Class Notes

1960s

Antony E. Champ, PhD ’63

Crozet, Virginia

Antony was named the 2020 Distinguished Graduate Alumnus of the Year by the College of Arts and Sciences at CWRU. He and his wife, Edie, run White Hall Vineyards in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Antony earned his doctorate in chemistry from Case Institute of Technology and enjoyed a successful career in the chemical industry as a scientist and entrepreneur. Upon retirement, he became a vintner. An emeritus trustee of CWRU, he established a graduate fellowship fund in memory of Professor J. Reid Shelton, his doctoral advisor and a leading rubber chemistry researcher.

Bruce Banks ’64

Olmsted Township, Ohio Bruce, the most patented researcher in the history of the NASA Glenn Research Center, was inducted into the 2020 class of NASA’s Inventors Hall of Fame. He has developed and patented numerous innovations in electric propulsion technology, including a method of hydroforming ion optics that enabled ion thrusters to be used to keep commercial telecommunications spacecraft in their orbits. Bruce earned his bachelor’s degree in physics at Case Institute of Technology and began inventing for NASA in 1966. Today, he’s a senior physicist for NASA contractor Science Applications International Corporation.

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

Claire Lohr ’68

Reston, Virginia Claire was a speaker at STAR West Expo 2020 in October, where she shared her expertise in software process improvement and testing. Claire is the president of Lohr Systems, a consulting service for government and commercial clients. She is a Lloyd’s Register trained ISO 9000 Lead Auditor and has been active in IEEE for more than 50 years. Claire earned her bachelor’s degree in computer engineering at Case Institute of Technology.

1970s

Stephen Becker, MS ’74, PhD

Los Alamos, New Mexico Steve, an astrophysicist, is president of the Pajarito Astronomy Club in Los Alamos and has presented shows at the local planetarium on a variety of astronomical topics. He is a Scientist Level 5 and a Los Alamos National Laboratory Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he has worked for 37 years. A private pilot, Steve’s hobbies include flying aerobatic planes.

Tom Tribone ’74

Arlington, Virginia Tom is the founder and CEO of Franklin Park, a developer of power infrastructures that is working to help Hawaii achieve its goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2045. His uncommon career was profiled in the November 2020 issue of The Chemical Engineer. Tom earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at Case Institute of Technology and went to work for BP before earning law and business degrees and pioneering the independent power industry. In 2013, he received the Gold Medal award from the Case Alumni Association.

Robert Weiler ’76

Medina, Ohio

Robert received the 2021 Honored Service Members Award from the Society of Plastics Engineers. He recently retired as the North America sales manager and product line manager for nonhalogen flame retardants at Amfine Chemical Corp. Robert earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at Case Institute of Technology.

1980s

Lawrence S. Olanoff, PhD ’80, MD

Johns Island, South Carolina Larry has joined the board of directors of Ichnos Sciences, a New York biotech startup, where he’ll share his insights as a leader in the pharmaceutical industry for more than 30 years. He serves on numerous boards and has authored more than 40 scientific publications. Larry is the special advisor to the president for corporate relations at the Medical University of South Carolina. He earned his doctorate in biomedical engineering at Case Institute of Technology and his medical degree at CWRU School of Medicine.

Keith Bowman ’81, MS ’83, PhD

Baltimore, Maryland Keith was recently recognized by the American Ceramic Society as one of its leading volunteers. He’s dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology and Constellation Professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Keith joined UMBC in 2017 from San Francisco State University, where he served as dean of the College of Science and Engineering. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in material science at Case.

John Peppler ’84

Cleveland Heights, Ohio John in 2021 will celebrate his 15th year as education lab manager at ASM International, the world’s largest organization of materials scientists and engineers. He leads training classes emanating from ASM’s headquarters in Geauga County. (Find information on courses at www.asminternational.org/ learning/courses). John earned his bachelor’s degree in metallurgy from Case Institute of Technology.

Jeffrey Wilcox ’86

Mclean, Virginia Jeff is the vice president for digital transformation at Lockheed Martin. He shared insight into leveraging emerging digital technologies in a recent online presentation sponsored by the Veale Center for Entrepreneurship at Sears think[box]. Jeff earned his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Case Institute of Technology. He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Christine Wolak ’87 Dublin, California

Chris, a software architect for Oracle, is embracing the Agile and DevOps revolution by diving into containerization of microservices. “I’ve moved around geographically in my professional career but one thing has remained constant — it’s always been for enterprise scale software development.” Her adventure began with a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Case Institute of Technology.

Aarti Chanda MS ’88

Atherton, California Aarti was a featured speaker in October in an investing seminar sponsored by the Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship at Sears think[box]. Her topic, “Investing in Entrepreneurial Ideas with an Impact Focus” offered insight from her position as a board member and partner in the Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund.

Hang Loi ’88

Woodbury, Minnesota Hang was honored by the Society of Women Engineers at the WE20 Virtual Conference in November for two patents she attained for a primer layer for multilayer optical films. The innovation protected by these patents are found in LCD mobile phones and TVs, making them brighter and smaller. Hang is the global supplier relationship manager for 3M’s consumer electronics business. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Case Institute of Technology while earning a bachelor’s degree in music (piano) from CWRU.

Mark Zettler, PhD ’88

Indianapolis, Indiana Mark joined the board of directors for Cultiva LLC, a provider of food-grade biofilms used in agricultural markets. He is president of AgroAdvisors International and a principal consultant with NGT BioPharma Consultants. Mark earned his doctorate in chemistry from Case Institute of Technology. focused on specialty materials, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. He brings more than 30 years of experience in the chemicals industry, most recently as the president and CEO of GCP Applied Technologies. Previously, he was president and CEO of Calgon Carbon in Pittsburgh. Randy earned his master’s degree in polymer science and engineering from Case.

1990s

Linda Rae, MS ’90

Shaker Heights, Ohio Linda has joined GE Digital in Cleveland as general manager of its Power Generation and Oil & Gas Business Unit. Previously, she was president of quality and before that commercial president at Tektronix. Linda earned her master’s degree in electrical engineering from Case Institute of Technology and her MBA from the Weatherhead School. Soon after, she joined Keithley Instruments, where she rose to become president and led Keithley through the acquisition by Tektronix. She’s a member of the board of directors of the Great Lakes Science Center.

Randall Dearth, MS ’89

Concord, Massachusetts Randy has become senior director at SK Capital Partners, a private investment firm

Wayne Liu, MS ’94, PhD

Atlanta, Georgia Wayne spoke about “Retail’s New Look” at CES 2021, the consumer electronics show typically held in Las Vegas each January but this year beamed online. He’s senior Vice President and General Manager of Perfect Corp., a company that has brought technology and AI to the personal beauty industry. Wayne earned his master’s degree in materials science at Case and his doctorate at USC.

Rohit Kashyap, MS ’95, PhD ’00

San Antonio, Texas Rohit joined MiMedx Group, a company focused on advanced wound care and emerging biological therapies, as executive vice president and chief commercial officer. He has more than 20 years' experience in the medical device sector. Rohit earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in biomedical engineering from the Case School of Engineering.

Tshilidzi Marwala ’95, PhD

Johannesburg, South Africa Tshilidzi discussed entrepreneurship and the startup culture in transitioning economies as part of the Open Class series of the Veale Institute of Entrepreneurship at CWRU. He’s the vice chancellor of the University of Johannesburg and a trustee of the Nelson Mandela Institute. Tshilidzi earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Case and his doctorate specializing in artificial intelligence and engineering from the University of Cambridge.

Feno Monaco ’95, MD

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Feno is a pain management physician at Keystone Pain Consultants in Pittsburgh. He earned his bachelor’s degree in computer engineering at Case and later earned his medical degree at CWRU School of Medicine.

David Hinkle ’96, MD

New Orleans, Louisiana David, an ophthalmologist, has joined the faculty of the Tulane University School of Medicine and assumed the newly-created Dabezies Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology. Previously he was an associate professor at West Virginia University School of Medicine. David earned his bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Case.

Sandra Oh Lin ’97

Sunnyvale, California Sandra, the founder and CEO of KiwiCo, in September was featured in How I Built It, the popular NPR podcast that explores entrepreneurs and their motivations. She described how Kiwi Crate, a subscription service that delivers science and art kits to kids, scrambled to meet demand during the pandemic. Sandra earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Case and went into the ecommerce business with companies like PayPal. Her company, launched in 2011, was inspired by her efforts to find enriching projects for her children.

Vanessa Maier ’97, MD

Shaker Heights, Ohio Vanessa, a family doctor and the medical director of the MetroHealth School Health Program, began her career with a mechanical engineering degree from the Case School of Engineering. She was featured Nov. 6 in the Women of Wonder series sponsored by the Alumni Association of CWRU and the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women.

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

2000s

Sujata (Dechoudhury) Day ’01

Studio City, California Sujata made her full-length film directorial debut with Definition Please, a movie about a spelling bee champion whose life didn’t unfold as expected. The film won the Narrative Award at San Francisco’s Center for Asian American Media Fest 2020. Sujata, an actress and screenwriter, earned her bachelor’s degree in Systems & Control Engineering from Case. She worked briefly for Accenture before following her heart to Hollywood.

Jason Bradshaw ’02

Kirtland, Ohio

Jason is the director of design and engineering at Sears think[box], the innovation center at CWRU, where he helps students to build innovations and realize their maker dreams. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the Case School of Engineering.

Marcie Finney, MS ’02

Westlake, Ohio

Marcie, the executive director of the Cleveland Cord Blood Center, has been elected to the board of directors of the Cord Blood Association, one of the industry’s foremost organizations. She has helped lead the industry conversation on topics such as driving cord blood usage through research and development, to cord blood banking in the era of Covid-19. Marcie earned her master’s degree in chemistry at Case.

Kathryn (Bauer) Kamp ’02

Dayton, Ohio

Kathryn has been named the North American environmental director — Air Programs for Cargill. She joined the agribusiness giant in 2016 as an environmental advisor after positions at DuPont and Dow Chemical. Kathryn earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at Case.

Scott Bindel ’04, MEM ’05

Northfield, Ohio

Scott was named to the 2020 class of “40 under 40” business leaders by Crain’s Cleveland Business. He’s a project executive at the Gilbane Building Company in Cleveland, where he has led many impactful building projects, including Goodyear’s world headquarters and the expansion of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Scott earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and his master’s in engineering management at Case.

Steve Cerveny ’04, MS ’08

Raleigh, North Carolina Steve was named to the 2020 class of “40 Under 40” business leaders in the RaleighDurham region by the Triangle Business Journal. He’s the founder and CEO of Kaleido, a blockchain service provider. Previously, he spent 14 years at IBM, where he left as the program director for blockchain. Steve earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer engineering at Case.

Andrew Stewart ’04

Huntington Woods, Michigan Andrew has been installed as an equity partner at Exchange Capital Management in Ann Arbor, where he serves as the firm’s chief investment officer. He earned his bachelor’s degree in systems engineering from Case.

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

Hillary Emer ’07, MSE ’07

Cary, North Carolina Hillary has accepted the position of senior director of business systems at Intelerad Medical Systems, a Montreal-based medical imaging software provider. Previously, she was director of strategic programs, business analytics and systems at Relias Learning. Hillary earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering at Case. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Case Alumni Association.

Bryony Dupont ’08, PhD

Corvallis, Oregon

Bryony led a discussion, “The Role of Engineering Design in Offshore Renewable Energy,” on Dec. 1 for the Penn State College of Engineering. Her remote presentation tapped her expertise in green technology and design automation. She’s an associate professor of mechanical engineering and the Boeing Professor of Engineering Design at Oregon State University. Bryony earned her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Case and her master’s and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon.

Matthew Iorio ’08, MS ’12

University Heights, Ohio Matt is the manager of clinical affairs at Neuros Medical, a Cleveland startup working to develop an implantable medical device for treating chronic pain. Previously he served as a science and technology researcher at NineSigma and worked for CWRU’s Technology Transfer Office. A champion of Cleveland’s entrepreneurial community, Matt earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering.

Eric Diller ’09, MS ’10, PhD

Toronto, Canada

Eric is the Dean’s Catalyst Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toronto, where he is developing wireless micro-scale robots to be used in human surgery. His work was featured in a recent episode of Robohub, a podcast exploring robotics research. Eric earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering at Case, where he was president of Sigma Nu fraternity.

Andrew Freyer ’09 Denver, Colorado

Andrew, an associate in the Denver law offices of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, has joined the board of directors of the Clyfford Still Museum. The Denver museum is focused on the legacy of American painter Clyfford Still. Andrew, a specialist in intellectual property law, earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Case.

Kyle Niemeyer ’09, MS ’10, PhD ’14

Corvallis, Oregon

Kyle was awarded tenure in September and promoted to associate professor of mechanical engineering in the School of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Oregon State University. He earned three degrees at Case, including a doctorate in mechanical engineering.

2010s

Aishwarya Arjunan ’10

Chicago, Illinois Aishwarya was named the 2020 Distinguished Young Alumna of the year by the College of Arts and Sciences at CWRU. For the past decade, she has assisted the university in its outreach to prospective students as an Alumni Admission Ambassador. She also serves on the board of directors of the Alumni Association of CWRU. Aishwarya, a genetics specialist, is a faculty member in the Northwestern University Genetic Counseling Program. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the College of Arts and Sciences.

Michael Ponting, PhD ’10

Broadview Heights, Ohio Mike is president of PolymerPlus, a company he co-founded while earning his doctorate degree in chemical engineering and macromolecular science at Case. He recently added the title of chief science officer at Peak Nanosystems, which acquired PolymerPlus and announced expanded operations in Cleveland.

Brandon Wenning ’10, PhD

San Diego, California Brandon started a new role as a senior scientist at Roswell Biotechnologies, a lifesciences startup that is developing molecular electronic chips to read and sequence DNA. Previously, he was a senior chemist for the Dow Chemical Company in Massachusetts. He earned degrees in engineering and chemistry at Case, where he was a member of the Case Symphonic Winds.

Erin (Hollinger) Gdaniec ’12

Twinsburg, Ohio

Erin, a manufacturing engineer for Parker Hannifin, volunteers as an assistant coach for the varsity women’s basketball team at CWRU. She has much to share. Erin was an Academic All-American for the Lady Spartans while earning her bachelor’s degree in macromolecular science and engineering.

Deepak Langhe, PhD ’12

Houston, Texas

Deepak is now a director at Aegle, a Houston startup that specializes in respirators and masks. It was founded by Silicon Valley social impact investors to respond to the pandemic. Previously, he was the senior vice president of research at PolymerPlus, a Cleveland company he co-founded while a student at the Case School of Engineering and which was recently acquired by Peak Nanosystems.

Joel Carr, PhD ’13

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Joel, a polymer scientist, is the U.S. product team leader for Braskem America, a major polypropylene producer. Plastics News named him a Rising Star for developing new polypropylene copolymers. Joel earned his doctorate in macromolecular science and engineering at Case, where he was a PhD student of Professor Eric Baer and a Charles Reed Fellow.

Sarah Corwin ’13, PhD

Atchison, Kansas

Sarah has been named principal scientist at MGP Ingredients, a leading producer of distilled spirits and specialty wheat proteins and starches in Kansas. She has taught courses on food product and presented at national and international symposia on agricultural biological engineering. Sarah earned her bachelor’s degree in biology at Case and her doctorate at Purdue.

Kate Hart ’14 Cleveland, Ohio

Kate is a singer/songwriter who performs in the Cleveland area and a systems engineer for Echogen Power Systems. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at Case, where she was a member of Engineers Without Borders and the Swing Club. Her folk album, 2018, resulted from her effort to write one song every week in 2018.

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

Valencia Williams ’14

Alexandria, Virginia Valencia joined the board of directors of the Case Alumni Association. She’s a management consulting manager at Accenture Federal Services, where she started as a technical analyst in 2014. Valencia earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at Case and was chapter president of the National Society of Black Engineers.

Derek Slovenec, MS ’16, PhD ’19

Hinckley, Ohio

Derek is a senior engineer at the Equity Engineering Group, where he’s a member of the Mechanical & Structural Engineering Team. On October 15, 2020, he delivered an online presentation on earthquake engineering for EEG that addressed how to mitigate risk for buildings and other structures subject to seismic events. Derek earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in civil engineering from Case.

Nihar H. Chhatiawala ’17, MS ’18

Santa Monica, California Nihar started a PhD program in Policy Analysis with the RAND Corporation at the Pardee RAND Graduate School in California. Previously, he was a technical solutions engineer for Epic, which he joined soon after earning his master’s degree in physics and entrepreneurship. He was a ThinkEnergy Fellow at the Case School of Engineering.

Deepa Chhetri, MS ’18

Seattle, Washington Deepa is a software development engineer for Amazon. She earned her master’s degree in computer and information sciences at Case, where she was a graduate teaching assistant.

Kara Hageman ’18 Lawrence, Kansas

Kara is pursuing a doctorate degree in bioengineering at the University of Kansas. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering at the Case School of Engineering, where her research explored drug delivery with synthetic platelets. She went on to earn masters’ degrees in public health and in bioethics and biomedical humanities from CWRU. As a member of the women’s varsity basketball team, Kara was a President’s Council Scholar-Athlete.

Corey Kopchak ’18

Rochester, New York Corey joined the design engineering team of Abtex LLC, which designs and produces abrasive filament deburring brushes. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Case.

Sarah Deng ’19

Liverpool, New York Sarah is an electrical engineer for Lockheed Martin in Syracuse. She earned her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Case, where she was a member of the Case Amateur Radio Club–KE8IKD.

Phoebe Huang ’19, MEM ’20

Norwood, Massachusetts Phoebe joined Siemens Healthineers’ Operations Leadership Development Program this summer after completing the Masters in Engineering Management program at Case. She earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, with a concentration in environmental engineering. Phoebe was a member of the Case Engineers Council and president of the Asian American Alliance at CWRU.

2020s

Edward Kerekes ’20

Cleveland, Ohio Eddie is a systems engineer for RoviSys, a global provider of process automation solutions and services. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at Case, where he was executive editor of The Observer.

Emily Long ’20 Washington, D.C.

Emily has started a new position as a biomedical engineer at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Previously, she was an Edison Engineering Intern at GE Healthcare. Emily earned her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Case, where she was active in the Global Health Design Collaborative.

Marques Manta ’20

Baltimore, Maryland Marques joined the medical device company Sonavex as an operations and product development associate as a member of the 2020 class of Venture for America, which recruits college grads to work for emerging startups and early-stage companies in about a dozen U.S. cities. Marques earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Case, where he played varsity soccer and was active in Camp Kesem as a counselor and Teen Coordinator.