Dr. Thomas Eberlein
Dr. Thomas “Tom” Eberlein, associate professor of chemistry, passed away October 25, 2017. Born on February 19, 1957 in Cleveland Heights, Ohio and residing in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, he was 60 years old.
Tom graduated from Cleveland Heights High School in 1975. He received a bachelor of science degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and then went on to earn his doctorate in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Penn State became Tom’s professional academic “home” for the span of his career, at Penn State Schuylkill and Penn State Harrisburg.
Tom joined Penn State Harrisburg in fall 2006. He served as program chair for environmental engineering from 2006 to 2014 and biology and science from 2010 to 2015. He was also well known for sharing his passion for chemistry, coordinating the American Chemical Society’s local Chemistry Olympiad competition at Penn State Harrisburg for 18 years.
Tom is survived by his wife, Kristina Machusick; his two children, Gus and Tessa Eberlein; two step-children, Cara Meglio, and her fiancé, Haider Shamsuddin, and Seth Kodner; his mother, Jean Nicholls; six siblings: David, Barbara, Tamara, Sam, Willy, Jennifer “Freddie;” and his former spouse, Kelli Kauterman.
Tom’s wife shared the following with the college community upon his death, “Tom was taken away from us in bits and pieces over the last two years, as glioblastoma stole his words, memory, ability to walk, and even his sense of humor. The last bit was taken yesterday. What it never got was his shining spirit and positive outlook. All of him is restored now in my heart, and in the hearts of all who love him.”
Lt. Gen. Emmett Paige Jr.
Lieutenant General and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence, Emmett Paige Jr., 86, died at his Fort Washington, Maryland home on August 31, 2017.
A 1974 graduate of Penn State Harrisburg’s master of public administration program, Paige was named a Distinguished Alumnus by the University in 1988. The award is the highest honor that Penn State bestows upon an alum. Paige was also named an Alumni Fellow by the Penn State Alumni Association in 1993.
Paige’s military career spanned over 41 years. He served with the 57th Signal Company in Korea, with responsibility for all fixed plant communications serving the United Nations Command, U.S. Forces Korea, and the Eighth Army. During the Vietnam War, he commanded the 361st Signal Battalion in Vietnam and the 11th Signal Group based at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.
Paige served two tours with the Defense Communications Agency; commanded the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Engineering and Installation Agency at Fort Huachuca, the Army’s Communications Systems Agency and Communications Research and Development Command at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey; the Army’s Electronics Research and Development Command, Adelphi, Maryland; and the Army Information Systems Command at Fort Huachuca.
Following his retirement in 1988, Paige became president and COO of OAO Corporation, an aerospace and information systems company. He was “recalled” to active duty in 1993, when he was confirmed as Assistant Secretary of Defense. He served in this post until 1997, when he returned to OAO.
He is survived by his daughter Sandra Alexander and two sons, Anthony Paige and Micheal Davis. He is preceded in death by his wife, Gloria.