College of Engineering to welcome new Hall of Fame members for 2019
The Wayne State University College of Engineering will honor 10 prominent alumni at its Hall of Fame awards dinner on Thursday, April 18, at the Outdoor Adventure Center in Detroit.
Nanda Kumar, B.S. '84, M.S. '91, and Joseph Ziomek, B.S. '59, compose the Hall of Fame class of 2019 and will bring membership to 146 honorees since the Hall of Fame's inception in 1983.
The College of Engineering will also recognize distinguished engineers or computer scientists from each of its eight departments. The event will be preceded by the Tapan Datta Boulevard dedication and the college's annual Student Innovation and Design Day, presented by the James and Patricia Anderson Engineering Ventures Institute.
Kumar has risen through the ranks at Eaton, a diversified power management company that provides energy-efficient solutions to customers in more than 175 countries. He began his Eaton career in 1990 and held positions of increasing responsibility in plant management and business systems. Kumar's leadership has been instrumental in streamlining operations in manufacturing, supply chain, environmental, and health and safety. In September 2015 he assumed his current role as president of Eaton's Aerospace Group, a world leader in the design, manufacturing and integration of innovations in hydraulics, fuel systems, motion control, and engine solutions. Kumar holds a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from Bangalore University in India, a master's in mechanical engineering from Wayne State University, and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.
Ziomek has been in the automotive electronics business for more than 55 years. The Cass Tech alumnus enrolled at Wayne State in 1954 at age 16. Ziomek worked for Ford Motor Company from 1963 to 1979 in advanced electronics research and composites vehicle design. He joined TRW in 1979 and formed the Transportation Electrical and Electronics Operation, which pioneered electronics applications for passenger cars, light trucks, heavy duty trucks and buses, and agricultural and off-road vehicles. In 1987, he was named TRW's director of advanced safety restraint systems, later joining Takata in 1989 in a similar role. Ziomek, who has served as a consultant and expert witness since his retirement, co-founded the Convergence Education Foundation (now called Square One), a STEM pipeline for more than 20,000 high school students.
The distinguished engineers and computer scientists include:
Ernest Chiodo, M.D. '83, J.D. '86, M.S. '07, M.S. '09
Physician and attorney
Luis Spitz, B.S. '60
Soap industry consultant
Russell Gronevelt, M.S. '82
President (retired), Orchard, Hiltz, McCliment, Inc.
Uma Raghavan, M.S. '94
Founder and Advisor, Integris
Maninder Chhabra, M.S. '90
Founder and CEO, Cloudwick
Mark Reinhard, B.S. '82
Founder and President, Forward View Displays
Nabil Raad, Ph.D. '18
Director of Product Development Analytics, Ford Motor Company
Mousa Mohsen, Ph.D. '91
Professor and Dean, School of Engineering at the American University of Ras Al Khaimah
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. All are also invited to the Tapan Datta Boulevard dedication at 10 a.m.
Dean Farshad Fotouhi and the Engineering Alumni Association will 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. Reservations can be made online.
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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.