MSOE Dimensions Magazine - Spring/Summer 2021

SP R I N G/SU M M E R

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2021

COVER STORY

Direct Benefits: MSOE’s industry partnerships lead to success.

Diversity Council 3 A Helping Hand 18 Testing the Limits 20

DON’T CRACK THE EGG After a hiatus in 2020, MSOE’s Egg Drop tradition carried on this year to close out the St. Patrick’s Week celebrations.

With over two dozen teams participating, only one egg landed safely. The sole winner, industrial engineering major Grant Oberfoell (left), walked away with the $300 grand prize and one uncracked egg. Find more photos at msoe.edu/dimensions.

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear Alumni and Friends, We may be operating in a hybrid educational world, but that hasn’t stopped faculty, staff and students from making the most of the situation and making an impact on campus and in the community. As you’ll see in the following pages, a lot has been happening this year: books have been published, competitions were won, projects were completed, community outreach happened and goals were realized. I cannot overstate my gratitude for everyone at MSOE and their commitment to keeping one another healthy and keeping MSOE open, albeit in a different format than we’re accustomed to.

We continue to have very low numbers of COVID-19 cases at MSOE, and the percentage of our campus community that is getting vaccinated is continually growing. This is positive news and has allowed us to begin actively planning for a return to near-normal operations of our university.

To guide us as we move forward, I have reconvened a campus-wide planning group to review MSOE’s strategic plan and determine the role that online and virtual tools will play in how we educate and operate post-pandemic. To adapt and prepare for the rapid change happening around us, we are looking at ways to update our strategies and action items. A major focus of this work is to develop best practices and identify operational efficiencies as well as opportunities to take advantage of robust flexible modalities as they relate to Engaging our Community; Learning and Discovery; and Being Extraordinary.

I am looking forward to the fall when we celebrate the opening of Hermann Viets Tower and welcome students to this living-learning facility. Visit msoe.edu/viets-tower for a live look at the construction progress.

We have spent more than a year living in a constant state of change, and it seems as though “normalcy” might finally be on the horizon. Let’s continue being extraordinary together.

Sincerely,

JOHN Y. WALZ, Ph.D. President

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IN THIS ISSUE IN THEIR WORDS ...

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“ I’ve loved every second of using the skills that I have to directly benefit another human being.”

ARAH CEURVORST, ON HER PROJECT WITH THE S NAVAJO NATION HANDWASHING STATIONS

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

6 Driving Community Engagement Students from across campus came together to design, build and assemble 100 desks for local families in need to accommodate virtual learning.

14 A Powerful Relationship MSOE’s unique partnership with Direct Supply takes students beyond the classroom, leading to valuable interactions, internships and fulltime jobs.

1 President’s Message 3 At the Forefront 10 Around Campus 18 In the Community 20 Raiders Wrap-Up 22 Impact 26 Class Notes 32 From the Archives

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An MSOE education prepared John Williams and Sabrina Stangler ’20 for careers at Direct Supply.

ON THE COVER: Actuarial science senior John Williams beams inside Direct Supply’s Innovation and Technology Center (ITC), located within the German-English Academy building on MSOE’s campus.

Student volunteers like Morgan Duffus (above) cut, sanded, routed, stained and assembled 100 desks for local families in need.

AT THE FOREFRONT

MSOE comes together

The flagship publication of Milwaukee School of Engineering. With stories inspired by our mission and vision, Dimensions shines a light on our students, faculty, alumni and campus events, all while highlighting the values that unite us.

Editor JoEllen Burdue

Managing Editor Annette Pirrung

Creative Director Kristin Dunn

Graphic Designers Peg Houghton, Chase Patt

Contributing Writers Diane Bacha, Jillian Kokott, Colin Terrill, Dr. John Walz

Images Direct Supply, Front Room Photography, Robin Gates, Mark Hines, Komatsu, Bob Lemke, Meg McKenna, Kent Peterson, Gary Porter, Dr. Christopher Raebel, Elise Strobach, Colin Terrill Use, reproduction or storage of the name, address or other information about any individual identified within this magazine is strictly prohibited and constitutes misappropriation of corporate property.

Address correspondence to Dimensions Magazine 1025 N. Broadway Milwaukee, WI 53202 marketing@msoe.edu or (414) 277-7117 Editor’s Note: Several photos in this magazine were taken prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SPRING/SUMMER 2021 Volume 35, No. 2

GROWING COMMUNITY

Diversity Council unifies campus MSOE’s Diversity Council is working to ensure diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging are central in all campus initiatives. These efforts build upon years of work in this space and are paramount to our mission to be an inclusive community of experiential learners driven to solve the complex challenges of today and tomorrow.

The council is committed to helping MSOE fulfill its goals of recruiting, educating and retaining a diverse community of students, faculty and staff while also supporting diversity in the university’s surrounding communities. Its long-term goals include ongoing campus assessments, climate surveys and feedback about campus experiences from MSOE students, faculty and staff.

MSOE’s diversity efforts aren’t limited to faculty and staff, they also expand into the community. Partnerships and K–12 programming through the We Energies STEM Center help to provide experiences to Milwaukee’s youth, especially to high-need students who may not otherwise be exposed to STEM programming. STEM outreach at MSOE creates and supports inclusive, meaningful experiences for all students to explore the possibilities of their future.

The Diversity Council is led by Seandra Mitchell, vice president of student affairs and campus inclusion. Members include Colleen Christiansen, Counseling Services; Jessica Curry, Residence Life; Hanna Eden, Human Resources; Allison Heine De Romero, Multicultural Affairs; Tyra Hildebrand, CREATE Institute; Camille Jenkins, Counseling Services; Kiesha Johnnies, Rader School of Business; Kip Kussman, Dean of Students Office; Kristen Landaal, Campus Life; Candela Marini, Humanities, Social Science and Communication; Leah Newman, Mechanical Engineering; Annette Pirrung, Marketing Communications; Luis A. Rodriguez, Mechanical Engineering; Jimmy Shabangu, Information Technology; Jenelle Simon, Admissions; Jacob Smith, Financial Aid; Katherine Toske, Multicultural Affairs; and Hannah Trees, Athletics.

Last spring we asked Dimensions readers and friends of MSOE to come together and help students who were facing incredible challenges presented by the COVID-19 outbreak. The sudden change from in-person to virtual learning, closing of the residence halls and loss of parttime jobs put a tremendous burden on our students.

Our community rose to the occasion and helped us raise $186,000 for the Student Persistence Fund. To this day, donations continue to come in to support the pandemicrelated needs of our students, and we are very appreciative.

Thanks to your support, and that of two federal relief acts, we have been able to provide more than $2.3 million in emergency grants to eligible students to help them and their families through those difficult times.

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AT THE FOREFRONT

EXTRAORDINARY TOGETHER

COVID-19 protocol becomes part of daily life

For more than a year, COVID-19 has been at the forefront of every aspect of daily life. MSOE’s leadership team, Raider Return Task Force, faculty, staff, students, parents and friends rallied together to face the pandemic head-on and keep the university running and students learning. No one anticipated a hybrid mode of learning would become the norm for the 2020–21 academic year, yet thanks to the dedication and resilience of the CREATE Institute, faculty, academic support staff, Information Technology Department and entire MSOE community, we learned how to make it work and continually make improvements.

Care and education of students was always top of mind. Custodial Services, Facilities and Environmental Health Services kept our buildings safe and clean. The Registrar’s Office lead the charge to figure out how and where we could safely gather on campus for in-person instruction.

Public Safety ensured the safety and security of campus and helped transport students to COVID testing locations and appointments.

The COVID Care Team, Health Services, Counseling Services, Office of the Dean of Students, Raider Center for Academic Success, Residence Life, Campus Life, Student Affairs, Library and Wellness Center guided students through the ever-changing circumstances, and provided critical support and resources for their physical, emotional and academic well-being.

The Kern Center and Grohmann Museum are two outlets on campus for students to take a break. As soon as it was deemed safe, the buildings reopened and welcomed students. The Athletics Department hosted team workouts and helped our athletes return to play according to safety guidelines. The Kern Center was put to new uses as well, hosting final exams in a socially distanced manner.

DIMENSIONS SPRING/SUMMER 2021

The Admissions Office never let up on their new-student recruitment efforts. We welcomed one of the largest freshman classes in history last fall, and are on track to admit another large class for 2021–22. Financial Aid and University Advancement helped students access financial resources to get them through.

The Finance Department developed financial models and forecasting to ensure the financial health of the institution and worked with Human Resources to avoid permanent layoffs. HR and IT also played a critical role in helping employees navigate the new work-from-home landscape.

Graduating students no doubt face a tough job market. The Career Services Department has been by their side every step of the way and continues to hold Career Fairs and other events.

Our industry partners were impacted by the pandemic and the Applied Technology Center™ pivoted its operations to support them as well.

The MSOE Bookstore and Mail and Print Services made sure everyone had the supplies and materials necessary to fulfill their role at MSOE. And Marketing Communications worked tirelessly to keep the community informed.

MSOE also was able to keep the community engaged—not only through the Grohmann Museum but also through the STEM Department which offered virtual and then in-person K–12 STEM programming. And WMSE stayed on the air providing an outlet for the community to unwind through music.

MSOE is forever grateful for the way everyone was united by the core values of collaboration, excellence, inclusion, innovation, integrity and stewardship. We look forward to a day when the

pandemic is a distant memory—and that day finally seems within reach. Thanks to a partnership with Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin we were able to offer COVID-19 vaccinations to employees; fans are returning to the stands to support the Raiders; and we are able to welcome guests on campus to the Grohmann Museum, STEM Center and for some limitedattendance events, like Commencement.

PRESIDENT JOHN WALZ SHARES HIS REFLECTIONS ON COVID-19 AT MSOE.EDU/DIMENSIONS.

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FEATURE STORY

Driving Community Engagement

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The smell of fresh wood, the screech of a hand saw and the grind of a sander filled MSOE’s Construction Science and Engineering Center this winter as students got to work creating 100 desks for local families in need during the university’s Desk Drive.

Over the past year, we were all too familiar with the intricacies of working from home. For many households, parents and children were working and learning together under one roof, battling for bandwidth and quiet workspaces. Desks became luxury real estate in homes and hot ticket items for online purchases, causing a spike in prices.

A Forest Home Avenue School student proudly works at his new desk and computer in his athome learning space.

Natalie Villegas ’12, project coordinator in the CREATE Institute, and Anne-Marie Warren, an architectural engineering senior and CREATE Institute student fellow, came up with the idea to host a Desk Drive to help mitigate the economic burden placed on households to purchase desks for school age children.

“Anne-Marie and I were discussing how difficult it was to find desks for ourselves during the pandemic. We started to think if it is hard for us, it must be even more difficult for people that have been hit with economic hardship,” said Villegas..

DIMENSIONS SPRING/SUMMER 2021

The Desk Drive was the CREATE Institute’s first studentled interdisciplinary project. More than 50 students came together to apply the skills they learned in class to a hands-on learning experience that gives back to the community, two hallmarks of an MSOE education.

“The Desk Drive is important because not only are we able to help K-12 students in the Milwaukee area, we’re also able to encourage MSOE students to inspire change,” said Warren, student project coordinator. “The Desk Drive perfectly encapsulates what the CREATE Institute aims to do: create well-rounded individuals who, amongst other things, are value creators.”

In today’s virtual world, no desk is complete without a computer. That’s where Digital Bridge comes in. Digital Bridge, a local non-profit that connects vulnerable populations and under-funded organizations with digital resources, donated 100 desktop computers to accompany the desks. The non-profit originated as a student organization at MSOE and Jeff Hanson ’13 expanded it into the independent, non-profit organization it is today, providing technical resources across three continents.

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The Desk Drive perfectly encapsulates what the CREATE Institute aims to do: create well-rounded individuals who, amongst other things, are value creators.”

ANNE-MARIE WARREN, ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING SENIOR AND CREATE INSTITUTE STUDENT FELLOW

MSOE partnered with Milwaukee Public Schools and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee to help distribute the desks and computers to deserving students like Darnell Bully, 7th grade; Shamyra Jackson, 7th grade; and Rajahnae Marfitt, 4th grade.

“I was really surprised when I got the desk,” said Jackson, beaming with delight. “It was so exciting. It really changed my life! I never had anything that big before!” Jackson especially enjoys being able to see her classmates’ faces on Zoom on the large desktop computer screen.

(Continued on next page)

As the student project coordinator, Anne-Marie Warren (left) helped guide volunteers like architectural engineering major Morgan Duffus (right) throughout the course of the Desk Drive.

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Bully and Marfitt echoed Jackson’s excitement. Prior to owning the desk, the students had to get creative with their learning spaces.

“Before I had the desk, I did my work at the kitchen table,” said Bully.

He wasn’t alone with improvised workspaces. For many students, virtual learning turned bedrooms, kitchens and living rooms into classrooms while dressers, kitchen and coffee tables were transformed into makeshift desks.

“I felt happy when I got the desk because I didn’t have to do my homework on the floor anymore,” said Marfitt. “I like the desk because I have a spot to put my books and pencils on and do my homework.”

The desks were designed by industrial engineering students in Dr. Leah Newman’s Ergonomics class. The simple design included four wood pieces that are easy to assemble with two adjustable heights to accommodate students of all sizes. The pieces fit together perfectly to create a stable design that’s easy to deconstruct and transport.

With space limitations, safety restrictions, failing equipment and hundreds of splinters, the Desk Drive had its challenges along the way, but seeing students’ faces when they received the desks made it all worth it.

“I feel very humbled and honored to give back to my community,” said Villegas. “Hearing about how the families

“I felt happy when I got the desk because I didn’t have to do my homework on the floor anymore” RAJAHNAE MARFITT, 4TH GRADE

Samuel Wilshire brushes a finishing touch to the desks before they are assembled.

DIMENSIONS SPRING/SUMMER 2021

To ensure the desk pieces fit into one another like puzzle pieces, architectural engineering major Gonzalo Palacios uses a router to meticulously cut out the slots.

were going to utilize the desks and computers and seeing how excited the students were was a priceless experience.”

Knowing the desks would make a positive impact on students across the greater Milwaukee area is what drew in MSOE students like Warren from the start.

“It is such a great feeling to know that all of the work that has been put into this project is going to benefit so many young people,” said Warren. “The Desk Drive felt like a small but mighty way to encourage students in the Milwaukee community to keep pushing through these hard times by providing them a space to continue learning and growing.”

SEE THE STUDENTS IN ACTION BUILDING THE DESKS AT MSOE.EDU/DIMENSIONS.

Rajahnae Marfitt attends virtual classes at the Boys and Girls Club.

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AROUND CAMPUS

NOTABLE

Faculty/staff achievements The Rise of Urban Placemaking in Contemporary America

by Dr. Michael Carriere, Humanities, Social Science and Communication Department, and David Schalliol has been published by the University of Chicago Press Books. The book builds off the work Carriere has been doing at MSOE for the past decade.

Dr. David Howell, Humanities, Social Science and Communication Department, recently wrote a book, The Serenity Experiment, published by Blue Ear Books. It is geared toward a general audience as well as students in Howell’s Ethics class.

Dr. Christopher Raebel, chair of the Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management Department, was elected president-elect of the American Society of Civil Engineer’s Architectural Engineering Institute.

Elizabeth Taylor, director of STEM, was named a Milwaukee Business Journal 40 Under 40 winner.

Dr. John Walz, president, was elected to a three-year term on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU). He will represent Region V (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin).

Dr. Wujie Zhang, associate professor in the Physics and Chemistry Department, became an editorial board member for the Journal of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering.

Race against the machine Two MSOE teams took home second and eleventh place in the International Competitive Programming Regional Contest (ICPC).

The teams raced against the clock, battling for the top score against more than 85 teams. The ICPC is the oldest, largest and most prestigious contest in the world and challenges teams of three to work together to solve real-world problems with creativity and innovation. Jim Lembke, instructor in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, served as the faculty advisor for the teams.

The Kotlinaughts took second place: Kiel Dowdel (CS), Nick Johnson (CS) and Jacob Huebner (SE).

CinCity took eleventh place: Mitchell Johnstone (CE/CS), Jonny Keane (CS) and Sam Keyser (CS).

Amazing accolades MSOE was the recipient of two Excellence in STEM Awards, or “Stemmys,” from STEM Forward. In the education category, the university’s K–12 outreach programs to improve the STEM competency of students in SE Wisconsin and the creation of the We Energies STEM Center at MSOE were recognized. In the partnership category, MSOE and the Argosy Foundation were recognized for the FIRST Ambassadors Program. This initiative provides MSOE student mentors, materials, and expertise to enable 25 underserved K–12 schools in the city of Milwaukee to implement robotics education programs.

The American Sports Builders Association has recognized MSOE’s Raiders Stadium as a 2020 Facility Award Winner in the Single Field category.

DIMENSIONS SPRING/SUMMER 2021

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HALL OF FAMER

VP Kevin Morin to retire from MSOE Kevin Morin, vice president of operations, will wrap up a 43-year career at MSOE this summer when he retires from the university. He began his MSOE career in 1978 as an admissions counselor after earning his bachelor’s degree from Marquette University. In 1980, he became the evening college coordinator/assistant registrar, where he worked until he became director of the Human Resources Department in 1982.

“I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I complete a job that I know will have a positive impact on the MSOE community. In my HR days when we made changes in our employee benefit plans that provided better coverage and reduced employee premium costs, I took great pride in knowing we had a better plan which would positively impact every participating employee and their families,” said Morin. “I also have a great sense of accomplishment when I attend the graduation ceremonies and share in the pride and excitement of the graduates and hope that in a small way my work helped each student graduate and have a better life.”

In 2013 Morin was named vice president of operations, and he oversees the MSOE Bookstore, Custodial Services, Environmental Health and Safety, Facilities/ Maintenance and Grounds, Grohmann Tower Apartments, Human Resources, Kern Center and Public Safety departments. He is responsible for the strategic planning and day-to-day operations of these departments, which support the university’s mission through efficient, effective and sustainable practices.

Morin also served as the head wrestling coach for 20 years from 1994 through 2013. He credits his teams for being true student-athletes as evidenced by the six conference championships they won, the 10 teams that were recognized for their academic excellence including four teams (2002-05) that had the highest GPA in the nation among NCAA Division III wrestling programs, and the 28 wrestlers that received Academic All-American honors from the National Wrestling Coaches Association.

He is most proud of the 100 percent graduation rate among active seniors who were on the team.

“It was an honor to build the program, which had four wrestlers my first year, to having teams with 20-plus wrestlers who were very accomplished and won conference championships and national awards for their wrestling and academic achievements.”

“I will always remember and be grateful for the opportunities I was provided. When I applied for the director of human resources position I was interviewed by the vice president of finance, John Carroll. John became a great mentor and a person who taught me many life lessons, for which I will always be grateful,” said Morin. “I will also remember the privilege of working for three of the five MSOE presidents. Each one had their own successful style and they all have had remarkable passion for the university.

And certainly I will remember the very talented and hard-working colleagues that I worked with and have become lifelong friends.”

Morin received the Johanna Seelhorst Werwath Distinguished Staff Award in 1986. He completed the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification in 1990 and maintains this professional certification. He is a member of the MSOE Athletic Hall of Fame (2008) and the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame (2013).

He and his wife Debbie have four children and six grandchildren whom they love spending time with.

In the late 1990s, MSOE’s HR Department included (left to right): Rebecca Ploeckelman, Sara Hanson and Kevin Morin.

AROUND CAMPUS

AT T H E

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OPEN FOR BUSINESS

Visit in person or online As the pandemic eases in Wisconsin, the Grohmann Museum has returned to its regular hours of operation: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 12 to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m. Health and safety precautions remain in place including social distancing, facial covering requirements, and capacity limits.

The museum continues to add to its virtual offerings. In honor of Women’s History in March, the museum added a new online exhibition to Google Arts & Culture called “A Woman’s Work.” The exhibition includes centuries of art celebrating women at work and dedicated to all the women who paved the way. View this, and all of the Grohmann Museum’s digital exhibitions at grohmannmuseum.org.

New to the collection German artist H.D. Tylle, who captured the themes of the Grohmann Museum in the ceiling mural and mosaic floor of the atrium, has created a new painting entitled “Corona” to pay tribute to the health care workers on the frontlines of battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

OPENING SOON! May 21 – Aug. 22, 2021*

artWORK by the League of Milwaukee Artists Grand Opening Event: Meet the Artists Friday, May 21, 6-8 p.m.* In collaboration with The League of Milwaukee Artists, this exhibition features over 50 works by more than 30 local artists. The artists were challenged to create new works— all with a working or industrial theme—specifically for this display which includes paintings, sculptures, photos, and prints. In organizing the exhibition, LMA President Judy Gahn Murphy notes: “The League of Milwaukee Artists are honored to be able to showcase our members’ talents at this incredible show at the Grohmann Museum. The theme of the show, artWORK, was embraced by our members to create an interesting and diverse exhibition. This is not one to miss.” * All dates subject to change.

Hans Dieter Tylle German (b.1954) Corona, 2020 Oil on canvas 35 3/8 x 59 in.

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LASTING RELATIONSHIPS

Seeds of mentorship planted at MSOE “One of my dreams was to own a company and be part of the impact it can have on a community,” said Matt Tadisch ’06.

That dream has come true for him more than once. Only 11 years after graduating from MSOE with architectural engineering and construction management degrees, Tadisch bought the SelzerOrnst Construction Company. He subsequently bought ABCO Building Corp., then became one of the owners of Wisconsin Redevelopment when he took over a stake of the company from Bob Lemke, MSOE professor emeritus.

The latest acquisition wasn’t the result of luck, or being in the right place at the right time. Lemke has been Tadisch’s mentor for nearly 20 years—a relationship that began with MSOE’s DesignBuild team.

When Tadisch joined the team as an MSOE freshman, little did he know he’d be forging such a long-lasting relationship. Lemke was the new Design-Build team faculty coach. Coaching student competition teams was another opportunity for him to give students the opportunity to flex their education and develop professional skills. Through these student competitions, Lemke said, “I made lifelong friends with industry sponsors and they all ended up being an awesome avenue for students to be hired. The competitions give MSOE and its students unprecedented exposure to these employers.”

“We were set up for success because of Bob,” said Tadisch. “He challenged us to make sure we dotted our I’s, crossed our T’s, and were prepared to present. Bob does what he does for the benefit of students and the community. If you want to learn something, you want a professor like Bob.”

Matt Tadisch ’06

Tadisch’s hard work and Lemke’s guidance paid off.

After graduation, Tadisch launched a successful career in construction, holding various roles Matt Tadisch and Bob Lemke including project engineer, project manager, owner’s representative and project executive. At the young age of 24 Tadisch was named one of the Milwaukee Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Award recipients.

Lemke, now retired, left more than a few pairs of shoes to fill. The first was finding a suitable replacement to take his place at his company, Wisconsin Redevelopment. He found that in Tadisch, who is now co-owner. Wisconsin Redevelopment specializes in creating affordable housing in Milwaukee’s central city and historic building renovations.

Tadisch has assumed Lemke’s position with the Associates in Commercial Real Estate (ACRE) Program in Milwaukee. ACRE is an industry-supported initiative that recruits and retains people of color for careers in commercial real estate, spanning from development and property management to construction management.

Lemke’s tradition of mentoring has carried on with Tadisch now serving in that capacity, bringing his own career full-circle.

Tadisch returned to MSOE, this time standing at the front of the classroom as a lecturer in the Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management Department. The classes Tadisch teaches at MSOE and through ACRE, coupled with the mentoring he provides at ACRE and as a board member of AGC of Greater Milwaukee, connect him with rising talent in southeastern Wisconsin.

Under Bob Lemke’s leadership (far right), Tadisch and his fellow teammates were the Design-Build National Champions at the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC)/Associated General Contractors (AGC) National Student Competition in Las Vegas in 2005.

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FEATURE STORY

Above: The Direct Supply Innovation and Technology Center offers many collaboration zones that lead to ongoing discovery and ideation. Far right: An MSOE classroom at the Innovation and Technology Center brings students and faculty into the heart of the action.

A Powerful MSOE and Direct Supply are driven to succeed

One was baffled by the word “partner” spelled with a lot of Rs. Another wondered why a guy was asking him so many questions during their shifts at WMSE. Yet another simply followed a professor’s instructions.

That’s how three people describe their early encounters with Direct Supply Inc. Sabrina Stangler ’20 SE, MSOE actuarial science senior John Williams, and Tom Hill ’01 CE each had different introductions to the company. All are beneficiaries of a corporate-university partnership

DIMENSIONS SPRING/SUMMER 2021

Relationship that began with Direct Supply Founder, President and CEO Bob Hillis, who is also an MSOE Regent, and has grown deeper and broader over more than three decades.

and recruitment activities. It offers multiple internships—currently 22 are filled by MSOE students—and many of those lead to full-time jobs. More than 80 MSOE alumni now work for Direct Supply.

and Technology Center (ITC) in MSOE’s German-English Academy building. The ITC now occupies all five floors of the historic Neo-Romanesque structure.

Direct Supply, a technology, distribution and consulting company serving the senior care industry, has established itself as a constant presence at MSOE. It invites students to interact with its professionals, shares space for classes, supports student activities, hires faculty during the summer, and is a constant presence at career fairs

“It’s a powerful relationship,” said MSOE President John Walz, who doesn’t know of another one quite like it among engineering schools. “It’s good for faculty, it’s good for students, and I think it’s very good for Direct Supply.” That relationship entered an exciting new phase with the 2019 renovation of Direct Supply’s Innovation

Future Partners It was freshman orientation, and Sabrina Stangler had questions. Why is that company’s logo on the orientation T-shirts?

And what’s with the word “parrrtners” spelled with extra Rs? Eventually, she put two and two together. The logo belonged to Direct Supply, which is employee-owned

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It’s a powerful relationship,” said MSOE President John Walz, who doesn’t know of another one quite like it among engineering schools. “It’s good for faculty, it’s good for students, and I think it’s very good for Direct Supply.”

DR. JOHN WALZ, PRESIDENT OF MSOE

and takes pride in calling its employees “partners.” And the MSOE Raiders’ mascot is a pirate who, as the initiated know, talks with a lots of RRRs.

John Williams (above); Sabrina Stangler ’20 (right); Tom Hill ’01 (far right)

Learn how your organization can get involved with MSOE. Email Kim Schultz, director of corporate and foundation relations, at schultz@msoe.edu.

Stangler laughs about it now, but tells the story to illustrate how Direct Supply seemed to be everywhere when she arrived on campus.

She got to know some Direct Supply employees—or rather, partners—through career fairs, and her work as president of the Society of Software Engineers (SSE).

People like Wade Krogwold, campus and community recruiting manager, and Mark Baylor, software engineering manager, were big SSE supporters, helping with resume critiques and programming competitions.

Stangler had opportunities to visit the ITC, too. She vividly recalls observing a Direct Supply “Sprint Review,” in which teams

DIMENSIONS SPRING/SUMMER 2021

of engineers reported on projects and received feedback. To her surprise, they looked like they were actually having fun. “It was cool because we could see employees just being employees.”

In her senior year she bumped into Krogwold at the MSOE Career Fair. He asked, “OK, Sabrina, when are you going to apply?”

Today, Stangler is an entry-level software engineer at Direct Supply. “I feel happy that I landed where I am, and lucky to be here.”

Impromptu Interview John Williams’ mother, MaKisha Williams ’15, earned the first degree in actuarial science awarded by MSOE. “From a young age I was told I was going to MSOE,” he said. And he did, studying actuarial science like his mom.

Williams’ encounter with Direct Supply came during work shifts at WMSE, the campus radio station. Some Direct Supply partners volunteer there, and one of them happened to be Senior Vice President Bob Klein. “We talked a lot,” said Williams, who politely responded to Klein’s queries, thinking it was a little odd that someone showed so much interest in his life’s story. “But he was actually giving me an impromptu interview,” said Williams, chuckling at the memory.

That led in his sophomore year to a supply chain analytics internship that would continue through graduation and turn into a full-time job offer; in May, he’ll become a rotational development associate. The internship had him toggling between classrooms, the ITC and Direct Supply’s north Milwaukee headquarters. He’d often learn something in class one week that he could apply to his internship the next.

Williams values the MSOE-Direct Supply relationship as a window into the professional world, giving MSOE students a powerful leg-up when starting their careers.

Without it, he said, “I don’t think I’d have gotten a foot in the door.”

Shared Values Tom Hill has taken on a growing set of responsibilities in his 22 years at Direct Supply, including a nine-year stretch living in China to establish the company’s presence there. He’s now group vice president of Direct Supply brands. But back when he was an MSOE computer engineering student, “I had no idea who Direct Supply was.” He learned about the company through one of his professors, who told him: You’re interviewing there.

He didn’t argue.

Hill views the campus-corporate relationship as a deliberate extension of Direct Supply’s mission to improve the aging community’s quality of life through technology. “And we’ve done it by hiring a lot of MSOE engineers.”

The ITC is home to Direct Supply software engineers and special-project teams. It’s also where staff, students, faculty and community can convene. “It’s a place where both our teams and startup partners are building the future of senior health together. That spans everything from A.I. to software development to entirely new business development. It’s a fun Silicon Valley-like environment.” And a place designed, Hill said, to create “collisions.”

Classrooms are placed near engineers’ workspaces, and there are plenty of common areas. “You can bump into worldclass talent while you’re walking to your classroom.”

Hill has done a lot of hiring in his time at Direct Supply, and he knows all about the competitive market for talented engineers.

The recruitment pipeline is helpful, but so is a sense of shared values. “We always want to hire incredibly talented, driven people with the right brains, character and drive, and that makes this connection with MSOE so, so powerful,” he said.

READ MORE ABOUT THIS PARTNERSHIP AND THE WAYS IT’S IMPROVING THE LIVES OF SENIOR CITIZENS AND THE COMMUNITY AT DIRECTSUPPLY.COM/INNOVATION AND MSOE.EDU/DIMENSIONS.

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IN THE COMMUNITY A HELPING HAND

Handwashing stations combat COVID-19 “Because of their lack of plumbing infrastructure, the Navajo Nation has one of the highest rates of COVID cases,” said Katie Ashley, architectural engineering student. “One way to combat this is handwashing.”

Ashley and her classmate, architectural engineering major Sarah Ceurvorst, were tasked with improving the design of prototype handwashing stations for the Navajo Nation to combat the spread of COVID-19 across the reservation. The prototypes were designed by teams from the International

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Foundation (IWSH) and DigDeep. Ashley and Ceurvorst enhanced the design to make the prototypes lighter and used off-grid methods to prevent the water from freezing. The units hold a 200-gallon tank of water which will serve a six-person household for one month.

Both Ashley and Ceurvorst were drawn into the project to be able to help a community in need.

“I’ve loved every second of using the skills that I have to directly benefit another human being,” said Ceurvorst.

The stations will be ready for deployment to the Navajo Nation summer 2021.

Day of service benefits community MSOE’s annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service continued this year with more than 100 students participating in a variety of service projects to honor the life and legacy of King and serve the Milwaukee community. Ten student organizations helped facilitate the projects which included putting together 1,000 health, hygiene and winter care packages; creating 15 fleece tie blankets; and decorating greeting cards and placemats. All of the materials were donated to La Causa Inc., Milwaukee Christian Center, United Community Center and YMCA Metropolitan Milwaukee. From there, the care packages were distributed to additional organizations based on urgent needs.

I gave the shot!

MSOE nursing students were approved to administer COIVD-19 vaccines to the community. The students are gaining clinical experience by administering vaccines in partnership with the Franklin, Wis. Health Department at the Milwaukee County Sports Complex.

DIMENSIONS SPRING/SUMMER 2021

COMMUNITY-POWERED RADIO

WMSE celebrates 40 Years WMSE 91.7FM, MSOE’s very own radio station, is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2021. With its all-volunteer DJ staff and free-format programming, WMSE is part of the very fabric that makes up Milwaukee’s rich musical tapestry. The station is 100% supported by the community and is free-form. You’ll find music that isn’t played anywhere else and with a major focus on the local music community. Programming is made up of almost every genre possible and every show is hosted by a volunteer DJ. WMSE’s roots go back to 1922 when a broadcasting license was issued for WIAO to the “School of Engineering of Milwaukee” and the Wisconsin News newspaper, which was owned by Hearst Corporation. A few years later the station changed frequency and call letters, and became known as WSOE. Another frequency and call letter change occurred, this time to WISN. A series of moves, locations, purchases, call letter changes, and responsibilities occurred over the following decades. And finally, on March 17, 1981, WMSE as we know it today, was born and began broadcasting from MSOE’s Krueger Hall as opposed to the basement of MSOE’s Margaret Loock Residence Hall.

Stream WMSE today through the TuneIn app or at wmse.org, or listen over the airwaves in southeastern Wisconsin at 91.7FM.

Global movement prioritizes STEM education The international STEM Learning Ecosystems Community of Practice (SLECoP) has selected the Greater Milwaukee STEM Ecosystem (GMSTEM) to join the global movement of leaders devoted to ensuring that STEM education is a priority for all in their communities with an emphasis on the equity envisioned to support a world-class STEM education.

The GM-STEM application was led

by MSOE, the Milwaukee Tech Hub Coalition, Northwestern Mutual and STEM Forward on behalf of the seven county Greater Milwaukee

region. These organizations are working to launch GM-STEM with the purpose of creating a unified effort across the region to enable STEM partners to share, build knowledge and connect to ensure efforts in K–20 STEM pipeline development are effective and reflect the community as a whole. Local companies, nonprofits and community organizations are invited to join the ecosystem.

Visit surveymonkey.com/r/WC2ZCJV to complete a landscape analysis survey and provide contact information.

Sustainable food resource The MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary now has an operational prototype of an aquaponics system developed by MSOE electrical engineering senior Nicholas Brnot. The completion of the aquaponics prototype brings the homeless sanctuary another step closer to its plan of ensuring the sanctuary is able to provide food and resources to the individuals who live in the 53206 neighborhood, which comprises Milwaukee’s most impoverished zip code.

The prototype contains a fish tank, a swirl filter that creates a whirlpool in the small tank that allows fish debris to settle at the bottom, a biofilter to help bacteria break down the smaller waste from the fish into valuable nutrients for the plants, and growbeds, which include LED lights and racks for plants to grow. The prototype’s 250-pound tank can hold about 50 pounds of fish. The future full-sized tank was sized for 200 pounds of fish. Brnot, an electrical engineering major, began the project in his freshman year as part of the University Scholars Honors Program.

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RAIDERS WRAP-UP

TESTING THE LIMITS

A common goal Guiding a team through a normal season is not without its challenges. Between scheduling, practicing, working around student-athletes’ academic obligations and actually playing the games, there is a lot that goes into making a full slate of contests operate like a well-oiled machine.

This year has been anything but normal.

With the traditional fall season having been canceled due to COVID-19, the race was on to give each and every studentathlete the best experience possible while making the necessary changes to ensure everyone stayed as safe as possible.

So how did the Raiders pull off their basketball and hockey season this past January and February? MSOE Athletics staff created a new normal.

The process of actually getting the seasons started began when the NCAA announced their guidelines on proper social distancing and testing cadences.

Every sport was given a classification which determined the procedures that must be followed in order to play competitively. The decision whether to participate in winter sports was then made by the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC), which gave the go-ahead on Dec. 11, 2020. With sports now back on the table, each school had to work within the confines of their own policies, as well as the regulations at the local and state levels.

DIMENSIONS SPRING/SUMMER 2021

All of our student-athletes showed a huge amount of gratefulness for the opportunity to play and the respect that they showed to each other and those around them was fantastic.”

BRIAN MILLER MSOE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR “The student-athletes, coaches, athletic trainers and sports information director were all asked to roll with the punches and adapt to game day changes, cancellations and quarantines. In the end, our department made a very difficult situation seem easy with teamwork on all fronts.” Bugalski echoed Trees’ sentiments. “It’s amazing how people can come together when everyone wants to achieve a common goal.”

MSOE already had their Raider Return program going, giving athletics the leg up on other institutions, but the journey to game number one still was not easy.

“The implementation of COVID testing was already a part of our day-to-day operations,” said Dave Bugalski, director of sports medicine. “With every sport starting to have official practices, it added another hurdle to leap over.”

Testing not only increased, but the way each sport would operate in a standard year went out the window including the way the locker rooms were handled.

“The locker room in the sport of hockey is sacred ground. This was taken away due to social distancing polices, so every day our players had to split up into different rooms to change into their equipment,” said MSOE Hockey Head Coach Graham Johnson. “The day-to-day banter amongst teammates was changed from a room of 30 likeminded people to groups of three to five. This can change a team dynamic

drastically, especially with new players on your roster.”

Practices also had to be altered, mentioned men’s basketball head coach and MSOE Athletic Director Brian Miller.

“We had to align practice groups with a close eye on contract tracing. This prevented us from getting fully prepared since our top units were very limited in the time they got to practice together.”

Johnson added, “Line mates or defensive partners never practiced together for the first two months of the season.

Everyone was split into smaller groups and everything we had done together was now separate. But our student-athletes still found a way to come together and get through it.”

The department also established precautions and changed the way they went about their daily business. “I think the biggest obstacle for our department was learning how to adapt,” said Hannah Trees, women’s basketball head coach.

In the end, it was not about the wins or losses. It is about how the studentathletes and staff came together, learned lessons and persevered.

“All of our student-athletes showed a huge amount of gratefulness for the opportunity to play and the respect that they showed to each other and those around them was fantastic,” said Miller.

Johnson agreed, saying, “The discipline our players showed every day for months, all of the testing they had to do, all of the safety precautions they had to follow and sacrifices they had to make, was simply remarkable.”

Trees put the whole thing into perspective. “At the beginning of the season we weren’t even sure if we were going to get a single game in. But the tireless work of our support staff and student-athletes provided the most opportunity I think we could have given in a COVID year. Everyone should be really proud of all the hard work and energy they put in.”

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PAGE TITLE IMPACT

Above: Jack Kellner (center) proudly holds his Honorary Doctor of Business and Economics in 1992. He is pictured with his son Ted (left) and Dr. Hermann Viets.

Left: Ted Kellner (center) beams with pride next to his wife Mary and Dr. John Walz after receiving his honorary doctorate in 2019.

Collaboration Café honors a legacy Ted Kellner cannot think of a better role model in life, business and philanthropy than his late father, Jack Kellner.

“My dad was my dad, my mentor and my best friend.”

In 2020, Ted made a philanthropic commitment to MSOE to name the Jack F. Kellner Collaboration Café in honor of his father, and to celebrate the partnership Jack had with Dr. Robert Spitzer, MSOE’s third president.

Jack spent his 41-year career at Western Industries, a Milwaukee-based manufacturing firm where he served as president. There, he was introduced to Spitzer, starting the mutually beneficial partnership that is memorialized today.

“Dad worked with MSOE for two reasons. Number one, he had great respect for Dr. Spitzer and the school. Second, because of that partnership, my dad was able to hire many well-educated engineers for his company,” said Ted. During that time, Spitzer was also working to help MSOE become financially stable. Jack knew just the guy to help—his son, Ted, who had a background in finance and investment.

Through Fiduciary Management Inc., Ted managed MSOE’s endowment for more than three decades. He, too, became good friends with Spitzer and gained a mutual respect and admiration for the university.

In 1992, Jack received an Honorary Doctor of Business and Economics degree from MSOE, which was under the leadership of Dr. Hermann Viets, MSOE’s fourth president. Ted followed in his father’s footsteps and received an Honorary Doctor of Business and Economics degree from MSOE in 2019.

“Receiving an honorary degree from the same university as my father was doubly special. My dad was a wonderful human being, so if I had the good fortune of being awarded an honorary doctorate just like him, that is a great achievement.”

Jack passed away in 2001 at the age of 85.

Since his passing, Ted stayed committed to the university’s mission and volunteers as a member of MSOE’s Investment Committee.

As for Jack and Spitzer, their commitments to MSOE and the value of their partnership will be illustrated each time students, faculty, staff and community members gather to share a meal in the Jack F. Kellner Collaboration Café inside the Robert Spitzer Dining Commons.

“Dad’s relationship with Bob was very special. I am pretty sure Dad is up there watching with Bob right now and is pleased to see their names together. It’s a legacy of two terrific and outstanding giants.”

DIMENSIONS DIMENSIONS FALL/WINTER SPRING/SUMMER 2020–21 2021

Leading leaders

Rising school leaders in MSOE’s education leadership program transform futures The events of the past year and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the critical importance of educational leaders with a wide breadth of skills including communication, crisis management, leadership and finance.

Thanks to the efforts of the MSOE Rader School of Business with the generous support of the Kern Family Foundation, rising school leaders across Wisconsin have access to an MBA in Education Leadership (MBA EL). This is an innovative program that pairs an MBA curriculum with a focus on developing leaders of great character and remarkable ability who are catalysts for change in Wisconsin schools and beyond.

Schools are often the biggest employer and the center of their local communities.

As such, they need leaders who understand how to manage a large and complex organization while at the same time helping those communities thrive.

The MBA EL targets rising school leaders and administrators who have a minimum of three years of PK–12 teaching experience and seek to deepen their leadership skills. Upon successful completion of the program, qualified participants receive both an MBA and Wisconsin State Principal Licensure.

range of practical tools with students, staff and families.”

The Kern Family Foundation continues to support the MBA EL program annually with scholarship aid. This year, 10 scholarships of $5,000 will be awarded to women and minorities. Graduates of the program bring the best of leadership development, business and educational administration back to their school communities.

American female, but stepping out at this time in my life, I doubted myself. Thanks to MSOE and the Kern Family Foundation, I know I can do this. They have turned my dreams into a reality.”

Dr. Ruth Barratt, chair of the Rader School of Business and executive director of the MBA EL, is grateful for the opportunity to not only elevate the program but offer it to students who may have not otherwise the chance to participate.

“The MBA in Education Leadership is one of the most unique and innovative school leader training programs in the country,” said Barratt.

“With support from the Kern Family Foundation, MSOE is leading the way creating strong, highly competent school leaders who will make an impact in the lives of children in Wisconsin.”

“Educating our youth is my heartbeat and my focus.”

SHANEL VRONTEZ DRAKE MBA EL STUDENT Shanel Vrontez Drake, a youth pastor at Greater Mt. Sinai Church and a third-grade teacher at New Testament Christian Academy in Milwaukee, is one of the recipients of the scholarship.

“Educating our youth is my heartbeat and my focus,” said Vrontez Drake. As an adult student, she had hesitations on taking the leap to further her education, and how she might afford it. “I’m a confident African

The Kern Family Foundation is one of MSOE’s key strategic partners and supports the university in its mission to inspire a community of experiential learners driven to solve the complex challenges of today and tomorrow.

More than 140 educators from across the state of Wisconsin have successfully completed the MBA EL. Chad Sova is a 2016 graduate who became the principal of Oriole Lane Elementary in Mequon last fall. Sova credits the program for helping him successfully navigate his first year in the new role.

“The challenges facing our education systems, and individual students, require innovative solutions in the space of teaching and learning,” said Sova. “The MBA in Education Leadership experience offers opportunities to think and practice beyond a traditional master’s program.

Alongside learning best practices of organizational leadership, the program builds a leader’s capacity to utilize a wide

Principal Chad Sova ’16 works with a 5K student at Oriole Lane Elementary.

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PAGE TITLE IMPACT

Veterans supporting veterans For six years, MSOE has been providing valuable resources to current military, veterans and veteran dependents through the Student Veterans Organization. The studentled group was established in 2015 to bridge the gap between military and civilian life by acting as an advocacy group to MSOE’s administration, a resource for career services, and a network for members to connect with others who have served our country.

This support system goes beyond professional resources. It has helped student vets like Adam Abbott, mechanical engineering major, find purpose, focus and friendships during his time on campus. After serving in the United States Army Reserve, conducting multiple combat tours overseas and being awarded two Purple Hearts for his service, Abbott applied to MSOE to pursue another passion: engineering.

As president of the Student Veterans Organization, Abbott explained part of the group’s mission this year is to better express their appreciation to those who have supported them, like Dick Powers ’70.

Powers has been supporting student vets since 2017. His most recent gift of support on Giving Tuesday in December 2020 helped the organization purchase furniture and supplies

Adam Abbott to upgrade the Veterans Lounge and study space. Powers has already committed to supporting the organization again on Giving Tuesday later this year.

If you ask Abbott, Powers’ support reaches beyond improving the physical and mental well-being of each student vet, it has served as motivation for them to invest in something greater.

“Dick Powers isn’t just a veteran and an engineer, he’s a personal and professional role model for us. His contributions have given us an example for how to live up to our truest potential. To apply our military experience and abilities to not only better the world around us, but put ourselves in a position to help other vets that are going through these same struggles.”

LEARN MORE: MSOE.EDU/VETERAN-SUPPORT-SERVICES.

“His contributions have given us an example for how to live up to our truest potential.”

ADAM ABBOTT STUDENT VETERANS ORGANIZATION PRESIDENT

DIMENSIONS DIMENSIONS FALL/WINTER SPRING/SUMMER 2020–21 2021

To learn more

about supporting MSOE scholarships or hear how estate gifts make an impact at MSOE, contact Greg Casey, senior director of development, at casey@msoe.edu.

FACES OF PHILANTHROPY

California connections Carmela L. Barbieri ’97 and her husband Roberto Piolanti made a $25,000 gift in support of the new Hermann Viets Tower, where they will name a collaboration room. The collaboration room is a dedicated space in the tower that will support group work and interdisciplinary projects. The renovated residence hall, which includes MSOE’s first ever living-learning communities, will open this fall.

Barbieri and her husband, who reside in southern California, have a passion for supporting educational youth programs. As a board member of the Oak Park Education Foundation, Barbieri helped raise funds and coordinated enrichment classes for elementary and middle school students attending the Oak Park Unified School District. She is looking forward to helping MSOE make connections in southern California to support recruiting efforts.

Rock on!

Robert “Bob” Schober ’83 filled his days at MSOE with his two greatest passions, music and engineering. Each week, Schober balanced his electrical and computer engineering course work with a graveyard DJ shift on WMSE. In November 2020, Schober made an estate gift to MSOE that will blend his love of music and engineering. It will support both an endowed scholarship for a student studying any field of engineering and an endowed fund for WMSE operations.

Schober’s passion for music was influenced at an early age from his brother, Jan Schober, who was the drummer in the local punk rock band The Shemps. The Waukesha band, active in the early 1980s, was often promoted and shared on WMSE. After his brother passed away in 2016, Schober was even more motivated to honor his brother’s legacy and WMSE’s support of The Shemps with a planned gift.

“MSOE and WMSE have always been important to me,” he said. “This gift is my way to give back and allow future generations to continue that great legacy and perpetuate the MSOE and WMSE tradition. Rock on!”

Pledging runs in the family Alan Schneider ’70, Jon Schneider ’06 and Cheryl (Schneider) Janik ’04 made a pledge of $5,000 to support Hermann Viets Tower. The father, son and daughter trio have a mutual passion to support their alma mater.

Both Jon and Cheryl lived in Roy W. Johnson Hall while attending MSOE and believe the residential student experience allowed them to focus on schoolwork while also building life-long friendships. Alan echoes that sentiment and today remains close to four of his classmates he met more than 50 years ago at the university. The Schneider family’s generous gift to the Viets Tower project was matched thanks to support from alumnus Dr. Gene Carter ’60.

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CLASS NOTES

1980s Dr. Michael J. Barber 82 EE, was recognized by BizTimes Milwaukee as one of their Notable Alumni from Milwaukeearea universities. Barber is an MSOE Regent and chief diversity officer for GE. Brian Novak 82 ABCET, vice president of development, Seefried Industrial Properties Inc., Chicago

1990s Kimberly Underhill 98 MSEM, was elected to the ThedaCare Board of Trustees, Neenah, Wis. Bryan West 99 ME, engineer, MFS/York/Stormor, Grand Island, Neb.

2000s Mark Graff 04 ME, senior project engineer, Grande Cheese Company, Juda, Wis.

With a passion for the environment and sustainability fueling her journey to success, Elise Strobach ’14 ME earned her Ph.D. from MIT; co-founded of her own company, AeroShield; and was named a Forbes 2020 30 Under 30: Energy award recipient. AeroShield is a company dedicated to developing super-insulating, transparent inserts for windows, bringing state-of-the-art thermal comfort and energy savings into buildings at an affordable price.

Thomas Austroe 79 IM

was given lifetime membership in the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

Kurtis Wier 04 IB, director of research and prospect management, Carroll University, Waukesha, Wis. Ryan Sawall, P.E. 05 AE, was named to Building Design & Construction’s 40 Under 40 class of 2020. He is vice president and business unit leader of McCarthy Building Companies in Omaha, Neb. Thor Misko 06 AE, VP project development and minority owner, Selzer-Ornst Construction Co., Milwaukee Matthew Tadisch 06 AE/CM, was recognized by BizTimes Milwaukee as one of their Notable Alumni from Milwaukee-area universities. Tadisch is owner, president and CEO of Selzer-Ornst Construction Co. in Milwaukee.

Lieutenant Commander Travis Thul 06 EET, U.S. Coast Guard, has been placed at the Export-Import Bank of the United States, as part of his appointment as a White House Fellow for 2020 and 2021.

Prior to this, Thul has served as dean of trades at Minnesota State College Southeast; maritime deputy incident commander for the 2020 Democratic National Convention; and contributed to

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infrastructure reconstitution in Puerto Rico post-Hurricane Maria and handled Hurricane Florence triage operations.

Joshua VanBommel 09 MET, senior operations engineer, BRP Marine Group, Sturtevant, Wis.

Lue Yang 09 MIS

business process lead, Johnson Controls Inc., Milwaukee

2010s

Chase Saylor 11 EE, senior product manager, CTS Corporation, Lisle, Ill. Jacob Edler 13 AE, project engineer, Phoenix Lighting, Milwaukee Nikolai Mickevicius 13 BME, researcher, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wis. Jeffrey Scarpelli 13 AE/MSST, founder, UAS Inspect LLC, Bloomingdale, Ill. Jessi Lemmer 14 ME, was recognized by BizTimes Milwaukee as a Notable Woman in Manufacturing. Lemmer is an advanced development engineer for Helgesen Industries Inc. in Hartford, Wis. Caleb Staub 14 AE/CM, petty officer first class, U.S. Navy. He also completed his master’s degree in real estate from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

Dana Guthrie 10 CE, managing partner, Gateway Capital Partners, Milwaukee

Matthew Waech 14 IE, manufacturing engineering manager, Bobcat Company, Johnson Creek, Wis.

John Simons 10 ME, application engineer, Midwest Engineering Systems Inc., Waukesha, Wis.

Reney Bagnall 16 AE, 19 MBA, assistant construction project manager, Beeler Construction Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wis.

Joel Vande Boom 10 AE/CM, director of special projects—Midwest (project executive) at Gilbane Building Co. in Columbus, Ohio, was named one of the Engineering News-Record (ENR) National Top 20 Under 40, which honors the best of the next generation of construction industry professionals. Vande Boom was selected out of nearly 400 entries.

Marlena Trier 16 CVE/MSCVE, was named the 2020 Young Engineer of the Year by the Palm Beach Branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Luca Hickman 11 EE, was named co-chair of the Lee County Bar Association’s Intellectual Property Law Group, Lee County, Fla.

To Keith and Kristine (Rauch) Ellis IE 01, a daughter, Katherine Crossman, born Oct. 11, 2018. She joins big sister Abigail.

William Dani 17 ME, environmental health safety specialist, Prometheus Group, Raleigh, N.C.

Shark Tank success continues Matt Mundt ’14 Matt Mundt ’14 and his wife Angie Kupper, who made a splash with their Sleep Pod by Hug Sleep last fall on ABC TV’s televised Shark Tank program, returned to the show in March for a rare same season follow up story. Their first appearance led to a bidding war between all five sharks and they left the Tank with $300,000 in exchange for 20% ownership from new business partners Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner. “The show changed our lives,” Mundt said.

Within the broadcast’s first weeks, Hug Sleep sold 50,000 units. (They were told to expect to sell between 2,500 and 5,000 units.) That and subsequent orders led to $4 million in sales in the final months of 2020, growing Hug Sleep by ten times. To put this in perspective, their local manufacturer hired nearly a dozen employees to keep up with demand and production fabric used was enough to cover 34 football fields.

In their follow-up appearance on Shark Tank, Mundt and Kupper announced the launch of the second generation of their product, which now includes three additional sizes (kids, tweens and extra-large), applies more pressure across the body, and a new patent-pending design allowing users to stick both legs outside of the Sleep Pod instead of just one.

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CLASS NOTES

Sami Wallace ’15 CM serves as an assistant superintendent on the renovation of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. As an MSOE alumni chair, she organizes fun events for alumni in the D.C. area, including construction site tours and Brewers games.

Guinevere Dickinson 18 IE, certified nursing assistant, UW Hospital and Clinics, Madison, Wis. Grant Eckhoff 18 ME, U.S. Navy, Mayport, Fla.

Ashleigh Gimenez 20 IE, data analyst, United States Postal Service, Milwaukee William James 20 EE, test engineer, Building Automation Products Inc., Gays Mills, Wis.

Kelly Bergman 21 NU, registered nurse, Marshfield Clinic Health System, Neillsville, Wis. Megan Bolton 21 NU, staff RN, Ascension, Mequon, Wis.

Eric Follett 18 EE, electrical engineer ll, Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp., Brookfield, Wis.

Michael Johnston 20 AE, mechanical engineer, AG Architecture, Wauwatosa, Wis.

Brett Diedrich 21 BBA, systems engineer, Milliman, Brookfield, Wis.

Alexander Kempke 20 SE, software developer, Johnson Centrifugal Technology, Saukville, Wis.

Travis Duffy 21 BBA, IT systems analyst, Artisan Partners L.P., Milwaukee

Coua Moua 18 NU

Stephen Linn 20 CE, associate solution engineer, SalesPage Technologies LLC, Milwaukee

clinical nurse specialist, UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wis. Courtney Wenzel 18 ME, engineer 1, AriensCo, Brillion, Wis., received an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University with a focus on design methodology and product realization.

Jon Radtke 20 ME, mechanical engineer, Mumford Metal Casting, Sussex, Wis. Esmeralda Sanchez 20 BBA, support specialist, L&R USA, Milwaukee James Slade 20 EE, electrical design engineer, Building Automation Products Inc., Gays Mills, Wis. Tiffany Vang 20 NU, registered nurse, Ascension, Milwaukee Celine Visalda 20 BBA, business analyst, Northwestern Mutual, Milwaukee

Cody Jaworski 21 ME, design engineer, BRP US Inc., Sturtevant, Wis. Kaleb Luedtke 21 IE, embedded software engineer, Johnson Controls Inc., Milwaukee Jenna Powers 21 AE, designer, Excel Engineering, Fond du Lac, Wis. Kyle Prosser 21 CE, electrical engineer, Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp, Brookfield, Wis. Benjamin Stratman 21 ME, assistant project manager, J.F. Ahern, Milwaukee Trevor Suarez 21 SE, customer engineer, Microsoft Inc., Charlotte, N.C. Noah Waech 21 IE, process engineer, Performance Health, Cedarburg, Wis.

2020s Giavanna Bettinardi 20 NU, COVID nurse, pulmonary medicine unit, Edward-Elmhurst Health, Naperville, Ill. Britne Chike 20 NU, registered nurse, Ascension, Milwaukee Matthew DiJulio 20 EE, application engineer, Badger Thermal Unlimited, Brookfield, Wis.

Share your stories

_____________________________________________________________________________________

We love hearing from our alumni! Send your class notes to alumni@msoe.edu.

DIMENSIONS DIMENSIONS FALL/WINTER SPRING/SUMMER 2020–21 2021

Empowering Excellence

E

Megan Kroll ’16

Even before she arrived on MSOE’s campus, one might say alumna Megan Kroll ’16 was destined for a successful engineering career. Growing up in Wausau, Wisconsin in a family of engineers, Kroll had an aptitude for both math and science.

“Half of my dad’s family have engineering degrees, so it was a natural fit that I follow in their footsteps,” said Kroll.

When it came time to choose a college, MSOE offered her the best of all worlds. “Not only was MSOE a prestigious engineering school, it also offered me the opportunity to play basketball at the next level.” One of her most cherished memories was being a part of the MSOE Raiders Women’s Basketball team. “My freshman year we only won two games, but by senior year we tied for second in the NACC conference.”

During her senior year, Kroll experienced another life-changing opportunity at MSOE’s Career Fair when a representative introduced her to Rexnord Corporation’s Technical Excellence Program (TEP). Rexnord, a manufacturing company headquartered in Milwaukee, offers a 20-month employee training program with four discipline rotations, including manufacturing, application engineering, new product development and testing.

“As an upcoming graduate, the opportunity to explore various disciplines of an engineering career was incredibly enticing and exciting for me,” said Kroll.

If I can help and empower my peers or others around me to accomplish their goals, that is a career legacy worth achieving.”

After 15 months in the program, an opportunity arose for Kroll to switch paths into project management. “The career and personal growth that project management has afforded me has been incredible so early in my career,” said Kroll.

Her career at Rexnord has given her the opportunity to lead strategic projects and to manage activities designed to help the company better serve customers. She credits her course work at MSOE for preparing her with the critical thinking and problem-solving skills she needed for that success.

One of the biggest highlights of her engineering career thus far has been seeing the production unit of the very first project she ever managed. For six months, Kroll’s team worked to deliver a Smart Condition Monitoring System on a large gearbox.

“I recall visiting the shop that afternoon before shipment, just seeing months of concepts, designs and processes be fulfilled in a physical production unit was incredibly exciting.”

Having accomplished so many early career successes has not stopped Kroll from setting new goals.

“I think that being a servant leader and helping others become the best versions of themselves is a substantial goal in my professional pursuits. Some of the most rewarding parts of my job has been teaching my peers and colleagues,” said Kroll.

“If I can help and empower my peers or others around me to accomplish their goals, that is a career legacy worth achieving.”

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PAGE TITLE CLASS NOTES

Births To Dustin Lyfoung and Coua Moua NU 18, baby Arlo, born on Oct. 30, 2020.

Go ahead, get dirty!

Tim White ’99, ’05

To Kristina (Tielens) 08 NU and Joe Phillips 08 SE, twins Devi and Elana.

A self-described serial entrepreneur, Tim White ’99, ’05 realized after moving to the Duluth area that there weren’t great ways to clean up after getting dirty on the bike trails.

“If you like to have fun in Duluth, you can expect to get dirty,” said White. An avid mountain biker, he was inspired to design a solution to help outdoor enthusiasts like himself scrub up after spending time outside in the elements before getting into cars or going to restaurants.

White is the business development and intellectual property manager for the Natural Resources Research Institute at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and M.S. in Engineering Management from MSOE and spent nearly 20 years in product development at the Kohler Company.

His education and professional experience gave him the skills and inspiration to design a “shower-in-a-bag.”

His invention, the Crud Cloth, is a portable soapy washcloth that is activated like an instant ice pack. When it’s time to use it, you hit the package to pop the pod and spread the solution around the cloth. White and his 11- and 13-year-old daughters have been assembling the products at home since late 2018 by vacuum-sealing a dry washcloth and a pod with a liquid mixture of water, soap and essential oils.

They hand-made and sold more than 10,000 units in the past two years. A recent order of 14,000 more (to be delivered in two months) warranted moving the operations to a manufacturing facility.

“I feel it’s very important for my daughters to understand what it’s like to be an entrepreneur and hope one day they’ll follow in these footsteps,” White said.

White credits the support he received from faculty at MSOE for giving him the confidence to pursue a somewhat nontraditional path during and after college.

“Most of my internships were in sales engineering. This made me a bit of a ‘maverick’ when I began my career.

I was always looking to create new opportunities for the companies I worked for,” said White. “For my MSEM, I took every entrepreneurship course Gene Wright and Kimball Nap taught. They got me hooked.”

READ MORE AT MSOE.EDU/DIMENSIONS.

To Colleen and Matthew Waech 14 IE, a set of twins, John Matthew and Mary Grace, on Sept. 2, 2020.

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In Memory Margaret Behlen 44 NU

Mark Rasper 86 ME

Donald Hafferman 49 RHACT

James Drews 88 EET

Donovan McQueen 50 EE

P. Douglas Shears 00 MSE

Ruth Roesler 50 NU

Jon Steckelberg 01 EET

Arlene Canitz 53 NU

Ronald Abel passed away Dec. 16, 2020. Abel taught several courses in the electrical engineering program at MSOE, primarily for the 2+2 AAS-EET to BSEE transfer program.

Richard Sanford 57 ME Santo Sperazza 57 RHACT Jerold Arts 58 IET, 60 ME Eugene Hermansen 58 ME Donald Krauss 59 EE Glenn Nichols 59 ACT Pedro Sala 59 NRTT/EE Ernest Huerter 60 INDT Robert Allen 61 EPET David Jensen 61 EE David Marciniak 61 ECET Marianne La Belle 62 NU Roger Anderson 64 IET Allan Key 64 ICEET, 67 ME Paula Nurse 64 NU Richard Juul 66 IM Cletus Plantenberg 67 IM William Frey 69 CET, 72 EET Roger Chambers 70 EE John Cliffe 70 ABCET Richard Davies 70 EPET Earl Sager 71 EE Thomas Wilkerson 71 EE Tom Kull 72 EE Ronald Bursek 73 MSEM Barry Crothers 74 EE Richard Holy 74 IM Jeffrey Tuschl 75 EPET Otto Kersten 80 ME Nanette Johnson 82 NU Frank Kessler 83 IM

J. Michael Borden, Regent Emeritus, passed away Nov. 26, 2020. Borden received an Honorary Doctor of Business and Economics from MSOE in 2010.

He was formerly CEO of the partition company Hufcor.

Carl Edmund passed away Oct. 14, 2020.

A life-long educator, Edmund taught math and physics at MSOE and several other Milwaukee-area institutions.

John Ficken, who taught controls and fluid power courses in the Mechanical Engineering Department for more than 25 years, passed away Dec. 25, 2020.

Regent Emeritus Richard Jacobus passed away Jan. 28, 2021. Jacobus was a steward to the community, entrepreneur and held many leadership roles with local companies. His most recent professional pursuit was founding Jacobus Wealth Management (JWM). He received an Honorary Doctor of Business and Economics from MSOE in 1997.

Educator Harris Huenink passed away Dec. 6, 2020 at the age of 93. Huenink was a mathematics teacher for over 40 years at MSOE and West Allis Central High School.

Alfred “Cy” Tector Jr., MD, Regent Emeritus, clinical professor, and pioneer in cardiac care, passed away Dec. 3, 2020. Tector was instrumental in starting a clinical engineering program for perfusionists in collaboration with MSOE in 1983. During his nearly 50-year career, he performed more than 14,000 open heart operations and authored or co-authored more than 100 academic research publications.

Digging In Dick Czubkowski ’61 From the depths of the earth to the sun and sand of Florida, Dick Czubkowski ’61 has been digging in to make a difference in the lives of MSOE students. After graduation, Czubkowski began a long career at Harnischfeger Corp. where he was part of the original design team for the P&H Model 2800, which remains one of the premium mining shovels in the world to this day (pictured above).

“The 2800 was a milestone in the electric rope mining excavators, or as we call them, electric mining shovels,” said Czubkowski. “It was the first big, hard rock loading shovel on one set of crawlers, and the first shovel with static convertors powering DC motor drives.

It was the only one of its kind.” Since then, nearly 300 2800s have been in operation around the world.

Now retired to Florida, Czubkowski’s design skills have taken a more artistic direction. He spends some of his free time as a glass art hobbyist. MSOE has been the fortunate recipient of his art over the past two decades—he has donated pieces to be auctioned at the President’s and Regents’ Golf Outings.

He has also been a loyal contributor to MSOE student scholarships, helping students realize their dream of attaining an MSOE education, just as he did.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES EYE OF THE TIGER

Behind the Scenes For 43 years, Kent Peterson ’99 documented and shared MSOE’s most memorable moments. His journey at MSOE began as a photographer but saw him take on positions of increased responsibility, including as the university’s photographer, videographer, director of academic media services, and first webmaster. His career offered him a front row seat to the university’s history, and spanned three university presidents before he retired as manager of video and multimedia in March 2021. We sat down with Peterson to find out what moments really stood out as highlights—and to get a first-hand account of what happened behind the scenes.

Working with MSOE President Robert Spitzer “I got to know Dr. Spitzer pretty well over the years. He loved talking to outside groups and community organizations. I created a lot of the slides for his work and traveled with him to set up. Often, we put on a show that required 21 projectors. Spitzer was a mentor for me. I have to say that some of what I am today was because of him. He was very honest and upright. ” In the early 1980s, MSOE held recognition dinners for faculty and staff in the Roy W. Johnson Residence Hall cafeteria. Spitzer wanted more people to attend. Peterson brainstormed an idea with Vice President Joe DeCarlo (another of his mentors), and decided to photograph every person on the job and create a three-projector slide show entitled, “A Day in the Life of MSOE.” The idea worked, and many more employees attended the dinners to see his production.

“Everyone who worked here was on screen. By 1986 or ’87 we got exceptionally ‘creative’ and designated ‘Eye of the Tiger’ as the theme song. We brought in a live tiger,” said Peterson. “When they brought the tiger on stage I remember thinking, ‘Wow, he is really close to the audience.’ Some folks in the front row were pretty terrified. The truth was, the tiger was pretty ancient. Any growling was out of sheer grumpiness. I remember being on stage with the tiger more than I remember the slide show.”

Dedication of the Walter Schroeder Library In 1980, former U.S. President Gerald Ford, who was friends with Spitzer, dedicated MSOE’s Walter Schroeder Library. Peterson was there to document the occasion. What he remembers most, however, was his brush with the law.

“People who were going to be near the president had to be background checked by the Secret Service,” he said, “and there were Secret Service agents all over the place—even on the rooftops.”

After the event, the Secret Service provided a report to President Spitzer and MSOE’s vice presidents.

“I remember the report said, ‘This event was wonderful except for this one photographer who kept going into restricted areas.’ That was me,” laughed Peterson. “I thought, ‘This is my territory, I can go where I want.’ But I strayed a few times from their restricted zones.

I didn’t get shot, or tackled. They nicely turned me around and pushed me in the right direction.”

Launching Distance Education In the mid-1980s, the VCR was quickly becoming one of the most widely-used pieces of home entertainment technologies. Peterson helped MSOE take advantage of the technology to launch a distance education program. The university built a classroom fully equipped with the proper lighting and equipment to essentially produce a television program. Peterson took residence in the control room, running the one-man show.

“We recorded the lectures and discussions, and then ran off a batch of tapes overnight to send to students. We also handled phone calls from off-site students who wanted to participate in the discussion,” said Peterson. “The concept is the same as we’re doing today, the technology has just become more sophisticated.”

After sitting through all those courses, Peterson probably should have been awarded an engineering degree from MSOE. Instead, we hope he’ll settle for a 4.00 GPA for being the consummate professional and tremendous resource for MSOE for 43 years.

Kent Peterson was highlighted in the International Television Association Milwaukee Chapter newsletter for his work with MSOE distance learning.

DIMENSIONS FALL/WINTER 2020–21

Former Vice President Joe DeCarlo looks on as a live tiger toured campus before it made an appearance at a faculty and staff appreciation dinner in the mid-1980s.

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DIMENSI [ ] NS

SPRING/SUMMER 2021

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IN THE ZONE Members of the Greendale (Wis.) High School FIRST Robotics team prepare to test their designs in the Rockwell Automation FIRST Robotics Competition Zone in the We Energies STEM Center at MSOE. The zone features a playing field for teams to practice on a regulation field before they compete.

MSOE.EDU/STEM