Alhabshi

Sakinah M. Alhabshi (civil and environmental engineering ’04),
project engineer, Malaysia

On her career:
As a project engineer for Malaysia LNG (a subsidiary of PETRONAS Malaysia, the second largest liquefied natural gas plant in the world), Alhabshi manages civil engineering–related facilities improvement projects. She was selected to attend General Electric’s Oil & Gas University in Florence, Italy, where she is completing a six-month course on leadership and management in the oil and gas industries. She was one of only two women out of 26 participants from around the world.

What she learned at McCormick: “Although I don’t necessarily apply the textbook knowledge to my day job, McCormick taught me valuable problem-solving and critical thinking skills.”

Her involvement and connection to McCormick:
During her four years at Northwestern, Alhabshi served as president of the Environmental Engineering Undergraduate Society, was founder and president of the Malaysian Students Association (Cilipadi), and president of the Women’s Residential College. She also worked with the University’s Academic Technologies unit and helped manage employees at the various computer labs on campus. In her second job as a research assistant with Engineering Design and Communication (EDC) faculty, she helped analyze and improve the program curriculum. In December 2006 she returned from Malaysia to visit Northwestern.

Best McCormick moment:
Her EDC project. Alhabshi and her team built a multipurpose desk for a young girl who had Down’s syndrome and attention deficit disorder, making sure the desk was safe as well as functional. “Our team worked hand-inhand with the end user to construct a desk that possessed all the necessary traits: a built-in easel, multiple drawers, and magnetic surfaces. The look on the faces of family members when we presented the desk made all the effort worthwhile.”

Words of advice to current students:
“Make the most of your time at Northwestern.Work hard, play hard, stay in touch with the people in your life, and figure out how you can contribute and give back to the community around you.”

—Lina Sawyer

Szymkowski

Mary Szymkowski (computer science ’85), veterinarian, North Carolina

On her career:
Prior to becoming a veterinarian, Szymkowski was a programmer at IBM, designing and implementing communications software for network controllers.“I followed my passion for treating animals and pursued prevet course work while still at IBM.” She took a programming job at North Carolina State University (NCSU) College of Veterinary Medicine, where she designed and implemented an online medical record system. She continued working as a programmer part-time after being accepted to the NCSU veterinary program.

What she learned at McCormick: Valuable analytic skills and patience to work through a problem. “In my current role, I think doing surgery is probably closest to my engineering background. You have something to ‘fix’ and the ‘parts’ in front of you to work with.”

How she stays connected: Szymkowski worked with the
Northwestern Alumni Association in the late 1980s to start a Northwestern Club in the Raleigh area. She also has spoken to high school students at the Society of Women Engineers Career Day — once about working at IBM and once about medical technology just before she started veterinary school.

Best McCormick moment:
Having to write an assembler in
one of her programming classes — in assembler code: “When the program finally ran correctly, it was a truly great experience. At that time, we were still coding on Hollerith cards. I still have the two boxes of cards with code keyed on them in my attic.” Szymkowski also has fond memories of working with Carolyn Krulee, former assistant dean: “She was such a profound role model for me. I learned about work/life balance and was given the opportunity to take a leadership role with other women in engineering. It was a real confidence builder.”

Most unlikely application of engineering background:
Szymkowski once had to fashion an oxygen tent for an asthmatic cat using a cat carrier, heavy plastic, duct tape, and an oxygen tank: “The cat did great, and it was quite the sight!”

—Lina Sawyer

Class Notes

1940s
James Krebs (‘45) married Mimi McClellan in January 2006.

Kenneth Weaver (‘49) wrote Rising from Rubble ... Germany Revisited, a memoir of his service in the Army Signal Corps in Europe.

1950s
Richard Pepper (‘53) and his wife, Roxy, were recently recognized by the Illinois Humanities Council and the Barrington, Illinois, village board for their many civic contributions — including work that garnered them the Studs Terkel Humanities Service Award.

1960s
Ted Clarke (‘65, MS ‘68) and Northwestern professor emeritus David Lynn Johnson completed building a catamaran, Tigercat II, in 2004. They started planning the boat in 1968, when Clarke was a graduate student in Johnson’s class. Much of Clarke’s research can be found in articles in Microscopy Today and Modern Microscopy.

Martin Wachs (MS ‘65, PhD ‘67) became the director of the RAND Corporation’s transportation, space, and technology program in May 2006. He previously served as director of the Institute of Transportation Studies and the Transportation Center at the University of California, Berkeley.

Edgar Hotard (‘66), an independent investor and consultant, was elected a director of Albany International.

Robert Wayman (‘67, Kellogg ‘69) announced that he will retire from his position as chief financial officer of Hewlett-Packard.

David Mertz (‘68) retired from his position as advisory engineer of the Bechtel Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory in 2005. He completed numerous engineering and management assignments, advancing the technology of naval nuclear propulsion.

1970s
Charles S. Pawlak (‘73) was named vice president and managing director of the Phoenix office of real estate firm Binswanger.
 
Peter Barris (‘74) of New Enterprise Associates was 32nd on Forbes magazine’s “Midas List” of the best deal makers in high-tech life science.

Geoffrey Levine (PhD ‘78), a retired pharmacist, health physicist, and board-certified nuclear pharmacist, was elected a fellow of the American Pharmacists Association. He serves as a consultant at the University of Pittsburgh, works part time as a nuclear pharmacist at Hope Pharmaceuticals, and has started his own company named 900 Communications.

Thomas J. Riordan (‘78) was hired as president and chief operations officer of Terex Corporation, a manufacturing company based in Westport, Connecticut.

Michael E. Friduss (‘79) participated in the 199-mile relay from Calistoga to Santa Cruz in California with the Running Noses, a team from the Stanford University department of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. The team finished in 29 hours.

1980s
Clint Cibler (PhD ‘81) is senior vice president and chief information officer of the Cincinnati-based insurance firm Western & Southern Financial Group.

Martin Maskarinec (MS ‘86, PhD ‘89) was recently promoted to full professor in the department of computer science at Western Illinois University.

Julie Owen Remington (‘86) became the parent of triplets—Adam Robert, Cole Patrick, and Samantha Frances—on December 10, 2005.

William J. Bliss (‘87) was named chief technology officer of Klir Technologies in Seattle.

Thomas Howell (MS ‘88) was named chief technology officer for Additech, based in Houston.

Daniel S. Katz (‘88, MS ‘90, PhD ‘94) is an assistant director for scientific computing systems and software in the Center for Computation and Technology at Louisiana State University. He is also an associate research professor in the university’s electrical and computer engineering department. He remains a faculty part-time principal at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology.

1990s
Panos Sarantopoulos (‘90) became managing director of Champagne Krug, one of the world’s leading cuvées.

Eric Kirby (‘91) was appointed senior vice president and general manager of Merkle|Quris, the Denver-based e-mail marketing division of marketing company Merkle.

Amie Nylund Verhasselt (‘91) and Greg DePere are parents to Eric Benjamin (born April 3, 2006), Adam, and Ryan.

Derek B. Wall (‘91), a general surgeon, is a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy on his third deployment to the Middle East. Wall became head of the surgery department at Naval Air Station Lemoore in California in September. He and his wife, Alesia Wilburn Wall, are parents of Sophia Cai-Min (born February 3 and adopted October 24, 2005) and Simone.

Kathleen Neumann (PhD ‘92) is chair and professor of the computer science department at Western Illinois University.

Mark F. Wegener (‘92) is a transportation engineer and planner at Jacobs Civil in Bellevue, Washington. He and Rosemarie Buchanan became parents of Annika Sophie on February 17, 2006.

James H. Kim (‘93), president of Korean software company Innotive, was featured in an article in the Financial Times about the company’s work to develop presentation software to rival Microsoft’s PowerPoint.

Eric Landis (PhD ‘93) was named the 2006 Maine Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Learning and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.

Brooke Aldendifer Mac Lean (‘93) and her husband, Duncan, are parents of Alister Charles (born March 1, 2006), Lochlan, and Rowan.

Charles Blumberg (‘95) was promoted to manager of billing systems at Kemper Auto and Home Insurance in January 2006. He is also pursuing an MBA at the University of Florida.

Chris Kapuscinski (‘95, MS ‘97, Kellogg ‘05) and Marnie Kalmus Kapuscinski (‘96) are parents of Ryan Thomas (born April 5, 2006) and Kyra.

Scott Norquist (‘95) and Penny Norton Norquist (‘96) are parents of Wesley Scott (born June 14, 2005) and Natalie Susan.

Narinder Singh (‘95) was profiled by BusinessWire as an executive of Appirio, an enterprise software company based in San Francisco.

Stephen John Van Horn (‘95) and Stephanie Brownlie Van Horn (‘97) are parents of John “Jack” Richard (born May 2, 2006) and William Moreland.

Elizabeth Wright Cronin (‘96) and Craig Cronin are parents of Katherine Mary (born March 5, 2006) and Emily.

Chelsea Stoner (‘96) of Boston is a senior associate at Battery Ventures, a Boston-based venture capital firm.

Erin Kiedaisch Turley (‘96, Kellogg ‘04) and her husband, Stephen, are parents of Ella Breen, born May 10, 2006.

Victoria Lane Paulsen (‘97) and her husband, Stuart, are parents of twins, Spencer Lane and Erik Ronald, born October 6, 2005.

Alan Fliegelman (‘98) and Stephanie Gaswirth became parents of Benjamin on April 25, 2006.

Charlene Gener (‘98) married Peter Kim on July 3, 2005.

Marilyn Griffin (‘98) of Pittsburgh began her residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in general pediatrics, adult psychiatry, and child and adolescent psychiatry in June 2006. She received a medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford in April 2006 and was inducted into the college’s Gold Humanism Honor Society. She also received the David Mortimer Olkon Scholarship for excellence in psychiatry.

2000s
Margaret Korona (‘00) married Scott Scheuber on May 6, 2006.

Romil Patel (‘00, Feinberg ‘06) began his four-year diagnostic radiology residency at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York in July 2006 after completing his internship in medicine at Evanston Hospital. In 2005 he graduated from Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

Anthony D. Tuesca (‘01) married Molly Allen on October 15, 2005.

Benedict F. Figuerres (‘02) started an orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago. He received his medical degree from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield in May 2006.

Alan Johnson (‘02) is continuing his medical training as an otolaryngology and head and neck surgery resident at the University of Minnesota after graduating from the University of Minnesota Medical School in May 2006. He married Katy Hansen on May 26, 2006.

Caleb Brenneman (‘03) and Nancy Ketsche Brenneman became parents of Simona Lucille on June 12, 2006.

Jay Goyal (‘03), a newly elected Democratic state legislator in Ohio, was profiled by the Associated Press as one of the few elected lawmakers in the United States of Asian Indian heritage.

Shaoping Xiao (PhD ‘03), assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering in the Center for Computer-Aided Design at the University of Iowa College of Engineering, is collaborating on a one-year $100,000 contract from the U.S. Army Research Office to develop a CAD software analysis tool.

Fen Yang (MS ‘03, PhD ‘06) was named assistant professor of chemical engineering at West Virginia University College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.