College of Engineering to welcome new Hall of Fame members for 2018

HOFenginThe Wayne State University College of Engineering will honor 11 prominent alumni at its Hall of Fame awards dinner on Friday, April 20, at the NextEnergy Center in Detroit.

Deming Xiao, M.S. '89, and Krish Panu, B.S. '81, M.B.A. '84, compose the Hall of Fame class of 2018 and will bring membership to 144 honorees since the Hall of Fame's inception in 1983.

New this year, the College of Engineering will also recognize distinguished engineers or computer scientists from each of its eight departments. The event will coincide for the first time with the college's annual Student Design and Innovation Day, presented by the James and Patricia Anderson Engineering Ventures Institute.

Xiao joined Monolithic Power Systems (MPS) in 2001 and has served in various executive positions including senior vice president of operations and president of Asia operations. Xiao is in charge of worldwide manufacturing and supply chains, corporate technology developments, product and testing engineering, quality, reliability, and corporate IT. Since Xiao joined MPS, the company has scaled from a startup to reach a valuation of nearly $5 billion as one of the fastest-growing companies in analog semiconductors. Xiao's prior experience includes numerous engineering and management positions with Supertex Inc., National Semiconductor and Fairchild Imaging. Xiao holds a bachelor's in semiconductor physics from Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, and a master's in electrical engineering from Wayne State University.

Panu has more than two decades of business strategy, engineering and operational experience having built successful technology businesses that have created multibillion dollar markets. He founded @Road in 1998 and grew it into a worldwide leader in mobile resource management solutions before merging the company with Trimble Navigation for nearly half a billion dollars. Today, Panu is the co-founder and managing director of PointGuard Ventures, a private equity and venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California. He holds a bachelor's in electrical engineering and master's of business administration from Wayne State.

The distinguished engineers and computer scientists include:

  • Biomedical Engineering
    Annette Irwin, M.S. '93, Ph.D. '94
    Technical Fellow, General Motors Global Safety Center
  • Chemical Engineering and Material Science
    Keith Donaldson, B.S. '85
    President, Engineered Materials Inc.
  • Civil and Environmental Engineering
    Palencia Mobley, M.S. '04
    Deputy Director and Chief Engineer, Detroit Water and Sewerage Department
  • Computer Science
    Frank Riviera, B.S. '86
    Vice President of Product Development, Nexsys Technologies
  • Electrical and Computer Engineering
    Anurag Kumar, M.S. '87
    Founder and CEO, iTexico
    Vandana Kumar, M.S. '89
    Program Director, PowerAI Developer Ecosystem, IBM
  • Engineering Technology
    Frank Kunick, B.S. '99, M.S. '09
    Senior Manager, Test Laboratory Operations Dept., Nissan Technical Center North America
  • Industrial and Systems Engineering
    Mark Dolsen, M.S. '90, Ph.D. '17
    President, TRQSS, Inc.
  • Mechanical Engineering
    Kelley Clark, M.S. '95
    Global Vehicle Integration Manager, Ford Motor Company
  • The honorees will have the opportunity to attend Design Day from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Student Center Building and peruse a showcase of Wayne State students' capstone projects and startup companies, all of which present solutions to engineering challenges and commercial or social needs in the spirit of entrepreneurship.

    Dean Farshad Fotouhi and the Engineering Alumni Association will then welcome the honorees and their families - as well as colleagues, alumni and industry leaders - to the awards dinner, which begins at 6 p.m. The cost to attend the event is $50 per person, with proceeds benefiting scholarships and student programs.

    To make a reservation, visit go.wayne.edu/halloffame2018.

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    The Wayne State University College of Engineering Hall of Fame was founded in 1983 to recognize and honor distinguished alumni who, through their leadership, entrepreneurship and innovation, have made significant industrial, educational and societal contributions to the engineering and computer science professions. The Hall of Fame celebrates the rich history of the College of Engineering and provides exceptional standards by which Wayne State University engineering students can measure success.

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