President’s Message

A message from the

Case Alumni Association

Dear Case Alumni,

This is my last letter as president of the Case Alumni Association. I have enjoyed working with the Case Alumni Association staff and getting to know many of you personally through meetings and events.

I especially want to thank those of you that were able to attend the Oil and Gas Industry Energy Forum held on April 6. We had an incredible turnout of students, alumni and guests. I am thrilled to have been a part of such a well-run and insightful event. The event evoked some great feedback from students and attendees and sparked additional conversation about energy in general, which could lead to future forms and events on the topic.

We spent time earlier on the day of the event touring campus with our panelists, many of whom were back at Case for the first time since they graduated. A special thank you to the folks at Weatherhead School of Management, Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box], the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, the Great Lakes Energy Institute and the office of President Barbara Snyder for taking time out of their day to meet with us. All of the alumni panelists expressed to me what a thrill it was to be back on campus to see it thriving and alive with energy.

Of course, a huge shout-out to the staff of the Case Alumni Association for all their hard work in planning and executing the forum and the entire day. I encourage any of our alumni with a similar idea for an event to bring your thoughts forward. Connecting industry professionals, especially alumni, to our students is such a wonderful learning experience!

Our alma mater is on the upswing and the excitement is real and deserved. You can read about our incredible students and their startup companies and funding competitions in this issue, along with how alumni such as you are having an impact on our students by getting involved.

Please take advantage of opportunities to participate in the social, mentoring and learning events sponsored by the Case School of Engineering and the Case Alumni Association. Again, it has been a pleasure to serve as your president these past two years.

Sincerely,

The Case Alumni Association serves the interests of more than 20,000 alumni of the Case School of Applied Science, Case Institute of Technology and the Case School of Engineering. Its mission is to serve and advance the interests of the Case School of Engineering, the math and applied sciences of Case Western Reserve University, its alumni and its students, through a strategic focus on fundraising, institutional leadership, responsive services, public relations and student programs.

Established in 1885 by the first five graduates of the Case School of Applied Science, the Case Alumni Association is the oldest independent alumni association of engineering and applied science graduates in the nation.

The Case Alumnus is a publication of the Case Alumni Association, Inc., a 501(c)3 public charity under the IRS code.

CASE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, INC. Tomlinson Hall, Room 109 10900 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, OH 44106-1712 Phone: 216-231-4567 Fax: 216-231-5715 Web: www.casealum.org Email: casealum@casealum.org

OFFICERS Jeffrey O. Herzog ’79, WSM ‘86, President James R. Sadowski ’63, MS ’67, 1st Vice President Marvin Schwartz ’68, PhD ’73, 2nd Vice President Joe Fakult ’90, Secretary Ronald J. Cass ’84, Treasurer Nick Barendt ’95, MS ’98, Assistant Treasurer

STAFF Stephen J. Zinram, Executive Director Thomas J. Conlon, Chief Financial Officer Terri Mrosko, Senior Director of Communications Racheal Seibert, Senior Director of Development Kellie Mayle, Director of Alumni Relations Ryan Strine, Manager of Annual Giving Janna W. Greer, Manager of Donor Relations and Grants Pamela A. Burtonshaw, Coordinator of Database Operations Melissa Slager, Administrative Assistant Corey Wright ’11, MEM ’13, Webmaster

CASE ALUMNUS Terri Mrosko, Editor Steve Toth, J. Toth Graphic, Design and Layout

PHOTO CREDITS Hilary Bovay Photography Wetzler’s Photography

Case Alumnus

THE MAGAZINE OF THE CASE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

FEATURES

6 ON THE COVER: Savvy Student Startups

Student startups utilize campus resources such as Sears think[box] and the IP Venture Clinic to achieve early success

12 The thrill – and rewards – of design competition

Valuable experience, and sometimes monetary rewards, comes from the numerous design competitions open to student participants

14 Celebrating our scholarship recipients

A longstanding tradition at the Case Alumni Association, the Junior-Senior Scholarship process delivers top-notch awardees

16 Alumni Volunteers: Have an impact on our students

Our alumni are valuable resources to our students, whether volunteering for a classroom panel discussion or connecting via our virtual mentoring network

18 Where are they now? A young alumna profile

Meet Lauren M. Smith ’13, MS ’15, this year’s keynote speaker at the annual Society of Women Engineers luncheon during Engineers Week 2017 SPRING 2017 • vol. 28 • no. 3

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Case School of Engineering, the math and applied sciences of Case Western Reserve University and its alumni and students.

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DEPARTMENTS

1 Dean’s Message 2 President’s Message 4 Case Connections – STEM Education and Campus News 20 Alumni Engagement Update 24 Class Notes 27 In Memoriam 28 The Last Word: Spirit

ON THE COVER:

Student startup superstars, from left to

right: Pavel Galchenko ’19 of RVS Rubber Solutions; Matt Campagna ’19 of Reflexion Interactive Technologies; Iulia Barbur ’19 of Autoimmune Citizen Science; and Chioma Onukwuire ’17 of CHIMU.

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VISIT WWW.CASEALUM.ORG FOR THE LATEST NEWS AND EVENTS!

The best way to stay connected to the Case Alumni Association between magazine issues is to follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. Please join our sites today for the latest news on alumni, students, faculty and innovative research and projects.

Correction: In the last issue, we incorrectly identified Jennie S. Hwang’s title. She is Chief Executive Officer of H-Technologies Group.