Class Notes

1950s

Virginia Walters, MS ’58, PhD ’65

Shelburne, Vermont Ginny celebrated her 95th birthday on May 26 and her family made sure she did it in fun style. They created a music video tribute inspired by her favorite composers, Gilbert and Sullivan, for the celebration at her retirement community. Ginny earned her master’s and doctorate degrees in physic from Case Institute of Technology. You can view her birthday tribute on YouTube at tinyurl.com/y7hujxmh.

1960s

William R. King, MS ’62, PhD ’64

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Bill recently received the Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his achievements and leadership in management science and information systems. He retired in 2008 with the rank of University Professor from the University of Pittsburgh, where he taught in the graduate school of business for more than 40 years and redesigned the doctoral program. Bill and Fay, his wife of 62 years, are now “snowbirds” who winter in Florida and spend summers in Pittsburgh’s Fox Chapel Borough.

1970s

Andrew Wasynczuk ’79, MS ’79

Westwood, Massachusetts Andy shared his memories of Case as part of a 50th anniversary video commemoration of university athletics. He played soccer and threw the javelin for the Spartans while earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering. He became a top executive for the New England Patriots and today is a senior lecturer at the Harvard Business School. In 2014, Andy received

Anthony Ignagni ’83, MS ’89

Oberlin, Ohio Anthony is the co-founder and CEO of Synapse Biomedical of Oberlin, Ohio, a medical device company helping fight the coronavirus pandemic. In April, the FDA gave emergency approval to its neurostimulation device that helps wean patients off of ventilators. Synapse was founded in 2002 with technology developed at CWRU and University Hospitals. Anthony earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering from the Case School of Engineering.

Gregory F. Shay ’83, MS ’91

Mentor, Ohio Greg won a technical Emmy in the 71st Annual Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. His Emmy was to be presented in Las Vegas in April, but the awards ceremony was postponed because of the pandemic. Greg is the CTO at the Telos Alliance in downtown Cleveland. The award recognizes broadcast technology that he helped develop and that has become an industry standard.

Jeen-Long “Daniel” Liao, MS ’84

Shanghai, China Daniel has retired as chairman of Asia Pacific Operations of Lam Research, a semiconductor processing equipment company, and is now Lam’s senior advisor of Asia Pacific. Also, he has accepted a position on the board of directors of Photronics effective September 10, 2020. Daniel received his master’s degree in electrical engineering and applied physics from Case Institute of Technology.

the Meritorious Service Award from the Case Alumni Association.

1980s

Karl Jacob ’81

Midland, Michigan Karl is sharing his skills in retirement with fellow engineers. As an instructor for AIChE, he is teaching chemical engineering to non-chemical engineers. He also teaches solids processing and assists with process design at the University of Michigan. Karl retired from the Dow Chemical Company as a Fellow in Engineering Sciences. He is also an AIChE Fellow.

Sue Jacob ’82

Midland, Michigan Sue recently retired from the Dow Chemical Company, where she developed heat exchange, distillation and ASPEN modeling expertise through years of experience in process design and manufacturing. She is sharing her expertise as an instructor for the AIChE Academy. Sue earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Case Institute of Technology.

Michael Coyle ’83

Minneapolis, Minnesota Michael was elected to the board of directors of Bostonbased Haemonetics Corporation, a global medical technology company focused on hematology. He’s the executive vice president and group president of the Cardiac and Vascular Group for Medtronic, where he oversees four of the company’s business divisions. Michael holds six U.S. patents related to cardiovascular medical device products and technologies. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Case Institute of Technology and is an advisor to the BME Think Tank of the Case School of Engineering. Send your updates, including photos, about job promotions, professional development and personal milestones to casealum@casealum.org.

Louis “Andy” Bodnar ’85

Livonia, Michigan Andy recently retired from the US. Navy, where he was the Chief of Staff for a special operations task force in the Republic of Djibouti. He has also served in Bosnia, Azerbaijan, Israel, Hawaii, Albania, Kuwait, Bahrain, Tunisia, South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Gabon, Niger, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Somalia, Yemen and throughout the continental U.S. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Case as well as an MBA from Eastern Michigan University, an MS in Engineering from Purdue, an MS in the management of technology from Rensselaer Polytech and an MA in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College.

Gary Barkov ’86

Skokie, Illinois Gary is vice president, healthcare technology management, for Advocate Aurora Health based in Downers Grove, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He also plays drums for jazz bands. Gary earned his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Case Institute of Technology.

John “Jack” Daly ’89, MS ’91

San Francisco, California Jack is a partner at TPG Global, where he heads the Americas Industrials Equity business in New York. Previously he was a partner and managing director at Goldman Sachs. From 1991 to 1997, Jack was an instructor in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Case, where he founded a nonprofit program that developed equipment for people with disabilities. On May 19, he shared his experiences with the CWRU Entrepreneurship Speaker Series.

Tim Schigel ’89

Cincinnati, Ohio Tim, a serial entrepreneur, is the founding partner of Refinery Ventures, an early stage venture capital investment firm in Cincinnati. He shares his insight with aspiring entrepreneurs as a mentor for The Brandery, a startup accelerator in Cincinnati. Tim, the founder of the social media platform ShareThis, earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Case.

1990s

Christopher Vanorman, PhD ’92

Hillsdale, Michigan Chris has accepted the position of provost at Hillsdale College, where he joined the faculty in 1992 as a professor in the Chemistry Department. He has twice been named Hillsdale Professor of the Year. Chris earned his doctorate in chemistry from the Case School of Engineering. He owns a Harley Davidson Heritage Softail Classic motorcycle, which he enjoys riding with friends.

Arnold Huffman ’93

Atlanta, Georgia Arnold is the founder and CEO at Digital Yalo, which was named the Digital Marketing Agency of the Year by the Technology Association of Georgia for 2019. He’s also president of the board of the Alumni Association of Case Western Reserve University. Arnold earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Case School of Engineering while playing basketball for legendary Coach Bill Sudeck.

Vinish Kathuria MS ’94

New Delhi, India Vinish is the managing partner at SenseAI Ventures, an investment firm that specializes in AI entrepreneurs. Previously he was the chief operating officer of Digital Quotient, a mobile marketing firm in India. Vinish worked for Microsoft, Infospace and Spice Digital in the United States before returning to India in 2007 to launch and lead startups. He earned his master’s degree from Case in polymer and macromolecular engineering.

Tusiime Ndyajunwoha ’94

Cleveland Heights, Ohio Tusiime is a volunteer for TEALS, a Microsoft-sponsored effort to get computer science curriculums installed in more high schools across the country. As a TEALS volunteer, he partners with classroom teachers to teach CS classes during the school year. He’s also a supporter of youth soccer programs. Tusiime is a solution owner at Hyland Software, applying his bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Case School of Engineering.

Bradley Wertz ’94

Akron, Ohio Brad is a founding investor and the chairman and CEO of GemonOncology, a Cleveland biotechnology startup that develops software to analyze genomic data. The company recently made news with its move into new offices in Cleveland’s Warehouse District. Previously, Brad served as president and chief operating officer of Rosetta, as COO of Brulant and as president and co-founder of Xteric Technology Group.

Nimesh A. Mehta ’96, MBA ’99

Dallas, Texas Nimesh was promoted to Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at National Life Group. He is in charge of information technology operations at the Vermont-based life insurance company and a member of its executive management team. Nimesh earned his bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from the Case School of Engineering and his MBA from the Weatherhead School.

Scott Adams, MS ’98

Rochester, Michigan Scott has been named president of eMobility at Eaton Corp., responsible for leading the division that provides zero-emissions solutions for electric vehicles. Scott joined Eaton in 1994 as a project engineering manager in

Cleveland and has held numerous positions of increasing scope in his 26-year career. Most recently, he served as senior vice president of product strategy, sales and marketing of eMobility.

2000s

Vicki Burt ’00

Northfield, Ohio Vicki is the managing editor of magazines and digital media at ASM International, the world’s largest association of materials engineers and scientists. She’s also a judge for the annual scholarship program of SWE, the Society of Women Engineers. Vicki earned her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Case.

Eric Hanson ’01

Palo Alto, California Eric has become a partner in the corporate practice group at WilmerHale, an international law firm with offices in Dayton and Palo Alto. He specializes in startups, public companies and venture capital funds. Prior to going into law, Eric worked as a database manager and a software engineer. He earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science from Case.

Brian Schriver ’01

Solon, Ohio Brian became the sales enablement team lead, Commercial Program Development, at Rockwell Automation. He joined Rockwell in 2002 out of Case, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, and has worked as a design engineer, a marketing specialist and a technical content developer.

Jacquelyn Adams ’02

Palo Alto, California Jacquelyn is the founder and CEO of the engineering consultancy Ristole, which offers employee training and development. As an IEEE Senior Member, she serves as the vice-chair of IEEE’s Continuing Education program.

Nikolay Belenky ’02

Columbus, Ohio Nick joined Top of Mind Networks as executive vice president of sales. He will direct sales operations at the maker of customer relationship software for the mortgage lending industry. Nick earned his bachelor’s degree from Case in computer engineering.

Daniel McFadden, MS ’02

Canton, Ohio Daniel, the Director of North American Manufacturing at The Timken Company, in July joined the board of Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio. He’ll serve a threeyear term. A mechanical engineer, Daniel earned his master’s degree in engineering management at Case.

Stephanie Nogan Bailey ’03

Shaker Heights, Ohio Stephanie is a biomedical engineer at the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center in Cleveland, where she’s part of the team developing an adjustable walker to help people navigate steps and inclines. CWRU and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs have partnered with LevelMed Technologies to commercialize the Self-Leveling Walker. Stephanie earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering with a specialization in biomechanics at the Case School of Engineering.

Paul Tesar ’03, PhD

Wickliffe, Ohio Paul is among 20 researchers nationally to receive a Research Program Award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health. He’s a professor of genetics and genome sciences at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Paul earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of Arts and Sciences and went on to earn his doctorate from the University of Oxford.

Fr. Humbert Kilanowski ’04, PhD

Providence, Rhode Island Fr. Humbert is an assistant professor of mathematics at Providence College and a pioneering baseball statistician. His research broadening the scope of WAR formulas was published in July in the Baseball Research Journal of the Society for American Baseball Research. He was Philip Kilanowski when he studied mathematics and astronomy at Case. In 2018, he was ordained a Catholic priest and became a Dominican Friar.

Michael J. Fu, MS ’06, PhD ’11

Mayfield Heights, Ohio Michael, an assistant professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Case School of Engineering, received a National Science Foundation Early Career Award of $549,000 to continue his research into using electrical stimulation to help stroke victims regain muscle movement. He does the bulk of his research in stroke rehabilitation at MetroHealth System, where he is a staff scientist. Michael is also an investigator for the Cleveland FES Center. He earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering.

Rebecca Spragg ’06

Detroit, Michigan Rebecca is an assistant professor of Health Promotion and Human Performance at Eastern Michigan University. She joined EMU in 2017 following several years in the clinical field. Rebecca is a certified prosthetist orthotist focusing on pediatric care. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Case and her master’s in Prosthetics and Orthotics from Georgia Institute of Technology.

Shaan Gandhi ’07, MD

Boston, Massachusetts Shaan, a doctor and an entrepreneur, joined the CWRU Entrepreneurship Speaker Series May 20 as a featured presenter. He’s a principal at Northpond Ventures, a science-driven venture capital firm, and co-founder of Pyxis Oncology, a biotechnology company that develops cancer treatments. Shaan earned bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and chemistry at Case before studying medical oncology at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. He then earned business and medical degrees from Harvard.

Victoria Ma ’08

Portland, Maine Victoria is a certified registered nurse anesthetist at Maine Medical Center. She earned her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Case and interned at GE as an Edison Engineer, then pivoted to healthcare. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Columbia School of Nursing.

2010s

Jessica Palmer '10, MEM '11

Brunswick, Ohio Jessica and her husband welcomed a daughter, Paisley Ray Palmer, on June 13. Mom will be extra busy. A project manager for Vitamix, Jessica was recently elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of the Case Alumni Association.

Saeed Alhassan Alkhazraji ’11, PhD

Abu Dhabi Na, United Arab Emirates Saeed is an associate professor of chemical engineering at Khalifa University of Science and Technology. Recently, he filed a provisional patent application for a method to prepare an artificial, customizable soil that resembles fertile soils in Thailand and Ukraine and allows users to grow different crops based on their need.

Victoria Rusnak ’11, MEM ’12

Denver, Colorado Victoria is a Reentry Systems Engineer for Lockheed Martin, having joined the defense contractor in 2019. Previously she was an engineer lead for Raytheon. Victoria earned her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and her masters of engineering management at Case.

Bryan Schmidt ’11, PhD

Milan, Ohio Bryan is a new assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Case School of Engineering. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Case and his master’s and doctorate in aeronautics at California Institute of Technology. Bryan joined the Case faculty in January.

Cady (Walter) Henigin ’12, MEM ’13

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Cady was promoted to senior manager at Accenture, in its Talent & Organization practice, where she has worked since 2013. In 2019, she was recognized as one of “30 Under Thirty” business leaders of note by Pittsburgh Business Times. She earned her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and her masters of engineering management at Case, where she was a member of WISER and the Spartan Dance Team.

Liang Yue, MS ’14, PhD ’18

Cleveland, Ohio Liang is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Macromolecular Science and Engineering at the Case School of Engineering. Working with Distinguished University Professor Ica Manas-Zloczower, he helped develop technology to break down and re-use rigid, long-lasting plastics that previously had defied recycling. The pair are working with the Great Lakes Energy Institute and CWRU’s Office of Technology Transfer to identify industry partners.

Jacob Antunes ’15, MS ’16

Cleveland, Ohio Jacob is pursuing his doctorate in biomedical engineering at the Case School of Engineering while working as a research assistant in the lab of Anant Madabhushi, PhD, and the Center for Computational Imaging and Personalized Diagnostics. Recently, he was named as an inventor on a patent awarded to the center for treating and evaluating rectal cancer with image analytics.

Nikhil Krishnan ’16, MD

Cambridge, England Nikhil is one of 88 students from around the world — and the third in CWRU history — to earn the prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship, continuing a tradition that gives the Department of Physics something to crow about. All three CWRU winners have physics degrees. Nikhil went on to earn a medical degree from the CWRU School of Medicine. As a Gates scholar, he will study as a PhD candidate in physics at the University of Cambridge beginning this fall.

Abigail Walker ’16

Cleveland, Ohio Abby is a software engineer with McKesson Specialty Health. Previously, she was a platform software engineer for IBM Watson-Explorys. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Case, where she was co-president of Newman Campus Catholic Ministry and a member of the Mather Dance Collective.

Justo Karell ’17, MBA ’19

Stamford, Connecticut Justo is a military engines data scientist for Pratt & Whitney and a

co-founder of two social venture startups: SalHatesFoodWaste maps potential food waste and cheap and free food in the Hartford area. Mobility, launched in Cleveland in 2019, installs bike-sharing programs in low-income neighborhoods. Justo earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering physics at the Case School of Engineering.

Jered Butler ’19

Seattle, Washington Jered, a design engineer for Boeing, recently joined the company’s Engineering Career Foundation leadership program as a rotational engineer. He earned his bachelor’s degree in aerospace and mechanical engineering at Case, where he was a leader in the Case chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers.

Emily Dickens ’19, MEM ’20

Cleveland, Ohio Emily joined Cleveland startup Octet Scientific as the head of product development. She’ll be creating novel molecules for zinc batteries and working towards the future of sustainable energy storage. Emily earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and her masters of Engineering and Management at Case, where she was a ThinkEnergy Fellow with the Great Lakes Energy Institute.

Lucas Fridman ’19

Palo Alto, California Lucas’s startup, Workbench Technologies, was accepted into the 2020 class of Y Combinator, one of the nation’s leading startup accelerators. Workbench develops project management software for supply-chain teams. He launched the company with classmate Prince Gosh and serves as chief technology officer. Lucas earned his bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering and applied data science at Case, where he was a ThinkEnergy Fellow with the Great Lakes Energy Institute.

Prince Ghosh ’19

Palo Alto, California Prince is co-founder and CEO of Workbench Technologies, which develops project management software for supply-chain teams. The startup was accepted into the 2020 class of Y Combinator, one of the nation’s leading startup accelerators. Prince earned his bachelor’s degree in aerospace and mechanical engineering and was a ThinkEnergy Fellow with the Great Lakes Energy Institute.

2020s

Akinola. D. Akinbote ’20

Barcelona, Spain Akinola is pursuing his doctorate in tissue engineering and disease modeling at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Barcelona, Spain. The EMBL PhD program is fully funded by the European Union and accepts less than 5 percent of applicants. An international student from Nigeria, he earned his bachelor’s degree in Macromolecular Science & Engineering from Case. With the help of the Case Alumni Association, he also studied tissue engineering at Rice University. He hopes to become a biomedical engineer specialized in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.

Emily Hwang ’20

Boston, Massachusetts Emily has been accepted into the masters of mechanical engineering program at Boston University and starts classes this fall. In January, she’s scheduled to join GE Aviation as part of its Edison Leadership Development Program, an opportunity that was delayed because of the pandemic. Emily earned her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Case, where she was chosen as the first Joe Prahl Scholar and awarded a scholarship in honor of the late Professor Joe Prahl.

Humza Khan ’20

Madison, Wisconsin Humza joined Epic, the healthcare software giant, as a project manager. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from the Case School of Engineering, where he was a member of the Case Engineers Council.

Brianna Lemon ’20

Cleveland, Ohio Brianna has accepted a position as a software engineer at JP Morgan Chase. She earned her bachelor’s degree in computer science from Case as well as a bachelor’s degree in marketing. As a member of the Spartan volleyball team, she became only the sixth player in program history to record 1,000 kills.

Tin Pham ’20

Boston, Massachusetts Tin will be pursuing his doctorate in chemistry at Tufts University starting this fall. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Case, where he was an orientation leader and a student worker at Sears think[box].

Anna Sedlackova ’20, MS ’20

Cupertino, California Anna accepted a position as a software engineer for the Siri Rotational Program at Apple. She will help establish the coding and engineering patterns for human-computer interaction and voice computing. She twice interned at Apple while earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science at the Case School of Engineering. Anna was also a researcher in the Biologically Inspired Robotics Laboratory at Case and an organizer of HackCWRU. She speaks five languages, including her native Czech and Slovak.

Send your updates, including photos, about job promotions, professional development and personal milestones to casealum@casealum.org.