1940s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s
Attendee/Non-Degree
1940s
Bud Mann
(ME ’46), Kokomo, Ind., published his fourth book, On and Off the Road, an illustrated travel anthology of nine trips he and his wife took across the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Burton Lewis
(CE ’48), Chicago, a World War II veteran, was an honored guest of the National WWII Museum’s 75th Anniversary of D-Day Cruise aboard the Regent Seven Seas Navigator.
1960s
Russell Notar
(BE ’60, M.S. ’66), Lewes, Del., retired president and chief executive officer of the National Cooperative Business Association, was named by the State of Delaware Division of Libraries to the Board of Commissioners of the Independent Public Library.
Richard Chadwick
(PS ’62), Honolulu, a professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, has also worked for Illinois Tech, Yale University, and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. He also led the East-West Center’s global modeling project with seminars in India, Japan, and China.
Fred Weil
(PS ’64), San Francisco, was honored as the 2019 Moraga Citizen of the Year for his more than 42 years of volunteer work, including 34 years as an elected trustee of an elementary school district, a high school district, and a fire district.
Gerald Bepko
(LAW ’65), Indianapolis, proudly saw the inaugural presentation of the 2019 Gerald Bepko Faculty Community Engagement Grant Award by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Recipients of the Bepko Award are model faculty members currently engaged in teaching, research, or service commitments that contribute to the greater good of their communities.
George Bradburn
(ARCH ’65), Nîmes, France, has retired to France.
John Lounsbury
(Ph.D. CHEM ’66), Las Vegas, retired from a technical management career at IBM and then enjoyed a second career in personal financial management. He spent the last 10 years as co-founder and managing editor of Global Economic Intersection.
Eugene Phillip
(EE ’67), Great Falls, Va., was commissioned in the United States Air Force after college and spent four years as a specialist for the Minuteman missile system in Wyoming. In 1971 he returned to Chicago, where he worked as an engineer. Phillip then served as program manager and division chief for national security communications.
Kishor "Josie" Kulkarni
(M.S. MAE ’68, Ph.D. ’72), Naples, Fla., was selected by the ASM Materials Education Foundation to receive the 2018 George A. Roberts Award for his efforts in increasing awareness of materials and applied science careers. He is a fellow of both ASM International and APMI International, and has served on committees of several engineering societies.
Frederick Porter
(ARCH ’68), Chicago, has contributed more than 200 hours as a volunteer in the University of Illinois Extension DuPage County Master Gardener volunteer group.
Robert Johnson
(CE ’69, M.S. ’71), Chicago, was inducted into the William Howard Taft High School Hall of Fame this fall.
1970s
Manu Vora
(M.S. CHE ’70, Ph.D. ’75), Naperville, Ill., was the keynote speaker at the second International Conference on Contemporary Technological Solutions Towards Fulfillment of Social Needs, held September 28–29 in Bhopal, India. The following week he also presented lectures to M.B.A. students as part of a continuing education program.
Phillip Pardun
(M.S. MT ’71), South Barrington, Ill., an adjunct faculty member at Harper Community College and Elgin Community College, is celebrating his 52nd year teaching mathematics. Pardun’s four children are also teachers.
Thomas Demetrio
(LAW ’73), Chicago, has been ranked as the top lawyer in Illinois for 2019 by the website Super Lawyers. This is the third consecutive year he has been ranked as the top lawyer.
Jack Schmitt
(CE ’73, M.S. MGT ’82), Carol Stream, Ill., published the memoir Potato People: Tales from the Trenches of the U.S. Army—1967 to 1970.
Jeffrey Essmann
(IE ’74), Berwyn, Pa., was appointed to the Montana 2020 Districting and Apportionment Commission. He recently concluded 14 years of legislative service in the Montana Senate and House, and is now retired.
Mary Vandendorpe
(M.S. PSYC ’75, Ph.D. ’80) and James Vandendorpe (PHYS ’68, M.S. IS ’71, Ph.D. CS ’80), Naperville, Ill., celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. The couple has two children and four grandchildren.
Robert Zagar
(M.S. PSYC ’75), Chicago, published "Implications of Machine-Learning, Internet-Tests to Save Lives and Money: 7-Point Violence Profile” in the Review of European Studies (Vol. 11, No. 1, 2019).
John Cheng
(MGT ’78), Singapore, is managing director of Citus Group, a global energy trading company.
Richard Shreve
(Ph.D. BE ’78), Boynton Beach, Fla., at 82, is the oldest professor at the Boca Raton campus of Palm Beach State College. He has served on the faculty for 15 years.
1980s
Ben Bogner
(M.S. CHE ’80), Glen Ellyn, Ill., has been retired for eight years. He enjoys traveling the world and is still involved in writing structural standards for composite materials for the American Society of Civil Engineers.
E. Beth Jensen (née Phillips)
(LAW ’80), Libertyville, Ill., joined Astellas Pharma US as a project manager.
Timothy Grabacki
(EE ’81), Barrington, Ill., was promoted to vice president, product management for Cummins Allison, the leading innovator and provider of check, currency, and coin handling solutions, as well as full-function ATMs.
Mark Zerwic
(M.S. PSYC ’81, Ph.D. ’84), Coralville, Iowa, is deputy director of mental health and chief of psychology at the Iowa City VA Health Care System. He also is a clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa College of Medicine. He was a keynote speaker at the 24th annual Haymarket Center Summer Institute on Addictions, where he presented on positive psychology and resilience.
Andrea Berry (née Jenkins)
(CS ’84), Tarzana, Calif., has joined Production Resource Group, the world's leading provider of entertainment and event technology solutions, as senior vice president and general manager, broadcast and television. In her role, she will oversee the company’s live sporting and special events and scripted and unscripted television teams.
Nabeel Riza
(EE ’84), Cork, Ireland, was awarded the 2019 Edwin H. Land Medal by the Optical Society and the Society for Imaging Science and Technology for inventing and commercializing pioneering macro- and micro-scale imaging techniques across RF and optical wavelengths, as well as for the education and mentoring of distinguished scientists and engineers.
John Swierk
(ARCH ’84), Winnetka, Ill., founder and president of DDCA Architects, is celebrating the 30th anniversary of his firm’s incorporation. He is licensed in 28 states, with current projects from New York to California.
Naresh Shanker
(CS ’85, M.B.A. ’86), Menlo Park, Calif., was named senior vice president and chief technology officer of Xerox.
Lisa Jensen
(LAW ’87), Belvidere, Ill., was selected by the U.S. District Court to serve as the new magistrate judge for the Northern District of Illinois, Western Division. She will be the first woman to serve as a judicial officer in the Western Division.
Lucille Podlesny (née McGinty)
(EE ’88), Naperville, Ill., was promoted to the City of Naperville’s electric utility director.
1990s
Christopher Rauch
(EE ’91), Glenview, Ill., is chief intellectual property counsel at Illinois Tool Works Inc.
Cameron Davis
(LAW ’92), Evanston, Ill., was elected as a Metropolitan Water Reclamation District commissioner. Against eight other candidates in a write-in election, he won six times the required votes and was inaugurated last December.
Nicholas Clifford
(LAW ’93), St. Louis, joined Tucker Ellis as a partner.
John Fialko
(ARCH ’94), La Salle, Ill., moved back to Illinois after living and working in San Diego for more than 20 years. After retiring in 2017 he has been following his passion of building kit cars.
Anurag Gupta
(M.B.A. MKT ’94), Weston, Fla., was appointed to the Board of Directors of Roseburg, a forest products company, as well as to the Drive My Way Board of Directors.
Jennifer Welch
(LAW ’94), Chicago, was named a co-chair on the Health and Human Services Transition Committee for newly elected Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. She is the president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Illinois.
Jimmy Akintonde
(ARCH ’95), Chicago, was part of the team that was awarded design/build services for the City of Chicago’s Engine Company 115, which will be the second-largest fire station in the city.
Karen Klein (née Ruzic)
(LAW ’95), Clarendon Hills, Ill., joined Ticketmaster as executive vice president and general counsel.
Camille Robinson (née Brown)
(BA ’96), Chicago, is director of specialized services at South Holland School District 150.
Jill Webb
(LAW ’96), Chicago, is a fellow of the International Society of Barristers. She was also selected to serve as the American Board of Trial Advocates Executive Committee Membership Chair for the Illinois chapter.
Mark Cumba
(LAW ’98), San Diego, received the San Diego County Bar Association Service to the Legal Community Award in May 2019.
Holly Gordon
(LAW ’99), Oakland, Calif., joined the Ike Robotics self-driving truck company as head of public policy and government affairs. Gordon came to Ike from the Bay Area Rapid Transit as a group manager in sustainability.
Tiana Taylor (née Robinson)
(ARCH ’99), Concord, Calif., was named associate principal at Huntsman Architectural Group. She is also an active member of the American Institute of Architects, the National Organization of Minority Architects, and the International Facility Management Association.
2000s
Renee Czeryba (née Maciasz)
(M.S. PHRD ’00), Arlington Heights, Ill., was promoted to senior manager, global procurement transformation at Walgreens.
Varun Goyal
(CPE ’00), Carmel, Ind., is co-founder and chief executive officer of illuminate.health, a medication management app.
Lisa Ulrich
(LAW ’00), Armonk, N.Y., was honored as a Volunteer of the Year by the New York and Fairfield County branch of the Pro Bono Partnership. She has volunteered with the Pro Bono Partnership since 2011.
Christopher Bruenjes
(CHE ’01, ENVE ’01), Philadelphia, is a partner at the Washington, D.C., office of Drinker, Biddle & Reath.
Biju Nair
(M.S. CS ’01), Long Grove, Ill., was a finalist for the 2019 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 Southwest Award.
Jason Sposeep
(LAW ’03), Oak Park, Ill., was promoted to equity partner of Schiller DuCanto & Fleck. This fall Sposeep began serving as the incoming president of the Chicago-Kent College of Law Alumni Board of Directors.
William Gibbs
(LAW ’04), Wheeling, Ill., a partner at Corboy & Demetrio, was named to the 2018 Irish Legal 100.
Carrie Zalewski (née Solberg)
(LAW ’04), Riverside, Ill., was appointed chair of the Illinois Commerce Commission by Governor J. B. Pritzker this past April. She came to the commission from the Illinois Pollution Control Board where she had served since 2009.
Bryan Peterson
(M.S. CPE ’05), New Lenox, Ill., was named by TMP Architecture as one of 20 top industry professionals appointed to a groundbreaking new review program called the Specification Content and User Experience Advisory Committee, which was launched by Building Systems Design.
Virgil Abloh
(M.A.R. ARCH ’06), Chicago, debuted his exhibit Figures of Speech at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.
David Blau
(LAW ’07), Canton, Mass., was named co-author and editor of Patent It Yourself, beginning with the 19th edition.
Patrick Kelly
(LAW ’07), Naperville, Ill., owner of The Kelly Law Firm, won a seat on the Naperville City Council this year.
Michael Hallock
(LAW ’08), Oxford, Miss., presented at the Speaker’s Commission on Public Policy regarding investigation and prosecution issues in human trafficking.
Sarmad Naqvi
(M.A.S. CS ’08), Schaumburg, Ill., joined 84.51° as a lead data engineer.
2010s
Sean Jungels
(LAW ’10), Chicago, was elected a principal shareholder of Banner and Witcoff.
Xiangyu Deng
(Ph.D. BIOL ’11), Atlanta, along with a colleague headed a team of researchers in the development of a machine-learning approach that could lead to quicker identification of the animal source of certain Salmonella outbreaks. They used more than 1,000 genomes to predict the animal sources, especially livestock, of S. Typhimurium.
Angela Ng
(CE ’11), Chicago, became licensed as a professional engineer in Illinois. She is also celebrating four years with EFK Moen.
Emily Acosta
(LAW ’13), Atlanta, an attorney with Childers, Schlueter & Smith, was named one of the Top 40 Lawyers Under 40 in Georgia by The National Trial Lawyers.
Saad Mahmood
(CPE ’15), Chicago, joined 84.51° as a senior software engineer. Previously, he was a senior software engineer for Allstate Roadside Assistance.
Adeeb Ahmed
(CIS ’17), Minneapolis, open-sourced the blockchain application ConsensSource for the Target Corporation and the open-source project Hyperledger Grid. Ahmed’s work has earned him resident expert status on applied distributed ledger technology, and he has been promoted to senior software engineer, allowing him to build his own team to work in this new and innovative space.
Tehlyr Kellogg
(PSYC ’17), Homewood, Ill., joined Northwestern University as a program assistant and this fall, has entered into the Vanderbilt University Master of Education programs in Learning, Diversity, and Urban Studies and International Education and Policy.
Joshua Guberman
(PSYC ’18), Ann Arbor, Mich., completed his first year as a doctoral student at the University of Michigan School of Information, where he studies accessibility and assistive technology. He received a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship for the co-design of assistive technologies for people with dyslexia to aid in the reading of printed text. Guberman also was recently issued a U.S. patent.
Jeffrey Mudrock
(Ph.D. AMAT ’18), Wauconda, Ill., became a tenured professor of mathematics at the College of Lake County in Grayslake, Illinois.
Hailey Borowczyk
(BIOL ’19), Forest Hills, N.Y., is a supplier quality analyst with The Hain Celestial Group.
Siddhesh Nanaware
(M.A.S. ITO ’19), Laurel, Md., was lead manufacturing intern at East Coast Fresh and was then offered a position as a process engineer responsible for improving the company’s state-of-the-art food processing production floor.
Hiva Nasiri
(Ph.D. EE ’19), Chicago, was selected as a chair of the 2019 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Power & Energy Society General Meeting paper forum.
Attendee/Non-Degree
Norio Fujikawa
San Francisco, was promoted to executive creative director at design agency Astro Studios, where he had spent 14 years as a creative director.