Both Julianne and David are graduates of Penn State. Julianne is originally from the Wilkes-Barre area and is a 1963 graduate of the College of Education with a bachelor's degree in secondary education specializing in Russian. In London she obtained a Diploma in Montessori Education from St. Nicholas’ College and has an M.A. from Montclair State Univ., New Jersey.

David is originally from England and graduated in 1961 with a B.Sc.in Chemistry and Geology from King’s College, University of Durham, followed by an M.S. from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences in Geochemistry in 1963. He then returned to England (with Julianne) and earned D.I.C. and PH.D. degrees in Physical Chemistry from the Imperial College of Science and Technology in the University of London. They returned to the USA in 1967. David retired from Exxon in 1999 and joined the Materials Research Laboratory as a visiting professor. His main interests are zeolites and other microporous materials as catalysts and sorbents, and has issued over 100 patents and published 95 scientific papers.

Julianne has long been retired as a teacher. Julianne notes that she was only able to come to Penn State because she is of Russian descent; she wanted to study Russian and Penn State was the only school to have the program. Otherwise, her parents would have required her to remain close to home and attend a college in the Wilkes-Barre area. She says that she had a great experience at Penn State, where she and David met.

The Obelisk Society was established in 1981 to provide special recognition and honor to individuals for extraordinary contributions to, and support of, the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Membership is open to all alumni and friends of the college.