Alumni and Friends

Our graduates have put their finances and careers on the line to launch new enterprises. They have risen to leadership positions in growing companies; they have played key roles in developing products and carrying out projects. They have continued their research as faculty members at universities and as scientists at research institutions. And they have found ways to apply their engineering skills in patent law, medicine and other areas. We salute them all. They have carried our University's mission to the far reaches of the globe—and even into Space. Meliora: Ever better!

Examples of alumni who have been instrumental in creating and disseminating new knowledge and technology:

Donna Strickland ’89 PhD, a professor of optics at the University of Waterloo, shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for her pioneering work in chirped pulse amplification while completing her degree at Rochester.

Stewart Bushman '95, an engineer at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory, led the propulsion system that guided NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto.

Michele Weslander-Quaid '94, Google's Chief Technology Officer and Innovation Evangelist, was been named one of the "7 most powerful women to watch in 2014" by Entrepreneur magazine.

Diane Litman ‘82 M ‘86 PhD, the first woman to receive a PhD in computer science at Rochester, is widely recognized for her work in the areas of artificial intelligence, computational linguistics, knowledge representation and reasoning, natural language processing, and user modeling.

Charles Munnerlyn '69 PhD is one of the founding fathers of laser vision correction.

Theophana Mitsa ’88 M ‘91 PhD co-invented Blue Noise Mask with Prof. Kevin Parker. The widely used halftoning technique was one of the most lucrative inventions in the University's history. Mitsa later wrote the book on temporal data mining.

John Seinfeld '64 has defined and revolutionized the study of air pollution and its impact on human health.

Tanzeem Choudhury ’97 is a leading researcher and innovator in developing novel wearable and mobile systems for influencing everyday human behaviors. Named one of 35 top innovators under 35 by MIT’s Technology Review, she is an outspoken advocate for gender equity.

And Jay Last '51 is considered one of the "fathers" of Silicon Valley and an early leader in the development of semiconductors.

Our alumni have also served in key leadership and advisory roles at the University and the Hajim School by serving on:

Learn how you can support engineering for the future.


Distinguished Alumnus Awards

Established in 1984, the Distinguished Alumnus Award recognizes graduates of Arts, Science & Engineering whose exceptional professional achievements, contributions to their chosen field, and service to their alma mater have brought honor to themselves and to the University of Rochester. View a list of the recipients on our Distinguished Alumnus Award recipients page.


Rochester Distinguished Scholar Award

The Distinguished Scholar Award recognizes doctoral alumni who have led distinguished careers in academia, private enterprise, public service and the arts. The Provost selects one or more recipients of this award annually from nominations put forward by the University community. It is presented at the University doctoral commencement ceremony. View a list of the University of Rochester engineering recipients on our Distinguished Scholar Award page.


Profiles of Hajim School Alumni

Biomedical Engineering

Nathan Alves '07, MS '08
Christine Bertsch '00
Lisa Bobich '04
Lisa Cole '10
Jason Condon
Jaymi Della '06
Meredith Evans
Kelly Kyker-Snowman '09, MS '10
Katie Litts '10
Alvin Lomibao '09
Kathleen Maloney '10 (Key '11)
Andrea Morrell '12
Jarrod Orszulak '07, MS ECE '08
Andrea (Pallante) Kichura '05
Sarah Provan '05
Nicole Ruszczak '09
Betsy Swovick '10
Sean Virgile '10
Joanne Wu '02

Chemical Engineering

Ryan Accetta '05 (T5 '06)
Orane Barrett '98
Maruti Bhandarkar MS '85, PhD '88
Daniel Carson '10
Isthier Chaudhury '11
Samuel Frommer '07
Evan Granite '94 PhD
Matt Herron '02, MS '04
Elizabeth Hill '03
Steven Kraft MS '08
Molly Leitch '08
Ian Moltrup '11
Guy Mongelli '10, MS '12
Michael Peritz '11, MS '12
Scott Peters '01 '02 (MS)
Laura Posner '10
Jeanne Visser '03
Ben Yezer '11

Computer Science

Macy Abbey '07
Nate Chambers '02, MS '03
Hilario Coimbra '08
David Easwaran '04
Diane Litman MS '82M PhD '86 
Kyle Murray '12
Brad Orego '11
Chris Tice '08

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Christopher Brown '09
Tanzeem Choudhury '97
Joan Ewing MS '67, PhD '73
Michael Fisher '87, MS '89, PhD '93
Erica Gelb '09, MS '10
Brandon Jasionowski '02, MS '04
Tyler Kieft '10
Theophano Mitsa MS '88, Phd '91
Jarrod Orszulak '07 BME, MS ECE '08
Vincent Polino '02
Matthew Rodano '04
Michelle Sams '02, MS '04
Gloria See '09
Luis Soto '11, '12 (TEAM)
Theresa Tuthill '84, MS '87, PhD '91
Owen Zacharias '03, MS '04

Mechanical Engineering

Bridget Baran '05
Stewart Bushman '95
Joseph Carson '76
Ryan Cherniak '09
Julia Cosse '08
Laura Cressman '08
Nick Hamlin '10
Steven Kraft '06
Mike Levine '10
Matthew Roe '07, MS '08
Galen Mitterman '02
Jeanette Quinlan '05
Jen Skevington '11
Alissa Tully '08
Jeffrey White '05

Optics

Gretchen Bauer '10
Loren Cerami '02
Lee Feinberg, '87
Daniel Gray '02, MS '03, PhD '07
Joseph M. Howard MS '97, PhD '00
Jason Kay '04
Katherine Kraft '03
Thomas Kraus '05, TK5 '06, MS '07
Diana Nyyssonen PhD '75
Jason Porter '97, PhD '04
Katie Schwertz '08
Roger Smith '09
Donna Strickland PhD '89
Jay Vizgaitis '98
Alexis Vogt '00, PhD '08
Sharon Weiss '99, MS '01, PhD '05