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News from Alumni

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Frank Gurnee, 1972

Professional Information: Retired after 25 years in the computer industry designing communications systems for voice and data. As staff scientist for NET, developed architectures for integrating voice onto ATM and IP transports. While working for Amdahl, spent three years in Japan designing a data communications controller. Now teaching mathematics at Notre Dame High School.

Personal Information: Lynn (wife, also OU Alum) is an elementary school principal, daughter Amanda is married and is an engineer for a company that makes radars, and son Randy works with handicapped kids in elementary school. We spend a good deal of time boating.

Kathy (Wilkowski) Swaim, 1980

(Excerpts from Kathy’s Professional History)

I began my career in Texas in early 1981 as a circuit forecaster for GTE (Verizon for the younger set) progressing to network senior forecaster. I ended up in Texas as Michigan was suffering from a recession and there was little prospect for employment. GTE was looking for math majors.

After getting married and moving to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I worked for a company called Symbolics Financial Systems that was looking for a math major to assist in coding the mathematic calculations required for calculating APR’s per the government regulation Z. It was pretty scary to walk down the aisles and hear programmers talking about fractions and could only describe a denominator as “you know, the bottom of a fraction”! I was in a small group of mathematicians who understood how to use COBOL (gosh, I am a dinosaur) to actually complete calculations. Alas, this company no longer exists.

From there I took a position as a programmer for a company called ATC (Advanced Telemarketing Corp – you know, those awful people who call you during dinner to sell you stuff.) I was again hired because of my math degree, but only because the director had a math degree and thought it was great! I stayed less than 2 years. This company is still in existence and is now called AEGIS.

My next stop was Zales, the jeweler! I was hired as a COBOL programmer. I was able to build my retail business knowledge with this position. After that I worked for nearly three years for Neiman Marcus as a Senior Programmer Analyst. I worked on additional financial systems and helped implement a Sales Audit system coded in Power Builder using Sybase and UNIX while maintaining a dinosaur Sales Audit system coded (very badly) in COBOL and Assembler.

Finally, I am at Michaels. I have been here just over 8 years. I have done very little coding (and am having withdrawals with nothing very technical). However, in the IS world, I could go no further without developing my business background. This is something I never thought I would ever do! I always thought I would use my Statistics in a much more beneficial way. Things don’t always go the way we plan. However, I am very happy with the choices I made.

Dave Tomczyk, 1990 (BS), 1998 MS in Applied Stat

Professional Information: Since 2001 I’ve lived in Wilmington, North Carolina, serving Corning’s Optical Fiber Division as a statistician at the largest optical fiber producing plant in the world. I am a resource to engineering, production, and R&D – providing analytical support to various projects, including assisting in the design and analysis of experiments, and developing/teaching in-house statistics classes. I picked up my Six Sigma Black Belt and am also a member of the American Statistical Association. Prior to that I worked in the Detroit area with automotive suppliers for 14 years, analyzing data for process/product improvement. I also spent a few semesters teaching as an adjunct lecturer at Baker College in Auburn Hills.

Personal Information: I am the father of two adult daughters, an avid gardener, a tone deaf musician, an unpublished writer, and spend time enjoying the Appalachians in my pop-up camper. Recently I was ordained as an Interfaith Minister and began assisting others pursuing their spirituality. Life on the coast in southeastern NC is sunny, (too) hot, and beautiful, but I do miss winter - although nobody actually believes me either here or in Michigan!!

Where are they now?

Department Faculty 1969-1970

Harvey Arnold, Professor Emeritus, Ohio

Mike Brand, Maryland ??

Lou Bragg, Professor Emeritus, Michigan

Curt Chipman, Professor, OU

John Dettman, Professor Emeritus, Ohio

Ron DeVore, Professor and Director, Industrial Mathematics Institute, University of South Carolina

George Feeman, Professor Emeritus, Michigan

Jon Froemke, Deceased

Will Hoffman, Professor Emeritus, Arizona

Phil Johnson, Professor Emeritus, Michigan

Peter Lawes, Professor Emeritus, Computer Science Department, Northern Illinois University

Jim McKay, Professor Emeritus, Michigan

Don Malm, Professor Emeritus, California

Jack Nachman, Professor, OU

Ernie Schochetman, Professor, OU

Harvey Smith, Professor Emeritus, Arizona State University

Steve Takiff, ??

Yel-Chiang Wu, California

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