"Okemos Alumni Hall of Fame" In the fields of.....Science . Technology . Engineering , Medicine . Math . Agriculture
Scientists : Medicine, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Space, Earth
Doctors of Medicine : Teaching and Practicing
Technology: Engineering, Architect, Computers, Software
Mathematics : Teachers, Professors,
Agriculture : Farming, Teaching, Professors
Class of 1928
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and twice a Fulbright Scholar
Dr. Guile received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from MSU. He retired as a professor from the MSU Chemistry Dept. and was associated with the University for over 50 years. He was a member of the American Chemical Society, the Academy for the Advancement of Science and the Okemos Lodge No. 252 F & AM. Dr. Guile was a Fulbright Scholar at the University Ghent in Belgium (1950) and at Trinity University, Dublin, Ireland (1960). He was also a SEATO Fellow in Bangkok, Thailand (1968).
Class of 1941 Lawrence Nathan Shepherd
1938 Represented the Okemos Future Farmers of America chapter at the International Hay and Grain show at Chicago with his corn and bean samples.
1940 Okemos F.F.A Chapter President
1944 Staff Sgt. Laurence N. Shepherd, 21, was slightly wounded December 13 in action in France, where he was serving with the infantry.
1956 Michigan State University degree and Instructor (research) Soil Science
~1965 Ohio State University where he became a professor in the Department of Horticulture and Crops
2003 Farm Science Review Hall of Fame
2010 at age 87 died, Professor Emeritus The Ohio State University Dept. Of Horticulture and Crops
Class of 1952
Fulbright Fellowship in Physics 1956
Biochemist division chief US Human Health and Services Dept. 1961
U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2008
Class of 1953
Max Benne
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Lester Kyle Aldrich, II "Les or LK"
North Carolina State University (NCSU) with a Masters Degree in Nuclear Engineering
Army for se
venteen years and a member of the Army Rifle Team and Marksmanship Training Unit
While at NSCU he coached the seven time National collegiate Champion NCSU Rifle Team
A professional nuclear engineer in North Carolina, Idaho, and in Washington as a Certified Heath Physicist
He chaired the Part 1 Panel of Examiners of the American Board of Health Physics, the Continuing Education Committee of the American Academy of Health Physics, and the Health Physics Society Standards Committee Working Group on Radiation Protection Terminology.
As a 'Fellow' of the Health Physics Society, he was also the International Standards Organization's United States Representative for radiation terminology.
A member of Mensa, the high IQ society. (Membership of Mensa is open to persons who have tested and attained a score within the upper two percent of the general population)
Class of 1954
Dennis Avery
Class of 1955
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Class of 1958
"I did not distinguish myself in high school. I graduated in the middle of the class. I enjoyed things, extracurricular activities."
In 2000, awarded the National Medal of Technology from U.S. President Bill Clinton.
Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate from Michigan State University. Joined Corning Glass Works Research and Development Division in early 1968. Just twelve years out of Okemos High School, in August 1970, Dr. Keck and two co-workers invented fiber optics.
<click picture to read the Donald Keck biography>
<click for a quick overview of Dr. Keck, by Bob Bratzler '64>
Class of 1959
Carol Jean Price Walter Biography
Okemos High School Class of 1959 Valedictorian
Albion College Biology Degree with highest honors, Phi Beta Kappa
Sigma Xi National Science Honor Society
Ph.D. in Physiology at University of Vermont College of Medicine
UVM Department of Medicine and Department of Pediatrics 1972-2001
Research: tumor marker alpha-fetoprotein and liver disease and
developed the VT Screening Program now known as the 'Quad Screen'
for the detection of serious birth defects in early pregnancy like Down syndrome and Spina Bifida
Retired in 2001 as the Director of the Vermont-wide Screening Program for Metabolic Disorders in Newborns.
Class of 1959 Walter Schreiner Distinguished Alumni 2019
The Autobiography of a Physics Nerd and Renaissance Man!
Class of 1963
Dr. Walter Willett --Biography
World Renowned Nutritionist, researcher, lecturer, professor at Harvard Medical School and chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health
Author of Eat, Drink and Be Healthy
YouTube Search Results on "Walter Willett": Over 2080 Hits!
"7 Weight Loss Tips from Kim Kardashian for Harvard’s Top Nutritionist", Caloriegate
YouTube, StockholmFood Forum, 2014
"Grading the Gurus: Walter Willett", Small Bites, 2010
YouTube: Dairy and Fractures, FOTGCREN, 2017
"Walter Willett honored for being creative, collaborative, kind", Harvard School of Public Health, 2016
Class of 1963 Dr. Kerry J. Byrnes --Autobiography
Distinguished Alumni 2018 The Ceremony and School presentation Nomination and Program
“Working behind the scenes and often in obscurity, Kerry is an Okemos gift to the world. From Eagle Scout to VISTA Volunteer to relief of poverty on a global scale..."
Agricultural and Rural Development Specialist and Advisor to the U.S. Agency for International Development and development assistance organizations such as the International Fertilizer Development Center, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the World Bank, non-governmental organizations, and various consulting firms.
Author of numerous books and articles...content for the OAA web site
-- Close Encounters with Celebrities and "Giants"
-- On Assignment with Kerry: Memorable Moments from 40+ years of Travel to the Developing World
-- The Chieftain Fourteen: "From Okemos High's O-ZONE to Michigan State's IZZONE: The Red Cedar Journeys of The Chieftain Fourteen"
-- Author of articles on film music scoring; Collector of film music soundtracks on CD; and Donor of 2000+ film music soundtrack CDs to the Michigan State University Library
Class of 1964
Triple Honors:
High School State Wrestling Champion and Top Ten Academics
All-Big Ten Wrestling Champion
National Reputation for Medical Practice and Research in Oncology
YouTube: Recommendations for Cervical Cancer Screening, 2010
Class
of 1966
World renown organic chemistry professor and research scientist
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NASA's JPL Space/Earth Scientist
BEEE from Princeton
PhD from Yale
CEO of his own Satellite Company
Reveloutionary change in Earth/Weather measurement
High School Mile Record holder
Class of 1998
2016 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient from Okemos Education Foundation
Mike Litos graduated from Okemos High School in 1998. He played trumpet in band throughout middle and high school, which served as a cornerstone for his personal development. He also played football despite his small size, being given an award by his peers for having “the stature of Pee-Wee Herman and the tackling ability of Ronnie Lott”. Mike enjoyed the company of a wide variety of social cliques, though always tried to maintain a strong sense of individuality, as reflected in his “punk rock rodeo clown” attire. He earned his B.S. in physics at Michigan Statue University in 2003, with an additional major in Japanese. Mike next went to graduate school to further his education in physics at Boston University. Both aspects of his undergraduate degree were put to use in grad school, when he joined the Nobel Prize winning Super Kamiokande collaboration, a neutrino physics experiment based in Japan. He earned his Ph.D. in physics in 2010, and immediately moved to California to begin his postdoctoral work at Stanford’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, where he conducted research in plasma wakefield acceleration—a technique to make smaller, more efficient and affordable particle accelerators for use in applications ranging from medical radiation therapy to high energy physics particle colliders. In 2011, Mike married his wife, Leah Angstman from Mason, MI, whom he has known since their teenage years when their punk and ska bands used to play basement shows together. The first major research paper he wrote as a postdoc was featured on the cover of Nature Magazine in 2014, following which Mike was hired as an associate staff scientist by SLAC. In 2016 Mike took a tenure-track position at the University of Colorado Boulder as an assistant professor in the physics department, where he currently teaches physics at all levels and continues his research in the field of plasma wakefield acceleration.
Class of 1972
Renowned Expert Forensic Scientist and Serologist solves murder mysteries.