Paul Agrimis, P.E., (B.S. Civil Engineering, ’79) received the Distinguished Practitioner award from the Oregon Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Vice president and landscape architecture program leader at Vigil-Agrimis, Inc., he earned an M.L.A in landscape architecture at the University of Washington. Agrimis is a registered landscape architect and licensed professional engineer in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington. The Society of Wetland Scientists has certified him as a professional wetland scientist.
Michael A. Cantor, Esq. (B.S. Chemical Engineering, ‘80), co-managing partner at Cantor Colburn, has been elected to the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS). Cantor and his fellow trustees will help the CHS fulfill its mission to “connect you and the story of Connecticut” through exhibits, special events, guest speakers, and research opportunities. His 3-year-term appointment was made during the CHS’s annual meeting on May 22, 2017.
Dipayan Ghosh (B.S. Electrical Engineering ’10) is a fellow across New America’s Technology in the Public Interest initiative and the Open Technology Institute, where he focuses on advancing consumer-oriented public policy initiatives at the intersection of privacy, security, and civil rights. Concurrently, Ghosh is an academic fellow at the Center for Information Technology at Princeton University. He received a Ph.D. in electrical engineering & computer science at Cornell University, and later completed postdoctoral study in the same field at the University of California, Berkeley.
Shar Govindan (M.S. Environmental Engineering, ‘03) delivered a talk entitled, “Do YOUR How,” at TEDxUConn 2017: Catalysts in Context on April 9 at Storrs. In his talk, Govindan guides the audience through an inspirational roadmap for converting thinking about ideas to accomplishing ideas, or how to “Do YOUR How” now. A director of Content Management at Bentley Systems, Inc., he was recently inducted to the UConn Academy of Distinguished Engineers.
Rick Mastracchio (B.S. Electrical Engineering, ’82; Hon. D.Sc. ’14) has retired from NASA and accepted a position as senior director of operations, Commercial Resupply Services, at Orbital ATK. Headquartered in Virginia, the company provides cargo for the International Space Station, where Mastracchio spent more than six months during his final space mission in 2013 and 2014. He joined NASA in 1990, accepted into its astronaut program in 1996, and flew on three shuttle flights during his career, spending a total of 228 days in space.
Donald Peterson (M.S. Mechanical Engineering, ’95; Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering, ‘99) has been appointed dean at Northern Illinois University (NIU) College of Engineering and Engineering Technology. Former dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics at Texas A&M University-Texarkana, Peterson has more than 21 years’ experience in engineering and medical research. Prior to his appointment at Texas A&M, Peterson was the head of biomedical engineering at UConn.
Brian R. Quillia, P.E., (B.S. Civil Engineering, ’91) is a senior manager, Remediation and Global Environmental, Health, & Safety Programs, at Pitney Bowes. In that position, he is responsible for remediation management, multi-media environmental compliance systems, corporate energy programs, and corporate climate-change programs. As an undergraduate, Quillia shared in a national engineering scholarship program for the entirety of his studies. He holds an M.S. in environmental engineering.
Joseph Triompo (B.S. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science & Engineering, ’79) has joined Belcan, LLC as president of Engineering Services. Prior to joining Belcan, Triompo was vice president of Customer Support for Sikorsky Aircraft, president and chief executive officer for JET Advisors LLC, and vice president and general manager for UTC Power. He earned a Master of Science in business administration and management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan Fellows program.
IN MEMORIUM
Lynfield, Massachusetts resident Thomas J. McKrell (M.S., Ph.D. Materials Science,’95, ‘99), 47, died on June 9, 2017. An expert in materials behavior, especially corrosion of metallic alloys used in nuclear and conventional power plants, McKrell joined the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) at MIT in 2006 as a research scientist, after serving as a consultant in the power industry for more than a decade. Director of the MIT Thermal Hydraulics and Materials in Extreme Environments Laboratory, he was a consummate experimentalist and passionate teacher.
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