Parks Today Fall 2014

Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology S a i n t Lo u i s U n i v e r s i t y

Fa l l 2 0 1 4

Parks Alum, Gene Kranz Addresses the Class of 2014 PAGE 6

Firsts at Parks

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Meet the New Faculty of parks college

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Alumni News

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from the Dean

Dear Colleagues, The dedicated work of our students, faculty, staff, alums and friends has resulted in yet another outstanding year for Parks College.

Having awarded the first doctoral degree in Aviation in the world in May 2013, Parks College awarded another first at our May 2014 Commencement Ceremony: the first doctoral degree in Engineering awarded by Parks College, to Junsik Lee. This is the culmination of many years of effort to start and support our graduate programs.

We were privileged to have 1954 Parks Alumnus, Gene Kranz, give a very inspiring 2014 Wings Ceremony address. While he was in town, Gene talked with us and several local organizations about how Parks prepared him for his successful career.

Parks was rewarded with considerable success in our chair and faculty searches. Professor Sridhar Condoor, Ph.D., was appointed Chair of the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department; Professor Michelle Sabick, Ph.D., was appointed Chair of our Biomedical Engineering Department; Professor Ronaldo Luna, Ph.D., was appointed Chair of our Civil Engineering Department; Srikanth Gururajan, Ph.D. was appointed Assistant Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering; Natasha Case, Ph.D., Andrew Hall, Ph.D. and Yan Gai, Ph.D. were appointed Assistant Professors of Biomedical Engineering; and Jalil Kianfar, Ph.D. was appointed Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering. The new department chairs and professors represent the largest number of academics hired in one year in the history of the College, and will be instrumental in the pursuit of the strategic goals of the College and University.

As we go to press we are informed that the incoming Parks College freshmen class is not only the largest we have had, but their ACT score increased to above 29. Our undergraduate class has grown to 750 students and our graduate program has proved to be the fastest growing Parks today

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program in Parks with a total enrollment of 89 students. Parks College faculty continue to increase the publication of archival journal articles, reaching 69 in the last year, or an increase to 2.09 archival journal articles per full-time faculty member in the College, surpassing previous goals for such metrics. Several other such details can be found in the 2013-14 Annual Report, which is available online in http://issuu.com/ parkscollegeslu/docs/parks_college_annual_report-2014 Our Jesuit mission compels us to excel in research-led education, to prepare our students to be the leaders of tomorrow, and to promote service to humanity. As you will see in the following pages our students continue to excel in academic and extracurricular achievements. Parks College is a unique family of engineers and aviators sharing a common passion for excellence in everything they tackle. With an eye for innovation and entrepreneurship, we share a vision to apply our work to the benefit of the global society. Every day I am humbled by yet another achievement of a member of the Parks community.

I hope in the following pages you enjoy reading what else we have been working on.

With kindest regards,

Theodosios Alexander, Sc.D. Dean and Professor Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology

Contents

parks.slu.edu Vol. 85, Issue 1 Editor

Sue Ratz sratz2@slu.edu Contributors

Susan Bloomfield Catherine Dalton Christine Hoffmann Beth Lauver Melanie Rigden Lauren Tancock Photogr aphy

Steve Dolan Kevin Lowder Michelle Peltier

Features 6 A Space pioneer

Gene Kranz recounts how Parks prepared him for NASA.

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Firsts at Parks

Faculty Introductions

The first Ph.D. and Grand Challenge Scholars Awarded.

Highlighting eight new research faculty members.

Design

Nikole Frietsch ON THE C o v e r

Gene Kranz Speaks at 2014 Wings Ceremony.

Parks Today is published by Saint Louis University. Opinions expressed in Parks Today are those of the individual authors and not necessarily those of the University administration. Unsolicited manuscripts and photographs are welcome but will be returned only if accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Letters to the editor must be signed, and letters not intended for publication should indicate that fact. The editor reserves the right to edit all items. Address all mail to Parks Today, McDonnell Douglas Hall, 3450 Lindell Blvd., St. Louis, Mo. 63103.

We accept email at parkstoday@slu.edu and fax submissions at (314) 977-8403.

Address fax submissions to Editor, Parks Today.

sections 2 News and NOtes

Best Showcase in Global Competition Helicopter Design Award Engineer’s Week Civil Engineering Funding Flight Training Awards Alumni Join Blue Angels

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Parks College Hosts Engineering Dean’s Conference

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19 Alumni Spotlight

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Worldwide circulation: 12,000 © 2014, Saint Louis University All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

5 Parks Event

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facebook.com/parkscollege

twitter.com/parkscollegeslu

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Keegan Faudree Named Oliver L. Parks Award Recipient Alumni Merit Award Winners

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Class Notes In Memoriam

News and Notes Parks College Team Wins Best Showcase Award at Global Competition

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arks College graduate student, Rob Caruso, joined 13 maximum teams from around the world to represent Saint Louis University’s Parks College at the 11th annual Idea to Product (I2P) Global competition. Caruso presented the product idea “Finite Element Analysis”, a downloadable structural analysis software for the most widely used free computer aided design Rob Caruso, May 2013 M.S. Aerospace Engineering software, SketchUp. graduate The competition featured three championship tracks and a technology showcase. SLU won the technology showcase award. Teammates included Greg Keogh and Thomas Combes, both who graduated in May 2013.

The I2P global competition was the last of three competitions Caruso’s team has competed in this year. They placed 1st in the SLU I2P campus competition and placed in the top five at the I2P Missouri-Illinois Regional competition.

Saint Louis University Welcomes New President, Dr. Fred Pestello

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red P. Pestello, Ph.D., is the 33rd president of Saint Louis University.

Dr. Pestello officially began his tenure at SLU on July 1, 2014. He is a Roman Catholic and Jesuit educated; and the first permanent lay president in the University’s nearly 200-year history. Dr. Pestello has a long history of education and service in Catholic Institutions. Prior to his appointment at SLU, Dr. Pestello was the President of Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New Dr. Fred P. Pestello York, a post he had held since July 1, 2008.

Before that he had spent nearly 25 years at the University of Dayton, Ohio, in various capacities: from Professor of Sociology; to Chair of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work; to Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences; to Provost.

Saint Louis University officially inaugurated Dr. Pestello as president during a ceremony on Friday, October 3, 2014 in Chaifetz Arena.

A dynamic and compassionate leader known for moving the institutions he services forward, Dr. Pestello brings extensive leadership to his role at Saint Louis University.

Parks College Team Wins American Helicopter Society Design Competition

Team Heli-Fast (from left): Philip Hampton, William Scott, Allison Hefferan, Daniel Vogel, and Nicholas Craft

The Parks College “Heli-Fast” helicopter design team won the undergraduate category at the 31st Annual American Helicopter Society (AHS) Student Design Competition. The students’ winning design was an unmanned flying wing aircraft with an embedded fan and tilting wing-tip fans. In addition, the Heli-Fast team was also recognized as the undergraduate winner of the Best New Entrant Award. The team received $10,000 in prize money, as well as $2,000 in travel stipends.

The AHS Student Design Competition,

which challenges students to create vertical lift aircrafts that meet specified criteria, provides practical experience to both undergraduate and graduate engineering students while promoting interest in vertical flight technology. Two members of the winning team have also been invited to AHS International’s 71st annual Forum and Technology Display in Virginia Beach, Virginia, to present the details of their design.

This was the first ever entry made in the AHS competition from Saint Louis University.

Parks College Celebrates National Engineers Week

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tudents at Saint Louis University’s Parks College participated in Engineers Week, or “E-Week” as it is commonly referred to among students and faculty. E-Week was held from February 16 to 22 and included many events for both current and prospective students. Highlights of the week included Employer Connection Day, the Weekly Innovation Challenge, Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, the Mr. Parks Pageant and the annual Billiken BEAMS (Building Engineering Awareness in Metro St. Louis) high school bridge building competition.

Parks alumnus, Delaney Damberg, speaks to high school students.

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parks.slu.edu/alumni

IDOT/ICT Awards Funding to SLU Civil Engineering Researchers

Cecilia Ernst

From left, Will Lindquist, Ph.D., P.E., Riyadh Hindi, Ph.D., P.E., and Ahmed Ibrahim, Ph.D.

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iyadh Hindi, Ph.D., P.E., Director of Graduate Programs at Saint Louis University’s Parks College, and his team of researchers including civil engineering faculty members Will Lindquist, Ph.D., P.E., and former Parks faculty member Ahmed Ibrahim, Ph.D., were awarded $300,000 from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) at the University of Illinois.

The funding supports their research on the “Effectiveness of Exterior Beam Rotation Prevention Systems for Bridge Deck Construction.” The two-year project began in January 2014, and will provide financial support for two graduate students and some undergraduate students.

The funding was awarded through IDOT in conjunction with ICT. Hindi said that in the past, ICT funding has typically gone to schools located in Illinois.

Civil Engineering Department Receives ABET Accreditation

Civil Engineering Program’s Class of 2013

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arks College is pleased to announce the Civil Engineering program has received full accreditation from ABET. This is a newly accredited program and therefore accreditation is extended to all past graduates from this program.

Since the proposal in 2008, the Civil Engineering department has been working towards building a program and reaching accreditation. ABET accreditation requires a program to graduate its first class of students before applying for accreditation. Parks graduated the inaugural class of Civil Engineers in May 2013 and started the accreditation process immediately there after.

Chris Carmondy

Flight Instructors Receive Prominent Flight Training Awards

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aint Louis University’s Parks College is proud to announce that two of its own recently received prominent flighttraining awards.

Chris Carmody, a 2002 Parks College alumnus, was awarded the 2014 Regional Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year award for the Kansas City Flight Standards District Offices (FSDO) and the Central Region. As owner of AIR Flight Training LLC, Carmody tailors recurrent courses for multiple Piper aircraft models.

Additionally, Cecilia Ernst, a flight instructor with Parks College was awarded the Rick Albrecht New Certified Flight Instructor of the Year award. The Greater St. Louis Flight Instructor Association presented the award at their annual banquet in Maryland Heights.

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News and Notes SLU Junior Receives Prestigious Goldwater Scholarship

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organ Elliott, a senior biomedical engineering major, was named a 2014 Goldwater Scholar by the Morgan Elliott Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. She is the sixth SLU student to become a Goldwater Scholar since the first awards were made in 1989.

Elliott is the founder and president of the Disability Services Club, which received the Outstanding Organization and New Student Organization Awards in 2013; is a charter member of the SLU Chapter of Alpha Eta Mu Beta National Biomedical Engineering Honor Society; and a member of Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society.

Dean of Parks College Awarded the 2014 Kenneth Harris James Prize

Parks Student Recognized

by Engineering Professional Society

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n a ceremony held in London, England, on May 13, 2014, the UK Institution of Mechanical Engineers Theodosios Alexander, Sc.D. (I.Mech.E.) awarded the 2014 Kenneth Harris James Prize to the team of George Doulgeris, Theodosios Korakianitis (aka Theodosios Alexander), Eldad Avital, Pericles Pilidis and Panos Laskarides for their paper titled: “Effect of jet noise reduction on gas turbine engine efficiency”. (Dean Alexander publishes as Theodosios Korakianitis. The other members of the team are working at Queen Mary, University of London, and Cranfield University in the UK). The paper was published in the leading UK archival journal in the field, the Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part G, September 2013.

Richard Henry, Jr.

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arks College graduate student, Richard Henry, Jr., was named Outstanding Student Member by the St. Louis Chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

Henry serves as Power Team Leader of the COPPER and ARGUS space missions through the college’s Space Systems Research Laboratory. In fall 2013, NASA launched COPPER, the first satellite sent into space for Parks College. Additionally, Henry is a member of the iScholars, a group of students who work to promote an entrepreneurial mindset in engineering and across the SLU campus. Henry also founded the SLU Robotics Club.

Parks Alum Matt Suyderhoud Joins Blue Angels

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avy Lt. Matt Suyderhoud, a 2005 graduate of Saint Louis University’s Parks College, has joined one of the world’s most acclaimed aviation teams, the Blue Angels. On July 22, the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron announced the 2015 team. Lt. Suyderhoud was selected as one of three new F/A 18 demonstration pilots for the

team. He is the second Parks alum to join the Blue Angels after 2002 Parks graduate Major Brandon Cordill.

Parks College Dean Theodosios Alexander, SC.D., expressed the school’s pride in Suyderhoud’s achievement.

“We are thrilled that Matt has joined the Blue Angels,” Alexander said. “He is a wonderful addition to the long history of Parks College contributions to aviation and engineering. We send Matt our heartfelt congratulations for this outstanding achievement.”

SLU Alum Shares Startup Success at SPICE Lt. Matt Suyderhoud

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resident of goBrandgo! and SLU alum, Derek Weber, was the guest speaker for the SPICE (Speakers Pioneering Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship) series on February 12, 2014. Weber gave an interactive presentation by sharing his journey into the start-up world, discussing his “idea vortex” and his new service to young entrepreneurs, go!-celerator. Over the last decade, Weber has transformed his college t-shirt business into goBRANDgo!, one of the nation’s leading strategic branding and marketing firms for entrepreneurs.

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Derek Weber

parks.slu.edu/alumni

Parks College Hosts Prestigious Engineering Deans’ Conference

Engineering Deans From Catholic Universities.

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aint Louis University’s Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology hosted the Second Annual Conference of Engineering Deans of Catholic Universities (EDCU), which was held on campus April 27-29, 2014. This is a new conference in which the deans of engineering colleges of US Catholic universities meet to discuss opportunities and common challenges. The first EDCU conference was held last April at Seattle University.

“Catholic universities have much in common because our mission statements all flow from the same set of values. Our institutions share many of the same challenges, too. I have found both EDCU meetings to be valuable opportunities to gain insights and inspiration from my colleagues. I am gratified that the other deans have also found these meetings to be informative and useful,” said Michael Quinn, Ph.D., Dean of Engineering at Seattle University, who took the initiative to organize the first EDCU Conference in 2013.

Theodosios Alexander, Sc.D., Dean of SLU’s Parks College, coordinated the preparatory activities and chaired the 2014 conference organizing committee. Preparations and planning started immediately after the first conference ended last year.

“This is a very unique group of like-minded, academic leaders of engineering colleges aiming to utilize the unique and shared aspects of our education and service missions, and to meet our common goals and challenges. All of us attend several other national and global engineering dean conferences, but in my opinion this is the most useful conference available to engineering deans because it is hands-on and resultsoriented, providing practical and immediately useful information to its members,” said Alexander.

Themes of the EDCU conferences include: reviews of performance metrics; reviews of the effect of the unique missions of EDCU Universities and the advantages it provides to engineering students; and student, faculty and staff development opportunities and challenges. In addition to the standard themes the second EDCU conference expanded on opportunities of EDCU Colleges to collaborate on: education advancements; pursuit of technology to offer common courses; formation of interdisciplinary teams relying on existing research strengths of EDCU members to pursue large research grants; sharing of research equipment; developing College strategic plans; and interactions with our respective Communications and Advancement, Alumni Relations and Development teams.

The deans of many other schools in this group share similar sentiments - this conference is of particular value to the group.

“This group of engineering deans of Catholic universities all share the goal of making the world a better place through engineering and doing so with fidelity to our pursuit of truth and with a commitment to faith. I am delighted to be associated with these men and women and look forward to sharing best practices with them,” remarked Peter Kilpatrick, Ph.D, the Matthew H. McCloskey Dean of Engineering at the University of Notre Dame.

“I enjoyed the last EDCU Conference at Saint Louis University very much due to its beautiful venue, excellent host and superb organization. The host and its staff were very friendly and cooperative. I obtained a lot of information from my fellow EDCU deans knowledge at this conference, which could be beneficial to my current position as dean of my school. In addition, I felt that the EDCU conferences, thanks to their small and cozy nature, have provided me with opportunity to build comradeship with other EDCU deans, which was impossible in bigger conferences. I look forward to attending future EDCU conferences,” said Charles Nguyen. D.Sc., Dean of Engineering of Catholic University of America, who has been at his post at a Catholic University for the longest amount of time.

It seems as though this conference will continue for years to come.

“The Engineering Deans of Catholic Universities represent a unique group of 22 engineering colleges and programs within the 300+ engineering programs that exist in this country. The colleges are ranked among the best engineering programs in the country, and we provide a unique educational experience that celebrates how a Catholic-based, engineering education can produce graduates with technical skills, leadership skills, and a commitment to use them to the betterment of society. Villanova is delighted to host the coming year’s meeting as we learn from one another how our engineering programs can continue to improve,” stated Gary Gabrielle, Ph.D., the Drosdick Endowed Dean of Engineering at Villanova University, who has been selected to host the 2015 EDCU Conference.

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Encourages Tomorrow’s Leaders By: Beth Lauver

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ene Kranz’s photo hangs in McDonnell Douglas Hall as a testament to his great contributions to space exploration following his 1954 graduation from Parks College. It’s an honor given to a select few, yet when he arrived at Parks more than 60 years ago, he was just a kid from Ohio who wanted to fly.

He did that and so much more, serving in the United States Air Force as a bomber pilot during the Korean War, working as a test flight engineer for McDonnell Aircraft Corporation and ultimately becoming a pioneer in the space exploration field as a legendary flight director at NASA. Since retiring from NASA in 1994, Kranz travels the country to encourage students to “become leaders and pioneer the technologies of the future” at various speaking engagements and special events. He returns to the Parks campus every few years, but his visit last May held special significance because it included a series of events commemorating the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. The St. Louis Rocketry Association, Challenger Learning Center and St. Louis Science Center hosted special opportunities for school children, and Kranz spoke to the 2014 Parks graduates at their precommencement ceremony, better known by Parks grads as their “Wings Ceremony.”

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“I was exposed to great leaders, and that combined with knowledge and great teachers, you can do anything”

Dean of Parks College, Theodosios Alexander, Sc.D., introduced Kranz at the ceremony, praising him as “a unique individual, a childhood hero of mine and a shining example of the service, mission-driven, caring and leadership qualities of our education.”

Kranz’s affiliation with Parks has made an impact on current and potential students as well, with some even saying he’s the reason they chose the school.

Master’s graduate Manuel Posso said, “There are many things to learn from Gene Kranz, but there is one that has changed me forever: his teamwork model. When I see an opportunity where I can help my team succeed, I step up and take the lead. Once I’ve played my role and made my contribution, I return to my original place, become a team player and allow others to lead. I’m extremely thankful to have personally met such an eminent engineer.”

Kranz (far right) poses with fellow members of News of the Flying Billikens in 1953.

Importance of Parks Education

Even now that he’s retired, Kranz recognizes his time at Parks as an essential step in his path to fulfill his ambitions.

“Parks gave me the technical skills I needed,” Kranz said “But it also made me excited about what we were doing.”

Generating such enthusiasm wouldn’t have been difficult for someone so eager to be in aviation. “Parks was my field of dreams. I had a simple desire when I came to Parks: My goal was to fly,” Kranz said. Discussing his days as a student as if they happened just last week,

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he closed his eyes and recalled: “The day I arrived, I could hear the engines running, and I could see the guys in the airfield.”

Kranz said the strong bond of the Parks community was rivaled only by the bonds he experienced in the military and among NASA’s Mission Control crew.

“The [Parks] community had such a bond and love for aviation that I’ve never seen at other schools,” he said.

He credited this in part to the quality of the faculty. “We were fortunate to have classical instructors, people who’d been in the field for years. They had the ability to put into words the key elements of our studies.”

He emphasized that Parks’ key strength is its balance of classroom education and flight experience.

Leading Through Challenges

Kranz relied on his Parks flight experience when he entered the Air Force after graduation. He served as a fighter pilot and flight lead during the Korean War. At the precommencement ceremony, he told Parks students about one particularly harrowing day when he led a mission involving four planes through a typhoon.

“Occasionally I think of that day, because that experience has always given me the confidence to lead a team in crisis. Today I call it ‘my leadership moment’ — the day I assumed responsibility for the first time for events and for people. That leadership moment carried me through for the rest of my life.”

After leaving the Air Force, Kranz worked for McDonnell Aircraft Corporation as a test flight engineer. His supervisor there told him, “When you sign off on an aircraft, you’re signing off for the lives of the crew and the future of the company,” which emphasized that flying was much more than a childhood fantasy. While working at McDonnell, he saw an ad in a flight magazine for a new space exploration program now known as NASA. All of Kranz’s personal, educational and professional experience culminated with his work in Mission Control at NASA. “I was exposed to great leaders, and that combined with knowledge and great teachers,

Tau Beta Pi Initiation and Bent Unveiling.

Kranz visits with students from elementary school through college.

you can do anything,” he said.

The position at NASA made Kranz a legendary figure in the field of space exploration and led to an inspirational portrayal of his work in the Academy Award-winning film Apollo 13. Though Kranz worked in Mission Control for many of NASA’s early flights and served as flight director for four Apollo missions, the film illustrates that his leadership during the Apollo 13 flight helped to save the lives of the three astronauts on the badly damaged spacecraft.

Foundation of Faith

Kranz said he could not have balanced the demands of a challenging career and raising a family without his Catholic faith.

“The thing that kept me on track and has kept my wife and me together through 57

“I believe as a nation we have to be back in the exploration business.

Space exploration establishes us as leaders.

We have to develop a belief in this nation in our unique qualities”

years of marriage is faith,” he said. “When I left for Korea and my wife, Marta, was pregnant with our first child. The challenges we faced in those early years helped us realize we could get through anything later in life.”

Kranz tried to pass on this lesson of having the faith to move forward from disappointments to find new opportunities. He said: “There’s great disappointment out there, and students have to learn to have fortitude” to keep going forward.

He recalls that one of his first major disappointments in life actually led him to attend Parks. He’d long dreamed of attending the U.S. Naval Academy, but when he didn’t pass the physical, he was devastated. He feared the cost to attend any other institution would be too high, until his mother and a nun from Toledo’s Central Catholic High School helped him find a scholarship to attend Parks. With the financial aid in place, Kranz was then attracted to Saint Louis University’s Jesuit affiliation, and he still fondly remembers classes at Parks with John J. Higgins, S.J., connecting his passion for both science and faith.

Encouraging Future Leaders

With so much personal and professional experience, Kranz is passionate about “working with young people to inspire them to become leaders and pioneer the technologies of the future,” he said. He wants to be sure that students realize that through

their work they can “derive satisfaction but also help make their communities better. It’s important to get young people to step up and help others,” he said.

Kranz acknowledged that new graduates definitely face challenges. He noted that a generation ago, there were multiple companies in aviation, but as the industry has consolidated, there is less competition to generate new ideas.

Kranz said that a Parks education will help students succeed in spite of these challenges, and he encouraged students to take risks to become leaders in the field.

“I believe as a nation we have to be back in the exploration business. Space exploration establishes us as leaders. We have to develop a belief in this nation in our unique qualities,” he said, adding that rebuilding the American manufacturing industry will increase the need for engineers and ultimately lead to more opportunities for new graduates.

Still, Kranz emphasized the potential of today’s students.

“The educational process is more rapid, and kids are able to go to a greater depth in their studies,” he said. “People getting a bachelor’s degree today are at the same level as people who were getting a master’s or doctoral degree” decades ago.

Though Kranz technically retired 20 years ago, his passion for encouraging young people in the fields of aviation and space exploration keeps his schedule full.

“For over 60 years, I’ve had the pleasure of doing what I love. I’ve done everything a person could want to do as an aviator,” he said.

Not too bad for a kid from Ohio who just wanted to fly.

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Parks College Grants

First Engineering Doctorate

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arks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology celebrated its 2014 “Wings Ceremony” on May 15 at Saint Louis University’s Center for Global Citizenship. This year the college celebrated one more “first” in Parks history: the first doctoral degree in engineering awarded at Parks College.

Junsik Lee, Ph.D., was the first to receive a doctorate in engineering from Parks College.

Through the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department, Lee finished his degree Junsik Lee, Ph.D. (right) and Theodosios Alexander, Sc.D., Dean of Parks College. after completing and defending his dissertation, “Jet Array Impingement Heat Transfer: Effect of Jet-to-Target Plate Distance, Reynolds Number, Hole Spacing, and Surface Roughness.”

“This is a significant milestone for Parks College. Awarding the first doctoral degree in engineering in the history of the college is one of the tangible outcomes of our long-term commitment to grow our graduate programs and research productivity, which then fertilize research-led excellence in our teaching programs,” said Parks College Dean Theodosios Alexander, Sc.D. “Several additional engineering Ph.D. students are in the pipeline and will soon follow in Junsik Lee’s footsteps.”

Parks College Names

First Grand Challenge Scholars Right: Theodosios Alexander, Sc.D., Dean and Gayatri Nijsure Left: Theodosios Alexander, Sc.D., Dean and Yolatl Ruiz

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arks College is recognized as one of only 17 schools across the country to participate in the elite Grand Challenges Scholars Program. Grand Challenges Scholars are tasked with completing five components — research experience; interdisciplinary curriculum; entrepreneurship; global dimension; and service learning — by combining their curricular and extracurricular experiences to solve

challenges facing society in this century. Endorsed and supported by the National Academy of Engineering, the Grand Challenges are a call to action. This year, Parks College presented two of its 182 graduates as Grand Challenge Scholars: Gayatri Nijsure and Yolatl Ruiz de Gordoa. Both recipients were dual-degree students in biomedical engineering and electrical engineering.

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An no ne u w nc fa in cu g E lt IGH y T m em be rs ew n se e th t ee M

. s r so s e f o r p

Sridhar Condoor, Ph.D. Srikanth Gururajan, Ph.D. Michelle Sabick, Ph.D. Natasha Case, Ph.D. Yan Gai, Ph.D. Andrew F. Hall, D.Sc. Ronaldo Luna, Ph.D. Jalil Kianfar, Ph.D.

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Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology at Saint Louis University has announced three new department chairs and five other faculty appointments.

Two of the newly appointed faculty members will be added to the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department, four to the Biomedical Engineering Department and two to the Civil Engineering Department.

DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACE AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERING Sridhar Condoor, Ph.D., served as interim chair of the department since August 2013. He assumed the chair role permanently on July 1, 2014.

Condoor joined Parks College as assistant professor in August 1996. Since then, he has served as associate professor, professor and program director for Mechanical Engineering. In addition to his academic roles with Parks College, he also serves as a KEEN fellow, a Coleman Fellow and the editor of the Journal of Engineering Entrepreneurship.

“I am excited about the future of the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department. I am honored to work with such a talented body of students, faculty and staff,” Condoor said. “Over the years, our Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department has produced many engineering thought leaders who have made a difference in the industry. I am thrilled to be a part of shaping the future.”

Theodosios Alexander, Sc.D., dean of Parks College, said, “Dr. Condoor understands the importance of multi-disciplinary research at the interface of engineering and scientific disciplines, its relation to innovation and entrepreneurship, and its integration into our teaching in a way that enhances

the quality of our education programs and also assists in the development of the newworld economy. The above are key elements for the continued success and growth of our Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department. I am looking forward to working with him on several new initiatives.”

Condoor earned his doctorate at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas; his Master of Technology degree with a design engineering specialization at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, India; and his Bachelor of Technology degree with a mechanical engineering specialization at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in Hyderabad, India.

An expert in his field, Condoor teaches sustainability, product design and entrepreneurship. His research interests are in the areas of design theory and methodology, technology entrepreneurship and sustainability. He is spearheading technology entrepreneurship education at SLU via Innovation to Product (I2P), weekly innovation challenges, Tinker Camp, and entrepreneurship competitions and funded research. He is the principal investigator for the KEEN Entrepreneurship Program Development Grants to foster the spirit of innovation in all engineering students. He has been running

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Srikanth Gururajan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (Left) and Sridhar S. Condoor, Ph.D., Chair (Right)

a $2.2 million, three-year grant to develop entrepreneurial mindset funded from the Kern Family Foundation. Additionally, Condoor holds three patents in the wind energy and medical fields. He has many awards and recognitions for his teaching and research. He has published several peer-reviewed publications, authored three books and served on many committees at Parks College. He was the chair of the ASME St. Louis Section. Condoor has worked with multiple medical firms such as Ethicon Industries in developing innovative products. He developed a safety pressure release device for neurosurgery in collaboration with SLU’s medical school. He also worked with SLU’s College for Public Health and Social Justice to assess the effectiveness of different methods for lead removal and a low-cost water filtration system for Honduras.

In addition to his new administrative role, Condoor will continue to develop programs in innovation and entrepreneurship.

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Srikanth Gururajan, Ph.D., joins Parks College as assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering.

Gururajan received his doctorate in aerospace engineering and master’s in mechanical engineering from West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia, and a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the University of Madras, India.

Gururajan’s research has been in the fields of fault-tolerant flight control, experimental flight testing using small UAVs and UAV-based remote sensing applications in precision agriculture, pest management and emissions measurement and characterization.

Before joining the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department at Parks College, Gururajan was a post-doctoral fellow in aerospace engineering at West Virginia University. There, he managed the UAV flight testing program and oversaw the design and construction of the UAV platforms, the design of experiments, as well as the flight test implementation and identification of aircraft parameters from flight data.

Additionally, Gururajan has been active in interdisciplinary research, having initiated and conducted research projects in collabora-

tion with researchers from within the College of Engineering as well as the College of Agriculture at WVU. His teaching interests are in the areas of flight dynamics and controls. Gururajan believes that student aerospace design competitions are ideal avenues for students to express their creativity while complementing the knowledge gained in the classroom. He feels the competitions promote collaboration and learning across disciplines.

Sridhar Condoor, Ph.D., department chair, is delighted in the appointment of Gururajan.

“Dr. Gururajan brings the unique experiential expertise of unmanned aerial vehicles that synergistically complements the existing strengths of the college. Srikanth’s strategic addition will enable us to offer an array of interdisciplinary courses and perform research in the area of UAVs. The department looks to new initiatives from Srikanth,”

Condoor said.

Gururajan said, “It is a great honor to be a part of the SLU family.

I look forward to collaborating with my esteemed colleagues and talented students in the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department at Parks College in expanding the envelope of research in fault-tolerant flight control and cross-disciplinary applications of Unmanned Aerial Systems.”

Gururajan has authored and co-authored several publications in archival journals and has served as a peer reviewer for several leading journals and conferences in aerospace engineering. He also serves as an associate editor of the Aerospace Science and Technology Journal, the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Journal and the International Journal of Unmanned Systems Engineering.

DEPARTMENT OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING Michelle Sabick, Ph.D., joins Parks College as the new chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

Before joining the faculty at Parks, Sabick served as professor and chair of the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at Boise State University in Idaho since 2011. In that role, she expanded the faculty from eight to 14 members and managed large growth in student enrollment. Additionally, Sabick enhanced undergraduate teaching by infusing classroom lectures with more interactive and hands-on learning activities.

Sabick has worked on more than 20 funded research projects, published many journal articles and other scholarly publications, and holds two patents. Additionally, she has made more than 70 conference presentations. She has advised and directed more than 20 graduate students.

Sabick held other significant roles at Boise State University, such as director of product development and commercialization in the Center for Orthopaedic and Biomechanics Research, and director of the Biomechanics Research Laboratory.

Sabick earned her doctorate in biomedi-

cal engineering from the University of Iowa and a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve University. She worked as a biomechanics researcher at the Steadman Hawkins Sports Medicine Foundation in Vail, Colorado, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Orthopedics at the Mayo Clinic.

“I am both excited and humbled to serve as the chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Saint Louis University,” Sabick said. “I was attracted to Parks College due to the clear emphasis on academic rigor, development of the whole person and leadership excellence.

The quality, cohesiveness and positive attitude of the BME faculty convinced me that this was where I wanted to work.

My goal will be to work with this dynamic group to grow our graduate program while maintaining our excellent undergraduate program. We have the elements in place to do just that.”

Theodosios Alexander, Sc.D., dean of Parks College, said, “Dr. Sabick will be a key contributor to moving our Biomedical Engineering Department into the next phase

of its development. Her commitment to excellence in education and prior experience in biomechanics, product development and growth of educational programs is evident.

She will be a catalyst for the future growth of our biomedical engineering department in output metrics and in continuous improvement of its national reputation.”

Natasha Case, Ph.D., joined Parks College this fall as an assistant professor.

Before her appointment at SLU,

she served as a research scholar in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery in the Duke University School of Medicine. Her research interests are in musculoskeletal tissue engineering and biomechanics.

Case earned a doctorate in bioengineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in biomedical engineering from Duke University. She conducted post-doctoral research in the Department of Medicine at the University of North Carolina.

Her research experiences have focused on articular cartilage and bone, and have shared a common interest in understanding how cells from musculoskeletal tissues are influenced by mechanical loading of the skeleton.

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Natasha Case, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (Left), Michelle B. Sabick, Ph.D., Chair (Left Center), Andrew Hall, D.Sc., Assistant Professor (Right Center) and Yan Gai, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (Right)

“The commitment of the faculty within Parks College to achieving excellence in both teaching and research was a primary reason that I was attracted to Saint Louis University,” Case said. “Discovering that the Biomedical Engineering Department had excellent research facilities, faculty with complementary research interests, and talented, enthusiastic students assured me that this was a great place to begin my academic career. I look forward to having many opportunities to interact with faculty and students in Parks College.”

Department Chair Michelle Sabick is delighted in the appointment of Case.

“Dr. Case’s research areas of cartilage mechanics and tissue engineering are clinically relevant to millions of people who suffer from diseases such as osteoarthritis,” Sabick said.

“Her exciting research could help shed light on the mechanisms by which cartilage could be regenerated to heal damaged joints. She will find a wealth of clinical collaborators here at SLU to help unravel the mysteries of how cartilage functions.”

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Yan Gai, Ph.D., joined Parks College as assistant professor this August.

Gai began conducting auditory research as a graduate engineering student at Syracuse University. Upon completing her doctorate in 2007, she joined the computational-neuroscience lab at New York University, where she also performed neurophysiology in a lab and developed her favorite virtual-sound dynamicclamp approach. Later she went to University of Wisconsin-Madison for her second postdoctoral study. She has since conducted various behavioral and computational projects related to the mammalian auditory pathways for sound localization.

“I decided to apply to SLU because the long history of the college fascinated me,” Gai said. “Although Oliver Parks is no longer here, during my campus visit, I could feel his spirit and the values on which he founded his school. I was truly touched by the students’ enthusiasm in research and the faculty’s unreserved support for one another.

My belief might be similar to Parks’, that we humans aren’t born with wings, but through learning and daring, we exceed our limits —

our dreams will never cease flying.”

Department Chair Michelle Sabick is delighted in the appointment of Gai. “Dr. Gai brings new expertise to our department in the area of neuroscience. She uses both computational and animal models of the sensory system to understand its function. We are excited that she is expanding our department’s capabilities while complementing our existing research strengths.”

At SLU, Gai is building a systems-neuroscience lab to study the function of sensory systems. With a computational mind, she attempts to simulate what she has observed in the psychophysical and electrophysiological experiments. The long-term goal of her research is to understand brain circuits that are involved in complex auditory tasks and to come up with better strategies for hearing aids and therapies.

Her teaching philosophy follows Einstein’s words: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

Andrew F. Hall, D.Sc., joined Parks College as assistant professor of biomedical engineering in August.

Hall earned his doctorate in biomedical engineering and master’s degree in electrical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis. His undergraduate engineering degree is from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.

Having spent much of his career on the research-and-development side of the medical industry, Hall’s most recent position was as director of North American research collaborations for the angiography division of Siemens Healthcare. There, he managed a group of engineers and scientists to conduct interventional imaging research with investigators at academic medical centers. Before that, he worked for local startup, Stereotaxis Inc., in a variety of roles, including magnetic catheter development and management of the company’s electrophysiology program.

Hall’s research interests revolve around image-guided interventional medicine and

surgery, and include the areas of intra-operative imaging and medical device development, where he holds several patents. His research plans at SLU include partnering with interventionists at the medical school to identify and develop new technologies and applications for image-guided interventions.

“I have already had a few very interesting preliminary meetings, and I believe there is great potential to form a productive research relationship with the medical school,” Hall said.

Department Chair Michelle Sabick expressed excitement in the “wealth of medical industry experience Dr. Hall is bringing to SLU and the impact that will have on students in the classroom.

“Dr. Hall has an extensive network of clinical collaborators at some of the top medical centers in the country. I look forward to the exciting research he will conduct with clinical partners here at SLU by leveraging his industry experience,” Sabick said.

With experience working in several small

technology companies, one of Hall’s teaching interests is in the area of entrepreneurship, where he plans to work with the current faculty to expand Parks innovation and entrepreneurship offerings, and involvement in interdisciplinary programs. Also, his teaching plans include helping to tailor undergraduate curricula for students interested in the medical imaging industry.

“I am very much looking forward to teaching, and I believe that with my background in industry I can help prepare students for a successful career in engineering,” Hall said.

Sridhar Condoor, Ph.D., chair of the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department, said, “Dr. Andy Hall brings the real entrepreneurship and innovative product development experience that helps our students better prepare for the new future. We can expect him to play a leading role in the development of interdisciplinary collaboration and new programs.”

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Ronaldo Luna, Ph.D., joined Parks College in July as the new chair of the Civil Engineering Department.

Before his appointment at Parks, Luna served as professor and assistant chair of civil engineering at the Missouri University of Science in Technology in Rolla. He was at Missouri S&T since 1999. Also, he held an assistant professor position at Tulane University in New Orleans.

Luna completed his doctorate in civil engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta; his master’s degree in civil engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana; and his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at the University of Maryland in College Park.

Luna is a registered professional engineer in three states: Missouri, Washington and California. He has published more than 120 publications in a wide variety of research areas, including geotechnical instrumentation, foundations, soil liquefaction and applications of geographic information systems. Luna has worked on more than $6.5 million of funded research projects during his academic career.

His accomplishments have been carried out in close collaboration

with his graduate students, and he has graduated six doctoral and 23 master’s students. He is also a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

Luna has the right characteristics to continue the growth civil engineering at Parks College. In his vision for the department, he said, “As chair of the Civil Engineering Department, I will strive to create an environment of participation and consensus to move the program forward. This will start by including all the constituents, students, faculty, alumni and employers. A successful program is one that can adapt to change and grow to continued success.”

Theodosios Alexander, Sc.D., dean of Parks College, said, “Dr. Luna is an experienced civil engineer and a well-known leader in the academic, industry and government circles, statewide and nationally. His enthusiasm for quality education and quality research is contagious.

He is uniquely qualified to guide the growth of our civil engineering department, and I am very encouraged by his commitment to delve deep into the process of continuous improvement we have charted for the department and the college.”

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Ronaldo Luna, Ph.D., Chair (Left) and Jalil Kianfar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor (Right)

Jalil Kianfar, Ph.D., joined Parks College as assistant professor of civil engineering in January 2014.

Kianfar received his doctorate in civil engineering from the University of Missouri and his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering from Azad University in Iran. Prior to joining Parks, Kianfar was a transportation analyst with CBB transportation engineers in St. Louis, where he developed travel demand and traffic simulation models for Missouri and Illinois departments of transportation.

Kianfar brings 10 years of research and industry experience to the classroom, and his goal is to prepare Parks graduates for designing and managing a transportation system that can safely accommodate the needs of pedestrians, bicycles, public transportation users, and personal and commercial vehicles.

“One of my long-term goals at Parks College is to serve the local transporta-

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tion needs in the St. Louis region through collaboration with transportation agencies including MoDOT, EWGC, and cities and counties within the St. Louis region,” Kianfar said.

His research includes connected vehicles and intelligent transportation systems. He is working with a doctoral student to develop advanced driver-assistance models that use vehicle-to-vehicle communication data to warn drivers about a potential crash.

Ronaldo Luna, department chair, is delighted in the appointment of Kianfar.

“Transportation is personal to everyone; it affects all of our lives,” Luna said. “Dr. Kianfar has a ‘transportation laboratory hub’ at his disposal in St. Louis. With his research capabilities he will contribute significantly to the systems that move our people and goods.”

///Alumni/////////////////////////////////// Christopher “Keegan” Faudree was selected as the recipient of the 2014 Oliver L. Parks award. This award honors graduating students who excel in three categories: Academic Excellence, Leadership and Service. Faudree, who hails from Midland, Texas, graduated in May with two degrees, one in Mechanical Engineering and one in Business Administration, which he accomplished while maintaining a 3.9 GPA during his tenure at SLU.

Keegan Faudree selected Recipient of Oliver L. Parks Award

Faudree was chosen for this award by a committee of Parks faculty and staff members out of a pool of 12 well deserving nominees. The committee chose him not only for his outstanding academic record, but also for his record of service to SLU and the greater community as well as his countless leadership roles both at Parks and the John Cook School of Business. Keegan noted that he aspires “to be an engineer who can connect the logical dots between business and engineering, as Oliver Parks was able to do with business and aviation.”

awardees

2014 Alumni Merit Award Winners

Terrence Matter, M.S.

John O’Neill, Jr., Ph.D.

The 2014 Oliver L. Parks Award winner was Terrence Matter, M.S. (Parks ’64). After Parks, Matter served four years as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer for the U.S. Air Force.

When he finished his service, Matter joined Northrop Corporation where he provided Product Support Services for worldwide users of the T-38 and F-5 series aircraft. In 1974, he received his M.S. in Operations Management from Northrop Institute of Technology.

Then, he went on to complete the Senior Management Development Program at Harvard Business School and the Executive Marketing Program from Anderson School of Business. Before retiring, he served as the Executive Business Development Manager at Northrop Grumman.

John O’Neill, Jr., Ph.D. (IT ’59) was honored with the Institute of Technology Alumni Merit Award. After graduating from SLU, O’Neill went to work for Bell Telephone Laboratories where he acquired 24 patents. O’Neill completed both his M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at New York University. In 1977, O’Neill founded a division within Storage Technology Corporation and acquired four additional patents. In 1980, O’Neill founded OneCom Inc., Since 1988, O’Neill has worked as the founder and Chief Technology Officer of Call Management Products To learn more and to nominate an alum for the awards please visit parks.slu.edu/alumni.

Your Connection to the Past – Now and Then The college years represent a turning point in our lives as we graduate and become professionals in our fields. Fond memories of grasping concepts, burning the midnight oil, surviving final exams and graduating are tucked away only to later relive the old glory days. Know that the Parks College Alumni Board wants to help you preserve those days.

Membership to the Alumni Board is open to all graduates of Parks College and SLU’s Institute of Technology. The Alumni Board is comprised of members of all ages, ranging from twenty-something to eightysomething, and membership is always open regardless of your stage in life.

The Alumni Board values professional experience as it strives to connect former and current students. The legacy of this institution is strong with accomplishments of alums throughout the world. It is through this connection to the past that we continue to make this institution stand out among others. As you read this issue of Parks Today, consider joining the Alumni Board.

Opportunities abound with networking events, alumni benefits and returning to your academic roots.

If you are interested in joining the Parks College Alumni Board, please contact Kate Flatley (kflatle1@slu.edu).

The Parks College Alumni Board

//////////////////////////////////////////////

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class notes Richard Baker (Parks ’92)

is the Director of Education at the Aviation Institute of Maintenance in Manassas, VA. Richard Roy Becker, Jr. (Parks ’83) lives in Berlin, Germany

with his Wife Risa and toddler son, Richard, III. He spent ten years as a B737 training Captain with Air Berlin, eight years as a B744 Captain with China Airlines and the last five years as B744 Captain with Korean Air based in Seoul, Korea.

Engineering Class, this was the first time many had been together since their graduation from SLU. This group represented more than two-thirds of the graduating class and had a great night catching up and reminiscing.

William D. Deveikis (Parks ’49)

was featured in a six-page feature article in a Lithuanian aviation magazine regarding his involvement in the space industry.

We Want to Hear From You Please send us your letters, class notes and address changes. There are three easy ways to reach us.

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Susan Bondie Bloomfield (Parks ’75) retired after 18

years of service to Saint Louis University. She retired on June 30, 2014 from her most recent position as Development Officer for Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology. Upon retiring, she moved to Michigan with her husband Mark.

Gene Buerke (IT ’63), Jack Eckles (IT ’63), Stan Fletcher (IT ’63), Joe Madlinger (IT ’63), Dan Marshall (IT ’63), Paul Nadziejko (IT ’63), Gerry Steinman (IT ’63), Matt Struckel (IT ’63) and Bob Wich (IT ’63) gathered,

with their spouses, on May 7, 2014 at Favazza’s on the Hill.

All members of the 1963 Civil

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3

EMail

parkstoday@slu.edu

Carol Mayer Fiore (Parks ’80)

published her first book, “Flight Through Fire,” an aviation love story based on the 2000 Bombadier Challenger 604 crash that killed her test pilot husband Eric Fiore (Parks ’82).

Lynn Fuhler (Parks ’83) is the co-founder and vice president of TixClix, an online ticketing and registration website for one-time, recurring, multi-day, timed entry and seasonal (pass) events.

Charles Glauber (Parks ’68)

has had a prosperous career with Pratt & Whitney holding various positions such as the Configuration Management and Quality Engineer where he managed and maintained latest USAF Pratt & Whitney (P&W)

( ( ( ( ( Ranch c a l l F100-PW-220E turbine engine module production configurations for Royal Saudi Air Force.

He also worked on the Space Shuttle Program at NASA, Cape Kennedy, FL; F-4 and F-15 aircraft production in St. Louis, MO, at McDonnell Douglas before it became Boeing; supported Air Force and Navy A-7 production at LTV/Vought in Dallas, TX; and spent a lot of time at Pratt & Whitney in West Palm Beach, FL attending to logistic impact and engineering activity to the F100 engines and modules for the USAF F-15 and F-16 aircraft fleets and other offshore customers.

Raymond Helmering (IT ’60)

was inducted into the The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s (NGA) Hall of Fame.

He spent more than 20 years with the Defense Mapping Agency, a predecessor agency to NGA, where he led initiatives like the transition from analog to digital technology for mapping, charting and geodesy.

He is credited with leading and implementing highly sophisticated image and photographic solutions that underlie NGA’s geospatial products and services today. Helmering also provided technical leadership of the massive Apollo lunar mapping project sponsored by NASA. The multi-year program generated the most precise lunar maps ever produced at the time.

Timothy Howard (Parks ’94)

lives in Cape Cod, MA and has owned and operated Stick’n Rudder Aero Maintenance, Inc., a general aviation maintenance and modification shop since he was 25 years old.

Since 2000, he has also run and managed Chatham Municipal Airport (KCQX) as the Airport Manager. He holds FAA A&P, IA & Pilot ratings and owns two aircraft.

Ryan Hughes (Parks ’13) is serv-

ing in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps at Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School in New York City.

William (Bill) Jackson (Parks ’73) is a Consulting Engineer

in Propulsion Systems Design at GE Aviation. He celebrates 30 years with the company this year, following six years with the military and five years at McAir Aviation.

Paul Knese (Parks ’61) flew

medical missions in Guatemala for Wings of Hope and now is a volunteer pilot for Earth Angel Aviators in Wentzville, MO. He was a transport and test pilot with the US Air Force for 22 years before retiring.

Clyde Long (Parks ’91) currently lives in Dothan Alabama where he works for Construction Partners Inc. in their flight department as Co-Captain and Director of Aircraft Maintenance. A&P I.A., ATP Marin (Roy) Martin (Parks ’68) retired from Northrop

Grumman, where he was a Chief Test Pilot and Flight Test Technical Fellow.

David Meshel (Parks ’77) has served as a as a Branch Chief of Mission Assurance on a satellite program for the last nine years at the National Reconnaissance Office, in Chantilly, VA. He lives in Maryland with his wife, Elise, of 36 years.

Ranch c a l l ) ) ) ) ) In Memoriam Reserve School of Medicine in 2011, and is finishing his residency in Emergency Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine in nearby Palo Alto, CA. Martin Whelan (Parks ’83)

Circa 1970 photo of female student working in the wind tunnel.

send in your old Parks photos to parksTODAY@slu.edU TO be posted on our website Jack A. Patton (Parks ’77)

has spent the past 25 years in the civil engineering industry, with the worlds leading manufacturer of land survey equipment. He has worked on countless civil engineering missions with the US military designing runway extensions, aprons, taxiways and helicopter landing pads. His lifelong love of the aviation and aerospace industry continues today in his career in civil engineering. He flies for fun and applies civil engineering as required.

Ron Reinert (Parks ’66)

retired from American Airlines in 2005 after a prosperous 40year career. Initially, he flew out of Chicago, but later relocated to Los Angeles. After he retired from American, he joined the American Aeronautical Foundation group, flying B25s at air shows. In 2012, he took part in a cross-country tour on the way to the 70th Annual Doolittle Raiders Reunion at

Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH. The Doolittle Raid in 1942 was one of the first US attacks on Tokyo.

Thomas Venditti (Parks ’65)

retired from Continental Airlines. He lives in Lancaster County, PA.

Gerry Visel (Parks ’74) retired

after 30 years at Sundstrand and five at B/E Aerospace. He plans to stay home and fly his Quad City Challenger light sport airplane, and maybe just putter.

Susan Westerfield (Parks ’07) and Steve Foy (Parks, ’07) married in June 2009

and reside in Mountain View, CA. Susan completed her PhD in Molecular Medicine at the Clevelend Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, and works for Bavarian Nordic, a biotechnology firm in Mountain View, CA. Steve graduated from Case Western

is the Director of Space Operations/ Deputy Chief of Staff for operations, plans and requirements at United States Air Force Headquarters at the Pentagon.

Charles E. White (Parks ‘37)

is one of the oldest living Parks alums, having celebrated his 98th birthday in January. He is in good health and living in a retirement “resort” in San Diego, Calif. When he graduated from Parks, each graduate was called into the President’s office for a pep talk and an assessment of his prospects. Mr. Parks did not have a very positive estimate of White’s future, saying, “You are interested in too many things”. That being said, he was told to report to Consolidated Aircraft Co. in San Diego in two weeks. At that time, each graduate had a job, chosen by Mr. Parks. He was the only one in his class sent to San Diego.

In early 1940 he moved to Los Angeles to begin his career with a relatively new company, North American Aviation. For the next 35 years, he served as a Project supervisor in Advanced Design; Principal Scientist , Apollo Program, Space Division; and Chief of Systems Design, Ocean Systems Div. In his 38 years of retirement, he has become a serious woodworker.

Larry Allen (Parks ’60) James Armstrong (IT ’53) Florencio Barrios (Parks ’59) John Bathe (IT ‘49) Richard Blakeslee (Parks ’76) Theodora Koshar Brooky (IT ’68) William Brossman (Parks ’51) Alan Buhr (Parks ’82) Alton Bullard (Parks ’48) Warren Bunch (Parks ’50) William Bundschuh (IT ’56) Steven Cohen (IT ’58) Walter Cooney (Parks ’58) Peter Danna (IT ’59) Larry Deppe (Parks ’68) John Ebert (Parks ’54) Randolph Frymire (Parks ’54) Wilbert Fuerman (Parks ’66) Claude Genest (Parks ’67) David Gherlone (Parks ’48) Lewis Graber (IT ’49) Robert Grassle (Parks ’51) James Grigsby (Parks ’05) William Hansen (Parks ’50) Henry Harschburger (IT ’68) Scotty Haselwood (IT ’65) Robert Helmus (Parks ’47) Donald Hilts (Parks ’51) Tommy Johnson (IT ’70 James Keating (IT ’69) John Klosterman (IT ’59) Allan Kroupa (IT ’61) James Lillis (Parks ’54) Wayne Lybeck (Parks ’59) Matthew McLaughlin (Parks ’58) John Moyn (Parks ’68) Oscar Niebes (Parks ’51) Caryl Ostrander (IT ’57) James Paris (Parks ’53) Douglas Peck (Parks ’38) Richard Peck (Parks ’43) Eugene Pijut (IT ’49) Thomas Plein (Parks ’51) Ronald Puent (Parks ’63) Robert Quinn (Parks ’42) James Rasmussen (IT ’52) Donald Elbert Rice (Parks ’49) Irving Rivkin (Parks ’42) Carl Schlanger (Parks ’59) Robert Schultz (IT ’48) Raymond Sepanski (Parks ’55) Neal Stamm (Parks ’50) Robert Tydeck (Parks ’60) Michael Wall (Parks ’65) Henry Wallace (IT ’50) John Wardein (Parks ’50) William Weasner (Parks ’53) Frederick Wiedemann (Parks ’61) Robert Wortmann (IT ’59) Ronald Yeager (Parks ’52)

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