Christmas 1998

David still designs/tests robots at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston, for construction of the space station; and works on computer systems for NASA's BioPlex (biosphere). Texas Robotics and Automation Center, which he started in 1994, now employs 19 people. David’s new book, Artificial Intelligence and Mobile Robots (MIT Press), was featured on the cover of Robot Science and Technology (July). He also edits a new series of books from MIT Press -- Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Agents. David gave presentations and workshops at Washington (visited Steve & Jane, they went to a performance of the Vienna Boys Choir); Carnegie-Mellon U., Pittsburgh (visited Peter & Julie living in Akron); Palo Alto (side trip to Napa Valley wineries); and Minneapolis (with visit home). The American Assoc. for Artificial Intelligence Mobile Robot Competition was held in Madison, this year. David was again a coordinator and judge; and we were able to attend as guests. Robots searched for “Martians” (colored cutouts), captured and placed them in a cargo craft. The robots also mixed with patrons, handed out flyers, made announcements, and served hors d’oeuvres. David enjoys hiking/camping trips with friends. They went to Glacier National Park; and made their annual scuba diving trip, this year to the Mexican island of Cozumel. David also ran the Houston Marathon again.

Suzie, Jerry and Kaitlyn. Suzie and Jerry are expecting in June; and four year-old Kaitlyn is excited about having a brother or sister. Suzie is still a tax attorney and CPA in Madison. In a new job she will be working the busy tax months of January-April, with the rest of the year off. Jerry still works as a structural steel draftsman. This year they moved into a new (2,600 sq/ft) house that Jerry designed by computer. They needed a larger house since their home has become a central meeting place for the growing Kortenkamp clan. Suzie enjoys sewing and craft work – this year she sewed a Dalmatian costume for Kaitlyn’s trick-or-treating. Suzie also baked and decorated Sarah and Kurt’s wedding cake. She also enjoys running, and ran a half-marathon with Betsy, Katy and Tony this summer. Jerry golfs, and plays on flag football and basketball teams. They enjoy attending UW Badger football games (Suzy is an alumnus). The Badgers will be going to the Rose Bowl. They also spend occasional weekends fishing and water skiing at the Raflik family cabin on a lake in northern Wisconsin. Jerry enjoys hunting and fishing with his father and brothers. This year he got a 9-point buck. Kaitlyn learned to ride a bike with training wheels, and she continues to enjoy swimming, the zoo, and going to museums, especially to view dinosaur bones. She has also begun a collection of Beanie Babie puppies.

Steve & Jane celebrated their 1^st anniversary with a trip back to her brother's farm in Knoxville where they married. While there they went to a Tennessee vs. Florida football game (they are U. of Florida alumni). Steve represented the Midwestern Kortenkamps at his cousin Paul Kortenkamp's wedding in Los Angeles, spending time with uncle Leon and aunt Ginny and his other California cousins. Steve still works as an astronomer at Carnegie Institution of Washington (part of NASA's Astrobiology Institute), and published an article in the journal Science about his research and theory of astroidal dust accretion on earth causing climate changes and periodic mass extinctions. His theory attracted a lot of attention from the media – he was interviewed live on CNN; and AP, CBS Worldwide, and Reuters interviews and articles appeared in many major newspapers. Steve gave presentations at conferences in Houston (stayed with David), Dublin, and Monterey. He gave an invited address in San Francisco at the American Geophysical Union conference. While there he visited again with the California Kortenkamps, introducing them to Jane. They stayed with his cousin Mark and fiancee Joanna. Steve and Jane rented a convertible for a trip to northern California where they drove the “Avenue of the Giants,” hiked in the redwoods at Richardson’s Grove State Park, and stayed a night in the famous Benbow Inn. Jane still works as an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute on the campus of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, where she does research for the Hubble Space Telescope. She gave presentations in Vienna and Torino. While in Italy she toured the famous glass factories of Venice. Other trips they made -- Park City, UT, to ski (where the 2002 Winter Olympics will be held); San Diego, to run the Rock 'n Roll Marathon (with a rock 'n roll band at every water station)(Jane's first marathon; she broke 4 hours); Washington, they ran the Marine Corps Marathon; Boston (Steve’s annual pilgrimage to run the Boston Marathon), and Duluth, where they rented a log lodge on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Janet and I joined them with David, Betsy, Katy, and Tony. We hiked in Gooseberry Falls State Park, went beach combing on Agate Beach, visited the Split Rock Light House, toured several museums, etc. Steve and Jane also got together with her family for their annual vacation on the gulf at Mobile.

Nancy worked most of the year in Kansas City as Director of Sales and Marketing for Equinox International, which researches, produces and promotes environmentally safe and healthy products for home and industry. She attended conferences and workshops in Las Vegas, Louisville, and San Diego (a 4^th of July party at the ocean with the founder). Nancy’s boyfriend is a pilot, and they made flights around Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas in a single-engine two-seater experimental aircraft. In October, Nancy joined us for the sad occasion of cousin Anna’s funeral in Waterloo. Nancy had lived with Anna, aunt Marilyn, and cousins Jason and Chris while studying for her masters degree in audiology. Anna, age 24, died at the U. of Iowa Hospital. She had been waiting for a heart-lung transplant. Uncle Leon, an ordained deacon, assisted at the funeral and gave the eulogy. Cousins John and Tim from California were pall bearers. In November Nancy moved to Madison. She shares a condo with Betsy and Katy, is waitressing, and plans to resume training in American Sign Language.

Peter & Julie are planning their wedding for May 22 at the Sturgeon Bay Yacht Club in Door County, WI. Julie’s home is near Green Bay. They were living in Akron, until this year when Peter graduated with a masters degree in music (French horn performance) from the U. of Akron where he played Principle Horn for the University Symphony, and played with other campus groups. One gig included playing for the christening of the new Stars and Stripes Goodyear blimp, featured on CBS’s “Good Morning America.” Peter auditioned for horn positions with the Baltimore and Honolulu Symphonies, but didn’t quite make the cut. While in Baltimore he spent some time with Steve and Jane, and met several other astronomers. Astronomy has been Peter’s second love; in fact, this fall Peter started graduate work in astronomy at the U. of Iowa. He also works as a teaching assistant preparing astronomy laboratory demonstrations. At the U. of Akron, he did research and set up demonstrations for an acoustics course in the Physics Dept. Julie has also begun graduate work at the U. of Iowa. She is studying to be a music therapist. Her undergraduate major was music. Uncle Ed, from Cedar Rapids, helped me move Peter and Julie into their Iowa City apartment. The next day we all went to the annual Kortenkamp Family Reunion in Independence.

Sarah & Kurt were married August 15 on a farm near Waukon, IA. It was an outdoor wedding in the beautiful backyard of the old log cabin home of their friends – towering bluffs, lush green hills, and a spring-fed waterfall and stream. Peter and Julie played horn and clarinet. Janet had sewn Sarah’s wedding dress. The reception and home-cooked vegetarian dinner were also outdoors in the yard (Janet cooked the spinach, cheese, and zucchini lasagnas). Sarah and Kurt took their wedding trip through England and Continental Europe. Sarah had studied French for several years and enjoyed practicing it in France. Sarah is in her last-year of doctorate training in clinical neuropsychology at the U. of Florida. She is doing her dissertation research, and is applying for internships. Sarah co-authored a chapter on agnosia for a neuropsychology clinical manual which was published this year. While attending a conference in Madison, she was able to make a visit home. Kurt still works as a program computer support specialist for the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, Dept. of Psychiatry, U. of Florida. He also designs web pages for a little extra cash. However, Kurt’s first love is studio art, and he is quite active working on commissioned pieces.

Betsy moved from Milwaukee to Houston in January. She lived with David, becoming his “personal assistant” helping with shopping, cooking, decorating, yard work, etc. She also used her psychology major to work at the Bay Area Turning Point, a shelter for abused women and children; and to work for the Change Assessment Research Team at the U. of Houston. The Team is evaluating a behavioral treatment program used in the Texas prison system to treat inmates diagnosed with both chronic mental illness and substance abuse. Betsy made it home for Sarah’s wedding shower in May. It was a trip she will never forget. After a quick lesson from David in how to drive his stick-shift Saturn, she drove alone from Houston to Kansas City, picked up Nancy and gave her a quick lesson in how to drive a stick shift before they drove on to Wisconsin. The entire way they rolled through stop signs, sped through yellow lights, and avoided stopping on hills by only gassing up at stations situated near downhill off-ramps. Betsy made her first trip to Europe this summer. She and Katy traveled through France, Germany, Austria and Italy. While in France they joined up with Sarah and Kurt in Annecy (in the French Alps), toured Provence with them, and then they all went to Paris. This fall Betsy moved to Madison and shares a condo with Katy and Nancy. Betsy is employed with ARC, a family crisis center. She works with children from drug and alcohol abuse homes.

Katy is a senior in the Honors Program at UW-Madison majoring in psychology and also studying for certification in environmental studies. She received a $4,000 research fellowship to finance her Honors Thesis research on the development of environmental ethics in children and older students. The award recognizes excellence in undergraduate research.. She also was elected by the faculty of UW-Madison to Phi Beta Kappa, an honor society recognizing outstanding scholarship (however, she did not accept – Katy is not a “society” type). Katy works in the university Grants Office, and is a volunteer tutor in the Schools of Hope program. A high point of Katy's year was the trip she and Betsy took to Europe. It was also her first trip to Europe; and like Sarah, Katy had studied French for several years and enjoyed many opportunities to speak it. It was quite a year with our family for international travel – Janet also went abroad, touring Israel and Jordan in June with her sister Miriam.

Kayla, a foreign exchange student from the Bahamas who lived with us four years, moved into her own apartment this fall. However, she still joins us for the holiday seasons and other occasions. Kayla is a junior majoring in communicative disorders here at UW-Stevens Point; and intends to be a speech pathologist..

Tony is a sophomore majoring in computer science. This fall he transferred to UW-Eau Claire, becoming the fourth of our children to go there. In fact, he is living in the same off-campus room that Steve had during his senior year. Tony spent the summer working for a construction firm as an assistant steam-fitter installing a new heating and cooling system in the St. Stephen’s church, rectory, school and convent. After work he hung out with his motorcycle friends – putting more miles on my motorcycle this year than I did. Tony and Katy drove to Houston in August (with a stopover at Nancy’s in Kansas City). While visiting David and Betsy in Houston they all went to see Jerry Seinfeld in San Antonio, where he opened the American tour of his comedy show “I’m telling you for the last time.”