eering of Engin College Turning ideas into reality
engineering alumni news
• Ed Baroch’55 (metallurgical engineering) was awarded the Service Above Self Award through his involvement in Rotary. This is one of only 150 designated recognitions among the one million-plus Rotary International members each year. Ed’s selection was based upon not only his work in Rotary, but also his professional and civic functions over the years. • Roswell Rogers ’60 (civil engineering) retired in 2004 and enjoys traveling with his wife, Adair. The couple has traveled extensively throughout United States and Canada and recently returned from an 8,000 mile trip. • Donald Barkhurst ’62 (electrical engineering) is enjoying his retirement with his wife, Hope, and five children, Stefanie and K. Carrie, Kemper and twins, Kaleb and Kourtney. Don has worked for numerous companies including Lawrence Radiation Laboratories, Maxwell Laboratories and his own company, Diversus, Inc. • Dale Placey ’67 (metallurgical engineering) and his wife, Lala, enjoy time at their second home in Stuart, Fla. particularly during sailfish season. The couple has been fishing for sails for 37 years.
Kansas State University. He is an associate member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and an avid supporter of the University’s Concrete Canoe Team. • Rachel (Balvin) Graffam ’07 MBA and Dan Graffam ’08 (civil engineering) were married Oct. 20, 2009 in St. Thomas, Virgin islands. Rachel is employed at Accelerated Care Plus and Dan works for Nichols Consulting Engineers. They are currently remodeling a home in the Callahan Ranch area of Reno and plan to stay and play in their home town. • Joshua Mooneyham ’08 (civil engineering) and his new wife, a former ski team athlete, Amanda (Goyne) Mooneyham ’09 (biology), have found a new home in Sacramento. Joshua is working with a state-of-the art material recovery facility and sanitary landfill as a civil engineer under the guidance and support of another Nevada grad, Wayne Trewhitt ’62 (civil engineering). His duties include the oversight of the landfill, projecting future fill sequences, aiding in the monitoring of the recovery facility and researching new ideas in waste management practices. Amanda is working toward her medical degree at University of California, Davis in their rural prime program.
• Nancy (McMullin) Bobb ’83 (civil engineering) has retired from the Federal Highway Administration after 25 years. She is enjoying her retirement and has no plans to work again!
Alumni Relations Awards for Outstanding Professional Achievement
• Mark Smith ’86 M.S. (civil engineering), the founder and chief executive officer of California’s Vector Engineering for 23 years, has launched the nonprofit Smith International Foundation. The foundation teaches individuals, rural communities and nongovernmental organizations to work with resource companies and manage the impacts from resource extraction.
Marc Markwell ’95 (civil engineering) is a thirdgeneration Nevadan and the fourth member of his family to graduate from the University of Nevada. Following graduation, Marc earned a juris doctor degree at Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. He is a licensed attorney in California and Nevada. Marc went on to join Granite Construction, initially as a project manager and later as the business manager for Nevada operations. In 2004, Marc joined Dermody Properties as the development manager and then became partner. In his five years at Dermody, Marc oversaw the development and construction of more than 3 million square-feet of industrial and other commercial property. Marc is currently employed by Sierra Nevada Corporation where he manages a national portfolio of office space, warehouses and hangars.
• Tasha (Palmer) Lopez ’99 (chemical engineering) has recently relocated from southern California to Silicon Valley and accepted a new role within IBM as the Cognos new sales specialist for the western United States. Friends can reach her at tasha_lopez@yahoo.com. She looks forward to reconnecting with friends in Reno. • Kurt Dietrich ’00 (civil egineering),’08 (professional construction management) recently passed the Professional Traffic Operations Engineer Exam with flying colors. Employed by the City of Reno since 1998, Kurt spends his free time working on steam locomotives and serving on the executive board for the Friends of the Nevada State Railroad Museum. • Douglas Buck ’01 (civil engineering) has been awarded Civil Engineer of the Year for 2009 by the Truckee Meadows Branch of the American Society of Civil engineers. Doug joined Bowling Mamola Group in 2009 and has primarily been deputy construction manager for the Curry Street and Roop Street reconstruction projects, two major roadway overhauls in Carson City. • Brian Fitzgerald ’06 (civil engineering) has passed the California Professional Engineer exam. Brian is responsible for assisting with planning, design, bidding and construction services for PBS&J clients including the Reno-Tahoe international Airport, Truckee Airport and Carson City Airport. Brian also received a bachelor’s in architecture from
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Tom D. Whitaker ’60 (electrical engineering) graduated from Nevada with the ROTC Distinguished Military Graduate citation while playing four years of football and two years of baseball. During his junior year, Tom was the national pass receiving champion in college football. After graduation, Tom signed with the Dallas Cowboys. In 1962, he joined General Electric Company as an engineering management trainee. During his 20-year career at GE, his assignments included sales management, marketing, strategic planning, engineering, manufacturing, customer service and finance. In 1971 he received his MBA from the University of California, Berkeley. For more than 20 years, Tom has served as chairman and CEO of Motion Analysis Corporation, the world’s leading provider of video-based computer imaging motion capture equipment used for animation and full feature movies, video games and broadcast. In 2005, Motion Analysis was awarded four technical achievement Oscars by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Nevada Engineering • Winter 2011