NOTES ON PEOPLE (05/29/05)

NOTES ON PEOPLE

Wins Fulbright to study in Kyiv

PARSIPPANY, N.J. - Aleksander Mehrle, a Ukrainian American born and raised in New York City, won a Fulbright Award to study in Ukraine this coming year. A graduate of Washington and Lee University's law school in Virginia, Mr. Mehrle will study at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy in Ukraine.

Mr. Mehrle's work in Ukraine will examine the research and development of nanotechnology, the process of creating microminiature equipment by manipulating atoms and molecules as if they were parts of a machine.

Mr. Mehrle completed his bachelor of arts degree at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., and then entered the law school at Washington and Lee in 2002.

In the spring of 2004 he began an internship with Lux Capital, a nanotechnology venture capital firm, according to a statement issued by the law school. Mr. Mehrle says his work there "turned into a career interest - and I never imagined it would." He followed the internship with an independent study on nanotechnology regulatory issues in the United States.

In Kyiv, Mr. Mehrle told the Washington and Lee law school he hopes "to contribute to Ukraine's development as a sovereign, democratic and prosperous nation." He said that Ukraine's 1,500 research institutes and its rank as the 26th in the world for per capita population of research and development professions make Ukraine a promising place for research. The United States, on the other hand, has the money for nanotechnology research and development, but rising costs mean many companies are looking to outsource the work.

"With its population of highly trained scientists and the ability to offer comparative cost advantages over the United States on labor and materials, Ukraine should prove an inviting destination for nanotechnology research and development," he said.

Mr. Mehrle said the nanotechnology market in Ukraine is growing, and he quoted the National Science Foundation's prediction that the nanotechnology market in Ukraine will reach $1 trillion within 15 years.

Mr. Mehrle said he plans to research the legal and logistical issues involved in forming Ukrainian American joint ventures in nanotechnology. Afterwards, he hopes to establish contacts and interview members of Ukraine's scientific, legal, business and political communities, evaluating their interest in working with U.S. capital.

Mr. Mehrle attended Ukrainian school in New York City and is a member of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization's Chornomortsi fraternity. Mr. Mehrle studied at Oxford, England, during his junior year at college, and was later inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. His grandparents were Wolodymyr and Vera Sushkiw, and his parents are Axel and Daria Mehrle.

Aleksander Mehrle is a member of Ukrainian National Association Branch 194.

A 90th birthday and family reunion

MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. - Elaine Yurchak Ropke, mother of Father John Ropke, pastor of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church here, recently celebrated her 90th birthday with a special divine liturgy and family reunion at the church.

Father Ropke, his brother Richard Ropke, from the North Port, Fla., area, Mrs. Ropke's three grandchildren and three great grandchildren were all in attendance, along with many cousins from Ohio and New Jersey.

Mrs. Ropke's niece, Katherine Szmagala and her family, were also present for the celebration as were many other guests.

Mrs. Ropke was born in New York. Her parents, Nicholas and Mary Yurchak, came to the U.S. from Stary Sambir, Ukraine, in 1901. They were founding members of St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church in New York City where her father was the first choir director.

She was always fond of music and sang with the Ukrainian Catholic Chorus of New York and New Jersey in the 1930s and 1940s. She also sang with the Scola Cantorum in New York City. Her husband, John C. Ropke, died in 1998. Her two sisters, Anna Herman and Katherine Huley, have also passed away along with her brother Bill.

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