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College of Science & Engineering Alumni Newsletter

Fall 1998
 

Featuring Members of the CSE Alumni Chapter Steering Committee

 The College of Science & Engineering Alumni Chapter Steering Committee comprises one faculty and one alum representatives from each of the eight Departments in the College.

Dr. Linda Blackwood is a professor of Biomedical Laboratory Science at SFSU since 1981. She earned a M.S. and Ph.D. in Microbiology from University of Pittsburgh in l976 and l979 and a B.S. in medical technology from University of Vermont in l971. Her teaching areas are immunology, including auto immunity, transplantation, vaccines, and infectious diseases.

Marian Gonzales received her B.S. degree from SFSU in 1962 and completed her teacher preparation in 1963. In addition to being a teacher assistant for Dr. Paul Barnes (BA ‘60, Biology and MA ’63, Physiology), she spent half of her ‘free’ time in the Biology Stockroom, which housed in the original old (Science) building and eventually moved to the addition (Hensill Hall), and half preparing for the Biology 40 and Biology 1 classes.

After teaching at Mercy High School in Burlingame for a year, she joined the faculty of the SFUSD in the Fall of 1964. Marian has been at Lowell High school since 1971 and became the Department Head in 1988.

Although she has served on many committees, Marian is most proud of being on the original committee that started the Golden State Exams in Science for the State of California. Her hobbies include collecting Beanie Babies, Red Depression Glass, Pez and other "junk".

Rene B. Marxheimer has been on the faculty of SFSU since 1959 and was a faculty coordinator of the SFSU Engineering Alumni Chapter from 1993-1996. He earned a E.E. from Ecole Polytechnique Federale in Lausanne, Switzerland in 1947 and a M.S. from University of California, Berkeley in 1952. Both of his degrees are in Electrical Engineering. He attended Standford University for advance Engineering Education.

As a member of the Citizen’s Advisory Committee for the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, he, presently, serves as Chairman of Grade Separation Project for the city. Rene was named Post-Secondary Education Specialist in Engineering and Technology by the Department of Consumer Affairs of the State of California to evaluate private engineering and technology programs in Higher Education for the State Accreditation purpose.

Bret Muir was born and raised in sleepy little towns of Missouri. After graduating from St. Charles High School, he traveled the world, courtesy of the U. S. Navy. Having served his time, some of which in the Persian Gulf, Brett settled in San Francisco.

While holding a variety of odd jobs, Brett attended San Francisco State University.  Eventually earning his B.S. in Computer Science in 1997, he marketed his skills gained while working as an administrator of computers in the Computer Science Department to land a position at a little known company called Sun Microsystems. During the past year, Brett has developed a variety of testing techniques which has earned him the position of Team Lead on many projects, including Solaris.

Brett’s immediate plans include rafting and camping trips along America's Southwest. Hopefully, he will go back to school to obtain his Master's degree.

Mike Ugawa was born and raised in San Francisco where he graduated from Lowell High School before attending San Francisco State University. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physics in 1995 with minors in Chemistry and Electronics and was the recipient of the Physics Department’s Stollberg Distinguished Achievement Award. Mike received his Teaching Credential and Master’s Degree in Science Education, also in Physics, from USF.  He is a member of the Underwater Acoustics Research Group headed by SFSU physics professor Roger Bland. Mike has served in a program to train high school Physics teachers at the Teacher Institute of The Exploratorium, San Francisco’s world renowned hands-on science museum.

Mike is currently on the faculty of St. Ignatius College Prep in San Francisco, where he teaches Advanced Placement Physics, College Preparatory Physics, and Advanced Placement Computer Science. He also teaches an intensive six week summer course which covers an entire year's curriculum in College Preparatory Chemistry. Mike has received a grant to develop a student research program at St. Ignatius which uses as its core classic experiments in Quantum Physics and Relativity. In addition to his teaching, Mike is the computer hardware administrator/technician for the school. Mike mentors students with career interests in science and engineering through the school's Science Club, and is in the progress of endowing a Science Scholarship to St. Ignatius for students with financial need who show academic talent and interest in pursuing a career in science.

Dr. John S. Williston earned his B.S. from University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1961, M.A. from San Francisco State University in 1965, and Ph.D. from University of Southern California in 1968 and had Post Doctoral Training in University of California, San Francisco from 1968 to 1970. After being a professor of Biology in San Francisco State for almost 20 years, he retired in 1994. John was a Research Physiologist at UCSF from 1974 to 1976 where he researched on neural basis of behavior, bioelectrical analysis of the nervous system, and neuropathology.

Since his retirement, John has been keeping himself very busy with, golfing, sailing, traveling, wine tasting, and volunteering.
 

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Updated by Lannie Nguyen-Tang on August 3rd, 2000