International House Berkeley

International House Times 17 1940s Evie Merritt, sister of alumni Elisabeth (Karlsson) Peterson (IH 1946-48), Hilda (Karlsson) Roderick (IH 1948-49), and Doris (Karlsson) Burgess (IH 1959-60), visited I-House in search of a clock that her sister Elisabeth had designed more than 75 years ago. The clock featured the original I-House logo, surrounded by two large brass hands and a brass dial. It was hung in the Great Hall and stood the test of time for many decades until replacement parts could no longer be found for its motor. The centerpiece of the clock is on display in the I-House Hall of History. 1950s While a student at Cal, William Shane (IH 1951-52) studied astronomy. He is excited to welcome three new postdocs (from Australia, India, and the USA) to the Monterey Institute for Research in Astronomy, where he continues to conduct research today. I-House, particularly the Great Hall, is a special place for Abdelkader Abbadi (IH 1959-61 & 1966-67) and his family. He met his wife, Maria, in the Great Hall in 1966 and shortly thereafter, also while in the Great Hall, received a job offer to work with the United Nations. He says, "My position in the United Nations Division of the Security Council was to work for the resolution of conflicts and for peace and cooperation in various parts of the world. e I-House values, including international understanding, cultural diversity, tolerance, and brotherhood, served me well in my new assignments." Abdelkader and Maria joined us in April 2023 for the I-House alumni gathering in New York City. eir son Karim Abbadi (IH 1998-2000) is also an I-House alum. 1960s Tim Holt (1968-71) has written a futuristic novel, On Higher Ground, and a collection of essays on simple living, Songs of the Simple Life. He currently publishes a literary quarterly, e Northwest Review. Tara Lamont (IH 1968-69) wrote, "I arrived in Berkeley in 1966 and was immediately drawn into IH activities. I performed Indian classical and folk dances at the cultural shows and spent many hours in the café debating the important issues of the day. My best friends to this day are the ones I met at I-House." Tara recently published MOKSHA, a didactic novel of Vedanta philosophy in the guise of a tale of adventure. You can find her book in the I-House library, where we are developing a collection of publications of I-House alumni from around the world. Another published author, Nadia Grosser Nagarajan (IH 1968-70), lived in I-House while getting her Ph.D. in comparative literature and, while here, met her husband, Sambamurthy Nagarajan (IH 1968-73), who was pursuing his doctorate in structural engineering. Nadia has published three books, which can also be found in the I-House library. Chenming Hu (IH 1969-71), TSMC Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the electronic engineering and computer science department at UC Berkeley, recently received an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Hong Kong and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Medal of Honor, IEEE's highest honor. Constantin Bulucea (IH 1960s) is now a retired Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff of Texas Instruments and an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Life Fellow. He still remembers "with great pleasure, the folk dancing evenings at the I-House and watching the news broadcast by Walter Cronkite." 1970s Joseph Landolph (IH 1971) is a tenured Associate Professor of molecular microbiology and immunology and pathology at University of Southern California. At the University of Peshawar in Pakistan, Muhammed Khan (IH 1972) is the Vice Chancellor at FATA University in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, and President of the Pakistan Psychological Association. Richard Benson (IH 1974-76) is the president of the University of Texas at Dallas, a fast-growing research university, and his wife, Leslie Brault Benson (IH 1972-76), is retired but an active volunteer, mostly helping organizations with website development. Douglas Piirto (IH 1972-77) wrote,"Please keep things going as peace and harmony in the world require people showing respect as they seek common ground." Jim Silva (IH 1968-69) and Edee (Westfall) Silva (IH 1973-75) report that, for the past two years, Jim has served as an adjunct electrical engineering lab instructor at Union College, while taking many EE classes, satisfying a lifelong interest in electronics. Edee has worked for years as a church music director. Jim and Edee met in the Great Hall. Alumni News & Notes

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