2024-ENG-I3-Magazine_ISSUU

USD ENGINEERING 06

Remembering David Cohn

He knew everybody. USD was a nice outlet for him, where he could use his people skills and his business savvy and he enjoyed spending time there.” Cohn was also instrumental in making introductions to some of his friends and contacts, including Dominick De Sanctis, who became a major contributor to the program before he passed in 2022. His lifelong friend, Carl Delia, also supported the program. “I knew David for many years,” Delia says. “He was always deeply committed to making a difference by channeling his vast knowledge and passion to our future leaders and entrepreneurs.” The Engineering and Entrepre neurship Program is positioned to not only launch startups, but also to teach students the critical components of starting a business, knowledge that will help them — regardless of their career pursuits — after graduation. The program has produced several successful companies, including Agrishield, a vineyard and orchard equipment manufacturing company, and Darroch Medical Solutions, which helps improve patient outcomes by providing health practitioners with more accurate and up-to-date information about their patients. Venkat Shastri, PhD, USD’s De Sanctis professor of engineering and entrepreneurship, has overseen the program since its inception. “[David’s] unwavering commitment to helping the next generation of founders is one of the reasons for the success of the program. He was my friend and a co-conspirator in expanding the minds of our students to believe in the power of their ideas.” David will truly be missed, but his legacy lives on through the success of USD’s engineering and entrepreneurship students.

By Elisa Lurkis T he Shiley-Marcos School of who passed away on Dec. 27, 2023. Cohn was instrumental in creating and shaping the USD’s Engineering and Entrepreneurship Program over the past eight years. Entrepreneurship was part of Cohn’s lifeblood, and he was particularly interested in blending engineering and business principles. His career began in manufacturing plumbing and bath products before selling his company to Beatrice Foods Co. Dean Chell Roberts and Elisa Lurkis, senior director of development, were introduced to Cohn by USD alumnus Joe LaMantia ’86 (BA) in Engineering mourns the loss of David Cohn, a generous donor

2016. Cohn impressed upon Roberts the importance of technology experts understanding the mechanisms of starting and running a business to bring their ideas to market. Cohn was not only the founding donor of USD’s Engineering and Entrepreneurship Program, but he also spent time on campus meeting with engineering students and vetting their ideas — often accompanied by his beloved dog, Dax, who was a big hit with the students. His son, Jeff Cohn, pictured at left, believes one of his dad’s biggest strengths was his ability to connect with people. “He was a social butterfly and was that way in business, as well as socially. He was a born networker.