other high schools; co- creators (with the Alumni Foundation) of Brooklyn Tech Career Day; young operators of an Internet college admis- sions business and a T-shirt and apparel line that sparked a Tech fashion fad; and Class of 2008 graduates. “These,” says YEA faculty adviser Isaiah Pratt, “are kids acting like adults. What they have done is very profound.” Behind many a successful business partnership lies an unlikely story, and Awad’s and Kyle’s starts on the floor of the Brooklyn Tech gym. 2006 was a challenging year for the junior varsity basket- Kyle Wong (left) and Awad Sayeed, ball team, but it brought sophomore teammates Awad Sayeed Class of 2008, launched a student club, several and Kyle Wong together in friendship. Two realizations hit them early on: no dazzling careers in the NBA awaited, and businesses and a new Tech institution they had more in common than a love of sports. As Awad put it, “If you’re not going to be the next Michael Jordan, you look for something where you can be the next Jordan.” That turned out to be entrepreneurship. Both young men had grown up with business and selling in the fam- ily backdrop; each had sold Pokemon cards and house- hold knickknacks as a child. Soon this growing friendship solidified around a goal: to try their hands at business, and engage fellow students along the way. After scheming up – and re- jecting – a string of ideas that were, well, sophomoric – hey, let’s start an international online candy store! – they reached higher. Noticing the plaques of successful corporate execu-

18 19 tives hanging in the first floor Alumni Hall of Fame, they ahead. Sure, everyone was pouring energy into college and Kyle Wong production. legeStat. They remain a team, collaborating bi-coastally thought, Tech somehow incubates business leaders just by applications, but what was the ultimate goal? Getting a “They really believed that if they had a vision, they on their widening ventures, supporting and advising teaching science and technology. What might happen if stu- head start now on exploring career opportunities might could make it happen,” says Dr. Mandery. “And in fact it YEA at Tech while guiding chapter launches at other dents could actually learn about business, too? be a useful project. did. You don’t see that level of leadership and commitment high schools. Last semester they sponsored and funded They devised an experiment to find out: Let’s form a club Tech’s future entrepreneurs needed mentoring, advice in young people too often. Career Day could not have hap- an entrepreneurship competition at Tech’s YEA; proceeds for students to discover how it feels to start and run a business. and connections. Awad approached Mathew Mandery, Chief pened without YEA.” from the event flowed to Then they got to work. Executive Officer of the Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation Before senior year an organization that sup- “Most kids have their plans written down on a pad and former Tech principal. Could the Alumni Foundation, ended, the two young men “Now is the best time to start a ports entrepreneurship in somewhere,” recalls Marc Williams, coordinator of student with all its successful members, somehow help? would absorb another stu- developing countries. activities at Tech. “These two came in with spreadsheets.” “I didn’t even know what I was asking for,” Awad dent’s fashion design line and business. Less to lose, more to gain, Looking back on their now admits. launch a school apparel busi- Brooklyn Tech days, both Twenty students turned out for the first YEA Dr. Mandery committed the Alumni Foundation’s ness, win a citywide Junior less competition.” young men deservedly take meeting. The boys were juiced. Half that support, believing the new club embodied Tech’s Achievement top prize, and satisfaction in what they showed for the second. Spirits sank. get written up glowingly in created. Says Kyle, “Our Like seasoned professionals, they the Daily News. But for now, the senior sprint of college goal was not to turn all our members into entrepreneurs, dug deeper into their creative well. essays, applications and campus visits was accelerating. but to spark entrepreneurial thinking, which improves Inspiration struck. Investing $500 Observing uncertainty, stress, and competiveness engulf critical thinking, problem solving, creativity and organi- of their own money, they conceived everyone they knew, they thought, There has to be a busi- zational skills.” a fashion-forward, Brooklyn Tech- ness opportunity in this. Today’s challenging branded T-shirt emblazoned with There now is. Founded economic climate is no rea- the slogan, “YEA baby!” They and run by Awad and Kyle son to slack off or rethink made a hundred for five dollars last year, MyCollegeStat is career options, they each in- each. Hauling the lot into an interactive, visitor-driven sist emphatically. Asked to school, they sold them to web site that gathers and what extent it has led him 100 of their friends shares certain school and ap- to reconsider his passion for for $10 apiece – plicant data that are critical to business, Kyle says it simply and persuaded the college-bound set. With hasn’t. them all to wear seed money raised and pro- “Once you step out the shirt to school toypes developed, a full-time into the real world,” he adds, on the same day. programmer in the employ of “you realize it is tougher. But When the Messrs. Sayeed and Wong is Tech prepared us for it.” kids obliged, a now busily building the site. Awad elaborates: “Now fashion fad was MyCollegeStat will soon be is the best time to start a born – fueled by a helping high school students business. Less to lose, more carefully crafted shortage. Many of the identify potential college to gain, less competition.” 4,300 Technites not wearing a YEA shirt that matches, and predicting their Less to lose. More to day wished they were. But the shrewd entrepreneurs chances for admission. gain. It’s been the guiding informed inquiring customers that supply was exhausted, entrepreneurial spirit. spirit of entrepreneurship and they sat back to watch buzz – and demand – build. Homecoming 2007 would become Awad (Baruch College) for generations before them, Before long, word got out that a new shipment was coming – YEA’s coming-out event: its members created and staffed and Kyle (Stanford Univer- and these two Brooklyn Tech for limited sale only at the next YEA meeting. an exhibit booth to meet and network with alumni. The sity) found their colleges stars are carrying the flame That day, the meeting room was packed to standing alums responded enthusiastically. Not a bad start, Awad without waiting for MyCol- for a new generation. n capacity. YEA was off and running. and Kyle thought. Where does this go now? But it wasn’t about filling the seats, Kyle and Awad knew; it was about filling them with energetic and com- Career Day at Brooklyn Tech was their answer. With mitted people. To weed out shirkers and the non-serious, school administrators and the Alumni Foundation, they spent the club’s leaders required potential new members to sub- summer 2007 developing detailed plans for a first-ever event mit a résumé, application and cover letter. Soon, with a where alumni would share career insights with students. Passing the torch (above): Before grad- solid cadre of future entrepreneurs on board, a string of YEA Career Day is a serious undertaking. It spills over five uating, YEA’s founders made sure a activities to teach and experience entrepreneurship ensued. floors of the building, as more than a hundred alumni gather team was ready to carry on their work. Among them: a successful student-faculty basketball game on a winter Saturday to tell several hundred students about (Right): Career Day is now an annual to benefit autism. their professions, jobs and industries. Modeled after a college event. (Far right): T-shirts became a hot fair, it offers students one-on-one access to alums. Planning fashion when YEA’s founders applied This felt like a good start, but as senior year approached and preparing for the event occupies countless man-hours of the rules of supply and demand. Awad and Kyle were now wondering what they – and Alumni Foundation and school personnel time. their classmates – would do with the lifetimes that lay But from the start, Career Day was an Awad Sayeed

20 21 Irwin Shapiro Q. You possess quite the curriculum vi- I was in love with an English teacher, Sylvia said to myself, “This is crazy.” Around that tae. After Brooklyn Tech: stops at Cornell, Feldschuh. Thirty-one years later, I tracked time, I was offered the directorship of the Harvard, and MIT. You somehow skipped her down and she became a good friend of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astro- Stanford and Princeton? our family until her death. And while there physics, and I thought, “Maybe I can do A. Well, I lectured there. were so many bright students, I do remem- something in that position to improve sci- ber in physics – this is probably a bad thing ence curricula.” Q. Is it true that you built the first telescope to say – before every test, many kids walked you ever saw, and you made it at Tech? into the room trying to get a seat near me. Q. And you certainly did. But just what A. Actually, I made it at home in Far Rock- Looking over a shoulder was alas not un- isn’t right with science education? away in my attic, over the summer. All my heard of. A. There are many parts. At the teacher Talking With…. friends were going to the beach, but I was level – elementary school teachers didn’t up there in 95, 98 degree heat, grinding and Q. Anything you would change if you could? learn science in school; they learned peda- polishing the mirror. I did not fit in with A. I did something I feel as guilty about to- gogy. It is a vicious cycle: they can’t teach The Star Physicist the kids in the neighborhood. [Chuckles.] I day as I did 63 years ago. We had a physics what they didn’t learn. brought it to Tech, on top of a car, to com- teacher who was bald. Several of my friends “We have fundamental puzzles that no one understands. pete in a hobby show. It was the one time and I decided we’d get him a bottle of hair Q. What else is wrong? in four years someone drove me in, and the tonic as a Christmas present. We thought that A. Much more. Teachers get paid relatively We must probe deeper.” only time I was late. was very funny. He unwrapped it in class and little. And the school boards don’t know when he saw what it was, he was devastated. much about science. It’s very hard to im- Q. Was it worth the effort? That image of his face is with me today. It prove any big system with so many inde- A. I won first prize. Ten dollars. was funny for us, but not for him. pendent parts.

Q. Did your road to a Q. Did Tech prepare you well for the rigors Q. What is a better way to approach sci- science career start in of an Ivy League college? ence teaching? high school, or later? A. At Cornell’s freshman orientation, the A. Most kids go through the school system A. Definitely at Tech. dean said to us, “Those of you who went and don’t know the difference between how When I took the en- to public high schools, if you work really nature behaves, and the models we develop trance exam, I had no hard, will catch up to your private school to “explain” or predict such behavior. If I idea what I wanted to classmates in two years.” That made me let go of an object, it drops to the floor; I do. I liked science, bristle. I thought I’d had a much better ask students why it drops and they all say, but I didn’t think education in Brooklyn Tech than anyone “because of gravity.” And I say, “Wrong. It in terms of a in private school. I took Cornell’s science drops because it drops. That’s just the way profession. courses, and largely coasted. I spent too nature behaves. Gravity is a construct of the I remember much time playing ping pong. human mind.” I like to teach by using ex- my first day amples like that. very clearly: Q. And it was physics from the start for you? By the way, I think the last couple All these A. I took math, physics, and chemistry. But of years have seen impressive advances at bright kids I soon decided chemistry was not for me. I Brooklyn Tech – innovative, good curri- who were could not stand the smells. And to gradu- cula and superb equipment, more modern interested in ate as a physics major, you had to take a than much at Harvard. science, whereas in Far Rockaway I was very time-consuming lab course that I pre- the oddball! Here at Tech, I was odd in the ferred to avoid. So I graduated as a math Q. Do you worry that America’s days of dom- sense that I didn’t know as much as many major. But I applied to graduate school in inance in innovation and technology could of the other kids. They were way ahead of physics. be waning? me. [Laughs.] They were so bright, and I A. Americans don’t have a monopoly on loved it. Q. In addition to your work in physics, you brains; there are smart people in other rwin Shapiro ’47 is a supernova in the constellation of American astrophysicists. His were an outspoken and effective advocate for countries. We must move fast and smart; Iresearch utilized radio and radar to explore from the farthest reaches of the universe to the Was your Tech life entirely studying and reforming science education in elementary other countries are fast catching up and Q. inner depths of the earth. As head of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics for riding trains to and from Rockaway? and high school. Where did that originate? may otherwise soon surpass us. I tried out for the golf team, but they My daughter came home from high 21 years, he pursued another passion: improving science education in U.S. schools. That effort A. A. played way out in Dyker Heights. I got school back in the early 1980s with a chem- Q. Speaking of innovation, you have dedi- won acclaim, but he is perhaps best known for conceiving and conducting extensive tests of home after my bedtime, so that ended golf istry book two inches thick, filled with cated a significant portion of your career to Einstein’s theory of general relativity, in the process discovering an effect now known to for me. But I was a good ping pong player, complicated, advanced concepts. There testing Einstein’s great theory of general rela- physicists everywhere as the Shapiro Time Delay. number one on the team; I even earned a was no way she could understand them. tivity. To put it naively, why? Do you think “T.” That was my athletic career at Tech. The only way she, and the other students, he might be wrong? Every so often, he boards an Amtrak train in Boston to visit Brooklyn Tech. On the could pass was to memorize and of course A. The theory of general relativity is an most recent occasion, he sat down with T2 to reminisce and reflect. Q. What Tech memories stand out? immediately forget. They couldn’t possi- incredibly innovative, basic and beautiful A. I had some very good math teachers. And bly come away with any understanding. I theory that has withstood all tests so far. Is Continued on page 28 22 23 MILESTONES

he Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation, for a quarter century, has brought Tech graduates T 1998 together to enhance and support excellence at the school that shaped their lives. Its first grant enabled First $10 million campaign is launched with a $1 million gift the teachers to buy curtains for their lunch room; one of its most recent is now creating a sophisticated from Leonard Riggio ’58, Chairman of Barnes & Noble. Computer Integrated Manufacturing lab unlike anything in a New York City public high school. From simple beginnings to a robust program of curriculum and facilities enhancement, teacher development and student enrichment beyond the classroom, your Alumni Foundation is making a difference. Amazingly, it is led today by the same three Tech alumni – two of whom are double alums (they returned and served as top administrators) – who founded the organization in 1984. 1998 Birth of CARETECH, the initiative made possible by the campaign, to ensure Brooklyn Tech’s position of preeminence by supporting professional, curriculum and program development, and the creation of partnerships with the wider community. TEN high points of the first 25 years of accomplishment:

1999 Start of a still-evolving partnership between Brooklyn Tech and Con Edison, which has since grown to include internships, creation of an environmental sciences lab, and more.

1984 Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation is born; first homecoming takes place. 2000 The Charles B. Wang ’62 Athletic Field is dedicated, giving Brooklyn Tech its first “home field.” 1986 First appeal to alumni raises $4,987 to support school programs.

2007 $10 million campaign concludes successfully with dedication of the state-of-the-art Denise Sobel and Norm Keller ’54 Instructional Technology Teacher Center. 1989 More than 1,200 alumni join in letter-writing campaign to protest proposed city budget cuts to education. It is the first time Brooklyn Tech alumni unite as a community to rally behind their alma mater.

1997 The first floor takes a central role in honoring Tech’s heritage and alumni, with creation of an Alumni Hall of Fame and restoration of the historic lobby mural, 2008 Sustaining Excellence: The 21/21 Campaign For Brooklyn Tech, to raise $21 million for Brooklyn The History of Mankind by Maxwell Starr, funded by the Alumni Foundation. Tech’s 21st century, is launched at the 85th Anniversary Gala at the New York Hilton.

... 24 25 1,000,000+ Charles B. Wang Foundation, Inc. Deutsche Bank* Mark Arzoomanian ’83 Thomas E. Cuhaj ’74 Fred A. Grauman ’47 Edward T. LaGrassa ’65* Isaac Heller ’43* Chase Bank Robert C. Di Chiara ’63 William Assiff ’52* George S. Cuhaj ’77 Kenneth Greenberg Abraham L. Landis ’47 Norman K. Keller ’54* Joseph M. Colucci ’54* Edward Diamond ’63 Atlantic Bank of New York Joseph Cuzzocrea,, Sr. Kenneth D. Greene ’58 Langenscheidt Publishing Group* Leonard Riggio ’58* Computer Associates International, Inc. James Dimon Andrew W. Au ’66 Gen. James E. Dalton ’49 Michael Greenstein ’65* Donald Lanier ’55 Leandro Rizzuto ’56* Con Edison-Brooklyn Duggal Color Projects, Inc. Joseph F. Azara, Jr. ’64 Clifford J. Daly ’53 Kenneth A. Griffin ’51 Parkin Lee ’70* Charles B. Wang ’62 Cowles Media Foundation Eastern Metalworks, Inc.* Salvatore J. Azzaro ’43 Vincent R. Damiano ’55 Louis Gross ’48 Chester Lee ’66* William A. Davis, Jr. ’59* Len Edelstein ’55* David Bady ’36 William J. D’Antonio ’53 Warren Gutheil ’61 Gerald A. Lessells ’44 250,000-999,999 John di Domenico ’69* El Paso Energy Foundation Rudolph Bahr, Jr. ’41 Victor J. Dasaro DVM ’72 David S. Hacker ’43 Oscar A. Levi ’44 James Fantaci ’64* Murray Dropkin ’62* Domenick J. Esposito ’65 Jack S. Bakunin ’60 Robert Davey ’58 Marshall Haimson ’73 Jonathan V. Levin ’44 Erik Klokholm ’40* The Durst Organization* Murray Farash ’52 Anthony R. Baldomir ’58* Gordon Davidson ’51 Mark Hauerstock ’65 Stephen A. Levine ’59* Floyd Warkol ’65* GameStop Corporation* Al Ferrara Anthony J. Balsamo ’56 Horace H. Davis ’84* Robert J. Heilen ’53 Sidney Levitsky ’53 Jeffrey L. Goldberg ’69* Keith Forman ’76* Baltimore Community Foundation* Sheldon W. Dean, Jr. ’53 Hellenic American Bankers Isaac A. Lewin ’70 100,000-249,999 Goldman Sachs* Gateway Institute for Pre-College Joseph P. Barbieri ’41 Nicholas J. DeCapua ’60 Association, Inc. George T. Lewis, Jr. ’45 Anonymous* Domingo Gonzalez ’72* Education* Kenneth E. Batcher ’53* Michael DeFazio ’63 Robert V. Henning ’34 Robert B. Liebowitz ’84 John A. Catsimatidis ’66* George Graf ’70 Bernard R. Gifford ’61* John L. Battaglino Thomas V. Deffina ’59 Gordon H. Hensley ’47* Raymond M. Loew ’58 Con Edison* Fred M. Grafton ’44* Robert Gresl ’46* Robert B. Bell ’57* Bern E. Deichmann ’54* Eliot Hess ’64 Logicon Charles A. DeBenedittis ’48* Heritage Mechanical Services, Inc.* Haights Cross Operating Belmet Products, Inc. Al D’Elia ’67 Steven Heymsfield ’62* Eugene E. Lopata ’44 Jeffrey M. Haitkin ’62* Eric Kaltman ’60* Company* Robert W. Berger ’88 Vincent DeLuca ’63 Gerard Hirschhorn ’46* Glenn Y. Louie* Herbert L. Henkel ’66* Steven H. Kaplan ’63 William L. Haines Klaus Bergman ’49 Daniel DeMatteo Lester A. Hoel ’52 Derek I. Lowenstein ’60 Victor Insetta ’57* Elizabeth Korevaar* Steven A. Hallem ’72 David Berman ’58 Robert Dendy ’56 Bruce L. Hollander ’56 Edward R. Lubitz ’66 Alfred Lerner ’51 Richard E. LaMotta ’60 William H. Henry ’57 Leonard Berner Joseph DeRienzo ’39* Honeywell International Foundation Jerome D. Luntz ’41 Richard Mack Franklin F. Lee ’77* The Jay Chiat Foundation, Inc. David J. Bershad ’57 Joseph D’Esposito* K. Steven S. Horlitz ’64 Allan W. Lyons ’49 Steven C. Mack Michael Levine ’61 Allan C. Johnson ’28 Michael E. Billett Robert H. Digby ’61 Martin R. Horn ’46 John M. Lyons ’66* Michael F. Parlamis ’58* Larry Lynnworth ’54* John Wiley & Sons, Inc.* Harry H. Birkenruth ’49 Arthur M. Dinitz ’51 Derrick A. Hostler ’81 M. Shanken Communications, Inc. Achilles Perry ’58* Mancini-Duffy* Laura Berdon Foundation Roger S. Blaho ’53 Alan B. Dolmatch ’52 Joy H. Hsiao ’87 Michael J. Macaluso ’66* Frederick C. Meyer ’40* Sidney A. Mayer ’46 Les Kalmus ’56* Stephen Blanchette, Jr. ’82 Robert J. Domanoski ’47* John J. Huson ’52 James H. M. Malley ’58 Josh S. Weston ’46* MBS Textbook Exchange* Marvin J. Levine ’65* Robert Borowski ’73 Robert W. Donohue ’60 Robert M. Ianniello ’72 Evelyn Maloney Merrill Lynch & Co Foundation Johnny Liu ’98 Anthony Borra ’58 Peter Dornau ’57* Raoul D. Ilaw ’74 Patrick Maloney 50,000-99,999 Alan S. Natter ’69 Thomas Lowry BP Amoco Foundation, Inc. Irwin Dorros ’46 Carmine R. Inserra ’70 Robert W. Mann ’42 Martin V. Alonzo ’48* Bert Reitman ’63* Lucent Technologies Ronald E. Brandt ’65 Jonathan Dubin ’74 Israeloff, Trattner & Co.* Robert Marchisotto ’47 Anthony J. Armini ’55 Daniel K. Roberts ’43 Mathew M. Mandery ’61* Thomas Breglia ’76 Sal Dunn ’58 J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation Stanley D. Margolin ’49 Andy Frankl ’67* John B. Rofrano ’61* Marathon Bank* James E. Brennan ’71 Kenneth A. East ’61 Frederic H. Jacobs ’65 Peter F. Margulen ’54 Joseph J. Jacobs ’34 William J. Rouhana, Jr. ’69 Susan Mayham ’76* and Allyson Brenner Melvin Elfin ’47 Arnold Jaffe ’47* The Marketplace Realty Rande H. Lazar ’69 Edward P. Salzano ’64* Stephen Mazur Bruce A. Brice ’65 Paul Ellingsen ’66 Zbigniew R. Jankowski ’68* Angel Martin ’51 William Mack ’57 The Segal Company* Edward D. Miller ’56 Brooklyn College Auxiliary Ent. Robert Ennis ’59 Jack C. Jawitz ’68 Leonard Matin ’46 Michael Minikes ’61 SIAC Michael D. Nadler ’52* Alan I. Brooks ’61 Barry D. Epstein ’58* Jewish Communal Fund Marvin I. Mazur ’47 Carmine A. Morano ’72* Lawrence Sirovich ’51* Morgan Stanley & Company* Lawrence D. Brown ’51 Jeff Erdel ’63 Mike L. Johnson ’66 Marc B. Mazur ’77 Robert C. Ochs ’59 Ronald P. Stanton ’46 National Grid* Philip E. Brugge Ethicon , Inc. Michelle Y. Johnson-Lewis ’79 Donald C. McCann ’57 Louis H. Siracusano, Sr. ’60* Joseph N. Sweeney ’48 NHL Foundation Katrina Burton-Nicholas ’95 Asher Etkin ’60 Raymond P. Jones ’74* James J. McCarthy ’83 Michael Tannenbaum ’58 Lee H. Pomeroy ’50 Herbert I. Butler ’32 Raoul G. Farrell ’69* Bradford R. Jones ’75 Donald P. McConnell ’67 25,000-49,999 T.E.C. Systems, Inc.* Polytechnic University* BWD Group, LLC* Arthur A. Feder ’45 Walter G. Jung ’51 Ira Meislik ’61 David Abraham ’48 Ellen Mazur Thomsom Lee James Principe ’56* Barry A. Callender ’75 Richard S. Feinstein ’68 Gerard Justvig ’75 Marvin L. Meistrich ’58* Willard N. Archie ’61 The New York Community Trust Robinson, Silverman, Pearce, Victor J. Caroddo ’52 Benjamin E. Feller ’64 J. Alan Kahn Edward M. Messina ’52 Dorcey Chernick Wesley E Truesdell ’46 Aronsohn & Berman, LLP Carter-Wallace Stanley M. Ferber ’58* Peter Kakoyiannis ’65 Jean G. Miele, Jr. ’55* Jack Feinstein ’60* Armand Valenzi ’44 Randi Rossignol Alexander N. Casella ’53 Eugene L. Fieldhammer ’42 Danos Homer Kallas ’35 Zdzislaw Mikolajczyk ’57* Howard Fluhr ’59* Louis Walkover ’37 Edward R. Rothenberg ’61* Dominic N. Castellano ’45 Joel M. Fields ’60 C. Kyrie Kallas ’37 Joseph B. Milgram, Jr. ’40 Ingersoll Rand* Randi Zinn* Seth Ruzi ’76 Joseph A. Cavallo ’58 John P. Fillo ’69 Irwin Kallman Millennium Capital Markets, LLC Joseph J. Kaminski ’56 Anthony P. Schirripa ’67 Vincent Cavaseno ’65 Fiori John D. Kaltman Irene Miller Stuart Kessler ’47* 5,000-9,999 Maj. Ernest R. Schultz ’25 William H. Chamberlain ’50 First New York Partners Lauren Kaltman Eugene Miritello ’42 Erik Lattey Memorial Scholarship* Air Products Irwin Smiley ’46 Keith K. Chan ’75 Clifford H. Fisher ’59 Richard Kaltman Thomas J. Mitchell ’57 Betty J. Mayer* Donald Bady ’48 Ned Steele ’68* Virginia-Marie M. Chan ’87 Seth Flash ’95* Martin Kaltman ’32 Mobil Foundation, Inc. Arnold J. Melloy ’40 J. Randell Barclay* Textron Charitable Trust Barton A. Chase III ’72 Alan Flash ’71* Sheldon Katz ’52 Joseph D. Monticciolo ’55 Murray Neidorf ’45* Anthony Bartolomeo ’70* John Thonet William Cheung* Joseph L. Flood ’44 Mark L. Kay ’67 Francis C. Moon ’57 William Sheluck, Jr. ’58 Douglas Besharov ’62* George L. Van Amson ’70* Virgil V. Chiavetta ’35 Zachary C. Fluhr ’59 Stephen J. Keane ’47 Kay Moore-Benjamin ’80 D onors’ H onor L ist John C. Siltanen ’31 Syd Blatt David W. Wallace ’42 Allan Chong ’72 R. Richard Fontaine Mary Ellen Keating Joseph M. Moran ’57 Ralph H. Stahl Memorial Burson-Marsteller Steven Wishnia ’66* Warren Christie ’62 Richard Foxen ’45 Robert F. Kelly ’61 George W. Moran ’61 This list reflects total Scholarship* Cary Kane, LLP* John W. Chromy ’48 Arnold W. Frank ’47 M. Robert Kestenbaum ’51 Motorola Foundation lifetime giving through Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett, LLP* Wilton Cedeno ’82* 1,000-4,999 Joseph B. Ciccone ’58* Henry H. Frank ’45 Arthur H. Kettenbeil ’67 Daniel K. Moy ’69* March 1, 2009 above Ralph Stahl ’45 Memorial Fund* Cellini Fine Jewelry Elkan Abramowitz ’57 Robert J. Ciemian ’59 Frederick A. Frenzel, Jr. ’71* Carl H. Kiesewetter ’55 Saul Muchnick ’49 $1,000. Many thanks to all Thomas J. Volpe ’53* Nicholas Y. L. Chu ’77* Allan Abramson ’58 Frank A. Cipriani ’51 Barbara Friedman David Kliot ’52 Andrew G. Mueller ’59 the contributors who have Michael A. Weiss ’57* Chicago Bridge & Iron Company Ron Adler ’68 Cirocco & Ozzimo, Inc. Karl E. Fritsch ’52* Mitchell Klipper Charles F. Muller, Jr. ’53 not yet reached that level John V. Cioffi ’67 Louis G. Adolfsen ’67 Citicorp Foundation David L. Fung ’81 John Klvac ’60* Gretchen Mullins-Kim ’84 but whose contributions Peter J. Cobos ’72* Kenneth S. Albano ’68 Jose R. Claxton ’82* Richard Gaccione ’64 Jodi Koelsch John R. Murphy ’61* are making a difference at 10,000-24,999 Frederick F. Ajootian ’41 Brian Cosgrove* John P. Albert ’90* Joseph J. Kohn ’50 Lorraine C. Nanko Brooklyn Tech. Robert T. Cole ’50* Col. John A. Garstka ’48 American Express Foundation* C. R. Bard Foundation* John Alderman Marc F. Colman ’67 David Gerson ’71 Penelope Kokkinides ’87 Leon Nash ’91 * Includes 2008 Contribu- Joseph Angelone ’63* Credit Suisse Securities* Allied Signal Found, Inc. Louis R. Comunelli ’60 Marvin C. Gersten ’56 Peter J. Kolesar ’54 Elby M. Nash ’65 tions to Sustaining Excel- Emmanuel Becker Kenneth D’Alessandro ’66* James Amrhein ’41 Deirdre D. Cooke ’80 Peter Gethers William K. Kramer ’48 Hans R. Naumann ’54 lence: The 21/21 Campaign BDO Seldman, LLP Kenneth D. Daly ’84* Richard P. Anastasio ’61 Zeke Cooper ’40 Norbert F. Giesse ’83 Bert Krauss ’50 NBC Studios, Inc. For Brooklyn Tech BT Alex Brown Thomas C. DeCanio ’63 John H. Andren, Jr. ’56 Milton Cooper ’46 Gillette* Noel N. Kriftcher Edwin Neff, Jr. ’60 BTHS Parents Association Julia C. de la Garza-Jordan ’86* Hermann F. Anton ’49 Joseph P. Crosson ’67 Paul J. Glasgow ’44* Ira S. Krolick ’81 Bruce N. Newrock ’59 26 LeRoy N. Callender ’50 Frederick DeMatteis ’40 Joel Aragona ’62 Stephen P. Cuff ’49 Herbert A. Granath ’48 Robert Kupiec ’72 King Ng ’78 27 Hau Yee Ng-Lo ’80 Bertram Quelch ’45 Alan M. Silberstein ’65* Barbara L. Trommer Tech Times 2 Richard Nicotra Bruce Ratner Alvin M. Silver ’49 Cmdr. Peter A. Tufo ’45 Nils O. Nilsen ’69* Raytheon Co Leon C. Silverman ’57 Michael A. Turin ’52 Board of Directors Linda Noonan* Arthur P. Rea ’60 Sunil G. Singh ’89 Richard W. Turnbull ’69* Northrop Grumman William Reilly Charles J. Sisti ’49 United Defense FMC Foundation Michael A. Weiss ’57 Anthony P. Nuciforo ’74 Raymond Reilly ’58* L. Remsen Skidmore, Jr. ’37 United Way of New York City Chairman of the Board NYC Technical College Carl M. Renda ’72 Miles A. Slater ’60 Vanguard Construction Diiana Oliver-Steinberg Monroe Richman ’45 Walter J. Smith ’49 Leonard J. Verebay Achilles Perry ’58 Ronald I. Olson ’58 Ridgewood Savings Bank* George W. Smith ’47 Frank S. Vigilante ’48 President D. Robert Oppenheimer, Jr. ’57 Joseph Riggio ’57 Majorie Smith Robert Villency The Magazine of Opus Northwest, LLC Bernice Righthand Roger S. So ’69 Frank S. Viola ’82* Jack Feinstein ’60 The Brooklyn Tech Almumni Foundation Carl W. Ordemann ’69 Frank Ritota Barry Sohnen ’70 Salvatore J. Vitale, Jr. ’56 Jason Orefice ’87 Louis K. Robbins ’30 Chester P. Soling ’49 Leslie D. Wade ’87 Vice President Spring 2009 Floyd R. Orr ’55 Max Roberts Richard E. Sorensen ’60 Ralph B. Wagner ’51 Jeffrey Haitkin ’62 Elaine Osterweil Al Roffman ’44 George H. Spencer ’45 Charles H. Waide ’44 Tech Times Staff ing E x c n e l Treasurer Stanley H. Pantowich* Edward Rogas, Jr. ’58 Joel M. Spiro ’55 Bert W. Wasserman ’50 i l a e t Dennis A. Paoletti ’62* Stanley Rogovin ’58 St.John’s University David Weild III ’48 n Editor in Chief: s c John Albert ’90

u

John Papamarcos ’37 Lori Roland-Plonski* Ruth E. Staehle ’45 Robert E. Wentsch ’43 e Ned Steele ’68 S 21 21 Fred Parise ’70 Stephen J. Roppolo ’66 Donald J. Stahl ’58 Kenneth B. Wiberg ’45 / Secretary Robert J. Paterna ’72 Lester A. Rubenfeld ’58 Mitchell Stashower ’83* Elizabeth M. Wieckowski ’79 Graphic Design: Robert J. Pavan ’47 Lawrence G. Rubin ’43 Ivan D. Steen ’54 Damon S. Williams ’64 Edgar Bello ’90 Robert Horansky Walton D. Pearson ’79 Karl M. Sandbo ’42 Jeffrey Stein ’63 Kurt R. Willinger ’54 Lary Cary ’70 Ernest E. Pearson, Jr. ’40 Alfredo Sardinas ’72 Joel J. Sterling ’44 Scott Winston* Wilton Cedeno ’82 Editorial Direction: Frank L. Peishel ’46 R.A. Satin ’49 Norman S. Stern ’62 Adolph H. Wold ’38 Horace Davis ’84 Mathew M. Mandery ’61 Arno A. Penzias ’51 Saunder Schaevitz ’47 Raymond C. Stewart ’71 Stanley Wolpert ’45 the 21/21 Campaign for Brooklyn Tech Ben Feller ’64 James G. Pepper Erwin L. Schaub ’46 William J. Stolze ’42 Wolters Kluwer Law and Business/ Steven Hallem ’72 Alumni Outreach: Stuart K. Pertz ’53 Roger E. Schechter ’70 George C. Stoutenburgh, Sr. ’51 Aspen Publishers* Miguel Herrera ’85 Linda R. Sada Claude W. Peters ’36 Norman A. Schefer ’43 Irving Streimer ’45 Fred H. Woodruff ’54 Norman Keller ’54 Arthur N. Peterson ’62 Ronald H. Schmahl ’60 George Suffal ’53* Richard F. Worsena ’58 Reach with me... Peter Kneissl ’75 Photography: Pfizer, Inc. Robert U. Schoenfelder ’44 SUNY Farmingdale William C. Wurst ’67* Edward LaGrassa ’65 Ron Glassman (pages 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15) Alex Picozzi Stuart Schube ’58 Michael V. Swabowicz, Jr. ’86 George A. Yabroudy ’48 Peter Lopes ’56 Robert Horansky (pages Cover, 1, 5, 18, 20, 21, 22, 26) Stuart Pivar ’47 Richard Schwartz ’53* John C. Sweeney ’71 David L. Yang ’84 Sustaining Excellence: The 21/21 Campaign For John Lyons ’66 Serge Timacheff (pages 7, 8) Walter Karling (pages 2, 3, 4, 16, 17, 21, 24, 25) Joseph F. Plummer ’56 Glenn C. Seale ’64 Giovanni Tafa ’76* Yoswein NY Brooklyn Tech, and its theme, Reach With Me, were Susan Mayham ’76 James P. Popino ’52 Joel Seidner ’65* TAG Associates, LLC Don Zacharia Leonard Riggio ’58 Pamela Gillin (pages 7, 25) Charles W. Potter ’37 Mark Seratoff ’68 Philip G. Taylor ’56 Lloyd Zeitman ’69 launched in October 2008 to raise $21 million for Ned Steele ’68 Valentine P. Povinelli, Jr. ’59 Rodney L. Shannon ’87 Tellef Peter Tellefsen ’41 Norman Zelvin ’47 Writers: Brooklyn Tech and its students by 2013; $21 million to Ned Steele William Prensky Leonard Shapiro ’48 Manette H. Thomas* Erwin Zeuschner ’53 George Cuhaj ’77 Roxane M. Previty* Steven A. Shaya ’65 Theodore Thomte ’52 Albert H. Ziegler ’75 build for the 21st century. Alumni support will enable Mike Frankel Alumni Historian Steven Protass ’63 Steven Shearing ’52 Mark D. Todd Allen V. Zollo ’76 curriculum and facilities enhancement, faculty support The Prudential Foundation Stephen L. Shupack ’65 Marie J. Toulantis and development, and transformational learning ex- Lionel Marks ’49 PSEG Alvin J. Siegartel ’58 Judy Tran Tech Times periences needed to ensure Brooklyn Tech’s continued General Counsel Vol. 1 No.1 © 2009 Brooklyn Tech Alumni excellence. Staff Foundation, Inc.

Physicist Continued from page 23 Please use the inserted envelope to show your support Mathew M. Mandery ’61 Tech Times is published annually it true absolutely? Doubtless no. Why do I all then-known theories. People now are a CEO by the Brooklyn Tech Alumni for today’s students. You may also make a secure contri- Foundation. Articles may be say that? It is inconsistent, or so it seems, little smarter; no one goes around saying bution online at www.bthsalumni.org or by mail to: Linda R. Sada reprinted with its permission. with quantum mechanics, which has been that. We have no idea what really lies be- Director of Alumni Operations extraordinarily successful in explaining the yond. In astrophysics, we have some fun- To receive the Technite Online world of atoms and sub atoms. So we have damental puzzles that no one understands; Brooklyn Tech Alumni Foundation Ina Cloonen e-newsletter by email, contact a theory of the behavior of matter in the no one even claims to understand them, 29 Fort Greene Place Administrative Manager [email protected]. Please send class notes and updates, large, and in the small, and we don’t know like so-called dark matter and dark energy, Brooklyn, NY 11217 how to bridge the two. Most physicists be- which account apparently for something Liliya Magalnik ’01 letters to the editor, address changes and other communications to: lieve there’s got to be some new theory de- like 95 percent of the universe’s mass-en- Executive Assistant to CEO veloped which will encompass both. String ergy allotment. We haven’t got a clue as to Brooklyn Tech Suzanne Hausman theory is favored by many. what’s going on. So we know there’s much Alumni Foundation Office and Graphic Design Support more to learn. 29 Fort Greene Place Q. Or maybe Einstein is right, and physicists Will our learning it, and our develop- Brooklyn NY 11217 just don’t yet understand why he is right. ment of [new] models, cause general rela- 718-797-2285 At the end of the 19th century a large tivity to be supplanted? Nobody can say [email protected] A. www.bthsalumni.org group of physicists, who should have yes or no, but we must do experiments to To register or learn more, known better, thought that everything see how nature behaves, and not assume please visit www.bthsalumni.org knowable was already known; it was just a that it behaves according to a particular Brooklyn Technical High School matter of cleaning up. They totally ignored theory, no matter how beautiful. We must Randy J. Asher, Principal observations that were inconsistent with probe deeper. n One of 18 “top elite public high schools” in the US – Newsweek Gold Medal Top 100 High School – US News & World Report 28