Letter from the Editor

A presidential inauguration is a significant milestone in the life of any institution of higher education. President Grace Wang’s inauguration on March 22 certainly met this historic moment. As was done for the 16 presidents before her, President Wang received two symbols during the ceremony: WPI’s original charter from 1865, and the Presidential Medallion, a large metal circle engraved with the WPI seal that hangs from a silver chain of 17 links, each link engraved with the name of a WPI president. 

At the reception following the ceremony, President Wang told a group of us that she felt the weight of her responsibilities at that moment, and it will inspire her to boldly lead WPI into the future. Read the full story about the event.

Board of Trustees Chair William Fitzgerald’s charge to President Wang at the end of the ceremony appropriately touched on WPI’s past and future. The charge ended: “What our university has achieved is only a bright promise of that which we have yet to accomplish.”

One of my favorite parts of this job is when I can attend photo shoots at out-of-my-comfort-zone locations to capture our feature subjects in their element. We are grateful to Radius Recycling for allowing us to photograph Emily Molstad ’19, MS ’19, Caleb Ralphs ’20, MS ’21, and Ben Longo ’20 at the company’s Everett, Mass., location. Radius is piloting the software created by VALIS Insights, Inc., and has been a great partner to the VALIS team.

If you’ve never been to a scrap metal recycling facility of this size, believe me when I tell you it’s eye opening. On this day, a steady stream of huge 18-wheel trucks filled with the detritus of our daily lives rumbled through the gated, waterfront property, lining up to dump their contents near multiple claw excavators scooping the scrap onto a conveyor belt leading into a fortress-like tower. Fortunately, we were blessed with a mild end-of-February day for the shoot, and after donning our safety equipment, we were patiently guided around the facility by Radius Recycling’s Chris Cooney. In the opening photo, you’ll see our little tour group dwarfed by the enormous piles of processed metal. I was heartened by the industriousness of the recycling effort, as well as mildly discouraged at this small representation of the waste created by our society.

If only I had the budget to travel to Barcelona, Spain, to capture American Magic engineer Liam Shanahan ’18 in his environment. Many thanks to the American Magic team for helping with those photos, including the dramatic cover shot of the modern AC75 monohull yacht that seems to magically rise out of the water on its hydrofoils. The America’s Cup competition can be confusing to non-sailors, and this land lubber is looking forward to watching the televised coverage this fall with a bit more insight. Hopefully you will too after reading Liam’s story.

I’m proud to report that the WPI Journal recently received a Counsel for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Best of Division 1 Award for alumni/general interest magazines published three or more times a year. At the risk of using a clichéd humblebrag, the quality of our fellow winners makes this award even more special: Boston University, Yale University, Boston College, Northeastern, and Bowdoin. All are well-resourced and distinguished institutions with magazines I admire. It takes a village to put out the WPI Journal, so my thanks to the team that makes this publication happen.

–Kris O’Reilly, Editor