- Fergus M. Clydesdale '66G
- Arlindo Jorge '50
- Dr. Tisata Kajiyama '69G
- Dr. Jess Kane '70
- Thomas O'Brien
- Carmel Valianti '79
- Arlindo Jorge
Radiating Excellence - Arlindo Jorge '50
Arlindo Jorge was among the first students to receive degrees in electrical engineering from UMass Amherst. A member of the class of 1950, he studied under the GI Bill and spent his first two years at the Fort Devens campus. Jorge went on to receive his master’s in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.
Jorge began his career with the Electron Tube Division of Sperry Gyroscope Company, developing high-powered final amplifiers (klystrons) for navy and army radars; he became section head of the radiation division, where he was an expert on microwave tubes. At the time, the klystron was cloaked in military secrecy and revolutionized high-energy physics and microwave research. The klystron has since been used in satellite communications, airplane and missile guidance systems, and telephone and television transmission. Today’s modern radiation oncology therapy traces its origins back to the invention of the klystron. At Sperry, Jorge also co-invented the dual-oscillator radar system.
Jorge later founded Syncor Industries Corporation, a company that manufactured electronic equipment for the United States Navy and Army. Although Jorge is technically retired, one of his current projects is in the area of assistive technology that allows patients to be transferred to and from a newly designed hospital bed and wheelchair automatically.
Jorge’s desire to foster learning for the underprivileged, in the form of endowed scholarships, was shared by his late wife, Evelyn, a teacher for 43 years. Together they have actively supported various community organizations and created the Evelyn Jorge Scholarship Fund for students who intend to teach at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams. They also endowed an Arlindo Jorge Scholarship Fund for electrical and computer engineering students at UMass Amherst.
