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SF-Oakland Bay BridgeReaching the Sky for a WorldRecord with Pitt Civil Engineers

Overcoming Inner City AdversityBen Gordon Lands PrestigiousMarshall Scholarship

Grand CelebrationAlumni Donors and Friends See theImpact of a $100 Million Campaign

From Vision to RealityHow One Man Transformed the Engineering World and Left a Legacy at Pitt

Six Years in a RowAnother Pitt engineering student lands a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship.

International EducationThe Swanson School has expanded international study opportunities to nearly every continent.

Distinguished Alumni 2008These leaders in their fields are advocates for advancing the Swanson School.

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Taking On Our New Identity as the Swanson School of Engineering

A framed copy of the official proclamation is presented to John Swanson (center) by Provost James V. Maher Jr., Dean Gerald D. Holder, Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg, and Board of Trustees Chair Ralph Cappy.

uring the past few years, we have experienced what is becoming a regular trend of remarkable news coming out of our school. Our faculty are competing directly with many of the nation’s top engineering schools for competitive public and private research funding, and many are garnering national awards and recognition for their accomplishments in both the classroom and the laboratory. Our students also are achieving at unprec-edented levels, with the most recent example being that, for the sixth consecutive year, one of our students has received a prestigious Barry M. goldwater Scholarship (see Student news, page 18).

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“This commitment will only accelerate our momentum toward becoming one of the top engineering schools in the nation.”

On the CoverJohn A. Swanson (phd ’66), acclaimed inventor, business founder, and university trustee, was honored december 5, 2007, for the most generous gift by an individual donor in pitt’s 220-year history—$41.3 million to the university’s School of engineering. in recognition of this extraordinary generosity, the university renamed the school the Swanson School of engineering. (See story, page 2.)

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Features

From Vision to reality .............................. 2

“My real Life Started Here” ......................6

Departments

distinguished Alumni .............................. 9

Around the School ................................ 14

research Features ............................... 16

Student news ...................................... 18

Alumni notes ....................................... 20

www.engr.pitt.edu

The alumni magazine of the Swanson School of Engineering

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22Gerald D. Holderu.S. Steel dean of engineering

Aaron Conleyexecutive director of development and Alumni relations

Sonia Gilldirector of Marketing and Communications/editor

Teralyn IscrupeAssociate director of Marketing and Communications/Contributing writer

Kelly KaufmanCommunications Manager/editor

Don HendersonAssistant Creative director/designer

Chuck Dinsmore production Coordinator

Sarah Jordan Rosensoneditorial Assistant

Karen Hoffman, Niki KapsambelisContributing writers

the tables were turned on us last december, however, with an announce-ment—not about something that came out of here, but something that came back in. John A. Swanson, one of your fellow alumni, made the largest individual philanthropic commitment in the history of the university of pittsburgh. As a result of his remarkable generosity, which now exceeds $41 million, the Board of trustees presented a formal resolution on February 29, 2008, announcing the changing of our name to the John A. Swanson School of engineering. if you missed the announcement of the gift last december, visit www.engr.pitt.edu for complete news coverage and an extensive photo gallery.

this commitment will only accelerate our momentum toward becoming one of the top engineering schools in the nation. it already has gotten the attention not just of alumni and friends like you, but also of many of my peers. in today’s competitive academic environment, every dean is seek-ing this kind of transformational gift. For those few deans who are at schools that are already named, the Swanson gift still gets their attention as it comes from one of the greatest engineers of our time. even if other deans don’t know John Swanson by name, they most certainly know AnSYS, inc., the software company he founded. AnSYS is the global leader in finite ele-ment analysis software, and nearly every engineering school in this country and beyond runs AnSYS software to teach their students product design and other simula-tion and modeling applications.

Swanson also was a recipient of the John Fritz Medal, which has been conferred since 1902 by the American Association

of engineering Societies. the award is widely regarded as the highest and most prestigious in the engineering profession, and prior awardees include Orville wright, Alexander graham Bell, Alfred nobel, thomas edison, and george westinghouse. Few schools can claim one of their graduates as a Fritz Medal honoree, and for those that can, none has been the beneficiary of such remarkable generosity that it chose to name itself for that alumnus.

to help spread the news about Swanson’s generosity, we mailed a dVd to deans of nearly 300 engineering schools containing highlights of our historic announcement, along with an overview of the planned use of these funds. (See the back cover of this issue for instructions on how to view this video via our web site.)

As alumni of the Swanson School, you stand to benefit just as much as our students and faculty from this historic gift. Just as business school alumni from prominent programs like wharton, Sloan, and Kellogg benefit from the national repu-tation associated with their schools, we plan to build the Swanson School’s identity to become synonymous with excellence in engineering education and research.

i hope you will take even greater pride in the years ahead in your connection to pitt as a graduate of the Swanson School of engineering. Best wishes, and hail to pitt!

gerald d. Holderu.S. Steel dean of engineering

in 1939, two young engineers just out of graduate school started a company in a small garage in what was then the quiet northern California town of palo Alto. the success of these two entrepreneurs, william Hewlett and david packard, transformed an entire region into what is now known as Silicon Valley, and set the bar for future entrepreneurial engineers to follow.

pittsburgh’s equivalent of the “Hp garage” didn’t follow until three decades later. with a manufacturing economy firmly established, conventional wisdom would have suggested it made little sense for an entrepreneur to start up any venture here if it was not directly involved in steel, coal, glass, or any of the associ-ated heavy-manufacturing industries common to western pennsylvania. But that’s what separates legendary entrepre-neurs from the rest of the business pack.

John Swanson saw what these industries needed, well before they even understood it themselves. He came to pittsburgh in 1963 to work for westinghouse, following the completion of his bachelor’s and mas-ter’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Cornell university. At westinghouse, he worked in the Astronuclear Laboratory, helping to design and test new nuclear rocket engines, which, it was hoped, would someday provide the ability for deep-space travel. westinghouse also gave him the opportunity to pursue a phd, which led him to pitt. He completed a phd in applied mechanics in 1966 and soon found that inspirational moment that would impact the rest of his life and the lives of engineers around the world.

The Path BeginsBack at westinghouse, Swanson began to see this future unfold, mostly in the piles of rocket-science calculations that he and his fellow researchers did by hand. Computer software was such a new concept that few people could conceive of the value of its application in processes that had been done manually for generations—but Swanson could.

“i could see the potential for computers to radically alter the way we were designing and testing things in the lab, if someone simply knew what to tell the computers to do,” Swanson recalls. in 1970, he left westinghouse to do just that.

From his small farm home in rural elizabeth township, pa., Swanson and his wife now were raising not only their three young boys but also a new company they called Swanson Analysis Systems, inc. (SASi). Swanson hired a part-time assistant, Lauralee wagner, to help get the business started. then, in 1972, he hired his first full-time employee, a former westinghouse colleague and pitt engineering alumnus, gabe deSalvo (BSMe ’62).

the experience, deSalvo says, was a true leap of faith. “everyone at westinghouse thought i was crazy to leave the stability of a research job there to go work for some-one with no established product, no office, and no guaranteed business future. But i knew the potential behind John’s ideas, and that’s what made it exciting.”

in a funny twist of fate, the first customer for Swanson was westinghouse. the “AnSYS code,” which became the product name for Swanson’s new software, ran the complex calculations engineers had been generating by hand only a few years earlier.

the impact, Swanson says, was immedi-ate. “this new tool allowed the technical staff to approach engineering in a whole new way, and the company loved it because it reduced the amount of time needed for design and development.”

new employees (peter Kohnke and Sue Batt) and new customers came calling. during those first few years, the delinea-tion of duties among the members of the five-person team was clear, says deSalvo.

“John was developing the code, and i would develop the user manuals and do the code verification.” Kohnke and Swanson extended the element library, while wagner and Batt manually sorted through the thousands of pages of

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hen John Swanson created the ANSYS code, he simply was attempting to find a better way to simulate and test things before starting the production process. He succeeded in doing far more than that.

From Vision to Reality

The early years included turning the Swanson home into a working office, with John spending hours on the phone (above) and his sons (below) helping out.

Sue Batt with the original ANSYS code

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subroutines that constituted the AnSYS code every time changes were made. this resulted in a new set of punch cards needed for clients to run the software.

the pace of growth that followed required major changes, both for the company and the family. Swanson had the foresight to begin building a two-story addition on his property before hiring more staff.

“He built it himself,” deSalvo says. “that’s just the kind of guy John is. when something needs to be done, he does it. So he built this thing himself, including all the wiring and plumbing. the only place to squeeze this building onto his property was to build it over a small creek, which he did!”

By 1974, the company had 10 employees.

ANSYS Catches OnAs the company started landing more clients, deSalvo says, they mounted a u.S. map and would place a pin in it every time they got a new customer. “it started slowly, mostly with pins just in western pennsylvania,” he recalls, “but soon we had pins in California, texas, and throughout the northeast. we later gave up on the map altogether because we couldn’t keep up.”

the key to the software’s early success, Swanson suggests, was its applicability to design and simulation problems in numerous industries. “AnSYS started as a tool to help westinghouse in its nuclear programs, but it was quickly recognized for its versatility by other industries.” that trend continues today, as AnSYS is used to simulate how objects and prod-ucts will perform under every imaginable stress and environmental condition, rang-ing from objects as big as bridges and cargo ships to those as small as artificial heart valves and semiconductors.

As the company’s success continued to unfold, deSalvo recalls, he and Swanson both came to the realization that the financial gains they were starting to experience as a result of the growing company were secondary to the sense of satisfaction it brought them. “we were happy because we found something that was challenging for us as engineers, and it was fun to do. Making money was never our motivation.”

the other contributing factor to their early success, deSalvo says, was Swanson’s approach to his employees. “Since we were working in his home, he treated all of us like family. we all ate lunch together at their dining table, and anything in the refrigerator was yours if you wanted it.” this practice was followed even after the company expanded to new facilities—soda machines never required any change—and it still is the case today at the company’s Canonsburg, pa., headquarters.

Becoming Big Businessin 1978, the company, which then had 18 employees, left the farmhouse and moved into the first of what would become three buildings located in Houston, pa.

“those were great years for us,” Swanson recalls. “we were growing as a company at nearly the same rate of change we were seeing in computer technology and software development.” expansion was necessary again in 1995, when the

A company photo in 1981 shows how quickly the company grew in its first decade.

“I didn’t set out to build a global business or become wealthy. I just had an idea and good things happened.”

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company moved north to Canonsburg, into a massive new brick office building that would serve as its world headquar-ters. As is the case with most successful start-ups, suitors began to appear, prom-ising access to the level of management expertise and capital necessary to help the company become a dominant global enterprise. in 1994, AnSYS was sold to tA Associates, a private equity firm, and went public two years later. For Swanson, the transition was bittersweet as he enjoyed the realization of his dream but saw the practices of corporate America take over what had been a family experi-ence for him.

“i knew our continued growth would mean AnSYS would someday become larger than anything i could manage in the way i did through the early years. it was hard to let go, but it was also rewarding to look back and see what we’d done.”

Swanson formally retired from AnSYS in March 1999; however, he still teaches AnSYS training courses and serves the company in an advisory capacity, and he writes and maintains AnSYS software. deSalvo also retired but continues to work as a part-time consultant for AnSYS.

Leaving His Legacyeven though pittsburgh hasn’t become another Silicon Valley in the nearly 40 years since AnSYS was born, the company’s success has helped lead this region’s transformation beyond its identity as just an industrial and manufacturing center. Like Hewlett and packard, Swanson started out with little more than an idea and ambition, but his persistence and expertise led to an unimaginable end.

Swanson’s experience marks another parallel with one of the Hp cofounders, as both he and packard have had the honor of being named a recipient of the John Fritz Medal. Awarded since 1902 by the American Association of engineering Societies, the award is considered the highest honor in the engineering profes-sion. packard was honored in 1982 and Swanson in 2004. they are among an

In front of the Swanson home, John (far left) with the original six ANSYS employees in 1974: (front row, left to right) Lee Wagner, Gabe DeSalvo, Sue Batt, (back row, left to right) Cecil Rogers, Peter Kohnke, and Roger Ehrlich

The farmhouse (in the background) and the addition (on the left), which Swanson built himself

illustrious list of past recipients, including Orville wright, Alexander graham Bell, Alfred nobel, thomas edison, and george westinghouse.

Swanson shared a link with another industrial icon when he paraphrased Andrew Carnegie’s observations on philanthropy during a press conference last december.

“He who dies wealthy fails,” Swanson said in explaining why he had decided to make the single largest individual gift commitment in pitt’s history. Swanson’s commitment, now totaling $41.3 million during the current capital campaign, resulted in a formal resolution by the pitt Board of trustees to rename the school the John A. Swanson School of engineering.

“i didn’t set out to build a global busi-ness or become wealthy,” Swanson says. “i just had an idea and good things happened.” the idea of a school in his name also wasn’t a lifelong objective, but he liked what he’d seen at pitt in recent years and decided to follow Carnegie’s maxim by sharing his success. “under the leadership of Mark [Chancellor nordenberg] and Jerry [dean Holder], this is becoming a world-class organization, and i’m honored to have my name associ-ated with it.”

At a time when computers were larger than most household appliances, the move from the farmhouse to new buildings in 1978 allowed the company to expand dramatically.

At the company’s 10th anniversary celebration, Swanson (seated) focused his attention on the cake rather than the camera.

Surrounded by the beneficiaries of his generosity, Swanson enjoys a moment with current engineering students.

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il erupts from the ground with a whoosh! dirt-poor Jett rink (James dean, in Giant, his last film role) staggers backward, arms outstretched, letting the “black gold” rain down on him.

watching this movie as a child in Cairo, egypt, Mahmoud dabbous was enamored not only with the excitement of striking oil but also with the American geography and way of life it depicted.

He went on to found the improved petroleum recovery (ipr) group of Companies, of which he is president and chief executive officer. Based in dallas, texas, ipr is a major exploration and pro-duction company with assets worldwide and branch offices in europe, Africa, the Middle east, and Southeast Asia.

dabbous, who along the way earned his master’s and doctoral degrees at the Swanson School of engineering’s department of Chemical and petroleum engineering, returned to pittsburgh in March to receive the school’s distinguished Alumni Award. He was the recipient of the distinguished Alumni Award from the department of Chemical and petroleum engineering in 1996.

Urge to Exploredabbous grew up one of seven children. their father taught english and later worked in government administration. “He was always interested in us going to school, getting graduate degrees, and going abroad,” says dabbous.

At only 13 years old, dabbous went to high school in germany and traveled throughout europe. Being exposed to different languages and cultures only whetted his appetite to see more of the world.

dabbous’ innate talents for math, science, and engineering—along with oil being, as he put it, “very big in the Middle east”—made petroleum engi-

“My Real Life Started Here”neering a natural choice when it came time for college.

He received a scholarship to the petroleum production technology institute in Clausthal, germany, and earned a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering at Cairo university in egypt.

‘Where My Real Life Began’dabbous knew he would come to the united States, which he calls “the land of petroleum engineering and oil exploration and production,” for graduate school. He was especially attracted to the university of pittsburgh because of the depart-ment’s unique combination of chemical and petroleum engineering. Also, his older brother, Mustafa, was teaching dental medicine at the university.

in pittsburgh, dabbous was exposed to a new melting pot of cultures—the Syrian, Lebanese, and eastern european communities in particular. they would host dinners where snatches of conver-sation in many different languages could be overheard.

“i believe my real life started with my coming to the united States and being part of this community here in pittsburgh,” he says.

in the labs of Benedum Hall, dabbous got to work. this was his challenge: typical, or primary, methods of oil recov-ery get only a small fraction of oil out of the ground.

“the easy oil has been found,” dabbous says. “On average, we leave two-thirds of oil discovered without being produced. in some fields, we leave much more behind; as little as 5–10 percent [is produced].”

in his quest to get more oil out, dabbous wrote his master’s thesis on water flooding, or pushing oil out with water. He overcame the practical conundrum of oil and water not mixing by using a surfactant (like soap).

For his phd, dabbous switched from water to fire—underground fireballs, to be exact. the subject of dabbous’ disserta-tion was in situ combustion, in which air is injected into an oil reservoir and ignited. the fire makes the water evapo-rate, and the steam pushes oil ahead.

He continued to apply these and other enhanced oil recovery methods during and following his doctoral research, conducting field projects with researchers at the Bureau of Mines (now the u.S. department of energy) and the u.S. department of the interior.

After earning his phd in 1971, dabbous accepted a position teaching at Marietta College in Ohio and continued to work on field projects. Following that, he worked for the Amoco production Co. in tulsa, Okla., as a senior staff research engineer.

“So you see, i have always been moving west,” he says. eventually, of course, it was inevitable that he would wind up in texas—“the mighty colossus of the Southwest,” as it’s described in Giant.

in Houston, dabbous joined Core Laboratories, inc., where he managed enhanced oil recovery operations and reservoir simulation.

Founding IPRin 1981, dabbous founded the ipr group of Companies with a group of scientists. He set about building a team skilled in business and management.

the company provided high-level consulting services to governments and corporations under the auspices of the u.S. department of energy and the world Bank. it scored an early coup, being first in the industry to visit China after richard nixon.

ipr expanded rapidly. its list of consulting clients now includes countries on nearly every continent.

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Swanson School of Engineering Distinguished Alumnus Mahmoud Dabbous

“ I believe my real life started with my coming to the United States and being part of this community here in Pittsburgh.”

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in the early 1990s, dabbous decided to take a chance. ipr was by then an expert consulting company, but he wanted the company to expand into exploring for and producing oil.

“Major risk was involved,” says dabbous. “it’s a different type of business environment.”

He built a team of engineers, geoscientists, and economists, and the company’s exploration and production portfolio now includes sites in egypt, pakistan, and Syria.

dabbous’ risks paid off: As the ipr team acquired assets and companies, it made the wells more productive, sometimes by double, than they were originally. And the company continues to expand at a rapid pace, with the latest exploration happening in South America and the pacific rim.

Investing the Industry’s FutureLooking back on his early days after leaving pitt, dabbous sees an even brighter and more exciting opportunity for today’s students interested in the energy industry.

“the time could not be better for students to take advantage of the current energy picture,” he says. “now we have experience and field data of pioneering technology that we were just imagining 30 or 40 years ago. engineering graduates have the best possible opportunity now to find and pursue very promising and successful careers.”

As a way of helping to create opportunities for current pitt students, dabbous recently funded a graduate fellowship to support a phd student in the department of Chemical and petroleum engineering. the first recipient of this award, Michael Battaglia, is a first-year doctoral student in chemical engineering and will be eligible to receive the $50,000 fellowship for three full years.

dabbous acknowledges that much of his success came from the outstanding faculty who trained and mentored him during his graduate studies. “i am where i am because of their sponsorship and guidance,” he says. He especially acknowledges the efforts of three professors: paul Fulton, ed Stewart, and Joseph taber. to honor them, dabbous established three engineering Legacy Funds in their names. these permanent endow-ments will provide unrestricted support to the department of Chemical and petroleum engineering while also serving as a tribute to these professors’ dedicated service to pitt.

dabbous’ investment, through the fellowship and engineering Legacy Funds, not only will ensure opportunities for pitt engineering students to realize their own career ambitions, but also will enable the Swanson School to continue to distinguish itself

as one of the nation’s best engineering schools. this suits dabbous, a proud alumnus, just fine.

“i have been so pleased to see that this school, and pitt overall, have experienced such a resurgence. receiving this award at a time when pitt is clearly on the rise is truly an honor.”

Dabbous considers himself an engineer first and a business executive second. He spends most of his time traveling to oil fields around the world.

Dean Gerald D. Holder (far right) had the pleasure of introducing Dabbous to Michael Battaglia (middle) during the Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony. Battaglia, of Jarrettsville, Md., is the first recipient of the Mahmoud K. Dabbous Graduate Fellow-ship. He was recruited with the help of this fellowship after earning a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in 2007.

2008 Distinguished Alumni

Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringJames J. LombardiBachelor of Science in Civil engineering, 1972executive Vice presidentSAi Consulting engineers, inc.pittsburgh, pa.

Jim Lombardi has more than 26 years of dedicated service with SAi Consulting engineers, inc., an employee-owned transportation design and construction management firm based in pittsburgh with branch offices in Harrisburg, pa.; Morgantown, w.Va.; and Orlando, Fla. As executive vice president, Lombardi leads the construction management department, assists with marketing and business development efforts, and was instrumental in opening SAi’s Florida office.

Lombardi has served as principal in charge of the construction management and/or inspec-tion of many notable projects, including the rehabilitation of the Highland park Bridge; west end Bridge; South 10th Street Bridge; and Sixth, Seventh, and ninth Street Bridges and the construction of the east Street interchange, robinson town Centre interchange, SouthSide works infrastructure, and Aircraft rescue and Firefighting training center at pittsburgh international Airport. Lombardi now is the principal in charge of the $350 million Mon/Fayette expressway uniontown to Brownsville phase ii project.

Lombardi is a longtime volunteer with and supporter of the Swanson School. He currently serves as a member of the visiting committee for the department of Civil and environmental engineering, and he is a past president of the pitt Civil engineering Alumni Club. Lombardi also was among the first alumni to establish an engineering Legacy Fund for the department of Civil and environmental engineering.

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

Department of Chemical and Petroleum EngineeringRaymond P. NiroBachelor of Science in Chemical engineering, 1964Founder and president niro, Scavone, Haller & niroChicago, ill.

raymond p. niro is a nationally recognized trial attorney specializing in patent infringement, trade secret, trademark, and copyright cases. during the course of his legal career, niro has won 20 consecutive multimillion dollar verdicts in cases involving such diverse subjects as soy-based inks; tomato, grape, and pea harvesters; military equipment; voice mail; text messaging; municipal bond auctions; precooked italian sausage; microprocessors; and the Black & decker Snake Light flexible flashlight. the National Law Journal named him one of the 10 best litigators in the country in 1997 and one of the 10 best trial lawyers in illinois in 1999.

niro also is an active supporter of the Swanson School, as a contributor to an endowed scholarship established in honor of longtime chemical engineer-ing professor emeritus Shiao-Hung Chiang and most recently as a donor to the school’s building campaign for Benedum Hall. through a commitment from niro, the school will name its largest instructional facility to result from the renovation and expansion of Benedum Hall the niro Lecture Hall. this 230-seat auditorium-style space is being named by niro in honor of his par-ents, pardo and Adeline, italian immigrants who came to pittsburgh in 1920.

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Department of Industrial EngineeringBarbara L. SheltonBachelor of Science in industrial engineering, 1979Mid-Atlantic regional Administratoru.S. general Services Administrationphiladelphia, pa.

Appointed to her current role by president george w. Bush in 2002, Barbara Shelton serves as the principal representative of the u.S. general Services Administration for the Mid-Atlantic region. Her duties include serving as spokesperson on all regional public affairs matters; the preplanning and construction of all public buildings; the day-to-day operations of more than 750 buildings housing 94,000 employees; and the acquisition of supplies, services, and information technology. She is responsible for about 1,000 employees, revenues of $1.8 billion, and an operating budget of more than $600 million.

Shelton has remained connected to pitt, serving as a lead volunteer and donor toward an effort to honor Karl Lewis. Lewis was a longtime member of the civil engineering faculty who established a student support program in 1969 with the goal of improving access for and increasing retention among underrepresented populations, including women. the iMpACt program benefited hundreds of engineering students, including Shelton, and these alumni came together in 2004 to thank Lewis by raising more than $50,000 to establish the Karl H. Lewis iMpACt Alumni endowed Fund, which will benefit engineering students.

Distinguished Young Alumni AwardAlka PatelBachelor of Science in Materials Science and engineering, 1996Attorney-at-Lawpepper Hamilton, LLppittsburgh, pa.

After completing her degree in 1996, Alka patel began her career at timken Latrobe Steel Co. in Latrobe, pa., one of only two women at the plant at that time. She was responsible for quality assurance, process reliability, and the management of 20 employees.

in 1999, patel joined general electric industrial Systems as a sales engineer assistant while she simultaneously completed Master of Business Administration and Juris doctor degrees at duquesne university, graduating in June 2001.

Later that year, patel began her law career as an associate for what was then webb Ziesenheim Logsdon Orkin & Hanson, pC, where she drafted patent applications and validity/infringement opinions and assisted with copyright matters. in 2004, she joined pepper Hamilton LLp as an associate. in this role, she focuses most of her efforts on patents in the areas of materials science, chemicals, nanotechnology, medical devices, software, and business methods.

patel has received numerous awards, including being named among the women on the Verge by the Legal Intelligencer and Pennsylvania Law Weekly in 2006, a Fast tracker by the Pittsburgh Business Times in 2004, and one of Pittsburgh Magazine’s 40 under 40 in 2003. She has held leadership positions with professional and civic organizations, including the Allegheny County Bar Association, ASM international, the Society of women engineers, and YwCA greater pittsburgh. Most recently, she founded the Asian Attorneys Committee within the Allegheny County Bar Association. patel was an active leader at pitt as a student, serving as president of the engineering Student Council. She continues this tradition of service today, currently serving as a direc-tor at large of the pitt Alumni Association.

Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials ScienceEdward F. SobotaBachelor of Science in Metallurgical engineering, 1967presidenttechSpec, inc.derry, pa.

edward F. Sobota is founder of techSpec, inc., a highly successful specialty manu-facturer of titanium bar and forging products for the aerospace, medical, chemical, and industrial product industries. He founded the company in 1973, and it has grown to nearly 50 employees. in recognition of his industry achievements, Sobota was elected to the Board of directors of the international titanium Association in 1999. He served as vice president from 2003 to 2005 and just completed a two-year term as president.

Sobota grew up in the steel industry, as his father worked for Vanadium Alloys Steel Co. in Latrobe, pa. that same company gave Sobota the chance to study at pitt through a scholarship, of which he made good use, receiving the Outstanding Senior Award upon graduation in 1967. He returned to Vanadium to work for four years as a way of repaying his scholarship to the company. during a prolonged downturn in the steel industry, Sobota returned to pitt to earn a master’s degree in education and taught math and chemistry at Ligonier Valley High School from 1971 to 1974.

to show his appreciation for getting his start at pitt, Sobota established an engineering Legacy Fund in 2006. it was one of the first funds to benefit the department of Mechanical engineering and Materials Science.

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Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringMarlin H. MickleBachelor of Science in electrical engineering, 1961Master of Science in electrical engineering, 1963doctor of philosophy, 1967nickolas A. deCecco professor and director, rFid Center of excellenceSwanson School of engineeringuniversity of pittsburghpittsburgh, pa.

Marlin H. Mickle is one of the longest-serving engineering professors in pitt history. He currently directs the radio Frequency identification (rFid) Center of excellence, an internationally recognized research laboratory that is leading the advancement of rFid technology. Mickle’s research has gained global attention for its innovative applications in commercial and defense-related products. the u.S. department of defense established a standard rFid frequency (AnSi 915 MHz) for all uHF rFid applications based on his research. And powercast Corp., a spin-off company that licensed technology developed by Mickle, won Best in Show for emerging technology at the 2007 Consumer electronics Show in Las Vegas, where it was chosen from a field of more than 20,000 new products from around the world.

Mickle has honored the memory of his parents by establishing a trust in 2004 that will result in the creation of two endowed chairs in electrical engineering at pitt. the ruth e. Mickle and Howard t. Mickle chairs will be invaluable to the future of the department of electrical and Computer engineering, as they will allow the department to attract and retain leading scholars. Mickle also has stepped forward to support the current renovation campaign for Benedum Hall through a gift that will result in the naming of a conference room in the dean’s office suite.

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

2008 Alumni Banquet Honorees

Edward Sobota met with members of the Pitt Formula SAE team to discuss the construction of their car and the uses of titanium alloy, which his company, TechSpec, Inc., produces.

Congratulations to the 2008 honorees: (front row, left to right) Mahmoud Dabbous, Barbara L. Shelton, Marlin H. Mickle, James J. Lombardi, (back row, left to right) Dean Gerald D. Holder, Edward F. Sobota, Alka Patel, and Raymond P. Niro

Barbara Shelton hosted a session with the Swanson School student chapters of the National Society of Black Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers as well as members of the Engineering Student Council.

James Lombardi’s family attended the banquet with him to celebrate his recognition as the Distinguished Alumni Award recipient for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Raymond Niro shared his appreciation and Pitt memories during his acceptance of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering. Here he is with Dean Gerald D. Holder.

More than 200 alumni, family, and friends gathered in the J.w. Connolly Ballroom of Alumni Hall on March 20 to celebrate the accomplishments of the 2008 distinguished Alumni Award honorees. Held annually since 1964, the distinguished Alumni Awards banquet recognizes graduates for their professional accomplishments, dedicated service to their communities, and commitment to the continued success of pitt and the Swanson School of engineering.

Mahmoud Dabbous and his son, Kareem, toured the RFID Center of Excellence, where Marlin Mickle, this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award recipient from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, showed them the center’s new anechoic chamber.

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DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI

Many of the 2008 distinguished Alumni Award recipients took the opportunity to discuss career options with and provide mentoring to students and to tour the research facilities of the school while on campus.

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AROUND THE SCHOOL

Faculty Headlines

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Visit us online at www.engr.pitt.edu/news/publications.html to view the detailed list of faculty accomplishments in the Web component of Around the School.

Department Code Bioengineering (BioE)

Chemical & Petroleum Engineering (ChE)

Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE)

AWARDSGerald D. Holder, u.S. Steel dean of engineering (see photo at right), was honored with the 2008 william Metcalf Award from the engineers’ Society of western pennsylvania for lifetime achievement in engineering.

Steven Abramowitch (Bioe) has been selected as a Building interdisciplinary research Careers in women’s Health scholar.

Stephen Badylak (Bioe) and Michael Sacks (Bioe) each have received the university of pittsburgh Chancellor’s Faculty Award as distinguished senior research scholars. Badylak also has received the 2008 Carnegie Science Center Awards of excellence Advanced Materials Award. Tom Cain (eCe) has received the richard M. emberson Award from the institute of electrical and electronics engineers (ieee). James T. Cobb Jr. (Che) received the American institute of Chemical engineers gary Leach Award for the second time in his career.

Mark Gartner and George Stetten (Bioe) received pitt innovator Awards as part of the second annual Celebration of innovation. Peyman Givi (MeMS) was elected a fellow of the American physical Society and named 2007 engineer of the Year by American Society of Mechanical engineers, pittsburgh chapter. Shiao-Hung Chiang (Che) received the American Filtration and Separations Society Lifetime Achievement Award.

Steven Little (Che) received an Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Young investigator Award. He is the first pitt faculty member to receive this award. Joseph McCarthy (Che),

Robert Parker (Che), and Mary Besterfield-Sacre (ie) received the 2008 Carnegie Science Center Awards for excellence in the excellence in Higher education category.

Mark Redfern (Bioe) was honored with the 2007–08 department of Bioengineering Board of Visitors Faculty Award.

Radisav Vidic (Cee) received the professor of the Year Award from the American Society of Civil engineers pittsburgh chapter.

William Wagner (Bioe) received the 2008 Carnegie Science Center Awards for excellence Life Sciences Award. Savio Woo (Bioe) is the first recipient of the university of washington College of engineering diamond Award for distinguished Achievement in Academia. woo also was elected a Life Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical engineers (ASMe).

GRANTS RECEIVEDXinyan Tracy Cui (Bioe) was awarded funding by the national

Science Foundation (nSF) division of Materials research for her nSF Faculty early Career development (CAreer) award proposal, “Manipulating Stem Cells via electroactive Conducting polymers.” Di Gao (Che) was awarded funding by the nSF Chemical and Biological Separations program in the Chemical, environmental, Bioengineering, and transport Systems division for his nSF CAreer award proposal, “dnA Separation and Mutation Screening Based on the elasticity of dnA Molecules.” the pennsylvania department of transportation (penndOt) has awarded $751,148 to Ronald D. Neufeld (Cee) for a study on Jonathan run Acid rock discharge Mitigation Strategies and implementation Activities. Partha Roy (Bioe) has received a four-year Minority graduate research Supplement for his national Cancer institute award proposal, “profilin as a target to Suppress invasive Breast Cancer.” Laura Schaefer and

Jeffrey Vipperman (MeMS) have received a three-year grant from nSF to research Miniaturization of thermoacoustic engines and refrigerators. Luis Vallejo (Cee) and Jeen-Shang Lin (Cee) received a grant from penndOt for their project, A rational procedure for rock Slope designs for western pennsylvania. Radisav Vidic and Janet E. Stout (Cee) received an 18-month grant from the American Society of Heating, refrigerating and Air-Conditioning engineers, inc., to study the potential of nonchemical water treatment devices to control biological growth in cooling water systems. Lisa M. Weiland (MeMS) was awarded funding for her nSF CAreer award proposal, “High-performance, Mechanical robust ionomeric Sensors.” Jun Yang (eCe) was awarded funding for her nSF CAreer award proposal, “thermal-aware Scheduling for embedded planar and 3-d Chip Multiprocessors.”

NEWS BRIEFresearchers from pitt are collaborating with researchers at the Carnegie Museum of natural History to study north America’s earliest primate. Patrick Smolinski, associate professor; Andy Holmes in the John A. Swanson institute for technical excellence; Sheila ingham and Freddie Fu of the department of Orthopaedic Surgery; and Chris Beard, Carnegie Museum of natural History, are studying the fossil remains of the notharctus. the notharctus is similar to the modern-day lemur. engineers, orthopaedic surgeons, and paleontologists are studying the morphology of the bones to determine if their form is related to the primate’s function. the shape of the bones may give insight into whether the animal was a climber or a leaper and whether it lived mainly on the ground or in trees. the 60 million-year-old bones were imaged in the Swanson School. the first fossil remains of the notharctus were found by Ferdinand V. Hayden during a geological survey of southwestern wyoming in 1870. during a period of global warming known as paleocene-eocene thermal Maximum, this area was covered with rainforests. Fossils of this primate also have been found in europe, and one theory has it that the primates traveled to north America over a land bridge between the two continents at the current location of the Bering Sea. during this time in the Arctic, temperatures reached as high as 75 degrees.

NEWSMAkERSSanjeev Shroff’s paper, “HdAC4 and pCAF Bind to Cardiac Sarcomeres and play a role in regulating Myofilament Contractile Activity,” was selected as the cover article for the April 11, 2008, issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Shroff is professor and gerald Mcginnis Chair in Bioengineering.

Joseph McCarthy, associate professor and william Kepler whiteford Faculty Fellow, was featured in the perspectives section of the February 14, 2008, issue of Science magazine. His highlighted work outlines an elegant and robust method for eliminating segregation that is generic for a huge class of particle flows, specifically free-surface flows, and should have a dramatic impact on industrial particle processing.

the work of Anna Balazs, distinguished professor of Chemical engineering and robert Von der Luft professor, was noted by the American Chemical Society and featured in COSMOS magazine’s March 28, 2008, issue in the article “Chemical Signaling drives nanomachines.”

Shroff

Illustration: Mark A. Klingler/Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Smolinski

Holmes

CBS News featured Stephen F. Badylak’s research on regenerative medicine in a feature called “Medicine’s Cutting Edge: Re-Growing Organs,” which aired March 22, 2008. The feature can be viewed online at www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/22/sunday/main3960219.shtml. Badylak is a professor of bioengineering.

Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE)

Industrial Engineering (IE)

Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science (MEMS)

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that’s why students attending the Swanson School of engineering learn from their first days on campus about the opportunities that exist for studying abroad and how to choose programs that will prepare them for careers shaped by forces around the world. So important does the school consider study abroad to be, in fact, that the department of industrial engineering now requires undergraduates to have international experience. if it is successful, the requirement may be expanded to apply to all engineering undergraduates.

“One unique thing about our school is that [we are] doing these programs for fresh-men,” says Larry Shuman, senior associ-ate dean for academic affairs. “it shows the students that they can do something international and go to a country that they never thought about going to.”

plus3, an award-winning program run in partnership with the College of Business Administration, gives freshmen the chance to travel to Brazil, Chile, China, or germany. depending on demand, the school is considering the addition of a fifth site, pos-sibly in Vietnam, says Shuman. this year represented the largest cohort of plus3 students ever—a total of 107, 68 of whom were from the Swanson School.

One driving principle behind the plus3 program was that it would encourage students to pursue additional international opportunities as their schedules allow. So far, that plan appears to be working, as several students who completed plus3 went on to participate in innOVAte (the international technology, innovation, and Leadership Conference), which includes a 10-day study trip to sites in Asia.

Shuman built a course around innOVAte, which is sponsored by pitt in partnership with rice university under the auspices of the international Association for the exchange of Students for technical experience (iAeSte). using interactive video conferencing, faculty from pitt, rice, and the university of tulsa now are jointly teaching the course, during the middle of which students travel abroad.

this year, the group went to Vietnam and Singapore; previous des-tinations have included China and Japan.

“we have some very nice resources available to us to do a really creative program,” says Shuman, adding that the trips include visits to both busi-ness and cultural sites. American students room with students from Asian universities, so they are able to learn from each other in a relatively short time, he notes.

Because the engineering curriculum is so tightly packed, study abroad must be short enough to fit into a student’s schedule, yet meaningful enough to leave a lasting impression.

“they need to understand [that] if they’re going to be successful, they’ve got to operate in this environment. they could be managing a facility in China. Some components are made in indonesia, or some in Malaysia. the design might be done in india, the software may be in Argentina, and they’ve got to put all this together,” says Shuman. “we think this will make them more valuable to companies and make companies take a harder look at our students.”

A new initiative developed by Bopaya Bidanda, ernest e. roth professor and chair of the department of industrial engineering, partners with r.V. College of engineering in Bangalore, india, and sends both engineering and business students there in May to learn about supply chain and value chain management. Students complete assigned project work in the united States after returning from their trip, explains Kristine Lalley, director of international engineering initiatives.

Swanson School of Engineering Joins Consortium to Fuel Energy Research his summer, both temperatures and gas prices are likely to climb toward seasonal highs—especially with oil exceeding $100 a barrel. the expanding global demand for fossil fuels, combined with a finite supply, is creating a problem that a consortium of researchers from the Swanson School of engineering, Carnegie Mellon university, and west Virginia university hope to solve with the help of a $26 million federal funding stream.

International Programs Build Swanson School’s Reputation for Preparing Well-rounded Engineers hanks to the profound impact of globalization, today’s engineers can expect that they either will work in a foreign country themselves or collaborate with colleagues on the other side of the world.

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“when they go to india, that will give them some context to develop and execute what-ever project they end up undertaking,” Lalley says. “the time in india is spent visiting with different companies. they’ll be talking with some very high-level managers, even CeOs.”

the program, which is beginning with nine students in its inaugural year but is projected to grow substantially, is an example of the school’s vision for a signature international program in each discipline—a vision it shares with the Joseph M. Katz graduate School of Business, which is collaborating on the program with the Swanson School. the international Business Center, directed by professor Josephine Olson, has provided the funding to send g.g. Hegde, associate professor of business administration, to india to colead the program with Bidanda.

“this collaboration between a Swanson School faculty member and a Katz faculty member will greatly enhance the quality of this new program and will allow us to develop it in the future to include even more collaborations between the two schools,” Lalley says.

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RESEARCH FEATURES

Spearheaded at the university of pittsburgh by principal investigator Mike Lovell, associate dean for research and professor of industrial and mechanical engineering, the consortium marries the resources of three universities, including 75 scientists and their student research-ers, in support of more than 150 scientists and researchers of the national energy technology Laboratory (netL). their goal is lofty: to reduce regional and national dependence on foreign oil. “it’s pretty clear that, for a lot of reasons, the energy and power requirements of the world are increasing, not only in the united States but outside the united States,” explains Lovell. “the world is requiring more energy, and we have to become more efficient.” plans for the partnership began forming nearly four years ago, in part thanks to netL director of research and Swanson School alumnus Anthony Cugini (BSChe ’81, MSChe ’86, phd ’93). Following a model used by other national labs, Cugini worked with pitt, Carnegie Mellon, and wVu to pull their applied basic research resources to tackle the nation’s fossil energy problems. in all, this university consortium now involves eight faculty members from each university who would spend one day a week with students who are conducting their research primarily at netL, “fostering a really well-integrated joint team collaboration involving academia and government working on ‘real-world’ energy problems to move new technology solutions to the world marketplace,” Lovell says. Among the Swanson School faculty mem-bers is götz Veser, associate professor and Cng Faculty Fellow in the department of Chemical and petroleum engineering. His group studies catalytic reaction engineering as well as reactors that are supposed to increase the efficiency of chemical processes—both natural fits for the netL consortium.

“The world is requiring more energy, and we have to become more efficient.”

Mike Lovell

Veser

Through their international experiences, Swanson School students learn about cultures and business practices in the countries they visit. During a recent trip to Singapore with the INNOVATE program, students visited several temples, including the Moslem Temple shown here.

that’s especially true with the daunting task of finding new ways to more efficiently meet the growing energy demands of the nation. Lovell says the group hopes to expand and leverage its integrated approach to obtain more funding from other industry and government organizations. “we really feel like this team will be very agile in going out, identifying new break-through energy solutions, and obtaining the funding needed,” he says. independent energy information Administration projec-tions indicate that fossil energy sources, particularly coal, will continue to play a larger role in both the nation’s and the world’s energy’s future for at least the next 30–50 years, says Lovell. And the fact that the universities involved in the netL consortium sit in the heart of a geographic region rich in fossil fuels makes this team an ideal candidate to pursue and identify novel technological solutions to satisfy future fossil energy research needs. “if you take on a grand challenge like [energy supply], you really need to pool the resources that you have,” Veser says. “we are in a fairly unique position here, having this concentration of top-notch universi-ties and this research lab, so it’s quite natural—and a smart decision—to bring these forces together.”

“i’m seeing some very promising progress on projects we started over the last six months or so,” Veser says. “i see the first kernel of groups forming. we are realizing that we have a great opportunity here, that we should talk and form groups that really can spearhead revolutionary advances.” Veser believes the consortium model represents the future of groundbreaking research. “it’s becoming more and more clear nowadays that if you want to do cutting-edge, world-class research, the resources required to be competitive aren’t available in one group. You see major breakthroughs happening in larger research groups,” he says.

STUDENT NEWS

N jideka Mbonu, a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering, and Liangliang Cao, a graduate chemical engineering student, were winners of the 2007 Big ideA Competition, sponsored by the institute for entrepreneurial excellence at the Joseph M. Katz graduate School of Business. their cross-disciplinary team, which also included nneka Mbonu of the Katz School, worked to develop a sensor to detect gelatinases, a family of enzymes closely associated with tumor aggressive-ness. Knowing the levels of a patient’s gelatinases can provide information impor-tant to the diagnosis, course, and outcome of cancer and thus is useful to doctors in determining patients’ treatments for cancer.

njideka Mbonu also received the American Chemical Society prF underrepresented Minority research Fellowship, in the amount of $5,000, to conduct research with di gao, assistant professor of chemi-cal and petroleum engineering.

Cao took second place in the student poster competition at Commercialization of nanoMaterials (nano) 2007, a conference organized by the American Ceramic Society and the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (tMS) and held in pittsburgh in november. representatives from different companies judged the posters based on how well they demonstrated “a balance of cutting-edge research in nanomaterials

(MSrC) under the direction of Savio woo. the award provides funding for a female graduate student to perform mus-culoskeletal research during the summer.

Dominic Malloy, an entering freshman, is the 2008 rho Boule scholar. the rho Boule Scholarship program awards exceptional African American males who have shown a commitment to their studies, their families, and their communities by serving as leaders and mentors while actively pursuing their college degree. Other Swanson School of engineering students have received this scholarship, including Michael Larsen Edwards, now a senior in civil and environmental engineer-ing. edwards plans to participate in the plus3 study abroad program in China this summer, after which he will seek full-time employment and attend graduate school part time.

Pictured is the Pitt Robotics and Automa-tion Society’s “hockey robot.” The student society competed in the 2008 National Robot-ics Challenge in March, going up against other universities to see whose robot could score the most goals.

with suggested opportunities for commercial application.”

Chad E. Eckert (BSMSe ’05), graduate student researcher and Biomechanics in regenerative Medicine (BirM) trainee in the department of Bioengineering, received the national Science Foundation east Asian and pacific island Summer institutes award to study at the university of Auckland, new Zealand, under peter Hunter during summer 2008. Only 195 such awards are funded each year from the united States. eckert will be one of 15 awardees studying in new Zealand.

Bioengineering graduate student Andrew Feola delivered a podium presentation at the Midwest tissue engineering Conference (MteC) on the treatment of vaginal lacerations using extracellular matrix (eCM) scaffolds. Feola is a student in Steven Abramowitch’s lab.

Bioengineering graduate student Xiaoyan Zhang was awarded the 2007 erin Mcgurk research grant from the Orthopaedic research Laboratory Alumni Council (OrLAC) for her project, A Subject-specific Model of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament. Zhang is conducting this work in the Musculoskeletal research Center

Co-op Program AchievementsOne of the Swanson School Co-op program’s longtime participating employers has received the Lou takacs Award from the Cooperative education division of the American Society of engineering education, an award given to an outstanding employer in cooperative education. Frank Meledandri and his company, Curtiss-wright, have participated in the pitt program since 1991 and have hired 96 pitt co-op students.

(Top photo) Scott Eshkenazi (BSIE ’07), who com-pleted his co-op rotation at H.B. Maynard and Co., Inc., accepts the 2007 Co-op Student of the Year Award from Gerald D. Holder (right), U.S. Steel Dean of Engineering.

Susan Wingert accepts the 2007 Co-op Employer of the Year Award for Medrad, Inc.

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More than 500 people attended the eighth annual Sustainability in the new Millennium Conference, hosted by the Freshman engineering program, on April 5, 2008. Freshman engineering students, working in pairs, were required to prepare and present a conference-style paper. they spent the semester researching the paper and, with the feedback of peers, industry mentors, and the pitt writing Center, prepared a final presentation for the conference. this year, the conference was chaired by 38 volunteers from industry, many of whom are Swanson School alumni, and 380 students participated. More information about the conference and student projects, including a list of winners, is avail-able online at www.engr.pitt.edu/freshman/FreshmanConference.html.

Michael Buric, a graduate student in electrical engineering, received an Spie Scholarship in Optical Science and engineering. this highly competitive scholarship is awarded to promis-ing optical science and engineering students who are recognized as future leaders of photonics in the united States.

Students enrolled in the department of Bioengineering senior design class, taught by adjunct lecturer Mark gartner, won $500 stipends from the national Collegiate inventors and innovators Alliance for their projects. winning students were Shawn Burton, Kate Campbell, Ted Kastenhuber, Amy McCarty, Bradley Morneweck, Bailey Roche, Benjamin Schmidt, and Christopher Withers.

From March 27 to 30, the pitt student chapter of the institute of industrial engineers (iie) hosted an integrated senior and student chapter conference with the theme the ies of 2020: perfect Vision into the Future of industrial engineering. this extended confer-ence attracted 125 senior chapter members and students from nine other universities. Attendees participated in networking oppor-tunities such as a speed networking event and a career fair. Additional events included a panel discussion on the future of industrial engineering, a chapter best practices session, a banquet atop Mount washington, and an agenda featuring about 10 speakers.

The group Students for Nuclear Energy was created this semester to promote nuclear energy and provide com-munity outreach. Under the guidance of Larry Foulke, adjunct professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, the group encour-ages students, particularly those in the fields of physics and engineering, to participate in spreading the word about the benefits of nuclear energy.

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Six Years in a Row

the following Swanson School student-athletes were honored by the pitt department of Athletics for outstanding academic success in 2007–08:

Janelle R. Adams, chemical engineering, track Jonathan S. Buchanan, civil engineering, swimming Morgan L. Faust Jr., mechanical engineering, soccer Alison A. Finch, civil engineering, soccer Collin J. Forner, undeclared, swimmingWilliam K. Grinstead, civil engineering, track Stephen M. Jackson, mechanical engineering, swimming Philip D. Konieczny, undeclared, baseball Curtis Larimer, engineering physics, track Zachary M. Matthews, mechanical engineering, soccer Lucas K. Stone, mechanical engineering, football Dustin T. Walters, electrical engineering, footballSix Years in a Row

A Swanson School student has won a 2008 Goldwater Scholarship, continuing the school’s tradition of winning the prestigious national award.todd Morton Moyle, a chemical engineering sophomore, has been awarded a 2008 Barry M. goldwater Scholarship for his exceptional independent research in engineering. Moyle, also a university Honors College student, is from Sayre, pa.

Moyle has researched the potential use of vegetable oil as an alternative fuel. His work focuses on developing a blend of vegetable oil and other additives that would run on standard diesel automobiles without modifications. results of this work were presented at the national Conferences on undergraduate research and the Biennial Conference on Chemical education.

Moyle’s primary interest is in pharmaceutical development and production research. He plans to pursue a master’s degree involving pharmaceutical manufacturing and then to work toward either an Md, focusing on clinical research of pharmaceuticals, or a phd in biomedical engineering, concentrating on drug-delivery systems and pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Moyle is the sixth consecutive pitt engineering student to earn a goldwater Scholarship. Ben gordon (BSMe ’07), now a mechan-ical engineering graduate student at pitt, won the award in 2007; Margaret Bennewitz (BSBeg ’07) won the award in 2006 and is pursuing a graduate degree in bioengineering at Yale university; daliang “Leon” Li (BSee ’06), who won the award in 2005, currently is pursuing a phd in medical and electrical engineering at the Harvard-Mit division of Health Sciences and technology; daniel Armanios (BSMe ’07) who earned the award in 2004 and was named a truman scholar in 2005 and a rhodes scholar in 2007, now is in england, pursuing his graduate degree at the university of Oxford; and paul Ohodnicki Jr. (BSe ’05), who is a doctoral student in materials science and engineering at Carnegie Mellon university, won the award in 2003.

ALUMNI NOTES

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Alumni Profiles

OFollowing a ProcessOne of the most valuable skills engineers possess is the ability to think in terms of processes. whether it’s building an engine, designing a new electrical system, or developing new materials, everything follows a process. And as every engineer knows, the more complex the task, the more potential for error and inefficiency in the process. For something as complex as a next-generation military fighter aircraft, the processes of design, testing, manufacturing, and flight operations would seem to be astronomical. that’s where Luke gill comes in.

in 2001, the u.S. department of defense, in conjunction with the united Kingdom and other allied countries, awarded the Joint Strike Fighter contract, one of the largest military hardware orders ever, to Lockheed Martin Corp. Called the F-35, this would be one of the most advanced aircraft ever to take to the sky. in anticipation of this contract, Lockheed Martin hired gill in 1998 to join its team at the company’s aerospace headquarters in Fort worth, texas, where he would take on the role of vice president of product support and, ultimately, vice president, autonomic logistics and sustainment.

“My role in the project,” gill said, “was to lead the development of new processes that would help the F-35 spend more time in the air and less on the ground. it’s not uncommon for up to 70 percent of a military aircraft’s expenses to be incurred after it’s purchased, mostly in the areas of maintenance, repairs, and spare parts.”

Lockheed Martin needed an expert for such a task, and gill is widely recognized for his expertise in aircraft logistics and operations management. Following a 24-year career in the u.S. Air Force, which he left as a colonel, gill entered the commercial aviation industry, where he worked in a number of senior manage-ment roles for Continental and northwest. His last role prior to joining Lockheed was with Southwest Airlines, where he was vice president of maintenance and engineering.

His experience in Southwest’s nontraditional corporate culture is one reason Lockheed came calling, according to gill. “Southwest was, and still is, a very unique operation. they move more quickly than most organizations by empowering employees to make deci-sions and act on them, especially when it comes to dealing with customers and suppliers.”

gill stayed with Lockheed for seven years before retiring in 2006, but he continues to work as a consultant to the aviation industry, establishing his own company, g Squared Limited, in January 2007. the F-35 is scheduled to enter active military service sometime around 2013, and even though he’s no longer leading the logistics operations at Lockheed, he is still looking forward to this date.

“As an engineer, it is always rewarding to see the successful results of your work. the greatest satisfaction to me will come not just from seeing it fly, but knowing that the logistics and support systems we put in place will keep these planes flying more effec-tively than any previous combat military aircraft.”

gill earned his BS in mechanical engineering from pitt in 1965, and looking back on his career, he realizes it played a key role in

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data transmission capacity and quality. According to Mountain, the immediate years ahead may be the most exciting in his career.

“everything is moving toward digital and high definition (Hd), and with that comes the need for more advanced technology to accom-modate a more mobile society. not only will transmission quality continue to be enhanced as everything becomes Hd, but the options for end users will also continue to evolve.” Before long, he adds, Hd video will become common on laptops and cell phones. “there’s really never been a more exciting time in the advance-ment of technology in this field than today.”

And Mountain should know, having spent his entire career in this field. After completing his electrical engineering degree at pitt, he spent nearly a decade with Motorola in Cleveland, Ohio, joining the company as a communications systems engineer and rising up to become manager of the group. it was during this time when he became involved in designing new communications systems specifically for use in underground coal mines that employed cable technology. wegener became one of his suppliers, and the company was impressed enough to lure him away. He’s been there since 1981, and he became president in 2005.

despite a hectic travel schedule and the distance separating Atlanta from pittsburgh, Mountain has kept strong ties with pitt. A native of Johnstown, he started his pitt education at the campus there and then transferred to Oakland to finish his degree. He has served the university of pittsburgh at Johnstown for many years as an active member of an industrial advisory board for the engineering technology division there.

“My pitt education was the foundation for a great career,” Mountain reflects. “You don’t realize it as a student, but you’re getting the grounding for what you need to know. As new technolo-gies come along, i frequently go back to my old textbooks to figure out these new applications of basic electrical engineering theory that i learned at pitt.”

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both his military and professional careers. “Like a lot of engineers, i am always thinking of how to do things better. My engineering education at pitt helped focus this skill—plus i got my early career direction through my experience in Air Force rOtC there.”

Before attending pitt, the idea of becoming an international avia-tion expert was further from gill’s mind than a streetcar ride from pitt to his working-class McKees rocks neighborhood. His father worked in one of the steel mills on the river there, and they lived on one of the hills above the city. His family didn’t even own a car until gill entered high school and he bought one himself.

“i’m glad to see pitt and the engineering school doing so well,” gill reflects, “and i’m encouraged to know they’re giving kids a real shot at success, just like what i got.”

What’s Next in Satellite Communicationsnext time you’re watching the Fox news cable network or you’re at the grocery store and notice the music playing in the background, you should think of ned Mountain (BSee ’70). He’s the president and chief operating officer of wegener, a division of wegener Corp., an industry leader in satellite and telecommunications networks based in the Atlanta suburb of duluth, ga. wegener’s clients include nASA, which uses its systems to provide live-feed signals during shuttle missions, and nielsen Media research, which tracks what America watches on television. wegener also serves an international horse track operator based in Sweden that beams live signals to off-track betting sites around the world.

wegener competes directly against industry heavyweights like Motorola and Cisco Systems, inc., but has carved a niche in this burgeoning field, as service providers constantly are enhancing

Luke Gill (BSME ’65)Fort Worth, Texas

Ned Mountain (BSEE ’70)Duluth, Ga.

From Bricks to Clicksgrowing up in Monessen, pa., david Chitester was no stranger to the city’s steel mills. His father worked his entire career at the irvin works plant, and he got his son a job there for two summers during college. this wasn’t just intended to help pay for college, Chitester says; it was intended to send a message.

“dad wanted me to work those summers so i could understand why he didn’t want me to follow in his footsteps.” An engineering education was the path to a better life, so Chitester pushed forward and completed his civil engineering degree in 1974. His brother, tim, followed a few years later, completing a degree in mechanical engineering in 1978.

From his home on tampa Bay in Florida, Chitester can look back and realize what a good investment this turned out to be. His career started with Bechtel in gaithersburg, Md., doing construction estimating and project scheduling. He enjoyed this so much, he later became a frequent expert witness in court cases involving construction scheduling and delays. “i found that i liked being in the role of the expert and being the person with the answers.”

Chitester switched gears in 1995, when he started his own company, Chitester Management Systems. Based in tampa, with an office in westmont, n.J., the company offers services in construction claims and property loss as well as construction management for a wide spectrum of projects. the company experienced quick success and, in 2001, received the Small Business of the Year Award from the greater tampa Chamber of Commerce. tim Chitester now serves as the company’s president and chief operating officer.

A new venture was launched in 2000. up to that time, Chitester also had been teaching seminars around the country for profes-sional engineers to maintain their state licenses. “As i was giving one of these seminars in some far-off place, i realized there had to be a better way to reach engineers needing these services, so we jumped into the dot-com world.”

(Continued on next page)

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Francis “Fran” Kramer (BSie ’71), president and CeO of ii-Vi, inc., spoke to students in the international technology: innovation and Leadership (innOVAte) course prior to their 2008 spring break trip to Vietnam and Singapore. He spoke about international business and technology interests specific to those regions. innOVAte is offered in collaboration with rice university and the university of tulsa, and students from all three universities are able to partici-pate in lectures using video teleconferencing equipment.

Edward K. Feeney (BSMe ’72) was promoted to executive vice president of emerson network power’s Systems group in St. Louis, Mo.

Jack Shilling (phd ’75) was appointed to the Board of directors of Horsehead Corp., which produces zinc metals and products.

Randall A. Mason (BSChe ’80) was elected chair of the Board of directors of natural Health trends Corp. He also serves as the president and CeO of Marden rehabilitation Associates in Marietta, Ohio.

Tammy Bertram Brown (BSee ’91), an electrical engineer at nASA, was inducted into the Frazier Hall of Fame at Frazier High School in perryopolis, pa.

Julius Pegues (BSMe ’59), pitt’s first African American basketball player, was honored at halftime during the pitt vs. Louisville game on February 24, 2008. pegues, one of only 33 players in the university’s history to score 1,000 points, helped guide pitt to two nCAA tournament appearances. pegues spent his entire career in the aviation industry working for douglas Aircraft Co., Mcdonnell douglas, and American Airlines. He currently serves as a consul-tant for the Federal Aviation Administration and lives in tulsa, Okla.

Many questioned his timing, as the dot-com crash was well under way when this new venture, red Vector, launched in July 2000. Looking back, however, the timing was brilliant. “no one was offering a service like this when we started, and because of the crash, no one followed us for years.”

today, the company offers more than 900 courses in other licensed fields, including architecture, interior design, construc-tion, building inspection, and surveying. More than 600,000 customers have taken red Vector courses since 2000, and it’s still expanding. A year ago, the company broke into a new market by acquiring Care2Learn.com, a site offering online courses in more than a dozen fields within the health care industry.

Confirming that he truly has become an engineer-turned-entrepre-neur, Chitester and his wife, Kathleen, started another internet venture in 2005. this one, called Questamente, initially was targeted to reach the Spanish-speaking population of the united States, but it quickly has become an international hit.

“we have more than 250,000 registered users today in 47 coun-tries, with more than 80 percent coming from outside the united States,” Chitester marvels.

the web site, which is called AmigosChat.com, offers a variety of services, including networking with Hispanic business profession-als, social networking, and a dating site. it even has evolved into an e-commerce site. “i was looking at the site the other day and saw someone posted a car for sale in peru! it’s simply amazing how all this evolved so quickly.” even more remarkable is that neither he nor Kathleen speaks Spanish. “we’re simply running this from an office in our home and reaching people all around the world!”

thinking back to those two summers in the steel mill, Chitester decided recently to give back to pitt in a way that will help future generations of engineering students. in 2006, he established an engineering Legacy Fund, a permanent endowment that generates unrestricted resources to help meet schoolwide needs.

“up until a few years ago, i’d been focused almost exclusively on building up my companies, but it just seemed to be the right time to give something back.”

Alumni News

Friends we will miss ...William S. Barrack Jr. (BSie ’50), of new Canaan, Conn., died on April 17, 2008. He was a longtime friend and supporter of pitt and the Swanson School. Mr. Barrack served on the school’s Board of Visitors and received the distinguished Alumni Award in 1990. in 1988, he received pitt’s Bicentennial Medallion of distinction. Following service in the u.S. navy, Mr. Barrack pursued a career in the oil industry with texaco, rising to become senior vice president as well as chairman and CeO of texaco, Ltd., London. He was instrumental in helping to direct annual scholarship and fellowship support through the texaco Foundation to students in chemical and petroleum engineering, and he played a key role in the awarding of a $50,000 endowment in 1992. the texaco Foundation Minority endowed Scholarship continues to support pitt engineering students annually.

John F. Bazyk (BSMe ’40), of rancho palos Verdes, Calif., died on February 29, 2008. Mr. Bazyk was a longtime employee of the Aerospace Corp., working primarily on the development and testing of the Atlas, titan, and delta rocket series. He was a native of Brooklyn, n.Y., and was recruited to pitt’s track and field team after winning the new York state title in the shot put. He worked several jobs as a student, including as a night watchman in pitt Stadium, and always was proud to note that no one ever stole pitt Stadium while he was on duty. in 1998, he established a charitable gift annuity, which will result in the creation of the John F. Bazyk Student resource Fund, a permanently endowed fund that will benefit future generations of engineering students.

Felix Bombara (BSCe ’49), of Bethel park, pa., died on december 24, 2007.

Isadore Cohen (BSMee ’48), of pittsburgh, died on november 4, 2007.

Frank Galletta (BSChe ’47), of pittsburgh, died on April 14, 2007.

Arthur E. Leamer Jr. (BSee ’49), of Fishers, ind., died on January 4, 2008.

John N. McCoy (BSpet ’54), of Lafayette Hills, pa., died on October 16, 2007.

Frederick R. Radcliffe (BS ’49), of westford, Mass., died on november 17, 2007.

Leonard R. Seech (BSge ’58), of pittsburgh, died on February 29, 2008.

Ronald C. Stump (BSMe ’64), of Mentor, Ohio, died on May 31, 2007.

Harry W. Wolfarth (MSie ’52), of Hackettstown, n.J., died on January 6, 2008. Mr. wolfarth was an associ-ate professor of industrial engineering at pitt from 1947 until his retirement in 1983.

Michael H. Wolfarth (BSee ’77), of parker, Colo., died on October 1, 2007.

More than 50 alumni and friends turned out to welcome Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg (second from right) at an alumni reception in Dallas, Texas, ear-lier this spring, including (left to right) engineering alumni Roberta Luxbacher (BSChE ’78), Luke Gill (BSME ’65), and Robert Kosuda (BSEE ’86).

Pictured above (left to right) are Pitt basketball player Mike Cook, Julius Pegues, Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg, and Director of Athletics Steve Pederson. Pegues was honored during the Pitt vs. Louisville game (see note on previous page).

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Dean Gerald D. Holder hosted an alumni reception on February 22, 2008, at the Centre Club Tampa in Tampa, Fla.

David Chitester (BSCE ’74)Tampa Bay, Fla.

Dean Gerald D. Holder (far right) and Minking Chyu, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science (MEMS) and the Leighton and Mary Orr Chair, presented a special citation of congratulations to Wilson Farmerie (BSME ’68) in February at his retirement party. Farmerie retired as president of The Techs, a local specialty producer of galvanized steel. He is a longtime volunteer and supporter of the school, and he currently serves as chair of the visiting committee for MEMS. Farmerie was honored with the department’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2000.

2 5w w w . e n g r . p i t t . e d u

T

Cameo Rowe (center)

BS, industrial engineering, 2008Churchville, Md.

Ross JohnstonBS, Mechanical engineering, 1969Santa Cruz, Calif.

Foundations for Greatnessthe Campaign for engineering

www.engr.pitt.edu/campaign

I Am a Engineer

p i t t e n g i n e e r2 4

the eighth Annual Alumni golf Outing was held on May 12, 2008, at the Club at nevillewood, a Jack nicklaus Signature Course. More than 100 alumni, friends, and corporate partners participated in golf contests and played 18 holes, followed by a reception featuring speaker Ken Macha (BSCe ’80), former manager of the Oakland Athletics.

Blue and Gold SponsorsAcclamation Systems, inc.American Bridgedick Corp.eQSgraciano Corp.Michael Baker Corp.paul and Ann Lego Foundationturner Construction Co.urS Corp.westinghouse

Beverage Station Sponsorsgraciano Corp.ipr group of Companies

Driving Range SponsorBridgeS

Beat the Pro SponsorZenergy Consulting inc.

Skill Prize SponsorsCivil & environmental Consultants, inc.Hdr, inc.

Putting Green SponsorControls Link, inc.

Hole SponsorsBridgeSgraciano Corp.Hdr, inc.pex Class of 1949n.A. water SystemsSAi Consulting engineers, inc.thermo Fisher Scientific inc.tSi titanium

… and to our prize donors.Bar Louie waterfrontBeaverun Motorsports Complex the Book CenterBurgh’s pizza & wing pubthe Capital grilleCaribou Coffee Co.Carnegie Beer Outlet inc.Carnegie Museums of pittsburghthe Club at nevillewooddick’s Sporting goodsF. tambellini ristorantegateway Clipper FleetKovach’s Klubsnational Aviarynemacolin woodlands resortpalate partnersthe pitt Shoppittsburgh Civic Light Operapittsburgh Operapittsburgh piratespittsburgh Symphony Orchestrapittsburgh Zoo & ppg AquariumQuaker Steak & Luberock and roll Hall of Fame and MuseumSchnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLpu.S. Steel Corp.

Eighth Annual Alumni Golf Outing

Thank you to our sponsors …

Christina DebskiBS, Mechanical engineering, 1995Bridgeville, pa.

Are you proud to be a pitt engineer? Send your photo to sgill@pitt.edu.

Regis and Jim Stana Regis: BS, Chemical engineering, 1963

MS, Chemical engineering, 1965 phd, Chemical engineering, 1967

Lakeland, Fla.

Jim: BS, Mechanical engineering, 1973 Orlando, Fla.

Swanson School of Engineering416 Cathedral of Learning5200 Fifth Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15260

www.engr.pitt.edu

Visit www.engr.pitt.edu/video/swanson to watch the video containing highlights of the December 5, 2007, press conference announcing the naming of the Swanson School and about how John Swanson’s generosity will help transform the school.

www.engr.pitt.edu/video/swanson