Peter Tomasino:
CLASS OF 1969
Notre Dame High SchoolClass of 1969
Milwaukee, WI
Illinois Institute of TechnologyClass of 1987
Chicago, IL
Milwaukee Area Technical CollegeClass of 1973
Milwaukee, WI
Peter's Story
Pete was recruited by Bell Labs in June 1973 right after graduating 3rd in his class from college. Pete started as a developer on 3ESS, then 2/2BESS, then 5ESS in 1982. After an extended stay in 5ESS Terminal Maintenance, Pete moved on to 7R/E as a Systems Engineer in 2000. After 2 years and a big downsizing, it was back to 5E but this time doing Maintenance Systems Engineering. 5E SE was lots of fun from OIU-IP to SIP there was never a dull moment. Add to that the never-ending field issues and the pressures of a mature product transitioning to maintenance mode. It all added up to an interesting 3-year run.
In January of 2005, Pete was on the move again. This time to Mobility Wireless Architecture where he applied his background in OA&M to Software Licensing for Mobility. Pete was the lead architect on a team that developed a complete end-to-end product licensing system for the CDMA 3G Wireless system. Following CDMA licensing Pete join the team that architected the migration of CDMA to the ATCA platform. The next project was the Wireless Media Server where Pete was responsible for OA&M. Pete championed the change to Agile and lead the way of applying new tools and processes to reduce development time and effort and increase quality.
With the break up of the Bell System in 1984 Bell Labs ended up with AT&T. Then in 1996 Bell Labs was spun off into Lucent Technologies. Following the technology bubble burst, Lucent merged with Alcatel to form Alcatel-Lucent in 2006. Over his career, Pete has steadily moved up from a Technical Assistant in 1973 through Senior Technical Assistant to Associate Member of Technical Staff and to a full Member of Technical Staff. Then in 1997, Pete was awarded Distinguished Member of Technical Staff for his innovations in software estimation and the development of a web-based software estimation tracking system. Pete's next big milestone came in 2009 when he received two US patents for his work on dynamic management of trunk group members and interoffice trunk testing. From 2009 through 2014 Pete's next assignment was to evolve 3G on the ATCA platform. Then later in 2014, Pete was outsourced to HCL America where he supported the sales team as a technical specialist on TDM to IP transformation, SDN & NFV analysis & audit, and IN management. In January 2017 Pete was looking for a new position.
After not finding another software development position a good friend offered him a position doing general construction work. So, at 66 Pete started a whole new career. Since then he has helped rehab a house, replaced windows, remodeled a kitchen & master bath, and laid over 2000 sqft of title. Not bad for an old guy!
Over the years Pete has cultivated a number of passions; Scuba diving, travel, cooking, and an appreciation for fine wine.
Pet...Expand for more
e is a scuba instructor with over 30 years of experience and has been diving all around the globe. His favorite locations have been the Red Sea, Grand Cayman, Guanaja Honduras, Sipadan, Malaysia, and Yap. He regularly dives the Great Lakes and has had many of his Great Lake shipwreck photos published in books (100 Best Shipwrecks of Lake Superior) and diving magazines (Skin Diver). Pete has been an instructor and service technician with the Illinois Institute of Diving since 1985.
Dining out and cooking came about as his financial situation grew more stable. The cuisine that gets his mouth-watering includes Italian, Chinese, Greek, Spanish Tapas, and Japanese. While his kitchen skills have improved he's by no means a chief. But, many like his creations, and few have died as a result.
Wine, an interest that started in 1980, accounts for those moments of self-induced amnesia. Here his main interest is the big full-bodied reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux, Barolo, Brunello, and Amarone. A particular favorite is Porto. Pete maintains a 600 bottle collection.
Throughout Pete's travels, he has visited a number of the world's renowned wine growing regions including Napa, Sonoma, and Pasa Robles in California, Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley in France, Tuscany in Italy, South Africa, Central Otago, and Marlborough in New Zealand. His most memorable trips have been to London, Rome, Venice, Greece, Istanbul, and Paris.
At an annual fall event Pete hosts, he shows off his skill at pairing food and wine. He takes pride in planning and preparing all the food. It is usually an intimate group of about 40, where getting on the "A" list is sought after.
With his knowledge of wine and discerning pallet, Pete has developed a basic wine tasting course that he has taught in conjunction with a local wine merchant since 2011. He is now creating advanced wine tasting and wine & food pairing courses as he looks towards retirement.
Since fully retiring in 2018 there has been more time for travel, diving, home improvements, and of course wine.
In 2019 the big trip was to Beqa island in Fiji to dive. It was a large group and since it was a long trip we were there for two weeks. The diving was great especially the shark dives. I have been on shark dives before but these were spectacular. There were black and white tips, grays, blues, and bulls. Bu the stars were the tigers and one, in particular, was a 14ft female that the DMs hand feed. So, cool!!!
In 2020 with travel restricted I set about adding that fire pit we have always wanted and since I was at it I put in a walkway from the driveway to the patio to boot.
With time on my hands and good friends at the ready, we meet weekly to escape the worries of the day and enjoy our latest wine discovery and a well-earned meal together.
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