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College of Engineering Alumni Class Notes

In Memoriam

William J. Lytle ’59 CE

William J. Lytle ’59 CE died on June 6, 2021 in York, PA. After attending Villanova on an ROTC scholarship, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps before returning to G.A. & F.C. Wagman, where he had interned during his college summers. In 1990, he and his son established their own company, Midlantic Piling Inc. Read more.

Maurice “Chip” Garry ’83 ME

Maurice “Chip” Garry ’83 ME passed away on June 1, 2021 in Coronado, CA. He was 59 years old. Read more.

Joel Pulliam ’86 ME died on June 1, 2021 after a five month battle with kidney cancer. At the time of his death, he was the Chief Product Officer for Brightfield. Read more.

Pasquale "Pat" DiGiuseppe ’66 EE died on May 19, 2021; he was 76. He was associated with Weyerhaeuser Co. for 37 years at manufacturing sites in Plymouth and Valliant, Okla., and later became corporate director of maintenance support. Pat also had an extensive music career as a member of the “Revelers” for 15 years, a popular rock band during the 60s and 70s, performing as a tenor sax and keyboard musician.  Read more.

Mr. Andrew "Drew" G. Hakun ’90 ChE

Mr. Andrew "Drew" G. Hakun ’90 ChE, a veteran U.S. Navy Officer and highly respected Department of Defense civilian employee for over 30 years, passed on February 20, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, from complications related to a heart attack. He was 52. Read more.

Bartholomew “Bart” Starkey ’53 ChE

Bartholomew “Bart” Starkey ’53 ChE died on December 19, 2020. Bart began a career with E. I. DuPont de Nemours Company in Wilmington, Del. upon graduation from Villanova. His DuPont career spanned 37 years, during which he secured several patents, including a process for the production of polyethylene. From Wilmington, DuPont transferred Bart, Pat, and family to Orange, Texas (Sabine River Works), and finally to Vienna, W.Va. (Washington Works). He retired in 1991 as an Engineering Fellow. Read more.

 

Summer 2021

 

1970s

Bob Grubic '73 CE

Herbert, Rowland & Grubic was named Design Firm of the Year by ENR MidAtlantic. The Harrisburg, Pa.-based company focuses primarily on public clients, especially county and municipal ones. Partner, CEO and Chairman of the Board Bob Grubic is a 1973 Villanova Civil Engineering alumnus. More.

 

1980s

Robert “Bob” T. Murphy ’81

Robert “Bob” T. Murphy ’81 CE, PE, CGC, has been named president of Central Civil Construction in South Florida. Murphy has nearly 40 years of construction industry experience, specializing in management and executive administration of public works and transportation construction. Following graduation and his early years in road and utility construction in New Jersey, Murphy came to Florida in 1985 as an engineer coordinator for Capeletti Bros. and quickly advanced to vice president and chief operating officer. Most recently, he was regional director for Daniel O’Connell’s Sons.

 

1990s

Christopher J. Brown ’97 MSCE has joined Allied Engineering in Bozeman, MT.

Jamie Iudica ’98 ChE, ’06 MBA

Jamie Iudica ’98 ChE, ’06 MBA has been named Chief Manufacturing Officer for Istari Oncology. He was previously with Xellia Pharmaceuticals, where he was Senior Vice President, Global Product Supply. Read more.

 

2010s

Allison Hollish ’10 ME

Allison Hollish ’10 ME won the 2020 American Society of Naval Engineers Rosenblatt Young Naval Engineer Award. She is the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Philadelphia Division’s (NSWCPD) Deputy Department Head of Cybersecure Hull Mechanical & Electrical (HM&E) Control Systems & Networks. The award recognizes remarkable, early professional achievement. More.

 

2020s

Paloma Vila ’20 MSSE

Paloma Vila ’20 MSSE has been named Lower Merion Township’s (PA) first sustainability manager. She has nine years of experience in technical environmental engineering, most recently as an environmental engineer at CDM Smith in Wayne, PA.

 

Spring 2021

 

1970s

William Smith ’73 EE

William Smith ’73 EE has been elected chairman of the USA Water Polo board. No stranger to aquatics, Smith is currently the United States Aquatic Sports president, the liaison for USA aquatic sports to FINA. Moreover, he has been involved in water polo for more than 25 years as an athlete, coach, and club director in the Greenwich, Connecticut area while also serving as a USA Water Polo board member in various capacities. More about William Smith.

 

1990s

Jennifer Miller ’91 MSWREE has been named senior underwriter in the Environmental Liability practice at AXIS Insurance. In this role, she will be responsible for writing new business and broadening relationships with distribution partners, with a focus on the U.S. South and Central regions. Miller previously served as a senior underwriter with Berkley Mid-Atlantic Group.

Christina Berardi Tuohy ’93 CE

Christina Berardi Tuohy ’93 CE is a water supply senior associate with Woodbury, NJ-based D&B Engineers and Architects. She previously worked as a senior engineer at Arcadis of New York, Inc. in Melville.

Amy Breitwieser ’96 ME

Amy Breitwieser ’96 ME has been named associate vice president for CP Engineers where she leads the Commercial and Industrial Services Group.

Michael Haley ’97 CE

Michael Haley ’97 CE has been named president and managing director of international operations for Inspire Brands, Inc. In his new role, he will be responsible for driving the international growth and development for Inspire’s portfolio of brands, which includes Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Sonic Drive-In, Jimmy John's, Rusty Taco and Baskin-Robbins. More about Michael Haley.

 

2000s

Andy Graziano ’08 CE, ’10 MSCE

Andy Graziano ’08 CE, ’10 MSCE has joined Lighthouse Financial as Vice President, Business Development covering the Southeast region including Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida. Graziano's primary responsibilities will include the marketing of Lighthouse's product offerings and origination of new asset-based loan opportunities. More about Andy Graziano.

 

2010s

Elizabeth DiBella Kremer ’10 ME

Elizabeth DiBella Kremer ’10 ME is working part-time as the San Juan Economic Diversification Coordinator. She and her husband are relocating to Silverton, CO.

Colleen Zagar ’12 CE

Colleen Zagar ’12 CE has been named a 2021 Woman of Influence in Engineering by San Diego Business Journal. A senior project engineer with Turner Construction in their San Diego office, Zagar serves on the planning committee of the firm’s Professional Women’s Group, which hosts events with the goal of elevating women in engineering and construction. She also serves as the lead trainer for the San Diego office.

 

Fall 2020

 

1970s

Robert Lund ’78 CE, ’81 MSCE

The Philadelphia Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) cited Robert Lund ’78 CE, ’81 MSCE as its Transportation Engineer of the Year for 2020. Lund was appointed as the Deputy General Manager for Engineering at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority earlier this year, culminating a 19-year career at SEPTA. In this position, he is part of the Authority’s leadership team and directs and manages all operations, infrastructure, vehicles, real estate and capital programs. He oversees a staff of nearly 8500 employees and directs a combined capital and operating budget of $1.35 billion.

 

1990s

Sandy (Echeverri) Martin ’99 ChE

Sandy (Echeverri) Martin ’99 ChE has joined Citi Private Bank as a Private Banker in the company’s Washington DC office where she is responsible for developing and managing relationships with high net worth individuals and is dedicated to providing outstanding customer service as the principal contact for her clients’ financial needs. Read more about Sandy Martin.

 

2010s

Dina Ferraiuolo '10 CE

Dina Ferraiuolo '10 CE, a civil engineer with VHB, was named one of Professional Women in Construction, New York's 40 Under 40 Outstanding Women in Construction for 2020. Read more about Dina.

 

Summer 2020

 

1980s

Lillian A. Dukes ’87 MSEE

Lillian A. Dukes ’87 MSEE has been appointed Senior Vice President, Technical Operations for Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. Read more about Lillian A. Dukes.

Rich Gunther ’87 ME has been named vice president of sales for Pure Wafer, America’s market leading supplier of reclaimed silicon wafers, thin film deposition, and parts cleaning services to the global semiconductor manufacturing industry. Read more about Rich Gunther.

Steve Tarallo ’89 ME

Steve Tarallo ’89 ME has joined the Annapolis, MD, office of Barton & Loguidice (B&L) as Senior Project Manager in the company’s Water/Wastewater Practice Area. Read more about Steve Tarallo.

 

1990s

Elizabeth “Liz” Porter ’93 EE

Elizabeth “Liz” Porter ’93 EE has been named Health Group President for Leidos, a FORTUNE 500® science and technology company. As group president, Porter will have responsibility for all Health Group activities, including new business growth, technology development and thought leadership. Liz had been serving as acting group president since March 9 and previously served as operation manager for the Civil Group's Federal Energy & Environment business. Her experience spans critical infrastructure system engineering and technology, business development, and program management including several leadership roles at Lockheed Martin.

 

2000s

Nicholas Mathews ’05 EE

Nicholas Mathews ’05 EE has been named a Rising Star by Law360.com. A principal with McKool Smith PC, Mathews has secured several victories on behalf of Ericsson earning him a spot among the intellectual property attorneys under age 40. Read more about Nichols Matthews.

Jeremy Young ’08 MSCE, PE, has been named principal and senior vice president for Schnabel Engineering where he is leading the company’s new Austin, TX, office.

Kortney Brown ’08 CE, ’11 MSWREE, PE, has been promoted to associate engineer at Schnabel Engineering where he has worked since graduating.  Since his start, he has helped solve challenges and successfully secured work from several major dam clients in Pennsylvania. He is also a student mentor and teaching liaison at Villanova.

 

Spring 2020

 

1980s

Jay Jones ’81 ME, ’88 MBA

Jay Jones ’81 ME, ’88 MBA has joined Nature's Bounty Co., a global leader in health and wellness, as Chief Supply Chain Officer. Jones was previously the Chief Operating Officer of Country Life LLC, a manufacturer of all-natural supplement and personal care products.

Thomas B. Hartman ’88 ME has been appointed CEO and president of the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE). Tom has a long history of success in the pharmaceutical industry, rising to the role of Vice President of GMP Operations, Biopharm CMC, for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). 

Brian Di Donato ’88 ME has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer and Head of Strategy for Immunocore, a pioneering, clinical-stage T cell receptor biotechnology company. Read more about Brian Di Donato.

 

1990s

Todd Duerr

Essential Utilities’ Aqua Pennsylvania has hired 27-year water utility industry veteran Todd Duerr ’95 MSWREE as vice president, production. Duerr’s career includes executive management, technical and business operations, business development and federal contracting. More about Todd Duerr.

Todd Duerr

Shamarukh Billah ’99 CE, P.E., LEED AP® BD+C, recently named chief civil engineer in STV's Buildings and Facilities (B&F) Division, has been promoted to vice president. Billah has more than 20 years of experience in site development, water resource engineering, and infrastructure design. More about Shamarukh Billah.

 

2000s

Ray Dominguez ’02 CE, PE, has been promoted to senior associate at Dewberry, and is the manager of the company’s Bloomfield traffic engineering department. He is a member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, where he serves on the student outreach committee.

 

2010s

Yvan-W. François Llenza ’10 MSChE was recently named to the board of directors of Renaissance Academy Charter School  in Phoenixville, Pa. Llenza is currently a senior director for global training at a medical devices company where he leads a team designing and deploying learning strategies across the globe.

Nicholas Lupisella

Nicholas Lupisella ’10 ME is moving to London to take on a role in health policy through Merck’s General Management Acceleration Program. He was also selected to the 2020 Philadelphia Business Journal's 40 Under 40.

Ian Carlos Agrait (Ian C. Hernandez Diaz) ’11 ME has been named president of Lean Enterprise Consulting.

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