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University of San Diego, Fall 2023 I 3 @ USD

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

SHILEY-MARCOS

USD ENGINEERING The Enormity

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IMAGINE•INNOVATE•INSPIRE

Contents

I 3 @ USD

school by holding the desire to change lives. They honor that responsibility in what they do as we have built our school over the last decade. In this issue, you will read the stories of a few of our faculty members and staff, as well as graduates who have used their USD engineering degrees to create meaningful and interesting vocations. We honor the life of lab technician, Sam Burt, who passed away after spending 12 years with us. I have been touched by the volume of stories of how he transformed lives. As we look forward to the future, we envision serving our student pop ulation in updated spaces, where they will ideate, collaborate and flourish. Several of our labs are in critical need of redesign, natural light and cutting-edge tools. We are working on raising funds to renovate these learning environments so that they are innovative and inviting to all. The Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering is embarking on creat ing new and expansive educational opportunities, including the devel opment of undergraduate data science and an artificial intelligence curriculum that are poised to become degrees. We also are broad ening our reach into international education with the development of online degrees specifically serving students living in India. And we are exploring partnerships in the Middle East, as a thrust area for internation alization, where we have many alumni who have developed deep relationships with the school. I hope you enjoy reading about our past and present accomplishments. We encourage you to participate with us as we venture into the next decade with hope for a promising future. Chell Roberts Founding Dean Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering

of the Future

“ If you hire people who share a vision and give them the freedom

FEATURE STORIES NOT YOUR AVERAGE ENGINEER

USD’s Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering

e are standing at a poignant juncture in time — a moment where and want to make a difference — faculty members and staff who be lieved we could become a top-ranked W we have the opportunity to reflect upon the significance of the past while anticipating the enormity of the future. What a blessing to be surrounded by good people who care

Founding Dean Chell Roberts, PhD

Meet three impressive engineer ing alumni who have mapped out unusual and meaningful ways to apply their degrees in nontradi tional settings. DARKNESS TURNS TO LIGHT Dean Chell Roberts sets his sights on transforming four labs where ideas are tested and genius is realized. MEMORIES. MILESTONES. MARVELS. Growing the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering over the past 10 years has been focused on aligning the right people, partners and infrastructure.

Senior Director of Development/ Alumni Relations Elisa Lurkis elurkis@sandiego.edu Editor/Communications Manager Michelle Sztupkay michelles@sandiego.edu

Senior Creative Director Barbara Ferguson barbaraf@sandiego.edu

Writers Elisa Lurkis Allyson Meyer Michelle Sztupkay

Cover Photo Walkerssk

Contact University of San Diego Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering 5998 Alcalá Park San Diego, CA 92110 (619) 260-4627

to do it,

Email Alumni Notes to: elurkis@sandiego.edu

Website: sandiego.edu/ engineering

miracles transpire.

Instagram: @usdengineering

Facebook: @usdEngineering

— Chell Roberts

LinkedIn: @usd-engineering

ON THE COVER A Glimpse Into the Future USD engineering is preparing students for the future through programs that support what comes next.

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USD ENGINEERING

Not Your Average Engineer

processes that will make things at least a little bit easier.” That’s when Clawson decided the funeral services industry needed Clozure — an end-of-life concierge service marketplace. Clozure uses app-based technology along specially trained Clozure concierges to help clients navigate the end-of-life process and determine which products and services are best for families. The con cierge team customizes celebrations of life for clients who aren’t interested in the traditional funeral experience. Tom Sizemore was their first client. With nearly two decades of business experience, Clawson admits, “I knew a little bit about a lot of things, but there were a lot of things I didn’t know, par ticularly on the technical side.” Pursuing the MITE degree gave him the business, technology and engineering background he need ed to pursue the idea. Clawson now sees a future focused on compassion within the end-of-life process — Clozure positively impacts clients, ensuring the experience is less stress ful for families and more about hon oring those we love. For Ringhof, Thomas and Clawson, their journeys may be very different from traditional engineering paths, but one thing is certain — the impact they are having is redefining what it means to be a Changemaker Engineer.

“The trick to having

by Allyson Meyer F

good ideas is not to sit around in glorious isolation and try to think big thoughts.

rom global policy to fashion to entrepreneurship, gradu ates from USD's Shiley-

that first inspired this gifted engineer to pursue a nontraditional path. Since then, it has been a journey of explora tion, something he credits USD for instilling in him through the diversity of classes he was offered. It was the skills acquired in his engineering courses that helped him understand the technological component of his work and the big picture concepts from courses in ethics and philosophy that have helped him see the world through a unique, global perspective. “I’m very thankful I’m not only an engineer … and not only seeing these things through an engineering mind, but that I try to think about these big ger questions,” says Ringhof. “I think USD was really helpful in triggering this curiosity.” It is a curiosity Ringhof knows will be a constant in his work to address issues like disinformation, polariza tion and other global issues on social media platforms. For him, it’s his way to “make our societies more demo cratic, liberal [and] fair.” or Tabitha Thomas, a 2018 mechanical engineering graduate, it was the quest for a creative outlet that led to her lifestyle and fashion influencer account, Pumps and Protractors. After graduating from USD, Thomas pursued positions within de fense and aerospace companies and today works in the nuclear energy F

Marcos School of Engineering are breaking through the traditional engineering mindset — carving out intriguing and meaningful career paths along the way. For Julian Ringhof, a 2015 mechan ical engineering graduate, it has been an exciting path from professional soccer fields in the United States to a graduate program at the University of Cambridge to where he is today as a policy officer for the European Commission. In this role, Ringhof focuses on the global impact of the European Union’s social media platform regulations. It is an interest in the intersection between technology and global policies

TABITHA THOMAS

The trick is to get more parts on the table.”

field. But she knew she wanted more. In 2019, she officially launched the influencer account and has watched it grow to around 80,000 followers. She devotes weekends and evenings to this endeavor, which combines her love for fashion and engineering. For those who wonder about the connection between her education and fashion, Thomas says the techni cal skills she learned at USD help with the fundamentals of running her blog, ensuring optimization and even consid ering user-centered design principles in connecting with audiences. In all, she credits USD for fostering the confi dence she needed to express herself and she likes to point out the importance of finding careers that are the right fit. “Engineers can be creative, they can

be fun, [they can] dress however they want, but they can also be good at the job and at what they do,” she says. “There’s no one format for who is an engineer — it can be anybody.”

or Christopher Clawson, a 2023 Master of Science in Innovation, Technology and

Entrepreneurship (MITE) graduate, his journey began with unexpected loss. The death of his older brother was an awakening for this entrepreneur, who describes the aftermath as existing in “crisis mode.” Planning the funeral allowed him little time to grieve. “There’s nothing that will make the sudden loss of a family member anything less than terrible,” he says. “But we could create systems and

— Author Steven Johnson

JULIAN RINGHOF

CHRISTOPHER CLAWSON

04 USD ENGINEERING Beyond Ones and Zeros by Elisa Lurkis A Conversation With Donor Walt Foley

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Advancing Mutual Interests Elevating Industry Partnerships

by Michelle Sztupkay

magine what it would be like to work alongside NASA Jet Propul sion Laboratory researchers in their mission to find microbial water- based life in the oceans of ice moons in our solar system or to work with Glaukos on a device used to accelerate the fight against glaucoma. At the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, computer science and engineering students are already working on these types of pioneering experiences through their capstone design projects and the Industry Partners Program (IPP). Chair of Electrical Engineering Venkat Shastri, PhD, recalls taking over the IPP in 2014. “In the beginning, we had about three or four partners — most were electrical engineering proj ects. We have since quadrupled our efforts with up to 16 industry-spon sored projects per year. Now, the proj ects are all interdisciplinary and have become a springboard for students to have an expansive experience — me chanical engineers are learning embed ded software, electrical engineers are learning to 3D print and computer sci ence students are looking at hardware.”

to two capstone design projects in the 2023-24 academic year. “The USD senior design engineers are enthusiastic, eager to learn and willing to challenge themselves,” says Fitzpatrick. “While [they] have a solid academic foundation and basic under standing of computer science, prob lem solving, software programming and related applications, they are also being exposed to advanced concepts and the latest cutting-edge industry software development practices, tech nologies and applications — things that they have not been exposed to in their previous coursework.” GTRI has hired an impressive six USD seniors and graduates as research engineers since they first partnered with USD in 2019. The program is a win-win collabora tion between industry and academia. “The industry partners gain access to nearly graduated engineers to work on a project that the company may not otherwise have had the resources for. Those students, in turn, receive hands-on, interdisciplinary experience solving real-world issues within a professional training ground and the opportunity to receive letters of recommendations and offers of employment.” Perry continues, “If students are provided with clear expectations at the beginning of the program, and they achieve those expec tations, there is such a great reward for everyone involved — that’s huge.”

In Spring 2023, Shastri handed the baton over to Associate Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering Leonard Perry, PhD, to take the pro gram to the next level. Perry has hit the ground running to standardize program processes. “My goal is to nurture the partner ships that we have, understand their needs, as well as those of the students and faculty, obtain their feedback and make sure we have clear steps and standard processes in place to meet those needs.” Long-time industry partner Mike “Scratch” Fitzpatrick, a principal research engineer at Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), looks for ward to increasing their sponsorship

men and only three women. We were the chosen ones who were challenged to get us to the moon before the Rus sians. We were focused on the mis sion — it was all ones and zeros. In the early 1960s, Isabelle Bates funded a cocurricular aero program at Mudd with Iris and Howard Critchell. Iris, an Olympic swimmer in Germany in 1936, became a pilot, ferried planes across the country as part of the Army Air Corps, then handed them over to the troops to fly them into World War II. The trio cre ated a program for nine students each year to experience “the privilege of flight.” The goal was to broaden us from just focusing on the moon and instill an appreciation of how aerody namics, avionics, FAA regulations, air traffic control and the challenges of mother nature’s impact interact with our narrowly focused technical goals. It was powerful for a young college engineering freshman. When did you and Csilla become philanthropists? Neither of us grew up with much money. My grandparents left me a small amount of money that I saved and eventually invested in Megatek when we started it in the early 1970s. When the company ultimately sold, we had resources that challenged us to figure out how to give back a little of our good fortune. Csilla, a psychol ogy major with a compassion for

alt and Csilla Foley have been strong supporters of the University of San

Diego almost since the launch of the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering (SMSE). Walt is an engineer with a bachelor of science from Harvey Mudd and a master of science from MIT. He serves on the SMSE advisory board and as an Industry Scholar mentor. Csilla is a supporter of the Engineering Exchange for Social Justice. They are more connected to USD than to any of the other higher education institutions with which they have been involved. We wanted to know why. What keeps you connected to USD? The mission and the breadth of the school keeps me connected. Harvey Mudd was pretty narrowly focused. There is a lot of talent there, but there’s more to a person than just math and science. I’ll be very candid. I don’t think that the level of technical exper tise at USD is as high as Mudd, but I don’t think that’s needed — it’s only one piece of a person. At USD, what I see is the goal of developing engineers as whole people. The humanity of the students is evident everywhere and I find that very meaningful. Describe your experience as an un dergraduate engineering student. I was in one of the early classes at Harvey Mudd. There were 60-plus

WALT FOLEY

those less fortunate, opened my mind to the benefits of a philanthropic fo cus on the whole person, not just sat isfying society’s technological needs. We were already supporters of Mudd and MIT, but the mission at neither place was compelling to Csilla. USD’s engineering students and fac ulty members working with local, under-resourced community groups was very appealing to her. USD pro vides us with meaningful programs to support — it allows us to see how the funds are being used and the impact of our giving. Any final thoughts to share? The diversity of the people that I meet at USD is amazing. Wherever I am on the USD campus, I see different aspects of human involve ment in engineering. It makes me truly appreciate the benefits of a liberal arts education. I see students getting broad-based skills in addition to engineering skills. The Bates program at Mudd exposed me to the world outside engineering. At USD, I come to appreciate that engineering itself should be multifaceted. It’s not just about getting the technology to work, it’s about how the technology works in society.

06 USD ENGINEERING Darkness

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Honoring

attract new students, retain exceptional faculty members and drive learning and innovation,” says Senior Director of Development and Alumni Relations Elisa Lurkis, who is tasked with sourc ing funds for the renovations. Phase I of the proposed renovations will include a single lab on the third floor. This particular renovation is not just about bringing the space up to date, it’s also about making it interdisciplin ary and modernizing the instruments. Chair of Electrical Engineering Venkat Shastri, PhD, and Chair of Integrated Engineering Susan Lord, PhD, both agree that this lab will encompass an “essential open-space floor plan for integrated teaching and conducting lab work.” This lab will also support the embedded software programs offered in the integrated engineering and computer science departments and will be shared between the three departments to advance those programs. The new lab will also serve as the backbone of the capstone program across com puter science, electrical, integrated and mechanical engineering. Standard instrumentation for the space will include oscilloscopes, sig nal generators, spectrum analyzers, circuit design, PCB prototyping, Lab VIEW and computers that have tools for embedded software development. Added features to existing MATLAB analysis tools will allow for more ma chine learning. According to Shastri, these cutting-edge tools will be “comparable to those found in indus try, giving students a significant ad vantage when joining the workforce.” Phase II renovations of the three second-floor electrical engineering labs will be more traditional in func tionality and will include new electrical benches, moveable furniture, storage cabinets and the removal and replace ment of the existing flooring with electrostatic flooring.

Since none of the second-floor labs are outfitted with windows, new win dow installations have been proposed to better illuminate the dimly lit spaces, which, according to Occupa tional Health and Safety, can provide heightened productivity levels. Electrical engineering alumna Erin Alex '05 recalls tinkering in these dark, windowless lab spaces. “The electrical engineering curriculum is robust, providing ample hands-on ex perience. Although the old labs served their purpose, these modernizations will be critical to further drive collab oration and innovation. The upgraded tools and design environment being proposed for the new labs will encour age more students to choose electrical engineering and will result in students wanting to spend more time in these labs. That’s why I’ve decided to per sonally support this effort and I hope other alumni will join me.” The long-awaited renovations, however, are dependent on funding. Each lab costs approximately $200,000 to renovate. The Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering has received a dona tion of $100,000 as of summer 2023. Dean Roberts will provide up to $100,000 in matching funds for every donation of $5,000 or more — those donors will have the opportunity to include their names on the list of do nors who made the renovation of the electrical engineering labs possible. “It has been a long time coming and we are thrilled to be on the cusp of providing a modernized, high-tech space that is no longer looming in the shadows, both literally and figuratively — a space where ideas are tested and genius is realized,” says a very opti mistic Roberts. For details on fund-matching opportuni ties to bring this vision to life, please contact elurkis@sandiego.edu or visit sandiego.edu/fundEElabs .

Electrical Engineering Lab Renovations

The Passing of an Iconic Mentor

Turns to Light

Sam Burt

by Michelle Sztupkay

endowed scholarship fund, the Sam Burt Memorial Engineering Scholarship, so his passion and devotion to the craft of engineer ing will live on through the work of USD’s engineering students. Endowed scholarship funds are permanently invested to provide earnings that support the university’s work in perpetuity. USD’s minimum required amount to create an endowed scholarship is $50,000. As of the date of this publication, we have raised approximately $36,000. Gifts of any size will help us reach this goal. Please contact Elisa Lurkis at elurkis@sandiego.edu or visit sandiego.edu/SamBurtFund if you would like to make a gift in Sam Burt’s honor.

Renovation plans are underway for four outdated labs at USD’s Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering. Dean Chell Roberts and electrical engineering faculty members have performed thorough needs assess ments for the labs and hired the architectural firm, Delawie to develop a plan that will bring the spaces up to 21st century pedagogical and technological standards. “The upgrade will be transforma tional, enabling the department to con duct instruction and research that will

lectrical engineering is one of the foundational disciplines of our increasingly tech-based society. As inventors, designers and creators, electrical engineers are trained to manipulate voltage and currents in creative and innovative ways that advance modern-day tech nology. To do so effectively, these practitioners need a space in which they can ideate, collaborate and make connections. It’s a space where the inconceivable becomes tangible — where darkness turns to light.

am Burt, a beloved lab tech nician at the University of San Diego’s Shiley-Marcos

School of Engineering since 2011, passed away suddenly on April 7, 2023. Burt was an iconic figure in the fabrication lab spaces. His impact on those around him was profound. He was a private man, with unwavering values, who, in his own unique style, selflessly went above and beyond for others. Those who were fortunate enough to get to know him quickly came to understand the depth of his kindness and generosity. Burt treated everyone equally and demanded excellence. Despite his gruff exterior, his dedication to his students, to his colleagues and to USD was authentic and undeniable. He was unconditionally devoted as a mentor, providing meaningful hands-on experience to help stu dents achieve their goals. A celebration of life was hosted by the school to respectfully honor a man who has forever shaped the lives of those he touched. The pal pable sense of loss and adoration was manifested by the outpouring of reflections from visibly moved students, alumni, colleagues and loved ones — all of whom had come from near and far to share their stories and pay their respects. The Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering is establishing an

RENDERING COURTESY OF DELAWIE

SAM BURT, FOREGROUND

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Memories. Milestones. Marvels.

Two years after its founding and with a $2 million National Science Foundation Revolutionizing Engineering Departments grant, USD engineering transformed its program with a focus on change

that reflect a broader view of engi neering practice, including the ability for students and faculty to engage with individuals and com munities impacted by our designs. This meant considering contexts beyond the technical,” says Rob erts. “This appeals to a broader set of students who are increasingly more connected to environmental and social issues, and in turn, changes the demographics of engineering students, the faculty we hire to lead this type of educa tion and the internal programs we support for our students.” As the program continued to expand, the computer science track moved from the College of Arts and Sciences to the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, and new cen ters in cybersecurity, data science and social justice were founded. In 2018, with a generous gift from John and Raffaella Belanich, the program’s physical footprint changed with the opening of the Belanich Engineering Center. From new classrooms to student innovation spaces and labs, the remodel changed the engineering experience and set the stage for continued success.

A Nod to the Past

by Allyson Meyer

making. For students, this meant learning experiences rooted in other avenues of study. It also paved the way for additional grant opportunities — from funding the launch of the integrated engineer ing program to faculty research on racial equity in engineering education. As the opportunities grew, so did connections to local, national and global communities. Programs offered students a robust approach to an edu cation, everything from water quality studies in Uganda and user-centered design collaborations with nonprofits to ocean plastic pollution research and the exploration of the intersection between art and engineering. “With the grant, we focused on incorporating curricula and processes

he University of San Diego's engineering roots began in the 1980s when electrical engineering launched within the College of Arts and Sciences. In 1995, it moved to the School of Business and a year later the industrial and systems engineering program started. Me chanical engineering soon followed, and opportunities for engineering stu dents continued to grow on campus. However, this was just the begin ning for benefactress Darlene Marcos Shiley, who recognized the need to further the field of study at USD. In 2013, in honor of her late husband, Donald Shiley — a renowned engi neer who invented the tilting disc artificial heart valve — Marcos Shiley gave the transformative founding donation to launch the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering. With this gift came the opportunity to define the future of engineering education at USD with Chell Roberts, PhD, lead ing the charge as founding dean. April 2015 marked the dawn of a new era for the school with the com pletion of the first phase of expansion and renovations on the first floor of the school’s space. The much-needed facilities made way for three distinct spaces that integrate cutting-edge tools, equipment and technology into the learning environment — Donald’s Garage, the Ideation Space and the fabrication lab.

“I chose to work at the University of San Diego because I believe education transforms lives, and in turn, our world. Growing engineering during the past 10 years has been focused on putting together the right people, partners and infrastructure where that miracle of transformation can be propelled.” — Chell Roberts, PhD Founding Dean of the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering

CHELL ROBERTS, PHD/RICK OLSON, PHD

USD ENGINEERING

he year 2023 marks the 10-year anniversary of USD’s Shiley-Marcos School T A Toast to the Present

“Nearly 10% of engineering students come from the GCC,” says Elisa Lurkis, senior director of development and alumni relations. “A few years ago, we decided we needed to do better at supporting these students while they are study ing at USD and to reconnect with them after they graduate.” In 2020, USD engineering launched its Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Action (IDEA) Committee. “The IDEA committee was created as a dedicated effort by the school to ensure that equity and inclusion issues are addressed systematically and consistently across the engineering school,” says Assistant Dean of Student Engagement and Inclusive Excel lence Rhonda Harley, PhD, who serves as chair of the committee. “This cultural shift that the IDEA committee seeks to impact will support the entire engineering school community and contribute to long-term sustainable change.” With engineering societies and organizations, like the National Society of Black Engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and Society of Women Engineers, the school ensures students have access to peer mentorship, networking opportunities and community at USD. For Olson, the school may have grown over the past decade, but some things remain the same. “We still have a student-centric, hands-on approach in everything we do,” he says. “I think that’s the essence of the experience that students have here. That hasn’t changed.”

aving begun her journey at the Univer sity of San Diego nearly 15 years ago, Truc up outside the United States. I’d like to think these differing experiences help make the school a reflection of what we think the profession can look like and that students can see themselves in their faculty.” As more students have pursued engineering degrees, enrollment figures at the undergraduate levels have nearly doubled. In its first year, the school enrolled more than 400 undergraduate students. Today, those numbers have grown exponentially, with more than 700 undergraduate students enrolled. Since 2016, the school has grown to include six new master’s degrees — five of which are offered online. In Fall 2023, the school launched its master’s program in Engineering Management and Leadership. It also collaborated in the launch of the new interdisciplinary minor in cognitive sciences, a cross-campus partnership bringing together faculty from all three undergraduate schools at USD. With anticipated changes in en rollment, the engineering school has proactively addressed ways to better serve its student body, includ ing outreach efforts to the Gulf Coast Countries (GCC). there were three full-time women faculty members. Since then, the number has grown to 15, making up 40% of tenured positions. “We’re a much more diverse faculty than we were 10 years ago. Back then, most people were approxi mately the same age. Now we [have] people who are starting their careers and others who have been at USD for 30 years,” says Associate Dean Rick Olson, PhD. “We’ve added more faculty members who grew

of Engineering. From its humble beginnings to the City of San Diego’s proclamation of May 4, 2023, as Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering Day, the school’s progress and impact is abundantly clear. The growth in student population and the programs offered has skyrocketed, the engi neering degree programs offered at USD are all now ABET accredited; and the ranking of USD’s engineer ing programs has consistently been included among the country’s top 15 undergraduate nondoctoral pro grams. An impressive decade, indeed. Throughout the year, anniversary celebrations were in full swing, hon oring the benefactress and the dedi cated individuals involved in the school’s proliferating success — from faculty and staff members who built the school and its programs to alum ni, donors, industry partners, campus community members and advisory board representatives who have supported the growth along the way. Marcos Shiley's pride in the school and its students was on full display in March 2023 at the anniversary campus celebration. Within Donald’s Garage, her “favorite space” at USD, she was greeted by engaged engineering and computer science students donning matching USD Shiley-Marcos T-shirts for the occasion. For this charismatic benefactress, connecting directly with the students was an op portunity to witness firsthand the impact her founding donation has had on USD engineering. The school has seen a lot of change over the past decade. In 2013,

IMAGINE•INNOVATE•INSPIRE

USD ENGINEERING

A Glimpse Into the Future s the school looks ahead, it continues to define the next generation of Changemaker

successes so far are driving what comes next. “We’re showing we can grow the engineering and computer science programs and make the school inclu sive for students, staff and faculty,” he says. “We are attracting people to engineering who might not have seen themselves in the profession 20 years ago. We are offering new, more di verse options for people who want to have impactful careers that make the world a better place. I think the Shi ley-Marcos School of Engineering will continue to do that.” For Roberts, it is the liberal arts education combined with an engineering degree that is shaping the future of leadership. “Students are taking a full robust set of core courses that make them broad in their educational back ground and they’re taking as much engineering as anybody else I know. They’re marrying those two so they can engage in a social context and so they can become ethical leaders,” he says. “The person who can design something, see what it means, how to do it and who it impacts, and de sign around the community and oth er people, that’s the leader.” Perhaps benefactress Darlene Marcos Shiley sums this up best. “We have come so far in such a short period of time because every one is really working together. It would make my husband wildly happy to know that there are so many different kinds of engineers here and I think he would look around and say, ‘this is a group that was able to do amazing things in 10 years and I can hardly wait to see what they do in 20.’”

In addition to this program, the school is growing its industry part nerships on an international level, expanding through connections with universities, companies, alumni and alumni families in India and Saudi Arabia. Since 2014, the school has invested in these industry partner ships, giving students real-world experiences outside the classroom. “Before 2013, few capstone proj ects were for external partners. Now they are all sponsored by companies, or nonprofit [organizations] or entre preneurial projects created by stu dents,” says Olson. “It has been suc cessful because of the faculty who have worked hard to build connec tions and the students have done really nice work for the partners.” USD engineering is also continu ing to invest in its learning spaces, fostering an environment where the best learning can occur. This in cludes renovating the second-floor electrical engineering labs, which have not been updated since engi neering was first established at USD. “The labs do not have windows and are dark and dingy, with anti quated furniture,” says Lurkis. “Electrical Engineering (EE) is, in part, about light, and we are seek ing to renovate these spaces so that they are light and inspiring, with updated equipment and furniture that fosters collaboration. This is an opportunity to breathe new life into the EE major at USD.” For Olson, who has witnessed so much change in the program, the proof that USD engineering can cre ate the future is evidenced in all that has been achieved so far. Where the future may lead is uncertain, but the

Engineers. Preparing students now for the future means establishing the pro grams that can support what comes next. This includes the launch of a dual bachelor of science and bachelor of arts degree in data science. “Both data science and artificial intelligence (AI) are becoming sig nificant drivers of the world econo my,” says Roberts. “I foresee a future where most engineering and com puting professionals will need skills in both to be competitive. We have a team of faculty members and indus try leaders working now to create a new degree and a minor in data sci ence that will include the use of AI tools such as chatbots. The major provides an opportunity for students to fully engage in data science, while the minor should provide students with an opportunity to learn to use data science and AI in their majors.” The school is also launching its India Engineering Education Part nership — creating educational paths for 4,000 hybrid students in India to pursue one of the school’s engineering master’s programs. “We are embarking on a journey to provide access to thousands of students in India. This is a mission of access where we have figured out how we can provide many of our online engineering degrees at a tuition rate that is affordable in India,” says Roberts. “The big picture is internationalization. We are in the process of expanding our intranational reach for the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineer ing and we will start next year.”

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USD ENGINEERING

A Long

NEWS BRIEFS

For two years running, Dean Chell Roberts, Elisa Lurkis, SMSE senior director of development and alumni relations, and Charles Bass, USD senior director of development for academic affairs, have traveled to Saudi Arabia to connect back with alumni and families once students have graduated and returned to their home countries. They spent time in Jeddah and were hosted in the gracious fashion that is a trademark of the Saudis. Sumaya Dahlawi and Fawaz Halwani served as the trio’s Jeddah host family and deliv ered a spectacular alumni experience at their beautiful family home, which reunited many Toreros and families. The hosts also organized a tour of their family business, Halwani Bros. “We are working in Saudi Arabia as a thrust area for internationaliza tion through industry partnerships,” says Roberts. “Halwani Bros. is one of the most well-known and import ant food manufacturing and distri bution companies in the Middle East, with an impressive factory that utilizes cutting-edge engineering processes and capabilities. They have offered to partner with us on internships, which we hope to start in summer 2024.” From Jeddah, Lurkis and Roberts traveled to Dammam. Another USD family, Mohamed and Aseel Zakzouk, served as their hosts for this portion of the visit. The Zakzouks arranged for a meeting at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. Roberts is working to expand SMSE’s international reach into the Dammam region by “exploring executive short course education and offering a part of a degree program as an extension of our industry part ners program into the Middle East.” Lurkis and Roberts finished their trip with a visit to Riyadh, where they met with multiple USD alumni,

Connections With our GCC Toreros

Way From Home he Gulf Cooperation

New Minor in Cognitive Science Starting in Fall 2023, USD began offering a new interdisciplinary minor in cognitive science — the scientific study of minds and brains, real or artificial. The new minor helps prepare students for a wide variety of careers at the interfaces of technology, minds, brains and behavior and was created by Assistant Professor at USD: Jennifer Olsen, PhD, from the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering’s Department of Computer Science; Laura Getz, PhD, from the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Psychological Sciences; and Marilynn Johnson, PhD, from the College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Philosophy. Onboarding Six New Hires The Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering successfully onboarded six new faculty and staff members over the course of the year. In Fall 2023, we welcomed Assistant Professor Sophia Krause-Levy, PhD, as our newest addition to the computer science department and Professor of Practice Haydar Majeed for the Master of Science in Cybersecurity Engineering program. Hannah Holtzman, PhD, joined us from USD’s Humanities Center and now serves as director of the Center for Digital Civil Society and Angelo Colon now serves as our new senior academic advising specialist. Executive assistants Hattie Morgan and Ryan Smith joined USD in Fall 2022 and Spring 2023, respectively, to support our growing school. Biofuel From Local Brewery’s Wastewater University of San Diego students and professors Odesma Dalrymple, PhD, Marissa Forbes, PhD, and Drew Talley, PhD, are developing a formula for creating a sustainable biofuel using a mix of beer wastewater from Stone Brewing Company, kelp and fish or sheep waste. In 2022, Stone Brewing Company reclaimed more than 11 million gallons of wastewater using an on-site water reclamation system. The USD team is collaborating with researchers from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, in Barbados, who developed a successful formula for biofuel as a gasoline replacement, using rum wastewater, seaweed and sheep manure. Out of This World

Council (GCC) is an alliance of states that consists of six countries in Western Asia, includ ing Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. With nearly 10 percent of the University of San Diego’s Shiley by Elisa Lurkis T

Marcos School of Engineering’s (SMSE) undergraduate population coming from the Gulf Coast, the school has been developing long term plans to strengthen relation ships with alumni, students, par ents, universities and companies from across the GCC.

SUMAYA DAHLAWI AND ELISA LURKIS

including a sumptuous alumni dinner organized by Samael ’21 (ISyE) and Samaher ’21 (ISyE) Alblaihess. Alumna Mae Al Shanafey ’21 (ISyE), ’22 (MBA), also arranged for a dinner with her family at their lovely home. “It is amazing to reconnect with so many Toreros living in the Gulf Coast countries,” Lurkis reflects. “The level of enthusiasm that our alumni display upon reconnecting with their alma mater is uplifting to see.” In addition to reconnecting with alumni and establishing partnerships with companies and other universities, SMSE has implemented efforts to sup port students from the GCC region while they are studying at USD. The school has designated an office as a prayer space that can be used through out the year, with additional prayer space added during Ramadan. The school also hosted an Arabic Coffee Hour and an Eid celebration. “These are just small ways to show these students that we care and want them to feel welcome on campus,” said Lurkis, “Students from this region are a long way from home and we want to support them in any way we can. And it is an opportunity for American students, faculty and others to learn a little bit about their customs and practices. It’s a learning opportunity for all of us, which is what higher education is all about.”

Four crew members have been assigned to launch on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission for a long-duration stay aboard the Inter national Space Station. NASA astronaut Commander Matthew Dominick ’05 (EE) will join Expedition 70 and 71 crew mem bers aboard the station in early 2024 to conduct a wide-ranging set of operational and research activities.

HALWANI BROS. TOUR

MATTHEW DOMINICK

IMAGINE•INNOVATE•INSPIRE

USD ENGINEERING

Faculty

ence, the AIAA SciTech Forum, the U.S.-Japan Joint Symposium for Composite Materials and the ASME Aerospace Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference. Marissa Forbes, PhD, assistant profes sor of mechanical engineering, and USD colleagues were awarded a $600,000 National Science Foundation grant for their project, “RET Site: Cli mate Changemakers in Waste Upcy cling, Water Justice and Sustainable Energy.” Dr. Forbes and Associate Pro fessor of Mathematics C. Bobbi Han sen, EdD, served as co-principal inves tigators on the project and Associate Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering Odesma Dalrymple, PhD, serves as principal investigator. Dr. Forbes published an article, “The Complexities and Benefits of Commu nity-Partnered Projects for Engineering Capstone Design Students,” in Trends in Higher Education with Gordon Hoople, PhD. She and Susan Lord, PhD, had an article published in Trends in Higher Education , titled” A Place-Based Sustainability Approach to Learning about Photovoltaic Solar Energy.” Melissa Gibbons, PhD, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, was named the San Diego County Engineering Council’s 2023 Outstand ing Engineering Educator. She was also selected as the 2023 University of San Diego Campus KEEN Rising Star for demonstrating an inspirational

Bringing Great Accolades to USD Academic Leaders

Achievements

FRANK JACOBITZ, PHD

IMANE KHALIL, PHD

SUSAN LORD, PHD

Computational Fluid Dynamics, an Introduction to Modeling and Applica tions . After teaching a technical elective course on CFD at USD, Dr. Khalil developed a textbook based on her own notes. In spring 2023, Dr. Khalil became chair of the San Diego American Society of Me chanical Engineers (ASME) section. Jae Kim, PhD, associate professor and chair of industrial and systems engi neering, finished his first year leading the department as chair. Kathleen Kramer, PhD , professor of electrical engineering, is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) senior member and has been elected as the 2024 IEEE presi dent-elect. She is set to begin serving as president on January 1, 2025. Susan Lord, PhD, professor and chair of integrated engineering, and Cynthia Finelli, PhD, from the University of Michigan, were awarded a $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to support their project “Collaborative Research: Integrating Sociotechnical Issues in Electrical Engineering Starting With Circuits.” She gave a presentation on "Enhanc ing Learning and Inclusivity in Elec trical Engineering" in the University of Toronto's Electrical and Computer Engineering Distinguished Lecture Series and was a recipient of the 2023 Diversity and Inclusion Impact Awards.

approach to making the engineering classroom a value-driven partnership between students and faculty members. Frank Jacobitz, PhD, professor and chair of mechanical engineering, led the self-study for the academic program review of the mechanical engineering program. He published a paper on xylem filtration for point of-use water filtration in developing countries in collaboration with engi neering students and colleagues at USD, Israel and Uganda, and presented a paper at the International Sympo sium on Turbulence and Shear Flow Phenomena on a scale-dependent analysis of fluid accelerations in homo geneous turbulent shear flow. He taught the Topics in Fluid Mechanics course at the German Aerospace Center in Göttingen, Germany. He also taught a Water in California and Israel course, traveled to Israel and welcomed students and faculty members from Azrieli College to USD in April 2023. Zella Kahn-Jetter, PhD, professor of practice of mechanical engineering, is serving as the acting chair of the me chanical engineering department while Frank Jacobitz, PhD, is on sabbatical. Imane Khalil, PhD, associate professor of mechanical engineering and associ ate dean of graduate programs, pub lished with Issam Lakkis, PhD, from the American University of Beirut, a McGraw Hill textbook on CFD —

Engineering Education, with USD colleagues Gordon Hoople, PhD, and Susan Lord, PhD, as well as Alex Mejia, PhD, from the University of Texas, San Antonio. She published an editorial, “Reframing Racial Equity in Engineer ing Education," in the European Society for Engineering Education , and pub lished a book chapter, "Entry Points, Barriers and Institutional Support for Social Justice in Engineering Curricula,” in the International Handbook of Engineering Education . Paulina Díaz-Montiel, PhD, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, published a research article on ma chine learning techniques for damage identification in composites in the journal Structural Control and Health Monitoring . She also published a re search article on the effect of manu facturing defects on the strength of advanced composites in the journal Composite Structures . Dr. Díaz-Montiel presented the main findings of this research at the American Society for Composites 37th Technical Confer

Mark Chapman, PhD, assistant professor of integrated engineering, received the 2022-23 Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award. Dr. Chapman published a scientific article in Physio logical Reports . He continues his re search at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, which uses bioinformatics to examine the effects of long-term exercise on the genes in our muscles. Additionally, he brought six under graduate students to Stockholm to conduct bioinformatics research as part of the U.S.-Sweden Clinical Bioin formatics Research Training Program. Diana Chen, PhD, associate professor of integrated engineering, spent the academic year on sabbatical. She gave several talks and workshops on embedding justice, equity, diversity and inclusion into technical content at the University of Denver’s School of Mines and the Rocky Mountain Alliance for Minority Participation. She was awarded an $800,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for her project in Racial Equity in

Tom Lupfer, professor of practice in computer science, joined the Advisory Council of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue, as well as the Global Tech Security Commission as a technology commissioner for robotics and advanced manufacturing. Truc Ngo, PhD, professor of industrial and systems engineering and associ ate provost for research administra tion, received the 2022-23 University Professorship award and Educational Excellence in the Community award, recognizing her work with late engi neering colleague Sam Burt, stu dents, alumni and San Pedro Parish in the Dominican Republic since 2014. She published two peer- reviewed research articles, one in International Journal of Engineering Education with adjunct professor Jeff Wield and an undergraduate student co-author, and another in Pharmaceutics with co-author Dr. Jae Kim. Dr. Ngo also received a grant award from the San Diego Foundation to provide STEM intern ship experiences for underrepresented high school and college students. Jennifer Olsen, PhD, assistant profes sor of computer science, was a found ing faculty member of the cognitive science minor now offered at the University of San Diego. She also had two chapters published in the Handbook of Artificial Intelligence in Education .

DARLENE SHILEY/ MARK CHAPMAN, PHD

PAULINA DÍAZ-MONTIEL, PHD

MARISSA FORBES, PHD

IMAGINE•INNOVATE•INSPIRE

USD ENGINEERING

Alumni

Tabitha Thomas (formerly Ary) (ME) currently works as a systems engineer for NuScale Power. In her free time, she enjoys working as a freelance fashion model and traveling with her husband, USD engineering alumnus Noah Thomas. They continue to enjoy the home they recently purchased in Temecula, California, with pup Emma. 2019 Maaron Tesfaye Bea (ME) works as a technical product manager for Dynata, the world’s largest first- party data platform for insights, activation and measurements. She married fellow USD alumnus Nick Bea ’17 in fall 2022.

engineering. Her thesis work focused on in situ laser diagnostics for com bustion applications.

Anya Soloviov (ISyE) continues work ing at Amazon within the Alexa Video and Fire TV team as a senior program manager diving into the tech side. She and her husband live in Tampa Bay, Florida, where they enjoy collecting harvests from their home garden and playing with their dog, Chuck.

She continues to work as an adjunct assistant professor for the computer science and industrial and systems engineering departments within the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering. Kim Woodbury (ISyE) earned her MBA from the University of Wiscon sin-Madison in 2023. She continues to work at Thermo Fisher Scientific and earned a promotion in 2022 when she joined the BioProduction Strategic Portfolio and Project Management team. Woodbury recently moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with her part ner, Ari, and their adopted pup, Pongo.

Undergraduate Engineering and Computer Science Alumni Updates

Notes

2001 Nathan Schneider (EE) retired from the U.S. Navy after 22 years of ser vice. He and his family moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area and he accepted a job as a first officer with American Airlines on the Airbus 320.

MADELINE VORENKAMP MARK SASAKI

2018 Rasem Alrashdi (ME) is a senior ana lyst at the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. He enjoys volunteering with multiple nonprofit organizations and continues working to achieve his part in the Saudi Arabian 2030 vision. Andrew Billigmeier (ME) continues to expand Agrishield, a start-up he launched while at USD. The company designs, manufactures and sells prod ucts for the vineyard and orchard market. In 2022, Billigmeier married his high school sweetheart. Gautam Daryanani (EE) started a new position working for Meta as part of the Silicon team working on AR/VR technologies. He continues to serve the USD community as an advi sor to his fraternity, Beta Theta Pi. Mark Sasaki (ME) started a new posi tion this year as senior process engineer at Clarity Design, Inc. He welcomed his second child, Luke, in May 2023.

ANYA SOLOVIOV MEI-LI HEY

2017 Mei-li Hey (ME) , after supporting the integration and launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in French Guiana, accepted the position of manager of Cryocooler Manufac turing at Northrop Grumman. In Fall 2023, she began her studies at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to pursue a PhD in Environ mental Health and Engineering.

JOE QUIROZ

2010 Matt Leigh (ME) recently won his second Grammy working with Willie Nelson on the album, A Beautiful Time . He and his lovely wife, Katy, welcomed their first child in September 2023. 2012 Jenna Rohrbacker (ME) recently moved to Howell, Michigan, with her fiance, Eric Sampson. She still works for Northrop Grumman as a senior principal systems engineer. Rohr backer and her fiance will be getting married in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in December 2023. 2014 Professor Philip Hoskinson (ME) ac cepted a professorship with Nashville State College in Tennessee and contin ues to develop his real estate portfolio. 2015 Tawni Paradise (ISyE) welcomed her first child, Atlas Edwards, in April 2023 with her husband, Alex Edwards.

KIM WOODBURY

2016 Mike Bagian (ME) and his wife, Lauren ’17, graduated from The Ohio State University. He earned his MBA and is going into consul- ting and Lauren earned her PhD in anatomy and will begin teaching medical students. Keanu Gututala (EE) started a new position as an electronics engineering manager for Northrop Grumman's San Diego office. He recently com pleted a two-week road trip across the country with a fellow USD alumnus. Aimee Slavensky (ME) started a job as a technical project manager for Edisen, LLC. She also started a busi ness, The Baker’s Crate. Slavensky lives in San Diego with her fiance, Allen, and their puppy, Rye.

MAARON TESFAYE BEA

NATHAN SCHNEIDER

Brian Lee (ME) is continuing his work with the Naval Information Warfare Center in developing cutting-edge autonomous ISR systems to enhance the capabilities of the U.S. Navy. Anton Navazo (ME) just completed a year as an R&D engineer at Los Alamos National Labs. Though he misses the beaches of San Diego, New Mexico has a lot of natural beauty and outdoor activities to offer to supplement his time at the laboratory. 2020 Shahad Alkazemi (ISyE) joined the Amiri Diwan of Kuwait as a junior industrial engineer in 2023. The

2002 Sam Hillebrand (EE) started a new position in January 2022 as a systems engineer at Smarsh Inc. in Portland, Oregon, where he has been living for the last 12 years. 2007 Joe Quiroz (ISyE) married Kylie Armstrong at The Immaculata in Jan uary 2022. They welcomed their first child, Norah Kathleen, in January 2023 and shortly thereafter moved their family from San Diego to Phoe nix, Arizona. Quiroz has been serving (now in a remote capacity) as a lead project engineer with General Atom ics Aeronautical Systems based in Poway, California, since 2014.

Rachel Lloyd (ISyE) started a new position this year as a decision ana lytics consultant at ZS Associates in San Diego, California. She also does stand-up comedy around the greater San Diego area. Madeline Vorenkamp (ME) graduat ed from Princeton University with her PhD in mechanical and aerospace

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