College of Engineering to welcome new Hall of Fame members for 2024
The Wayne State University College of Engineering will honor 12 prominent alumni at its Hall of Fame awards dinner on Thursday, April 18 in the main engineering building on campus. Hussein Berry, M.B.A. ’06, M.S. ’21, Jay Iyengar, M.S. ’88, and the late King-Hay Yang, M.S. ’81, Ph.D. ‘85, comprise the Hall of Fame class of 2024 and will bring membership to 157 honorees since the Hall of Fame’s inception in 1983. The College of Engineering will also recognize distinguished engineers and computer scientists from all eight departments.
Berry is vice president of airport operations at Detroit’s Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, where he oversees the strategic operations of Delta’s Detroit hub and 40 airport operations ― including over 1,000 daily departures and almost 10,000 Delta and business partner employees ― in the U.S. Central and Southeast Regions. He began his career in the aviation industry as a baggage handler and customer service representative, and rose through the ranks to hold various leadership positions in finance and operations at airports in Detroit, Atlanta and New York City. In the community, Berry spearheaded a $1 million fundraising campaign for the University of Michigan Mott Children’s Hospital. He also serves on the Detroit Economic Club and Regional Detroit Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, including their Sub-Committee Board for Racial Justice and Economic Equity.
Iyengar is Oshkosh Corporation’s executive vice president and chief technology and strategic sourcing officer. She is responsible for Oshkosh’s vision and global strategy to drive investment, development and deployment of leading-edge technologies. Iyengar has over 30 years of diverse industry experience across the automotive, aerospace, industrial, agricultural and heavy-duty vehicle markets, most recently serving as chief technology and quality officer at CNH Industrial. Prior to this, she held the role of senior vice president and chief innovation and technology officer for Xylem, Inc., and group vice president of engineering and technology for Eaton Corporation’s Aerospace Group. Iyengar is a board member of Engineering Tomorrow, a nonprofit organization focused on introducing high school students to various fields of engineering.
Yang was the Albert I. King Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Wayne State. He was appointed assistant professor in 1988 and later served as director of the WSU Bioengineering Center. He was a well decorated researcher recognized worldwide for his work on human models used in conjunction with injury mechanism investigations related to motor vehicle crashes, orthopedic trauma, blast-induced injury and contact sports. A human brain model developed in his lab is on display at the Computer World of Smithsonian Institutes. Yang published a book, 18 book chapters and more than 180 peer-reviewed journal papers in his career. He was a Fellow of the American Institute for Medicine and Biological Engineering, and of the Society of Automotive Engineers.
The distinguished engineers and computer scientists include:
- Biomedical Engineering
Richard Kuzma, M.S. ‘09
Medical and research director, NeoGenix - Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
Frenae Smith, B.S. ’05, M.S. ‘10
Manager of corrosion control, DTE Energy - Civil and Environmental Engineering
Carrie Turner, M.S. ‘98
Principal and senior water resources engineer, LimnoTech - Computer Science
Mary Carleton-Smith, B.S. ‘89
Senior data architect in vehicle engineering and quality, General Motors
Rahul Garg, M.S. ‘94
Vice president, Siemens Digital Industries Software - Electrical and Computer Engineering
Malik Zakaria, M.S. ‘97
Founder and CEO, FieldEngineer.com - Engineering Technology
Mark Rotary, B.S. ’86, M.B.A. ‘97
Head of race engineering, ZF North America - Industrial and Systems Engineering
James McNichol, B.S. ’90, M.S. ’98, Ph.D. ‘07
Senior manager of consulting services, Autodesk - Mechanical Engineering
Constantine Mastory, Ph.D. ‘14
Engineering manager, Stellantis
Prior to the event, the honorees will have the opportunity to attend Senior Capstone Design Day from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom and peruse a showcase of Wayne State students’ capstone projects, all of which present solutions to engineering challenges and commercial or social needs.
Dean Ali Abolmaali and the Engineering Alumni Association will welcome the honorees and their families — as well as colleagues, alumni and industry leaders — to the awards dinner beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets to attend the event are $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.