Summer 2011 - University of Massachusetts Lowell

Classnotes
Continued from Page 52
receive this award,” she said.
“The museum highlights the
importance of community volunteerism
through this award.
If my story inspires just one
more person to become involved,
my hours of community
service will be worth it.”
1977
Jack Kimball ’77, a one-time
state campaign manager for
Mitt Romney and a business
owner noted for his colorful
and conservative politics, has
been elected chairman of the
New Hampshire Republican
Party. Kimball operates an
office-cleaning company
in Portsmouth.
1978
Robert Carrison, creative
director of Carrison Design,
received five awards from
Graphic Design USA magazine’s
2004 American Graphic
Design Awards competition.
Carrison Design’s winning
submissions included two
newsletters and a collateral
piece for the TPC of Boston, a
brochure for Tiare Apetahi (a
charter yacht company) and
the 2003 Annual Report for
Xaverian Brothers High
School. Located in Norfolk,
Mass., the company’s clients
include Fidelity Investments,
Worcester Credit Union,
Stop & Shop, Analog
Devices, Dunn & Bradstreet,
FleetBank, Buchika Skis
and Verizon. Carrison lives
in Norfolk with his wife, Pam,
and their children Matt
and Dever.
Donna Chaff has won the
Zoll Society for General
Music Excellence in Teaching
Award given to one elementary
music educator in
Massachusetts every year.
1980
Philippe and Maryann
Lavalle adopted Kyle Owen,
who turned 2 last September.
They also have a 21-year-old
son, Sean, and a 15-year-old
daughter, Keara.
Biogen Idec has named
Douglas E. Williams, Ph.D.,
executive vice president for
Research and Development.
Doug will oversee the company's
global R&D operation,
including discovery research,
development, clinical operations
and regulatory affairs.
He has more than 20 years of
scientific and senior leadership
experience, most recently
as chief executive officer of
Continued on Page 57
BONNIE COMLEY ’81 received
The Theatre Museum’s Service to the
Theatre Award in a gala ceremony held
recently at the New York
Players Club in New York
City. The museum, which
is dedicated to preserving
and celebrating all aspects
of the theatre arts, recognized
Bonnie for her contributions
as a prolific producer. Among
her current productions on Broadway
are “The Merchant of Venice” with Al
Pacino, “Priscilla: Queen of the Desert”
and “Warhorse.”
u CLOSE-UP CLASS OF 1982
RUBNER TAKES
PATH LESS TRAVELED
Michael F. Rubner, director of MIT’s Center for Materials Science and Engineering,
began his career unusually: at a community college, studying liberal
arts.
One day, he took a chance and applied for his first job as a lab technician
in an analytical chemistry lab. Competing against candidates with bachelor’s
degrees — and armed only with his love of chemistry — he won the job.
“So with no formal training, I was working every day and gaining
experience,” says Rubner, who today is MIT’s TDK professor of polymer
materials science and engineering and serves on the board of the Materials
Research Society, considered the premier professional society in the area of
materials science.
His academic break came at GTE Labs, which had a program that covered
tuition and expenses for night school studies. At the University of Lowell,
night school classes were taught by the regular faculty, top-notch people like
Prof. Bill Bannister and Prof. Don Hilton, and Rubner says he received “an
excellent education.”
Through the Continuing Studies program, he finished his bachelor’s in
five years “working flat out at work and in school, with the help of my
tremendously supportive wife, Barbara.” By graduation, he had published
more than 20 papers and was looking toward the Ph.D. program at MIT.
Again, GTE Labs and Peter Cukor, Rubner’s mentor, stepped in with an
arrangement to fund his graduate studies by day, while he continued his work
full-time at night. Fewer than three years later, he was Dr. Michael F. Rubner,
a talented researcher of conducting polymers and thin film technology.
At about the same time, GTE closed its research labs, sending many
notable researchers into academic settings. Rubner went to MIT and the late
Sukant Tripathy came to UMass Lowell, where he founded the Center for
Advanced Materials (CAM), accompanied by colleagues Jayant Kumar,
Daniel Sandman and Lynne Samuelson. Rubner has collaborated with CAM
on major research grants and spoken at research symposiums.
Rubner also likes to speak with Continuing Studies students on campus,
telling them that night school is not restricted to career enhancement or
terminal education.
“I couldn’t wait to finish what I was doing to move on and learn the next
thing,” he says. “Continuing studies was a platform education for me. With
passion, enthusiasm and hard work, you get out what you put into it.”
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