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Alumni Updates

Stay connected! See what’s happening in the lives of your Badger Chemist colleagues below (arranged by class year) and submit your Alumni Update today!

Alumni Letters

We love to share your letters and memories! Please complete the form here or email connect@chem.wisc.edu to share your stories.

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Alumnus is thankful for Prof. Sorum's encouragement

In 1960, I transferred to UW as a junior planning to major in chemical engineering. Part way through my first semester I discovered chemical engineering was not my thing, though I still wanted to major in chemistry. It was also possible I would not earn a C average which meant I could not transfer between Colleges. This was a time when some professors told entering freshman, look at the person on each side of you because only one of you will graduate. With a great amount of courage that semester I knocked on the door of professor C. Harvey Sorum, Chemistry Department head and world-renowned scientist. As one of about 20,000 students I was not too optimistic on the outcome. Upon hearing my humble plea (as I remember it) Professor Sorum said, “if you really want to major in chemistry, I will see that you will be able to transfer”. I did get better than a C average so transferring was not an issue but Professor Sorem’s encouragement reduced a lot of stress and ultimately I graduated with a degree in chemistry. Many years later, I gave a copy of my prized chemistry book, authored by Sorum, to his grandson and also found out Sorum was my mother-in-law’s quiz instructor and he gave my wife ice skating
lessons. Small world.

Daniel Bloch, Ph.D

Alumna says thanks to Bob West

My name is Linda Smith (Whatley) Wilson. I was a graduate student in chemistry, studying under Robert C. West from 1957-1962, and received the Ph.D. in February, 1962. I am always grateful for the issues of Badger Chemist that I receive periodically. In the most recent issue, on page 16, is an article by Anthony Millevolte & Matthias Driess about Robert C. West, on his 90th birthday. The reference in the article is a wonderful tribute to Bob West. I was extraordinarily lucky to be accepted as one of his Ph.D. group during my graduate work from 1957-1962. Having Bob as my major professor was a wonderful experience. While Bob sustained his office for teaching and research as an active faculty member at UW-Madison, he and his staff maintained connections with all of his graduate students and postdocs for many years. I want to express again my deep appreciation for all that his support and confidence has enabled me to do professionally and personally.

Sincerely,
Linda S. Wilson, Ph.D.

Memories of the 1940s, from Elliot Schubert

In the fall of 1946, my wife Eileen and I moved to Madison, where I enrolled in the organic Chemistry Department of the University Graduate School. I selected Dr. William Johnson to be my major professor. He assigned me a problem that I would need to solve in order to obtain a Ph.D. degree. As a World War II veteran, I received $90 a month, under the G.I. Bill. Eileen got a job in the office of the Forest Products Laboratory and was paid $30 a week. We lived in a trailer, for which we paid $25 a month. The trailer had no running water, so we had to walk 50 feed to the bath house, where there were showers, toilets, and running water. The trailer was equipped with an ice box, a two burner hot plate, and an oil burning stove. We did not mind these inconveniences, as we were deeply in love, having been married a year earlier. In February of 1949, our son Kenny was born. In June of that year, I had solved my research problem, so I received my Ph.D. degree. Those days are now long gone, but the good memories will forever linger on.

Alumni News & Activities

Featured Alumni Profiles

Ciolli, Chris

Credentials: Ph.D. 2004 (Belshaw)

Position title: Department Manager for Measurement Science at Lubrizol Advanced Materials

Goldstein, Steven A.

Credentials: Ph.D. 1973 (Walters)

Position title: Retired

(LaPean) Hoffman, Lori A.

Credentials: B.S. 1990 (West & Millevolte)

Position title: Head of Alliance Management for Slayback Pharmaceuticals

Lathrop, Mary Blanche

Credentials: B.S. 1968 (Holt); M.A. 1971 UMN; 1980 J.D. UW

Lodge, Tim

Credentials: Ph.D. 1980 (Schrag)

Position title: Regents Professor of Chemistry, and Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of Minnesota

Pease, Ann

Credentials: B.S. 1985

Smith, Douglas

Credentials: Ph.D. 1962 (Dahl)

Position title: Retired from Eastman Kodak in Rochester, NY

Zalewski, David

Credentials: B.S. 1986 (West)

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Class of 1955

Class of 1958

Class of 1960

Class of 1962

Class of 1964

Class of 1966

Class of 1967

Class of 1968

Class of 1970

Class of 1973

Class of 1974

Class of 1975

Class of 1976

Class of 1977

Class of 1978

Class of 1979

Class of 1980

Class of 1985

Class of 1986

Class of 1987

Class of 1988

Class of 1989

Class of 1990

Class of 1992

Class of 1993

Class of 1994

Class of 1996

Class of 1999

Class of 2000

Class of 2004

Class of 2006

Class of 2007

Class of 2008

Class of 2009

Class of 2010

Class of 2011

Class of 2013

Class of 2014

Class of 2016

Class of 2017

Class of 2019

Class of 2020

For more University of Wisconsin-Madison alumni news, visit the Wisconsin Alumni Association’s Alumni Notes.