Inductees September 29, 2006
Back Row: Vice Chancellor Bruce Gildseth, Charles Taylor
Front Row: Edward Bersu, Glenn Morey, Gerald Ostroski, Howard Levine, Dean James Riehl
Dr. Edward Bersu: Bachelor of Arts – Zoology 1968
Edward Bersu was born and raised in Duluth and earned his Bachelor of Arts
degree in Zoology and Chemistry in 1968. After serving in the U.S. Air Force
from 1968 to 1972, Dr. Bersu completed his Ph.D. degree at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison in 1976 and joined the UW-Medical School faculty in the
same year. He is currently a Professor in the UW-Madison Department of
Anatomy and an Affiliate Professor in the UW-Madison School of
Education’s Department of Kinesiology. Dr. Bersu’s major
research interests have included investigations of the morphology of human
malformation syndromes associated with verified chromosomal imbalances such
as trisomy.
Dr. Bersu served as Interim Associate Dean for Students for the UW-Medical
School in 2003 and 2004. He has chaired the UW-Madison Biological Sciences
Executive Division Curriculum Committee and for the past four years has
chaired the campus committee that facilitates policies associated with the
American Disabilities Act. Dr. Bersu is an advisor for the UW-Madison
Biology program and sits on the Biology Degree Executive Committee.
Mr. Gerald Ostroski: Retired Engineer from Minnesota Power
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Gerald (Jerry) Ostroski
began his Minnesota Power career in 1963 as an Assistant System Planning
Engineer and steadily assumed positions of increasing responsibility. He
retired in July of 2002 after 39 years of service to Minnesota Power. Mr.
Ostroski also served as a director or officer of several other Minnesota
Power subsidiaries including Distributed Energy Systems Corp. He also served
on the Board of Directors of the Minnesota High Technology Association, and
serves on and chaired the University of Minnesota’s Natural Resources
Research Institute Industry Advisory Board. Prior to his retirement, Mr.
Ostroski was a Registered Professional Engineer licensed in Minnesota and
North Dakota.
Jerry Ostroski’s career-long interest in new technology and computers
and in how they could transform the electric utility industry was legendary
at Minnesota Power. Also legendary is his leadership in the group of
industrialists and legislators that lobbied to establish engineering
programs at UMD in the early and mid 1980s. This leadership continued as he
served as the Head of the Engineering Advisory Committee and Scholarship
Committee and continues to be active in supporting and promoting engineering
education at UMD. In addition to professional society memberships he is
active in many philanthropic organizations.
Dr. Howard Levine: Bachelor of Arts – Mathematics 1964, Bachelor of Arts – Chemistry 1964
Born in St. Paul, Howard Levine graduated from Duluth Central High School
and moved on to the University of Minnesota Duluth, where he graduated in
1964 with a B.A. (summa cum laude) in mathematics and chemistry. He
continued his schooling in mathematics at Cornell, earning an M.A. in 1967
and a Ph.D. in 1969. After stops at ETS in Zurich, UMTC and the University
of Rhode Island, Dr. Levine moved in 1978 to Iowa State University where he
is currently Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences in the
Department of Mathematics. He is on the editorial board of numerous journals
and has been a department head at Iowa State. Dr. Levine has published more
than 100 referred works and presented over 250 invited lectures, and he is
listed in the ISI Web of Knowledge among 300 highly-cited mathematicians. An
expert in the field of partial differential equations, one of his recent
research interests is mathematical modeling of tumor-driven angiogenesis.
Dr. Glenn B. Morey: Bachelor of Science – Geology 1957
Glenn B. Morey is presently Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota,
Winchell School of Earth Sciences. After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree
from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1957, Dr. Morey enrolled in
graduate studies in the Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of
Minnesota, Minneapolis that resulted in both a Master’s degree (1962)
and a Ph.D. degree (1965). Both degrees focused upon aspects of rocks of
Precambrian age in the Lake Superior region. He joined the professional
staff of the Minnesota Geological Survey as a geologist in 1965 and became
Principal Geologist and General Supervisor of geologic activities in the
Precambrian terrane of Minnesota in 1973. He was named Associate Director of
the Survey in 1976 and in 1979 Chief Geologist was added to his title. From
1986 to 2001, the year of his retirement, Dr. Morey held the titles of
Professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics, where he was a member
of the graduate faculty in the areas of stratigraphy and sedimentology; and
Associate Director and Chief Geologist, Minnesota Geological Survey.
Dr. Morey’s research activities and interests have been general
geologic mapping in Minnesota, especially in the Archean rocks of northern
Minnesota; stratigraphy and sedimentology, with emphasis on
interrelationships of tectonics and sedimentation in rocks of Proterozoic
age; Minnesota’s mineral resources, with particular emphasis on iron
ore of the Mesabi range of northern Minnesota and manganese resources of the
Cuyuna range in east-central Minnesota; and an abiding interest in the
history of geology, particularly the Lake Superior region.
Dr. Morey’s professional accomplishments are well-documented in over
two hundred publications, including geologic maps, books, and reports. Early
in his career, in 1972, he co-edited with then Survey Director PK Sims the
book, Geology of Minnesota: A Centennial Volume. It remains today the single
most important and best compendium of the state’s geology. His
constant and broad interest in Precambrian studies is apparent in the
majority of his scientific papers, and his dedication to field studies and
geologic mapping produced dozens of maps on local, regional and state
scales. Other publications point to Dr. Morey’s dedication to public
education. In 1996 he received a Teamwork Award from the Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources for creating and producing “Geology of
MinnesotadeA guide for Teachers.” In 1986 the Institute on Lake
Superior Geology awarded him the prestigious Goldich Medal for
“Outstanding contributions to the geology of the Lake Superior
Region”.
Dr. Charles Taylor: Bachelor of Arts – Chemistry 1952, Bachelor of Arts – Physics 1952
Charles W. Taylor earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from UMD with a double
major in chemistry and physics in 1952. He then entered the graduate program
at the University of Wisconsin. Shortly after completing a Ph.D. in organic
chemistry in 1956, Dr. Taylor accepted a scientist position in the Central
Research Laboratory at 3M. His distinguished career at 3M spanned nearly
four decades and included a variety of projects focusing on organic
chemistry, biochemistry and medical devices. In addition to numerous records
of invention, Dr. Taylor holds a dozen patents on pressure sensitive
adhesives, dental restoratives, high performance polymers and biocompatible
materials. When he retired from 3M, he had achieved the highest level of
scientist, namely 3M Corporate Scientist.