Monday, September 10, 2007

Letter from Karen Gleason

Dear Jack,

From the bottom of my heart, I wanted to offer you my sincere thanks to you for being an absolutely amazing mentor and role model to me at the start of my MIT faculty career. Despite all your success and all the competing demands on your time, you freely offered your advice, support, and humor and never made me feel that affirmative action was not the only reason the department hired me. The NSF grant for diamond synthesis that you wrote with Herb and myself was really a turning point in my career. I always admired how deeply you care about science, and not just its hype (exactly how many fullerene models do you have?) and how strongly you could articulate your point with few words and without contentiousness. Your legacy as a faculty member still insprires me even though we are no longer in the same suite. Over the past few years I have enjoyed commiserating with you on occasion about the trials and tribulations of being an entrepeneur. I will always remember that you told me that the easiest way to make a small forture with a materials company was to start with a large fortune. I am still looking for the second easiest way! If there is anything at all that I could do that would help with the challenge you currently face, please do not hesitate to ask.

With my highest regards,

Karen

No comments: