ALUMNI & REUN ION WEEKEND 2012ALUMNI & REUN ION WEEKEND 2012

James Dunn, we are proud to recognizeyou for your work as a co-founder ofthe WPI Venture Forum and as a men-tor to many budding entrepreneurs,and for numerous other activities youhave helped enable.

The seeds of the WPIVenture Forum wereplanted in 1990, when youmet the late Jim Fee ’65 atan MIT Enterprise Forum.You asked each other howyou could start a similar en-deavor at WPI. While at Homecoming a fewmonths later, you men-tioned the idea to electricalengineering professor BillGrogan, who recommended bringingBill Gasko ’62, an adjunct pro fessor in entrepreneurship, into the discussion.What began as a meeting of three was solidified into the WPI VentureForum in 1991. Hundreds of inventorsand innovators, venture capitalists andseasoned professionals in the WPI com-munity continue to benefit from theVenture Forum’s monthly programs,and the seminars, competitions, andother programs offered throughout the year.

Your impressive career and extensivework with NASA also brings muchpride and recognition to WPI. A longtime entrepreneur, you haveamassed more than 30 years of experi-

ence in a variety of high-technologyventures with companies ranging fromstart-ups to Fortune 100 organizations.Most recently, you have brought youringenuity back to your alma mater.With a patent for a “Fuel Cell–Powered

Electric Aircraft” you areleading the development ofthe world’s first fuel cell–powered electric airplane.Your work on this projecthas included more than 50 WPI students and volunteers and receivedmuch inter national acclaimfrom such publications as Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Air

& Space, The Economist, BusinessWeek,and the Boston Globe, among many others. In addition, you were recentlyrecognized by Fuel Cell Managementmagazine as one of the world’s “Top30 Contributors” to the fuel cell field.You have also mentored many students on alternative and renewable energyprojects.

James Dunn, your work as an inno-vator and to establish the WPI VentureForum fuels both the hearts and mindsof aspiring entrepreneurs in the WPIcommunity and the region. We arehonored to recognize you today withthe Herbert F. Taylor Award for Distinguished Service to WPI.

James P. Dunn ’67HERBERT F. TAYLOR AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO WPI

William Gasko, your service to WPIhas left a lasting impression on the uni-versity, helping fuel its commitment toentrepreneurship education.

After earning a master’s degree inaeronautical physics and a PhD in theoretical physics at WPI,you went on to a highlysuccessful career as an entrepreneur and expert in technology transfer. Youserved as chairman andCEO of several companies,including Millis Corpora-tion, Aster, Vivascan, andthe Center for TechnologyCommercialization, andserved as vice president ofmarketing at Amrita TV, of Kerala, India. Your work took you around theworld to such countries as Ireland, Fin-land, Germany, China, Japan, Taiwan,India, and Russia. You also served asthe northeast regional technology trans-fer executive director for NASA and led programs for the national review of commercial technology for the Na-tional Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the developmentof technology access and visibility forthe National Institute of Justice.

As your impressive career often tookyou far from Worcester, you recognizedthe critical importance of creating a

culture of entrepreneurship at youralma mater. For three years, you servedas a full professor, holding the GrantChair of Entrepreneurship. You devel-oped courses in entrepreneurship, organizational behavior, and cross-

cultural behavior. With several fellow alumni, youhelped establish the WPIVenture Forum, a valuableresource for entrepreneursand inventors, and servedas its chairman for the firstfive years. You have beenan advocate for further in-tegration of entrepreneur-ship and business educationinto WPI’s engineering and

science curriculum. Now you are seeingthe fruits of your advocacy, with theuniversity’s renewed emphasis on en-trepreneurship education backed by faculty and academic support in thisarea. You remain active in the life ofWPI, serving as a judge for the WPIVenture Forum business plan contestand as a member of the Citations Com-mittee of the WPI Alumni Association.

William Gasko, your contributionsto the life and work of WPI will con -tinue to impact generations of studentsand alumni. We recognize you todaywith the Herbert F. Taylor Award forDistinguished Service to WPI.

William F. Gasko ’65 MS, ’69 PhDHERBERT F. TAYLOR AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO WPI

To be presented at a Venture Forum event on June 12

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