Evan Bertonazzi (Chem ’20) visited campus this summer as part of a jobs panel for our X-SIG summer program. He is working at Axalta Coating Systems in their Global Innovation Center in Philadelphia.
Alex Delenko (Chem ’17) and Julia Harper Delenko (Chem ’17) married in July 2022 at the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh with many former Gettysburg College classmates in attendance. Alex is a forensic chemist working as a Particulate Scientist for American Regent, Inc. in Deer Park, New York. Julia is a MD/PhD student at Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra and currently researching endometriosis with the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research.
Jenny Frielle Lay (Chem ’12) was one of several Gettysburg College alumni attending the post-COVID wedding celebration of Andrew Mearns (’12 History and Math) and his wife Ali Eustis, along with several other Gettysburg College alumni, in January 2022.
Debbie Shinsky Montgomery (Chem ’80) and husband, Col. Tim Montgomery (Math ’80) recently celebrated the marriage of their youngest son.
Dr. David Krug Nelson (Chem ‘93) continues to serve as the correspondent for the Class of 1993 and would love to hear from former classmates at davidknelson@mac.com.
Dr. Taylor Plank (Chem ‘12) continues to serve as the correspondent for the Class of 2012 and would love to hear from former classmates at taylorplank@yahoo.com.
Dr. Mike Reichgott (Chem ’61) taught at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY, recently moving to “emeritus” status. Mike submitted recollections of his military service to the Gettysburg College Vietnam Memory Project and took part in the dedication of the campus Vietnam Memorial in November 2018.
Sarah Stokes (Chem ’01) has been working at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee for about one and a half years. She reports that she uses stuff she learned as an undergraduate at Gettysburg College a surprising amount. Sarah, should you really be surprised??? She also reports using her French minor to help translate journal articles.
Vince Venditto (Chem ’03) serves on President Bob Iuliano’s Advisory Council. At some point this year, Vince will host Prof. Funk in Vince’s University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy lab where the two will do some collaborative research.
Justin Victoria (Chem ’13) graduated from the National Firearms Examiners Academy in November 2021. Run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the academy trains law enforcement agents in forensic firearm and toolmark examination. His training with the National Firearms Examiners Academy qualified him to become a firearms examiner in the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office in Toms River, N.J. where he previously served as a forensic drug chemist since 2013.
John Young (Chem ’03) sent an email last fall to let us know that he started a new job in Wacker in 2022. He is responsible for setting up and leading new product development of the company’s organo-functional silane portfolio.
We are saddened to hear of deaths among our Chemistry alumni family. We lost Mary Harsh (Chem ’53) in November 2021, Dale Kleinfelter (Chem ’53) in April 2022, Quentin Lengel (Chem ’55) in June 2022, John Lucas II (Chem ‘70) in January 2022, Steven Piver (Chem ’57) in May 2022, James Raymond (Chem ’67) in October 2022, Andrew Smith (Chem’82) in August 2022, Austin Stiles (Chem ’52) in June 2022 and Robert Taylor (Chem ’63) in December 2021.
For news of BMB Alumni, see the latest BMB Program Newsletter.
Ron Couchman, Musselman Library Special Collections Assistant and former Gettysburg College Registrar, wrote the following notes on the Class of 2014.
Three years after their graduation, the United States was at war in Europe. I wondered how the members of this class had been impacted by this event. Those who solicited information for the 1932 directory must have asked that same question because war experiences were prominently shared in the published biographies of 22 members of the class (52%). Eleven served in the United States Army, three as officers, and one each in other service branches – the U.S. Navy, Aviation Corps, and Chaplaincy. Others served in related war activity – ambulance service with French Army, base hospital A.E.F. France, YMCA war relief (2) and four as research chemists with Chemical Warfare Service, the Bureau of Aircraft Production or in a government lab. For most, the length of service was limited, ending with peace in 1919. However, Adolph C. Weidenbach (a.k.a. Charles A Willoughby) had made it a career and by 1932 had been promoted to major with assignments as military attaché in several South American countries. One member continued in the U.S. Reserves serving as an inspector general while two remained employed at the Chemical Warfare Service located at the Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland.
As I read through the biographies in the 1932 directory, it was the incidence of the words chemist or chemistry that caused me to also look more carefully at the career paths of members of the class. Nine members of the class reported careers in chemistry – DuPont executives (2), Chemistry Warfare Service (2 as mentioned above), Penna. R.R. (2), chief chemist Sylvania Ind., chemist, engineer, and plant mgt. and chemistry teacher. In addition, there were two additional science teachers and one who went into business but reported chemical research in a government lab during the war. Chemistry was instrumental in the career path of a little over a quarter (28%) of the members of the class. Clearly, this highlights the influence and importance of the presence of Professor Edward S. Breidenbaugh on the faculty at Pennsylvania College. No wonder the college choose to name a building in his honor.
We enjoy hearing from you so keep those cards, letters and e-mails coming! You can reach us through a variety of means, including…
On-line form:
Use the form at this link to share memories of your time at Gettysburg College or update us on what’s happening in your life!
By mail:
Chemistry Department
Gettysburg College
300 N. Washington Street
Campus Box 393
Gettysburg, PA 17325
By e-mail:
Prof. Don Jameson, Department Chair, at djameson@gettysburg.edu
Lea Czar, Administrative Assistant, at lczar@gettysburg.edu
Or. to any of the Chemistry Department faculty. You can find our email addresses through the departmental web page.
