Dr. Heilmeier, Engineering Overseer Emeritus

George H. Heilmeier, an overseer in Penn Engineering from 1989-2011, passed away April 21 from complications with Alzheimer’s disease; he was 77.

Dr. Heilmeier received international recognition for his discovery of several new electro-optic effects in liquid crystals, leading to the development of the first liquid crystal displays, or LCD, for watches, calculators and instrumentation, and he held 15 patents.

He was chairman emeritus of Telcordia Technologies, formerly Bellcore, a leading provider of communications software and professional services. Prior to his retirement in 1997, he was chairman and chief executive officer. He also served as senior vice president and chief technical officer of Texas Instruments, Inc., director of DARPA and head of Solid State Device Research at RCA.

Dr. Heilmeier served as a White House Fellow, a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was a board member of many corporations and governmental organizations.

He received numerous awards, including the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Medal, the IEEE Founders Medal, the National Academy of Engineering’s highest honor, the Founders Award, the Japan Prize in Computers and Communications, the Industrial Research Institute Medal and the Pioneer of Stealth Award, among others. He was awarded the National Medal of Science by President George H. W. Bush in 1991 and was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame in 2009. Dr. Heilmeier’s leadership in telecommunications and technology management was also recognized through honorary doctorate degrees from Stevens Institute and the Israeli Institute of Technology (the Technion).

Penn Engineering established the George H. Heilmeier Faculty Award for Excellence in Research in 2001 to recognize “his extraordinary research career, his leadership in technical innovation and public service and his loyal and steadfast support of Penn Engineering.” The School also has a lecture hall, Heilmeier Hall, in  the Towne Building that was named in his honor in 1999.

Born in Philadelphia, Dr. Heilmeier received his BS in electrical engineering from Penn in 1958 and MA, MSE and PhD degrees in solid-state electronics from Princeton University.

Dr. Heilmeier is survived by his wife, Janet; daughter, Beth Jarvie; and three grandchildren.

Dr. Wiener, Student Health Services

Evelyn Wiener, executive director of Student Health Service, passed away May 8 from cancer at age 62.

A Philadelphia native, Dr. Wiener graduated with a bachelors of arts degree from Brandeis University. She received her medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine and completed a residency in internal medicine at Temple University Hospital. She was an attending physician at Temple Hospital from 1980-1987 and then at Penn Medicine, where she also taught.

Dr. Wiener was appointed associate director of Student Health in 1989 and became executive director in 2000. Her specific responsibilities included planning and developing the health program for all students in the University community, establishing appropriate preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic services, coordinating and participating in clinical research programs, as well as advising University administrators on relevant medical matters.

Dr. Wiener was president of the Mid-Atlantic College Health Association (MACHA) for the 1999-2000 term and served as the program chair of MACHA’s 1999 Annual Meeting. She was active in the American College Health Association (ACHA) for a number of years, with service on the ACHA’s Taskforce for Health Promotion in Higher Education and the ACHA’s Working Group on Benchmarking. She was co-chair of ACHA’s Benchmarking Committee from 1999 through 2007 and was chair of the Program Planning Committee for the 2010 ACHA Annual Meeting.

In 2012, Dr. Wiener received the American College Health Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring the passion she brought to the organization and her work.

Dr. Wiener is survived by her husband, Ken Jacobs; son, Alex Jacobs; daughter, Molly Jacobs Raimonte; and sister, Marsha Pelberg.

A celebration of the life and talents of Dr. Wiener will be held on Wednesday, October 8, 2014, from 4-5 p.m., in Irvine Auditorium with a reception to follow in Café ’58. Members of the Penn community are welcomed. 

Dr. Wilson, Neurology

William W. Wilson, Sr., a former faculty member in the department of neurology in the School of Medicine, passed away April 27 at age 97.

Born in Philadelphia, Dr. Wilson received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University in 1938 and his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1942. He interned at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia General Hospital before serving as a flight surgeon in the Navy in the South Pacific. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service.

After completing his residency in internal medicine at the US Naval Hospital in Philadelphia in 1949, Dr. Wilson taught neurology in Penn’s School of Medicine until 1958. He was the chief of neurology at Philadelphia General Hospital from 1949 until it closed in 1977.

Dr. Wilson was on staff at numerous local hospitals and held his practice in Wynnewood until 1995. He was medical director and president of Fairmount Farm, Inc., 1949-1972 and a member of the board of directors, 1949-1975.

During Dr. Wilson’s career, he published numerous papers in the fields of neurology and psychiatry. He was a member of the American Medical Association, the American Neurological Association, the American Psychiatric Association and the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Wilson is survived by his son, William W. Wilson, Jr.; and his daughter, Wendy E. Wilson.

Mr. Woods, Graduate Student

Zachary C. Woods, a student in the MBA/MA Lauder Joint-Degree in International Studies Program, died May 6 from injuries sustained from a car accident at the 30th and Walnut Street intersection; he was 27.

Mr. Woods had recently moved to Philadelphia from New York to begin his studies at the Wharton School, where he planned to study international trade and development.

Mr. Woods had been an assistant general manager for the New York Regional Center based in Shanghai, China where he participated in raising over $1 billion of direct foreign investment into projects in New York.

He graduated from Middlebury College in 2009 with a degree in history and Chinese language, where he was a member of the swim team and a three-time qualifier to the NCAA division III championships.

Mr. Woods is survived by his parents, Robert Woods and Lori Currier Woods; siblings, Matthew and Callie; grandparents, Eugene and Marie Currier; girlfriend, Elyse Stone; aunts, Jana Currier, Lynn Maltz and Kristi Meeuwse; and many cousins.

Donations may be made to Middlebury College Men’s Swim Team at http://go.middlebury.edu/giveswimming or Save the Last Lap Campaign at the Middletown YMCA at 81 Highland Ave., Middletown, NY 10940.