Class Notes - Spring 2011
Frederick Bauer, BSEE'41, MSEE'48, a member of the college Hall of Fame, contacted us wondering if there are other engineering alumni his age - more than 90 years old. Fred had a 32-year career with the Ford Motor Company in electrical engineering management; now retired, he lives in Dearborn. He said he has more than 50 engineering textbooks from his undergraduate years at Wayne State's College of Engineering, and was wondering if the college had a place for them. Neither the college nor the Walter Reuther Library collections at Wayne State are able to take them, but Exemplar is putting out a call for anyone who might. Fred may be contacted at fb2@att.net.
Richard Allman, BSEE'60, is retired and currently doing live theater audio support and some performance. He received two Emmys for work on the 1984 and 1988 Olympics broadcasts for ABC-TV. He resides in Shelton, Conn., and advises his classmates, "If the wave comes along, surf it. You never know on what beach you will land."
William Bronner, BSEE'64, retired from IBM and Lockheed Martin and now lives in Endwell, N.Y. He is enjoying his children and grandchildren and volunteering for SCORE as a small business counselor. He says of his time at Wayne State, "My studies and success at Wayne afforded me the opportunity to join IBM, the worldwide leader in computer technology at that time. IBM had a hiring boom the year I graduated, enabling me to meet outstanding grads throughout the country as well as outstanding leaders in all vocations within IBM."
John Sullivan, BSCE'70, retired in 2006 and spends winters in Vero Beach, Fla., and summers in Houghton, Mich. He is kept busy by golf, grandchildren and volunteer activities.
Sang Kee Suh, MSChemE'72, won a 2010 Outstanding Contributions to KSEA award from the Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association. He is a member of the Korean National Assembly and vice chairman of their Education, Science and Technology Committee.
Gregory Walton, BSME'71, MSME'76, retired more than three years ago from a 36-year career with Ford Motor Company in Dearborn. He says, looking back, that the most important part of his life is his wife, Natalie, and children, Nicole and David. He resides in Grosse Pointe Shores.
Nelson Fabian, MSIME'79, is executive director and CEO of the National Environmental Health Association and resides in Aurora, Colo.
Earl Shipp, BSChE'81, is vice president for Michigan operations at the Dow Chemical Company. He has finally returned to the United States after a five-year assignment in the Middle East, Africa and India.
James Weiner, BSChE'81, is an environmental and business attorney at James T. Weiner, P.C. He is also the president of the Board of Directors of the Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy. He says that his experience in the chemical engineering department gave him a sound basis for his environmental work. He resides in Walled Lake, Mich.
Clifton Tally, BSME'83, is retired and now volunteers at Wayne State as an English language conversation partner with Chinese students and scholars. He resides in Lincoln Park, Mich.
Mohamad Almasri, BSCE'88, is an assistant division engineer for Wayne County and was involved in establishing the Storm Water Best Management Program implemented countywide. He resides in Dearborn, Mich.
Avinash Rachmale, MSCE'89,is president and CEO of the Lakeshore Group and has received a national Entrepreneur Success Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration. He encourages his former classmates to give back to the community, not forget their roots, and work hard to succeed. Avinash says of his Wayne State experience, "When I arrived at Wayne State in 1987, it gave me the platform to succeed in the outside world. And it taught me how to communicate within the industry and the people in the outside world." He resides in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Vera Blake, BSEE'99, recently relocated to Burnt Church First Nation, a native reserve among the Mi'kmaq in New Brunswick, Canada, to encourage youth to pursue education and avoid substance dependencies. She says, "I have been blessed to be able to achieve many things through my experiences at Wayne State as student, part-time faculty and employee. I hope to use these skills, some quirky that they may be, to encourage youth in their education. I hope to take the opportunities I was afforded and help others in achieving their life hopes and dreams. 'To whom much is given, much is expected.'" PHOTO
Lonnie Ervin, BSEE'99, is an electrical engineer with Diamond Moba Americas. He says of his time at Wayne State, "Wayne State allowed me to obtain a highly respected and fully accredited degree while at the same time allowing me to work in my field of choice. This was an extremely valuable combination. This college also allowed for those actively working in the manufacturing environment to teach and share their industry insights. The education and local accommodations were affordable. There are many organizations to join that help you feel connected." He resides in Southfield, Mich.
Heather McKay-Jiddou, BSME'00, is a powertrain engineer at Ford Motor Company and received a Powertrain Recognition and Achievement Award in March 2010. She resides in Northville, Mich.
Haiying (Helen) Shen, MSECE'04, PhDECE'06, is an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Clemson University and director of the Pervasive Communications Laboratory there. Her research interests include distributed and parallel computer systems and computer networks, with an emphasis on peer-to-peer and content delivery networks, wireless networks, grid computing and data mining.
Andy Gutierrez, BSME'05, is a member of the powertrain project management team launching the 2012 Ford Focus; he was also a member of the powertrain project management team that launched the 2010 Ford Fusion. He resides in Livonia, Mich., and coaches baseball at Western International High School in Southwest Detroit. He says, "Wayne State was and is an extremely diverse campus with people from all kinds of personalities, backgrounds and countries. This diverse culture helped prepare me for a diverse workforce and dealing daily with people from all around the world."
Upul Attanayake, PhDCE'06, is an assistant professor of civil and construction engineering at Western Michigan University. He has received more than $1 million in funding for active research, much of it with the Michigan Department of Transportation. He resides in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Brent Gillett, BSIE'07,is a quality engineer at BMW Manufacturing Co. He says his experience at Wayne State prepared him for various internships that eventually led to his current position at BMW. "WSU's College of Engineering challenged me to be a great engineer and I intend to make it proud," he says. His wife, Carolyn, gave birth to a son in March 2010, and they reside in Taylors, S.C.
Nand Kishore, MSME'09, is a vehicle safety engineer for Jeep and Truck Engineering at Chrysler Group, LLC and resides in Troy, Mich. He says, "Two courses defined my life. Dr. Tawfik B. Khalil and his two 8000-level courses in mechanical engineering took me to where I am. His methodology and ability to share his immense industrial experience is priceless. Wayne State is indeed a feeder of young and bright engineers to the auto industry today. I must thank Dr. Khalil and Dr. Trilochan Singh for all their help."
Harry Hicks, BSCE'51, passed away January 24, 2010.
Bob Byrum, BSME'58, alumni and longtime supporter of the college, passed away June 21, 2010, at the age of 75.
Bob was the founder and chairman of the Sensor Manufacturing Company. Bob was a member of the National Federation of Independent Businessmen, Society for Engineering Mechanics, Society for Manufacturing Engineers, and the American Society for Testing Materials. He also supported several community organizations in addition to his professional activities and was inducted into the College of Engineering's prestigious Hall of Fame.
He is survived by his wife Barbara (Bobbie); children Lynn (Jon) Madonna, and Robert Lee (Susan); grandchildren Tomasz, Sofia, and Alex; and sister Mary Jane (Bill) Jordan. He is predeceased by his son, Thomas.
Evert Brown Hurst, MSME'61, a well-respected engineer at NASA Lewis Research Center and the Analex Corp. who helped reduce vibrations on missions to the moon and other planets, died March 7, 2010, in Toledo, Ohio. Evert was born in Kentucky, but moved to Michigan during World War II to help improve Sherman tanks and develop cartridges for troops in North Africa. Afterward, he tested Chryslers, eventually moving to work for NASA from 1963 to 1980 and systems engineering firm Analex until 1996. He is survived by his wife, Lois, three children, six grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.