May 23, 2018 | Eli Freund - School of Engineering

Alumni News for May 2018

From moving up the career ladder, to awards, our alumni are making their mark on the world! Check out some of their recent notable achievements in this latest installment of UConn Engineering's Alumni News.

Chris Beschler (B.S. Mechanical Engineering, ‘80) has been selected assistant city manager to the city of Rocky Mount, NC. Most recently, Beschler worked for the state of Virginia where he served as director of the Department of General Services. A majority of his previous experience is working in utilities and construction, including 26 years with Yankee Gas Services Co., Connecticut’s largest natural gas utility. Beschler holds an MBA from UConn Business.

 

Janet Callahan (B.S. Chemical Engineering, ‘83; M.S. Metallurgy, ‘86; Ph.D. Material Science, ‘90) will become dean of Michigan Technological University’s College of Engineering on July 1, 2018. Callahan joins Michigan Tech from Boise State University where she is chair and professor of the Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering. She is a member of the UConn Academy of Distinguished Engineers.

 

 

Brad Huff (B.S. Mechanical Engineering, ’10), P.E., BEMP, AP, BD+C has been promoted to project manager at BVH Integrated Services. Huff began his career at BVH as an intern in 2008 and joined the company as a Mechanical Engineer upon graduation. He is currently pursuing an MBA at UConn Business.

 

 

Eric Leknes (B.S., M.S. Biomedical Engineering, ’09, ‘10) was selected from 1,600 Elbit Systems of America enterprise employees as one of three 2017 Outstanding Employee Award winners. Recognized as a top-performing engineer and commended for his high ethical standards and leadership, Leknes is senior systems engineer at KMC Systems, a subsidiary of Elbit Systems of America.

 

 

Jordan Manos (B.S. Civil Engineering, ’94) is a 2018 People’s Choice Award finalist. Known as the “Oscars” of government service, the Sammies honor noteworthy and inspiring accomplishments by federal employees. Manos, an engineer with the Department of Veterans Affairs on temporary assignment to FEMA, earned his nomination by improving the system used to assess flood damage from hurricanes and other major storms. His contributions helped residents receive aid more quickly and saved the government an estimated $20M in appraisal costs.

 

Samuel Pierre-Louis (B.S. Mechanical Engineering and Materials Engineering, ‘97) has been named vice president, Information Technology, at FirstEnergy Corp. He has more than 20 years’ experience in information technology services, strategic planning and organizational management. Prior to joining FirstEnergy, Pierre-Louis was vice president, chief information security officer, at Providence St. Joseph Health in Irvine, CA. He earned an MBA in finance and information systems at The University of Texas at Dallas and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in systems and engineering management at Texas Tech University. 

 

Mark Turano (B.S. Chemical Engineering and Materials Engineering, ‘84) has been named director of Sales of the Lumirror® Polyester Film Division at Toray Plastics (America), Inc. Turano joined Toray in 2016 as the National Sales Manager of the Division. Prior to joining Toray, he worked with Danafilms, Consolidated Container Company, Polycel de Mexico, and Printpack. Turano holds an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

 

 

Stay in touch with the School of Engineering.  Join our LinkedIn alumni group to share your latest activities and learn what your fellow graduates are doing.  You may also send your news directly to Heidi Douglas, Director of Engineering Alumni Relations.  We love hearing from you!