WINTER 2013 – 2014
THE RIGHT STUFF KEN VENNER ’84, CIO OF SPACEX, DISCUSSES SUCCESS AFTER STEVENS AL SO APPEALING APPS ALUMNI INNOVATORS CAMPUS TREASURES
THE MAGAZINE OF THE STEVENS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
MAY 29-31 & JUNE 1, 2014
CELEBRATE THE
ANNUAL
Enjoy the blending of proud alumni
• 2nd annual Hoboken Sampler
• Campus and alumni history tours
traditions with a look forward toward
• G.O.L.D. boat cruise
• Admissions seminars
• Class cocktails at Castle Point
• Wine & beer tastings
• Faculty seminars
• Greek Open House & block parties
will host reunions), celebrate Stevens
• Professional networking receptions
• Stevens Club reunions
traditions with old friends and new,
• Alumni Dinner Dance
and learn about the future of your
• President Farvardin’s Address to Alumni
alma mater at these exciting events!
• Alumni Lunch and Kids Carnival
Stevens’ strategic plan for the future. Reunite with your classmates (those in class years ending in “4” or “9”
To learn more, see the full schedule and register today visit:
And much more. Don’t miss out!
www.stevens.edu/alumniweekend To register by phone call (201) 216-5163
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR IN PRAISE OF A TECHNOLOGY-BASED EDUCATION
FROM THE EDITOR
While all education is beneficial, I think that a technology-based education, such as that offered by Stevens, is critical in a technologybased world.
The Stevens Indicator is celebrating its 130th birthday in 2014! The first issue was printed in January 1884 and had 12 pages. To mark this anniversary, we thought we’d explain how this alumni magazine got its name. In the days when the steam engine was king – in the late 1800s – an indicator was, simply, an instrument for showing what was taking place within the engine. It charted on paper the efficiency of the engine; it was designed to get more work out of each piece of coal. The indicator told what was happening on the inside, and this thought captured the attention of C.W. Whiting, Class of 1884, The Indicator’s first editor in chief. He felt that the name “indicator’’ seemed appropriate because the magazine was an instrument to show what was happening within the Institute.
The rate of change within our society is much faster than anything we have witnessed in the past. This change produces new innovations and new ideas that help to propel society forward. A good example is renewable energy innovations within the solar, wind, wave and geothermal industries. These areas of energy utilization will require students who understand the fundamentals of engineering, technology and construction management principles. With Stevens’ varied programs in engineering, technology and construction management, Stevens will be in a prime position to lead the way in producing an educated workforce for society.
Even everyday chores at home can be accomplished more efficiently and effectively by having a technology-based education. Further, one should not view education as the last step in order to obtain a well-paying job. Rather, education is something that should be a continuous and ongoing endeavor – through formal education, reading on one’s own or attending a lecture on a topic that is of interest. Incoming students of Stevens are in a prime position to acquire a technology-based education at one of the finest institutions in America. They should take good advantage of the time that they are at Stevens by interacting with their fellow students and learning as much as they can from their esteemed professors. Doug Schneider, M.S. ’07
A technology-based education allows an individual to think analytically about not only their work problems, but also about social problems and greater global issues. Identifying the problem; coming up with different solutions to a problem; assessing which solution is best with regards to safety, quality, time and cost; and tracking the progress and outcome of the problem are all traits of a technology-based education and can be applied to virtually any societal problem.
SPRING 2014, VOL. 135, NO. 1 Executive Director Michael Smullen
Executive Director Emeritus Anita Lang
Editor
Beth Kissinger bkissing@stevens.edu
Associate Editor
Lisa Torbic ltorbic@stevens.edu
Art Direction/Design
www.Dan Flint Design.com
Additional Art Direction/Design Jason Rodriguez
Published quarterly by
The Stevens Alumni Association, member of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. © 2014 Stevens Alumni Association
Indicator Correspondence
The Stevens Indicator Stevens Alumni Association Castle Point Hoboken, NJ 07030 Phone: (201) 216-5161 Fax: (201) 216-5374
Letters to the Editor
Class log submissions
alumni-log@stevens.edu
General SAA inquiries
Contact the Alumni Office Phone: (201) 216-5163 Fax: (201) 216-5374 alumni@stevens.edu
editor@alumni.stevens.edu ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PER ASPERA AD ASTRA
SPRING 2014 1
FEATURES SUMMER – FALL 2013
THE MAGAZINE OF THE STEVENS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
THE MAGAZINE OF THE STEVENS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION SPRING 2014
DEPARTMENTS 1 ............................................................ Letters 4-5 .........................................Presidents’ Corner 6 ............................................ Grist from the Mill 32 ............................................................ Clubs 34 .............................. Alumni Business Directory 36 ............................................... Sports Update 38 ......................................... Calendar of Events 40 ............................................................ Vitals
Launching into 24 the Future Ken Venner ’84 serves as the Chief Information Officer for SpaceX, the innovative, private company launching rockets that carry satellites and supplies into space. Read what his job entails and how a Stevens education helped him achieve success. By Lisa Torbic, Associate Editor
8 The Treasures of Stevens
Save the Institute’s Treasures (SIT), a new initiative founded by Stevens’ First Lady Hoveida Farvardin, aims to restore and preserve the history of Stevens.
By Laura Bubeck, Special to The Indicator
10 Stevens Awards Gala
The 2nd annual Stevens Awards Gala will honor 10 outstanding individuals who make Stevens proud.
By The Office of Communications & Marketing
12 Looking for Weapons
A group of Stevens students have built a vehicle designed to find underwater explosives that have not detonated.
By Laura Bubeck, Special to The Indicator
14 Alumni Entrepreneurs
Read how several young alumni are charting their own paths— and finding success—by starting their own companies.
By Paul Karr, Office of Communications & Marketing
2 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
18 $60 million coming to SERC
The U.S. Department of Defense awards a $60 million to The Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC), based at Stevens—the largest contract in the university’s history.
Above, from left: Ken Venner ’84 is the CIO of SpaceX; Stevens students have built an unmanned underwater vehicle to detect weapons; high schoolers can choose from several academic programs for the Stevens Summer.
By Beth Kissinger, Editor
On the Cover Ken Venner ’84, Chief Information
20 Research News
WINTER 2013 – 2014
Hawthorne, Calif. Photo courtesy of
By Paul Karr, Office of Communications & Marketing
Learn more about services provided by the Stevens Alumni Association, with this new page debuting in this issue.
Officer of SpaceX, is seen at the company’s headquarters in
Stevens students and faculty are creating some of the newest phone apps.
23 From Your Alumni Association
THE MAGAZINE OF THE STEVENS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
SpaceX/Martin Berman
THE RIGHT STUFF KEN VENNER ’84, CIO OF SPACE X, DISCUSSES SUCCESS AFTER STEVENS ALSO APPEALING APPS ALUMNI INNOVATORS CAMPUS TREASURES
26 – 29 Alumni Profiles
Meet several interesting alumni who are celebrating reunions in 2014.
By Beth Kissinger and Lisa Torbic, Indicator Editors
37 Stevens Summer Program
Three new programs will debut this summer for high school students who attend classes and live on the Stevens campus.
By The Office of Communications & Marketing
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PER ASPERA AD ASTRA
SPRING 2014 3
PRESIDENTS’ CORNER SUPPORT STEVENS WITH THREE “P’S” 2013 was a banner year for our alma mater. With every jump in rankings, new research award and new faculty hire, Stevens’ name is increasingly synonymous with excellence in technological, student-centric education. In the workplace and across academia, our degree is more sought after than ever before. As alumni, we all benefit from this rightful ascent, but we cannot be passive observers in the process. We must constantly lead the charge to achieve greater heights for our alma mater. From newly-minted engineers to accomplished CEOs, innovative artists to the most skilled scientists, we all must be active agents of Stevens’ success. Knowing how to show your support can seem daunting in an already busy schedule. To make it a little easier, I would like to share with you these three “P’s” of alumni support: Pride, Participation and Philanthropy. Pride. Stevens edified us, educated us and prepared us for a successful life. While this is an implicit experience for all graduates, we now must take the step to make sure that our friends, family and community know how proud we are to be a part of this institution on the rise. Be proud of the fact that the average high school GPA of the Class of 2017 was 3.9, and the placement rate of the Class of 2013, within six months of graduation (covering jobs, graduate school and other firm plans), was an outstanding 94 percent. Discover the extraordinary success of the 2014 Stevens Awards recipients. (See pages 10-11). Educate yourself about the increasing prominence of Stevens on the world stage. (See page 27). And then, spread the word about Stevens to the next generation of students. Participate. Our events, committees and reunions will only be successful if we become active participants. View the events calendar in this issue of the Indicator and attend one of the dozens of alumni events planned this year. View the new “Alumni Engagement” feature in the
4 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
magazine to see a list of volunteer opportunities. (See page 23). Use the alumni LinkedIn group to search for a job, or recommend a job at your company to other alumni. Submit a class log. Celebrate your reunion at Alumni Weekend 2014. (See front inside cover.) Seize these opportunities, and you will be rewarded with new friendships, great connections and memories to last a lifetime. Philanthropy. For Stevens to continue its rise in national rankings, continue attracting the brightest students and keep increasing the number of research awards, we must also increase our own support of the university. All support is welcome, whether time, talent or treasure. We know, however, that the most direct impact comes from financial support. Whether $10 or $1,000, every gift counts! Surprisingly, Stevens’ alumni participation is currently among the lowest among schools with similar students and academics. However, I am confident that if we harness the drive, entrepreneurial spirit and passion which define all Stevens alumni, we can dramatically increase our support and make an impact today. More than ever, I am proud to be the president of your Alumni Association. I know that we will not be passive observers in Stevens’ success. With the three “P’s” of alumni support as a guidepost, we will become architects of Stevens’ future. ❖
Per aspera ad astra,
Tom Moschello ’63 President, Stevens Alumni Association tmoschello@alumni.stevens.edu
PRESIDENTS’ CORNER
PROGRESS, GROWTH, AND PLANNING FOR OUR FUTURE CAMPUS Poet Khalil Gibran said, “Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be.” After the first year’s implementation of the Strategic Plan, I am proud of the progress that your alma mater is making toward what will be: Stevens’ vision to become a premier, studentcentric technological research university. Our first year Strategic Plan Implementation Report, posted on the University web site, highlights substantial progress across six important domains: undergraduate studies and experience, graduate studies and experience, research and scholarship, culture and governance and internal and external “bridges” that support and connect all that we do. In the course of achieving these goals, Stevens will grow—in order to meet the increasing demand for a Stevens education—and will produce graduates who continue in the tradition of generations of alumni before them, as innovators, entrepreneurs, problem-solvers and leaders across a spectrum of industries and organizations. As we have been making substantial progress toward the major goals we have set—increasing the size and selectivity of the undergraduate and graduate student populations, expanding faculty and research, improving our fundraising success, strengthening our finances, enhancing our communications and marketing efforts and much more—we have also been working to develop a campus Master Plan to accommodate our growth needs for academic, residential and other space and our ambitions for the next decade and beyond. When completed, our Master Plan will represent our concept for our near term and future campus growth in 2022 and beyond. It will acknowledge our core values: a focus on growth that is strategic and targeted; our commitment to excellence; our distinctive location; and our goal to develop a physical environment befitting a world-class technological university—one that is characterized by energy, innovation, and collaboration. We are launching this effort with the sense of optimism that the spaces envisioned in this plan will enable the dreams and aspirations of many generations of Stevens students to become a reality. And in facilitating these dreams and aspirations, Stevens will continue to make
a substantial impact on our region, our nation, and on our global society. Our work on the Master Plan has been an intense process, involving all corners of the university community, employing a data-based suite of planning tools to estimate our instructional and research space, housing, student life, administrative needs, and a serious set of deliberations about how to optimize the precious resources that constitute our opportunities for expansion. Assisted by master planning architects, Wallace Roberts Todd, and a team of experts in campus planning, the university community—students, trustees, faculty, staff, alumni—have provided substantial input into the planning exercise. I am most grateful to all members of the planning team, which included representation from many different segments of the campus and the extended Stevens community, as well as the City of Hoboken. I deeply appreciate the thoughtful and deliberate approach the many contributors to this plan have taken in balancing our growth objectives with equally important aesthetic, civic and environmental considerations. When complete, our plan will present a reasoned approach to growth that honors our legacy and the charming characteristics of our host City of Hoboken, and that provides inspiration for our future. I wish to especially thank the Trustees for their advice, counsel, and unflagging support during this process. And I look forward, with the Stevens community, to witnessing the transformation that the Plan will bring about on our campus. ❖
Per aspera ad astra,
Nariman Farvardin President, Stevens Institute of Technology president@stevens.edu 201-216-5213
Read Stevens’ Strategic Plan Implementation Report at www.stevens.edu/strategy
SPRING 2014 5
GRIST FROM THE MILL INTEL CEO HEADLINES LECTURE SERIES
CHECK OUT STEVENS AT D.C. SCIENCE FEST Stevens will participate in the largest science festival in the country this April in Washington, D.C. The 3rd Annual USA Science & Engineering Festival will hold its Grand Finale Expo on April 26-27 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, with universities, companies and organizations presenting exciting interactive exhibits and events celebrating STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Stevens, an event sponsor, will present four exhibits that showcase some of its research expertise. It will also participate in the festival’s “Sneak Peek” on April 25. ❖ —Beth Kissinger
For more information visit usasciencefestival.org
THREE LEADERS NAMED NAI FELLOWS Stevens President Nariman Farvardin, Stevens Provost George Korfiatis and Stevens Vice Provost Christos Christodoulatos, The retired CEO and chairman of Intel and Ph.D. ’91, have been elected Fellows of the a leading advocate for improving education National Academy of Inventors (NAI), a will headline the next installment of the prestigious honor awarded to inventors from President’s Distinguished Lecture Series in business and academe. Farvardin, Korfiatis April. and Christodoulatos were inducted as NAI Dr. Craig R. Barrett, who served as Intel’s Fellows by the U.S. Commissioner for PatPresident, CEO and Chairman before retiring ents Margaret A. Focarino in March at the in 2009, will speak on “Economic Competitive- United States Patent and Trademark Office ness in the 21st Century,” at the fourth install- headquarters in Alexandria, Va., as part of ment of the lecture series, to be held on April the 3rd Annual NAI Conference. 23 at 4 p.m. in DeBaun Auditorium, on the SteAt the University of Maryland, Farvardin vens campus. ❖ pioneered research that made significant conFor more information on the President's tributions to a number of communications Distinguished Lecture Series, please standards and practical systems in data comvisit www.stevens.edu/lecture munication, image and video compression Dr. Craig R. Barrett
and voice coding in wireless applications. He holds seven U.S. patents and co-founded two companies: Zagros Networks and NovaTherm Technologies. Dr. Korfiatis is an internationally-recognized expert in environmental research and technology development. He co-founded two Stevens spin-off companies—PlasmaSol Corp. and HydroGlobe LLC. Both marketed technologies which were acquired by Fortune 500 companies. Dr. Christodoulatos is an accomplished environmental science researcher and holds several patents in water and air treatment technology. He is the cofounder, with Korfiatis, of PlasmaSol Corp. and HydroGlobe LLC.❖ —Laura Bubeck
STEVENS WINS SPOT IN 2015 SOLAR DECATHLON Stevens has been selected to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy’s prestigious Solar Decathlon for the third consecutive time. The Stevens team will compete against 19 schools in the 2015 international, biennial competition to build a solar-powered, energy-efficient home that combines affordability, consumer appeal and design excellence. In 2013, Stevens’ net-zero energy smart house, “Ecohabit,” took
6 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
second place in architecture and fourth place overall. In 2011, Stevens’ collaborative entry, “Empowerhouse,” tied for first place in two key categories, affordability and hot water, and finished 13th of 19 entries.❖ Learn more about Stevens’ involvement in the Solar Decathlon at stevens.edu/news/content/solar-decathlon
GRIST FROM THE MILL
PROFESSOR’S STUDY MAKES COVER OF CELL The Dec. 5, 2013, cover of Cell—a research publication comparable to Nature and The New England Journal of Medicine—featured a study co-authored by Stevens Assistant Professor Joseph Glavy and collaborator Martin Beck, group leader at European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany. Their study, “Integrated Structural Analysis of the Human Nuclear Pore Complex Scaffold,” focuses on the Nuclear Pore Complex (NPC), a fundamental component of cells that facilitates nucleocytoplasmic transport of macromolecules. The work details a novel and highly integrative approach to the study of this huge cellular machine that combines crosslinking mass spectrometry, single particle electron microscopy, electron tomography and other techniques in order to learn more about NPC structure, organization and its functional capacity. One key aspect leading to the success of this study was the work of Amanda DiGuilio ’11, M.S. ’11, who is pursuing her Ph.D. at Stevens.❖ —Blythe Nobleman
A PRINCELY PRIZE Richard S. Muller ’55, Professor Emeritus and professor in the Graduate School at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, received the IEEE/RSE Wolfson James Clerk Maxwell Award last summer. He was honored for his pioneering innovation and leadership in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology. Dr. Muller shared the award with fellow Berkeley professor Richard M. White, with whom he co-founded the Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center at the University of California. The award was presented twice, as it is jointly sponsored by IEEE in the U.S. and the Royal Society of Edinburgh in Scotland. Above, Muller, center, receives the award from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, left, in Scotland, with White at right.❖
WOMEN’S FENCING TURNS 40 Four decades of alumnae fencers returned to Stevens this winter to mark a milestone event in Stevens athletics history. The annual Alumnae Match on Jan. 19 celebrated the 40th anniversary of women’s fencing at Stevens, as more than 90 alumnae and guests—the best turnout ever—gathered for a day of fencing and memories. Fencers from the 1980s through the 2010s, along with the current team, also enjoyed a reception and dinner. Women’s fencing was the first women’s sport at Stevens, starting in 1974. Coach Linda VollkommerLynch has led the team from its start and has spearheaded the Alumnae Match since its founding 35 years ago. The much-loved reunion has taken place every year since.❖ —Beth Kissinger
ON THE WATERFRONT Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer was joined by Stevens President Nariman Farvardin and members of the community in January to cut the ribbon to open a portion of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. The walkway between Sinatra Park and Castle Point Park includes a section completed by Stevens and a rebuilt section of walkway around Sinatra Field. The walkway’s opening now allows Hoboken to have a continuous waterfront multiuse path from the Jersey City border to the skate park at Castle Point. ❖
SPRING 2014 7
PROTECTING
THE
FUTURE of Stevens’Past
T echnology and history don’t usually appear in the same sentence.
They are, after all, polar opposites. But at Stevens Institute of Technology, safeguarding the university’s pieces of the past are a priority, so much so that the university recently created the Historic Preservation Committee (HPC), chaired by Stevens First Lady Hoveida Farvardin.
By Laura Bubeck Special to The Indicator
The HPC aims to restore and preserve the many artifacts the university has collected throughout its 143-year history, and raise awareness of Stevens’ legacy and its founders, so future generations can fully appreciate the past. When Farvardin first visited the S.C. Williams Library at Stevens, she was oriented to the rich history of Stevens by Adam Winger, former director of special collections, Richard Widdicombe, the longtime Stevens friend and former library director, and Ourida Oubraham, the thenlibrary director, during a tour. Inspired by a sense of pride, Farvardin soon formed the HPC to ensure the restoration, preservation and showcasing of all the historical items of an institution she refers to as “the hidden gem on the Hudson.” Among Stevens’ most valuable and prized artifacts are Leonardo da Vinci books, Frederick Winslow Taylor possessions and Stevens Family patents. But why care so much about the past? “Artifacts usually have such a unique history, including the story of how they came to be at Stevens,’’ said Leah Loscutoff, Stevens’ archivist and special collections librarian and a member of the HPC. “Take the da Vinci Books. There are so many different fields of study that can be related to da Vinci – engineering, art, medicine. We should be impressed with what he has accomplished.’’ Through the efforts of the founding members of the HPC—Farvardin, Winger, Widdicombe, Oubraham; Mi-
8 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
chelle Roscitt, wife of Richard Roscitt ‘73; and Zef Ferreira ’00, director of operations and development services with the Stevens Office of Development—the first initiative of the committee, called Save the Institute’s Treasures (SIT), is well underway. Generous donations from Mary Jane and Frank Semcer ’65, Michelle and Richard Roscitt ’73, Lisa Mascolo ’82, Joseph Schneider ’46, Stevens Professor Emeritus Donald Merino ’60, Richard Magee ’63 and a group of Stevens students led by Owen Jappen’13 Il Codice Atlantico, before the restoration. The bindhave driven several notable ing was worn and beginaccomplishments since the SIT ning to break down. initiative’s launch. “Stevens has a wonderful heritage—rich in innovation, technology and engineering,” said Frank Semcer, who serves on the Stevens Board of Trustees along with Jappen, Magee, Mascolo and Roscitt. “Our library is full of collections from the Stevens family and memorable gifts from our alumni and friends, and we believe it should be proudly displayed.’’
Hoveida Farvardin heads the Historic Preservation Committee.
The first effort began in 2012, when a digital inventory of the university’s historic items was created and today, all items out of the library have been properly tagged. A gift from the Semcers allowed a master bookbinder to complete the restoration of a rare 1509 first edition copy of De Divina Proportione, a book of geometry, art and architecture by Renaissance scholar Luca Pacioli and illustrated by famed artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci. The book was donated to the university by John William Lieb, Class of 1880 Il Codice Atlantico, after! The restoration was made and the inventor of hydroelectric possible by a gift from power plants. the family of Michelle The HPC recently received and Richard Roscitt ’73. a donation gift from the Roscitt family to clean, restore and properly store two first-edition da Vinci books: the Codex Leiscester, one of da Vinci’s scientific journals, and the Il Codice Atlantico, a multi-volume set of da Vinci drawings and writings. Other recently completed HPC projects involve com-
ponents of the Frederick Winslow Taylor, Class of 1883, collection. Taylor, known as the “father of scientific management,” pioneered the application of engineering principles to shop management. These completed Taylor projects include framing a set of his patents, repairing a set of Taylor’s 19th century glass lantern slides that depict the implementation of scientific management in American factories, and digitizing the original construction plans of the USS Monitor. Hoveida Farvardin has dedicated the entryway of Hoxie House – the traditional home of Stevens’ presidents since 1929 – to exhibiting the history of Castle Stevens, the ancestral home of the Stevens family. On display are the castle door, wallpaper from the castle, and various photographs. In a parallel effort, John Dalton ’60 is producing a video documentary about Castle Stevens. “The Stevens family and Stevens alumni have made many tremendous contributions to innovation throughout history and it is our duty to preserve and safeguard that history for future generations,” said Farvardin. “We have taken significant steps forward but have much further to go. Every visitor to Hoxie House can now learn about Stevens’ place in 19th and 20th century America,” she said. Sadly, the HPC recently lost one member. Ourida Oubraham, the longtime director of the Williams Library, died in December 2013 after an illness. Loscutoff expressed her sorrow for Oubraham’s passing. “Ourida was always so supportive and extremely passionate about Stevens and preserving its history,’’ she said, noting that Oubraham’s absence is being felt not only by HPC members, but by library staffers as well.❖
If you would like to get involved with the SIT Initiative, or would like to donate, please contact Leah Loscutoff, Stevens’ archivist and special collections librarian, at lloscuto@stevens.edu.
SPRING 2014 9
The Second Annual
STEVENS AWARDS GALA SATURDAY, APRIL 5, 2014, 7:30 P.M. The Second Annual Stevens Awards Gala will be held on Saturday, April 5, 2014, as we celebrate the talented and devoted alumni and friends of Stevens Institute of Technology. The historic Plaza Hotel in midtown Manhattan will set the scene for a dazzling evening emceed by 12-time Emmy Award-winning meteorologist and New York Times best-selling author Bill Evans, senior meteorologist for Channel 7 Eyewitness News. President Farvardin and the University Awards Selection Committee wish to offer thanks to all those who submitted nominations for the 2014 Stevens Awards Gala.
LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD ROBERT W. BOSSE ’50
President Nariman Farvardin, ex-officio
Dr. Richard Magee ’63, M.S. ’64, Sc.D. ’68
Dr. Leslie Brunell ’86, M.Eng. ’90, Ph.D. ’96
Wayne Monsees ’71, M.Eng. ’72, M.M.S. ’78, Chairman
Zef Ferreira ’00
Dr. Charles Suffel, Hon. M.Eng. ’85
Joseph Garvey ’71
Joseph Weber ’64
Elizabeth Gobeille ’83
Dr. Jonathan Wharton
George Johnston ’72
THE 2014 STEVENS AWARDS GALA HONOREES
Robert W. Bosse has been an active supporter of Stevens and the Alumni Association for over five decades. Mr. Bosse served as a member of the Stevens Board of Trustees from 1980 to 1983, as the Stevens Alumni Association president from 1979 to 1980 and as an SAA trustee for 25 years, retiring in 2013. He was a longtime member of the Advisory Committee of the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s Machine Systems Group and served on the Stevens Fund Committee and on various SAA committees. He is a faithful member of the Stevens Metropolitan Club. Mr. Bosse was president of Metfast Engineering Co, in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., a company he founded in 1980 that manufactures metal fasteners. A Licensed Professional Engineer, he holds 12 U.S. patents and numerous related foreign patents. He earned an M.B.A. from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
STEVENS HONOR AWARD DAVID J. FARBER ’56, M.S. ’61, HON. D.ENG. ’99 David J. Farber, who is known as the “Grandfather of the Internet,” was the Distinguished Career Professor of Computer Science and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, before retiring. He is now the Adjunct Professor of Internet Studies. Mr. Farber is also a Distinguished Policy Fellow at the University of Delaware and also worked with the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Telecommunications, and at the University of California at Irvine. At UC Irvine, Farber and several colleagues hit on the idea of the distributed computer system (DCS): multiple microcomputers running software and sharing data and software with one another remotely, using pioneering “‘token ring”’ technology — an early forerunner of present-day cloud computing. At Delaware, he and a team created CSNet and NSFNet, two networks that connected computer science and other university science departments nationwide for the first time. NSFNet’s technology later formed the methodology and original physical backbone of the Internet. Mr. Farber’s career also included positions at Bell Labs, the Rand Corporation and Xerox Data Systems. A former Stevens trustee, he is currently trustee emeritus.
10 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
2014 STEVENS AWARDS SELECTION COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD – ENGINEERING JACK LIPINSKI ’72 Jack Lipinski currently serves as president and CEO of CVR Energy, Inc., an energy holding company; CVR Refining LP, a petroleum refining MLP; and CVR Partners LP, a nitrogen fertilizer MLP. He has more than 40 years of experience in the petroleum refining and nitrogen fertilizer industries. He began his career with Texaco Inc. and, in 1985, joined The Coastal Corporation, eventually serving as vice president of Refining. Upon the merger of Coastal with El Paso Corporation, he was promoted to executive vice president of Refining and Chemicals. He later became a managing director and partner of Prudentia Energy, an advisory and management firm he helped form. In 2005 Mr. Lipinski, in partnership with his management team and investment affiliates of Goldman Sachs and Kelso & Company, successfully acquired Coffeyville Resources LLC, a midcontinent petroleum refining and nitrogen fertilizer company. A Licensed Professional Engineer, he holds three U.S. patents. Mr. Lipinski received a Juris Doctor degree from Rutgers University School of Law.
INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD SANG-BEOM HAN, M.S. ’85, PH.D. ’91 Dr. Sang-Beom Han currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President of LG Display, the world’s largest LCD panel maker, headquartered in Seoul, Korea. He is one of the world’s leading IT experts, with more than 30 years of experience in the semiconductor and display sectors. Dr. Han has been credited with leading LG Display’s IT and TV business units to positions of worldwide prominence during his career with the company. As head of the IT unit in 2007, his team succeeded in developing the company’s monitor and notebook PC panels into best-selling LCD products. As head of the TV unit in 2010, Dr. Han successfully launched FPR (Film Type Patterned Retarder) 3D technology.
FRIEND OF STEVENS RICHARD P. WIDDICOMBE
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD – BUSINESS AND FINANCE DWIGHT B. MASSEY ’53 Dwight Massey co-founded Massey Quick & Co., LLC (MQ), a wealth management firm, with his son, Stewart, and Leslie Quick in 2004. Barron’s has identified Massey Quick as one of America’s top 100 independent advisors, with more than $2.6 billion under its management. Mr. Massey has enjoyed an incredibly successful 60-year career in all phases of financial market management. After serving as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps at the end of the Korean Conflict, Mr. Massey joined the Rionda Group, an American-based owner of several Cuban sugar plantations. After the Castro regime expropriated the company’s properties, he played a major role in the conversion of the Rionda Group into a world-class marketing firm which functioned as merchant and broker to sugar producing and consuming countries around the world. He later served as managing director of Rionda’s European subsidiary in London. He holds an M.B.A. from New York University.
LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD A. JOSEPH SCHNEIDER ’46 Joseph Schneider is truly a faithful Stevens son, attending and supporting a wide variety of Stevens’ events on a regular basis, and has been a Stevens Alumni Association decade representative for more than 40 years. He is currently treasurer of the Stevens Metropolitan Club. Mr. Schneider has given generously to Stevens consistently throughout the years. He owns an embroidery shop in Guttenberg, N.J., which was founded in 1941 by his aunt and uncle. He began working in the shop in 1946 and took over ownership of the business in 1953. At age 90, Mr. Schneider continues to work in the factory every day.
From 1966 until his retirement in 2007, Richard P. Widdicombe deeply influenced generations of students and life at the university. As Library Director and F.W. Taylor Curator at the S.C. Williams Library at Stevens, he helped Williams Library to become the first library on the East Coast to utilize online searches of academic literature. He also played a major role in introducing a “no journal” library to Stevens that created a database for periodicals. His love and support of the arts also influenced many students and enriched campus life. He created a long-running concert series as well as art shows and photo exhibits. Three important period rooms inside the library, the Taylor Room, da Vinci Room and the Mary Stevens Room, were created under his leadership. But Mr. Widdicombe is proudest of his mentoring of students and alumni through senior design projects, student organizations and student trips. He earned a B.A. in English and music at Alfred University and an M.S.L.S. from Syracuse University.
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD – ACADEMIA AND GOVERNMENT FERNANDO FERNANDEZ ’60, M.S. ’61, HON. D.ENG. ’01 Dr. Fernando (Frank) Fernandez is a member of the board of directors of several companies and leads a consulting company with clients in both the defense and civilian research and development sectors. Prior to this, he was a distinguished research professor in systems engineering and technology management at Stevens. He was the creator and first director of Stevens’ Institute Technology Initiatives, before retiring in 2005. Dr. Fernandez was appointed as director of DARPA on May 10, 1998, and is currently director emeritus. DARPA is the principal agency within the Department of Defense for research, development and demonstration of concepts, devices and systems that provide highly advanced military capabilities. Previously, Dr. Fernandez served as president and chairman of the board of directors for AETC Inc., which he founded in 1994; and president and chairman of Areté Associates, which he formed in 1976. He earned a Ph.D. in aeronautics from California Institute of Technology.
CHARLES V. SCHAEFER, JR. ENTREPRENEUR AWARD ALBERT E. SISTO ’71
YOUNG ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD CRISTINA VIEIRA MARTINEZ ’94, M.ENG. ’96
Al Sisto is founder and general partner at Sixth Bridge LP, an angel investment firm focusing on the security software and semiconductor industries. He is also a director of Tern, Plc. a London Stock Exchange Investment Company focused on the cloud and mobile technology sectors; a venture partner at Nauta Capital, an early stage VC firm focused on mobility, security software and e-commerce; and serves as a senior adviser for Centaur Partners, a merger and acquisition, private placement and transaction advisory firm. Mr. Sisto served as a director of HIFN since its IPO in 1998 and as its chairman from 2006 until its merger with Exar Corp. in April 2009. Previously, this prolific entrepreneur spent six years as president, chairman and CEO of Phoenix Technology Ltd., a provider of Internet platform-enabling software. During his tenure the company made several acquisitions and spun-off a division as inSilicon Corporation, a provider of connectivity semiconductor intellectual property; inSilicon was later acquired by Synopsys.
Cristina Vieira Martinez is a senior associate with Thornton Tomasetti and has worked on high profile projects such as the Times Square Tower and the redevelopment of Rockefeller Center. For her achievements, Ms. Martinez was named to Engineering News-Record New York’s “Top 20 Under 40,” in 2012, honored among the top young architecture/engineering/construction professionals under the age of 40 in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Ms. Martinez serves as board president of the ACE Mentor Program of New Jersey, which encourages under-represented students to enter architecture, construction and engineering careers. She also serves on the board of directors of the Newark Regional Business Partnership and is active with the Engineering Advisory Board for the Newark Public Schools.
To learn more about the Stevens Awards Gala and this year’s honorees, please visit www.stevens.edu/awardsgala SPRING 2014 11
uncovering
Weap ns In The Water
STUDENTS DESIGN UNMANNED UNDERWATER VEHICLE TO FIND HIDDEN EXPLOSIVES BY LAURA BUBECK, SPECIAL TO THE INDICATOR
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ff the coasts of six U.S. states, deep beneath the ocean, researchers estimate that at least 31 million pounds of unexploded bullets, bombs, mines, missiles and chemical munitions rest. The potentially dangerous ammunition could date to recent military training exercises, and some as far back as the Civil War.
A team of Stevens students is using advanced science and technology to protect swimmers, divers, vessels and coastal communities from the sudden detonation of these unexploded ordnances, or UXOs. The team—Ethan Hayon, Joe Huyett, Don Montemarano, Mark Siembab, Michael Giglia and Brandon Vandegrift—participated in Perseus, a government program which challenged five university teams to build underwater vehicles capable of finding and analyzing inert explosive devices located 40 feet below the water’s edge. At a demonstration in November at Florida
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Keys Community College, the Stevens team of mechanical engineering, naval engineering and computer science students successfully completed the program’s mission with their underwater vehicle. The team located and identified two inert UXOs that had been dropped into a dive lagoon by the U.S. Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division. “Our vehicle has great control and runtime and gives us tons of information and diagnostic data about the targets because of its many sensors,” said Hayon. “It is also extremely modular so we can add and remove systems easily.” The vehicle consists of an aluminum frame
with sealed tubular demihulls holding batteries and critical electronics. The vehicle uses commercial, off-the-shelf thrusters for propulsion and position control. Location and identification of UXOs is accomplished through a network of layered sensors consisting of: imaging SONAR; magnetometer; three high definition video cameras; and a laser dimensioning system. All of this sensor data is fed back to a user interface on shore, where it is utilized for navigation, vehicle control, target identification and positioning. Communication is handled by a tether to a surface platform with a wireless link to shore, where the operator maneuvers the vehicle remotely in three axes. The operator can see live, real-time feeds from the underwater cameras on a student-designed graphic user interface running sophisticated computer software. The software analyzes other sensor inputs, such as target dimension measurements from the
Stevens students built this underwater vehicle that detects hidden explosives for the U.S. government’s Perseus program.
Photo: Hunter Ledbetter, Florida Keys Community College
lasers and target composition data from the metal detectors. This information enables the operator to know the size and makeup of a submerged object, even if visibility is obstructed, and then analyze what type of munition it is and assess what threat it poses. One unique feature is the autonomous depth control system, which allows the operator to set the vehicle to ascend or descend to a certain depth and stay there, moving forward, back and sideways only. “This is an extremely challenging problem, and what the team came up with was very innovative,” said Michael DeLorme, research as-
sociate at Stevens’ Davidson Laboratory and the team’s faculty adviser. “To develop a functional unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) is challenging in and of itself, but this group also selected and integrated multiple sensors and devised and implemented the entire mission plan. That is an extraordinary accomplishment by an impressive group of young engineers.” The Stevens vehicle was built in nine months and cost approximately $15,000 to design and build. This is the fourth student group from Stevens to participate in a UUV design, develop and demonstrate project for the Department of
“This is an extremely challenging problem, and what the team came up with was very innovative.”
–Michael DeLorme, research associate, Davidson Laboratory, and team adviser
Defense. It also marks the second year a team took part in the Perseus program, which is organized and funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Rapid Reaction Technology Office. The program enables the government to gain insights into technological innovation from outside the traditional defense establishment with the potential to quickly meet defense and security needs. In 2012, the Stevens’ unmanned underwater vehicle was also successful in that year’s challenge – to disrupt an underwater communications cable. Other participating teams in the 2013 Perseus program were from Florida Keys Community College, Florida Atlantic University, Georgia Institute of Technology and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. The Stevens team will continue to work on the vehicle, with plans to add sonar-based underwater positioning technology and additional autonomous capabilities. ❖
SPRING 2014 13
Young Alumni
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tevens entrepreneurship is legendary, counting among its success stories Greg Gianforte ‘83, who turned not one but two startup companies into home runs when those companies, Brightwork Development and RightNow Technologies, were later acquired by McAfee and Oracle at a premium. (The Oracle deal alone involved more than $1.8 billion.) Now a new breed of younger Stevens graduates is charging ahead with fresh ideas and bold pitches. Some have secured seed funding; some bootstrapped their new ventures largely out of their own pockets. Some can boast of several years of profitability, while others remain in the R&D phase, refining products that have yet to hit the market. Some are in New Jersey. Some span the globe. But each proves that the unique Stevens educational experience — the combination of top faculty mentorship, real-world internships and Senior Design Projects, and the Cooperative Education option — is a terrific launchingoff point for entry into the world of business. Here are a few of their stories.
Staging a startup: Adam Morris ’06 Adam Morris ‘06 caught the entrepreneurial bug while a business and technology major at Stevens. Even before graduating, he had al-
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ready launched several businesses, including a business property-liquidation venture that attracted $30,000 in startup funding, generated profits — and provided the basis for a senior design project based on his own business model. Later, surveying the landscape of one-stop ecommerce solutions available to mid-sized businesses to integrate their operations, Morris noticed the choices were extremely unappealing. Working with classmate Anthony Latona ’06, he raised more than half a million dollars in commitments to build a better software platform… until the global recession of 2008 wiped out the promised backing. Morris and his team rebooted in Hoboken, rebranding as Redstage Networks (with Morris as CEO) and acquiring a small web development firm in the process. Next they searched for a best-in-class, all-in-one platform for medium-sized companies operating in the ecommerce space. When they found
one — California-based Magento — Redstage built a software and solutions business on top of Magento’s base rather than competing headto-head. Morris’ firm designed, optimized and customized Magento-built websites, offering merchants both strategic assistance and muchneeded tech support; meanwhile, the Magento software ran merchants’ catalogues, credit cards transactions and inventory behind the scenes. When Magento was acquired by eBay just two years later, Redstage’s potential market suddenly soared. Morris’ company has now doubled revenues for three years running. “We made the right decision in picking Magento,” he says. “Lucky, but the right decision. Startups are all about making the one right decision and minimizing the negative impact of the other nine you got wrong.” Things continue to look up. During 2014, Redstage will unveil a Los Angeles office and satellite offices in Washington, D.C., and Boston. The company has also released a new software product, MobileNow, which adapts Magento-built websites for mobile phones and tablets in 30 minutes or less for $30 per month. (Hiring a professional can cost six figures.) Several Stevens alumni have helped fuel
Illustration: Ratch/Shutterstock
BY PAUL KARR, OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING
STEVENS ENTREPRENEURS
entrepreneurs
are making waves
Redstage’s ride upward, including co-founder Latona and Agbi Bajrushi ’10, Chief Brand Officer and former CFO of the company. “In the area we play in, the ‘sweet spot’ between $1 million in annual sales and $100 million, we usually look like the best option,” Morris points out. “I like being that best option in the market we’re in.”
Back in business: Samantha Music ’12 & Kerri Killen ‘12 From Senior Design project to startup? It happened for Samantha Music ’12 and Kerri Killen ’12, who introduced a revolutionary new device for calibrating spinal motion — without X-rays — at the Innovation Expo in spring 2012 with classmate Justyna Zielinska ’12. A battery-powered device constructed from a lightweight chest harness and belt, the device accurately measures range of motion in the spine in three dimensions (X-rays only measure two) with rotary potentiometers. Fewer than two minutes are required to take a measurement; the cost-effectiveness, safety and non-invasiveness of the device could revolutionize spine and back care if the device proves popular and scalable for manufacture.
Now a startup venture known as Versor, Music and Killen — Zielinska took a position in the medical device industry — are working through the next stages of developing their business. They will need to do safety and efficacy testing of their prototype device in a hospital or lab, then secure federal approvals, in order to market and sell the device. Much of
the founders’ time recently has been spent on media relations, trade shows and multiple appeals and applications for capital to support the company. (The duo previously scored a small pool of seed funding in 2012 when the Start Something Challenge, a competition for small business plans organized by the nonprofit Rising Tide Capital, awarded them $7,500).
STUDENTS FOLLOW ENTREPRENEURIAL PATH Stevens is home to a number of successful student entrepreneurs who have already started their own companies while still at Castle Point. Evan Feil ’14, a mechanical engineering major, invented Mountables (www.iosmountables.com), a dock attached to the wall that can charge all Apple iOS devices (iPod Touch, iPad and iPhone), in 2013. His two products, the Mountable Pro and the Mountable Mini, allow users to easily dock and charge their devices next to their bed, desk, in the kitchen, etc., without tangled cords. The Mountable Mini is a smaller version compatible to the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c and iPod Touch 5th generation. Linh Le, a Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering, is co-founder and CTO of FlexTraPower, Inc., (www. flextrapower.com), launched in 2013. His company
designs and incorporates the new class of graphene nanomaterials into various sensor applications for consumer electronics. Its current propriety temperature sensing element prototype will be introduced in wearable baby monitor and birth control applications. Bryan Nesci ’15, a mechanical engineering major, founded Coastline Shuttles (www.CoastlineShuttles. com) in 2011. His marketing company currently provides a free, local shuttle service, via electric, lowspeed vehicles, in the Jersey Shore towns of Avonby-the-Sea, Belmar, Asbury Park and Bradley Beach, N.J. Sponsors place paid advertising for their companies on the vehicles, giving them brand exposure and covering all expenses, plus a profit for Coastline. ❖ —Beth Kissinger
SPRING 2014 15
“WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU OFFER ALUMNI WHO WANT TO START THEIR OWN COMPANIES?” “The best advice I ever got before starting my first company was three-fold. One, to just get started. Ten months after graduation from Stevens, I took the plunge. There are plenty of reasons to NOT start a company, and it will never be an ideal time – so the reality is that the ideal time is always now. You’ll never know perfectly how to do it, until you are doing it – and when you jump in without all the answers, you are more likely to react and adapt well to things that happen around you. Two, make sure you find a cofounder and do it with him/her – someone who complements (and does not mirror) your talents. And third is to plan for the long-haul. Everyone dreams of overnight success and/ or a quick exit – but that rarely happens. You should be planning to build a business that grows and is sustainable through revenue.’’ Mark LaRosa ’93 CEO, Firefox “Be focused. Seek advice from anyone that you believe can be helpful, but make your own decisions. Be frugal with funds and when offered investment for startup or expansion, take as much as you can rather than ‘just enough,’ as it typically takes longer and costs more to achieve your goals. Share your success with others – it is good for business and makes you feel good.’’ Boris Rubizhevsky ’77 CEO, BioCube Inc. and Korsair Holdings AG “You need several key ingredients to be a success. It isn’t just a situation where you take an educated guess or wing it. You have to combine passion and planning to make it work. First, have a plan. Know what you want to do and how to execute it. You can’t just roll the dice and hope for success. Second, in your plan, you need to account for proper funding. Know what things cost and how long it takes. The reality is, it takes money to get a business off the ground. Third, assemble the right team. Hiring driven and talented people will lead to success. But you need talented people who complement each other. And fourth, when you have all of the first three in place, then you can take the risk and just do it.’’ Brad S. Schreck ’78 President & CEO, VectraCor, Inc. Compiled by Lisa Torbic 16 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
As they continue threading their way through the legal and regulatory path required of medical devices before they see the marketplace, Music says the Versor team’s Senior Design experience at Stevens was invaluable. “We began with the idea that we wanted to reduce patients’ exposure to radiation,” she recalls. “That led us to researching methods of measuring movement, selecting the parts, getting them machined, testing and re-testing to be sure it worked, and then creating a business model and sales forecast. All in collaboration with our faculty adviser and a healthcare industry partner. It was just a great process to go through.” Music is encouraged that the medical research community is responding to the idea very positively. “I think they can see we have a good idea, and that we definitely have a passion for this. We actually did original research on an important question, and worked hard on it, and continue to work hard on it.”
Great call of China: Michael Michelini ’03 Michael Michelini ’03, M.S. ’03, never thought he’d stay long in Asia. But now he’s trying to lead a sales and marketing revolution there. The co-founder and CEO of Social Agent Limited (socialagent.me) in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, China, Michelini helps firms gain entry into Asian and other foreign markets by managing a marketplace of “social agents” — local influencers and experts in foreign social media and sales who visit trade shows, set up social media marketing campaigns, and use other sales and marketing techniques on behalf of their clients. Social Agent receives a percentage from each party whenever successful connections and deals are made. Michelini, who worked as an aircraft engine designer and trading assistant on Wall Street, had already dipped his toe into ecommerce waters after graduation with a side venture selling bar supplies online. Tiring of finance, he made the risky move to China in 2007 and formed Shadstone Sourcing to connect a greater variety of global buyers with Chinese products. That business has operated in the black ever since, but Michelini became eager to leverage his expertise in Internet marketing and social connecting in a new business.
Today Social Agent connects a stable of 700 to 800 local agents worldwide with clients via an easy-to-download mobile phone app. Those clients could be real estate firms, telecommunications businesses, even universities. “Your biggest value in business is your relationships,” he points out, “and Social Agent capitalizes on that need by connecting companies with trusted local agents who already have relationships on the ground.” Michelini says he’s glad he decided to use his Stevens education to become an entrepreneur. “I learned about both sides, business and technology, through my undergraduate program in engineering management and my master’s in technology management,” he remembers. “Both turned out to be really valuable.”❖
ENTREPRENEURS IN TRAINING Stevens has long encouraged entrepreneurship among its students. But starting this school year, all freshmen engineering majors are now required to take an entrepreneurship course that teaches them how to start their own business. The 14-week course divides students into teams as they learn the ins and outs of starting a business from their own idea, create a 2-minute, 45-second video similar to what is seen at Kickstarter and run a small company through a computer simulation program that requires them to make marketing, financial and operations decisions each week. The teams compete, with the team with the best performance, based on their company’s revenue, profitability, return on investment and return on sales, receiving the highest grade. Join in the course conversation and tweet at #intro2entro.
INNOVATION EXPO 2014 April 30, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Stevens campus Senior Design projects and more www.stevens.edu/expo
STUDENT PROFILE
STUDENT TURNS YOUTUBE VIDEOS INTO VIABLE BUSINESS By Joe Arney, Office of Academic Communications & Marketing
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ecause of its proximity to Manhattan, and views of that iconic skyline, northern New Jersey is a filmmaker’s delight. But one of the more interesting sets in the region doesn’t command sweeping views of the cityscape. In fact, you often don’t see the outdoors at all. That set is Marques Brownlee’s dorm room at Stevens. Brownlee, a junior majoring in Business and Technology, has a sizable following on YouTube among tech enthusiasts who appreciate his deep knowledge of the products he discusses, his understanding of what his audience wants to learn and his polished delivery. And it’s a growing audience: One of his most recent videos, a review of the LG G Flex mobile phone, has attracted 2.7 million views so far — a testament to his knowledge of the subject matter and the training he’s received in his classes. One of the key lessons has been in time management. Brownlee’s videos are time intensive — an in-depth product review might take a weekend to shoot, plus the time involved in testing the technology. Then, there’s class to consider. “Balancing all the different obligations is something I’ve learned quite a bit about,” he said. “But a lot of the classes have tied into the topics I make videos about.” Two classes that have really stood out, he said, are his microeconomics course and a class in social network marketing. Stevens Associate Professor Jeffrey Nickerson taught Brownlee the Social Networks: A Marketing Perspective course. “He’s what we want in our students — he’s somebody who has really good business savvy and also is technically deep,” Nickerson said of Brownlee. “He deeply understands the technologies that he’s dealing with, but he expresses them in ways that are perfect for the audience he’s trying to reach.” If you’re looking to build your brand
and get audience exposure, there are few better people to get you there than President Barack Obama. In 2012, the President held a fireside chat through Google, which was promoting its Google Plus service. After soliciting questions from its user base, it was Brownlee who got his question played for Obama. The exposure was nice, but what was even better, he said, was the legitimacy that video conveyed. That’s helped him draw a larger audience to his bread-and-butter tech videos. The G Flex review is a good example of what Brownlee’s reviews are all about. His delivery focuses on the consumer, not a jargonlaced spec sheet, and he carefully examines the product’s “self-healing” claims by putting the phone through the paces in everyday settings, subjecting it to heat and cold, scratching it with keys, and mashing the curved body flat. Brownlee’s breakthrough came early. He
started posting videos in 2008 for an audience of a couple dozen subscribers, and his first hint that he was on to something came in January 2009, after posting a tutorial on setting up Apple’s Safari browser on Windows. Overnight, it got about 3,000 views, he says. Brownlee also engaged his followers by mining the comments on his channel. “They would leave comments asking, ‘Hey, that was great; could you maybe make a video about this one thing I’m curious about?’ And so this audience kind of grew slowly … and eventually, when the audience gets large enough, software companies start to take notice.” One company that took notice was Motorola. Brownlee was offered an invitation to Google’s Mountain View, Calif., headquarters for a hands-on review of the new Moto X phone with other bloggers and journalists. The next question for Brownlee, who recently made the dean’s list, is what to do next. His company makes some money through advertising revenue, and he enjoys his work. “I have almost no idea what I want this to turn into. I just know I want to keep doing it,” he said.❖
Stevens student Marques Brownlee has enjoyed millions of views on YouTube for his popular reviews of tech products.
SPRING 2014 17
SERC RECEIVES $60 MILLION DOD CONTRACT— LARGEST IN STEVENS’ HISTORY By Beth Kissinger, Editor
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he Stevens’ led Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC) recently received the largest contract award in the university’s history—a $60 million contract from the Department of Defense to launch and continue research projects in systems engineering. The five-year contract more than doubles the $25 million that the SERC—which includes 20 other universities, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech and principal collaborator the University of Southern California—received when the contract was initially awarded in 2008. This renewal will allow for more projects and even higher impact research, SERC officials say. The SERC is a highly collaborative research center that brings together faculty with backgrounds from many industries and disciplines to provide broad systems thought leadership to address new challenges facing the nation’s defense and intelligence communities. “The high-quality systems research that comes out of the SERC is increasingly applied within the DoD and its supporting industrial base. Its impact is without equal,” said Dinesh Verma, SERC’s executive director and dean of Stevens’ School of Systems and Enterprises. “This contract demonstrates the SERC’s strategic role in helping the DoD maintain and advance critical engineering and technology capabilities through systems engineering research.” With this contract, the SERC, which is a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC), will extend or introduce 11 research programs in four areas: Enterprises and Systems of Systems; Trusted Systems; Systems Engineering and Systems Management Transformation; and Human Capital Development. Researchers are mostly graduate students and faculty, although undergraduates occasionally participate, too. Enterprises and Systems of Systems research focuses on such problems as modeling the next generation air traffic control system.
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The Stevens’ led Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC) has received a $60 million contract from the Department of Defense—the university’s largest contract award in history.
Trusted Systems research works on such problems as protecting unmanned autonomous vehicles from being “hijacked” through cyber warfare; among other things. Systems Engineering and Systems Management Transformation research develops new ways to make complex systems more affordable and more responsive; and, Human Capital Development research focuses on such problems as how to rapidly train the next generation of systems engineers, according to Dr. Mitchell Kerman, SERC’s director of program development and transition who holds a doctorate in systems engineering from Stevens. A ‘bookcase’ and a marketplace
The Body of Knowledge and Curriculum to Advance Systems Engineering (BKCASE) project is now transitioning to wide use. Led for four years by SERC Chief Operating Officer and Distinguished Research Professor Dr. Art Pyster, BKCASE offers two online resources, the Systems of Engineering Body of Knowledge
(SEBoK) and the Graduate Reference Curriculum for Systems Engineering (GRCSE). SEBoK has gathered and formalized systems engineering practices, while GRCSE is the first comprehensive set of recommendations for master’s programs in systems engineering. The SEBoK wiki has been viewed online more than 200,000 times since its September 2012 release, downloaded by thousands of systems engineers, and is continuously updated by professionals around the world. Another SERC project with growing impact is the Engineering Capstone Marketplace, which enables DoD and other agencies to propose multi-disciplinary projects with a systems flavor for undergraduate students. Students from various universities with backgrounds as diverse as software engineering, biomedical engineering, and mechanical engineering work together on yearlong projects they select from the Marketplace. They gain a rich appreciation of the systems approach, and the DoD gains a chance to tap into the country’s top
young engineers, SERC officials say. “We are the matchmaker and the students just love the opportunity,” Pyster says. Stevens introduced a pilot program through the Capstone Marketplace during the 2012-2013 school year that involved Stevens and the University of Alabama in Huntsville, with Stevens Distinguished Service Professor Mark Ardis as principal investigator. (See story in Summer-Fall 2013 Indicator.) Teams of engineering management and naval engineering students from Stevens, and mechanical and aeronautical engineering students from Alabama, created a Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Recovery (HADR) kit that can be deployed through a dual-use ferry. The project targeted areas that experience frequent flooding disasters, such as Bangladesh, while the ferry would support logistics in a disaster situation while serving as a ferry in normal conditions. Another high-profile project, led by Stevens professor William Rouse is in the area of enterprise modeling, with the mission, in part, of assuring the security of manufacturing supply chains for such items as jet aircraft, radios and military bombs. SERC’s future impact
The extended SERC contract will also include projects that no one has even thought of yet but will eventually serve the DoD and other government agencies, Pyster said. The SERC researchers have the size and diverse backgrounds to foresee these future needs. While other UARCs are contained within one or a handful of universities, the SERC has some 20 universities to call upon for their expertise. “There is nothing like that,” Pyster says. “Systems Engineering is such a broad field that you have to have a broad partnership to be effective.” “There really is a great sense of pride,” he says. “We feel great about the impact we are having on the nation and about Stevens’ leadership role in addressing so many systems challenges.”❖
JOIN the EDWIN A. STEVENS SOCIETY TODAY
JONATHAN MATOS ’08 Supplier Manager, Orbital Sciences Corporation
My wife, Katherine (Freed) Matos ’08 and I donate at the EAS Society level in order to recognize the profound oppor tunities Stevens opportunities has given us in our professional careers. The value of our degree is measured by both the renown of the Institute and the quality of students graduating from Stevens. It’s in the interest of all of us to help further the exceptional level of teaching required to ensure that Stevens remains a well-known, widely respected establishment of higher learning worldwide.” With a minimum gift of $1,000*, you can join Jonathan, Katherine, and other members of the Edwin A. Stevens (EAS) Society, Stevens’ leadership annual giving society, as we support current priorities and help enhance Stevens’ academic programming.
To discuss membership details contact: Casey Campbell Director, EAS Society (201) 216-3335
Or please visit stevens.edu/dev/EAS *Associate memberships available at increments of $100 to Graduates of the Last Decade (Undergraduate Classes 2004-2013).
SPRING 2014 19
R O F E T I T E P P I P H P I A EPR S H R S U R E U N E E REN
Illustration: Monkik/Shutterstock
P R E T R N T E EN
20 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
n i y a w e h t d a e l s t p l n e e h m s p n Steve bile ‘app ’ develo ne w m o f n s O ff ic e o a rr, S te v e M a rk e tin g B y P a u l Kic & s a ti o n C ommun
M
obile phones, products, advertising platforms and applications have
never been hotter … around the world or at Stevens. The explosive growth of mobile phone use to solve new challenges and innovate new technologies has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade by every measure: globally, nationally and regionally. This boom is also creating jobs in the process. A lot of jobs. Dr. Michael Mandel, chief economic strategist for the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., and a leading researcher in the area of mobile job creation, visited Stevens in 2012 to explain how New Jersey has suddenly become a hotbed of smartphone application (“app”) creation. Mandel’s research indicates the U.S. “app economy” has already created nearly half a million jobs nationwide. And New Jersey appears to be contributing significantly to this job creation, with the state ranking a surprising 5th among the 50 states in the estimated number of new positions created by mobile app and app-related ventures. The design, development and sale of mobile apps, he discovered, may already be directly and indirectly responsible for as many as 20,000 jobs in New Jersey alone. And Stevens has been right at the leading edge of this watershed trend. Mobile app development by students and faculty is reaching across disciplines: some apps currently in development on campus are arts and humanitiesfocused, while others are more pragmatic in nature. Some Stevens apps may even one day help save lives.
MINI-CLINIC IN A PHONE Dr. Yingying Chen, an associate professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of Stevens’ Data Analysis and Information Security (DAISY) lab, recently secured a grant from the National Science Foundation that could transform the way we monitor health — particularly for the elderly, children, people with autism and others who may be less likely to report new health issues to family and doctors. Chen came to the task with plenty of mobile-technology experience: she recently developed a new technology that senses which mobile device belongs to the driver of an automobile, for instance. The technology could potentially be incorporated into safety features to block some of a driver’s distracting mobile phone capabilities while preserving the freedom for passengers to continue fully using their devices. (Automobile manufacturers are interested.) To tackle the healthcare problem, Chen began by polling doctors and colleagues in medical technology, who explained that current healthcare apps don’t work especially well, for one simple reason: many users — you, me, our grandparents and children — must hand-enter all their own data.
“Many of us don’t have time, or simply forget, to type in records of our meals, exercise, medications, and so on,” explains Chen. “Others are intimidated by smart phones. I knew something simpler and more automated needed to be created” Working with graduate students, she developed a new method of utilizing smartphones’ multiple sensors — which include motion sensors and gyroscopes, in addition to the phones’ built-in cameras and microphones — in concert with easy-to-wear wristbands that passively monitor heart rate, activity and body temperature. The system her team is developing, known as SENSCOPS (smartphone-enabled social and physical compass system), reports the patient’s vitals wirelessly to central servers at regular intervals via a simple mobile phone app. The implications are enormous: software on the server side could be built by the healthcare industry to analyze this data and send regular updates to medical professionals, collecting and confirming routine medical information (vital signs, emotional and physiological response to medications, activity patterns) while also flagging potential emergencies in the making. A report from the app of a lack of patient motion for an unusually long period of time, for example, might signal SENSCOPS to automatically text-message a nurse, who could call or visit the patient immediately to learn more. If the system proves viable in the field, the SENSCOPS could be ready for collaboration with the medical or insurance industry in as little as a year or two, she adds.
SPRING 2014 21
“Dr. Chen’s research in mobile health could improve quality of life for millions,” says Schaefer School of Engineering Dean Michael Bruno, noting that the technology might also help control healthcare costs by proactively improving health and preventing life-threatening, expensive emergencies.
TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES Another new mobile app developed at Stevens tells you, in an instant, who’s telling the truth. Truly. Jaasuz, a revolutionary technology invented at Stevens by two faculty members and perfected with the assistance of their graduate students, will appear on Apple’s iTunes “app store” this spring after three-plus years of development. (An online version, or “web app,” is already active.) It may be the first-ever iOS application to tell right from wrong. The app reads text and quickly sifts through it for dozens of different clues about truth or
22 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
intent to deceive, as well as gender, drawing on historical patterns extracted from hundreds of confirmed online hoaxes and half a million known-gender emails. Potential applications for the fraud-detecting technology might include uses in the insurance, law enforcement, cybersecurity and legal professions, among others. “We have refined the app and the algorithms a great deal recently,” says Rajarathnam Chandramouli, the Thomas E. Hattrick Chair Professor of Information Systems, who devised the technology with Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering K.P. Subbalakshmi. “It now can do very accurate analyses of texts, based on very few words. “We think enterprises will be extremely interested in this capability, particularly given the number of cyber-attacks that originate as tweets, text messages or social media posts.” Additional Jaasuz tools can also detect malicious or sexual intent, same-authorship and plagiarism, adds Chandramouli.
Illustration: Monkik/Shutterstock
by the by the application developed “I was personally blown awaytheir presentation to management.” Stevens students, as well as isa Danwalder, Cordis Senior Analyst —L
Yet another Stevens-developed iOS app feeds sales representatives for medical device companies — and medical devices are a $400 billion business worldwide — instant pricing comparisons and options on the fly, an invaluable tool for sales reps in the field. The Strategic Pricing Aid (SPA) app took top honors in a recent Case Competition conducted by the Cordis Corporation, a medical device subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. “Sales reps typically use lots and lots of Excel documents to keep track of internal product pricing, and this information updates frequently,” says Vania Nettleford ’15, a computer science major who teamed with biomedical engineering majors Ruchika Sharma ’14 and Jen Trinh ’13 to create the app. “We’re talking about thousands of lines. We decided to host all that data in the cloud; then we created an app which pulled from that data anytime an update was made.” The app also incorporated more sophisticated business tools, such as the ability to pull up relevant contacts on the fly and enter client-specific notes during sales calls. The trio’s pitch impressed the judges, securing a $2,000 first prize. “I was personally blown away by the application developed by the Stevens students, as well as their presentation to management,” said Cordis Senior Analyst Lisa Danwalder, who coordinated the competition. “They demonstrated tremendous understanding of our devices and our business. And their presentation was extremely polished and well done.” While the app is not available to the public, Cordis may roll out an internal version based on the student team’s idea in the very near future. “What I really enjoyed about this process,” says Nettleford, who originally considered studies in pediatrics before matriculating at Stevens to study programming, “was the opportunity to work on a project in the real world rather than just modeling a scenario. This is something that will actually be used by industry. “Since my career goal is to make apps for the healthcare industry, this was an invaluable project experience.”❖
SAA UPDATE
2013-2014 OFFICERS OF THE STEVENS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION Thomas J. Moschello ’63, President Joseph G. DiPompeo ’98, First Vice President Victoria Velasco ’04, Second Vice President Peter J. Bakarich III ’04, Treasurer
Seeking Nominations for 2014 Elections The Stevens Alumni Association’s Nominating Committee is seeking nominations for officers and decade representatives for elections with terms beginning on July 1, 2014. Alumni may either submit suggestions of members willing to serve as officers or decade representatives or petition to place a person on the ballot. The petition process follows Article VI, Section 3 of the SAA Constitution, which states that petitions for officers be signed by at least 50 active members, and that a petition for decade representatives or Graduate School representatives be signed by at least 25 active members. Visit www.stevens.edu/alumni/nominate to make your submission by April 1.
FUN FACTS Goal: More than 1,200 alumni 900+ attending so far an event between July 1 2013, and June 30, 2014
WHAT IS THE STEVENS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION? “ The mission of the Stevens Alumni Association (SAA) is to establish, maintain and cultivate among its members a sentiment of regard for one another and of attachment to Stevens Institute of Technology, and to promote in every way the interests of the Institute.” Formed in 1876 by William Hewitt ’1874, the SAA held its first dinner meeting to celebrate more than 100 graduates. After 138 years and 40,000 alumni, the SAA continues to provide benefits, services and programs to connect Stevens alumni with each other, and with the university.
The SAA now has more than half a dozen international alumni clubs
GET INVOLVED Attend Business Meetings Taking place in the Howe Center on Stevens’ campus, the SAA hosts seven business meetings a year. Members of the Stevens administration are invited to provide updates about Stevens’ progress. SAA committees provide status reports about programs and services throughout the year. And new strategic initiatives are announced for input and involvement. Read meeting minutes, volunteer and participate as an alumni leader.
Visit www.stevens.edu/alumni/saa-meeting to RSVP today! ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
PER ASPERA AD ASTRA
Join Committees
The SAA now offers courses for PE credit prior to business meetings
Join one of the SAA committees to provide guidance on our programs and services! Activities Alumni Weekend Regional Clubs
Affinity Networks Classes Scholarship
Alumni Awards Communications Young Alumni
Benefits Spotlight Gym Membership
Visit www.stevens.edu/alumni/leadership to see a full list of committees with descriptions, and to volunteer. ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
PER ASPERA AD ASTRA
Follow us on social media Visit www.stevens.edu/alumni/social to see a full list of our presence on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. From class reunions to regional clubs, Stevens alumni are more connected than ever before.
The Stevens Indicator Provided free of charge as a benefit to all alumni, The Stevens Indicator is the premier magazine of the Institute. Send us an email with a class log, suggest an alumni profile, or send in a letter to the editor at alumni@stevens.edu.
To use the athletic facilities, you can apply for alumni membership at the Schaefer Athletic Center by visiting stevens. edu/alumni/benefits and filling out the gym membership form
SPRING 2014 23
F
or Ken Venner ’84, an innocent day of “catch up’’ with a former colleague led to a chance to change the world. The man wanted to show off his new employer to Venner, so the two agreed to meet at the buddy’s new work site, SpaceX, the innovative, private company sending crafts into orbit for NASA and private communications firms.
“The CFO at SpaceX and I are colleagues from our Broadcom days, and he invited me to tour the site one day,’’ said Venner, who majored in mechanical engineering while at Stevens. Immediately, Venner was attracted to the business model at SpaceX. “When I took the tour here, I realized that 85 percent of the materials here turn into rockets—the steel, the spools of wire. I said to myself, ‘I have to work here.’ The business model is the opposite of everything a typical business school tells you, and it intrigued me,’’ he said. Today, Venner is Chief Information Officer for SpaceX, responsible for overseeing the design, development and implementation of the company’s state-of-the-art computing and
24 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
information sharing infrastructure. As CIO, his job touches everything, from rocket launch scheduling to the shop floor to the manufacturing component. “Basically, it’s all the parts of the rocket to the launch ignition team,’’ he said. The Hawthorne, Calif.-based company was founded in 2002 by CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk, the successful entrepreneur who co-founded PayPal and current CEO and Chief Product Architect of Tesla Motors, with the goal of enabling people to live on other planets. At the time, no private firms had sent satellites or spacecraft into space. In 2012, Venner jumped at the chance to work in this cutting-edge industry. He’s proud that the company manufactures
within the United States. ‘Too many companies are outsourcing their manufacturing overseas. We’re losing that connection and it bums me out,’’ he said. “It’s really a sense of hands on, a sense of impact,’’ he said. “Every member at SpaceX gets to see their work in production, to see how we can change the world. It’s empowering.’’ What’s also empowering is the ability to make history—something SpaceX has been doing lately. In January 2014, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and successfully put a broadcasting satellite in a high-altitude orbit for a Thai communications operator. A month prior, SpaceX tallied its first launch into geostationary transfer orbit, an orbit favored by communications satellite companies seeking to deploy spacecraft in orbits over the Equator synchronized with the Earth’s rotation. In May 2012, its Dragon spacecraft attached to the International Space Station (ISS),
Photos courtesy of SpaceX
CHIE F INFORMATION OFFICE R
KEN VENNER exchanging cargo payloads before returning safely to Earth, an act previously accomplished only by governments. The company has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to fly numerous cargo missions to the ISS, and SpaceX has nearly 50 launches on its manifest, representing almost $5 billion in contracts, which include commercial satellite launches as well as NASA missions. And as CIO and a part of the SpaceX leadership team, Venner sits in a critical position to ensure that the company’s goals are met.
A WORLD OF WONDER
Venner has spent a career in industry, working as CIO of Broadcom, Rockwell Electronic Commerce, and Lucent Technologies/ AT&T. The engineer in him is still in wonder of what goes on at SpaceX. “We are transforming mankind in this little area of Los Angeles,’’ he said, using U.S. talent to make reliable, cost-effective rockets. “It’s
never been done before and I get to be a part of it,’’ he said. Mechanical engineering and manufacturing are two things he knows very well. His dad, Ed Venner ‘56, is the president and owner of Ven-Tel Plastics Corp., an injection molding company in Largo, Fla., a company he’s owned for more than 25 years. His late sister, Susan, belonged to the Class of 1985. Any pressure to come to Stevens? “Not really. I looked at several options and I felt that Stevens offered the best engineering education for me because it was such a wellrounded school,’’ Venner said.
THE STEVENS ADVANTAGE
“Stevens prepared me because it taught me problem solving. With an engineering background, I was able to study a problem, decompose it and then solve it. I really learned a lot in my oral lab read out class—you had to present your information within the allotted time.
It taught a valuable lesson for me about business—be respectful of the time you have been assigned and get to the point. Don’t waste time.’’ “The group assignments were really helpful. You succeeded or failed as a team, you learned how to select team members and how to divide the work. These are skills that have direct application in the working world,’’ he said. During his undergraduate days, Venner made an impression on at least one Stevens faculty member. Dick Magee ’63, a former longtime professor in the mechanical engineering department, remembered Venner immediately. “In almost 20 years of teaching, Ken Venner is one of the two students whom I remember for their quickness in class. He was quick in absorbing the material and quick in anticipating where we were headed. He always asked me the most difficult questions, which kept me, as a teacher, on my toes,” Magee said. Likewise, Venner recalled Magee. “Dick was one of the professors who shaped me most professionally. He encouraged me to go and get my master’s degree. And, yes, we did spar in class, but I think of it fondly, as he motivated me to be better.’’
GLOBE-TROTTING, WITH A MISSION
Venner’s career and education have taken him around the world. He’s lived in several states along the East Coast, earning his master’s in engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and his MBA at New Hampshire College before moving to California. He and his wife, Debra, have been married for 22 years. So what does he miss about life on Castle Point? “I miss seeing Manhattan from my dorm room. I had that view for four years, and it was so cool. And I miss walking to the PATH and being in Manhattan in 15 minutes. It was great to be a part of New York, but not live in the middle of it,’’ he said.❖ Ken Venner ’84 will speak on Friday, May 30, as part of Alumni Weekend ’14. He will discuss the digital transformation of the aerospace industry and how this industry’s privatization will allow for the colonization of Mars. For more information, call 201-216-5163.
SPRING 2014 25
ALUMNI PROFILES SEVEN CONTINENTS, INCLUDING ANTARCTICA
A
t her fifth class reunion this spring, Ling Lin ’09, M.S. ’09, could grab the award for top world traveler. This New York City resident has visited all seven continents, including a five-month stint with the U.S. Antarctica Program at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, in 2011-2012, as part of the Science Support team. She was one of 25 people selected from more than 2,000 applicants. Recently, the senior consultant with Protiviti in New York took time to chat. What was life like at McMurdo Sound?
During the summer time (October to February), there are approximately 1,000 people at the McMurdo Station, of which 700 to 800 are there for operations/science support. The other 200 are scientists. Aside from our 60hour work week, we had the opportunity to go skiing, camping, and sleighing. I volunteered at the annual McMurdo Marathon and the library, participated in the Women’s Soiree Talent Show that raised money for the Christchurch, New Zealand, earthquake victims and hosted a weekly radio show. Ling Lin ’09 spent five months working with the U.S. Antarctica Program at McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.
You do a ton of volunteer work, from tutoring school kids to contributing
Chinese dishes to Bongong.com. What drives you?
I was born and raised in China and moved to the U.S. when I was 10. In the beginning, I struggled quite a bit in school. I benefitted from some community programs, so I wanted to do the same—give back to the community and maybe the kids I helped would do the same. What about your Stevens experience inspired you?
Stevens allowed me to have a really fulfilled college life. I studied abroad; did a joint bachelor and master's degree in four years; ran and participated in many clubs; fenced; co-chaired TechFest. Stevens showed me that I can really do anything if I put my heart in it. After traveling to more than 60 countries, what’s next?
A five-week trip to Africa to see the Great Migration from late February to the end of March.❖ —Compiled by Beth Kissinger
CLASS SECRETARY WANTS TO CATCH UP WITH CLASSMATES By Lisa Torbic, Associate Editor
W
ater is a recurring theme in Dennis Erdman’s life. While a student, he lived for a year and a half on the S.S. Stevens, the university’s ship that served as a floating dormitory and moored on the Hudson River.
And now, for almost a decade, Erdman ’69 has been general manager of Crescenta Valley Water District, a water company which serves the La Crescenta-Montrose area in California, a suburb of Los Angeles. With California experiencing low water levels, Erdman’s job now involves re-training residents of the City of Angels on water conservation. “The biggest issue I’m going to be working on for the next year is how to teach people new habits on how to conserve water. In Southern
26 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
California, most of the water use is Heading east once outside, to irrigate their landscape. again to visit Castle It’s a hard thing for people to give Point this May, Erdup, especially when the landscape man plans to attend is so beautiful. But, we are teaching his 45th reunion. “I them about new drought-resistant try to attend every landscaping—it’s called Califorfive years, for the renia-friendly design—and hopeunion anniversaries,’’ fully that will help,’’ he said. he said. A brother of Erdman has lived in California Sigma Phi Epsilon, since graduation, when a job offer he hopes to catch up took him west. He has served as with old friends and class secretary, writing The Indicafraternity brothers tor class log for approximately 10 Dennis Erdman ’69 will mark his during this trip, and years, and he enjoys reconnecting 45th class reunion this spring. he won’t miss the with classmates. In fact, he wishes chance to once again more would reach out to him with log updates. enjoy the cannoli from Hoboken’s own Carlo’s “I’m always looking for new contacts,’’ he said. Bakery, of “Cake Boss” fame.❖
ALUMNI PROFILES
ENGINEERED TO IMPRESS
By Lisa Torbic, Associate Editor
Alumna honored by IEEE as humanitarian finalist Monica Louie explains what she does for a living: “As a civil engineer, I develop projects that affect the daily lives of people.” With one quick look at this young engineer’s accomplishments so far, it seems that Louie is doing just that. She earned her M.Eng. in civil engineering at Stevens in 2013. As a track engineer for Parsons, she is designing a metro rail from Washington, D.C., to the airport, a $1.2 billion project. In 2011 she was named a “New Face of Civil Engineering’’ by the American Society of Civil Engineers, a distinction for those who are under 30 and making a name for themselves, and who shows the potential for a long and distinguished career. But she admits her most fulfilling honor is the chance to volunteer with two worthy causes: Engineers without Borders (EWB) USA and Rotary International. It is because of these philanthropic causes that she was named a finalist for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 2013 Global Humanitarian Engineer of the Year award, recognizing the achievements of an engineer who has marked positive effects on the quality of life of marginalized communities. She didn’t win the title, but she calls the nomination humbling. “Monica is an amazing engineer who has made a global impact in a relatively short time. Her work with EWB and Rotary shows her giving spirit to make the world a better place. The IEEE likes to recognize engineers who are dedicated to their field, and Monica certainly fits the bill,’’ said Gim Soon Wan, IEEE 2013 Global Humanitarian Technology Conference Vice Chair. As far as her contributions in the world, it looks like Louie, 26, is just getting started.
ture. She says, “It sounds cliché, but it’s true: I get more out of helping people than they get from me.’’ In 2013, another EWB project brought her to El Salvador. During the assessment, the two problems were discovered: water borne illnesses and respiratory health. To address the first concern, the team designed and constructed a community water system while creating an extensive operation and maintenance plan. For the second problem, the team discovered that indoor cooking was not properly ventilated to
the outside, causing a buildup of indoor smoke and breathing issues. Improved stoves were the solution and she continues to work with the community on that. But her involvement will not be forever. “As much as I love working with the communities,’’ she said, “the goal is to introduce new ideas and provide enough training so that the community is self-sufficient, long after we’re gone.” Her Rotary experiences have been in the beginning stages so far. She is creating project documentation, data collection, training and templates, ensuring for sustainable projects long after she is done. A memorable student
“Monica took a Special Problems in Environmental Engineering course with me, and during a lab in 2012, carried out filtration tests on arsenic removal from water,’’ said Dr. Xiaoguang Meng, a Stevens professor. “I found Monica to be an eager student, someone who wants to learn the treatment technologies to help people in developing countries to prepare clean drinking water. She is an excellent engineer and is making a real difference in the world both near and far.’’ ❖ Monica Louie, M.Eng. ’13, has worked abroad on development projects with Engineers Without Borders and here, in Uganda, for Rotary International.
A thousand snapshots
It’s the little things Louie remembers from her many international trips: green rice fields (during the dry season) in Cambodia, seeing a hospital have running water, or just watching someone taste clean drinking water. She doesn’t recall a particular “ah-ha’’ moment that made her want to continue working on development projects, but prefers to think of each little moment as contributing to the larger pic-
SPRING 2014 27
LONGTIME ENTREPRENEUR LOOKS BACK, WITH GRATITUDE
H
e started his first business when he was 12, selling worms to fishermen. Bill West ’59 always had a job, from waxing cars, stocking grocery store shelves and serving as his electrician father’s helper, to working on a milk truck.
His indomitable work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit led him to start his own company when he was just 26—a company that turns 50 this year. West founded National Sintered Alloys, Inc., in 1964, and the company, which specializes in manufacturing small machine parts such as gears and sprockets, from R&D to finished product, is still going strong in Clinton, Conn. Some potential customers balked at his youth when he was starting out. He was married, with a young son and limited resources. But West always wanted to do something adventurous and his parents and in-laws believed in him and helped him get started financially. He’s grateful to this day. “It started from scratch,” he says, with a quiet pride. “I worked at it, and I built it up.” After leading the company for 44 years and
building it from one to 65 employees, West, of Deep River, Conn., retired in 2008. Despite the company’s growth, it has always been a family affair. Two of his three sons, Steve and Greg, who joined him in 1989, now run the company, and his daughter, Sharon, handles the company’s finances. Before their retirement, West and his wife, Jane, worked together at the company for 35 years, with Jane, a former teacher, doing “everything,” from handling finances to improving efficiency. At one time, the entire family, including youngest son Jim, worked there. “We are a close-knit family,” West explains. “We have our discussions at times. We all get along very well.” He still goes into the office a few times a month. These days, West is also devoting his time to other pursuits, including another landmark anniversary.
Jane and Bill West ’59 worked together at his family-run company for 35 years.
28 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
By Beth Kissinger, Editor
West will celebrate his 55th class reunion during Alumni Weekend 2014, May 30, May 31 and June 1. He and classmates Leo Collins, Fred Paulson, Fred Berenbroick, Tony Arturi and Ron Baenninger have reached out to classmates and encourage all ’59ers – who had a great turnout for their 50th reunion – to come back again for their 55th. “I think that Stevens has come such a long way,” West says, from increased areas of academic study to expanded facilities. While the Bloomfield, N.J., native has strong ties to Stevens as an alumnus, he was a commuter until his senior year, due to financial constraints, and had little time for more than work and school. He was the first in his family to attend college and got a great education, but struggled. Good friends, like Ed Ranuska ’59, with whom he still keeps in touch, offered great encouragement. “I met a lot of very intelligent people, both students and faculty, and I think that had a real influence on my maturity,” West says. Another influence was an elective in powder metallurgy that he took his senior year. West found this manufacturing process intriguing and later founded his company based on this process. National Sintered Alloys uses granulated metals of iron, steel, brass, copper and bronze; compacts them in a precision die; and then heats (sinters) the shapes. The company manufactures parts for lock hardware; lawn and garden equipment; automotive parts; business machines; and power tools. Big names such as IBM, John Deere and Stanley, as well as lesser known companies, have been clients. West survived many seven-day work weeks and some tough times with this family-run business. But his company’s staying power is a story of high quality products, a niche market for harder to manufacture items and good old-fashioned customer service, he says. And perseverance. “My wife says that I never give up on things,” he says. ❖
ALUMNI PROFILES
This spring, Michael Manzella ’09 will mark his 5th reunion.
THE ROAD TO SUCCESS
M
ichael Manzella ’09 hopes to improve New Jersey’s urban areas by making mass transit more effective, convenient and available in downtowns state-wide.
“Technical expertise in the city planning field is rare,” said Manzella, who earned his B.E. in Engineering Management. “People with an engineering background can really make a difference in our built environment, making transportation systems more effective.” This spring, Manzella will earn his master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, with a concentration in Transportation Planning and
Policy – an area where he already has professional experience. Recently, he completed an internship at NJ Transit, the state’s major public transportation system which operates bus, light rail and commuter rail services. “I helped the director of transit-oriented development with the creation of a regional, sustainable transportation plan for New Jersey,” Manzella said. His interest in urban planning began at Stevens when he took a course on the history of metropolitan development that looked closely at the sprawl in post-World War II U.S. cities. “It was fascinating to learn about how America’s cities have been built and grown and all of the inefficiencies that have developed over the decades,” he said.
Through the Stevens Cooperative Education program, he gained professional experience at Lehman Brothers, UPS and Hamilton Sundstrand. “Stevens is extremely valuable in helping you find what you want to do and giving you a head start in the work force and getting the jobs you really want,” said Manzella. He said his Stevens education will make the transition easy. “There is a lot of opportunity to get knowledge and experience about how things actually work outside of the classroom and in the real world,” Manzella said.❖ —By Laura Bubeck, Special to The Indicator
THANK YOU! To those alumni and friends who collectively contributed more than $26 million to Stevens during Fiscal Year 2013 (July 1, 2012–June 30, 2013) — thank you!
This level of support was record-setting, and it helped Stevens reach the $30 million goal set for the President’s Initiative for Excellence — President Farvardin’s drive to increase scholarship and faculty support, enhance infrastructure, and establish a lecture series — one full year ahead of plans. This is a remarkable and unprecedented achievement for the Stevens community, and serves as a shining example of what we can accomplish when we all reach to the stars. Every contribution we receive, whether $100 or $10 million, is important to strengthening and securing Stevens’ position as a premier institution of student-centric, technological education. We are thankful to those who made a difference last year, and for those who will make a difference this year. To learn more about the highlights from 2013 and to review the complete list of annual donors, please visit
R ecor d of Ph il an th ropy FISC AL YEA R
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stevens.edu/dev/rop SPRING 2014 29
GIVING WHY IS ALUMNI PARTICIPATION IMPORTANT?
WHO GIVES TO STEVENS AND WHERE DOES IT GO?
Every gift that an alumnus/a makes in a given fiscal year, at any level, helps Stevens rise in national collegiate rankings, including those in U.S. News & World Report. Alumni participation is also a key indicator of satisfaction, viewed as an indirect endorsement of the University that many corporations and foundations refer to when awarding grants. Being ranked among the top institutions as well as strengthening the support from external organizations helps Stevens attract and retain the best and brightest students and faculty to our alma mater.
Stevens receives philanthropic gifts from a variety of sources, including foundations, corporations, faculty, parents, students, and, of course, alumni. In fact, in FY 2013, alumni were largest contributors to Stevens, donating more than $14 million.
Dollars by Source
There are three categories that the majority of philanthropic gifts support: • Student scholarship • Faculty development • The continued enhancement of Stevens technology and infrastructure
to
HOW DOES STEVENS’ ALUMNI PARTICIPATION RATE STACK UP? Presently, Stevens’ alumni participation is the lowest among our peer institutions. However, if we can harness the drive, entrepreneurial spirit, and passion of the Stevens alumni community, we will increase our alumni participation rate and demonstrate just how valuable a Stevens degree is to your lives and careers.
What institutions does Stevens consider its peer group? • • • • •
Carnegie Mellon University Case Western Reserve University Lehigh University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Gifts by Category
FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS
STEVENS WHEN IS THE STEVENS FISCAL YEAR? The Stevens fiscal year (FY), for all operations of the university, begins each July 1 and concludes the following June 30. Gift totals are counted on this “calendar”; a gift received on July 1, 2014, will count toward FY 2015, while a gift made on or before June 30, 2014 counts toward FY 2014.
HOW CAN I HELP? Know and succeed in the three P’s! • Show your Stevens Pride!
Encourage the next generation of outstanding students to apply to Stevens. Share information about internships and job opportunities at your company with the Office of Career Development and the Alumni Association. And, don’t forget to wear Stevens gear around the country and the world.
• Participate and get involved!
Stevens hosts many events for alumni and the broader community, both in Hoboken and around the country. Visit stevens.edu/alumni often to view activities happening in your area. If your region doesn’t have a Stevens Alumni Club, learn how to start one. There are also a number of volunteer opportunities open to alumni from the Class of 2014 all the way to the Class of 1934. You can start an alumni networking group, organize your reunion, host an event, or help contact your classmates about joining you in making a class gift.
• Be Philanthropic and give back every year!
Each and every year, take a moment to thank your alma mater by making a gift to Stevens. Whether it’s $10, $100, $1,000, or more, every gift made by an alumnus/a counts towards alumni participation.
To further explore the 3 P’s, please contact Melissa Fuest at mfuest@stevens.edu.
TAKE ACTION TODAY! PRIDE Order your Stevens swag online at
stevenscampusstore.com
PARTICIPATION
PHILANTHROPY
Contact the Stevens Alumni Association to learn about ways to get involved: start a club or interest group, volunteer or host an event.
To make a secure online gift today, visit
stevens.edu/makeagift
STEVENS CLUBS BOSTON
STEVENS METROPOLITAN CLUB
The Stevens Boston Alumni Club recently held its holiday luncheon party. More than two dozen alumni and friends attended.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CLUB
More than three dozen members of the Stevens Northern California Alumni Club attended a holiday party with friends. The event included good food and raffles.
Enjoying the SMC’s fall luncheon, from left, were Alumni Association past presidents Marty Valerio ’68, Don Daume ’67 and Bob Bosse ’50.
The Metropolitan Club is in its 75th year, with faithful alumni supporting each other, the Stevens Alumni Association and the university. The club has also donated some $38,000 to Stevens scholarships, with most members also belonging to the Edwin A. Stevens Society, Stevens’ annual donors group. Club President John Stevens ’72 was delighted to greet more than 54 alumni and guests at the Knickerbocker Country Club in December. Earlier in the fall, he presented a club check to SAA Executive Director Emeritus Anita Lang for the endowed scholarship bearing her name. Our club meets usually on the fourth Thursday of the month at various restaurants in Northern New Jersey. For more information, please call the Alumni Office at 201-216-5163.❖ —By Don Daume ’67
HOUSTON CLUB Celebrating the holidays were members of The Stevens Houston Alumni Club. At left is Dawn da Silva, Assistant Vice President for Development, who traveled from Hoboken to the event.
32 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
STEVENS CLUBS
THE STEVENS TAIWAN CLUB The Stevens Taiwan Club held its first formal event in Taipei on Feb. 8, 2014. Members enjoyed pizza and beer to celebrate the official formation of this Stevens Alumni Association club in Taiwan.
WASHINGTON, D.C., ALUMNI CLUB The Stevens Washington, D.C., Alumni Club held its annual holiday party at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. More than 100 alumni and guests attended.
STEVENS NORTHERN NEW JERSEY ALUMNI CLUB
Cricket Hill Brewery in Fairfield, N.J., recently hosted the Stevens Northern New Jersey Alumni Club for an evening of beer tasting. The group of 41 sampled fine ales, lagers and seasonal brews. Snacks were also available. For more information on Stevens alumni clubs, contact Priya Vin at priya.vin@stevens.edu
SPRING 2014 33
ALUMNI BUSINESS DIRECTORY
Since 1951
Store Hours: 7:00 am – 4:30 pm
34 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
Store Hours: 7:30 am – 5:00 pm
Store Hours: 7:30 am – 5:00 pm
ALUMNI BUSINESS DIRECTORY
SPRING 2014 35
SPORTS UPDATE STUDENT ATHLETES RECEIVE NATIONAL COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD By Robert Kulish, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications & Events
S
tevens and its student athletes recently received a national award for their service to the people of Hoboken in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.
The National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators (NADIIIAA) and Jostens presented Stevens with the NADIIIAA/ JOSTENS Community Service Award at the NCAA Convention this January in San Diego, Calif. Stevens won in the One-Time Project Category and was one of only two universities honored. (SUNY College at Oswego was also recognized.) The NADIIIAA is an association comprised of athletics administrators from the nearly 450 institutions and 43 conferences competing at the Division III level. After Superstorm Sandy struck in the fall of 2012, Stevens’ student athletes provided help to
those in need in Hoboken. The athletes raised funds, carried water up high-rises to elderly residents unable to leave their apartments because of power outages, prepared and served food at shelters, and assisted the National Guard and Red Cross, among other work. “Congratulations to Stevens on earning the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators Community Service Award for the outstanding service to the people of Hoboken in response to the devastation from Hurricane Sandy,” Empire 8 Commissioner Chuck Mitrano said in a written statement. “It is an outstanding reflection of the student athletes and leadership at Stevens and very well deserved.” This marks the third time Stevens has received the Jostens Community Service Award from the NADIIIAA. The Ducks were first acknowledged after 9/11 and again in January
Stevens Spring Sports Day, Saturday, April 12, Stevens campus. For details, visit www.stevensducks.com
36 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
2009 for the department’s involvement in the “Duckling Program,’’ an educational program in area elementary and middle schools. “We would like to thank the NADIIIAA and Jostens for their generous support of this award and recognition of community service at the NCAA Division III level,” said Stevens Director of Athletics Russell Rogers. “This honor is shared by many of our student athletes and staff who truly made a difference in Hoboken after (Superstorm) Sandy’s devastating effects on our town. I could not be prouder of these individuals and look forward to continuing to do everything we can as an athletic program to give back to the community.” The NADIIIAA and Jostens will make a $1,000 contribution to the general scholarship fund at Stevens.❖
AROUND CAMPUS
APPLICATIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR STEVENS SUMMER PROGRAM By Laura Bubeck, Special to The Indicator
H
igh school students will have the opportunity to build their own companies, design educational video games and tackle timely science and technology issues when Stevens unveils three new summer programs in 2014, for its Stevens Summer program. Applications are currently being accepted for the program, with a deadline of May 1. Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Engineering Game Design, and Science, Technology & Society will be the newest offerings of the Stevens Summer, a competitive pre-college experience held on campus that draws more than 500 students worldwide. Students attend the Stevens Summer to explore cutting-edge areas of study, including Engineering and Science, Pre-Med, Business, Computer Science and Multimedia. Participants live in residence halls on campus, attend classes with Stevens professors, and interact with industry professionals in their fields of study. Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Teens with an entrepreneurial spirit and mindset will find the life and business skills to be successful during the two-week Innovation & Entrepreneurship program. “Students will learn basic business principles like management, finance and marketing, and then how to build a company from the ground up,” said Dr. Werner Kuhr ’80, technology commercialization director in the Stevens Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship. The program allows students to form their own virtual companies, and then – using a computer simulation created by a Stevens faculty member – study and adjust to market forces to build their company’s value.
High school students now have access to three new programs in The Stevens Summer.
Engineering Game Design
Science, Technology and Society
Creative and technical students will love the challenge presented by the Engineering Game Design program – to develop an original and playable video game. They will meet with Stevens experts in physics, electrical and computer engineering, and biomedical engineering and then design an educational video game with direct applications to those disciplines. “(The students) will go through many steps of the video game development process, including creating the narrative, designing game play and visuals, and music scoring,’’ said Brian Moriarty, teaching assistant professor of art and technology at Stevens. Access is granted to Stevens’ state-of-theart Motion Capture Laboratory, which features next-generation technology that can track and animate 3D movement. Motion capture technology is used in several fields, from digital media and animation, to medicine, security and athletics.
The Science, Technology and Society program engages students in a timeless question— how do we harness the power of science and technology to make a better world? Participants will learn the skills of technology savvy leaders who are in demand in many fields, including public policy, medicine and healthcare, law, journalism and environmental science. “As science and technology continue to be driving forces in society, we need more people who can apply insights from the humanities and social sciences to understand where new innovations come from, their social consequences and how they impact the world,’’ said Dr. Andrew Russell, director of the Stevens program in science and technology studies. For more information on the Stevens Summer and to apply, visit www.stevens.edu/ summer.❖
SPRING 2014 37
5 APR 5 APR
APR
14
APR
SATURDAY Stevens Awards Gala, Plaza Hotel www.stevens.edu/awardsgala
SATURDAY Stevens Oklahoma City-Dallas-Fort Worth Alumni Club 5K Color Run
MONDAY SAA Executive Committee meeting
30
APR
23
WEDNESDAY Innovation Expo 2014 Seniors present their projects www.stevens.edu/expo
For SAA and alumni club events, visit www.stevens.edu/alumni
APR
12
SATURDAY Spring Sports Day
WEDNESDAY President’s Distinguished Lecture Series, featuring retired Intel CEO and Chairman Dr. Craig R. Barrett www.stevens.edu/lecture
MAY
1
THURSDAY Stevens Old Guard Luncheon, Stevens campus
For Stevens Athletics events, visit www.stevensducks.com
CALENDAR 38 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
MAY SATURDAY
10
MAY MONDAY
Stevens Central Jersey/Philadelphia Alumni Club will watch the Trenton Thunder take on the Reading Fighting Phillies
12 MAY
29 21 JUNE 9 MAY
SAA Executive Committee meeting
THURSDAY–SUNDAY Alumni Weekend 2014 (May 29-June 1) www.stevens.edu/ alumniweekend
WEDNESDAY Stevens Commencement Ceremonies, IZOD Center
MONDAY SAA Executive Committee meeting
18
JUNE
WEDNESDAY Stevens Golf Outing to support Stevens Athletics
JUNE
30 MONDAY Last chance to contribute to Stevens as part of Fiscal Year 2014!
10TH ANNUAL STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
GOLF OUTING
OF EVENTS Wednesday, June 26, 2013 Arcola Country Club Route 4 and Paramus Road Paramus, N.J.
Schedule Registration – 6:45 a.m. Breakfast – 7:15 a.m. Scramble Start – 8:30 a.m. Lunch – Approx. 1 p.m. Awards, Auction, Raffle – 1:30 p.m.
The annual golf outing helps improve the experience of all of our student-athletes. In the past, this event has helped fund improvements to the DeBaun Athletic Complex and Walker Gymnasium; the Canavan Arena floor and scoreboards; a
SPRING 2014 39
VITALS MARRIAGES Michael A. Michelini ’03 to Wendy Wang on Jan 11, 2014.
BIRTHS
To Aileen Tang Zierold ’99 and Matthew Zierold ’99, a son, Connor, on Aug. 31, 2013. To Leigh Anne and Matthew W. Jadro ’02, a son, Maksim Ramon, on June 6, 2013.
OBITUARIES W.H. Molinari ’35 ........................ 1/3/12 + R.P. Bechle ’36 ........................... 3/3/13 J.E. Metzger ’41 ...................... 10/24/13 S.H. Crandall ’42..................... 10/29/13 R.H. Duklauer ’42 ....................... 2/3/14 + R.E. Irons ’42............................ 12/5/13 H. Hoertel ’43 ........................... 1/17/14 J.E. Nankivell ’43 ...................... 11/2/12 + J.H. Povolny ’43.......................... 5/7/12 + C.D. Martin ’47 ........................... 6/7/13 + A.H. Baker ’49 .......................... 6/18/13 G.H. Blair ’50.......................... 12/28/13 + D.E. De Rocker ’50 ................... 8/16/13 J.C. Gevas ’50........................... 11/6/13 + W.J. Hildebrandt ’50 ................. 7/18/13 + R. Knoeller ’50 .......................... 8/17/13 L.J. O’Brien ’50 ..................... Unknown C.W. Davis ’51............................... 2013 + R.T. Pearson ’51 ....................... 6/11/13 + C.F. Donnelly ’52......................... 5/7/13 E.E. Schott ’52 .......................... 9/21/13 + E.B. Wilson, III ’52 ...................... 1/3/14 + L.W. Hubert ’53......................... 7/22/13 P.H. Langhans ’53................... 12/30/13 + H.R. Soederberg ’54 ................. 5/23/13 + H.L. Libbin ’55 .......................... 4/21/13 + C.P. Gilmore ’56 ...................... 10/22/13 + K.H. Backhaus ’57.................... 4/26/12 A.A. Bodner ’57 ...................... 11/29/13 + D.D. Caulfield ’57...................... 5/26/13 J.P. Larmann ’59......................... 3/2/13
J.J. Bertini ’62........................... 5/16/13 + D.A. Dragolic ’63 ......................... 6/7/13 + C.E. Fauroat ’65 ........................ 6/10/13 A.R. Strong ’65 ......................... 7/11/12 + S.A. Saglibene, Jr. ’69 ............... 5/11/13 J.P. Der Bedrosian ’70................. 2/4/14 T.J. Kelly ’72 .............................. 5/2013 R.E. Korth ’76 ......................... 10/23/13 + R.P. Kleinman ’90 ..................... 3/25/13
FACULTY/STAFF M. Dostal, Hon. M.Eng. ’80 ......... 12/13/13 O. Oubraham .............................. 12/23/13 S.K. Tewksbury ........................... 12/27/13 + Obituary appears in the Class Logs section of the undergraduate edition.
GRADUATE SCHOOL K. Savage, M.S. ’50....................... 3/26/13 W.T. Shymon, M.S. ’51 .................. 4/23/12 J.A. Ruffing, M.S. ’53 .................... 11/6/13 J.P. Amerspek, M.S. ’56 .............. 12/25/13 A.S. Hall, M.S. ’56........................... 2/9/10 A.M. Wolfe, M.S. ’63 ..................... 2/17/14 O. Bloch, M.M.S. ’65..................... 9/22/13 K. Stegis, M.M.S. ’67.................. Unknown J.A. Golczewski, Ph.D. ’81........... 12/23/13 J.A. Fabiano, M.Eng. ’02 ............. 12/12/13
SAVE THE DATE ALUMNI WEEKEND MAY 29-31, JUNE 1, 2014
LEARN MORE AT WWW.STEVENS.EDU/ALUMNIWEEKEND 40 THE STEVENS INDICATOR
Plan a Bequest: Establish Your Legacy At Stevens
“Upon such land…building or buildings, suitable for the uses of an institution of learning. It is my intention that the institution hereby directed and created shall be perpetual.” — Edwin A. Stevens, April 15, 1867
STEVENS
Legacy SOCIET Y TO JOIN THE STEVENS LEGACY SOCIETY
and inform us about your existing gift provision for the University, or get answers to your estate and gift planning questions, please contact: Michael Governor Director of Planned Giving (201) 216-8967 michael.governor@stevens.edu Individual state laws may affect some gift plans. Please consult your attorney, accountant, or financial advisor to discuss applicability of this information to your personal circumstances.
The Stevens Legacy Society recognizes and honors the many benefactors who have made enduring gifts by including Stevens Institute of Technology in their financial or estate planning. Knowing the University’s very existence was predicated on a significant bequest from Edwin A. Stevens, it is all the more fitting to recognize and celebrate the original foresight and support of the Stevens family through your membership in the Legacy Society.
Why make a bequest to Stevens? • Give back to Stevens in appreciation of what the University has meant to you and your career • Plan your future gift while still retaining control of your assets during your lifetime • It’s easy to include a provision in your will, or complete a beneficiary designation form for an insurance plan or retirement account • Bequests are revocable if your circumstances or priorities change • Bequests are flexible and can include a specific amount, a specific percentage of your estate, a portion of what remains, or another option • Tax benefits may result from your bequest
How does your legacy shape Stevens? Just imagine… • A talented student with financial needs attends Stevens…because of your gift. • A gifted professor with big ideas brings them to life and benefits society…thanks to you. • The university that shaped your career continues to educate talented generations to come…because of you.
To learn more visit our new Planned Giving website at
stevens.giftplans.org
THE STEVENS INDICATOR STEVENS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 1 CASTLE POINT HOBOKEN, NJ 07030
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THE STEVENS INDICATOR SPRING 2014