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Alumni, Faculty, Staff and Friends Celebrate 44th Engineering Alumni Society Awards

Alumni, Faculty, Staff and Friends Celebrate 44th Engineering Alumni Society Awards

On February 26, 2021, the College of Engineering hosted the 44th Engineering Alumni Society Awards to celebrate the achievements of 12 exceptional engineering alumni, as well as faculty and staff. The virtual nature of this year’s event allowed more than 140 guests to gather online to recognize these alumni for their service, leadership, excellence, stewardship and technical advancements. Their biographies can be found on the College’s website.

The evening began with opening remarks from Drosdick Endowed Dean Michele Marcolongo, PhD, and Villanova University President Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD. The first awards to be presented were those recognizing staff and faculty.

The Staff Work Process Improvement Award was bestowed on Megan Amis ’20 MBA, the College’s Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications. The recipient of the Award for Teaching Excellence is Dr. Virginia Smith, assistant professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

After remarks from George R. Kolb ’84 VSB, Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations, the alumni awards began with recognition for Meritorious Service and Professional Achievement. This year’s awardees are:

MERITORIOUS SERVICE

Elizabeth Andrews ’12 ChE, ’18 MSSE
Keith Lieberman ’93 CE, ’05 MSWREE
Eugene Fogarty ’58 EE
Ean Mulligan ’09 ME

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT

David Guro ’84 ChE
April Barkasi ’96 CE, ’98 MSWREE
Philip Piro ’50 EE
Steven Benvenuto ’96 ME

The evening continued with the presentation of four awards in honor of the College of Engineering’s past deans:

The Gary A. Gabriele Memorial Award was instituted in 2018 to recognize an alumnus who has promoted equity in the field of engineering. The recipient may have championed women or underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in engineering; supported STEM outreach activities to introduce socially, geographically and economically diverse students to the discipline; or encouraged, advanced and empowered these individuals in the workplace. The deserving alumnus must also have demonstrated a positive attitude toward promoting the name and programs of Villanova’s College of Engineering.

The 2021 recipient of the Gary A. Gabriele Award is Annina Hogan ’13 MSChE, Chief Operating Officer at Remington & Vernick Engineers.

The John J. Gallen Memorial Award recognizes the technical achievements of an alumnus who graduated from the College less than 15 years ago.

The 2021 recipient is Peiman Naseradinmousavi ’12 PhD, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at San Diego State University.

The Carl T. Humphrey Memorial Award recognizes the professional achievements of an alumnus who earned a master’s degree from the College more than five years ago.

The 2021 recipient is Patrick J. Smith ’82 ME, ’90 MSME. Smith is a Fellow at Air Products where he is the Global Machinery Technology Manager and the Global Machinery Lead on the Operational Excellence Technical Team.

The J. Stanley Morehouse Memorial Award is presented for outstanding leadership at the highest level.

The 2021 recipient is Dr. Robert McNally ’70 EE, who had a long and successful career in the medical biotech industry. Most recently he was president and CEO of GeoVax.