In Memoriam

Alexander E. Emanuel, a longtime professor of electrical engineering at WPI and a pioneer in electric power systems known worldwide for his groundbreaking work on the dangers of power system harmonics, died Jan. 24, 2023. He was 85.

Born in Romania, he attended Politehnica University of Bucharest but was expelled by the Communist regime after he applied for an exit visa. In 1961 he and his wife, Rodica, were able to emigrate to Israel, where he continued his studies at the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion), earning BS, MS, and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering. During this time, he fought in the Six-Day War as a member of the Israeli Defense Forces.

Emanuel worked in industry in Israel and the United States before joining the WPI faculty in 1974. Through his industry work, he became aware of how solid-state electronic devices were introducing harmonics into the electric grid, disrupting the normally smooth 60-cycle AC waveform and damaging or destroying electrical components.

He was among the first to point out the issue, and his diligent research and advocacy moved the power industry to take action.

His research earned him many professional honors, including life membership in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a distinction bestowed on just one tenth of one percent of members. He established the biennial IEEE International Conference for Power System Harmonics, held for the first time in 1984 at WPI.

Emanuel, who retired in 2018, is remembered by several generations of alumni as a talented and caring educator and mentor and a distinguished and collegial faculty member. He is the only faculty member, to date, to receive WPI’s Board of Trustees’ Awards for teaching, research, and advising, and he was among the earliest recipients of the Chairman’s Exemplary Faculty Prize.

He leaves two granddaughters. Rodica passed away in late 2022 and his son, David, passed away unexpectedly in February 2023.

Funds are being raised to establish an endowed scholarship in Emanuel’s memory. To contribute, visit wpi.edu/+give.

Frank Noonan, a longtime professor of management at WPI, died Jan. 23, 2023. He was 80. An expert in industrial engineering and operations management, he played a central role in designing and introducing WPI’s MBA program in the 1980s. In the 1990s, he helped shape the university’s master’s program in manufacturing engineering and undergraduate program in industrial engineering. He served as head of the Management Department from 1983 to 1987 and interim department head during the 1994-95 academic year.

Noonan earned a BS in physics at Boston College, an MS in mathematics at Northeastern University, and a PhD in industrial engineering and operations research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He held positions early in his career for the U.S. Navy and NASA, and then worked as a senior systems analyst for Dynamics Research Corp., as a senior management scientist for New England Electric System, and as an assistant professor of industrial and operations engineering at the University of Michigan before joining the WPI faculty in 1978.

In addition to teaching and advising undergraduate projects and graduate theses in management, Noonan was affiliated for many years with WPI’s Manufacturing Engineering Program and its Fire Protection Engineering Program, where he taught risk management.

In 1997, President Edward Parrish asked Noonan, who had earned an MA in counseling psychology at Lesley University, to serve as one of two inaugural university ombudsmen to help faculty and staff members address “delicate and difficult problems.” He held the position, in addition to his teaching responsibilities, until his retirement in 2008.

“I derive a lot of personal satisfaction and fulfilment,” he once wrote, “from the role of peacemaker.”

Frank leaves three daughters, a son, and two grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife, Christine, and five siblings.

Hugh Brautigam ’43, ME, SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON, Pawcatuck, R.I.

Robert Appenzeller ’46, ME, New Carlisle, Ohio

William Meadowcroft ’48, CE, SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON, Westland, Mass.

Walter Scanlon ’50, EE, ALPHA TAU OMEGA, Falmouth, Mass.

Bruce Bailey ’51, ME, SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON, Lincoln, Mass.

Richard Coffey ’51, CHE, PHI KAPPA THETA, Wilbraham, Mass.

Stanley Berman ’52, ALPHA EPSILON PI, Warrington, Pa.

Roland St. Louis ’52, CHE, PHI KAPPA THETA, Groton, Conn.

Thomas Hollocher ’53, CH, SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON, Sudbury, Mass.

William Schoenemann ’54, EE, ALPHA EPSILON PI, Union City, Calif.

John Goodwin ’55, CE, SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON, Arlington, Va.

Robert Crane ’57, EE, MS EE, PhD EE, THETA CHI, New London, Conn.

William Rawstron ’57, ME, SIGMA PHI EPSILON, Northborough, Mass.

Leonides Xarras ’58, PHI SIGMA KAPPA, Leominster, Mass.

Clifford Daw ’59, CE, Dublin, Calif.

Walter Wajda ’60, EE, Santa Maria, Calif.

Kenneth Parker ’61, CE, SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON, Barrington, R.I.

John Lojko ’63, ME, PHI KAPPA THETA, Emmaus, Pa.

Richard Carle ’64, EE, TAU KAPPA EPSILON, Evanston, Ill.

James Maroney ’66, MG, PHI KAPPA THETA, Atkinson, N.H.

Stewart Nelson ’66, CE, SIGMA PHI EPSILON, Peabody, Mass.

Clinton Inglee ’67, ME, SIGMA ALPHA EPSILON, Summerfield, Fla.

David Zlotek ’69, EE, MS EE, Fairfax, Vt.

Kenneth Szeflinski ’74, MA, South Orleans, Mass.

Brian Carpenter ’75, MA, North Scituate, R.I.

Nandu Marketkar ’75, EE, Worcester, Mass.

Roger Nowlin ’75, MS MG, Fitchburg, Mass.

Paul Gardner ’78, MS MG, Berlin, Mass.

Richard Ellison ’82, EE, Norton, Mass.

Mark Lepkowski ’82, EE, Webster, Mass.

Frederick Klich ’82, EE, Northampton, Mass.

Gary Carey ’83, BS EE, MS EE, Millbury, Mass.

Randy Lo ’83, CHE, Taipei, Taiwan

Bridget McGuiness ’83, CE, Lynn, Mass.

Donna Crosier ’84, ME, Troy, Ohio

John Tyer ’84, EE, Jefferson, Mass.

John St. Yves ’92, SIM, Leominster, Mass.

Lee Evans ’99, EE, Hudson, Mass.

Elyse Levy ’00, MBA, Brookline, Mass.

Gregory Ulinski ’01, MS BIO, Millbury, Mass.

Jonathan Grover ’18, Griswold, Conn.

The WPI community also notes the passing of these friends of the university: Richard Custer, Alexander Emanuel, Zofia Glazer, and Francis Noonan.

Complete obituaries can usually be found online by searching legacy.com or newspaper websites. The Alumni Office will assist classmates in locating additional information. Contact alumni-office@wpi.edu.