Francis M. Staszesky (SB 1942, SM), retired president and chief operating officer of Boston Edison Co., will deliver this year's first Department of Mechanical Engineering Distinguished Alumni Lecture at 4pm on Thursday, Oct. 8 in Rm 3-270.
In his lecture, entitled "After MIT," Mr. Staszesky will offer his thoughts about "the world of work outside of academia, and lessons learned" in his career experience, he said in an abstract.
"I believe there are immutable, enduring tenets and values that are vital to a successful professional career. An individual career may, from time to time, diverge in direction of interest, assignment and/or employment��������������������������� In this lecture, I will discuss the change in my career path and how this core of principles was so important to my enjoyment, satisfaction and measure of success as a professional engineer."
After receiving the SM from MIT in 1943, Mr. Staszesky worked for Union Oil Co. of California and E.I. duPont de Nemours Co. before joining Boston Edison in 1948. His first 16 years with Edison were spent in technical work and supervision. In 1964 he moved into the executive management of the company, serving first as vice president and assistant to the president, and later as president and chief operating officer (from 1976 until his retirement in 1983).
The Department of Mechanical Engineering established the Distinguished Alumni Lecture series in 1991. Generally, three or four alumni/ae are brought in each year for two-day campus visits to meet with the department head, selected faculty and students. The program allows eminent alumni/ae to remain actively involved with the department, and creates a means for students to interact with successful graduates.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on September 30, 1998.
