Published by the MIT News Office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
Published by the MIT News Office at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
ENDOWMENT FUND D'Arbeloff CD Chair Set; Durfee is First Holder A gift from Brit-Marie d'Arbeloff (SM '61) and Alexander V. d'Arbeloff (SB '49) has established a career development professorship in engineering design at MIT. Alexander d'Arbeloff is the founder, president and chairman of Teradyne, Inc., of Boston. The $1.5 million endowment fund established by the gift will also support a graduate fellowship and provide additional support to graduate and undergraduate students studying design. The first holder of the Brit and Alex d'Arbeloff Career Development Professorship in Engineering Design is William K. Durfee, whose research involves the integration of mechanical systems and electrical information processing devices. His current work has applied these areas to the development of systems that assist the handicapped to regain function through artificial electrical stimulation of muscles. The d'Arbeloff gift will also support the d'Arbeloff Fellowship in Engineering Design and the d'Arbeloff Design Fund, which will provide partial support to a graduate student and several undergraduates involved in design projects. The announcement of the d'Arbeloff gift and of the selection of Professor Durfee as the first d'Arbeloff Professor was made by Professor David N. Wormley, head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Speaking for himself and in behalf of President Charles M. Vest and Professor Paul E. Gray, chairman of the MIT Corporation, Professor Wormley said: "The gift reflects the conviction of the d'Arbeloffs that the design and development of innovative electronic and electromechanical products are essential components in the ability of the United States to compete in international marketplaces. The interaction of design, manufacturing and successful commercialization is an important focus for study at MIT. This gift will enable faculty and students to explore the relationships between innovation and novel product design, and will encourage the exercise of creativity in engineering design. "Support of Professor Durfee will help him to move into additional areas where information processing and mechanical systems are integrated and to combine his current biomedical activities with knowledge of electromechanical systems to investigate high performance machines and human-machine interactions." Teradyne, founded in 1960, is a leading supplier of automatic test equipment used by the electronics industry in testing integrated circuits, circuit boards and other electronic devices and assemblies. The company also makes computer-aided engineering products used in the design and testing of electronic components and test systems and related products used by telephone companies. The company has 4,700 employees.