Memo from the Dean 1/4/2012

Dear Pratt Community,

With great sadness, I report that Pratt research engineer Ned Light lost his battle with cancer on Friday, December 16. His family will be holding a memorial service for Ned on Monday January 9, at 2:00 p.m. in the Duke University Chapel. A reception will follow in the von der Heyden Pavilion, located adjacent to the Bostock Library on West Campus.

Ned was a Duke engineer through and through. He graduated with a B.S.E. in biomedical engineering in 1989 and got his M.S. in 1997. He was a classmate of BME faculty members Kathy and Roger Nightingale. While an undergrad, he was a member of the Pep Band and the fencing team. He captained the saber squad for two years and was men's team captain for his senior season. After graduating, he worked in Professor Steve Smith's lab as a Research and Development Engineer III, doing everything from building transducers by hand to developing systems for ultrasound guided robotic surgery. Virtually every graduate and undergraduate student who worked in the Smith lab interacted directly with Ned, and he was known as a patient teacher and gifted engineer. He will be greatly missed, and our hearts go out to his wife, Anne and his daughter, Erin.

The Pratt family also lost another member in December. Freshman Raul Salvador Buelvas, III, passed away on Sunday, December 25, 2011 at his home after battling bone cancer for years. Raul was an avid guitar player, rock climber, singer, and a member of the National Honor Society, Duke Bible Study Group, and Savannah Christian Church. He enjoyed managing the lighting and technical work for his school plays and was a member of the jazz band.  His parents tell me that attending Duke for college was his dream.

A service was held on December 27, but the family asks that remembrances be made to Teens HOPE, an organization that Raul founded to provide entertainment and emotional support for hospitalized teens. Please make gifts payable to The Savannah Community Foundation, 7393 Hodgson Memorial Dr. Suite 204, Savannah, GA 31406, and write "Teens Hope" on the memo line.

I remind everyone that Pratt established a memorial garden between the Fitzpatrick Center and the Westbrook building as a place to sit and remember our Duke friends and family.

Sincerely,

Tom Katsouleas
Professor and Dean