Academy of Science and Engineering

2004 Academy of Science and Engineering

The College of Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota Duluth recently held its third annual Academy of Science and Engineering ceremony and inducted five new members.

The Academy of Science and Engineering was established in 2002 to give public recognition to distinguished alumni and special friends of the College of Science and Engineering, who have brought distinction to themselves through their participation, commitment, and leadership in their chosen profession.

Inducted this year were:
Dr. Rolf Peterson – 1970 Biology
Dr. Rolf Peterson, a professor at Michigan Technological University. Dr. Peterson was a 1970 summa cum laude graduate of UMD and won the 1970 Outstanding Senior Award in Biology. Since then he has done pioneering work on the relationship between wolves and moose on Isle Royale. His work on wolf-moose ecology is a classic study in ecology and is reported widely in textbooks. More on Rolf Peterson.

Dr. Paul M. Helquist – 1969 Chemistry
Professor Helquist received his B.A. degree in chemistry in 1969 from UMD. He earned his Ph.D. degree in 1972 in organic chemistry from Cornell University and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University from 1772-74. He joined the faculty at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1974, becoming professor in 1984. He then moved to the University of Notre Dame, where he served as department chair from 1988-1993. Professor Helquist has served as Chair of the Chemistry Board of Examiners for the Graduate Records Examination (GRE) and, since 1980, with the Education Division of The American Chemical Society (ACS). He also continues to serve as the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Workshop on Organic Chemistry for College Teachers. Professor Helquist was the recipient of the American Chemical Society’s Exceptional Achievement Award, the University of Notre Dame Shilts-Leonard and Kaneb Teaching Award and the Walther Cancer Institute Collaborator of the Year Award.
Professor Helquist has conducted research and published in several areas. These include the development of new transition metal reagents and catalysts for selective synthetic reactions, the generation of new methods in asymmetric synthesis and the synthesis of new pharmaceuticals, including antibacterial and anti-tumor agents. In the area of cancer research, he is Head of the Drug Design, Synthesis and Delivery Group of the Walther Cancer Research Center at Notre Dame.

Dr. Odin Christensen – 1970 Geology
Odin Christensen is currently Chief Geologist for Newmont Mining Corporation, based in Denver Colorado. Dr. Christensen received a BA in geology from the University of Minnesota, Duluth (1970), and a PhD in geology from Stanford. Before joining Newmont, Christensen spent three years as Assistant Professor at the University of North Dakota and three years as Research Geochemist at the Earth Science Laboratory, University of Utah Research Institute. As Chief Geologist, Odin is responsible for geological aspects of Newmont's exploration and mining projects worldwide.

Mathematics and Statistics Professor Emeritus Sylvan Burgstahler
Professor Emeritus Sylvan Burgstahler retired from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in 1994. His nomination is based on the significant leadership he displayed while a faculty member, his contributions to the profession, and his continued participation in campus activities.

Mr. Eric Swildens – 1990 Computer Science
Eric Swildens received his BS degree in Computer Science in 1990 from the University of Minnesota Duluth after transferring from the University of Minnesota. He currently serves as Chief Technical Officer and Founder of Speedera Inc. Eric Swildens has become well known in Silicon Valley as a high-tech entrepreneur in software programming and as a specialist in user-interface design. Together with co-founders Ajit Gupta and Richard Day, he is the co-author of two Speedera patents for its technology that merges content delivery and global traffic management. Before co-founding Speedera, he was an Engineering Manager at Resonate. Previously, Mr. Swildens was the founder and CEO of Microline Software, a software company with products that included Java development tools. He led his start-up company through a successful acquisition as Microline was sold in 1997 to Blaze Software. He also worked as a director, manager, and engineer in various companies around the world.

Posted October 7, 2004.