USD Engineer Magazine

Want to find out more about what is going on with our Engineering department and alumni? Check out our latest issue of the USD Engineer Magazine.

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What Have USD Engineering Alumni Been up to?

[1993]
Mauricio Lopez-Hodoyan (EE)
has been married for six years to wife Gaby and they are the proud parents of Valeria and Mauricio Enrique, ages 5 and
3. After 16 years at Qualcomm, he recently was promoted to vice president of strategy and analysis of QCT (Chipsets).

[1994]
Daniel Ettlich (EE) and his family moved to Northern Virginia. He is now the director of submarine safety and quality assurance at the Naval Sea System Command at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. He and wife Jenna welcomed their fifth child, Hope Elizabeth, in January.
Andrew Isaksen (EE and IMBA’05) is now a supplier management procurement financial analyst at Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) working on the 787 Dreamliner program. He and his wife are adjusting to life and weather in Seattle.
Don Jenkins (EE) is now the director of energy markets and data quality at EnerNOC, where he is responsible for the management of demand response portfolios that reduce energy usage when dispatched by the grid operators across North America, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. His wife, Lorrie, and daughter, Alex, are both in college pursuing their bachelor degrees. Lorrie is attending Bridgewater State University majoring in criminal justice with a minor in political science, while
Alex finished her first year at Northeastern studying behavioral neuroscience.
Derek Kranig (EE) is living in Ham Lake, Minn. He went to Haiti in August 2012 on a mission trip with his church delivering water to families and visiting an orphanage as well as a home for the elderly. He has been an engineer with Innovative Laser Technologies in Minneapolis for seven years.

[1996]
Langford Wasada (EE) has transitioned to senior principal firmware engineer at Broadcom and is now solving puzzles in the cellular baseband arena.

[1997]
Christine Bridewell Keefe (EE) was promoted to technical manager in charge of the Multigenerational Radio Systems Engineering Team at Alcatel- Lucent. She begins her MBA studies at George Mason University this fall. She also is doing volunteer work in a variety of ways: as a catechist at her parish; on
the planning board for the Cormack Finn McCarty Foundation; and for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Scott Denton (EE) is now principal design engineer at Luxtera in Carlsbad, Calif., working on CMOS photonics. Prior to this, he sold uPlay, the company he co-founded, to Callaway Golf and had become its senior director of integrated devices. His daughter, Olivia, is 7.

[1998]
Vu Lac (EE) is a field applications engineer with Laird Technologies. Laird provides electro-mechanical shielding products. He and his wife, Caroline, have a 1-year-old son, Aiden.

[2000]
Daniel Empeno (EE) works as a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton. He supports the Foreign Military Sales Division of the MIDS Program Office. His wife, Jessica, is now the manager of admissions at San Diego Hospice. This year they celebrated 10 years of marriage by renewing vows on the big island
of Hawaii.
Ricardo Valerdi (EE) is an associate professor of systems and industrial engineering at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz. In the summer of 2012, he was a visiting fellow at the University of South Australia. He authors a quarterly column in Industrial Engineer magazine and recently was appointed co-editorin- chief of the Journal of Cost Analysis and Parametrics. He and his wife, Briana, have two sons, Rocco and Lucca, and welcomed a baby girl, Stella, last November.

[2001]
James Cena (EE) is still in the U.S. Navy and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander. He and his family are stationed in Monterey, Calif., while he attends the Naval Postgraduate School and pursues a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering. This year, he and his wife, Melanie, are celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary with their little girls, Deanna and Caitlyn.
Carlos Dominguez (EE) relocated to Rhode Island to work for 38 Studios on an amazing new MMO (Massive Multi-player Online) game. Sadly, it all came crashing down when the studio went bankrupt. He reports that it was an incredible experience becauses all the nearly 400 employees banded together,
gaining national media coverage that generated awareness for their situation. Carlos has now joined the integrated play department at Hasbro Inc. Carlos and his wife, Nicole, also welcomed their second son in August. Nicolas, their first, is almost 2 and is enjoying life in Rhode Island.
Mark Heffernan (EE) and his wife, Jenni, are welcoming their second baby girl in November.
Sally Mahdavi (EE) completed the Executive Perspectives for Scientists& Engineers Diploma at the University of California, San Diego, in May 2012.
Ika Santoso (ISYE) is based in Jakarta, Indonesia, and works at Bank Central Asia where she is a credit card unit business officer. On May 5, 2012, she married Ferdinan Marlim at Holy Family Catholic Church in Jakarta.
Alika Vasper (EE) and Michella Reyes Vasper (EE) welcomed a new addition to their family, a baby boy
named Eli Hokuokalani, in March.

[2002]
Oscar Arzu (EE) and his wife, Lauren, have two children, Nyla and Mason, ages 4 and 2. They live in
Woodland Hills, Calif. Oscar is now a senior systems engineer at Raytheon in Los Angeles.
Lisa Duvall (EE) is approaching seven years with Maxim Integrated Products in San Diego, Calif., where she is a senior account manager. She enjoys spending her free time with her two daughters, Lilly and Brooke, ages 2 and 1.
Estrellina Pacis Rius (EE) and her husband, Robert Rius, welcomed their first child, Roberto Vicente “Vince” Rius, in November 2011. Estrellina just celebrated her 10th year at SPAWAR Systems Center, Pacific, and continues to work in the robotics branch as a project manager. Estrellina oversees system integration of robot autonomy on small ground platforms to support various Warfighter mission applications. She also works for NASA Ames Research Center’s Intelligent Robotics Group, supporting analog rover tests and research in human-robot interaction.
Chris Smith (EE) has been working at Northrop Grumman for 12 years. He and his wife, Melanie, celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary this year and enjoy spending time with their two little girls, Presley and Aubrey
Jaclyn Sonico (ISYE) and her husband, Lt. Cmdr. Joe Hebreo, welcomed a son, Jaxen Philip Hebreo, in February 2012. Jaclyn is now based in San Diego.
Pedro Usma (EE) has been working for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) for 10 years. He is now an electrical engineer for the Logistics and Engineering Solutions Business Unit. He splits his time between the United Kingdom and the United States, testing Deployable Tactical Air Navigation (D-TACAN) systems.

[2003]
Melissa Glazebrook (EE) married Alec Kosy in May 2011. She and Alec both work for ViaSat based in Carlsbad, Calif. They are living and working in Turin, Italy, on a two-year assignment. They are taking full advantage of the opportunity and really enjoy being so close to the different countries and cultures.
Carlos Williams (EE) retired from the U.S. Navy in 2008 and is now an electrical engineer for Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest in Bremerton, Wash. In July of 2011, he received the Certified Energy Manager designation from the Association of Energy Engineers. He and Jody, his wife of 23 years, have four children.

[2004]
Scott Chicotka (EE) recently graduated with a Doctor of Medicine from the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland. He has just begun a five-year general surgery residency at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York.
Russell DeCaprio (ISYE) is with Booz Allen Hamilton in San Diego. He works to support overseas Navy networks with the establishment of more rigorous systems engineering and configuration management practices. He and his wife just welcomed their second son, Lincoln, in April 2012. In their “free” time, the DeCaprios operate Papercut Invites, specializing in customized printed products for weddings, parties
and other special occasions.

[2005]
Erin Fullinwider Alex (EE) is working to establish a new Los Angeles branch of AMA Consulting Engineers, a building service engineering firm. The firm’s biggest project is the new Universal City Broadcast Center, which will be home to NBC News. Last year, she married Christopher Alex in Founders Chapel. He is an architect currently working on the new Disneyland resort in Shanghai.
Tom Davis (EE) was married on Oahu, Hawaii, to Dr. Erin Fuller (USD ’05). Erin is starting a dermatology residency program at State University of New York, Buffalo, and Tom is a senior electrical engineer at Watts Architecture & Engineering in Buffalo, N.Y.
Michelle Esteban (EE) is a patent attorney with Schwegman, Lundberg, and Woessner, in San Jose, Calif.
Erik Loftis (EE) is an active duty captain in the United States Marine Corps, currently deployed to Afghanistan and serving as an advisor to the Afghan Uniform Police in Helmand Province.
Brian Momeyer (EE) passed the United States Patent and Trademark Office bar to become a patent agent.
He is now a patent agent at Qualcomm in San Diego.

[2006]
Tolu Abe (ISYE) has completed her first year in the University of Washington’s PhD program in industrial and systems engineering. She currently has a research assistantship in partnership with Health Alliance International, where she is developing a simulationbased decision-making tool to help health care management improve resource allocation in the Sofala Province of Mozambique. She recently was
awarded with an Achievement Rewards for College Scientists Fellowship.
Lori Rasmussen Egbers (ISYE) and her husband, Hannes, welcomed their first child, daughter Isla Shea Egbers (initials ISE, note how close she already is to becoming an ISYE), born in December 2011. Lori is a sales engineer at Northland Engineering Sales in Woodbury, Minn.
Paula Lucchini (EE) is in her sixth year at Chevron and has just moved into her fifth role in the company as the competency and training coordinator for the engineering department. She is living in the San Francisco Bay Area. She and her fiancé, Ben Baldwin, expected to be married in Chicago on Sept. 8, 2012.
Holly Lyons (ISYE) is currently the leader of the Supply Chain Continuous Improvement and Supplier Development Department at Goodrich Aerostructures, based in Chula Vista, Calif. The job requires
that she travel about half the time to different Goodrich sites and suppliers. This has afforded her the opportunity to work with people from a variety of different cultures and see many parts of the world that she never thought she would have the chance to see and experience.
Nathan Roberts (EE) received an MS in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 2011. He is now a PhD candidate at the University of Michigan studying low power RFIC design. He is engaged to Michelle Chen.

[2007]
Ali Almatrouk (EE) is CEO of Makers, Inc. in Kuwait. He founded the company in 2009. (See story on page 12.)
Hunter Barns (ISYE) is currently serving in the Yokosuka, Japan-based Submarine Group Seven directing operational support for U.S. and allied submarines deployed in the Far East and Middle East. He has been an officer in the U.S. Navy since graduation and has been deployed in locations far and near. He is studying toward an MS in engineering management from Old Dominion University.
Scott Cuzner (ME) married Mallory Miller in Newport Beach, Calif., in June 2012. Mallory and Scott met while studying abroad in Sydney, Australia, during their junior year. They live in Redondo Beach, Calif. Scott works for Neutrogena as a senior supply chain planner.
Benjamin Fieman (ISYE) has started his own bikini company, Kaimana Beachwear. Go to www.kaimanabeachwear.com.
Mark Kondrat (ISYE) returned from deployment on the USS McClusky. His crew was successful in interdicting more than $125 million in illegal narcotics as part of Operation Martillo. He is going to be stationed in Coronado, Calif., as an instructor pilot in the new MH-60R helicopter. He is looking forward
to being home with wife Brittney, dog Keanu, and cat Baxter.
Colin Porterfield (ME) is a production supervisor at Flowserve in Los Angeles. In his work, he supervises a team of machinists, mechanics and welders repairing centrifugal equipment, such as pumps and mechanical seals. He is happily enjoying life in Redondo Beach, Calif.

[2008]
Chris Neithardt (ME) received his MS in mechanical engineering from UCLA and began work at Glenair Inc., an aerospace manufacturing company specializing in high performance connectors and harnesses, in Glendale, Calif. He is a manufacturing engineer in the advanced prototype harnessing division. He married Emily Latronico ’08 in August 2012.
Adam “AJ” Purdy (ISYE) graduated from California State University, Monterey Bay, with an MS in coastal watershed science and policy earlier this year and was accepted to pursue a doctorate in the Earth System Science program at the University of California, Irvine. He will be in the Hydrology and Climate Research Group.

[2009]
Spencer Anderson (ME) is studying at MIT in Cambridge, Mass., as a fellow in the Leaders for Global
Operations program. It is a dual-degree program leading to both an MBA from the Sloan School of Management and an SM in mechancial engineering from MIT School of Engineering.
Omar Damluji (ISYE) is studying toward a juris doctor (JD) from California Western School of Law. He has passed the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office bar and is now a registered patent agent.
LTJG Ben Hunter (ME) is finishing up a tour with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 4. He spent nine months in Afghanistan last year. In December 2012, he will begin his next tour with the Civil Engineer Corps in Virginia.
Stephen McGee (ME) has joined United Technologies’ Operational Leadership Program. As part of this two-year program, he changes jobs and companies within United Technologies. His first rotation is planned for Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford, Conn. Megan Menconi (ISYE) was recently promoted to International Trade Compliance Manager at Hamilton Sundstrand and moved to Boston. She and fiancé Wesley Rothman will be married in Lucca, Italy, in September 2012. Jarrod Pitts (ME) is a power plant developer at Tenaska in Dallas.
Karl Riesen (EE) recently was promoted to principal applications engineer at Western Digital in Irvine, Calif. He has begun studies toward an MBA at the University of California, Irvine.

[2010]
Vincent Atofau (ME) is a proposal analyst at Northrop Grumman in Los Angeles, Calif. His two children, daughter Lo’ani and son Noah, are keeping him fit.
Patrick Boensel (ISYE) is in the U.S. Navy and finishing advanced helicopter training in Pensacola, Fla. He will marry fiancée Christina Hayes in September 2012 in Virginia.
Justin Hall (ISYE) is hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. He was last heard from at mile 903... see www.jhallll.blogspot.com for updates.
Kelty Lanham (EE) has been accepted into U.S. Navy jet pilot training and has moved to Meridian, Miss. He hopes to move back to California to fly F/A-18s.
Neil Lum (ME) has been promoted to quality engineer for Cobham Composite Products in San Diego.
Veronica Molina (ISYE) and Tiffany Mendoza (ISYE ’11) are currently working with Raytheon Company
based in San Diego. They have a temporary duty offsite assignment providing engineering support for the
Navy’s LPD 17 Class ships under construction in New Orleans at the Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard. They are currently supporting the LPD 23 USS Anchorage and LPD 25 USS Somerset naval ships.
Averi Thomas (ME) graduated with a Master of Science in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.

[2011]
Allison Harms (EE) finished her first year at Hastings College of the Law. She is enjoying her classes and being back in San Francisco. She is currently interning at Garteiser Honea, a small IP law firm. At Hastings, Allison has won a CALI Award and a Wikin Award for being the top of her class in writing. She also was awarded for top brief in her moot court class.
Jeff Inlow (ME) is a research and development engineer with MicroVention in Tustin, Calif.
Sam Levine (ISYE) is with Hamilton Sundstrand Power Systems in San Diego, where she recently took a position in operations.
David Leyva (ME) is a mechanical engineer for Transaction Printhead Group, TPG, a dot matrix printhead
company in San Diego.
Chris Steward (EE) is a radar signal processing engineer at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). In fall 2012, he begins graduate studies in electrical engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Casey Weiss (ME) recently became a design engineer in the R&D Irons Group at TaylorMade Golf Company in Carlsbad, Calif. He is very excited for this opportunity and looks forward to learning more about design and the world of golf club manufacturing.