1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
1960s
William “Bill” Bahnmaier (ME ’60), Fort Belvoir, Va., former instructor emeritus at the Defense Acquisition University, recently qualified as a volunteer docent at the National Museum of the United States Army in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
Hans H. Noe (ARCH ’60), New York, was featured in the New York Times for his wooden sculptures on October 4, 2023.
Norbert “Pete” Pointner (ARCH ’61, M.S. CRP ’62), Wheaton, Ill., offers a free e-book, Readings in Urban Planning and Design, at petepointner.com.
Hilton Kaufman (PS ’62), Chicago, retired from the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
Roger M. Cooper (M.S. MATH ’63, Ph.D. ’69), Menlo Park, Calif., discovered a revolutionary new methodology using spontaneous eye-movement responses to spoken language as a new way to communicate.
Donald G. Hervey (ME ’63), Centerville, Texas, published a paperback book on Amazon titled Calypso First Encounter. The book is about a spaceship with thousands aboard that tangles with a fleet of more advanced alien artificial intelligence spaceships.
William McConochie (M.S. PSYC ’68, Ph.D. ’70), Eugene, Ore., had his first granddaughter born in February 2024.
Bruno J. Tassone (LAW ’69), Indian Head Park, Ill., received the 2023 Justinian Award of Excellence at the Justinian Society of Lawyer’s Annual Installation and Awards Dinner on September 21, 2023.
1970s
Rick Carlson (MATH ’70), Glenwood Springs, Colo., joined the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship Board of Advisors, the College of Computing Board of Advisors, and the Electrical Engineering and Civil Engineering advisory boards at Illinois Tech in 2023.
Judge Alfred Paul (LAW ’71), Park Ridge, Ill., recently retired after many years of devoted service in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Paul reports that he and fellow retired judge James L. Kaplan (LAW ’71) are now on a quest to fulfill their lifelong dreams of becoming stand-up comedians on the Las Vegas strip.
Peter P. Hanik (CHE ’72), Houston, has written a book, Type 3 Solutions: Problem Solving for Competitive Advantage (available on Amazon), that documents his more than 50 years of experience with innovation in management, technology, engineering, and manufacturing.
Richard Matecki (PHYS ’72), Crestwood, Ill., celebrated the 35th anniversary of his life-saving kidney and pancreas transplant in July 2023.
Stephen Klumpp (ARCH ’75), Wheeling, Ill., is now semi-retired, while still being the president and owner of AR-K-TEKS.
Ronald Friedman (BIOL ’76), Des Plaines, Ill., has been appointed to the advisory Board of Directors of the nonprofit Devices 4 The Disabled (d4d.org).
Martin J. Fenelon III (PS ’77), Niantic, Conn., has written and published a book titled There’s a New Sheriff in Town: The Project Manager’s Proven Guide to Successfully Taking Over Ongoing Projects and Getting the Work Done that fills a noticeable gap in project management literature. He followed that up with a fictional history mystery/thriller series set in 1930’s Chicago. The first three books in the Barnstorming Detective Series, under the pen name M. J. Finn, are being released on Amazon in the first quarter of 2024. The hero of the story is pursuing an engineering degree at the Armour Institute of Technology.
Sanford Kadish (M.A.S. BA ’77), Israel, is retired and volunteering full-time as an English teacher to high school students at United States Army bases.
1980s
Nick Cray (ME ’80, M.A.S. ’88), Mequon, Wis., retired in December 2023.
David Erhart (CHE ’80), Kaysville, Utah, closed out his professional career at Zoox.
Susan M. Schneider (ENVE ’80), Kalamazoo, Mich., recently celebrated the appearance of a Spanish translation of her award-winning trade book on learning principles titled The Science of Consequences: How They Affect Genes, Change the Brain, and Impact Our World (Rowman & Littlefield). She currently focuses on climate change.
James McMahon (MET ’81), Winchester, Calif., created and edits the math blog, Math Vacation (https://jamesmacmath.blogspot.com).
Mark Zerwic (M.S. PSYC ’81, Ph.D. ’84), Iowa City, Iowa, retired after 33 years with the Department of Veterans Affairs. He was chief of psychology at the Chicago veterans affairs health center and later chief of psychology at the Iowa City veterans affairs health care system.
George R. Crouse (MGT ’82), Chicago, has been awarded the State Director of the Year Award by the Independent Accountants Association of Illinois.
Herb Velazquez (M.S. DSGN ’83), Alpharetta, Ga., published a book, titled Design Thinking Toolbox: Design Student’s Innovation Handbook, on January 6, 2024.
Kirankumar Topudurti (Ph.D. ENVE ’88), Portchester, N.Y., has been elected to the National Academy of Construction, and was inducted into the academy on October 12, 2023.
1990s
Hitesh K. Trivedi (M.S. MAE ’90), Fairborn, Ohio, was named a fellow of Society of the Tribologist and Lubrication Engineers at the 77th STLE Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. He was appointed a 2023 technical editor of Tribology & Lubrication Technology magazine.
Scott Conwell (ARCH ’91), Naperville, Ill., was an inaugural Crown scholar in 1986, and his daughter Angelica Conwell (B.ARCH. 2nd Year) was awarded the Crown Scholarship in 2022.
Mark Anastasio (EE ’92), Champaign, Ill., has been named an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers fellow. He was recognized for fundamental contributions to advanced computed imaging.
Matthew P. Walsh (LAW ’92), Indian Head Park, Ill., was inducted into the Irish American Hall of Fame along with the rest of the Walsh family.
Ramiro J. Atristaín-Carrión (M.B.A. FIN ’93), Chicago, published a book in Spanish titled El Dinero en Tu Vida: 100 Consejos Para Lograr Bienestar Financiero (Money in Your Life: 100 Tips to Achieve Financial Wellness), which was released by Archway Publishing from Simon & Schuster.
Benedict Jones (MATH ’94), Mission Viejo, Calif., started a new career as the director and chief information and technology officer with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, California, on January 2, 2024.
Saurabh Verma (ME ’95, M.S. MAE ’99), Buffalo Grove, Ill., moved from engineering manager of lighting to engineering manager of enclosures and controls at Emerson Automation Solutions.
Jill M. Webb (LAW ’96), Chicago, was elected national secretary of the American Board of Trial Advocates in October 2023.
Robert Brevelle (CS ’98, M.S. ’98), Rowlett, Texas, has been named by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to its list of Top 100 investors that support veterans and veteran-owned businesses. Brevelle was also featured in the Top 100 Innovators for 2023 in Entrepreneurs Magazine on page 64. He was selected due to his successful track record of early stage technologies and investments. His startups have returned more than $2 billion to investors. He has previously been named a Top 10 Angel Investor in Silicon Valley and Dallas-Fort Worth.
Ann Rangarajam (M.S. CSEE ’98, C.E.R. SE ’03, M.S. CS ’05), Harvard, Ill., obtained a Ph.D. in Technology Management at Indiana State University and joined the Department of Information Technology and Management at Illinois Tech as assistant professor in August 2023.
Ernest Boehm (M.A.S. CHE ’99), Hanover Park, Ill., is working on several world-class methanol-to-olefins and methanol-to-jet process work.
2000s
Renee Czeryba (M.S. PHRD ’00), Arlington Heights, Ill., received a Bronze Award for Excellence for Human Capital Management from the Brandon Hall Group.
David Salbego (M.S. CS ’00), Manorville, N.Y., was named the new chief information officer at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, on March 27, 2023.
Michael C. Kasdin (LAW ’04), Lake Bluff, Ill., has been recognized by Chambers USA 2023: America’s Leading Lawyers as one of the top regulatory and transactional insurance attorneys in Illinois.
David Vega (CS ’05), Hickory Hills, Ill., joined Wizards of the Coast as a senior software developer, creating Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, and Duel Masters.
Yared Akalou (M.DES. ’06), Houston, founder of Alcove Group, received a utility patent in 2023 for Alcove Workstation, a laptop case that transforms a personal space into a private workstation. Most notably, the utility patent includes the induction charging capability of laptops.
Amy M. Beribak (PSYC ’06), Elgin, Ill., married Mark Hartke and combined their children to make a family of five.
Shailvi Wakhlu (CPE ’07), San Francisco, published a book titled Self-Advocacy: Your Guide to Getting What You Deserve at Work, which went on to become the #6 bestseller in the business and negotiation category on Amazon.
2010s
Christopher Lee (CE ’10), Washington, D.C., was awarded the Delta Beta XI Award and Key from Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity for sustained alumni service to the fraternity.
Sonya Russell (née Martin) (AE ’10), Chicago, was selected as an associate technical fellow with the Boeing Company.
Jack Kosar (BA ’13, M.S. FIN ’15), Bartlett, Ill., started a new job at Asbury Research as vice president of investment strategy.
Katerina Burianova (ARCH ’15), Dana Point, Calif., founded her own architecture firm, Katerina Burianova Architecture Inc., which specializes in residential architecture in Dana Point.
Matthew R. Buenconsejo (FST ’15), Deerfield, Ill., accepted a position at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a food specialist.
Luis Larco (EE ’15, CS ’15), Palo Alto, Calif., and his wife, Sara Glade (CHE ’15, M.A.S. ENVE ’15), welcomed their first child, Sofia Victoria Larco-Glade, on December 16, 2023.
Matthew Ruza (LAW ’15), Hinsdale, Ill., was promoted by his employer Littler Mendelson to shareholder.
David Sorrell (C.E.R. PMGT ’15), Oakland, Calif., received both the 2023 University of California, Berkeley Outstanding Faculty and Staff Adviser Award and the Association for Commuter Transportation 40 Under 40 recognition for repeatedly demonstrating a commitment to the community and its needs and for impacting the lives of UC Berkeley students.
Elias Voulgaris (M.P.A. ’15), Chicago, retired from the Chicago Police Department as a commander after 35 years of service, and has been selected as an expert on policing to the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands.
Adeeba Jamal (M.A.S. CS ’16), Fuquay Varina, N.C., had a second baby, a boy, in 2024.
Kaylynn Seludo (née Barker) (BIOL ’16, M.S. ’18), Wadsworth, Ill., and Matthew Seludo (CHEM ’15) welcomed their first child, Jordan, on November 8, 2023.
Nagendra Subramanya (M.A.S. ITO ’17), Chicago, has been working in the supply chain industry at Academy Sports + Outdoors.
2020s
Kristin Pfeiffer (M.A.S. FST ’20), Naperville, Ill., is currently working at a business-to-business flavor house company that is responsible for sourcing the food and beverage community with flavors, flavor enhancers, and technologies.
Rishi Shukla (CS ’23, M.A.S. TENR ’23), Chicago, started a new position as a software developer at Redmane Technology.